How do you stay on a diet as a single person?

[Tony T]

I'm a single guy with enough money to buy whatever food I need. There are restaurants and supermarkets around a plenty. But I'm not real fond of cooking. I really want to eat right and to live a long time, at least for a few years after I win the lottery. So how does a guy who doesn't want to spend half of his life cooking and figuring out all the food groups eat decently and carry on a normal life? I have no problem taking six breaks a day to eat. I guess what I'm asking is what would be an example of a breakfast, lunch, and dinner minimeals and in between minimeals. Are there any books that can help prepare this kind of eating regimen. I'm also interested in weight loss...or at least not gaining weight.

 

If a person has been used to eating three time a day all his life, how long does it take the body to get used to a new way of eating (six smaller meals a day)?

 

I have a friend who is a deputy with the Sheriff's office who only eats one big meal a day, sometimes at noon, sometimes late evenings. Other times, he may have a little fruit or nothing at all. He's been doing this for five or six years and is in excellent condition. Is there a danger to eating this way? Can this work over a long period of time without problems?

[quankanne]

I think you'd have to work with a registered dietician to figure out what meal schedule works best for your lifestyle.

 

I've been enough times to one because I'm diabetic, I've seen them use the food pyramid to determine my meal plan (light breakfast, regular lunch, lighter dinner and three good snacks in between these meals) and I guarantee if I stuck fanatically to the 1800 calorie plan they figured out, my jaw would get tired from all the chewing. Thank goodness for back-up mealplans!

 

seriously, though, I don't think you can go wrong with drinking lots of water and incorporating as many fruits and veggies into your daily diet as you can, since those are the things people don't get enough of. Incidentally, during my last visit to the dietician, I was told that even if I still was hungry after meals or snacks, vegetables wouldn't "break" my diet. Guess she was figuring that one out based on said premise that people don't get enough veggies in their diet to begin with...

[rclynn]

depends on which diet you wanna try..... I have been on the atkins diet since Valentines day this year, I have lost almost 80 pounds.......

[HokeyReligions]

My husband used to eat one meal a day, and exercise and *appeared* to be in great shape/health. That was when he was in his 20's & 30's. The doctors have since told him that the type of lifestyle he led (exercising a lot & only one meal a day) wreaked havoc with his metabolism and was probably a major contributor to his diabetes today.

 

I am supposed to eat every couple of hours to maintain my metabolism, but I dont. I have tried to force myself to eat breakfast, but I just can't eat in the morning. So I use energy bars to supplement - I can handle that.

 

Getting started may be as simple as parking on a higher level of a parking garage and walking down the stairs in the morning and up after work. Drink more water.

 

Some of the cookbooks are good - but really-check out some of the diabetic cook books too - t here are some good, easy, meal plans. I think there is a low-fat version of the cookbook "A Man, A Can, and A Plan" which, as the title suggests, is a fairly simple menu to prepare.

 

If you are eating out - SALAD, broiled or grilled foods (no fried hamburgers or chicken-fried-steak type of meals) Skip the taters too.

 

Park further away from where you are going so that you have to walk more.

[Tony T]

Many thanks to all of you for your suggestions and ideas. Now where can I get a scale that lies?

[yes]

i'm not an expert, but here's the style of eating that seems to work for me (i'm hoping to see confirmation of this in Ryan's nutrition thread):

 

I eat at least 5 times a day. The following are my meals, eaten in any order, at odd times:

- a yougurt

- bowl of veggies with a sauce

- bagel sandwich (cheese, some kind of meat, lettuce)

- fried eggs (fry up almost anything and pour an egg over it - takes 5 mins)

- boiled eggs with mayo & ketchup

- bowl of fruit (optionally with plain yougurt)

- pasta w/ tomato sauce & veggies (microwave the veggies s.t. they're soft)

- boiled rice with microwaved or fried chicken & veggies

- glass of buttermilk

- slice of cheese & rye bread

- boiled buckwheat w/ tomatoes & cheese

- 1/2 litre of chocolate milk

- porridge w/ chocolate

- pita sandwiches

- etc.

Still need more e.g.'s? =)

 

Occasionally, I have a full-blown streak & mashed potatoes dinner, or a burger, or chicken wings, or McD. junkfood.

 

Oh I also sip on water 24-7, ideally with a lil bit of juice concentrate for a hint of taste. And no coffee! Occasional tea (with jam!), occasional alcoholic drink. No pickles, no canned food, no funny pre-made stuff.

 

I think the general advice would be to eat frequently, in small portions, avoid "emotional eating", and drink plenty. Also, don't even buy crap-food - only let yourself eat it at restaurants.

 

good luck,

-yes

 

PS You don't need a lying scale (get a sitting one ) ... if you eat properly & get some exercise, you'll feel your body be thankful & light!

[Ryan]

i'm not an expert, but here's the style of eating that seems to work for me (i'm hoping to see confirmation of this in Ryan's nutrition thread):

 

I see no problem with what you've listed, so long as you're getting good quality meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, and breads.

[yes]

Thanks for your reply Ryan, but... what exactly do you mean by low-quality?

 

Fruit/veggies - OK, i guess you mean eating the real ones, not the kind saturated with chemicals

 

Meat - what do you mean? meat is meat... some cuts taste better, but are any better quality?

 

Breads - what's there to bread, except for being decently fresh? (and i heard several days old bread is actually better for you)

 

Cheese - how do you determined the quality of this one?... i usually go for Havarti or Parmesan...

 

thanks for your tips,

-yes

[Ryan]

Fruit/veggies - OK, i guess you mean eating the real ones, not the kind saturated with chemicals

 

Fresher is better. If you can find a local organic market, that would be great. Locally grown items at a larger store is also a way to go. Sometimes it can be hard to swing this, but it's worth a shot.

 

Meat - what do you mean? meat is meat... some cuts taste better, but are any better quality?

 

Oh of course! Packaged lunchmeat is crap - never buy that. Get cuts from the deli if you want sandwich fixings. For raw meats used in cooking/grilling, try to find a local butcher. You get far superior quality than at chain grocery stores.

 

Breads - what's there to bread, except for being decently fresh?

 

Local bakers will prepare bread and baked goods daily. No need for preservatives...and they tend to have greater care for the ingredients.

 

Cheese - how do you determined the quality of this one?

 

Look at the ingredients! Things like American cheese...ugh. Deli cuts if you can. The kind I'm eating this very moment contains: cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes.

 

 

One main thing I avoid like the plague in food is hydrogenated oils. At some point I'll post some more in-depth information about this process and what it does, but safe to say I eat hardly anything that has hydrogenated oils.

[yes]

thanks again Ryan! Saving your tips into a "nutrition_ryan" file, heheh =)

 

-yes

[lurker]

Fruit/veggies - OK, i guess you mean eating the real ones, not the kind saturated with chemicals

 

Yes, fresh fruits and veggies and organic whenever possible.

 

Meat - what do you mean? meat is meat... some cuts taste better, but are any better quality?

 

Again, no packaged meats and organic when possible. The hormones and antibiotics that are pumped into the meat supply are no good for you. And much of the food fed to farmed animals is also tainted (hence the need for the antibiotics).

 

Breads - what's there to bread, except for being decently fresh? (and i heard several days old bread is actually better for you)

 

Whole grain breads, no preservatives.

 

Cheese - how do you determined the quality of this one?... i usually go for Havarti or Parmesan...

 

Again, stick with organic as non-organic dairy tends to have huge quantities of hormones added.

[wideawake]

Originally posted by Ryan

One main thing I avoid like the plague in food is hydrogenated oils. At some point I'll post some more in-depth information about this process and what it does, but safe to say I eat hardly anything that has hydrogenated oils.

 

 

Me too...I try to avoid all high-fructose corn syrup as well....huge insulin spikes and it's easily converted directly to adipose tissue.

[yes]

what kind of food often contains these evil hydrogenated oils??

 

-yes

[wideawake]

TONS OF STUFF!

 

Cookies, crackers, potatoe chips, some breads, a lot of processed bakery items, etc...

[steffany]

Didn't take the time to read everyones replies...kinda in a lazy mood the last few days.

 

But if you just cut out a lot of the fried foods and starches you'll notice those love handles start to diminish soon. Of course some excersice will help too. But my brother just lost 15 pounds and my mother lost around 40 lbs just by cutting out starches, fried foods and candy.

 

Good Luck!

[Patty]

How about a vegetarian diet?

 

Patty

[yes]

as far as i know, you need proteins, so if you've vegetarian, you should have soya, beans, eggs (unless you exclude them as animals), etc. to make sure you still get the proteins you need. many vegetarians still eat fish, and that's quite good for you too, i believe (not every day though!)

 

-yes

[lurker]

Vegetarians don't eat any animal flesh, including fish (and chicken). Vegans don't eat any animal products at all (including honey, eggs, milk, etc.)

 

It is pretty easy to get all the protein you need on a vegetarian or vegan diet. I think ti's much more of a challenge for meat eaters to get enough fruits and veggies than it is for a vegetarian to get enough protein!

[yes]

as far as I know, there're many types of vegetarianism (if that's a word). some people still eat fish and dairy, but some exclude everything like you stated. i guess some wouldn't call the former vegetarianism, but that's just a matter of definitions - who cares =)

 

-yes

[wideawake]

Originally posted by lurker

It is pretty easy to get all the protein you need on a vegetarian or vegan diet

 

 

Can you elaborate? Please explain how one gets a full protein source with complete amino profiles from vegetables.

 

Thank you.

[moimeme]

Tony - if you're still reading, here's what I've done. Numero uno - if I think I want to eat, I question myself - am I hungry or is it my mouth wanting something. If I am not actually hungry, I either forego the food or I have a bit of it to satisfy my mouth. One piece of an Aero bar, one stick of Kitkat, one cookie. I eat it slowly and savour it to satisfy the mouth craving.

 

I am trying to institute the 'rainbow' way of eating (the more colourful the food, the better it is for you). I can give you a link, if you like. It's not a fad diet, it's an adaptation of the Pyramid to add a wide variety of fruits and veg based on their nutrients and based on some studies that seem to show that substances like lycopeine do have positive effects on health. Having said that, I'm about a quarter the way there.

 

I am very busy with some projects these days and, even though I do love to cook, I don't have a lot of time. I have a few quickie meals that I fall back on. I'm about to go through my recipe books and files and find some more quickie recipes to add to the list. My regular 'quickie' meals:

 

vegies (peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc) sauteed lightly in olive oil and then I either add eggs and turn them into an omelette or I boil some pasta and eat them over the pasta. I eat the omelette with whole-grain toast.

 

The other day, I just used onions, garlic, and Campari tomatoes and sauteed them until the tomatoes were completely broken down - it was unbelievably delicious and very quick to make. You could also boil or nuke some rice and have the vegies with it. Make a salad, too. You don't need tons of vegies in a salad; even a few is better than none.

 

I nuke a potato - it takes from 6 to 9 minutes usually and then nuke some other vegies. I grate some cheese over the baked potato and eat it all with a slice or two of whole-grain bread. It only takes a few moments to chop one person's serving of broccoli, carrots, etc., stick it in a microwave dish, and nuke it (most veg take 2-3 minutes at most to nuke). Have a salad with the meal or just have the salad and the potato. If you like yams, they nuke even quicker than white potatoes do.

 

I have waffles with yogourt and some sort of fruit.

 

I make 'pizzas'. I buy pre-frozen small pizza crusts or else i use bagels or pitas. I actually use low-fat salad dressing as a base but you can buy pizza sauce in little cans. Then I pile up the chopped vegies, sprinkle some cheese over, and bake at 350 for ten minutes or so. You can put anything you want on pizza - as you know from pizza shops. Heck, grab one of your take-out menus and copy what they put on their pizzas. Pizza is fattening if it is piled with fatty sausage, meat, pepperoni, etc and tons of cheese. Made with vegies and a modest amount of cheese, they're good for you.

 

Sandwiches! I'll eat a toasted tuna sandwich with my nuked potato and a salad. Very yummy.

 

Chili - I have a super fast chili recipe. Actually, there are all sorts of vegie and meat chilis you can make pretty quickly. Heinz sells a mix of spiced beans for chili in a can which makes a good starter.

 

I also used to make sloppy joes a lot - I recently found a recipe for tofu sloppy joes to die for!

 

You can also pick one day of the week and make a BIG pot of soup or a stew and then eat it over the course of several days.

 

And, when all else fails, there are some good 'diet' dinners and frozen gourmet pizzas out there that take 5 minutes to nuke.

[Tony T]

Yes, still reading this thread and continuing to appreciate the input. Many thanks for all who have offered suggestions. I will keep all informed of my progress in this regard.

[lurker]

Can you elaborate? Please explain how one gets a full protein source with complete amino profiles from vegetables.

 

What I said was that you can get all the protein you need on a vegetarian or vegan diet, not necessarily just from vegetables. Soybeans, for instance, are a complete protein and are used in a variety of ways: soymilk, tofu, tempeh, etc. Many other beans contain incomplete proteins -- as do grains, nuts, seeds and vegetables -- but become complete proteins when combined (they don't have to be combined at the same meal as was once thought, but over the course of several meals, so it is more or less transparent).

 

Here's a link to a FAQ on vegsource, which may address your question better than I am! http://www.vegsource.com/articles/veg_definition.htm

[lurker]

as far as I know, there're many types of vegetarianism (if that's a word). some people still eat fish and dairy, but some exclude everything like you stated. i guess some wouldn't call the former vegetarianism, but that's just a matter of definitions - who cares =)

 

 

It is true that there are different kinds of vegetarians -- i.e., some eat dairy but not eggs, others eat eggs but not dairy, etc. -- but there is no definition of vegetarianism that includes eating the flesh of any animal, including fish.

 

Here's what Webster's has to say:

Vegetarianism: the theory or practice of living on a diet made up of vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, and sometimes eggs or dairy products.

Vegan: a strict vegetarian who consumes no animal food or dairy products

 

 

I care about the matter of definitions not because of these definitions in particular but because I think language should be used correctly.