Mission Statement

I will in general eat healthy, eat "normal" food, without gimmicks, pills, surgery, or trademarked diets. I will log all calories consumed and estimate calories burned on a daily basis. I will then be able to track my progress and estimate arrival time to my goals through My Food Log. I will also develop non-food rewards for reaching my goals knowing that reaching each goal is a reward in-and-of itself. I will not give up. I know that I will not be perfect but that I am making a permanent lifestyle change. The good days will out-number the bad days. I will not give up!

7.22.2007

This Really Works (My Diet Plan)

The Long and Short of My Diet Plan (Short First). I am down 14 pounds since June 4, 2007!

The Short

  1. 1200 calories daily
  2. no more than 500 calories in 4 hours
  3. 60 or less grams of fat daily
  4. use the Food Pyramid
  5. eat normal foods
  6. eat recommended portions (or less)
  7. stay hydrated
  8. exercise
  9. log calories, track progress
  10. DO NOT GIVE UP!


The Long

My starting weight is 214 pounds. My goal weight is 140 pounds. I want to loose 74 pounds. I divided that goal into 2 major parts. I initially want to loose 34 pounds. This will put me at 180 pounds. Upon achieving this goal I will have to reevaluate my methodology as my body will no longer be burning the same amount of calories. The heavier you are, the more calories your body burns. The first premise of my diet is to reduce my daily caloric intake to 1200 per day. I also want to divide these calories into 4 meals. Ideally I would consume 300 calories at each meal. This is not always possible, especially when eating on-the-go or at a gathering. The second premise of my diet is to consume no more than 500 calories in any given 4 hour period. Any calories consumed over 500 at the same time are stored in the body as fat. Allowing up to 500 calories in one meal will give me flexibility when eating out or in a group. I will still remain at a daily total of 1200 calories. The third premise of my diet is to limit fat intake to 60 grams in one day. Eating more than 60 grams of fat in a day means that I have not eaten sufficient servings from all of the basic food groups or have neglected to eat from one or more of the groups altogether. Premise four of my diet is to be guided by the USDA Food Pyramid. I want to eat at least one serving from each of the basic food groups daily. I also want to allow for some treats (sugar) and consume some fats to ensure proper digestion. The fifth premise of my diet is to eat normal foods. I want to eat the same foods that I serve my family. I am sure to slowly incorporate healthier, more calorie conscious, and lower fat meals into menus for my family. The idea here is to not have to cook one meal for my family and a separate meal for myself. Premise six of my diet is that I want to eat the recommended serving size of the foods I eat. Eating less than the recommended serving size is also acceptable as often the nutrition label on a food package and the USDA Food Pyramid have different measurements for one serving of a particular food. Eating less than the recommended serving size is also useful when quelling a craving or considering what extra flavor punches to incorporate into a meal. The seventh premise of my diet is stay hydrated. This will be especially important after the first 10 pounds come off as poor hydration can lead to baggy, hanging skin. Consuming the proper amount of liquid daily will aid digestion and help keep the excretory system functioning properly. Premise eight of my diet is to incorporate exercise. Exercise burns calories and build muscle. Muscle burns more calories. This is essential in order for the second part of my weight loss goal to be achieved. Premise nine of my diet is to not rely on the scale as the sole progress indicator. The way my clothing fits and the notches on my belt will also be good indicators of success. Using My Food Log and the calculations for calories burned should be the main indicator of progress. The weight scale should only be used as a reminder of previous success and as a final marker for goal completion. The tenth premise of my diet is to not give up, no matter what! Should I discover that my stated plan is not effective then I will reevaluate and modify the plan. I will not be satisfied until my goal weight is achieved. I will not revert into bad habits and an unhealthy lifestyle upon reaching my goal.

5 comments:

Crabby McSlacker said...

Wow, that's ambitious!

Good for you for having a plan and such determination.

So I'm no nutritionist either, but is 1200 calories enough? I'm under the impression it's actually harder to lose weight if your body goes into "starvation" mode, because it starts fighting back and hanging on to every bit of fat it can. It's especially important to get enough nutrients if you're going to get all the exercise you need to build fat-burning muscle mass.

Anyway, like I said I'm no expert, and it sounds like you're trying really hard to make healthy changes in your life. I'm totally impressed. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Just a note to say I agree with crabby up there. I'm not a dietitian or doctor, but I've been reading a lot about nutrition as I try to lose weight myself.

I would take care not to go under 1200cals/day, unless you are on a specific diet ordered and monitored by a doctor or dietitian. "Starvation mode" does tend to set in with a calorie intake below 1200, especially if you will be exercising.

There are a few different resources online that can suggest calorie intake levels based on your age, height, weight, activity level and amount of weight to lose - SparkPeople, for example, even if you use none of their other resources.

Also - do you have a source for the bit about more than 500cals at a time being stored as fat? I'd be interested to read more about that, because I've not heard it before.

Christina said...

Crabby, I gotta do something. I tried an 1800 calories diet and in 8 weeks my net loss was .5 pounds. Marianne, I hope you got my email response. I put links in to 3 sources. If not, comment again and I will post those links here.

Anonymous said...

Good luck on your diet.

However.

1200 calories is too low. You're going to trick your body into thinking it's starving itself and start storing what it does get as fat, because it thinks it's gonna starve.

You don't need to starve yourself. That mindset is for the Twiggy-esque gals of the 50's and 60's.

Eat! It does a body good!

I eat anywhere from 1500 calories to 2300 a day. I do have days where I eat 1200 or lower, it just happens. But I'm a pig, and I refuse to go hungry. I've lost 52 pounds as of today. I'm not exactly what you would call active, either, though I need to be. My fat intake varies: I can't go too low because my gall bladder freaks.

I was on a low fat diet when I was in my early 30's. and I did lose 80 lbs (I kept the fat intake between 15 and 20 percent, and ate 1500 - 2500 calories a day. I did workout, however.) This time around though, I'm concentrating more on keeping my sugar intake down.

Eat. Make sure you're getting good fats like olive oil and canola oil.
Switch to 100% whole wheat and whole grain pastas and bread. Good luck!

Human Microbiome Search Engine said...

"I will not give up!"

I agree completely. It's not realistic to think that life will always be easy. Every time we stumble and fall, it's important to immediately get back up and keep going.

If you're walking somewhere and you fall, you pick yourself up and keep walking ahead. You don't just suddenly start walking backwards. A diet is the same way. Just because you fall down on a diet, you must not give up and go backwards.

Walking backwards is a sure way to fall down again. If you give up on a diet and start going backwards, you definitely will fall again and again.