Bare-Bones Plan of Eating

November 30, 2009

I intentionally refer to a plan of eating or a food plan rather than a diet for a couple reasons.

1) I don’t like the word diet. I failed too many of them in my life time. And diets are something you do in the short term to lose weight and then it ends. It’s not a lifestyle change which is what is needed. And the word diet has a whole bunch of negativity wrapped around it. Diets equal deprivation. I can eat that, but I can’t eat that.  On a diet food is either good or bad. On a diet you either stay on your diet or you cheat.

2) I need a plan of eating or more concisely, I need a plan. I don’t do well making food choices spontaneously. Some people  are able to make healthy and moderate food decisions at the drop of a hat but me, not so much. When I don’t plan what I’m going to eat then it increases the risk that a) I’ll make choices that feed my cravings but not my body or b) I’ll make choices that aren’t what I really want and so I end up unsatisfied, increasing the chance that I’ll keep nibbling until I am.

So to continue where I left off yesterday, I’ve decided that the best food plan for me to adopt is the bone-bones plan I was on during the fourth week of transition, that period when I was shifting from the full liquid fast back onto food. There will be times I deviate from the plan (planned, not spontaneously) but this will be the standard food plan I’ll keep as the base foundation for how I’ll eat from day to day.

The bare-bones long and short of it looks something like this:

• Three meals a day plus two 100 calorie snacks totalling 1200-1300 calories and comprised of:
  • Lean protein (chicken, fish, turkey, beans and lugumes) with occasional red meat, nuts, and cheese options.
  • Carbohydrates from root veggies, whole grains and brown rice
  • Two servings of fruit and a heaping pile of vegetables

1200-1300 is by anyone’s standards a minimalist caloric intake per day but it seems to be all my body requires to sustain itself particularly when my exercise is minimal and oh, by the way, did I mention I recently developed a hernia and so a week after having all my post-surgery physical limitations removed after three months, new ones have just been put back on to prevent the hernia from enlarging? Disgruntled, party of one, your table is waiting.

So that’s how my food plan breaks down in words. Here’s how it looks in photographs.

Breakfast: A medium apple, an egg, whole wheat bread (50 calories per slice) and sugar-free jam (305 calories)

Mid-morning Snack: Two 50 calorie whole wheat tortillas with sugar-free jam and non-fat sour cream (125 calories)

Lunch: 2 ounce turkey sandwich, 1 serving cantaloupe, diet jello, a pickle and sandwich fillers, a mix of veggies and condiments that add up to less than 25 calories (276 calories)

Mid-afternoon Snack: 1 protein shake (130 calories)

Dinner: dry grilled talapia, small potato with non-fat sour cream, and roasted garlic broccoli (415 calories)

Those food photos probably don’t look nearly as enticing as the stack of Nutella Oatmeal Thins and certainly won’t earn me my credentials in the Foodie Hall of Fame but eating like this is what will sustain my health and weight and allow me on occasion to enjoy other sweet and savory choices without having a major fluctuation in my weight or in my peace of mind.

In addition to following my plan of eating, I’m also going to return to another tool that always helps every time I use it and that’s logging my food every day. Because I’m a gadget geek I prefer tracking my food (and weight) using the Lose-it app on my iPhone but a notebook or a pile of paper scraps works equally well. Every morning before breakfast I spend 15 minutes planning and entering all my food for the day and once I’ve entered it all my food decisions for the day are done.

Oh, and by the way, if any of you use the Lose-it app on your iPhone or iTouch you can now share your daily food and exercise journal through their website with selected friends so if you want to see what I’m eating or what I’m doing for exercise, register at their website and request me as your friend. Just remember that means I’ll be following you too!

Posted in Maintaining Weight