How much can you eat?

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How much can you eat?

Postby CrazyVegLady » Sun Aug 16, 2020 5:26 pm

I eat a lot of vegetables and potatoes, and I am trying to lose weight.

I’m afraid I might be over consuming calories, what can I do?
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Re: How much can you eat?

Postby wildgoose » Mon Aug 17, 2020 7:45 am

CrazyVegLady wrote:I eat a lot of vegetables and potatoes, and I am trying to lose weight.

I’m afraid I might be over consuming calories, what can I do?

Eating a lot of vegetables and potatoes is exactly what you can do to lose weight.

BUT....you need to make sure you’re following the principles of MWL in how you’re eating them. For example:
  • Are your vegetables and potatoes prepared without any added oils or fats?
  • Is the ratio of vegetables to potatoes in a meal roughly 50/50 (as eyeballed on the plate — no need to measure)?
  • Are salt and sugar (or any condiments that contain salt and/or sugar) used sparingly and only on the surface of the food (not in cooking)?
You also should review the MWL 10-point checklist to make sure you’re following the guidelines in the other areas of your diet. For me, it was always the bread or the higher-fat plant foods (olives, nut butter, etc.) that kept the weight from coming off — not vegetables and potatoes. It’s also recommended that you try to limit fruit to no more than 2 servings a day.

If you’re doing well in following the checklist, you don’t need to worry. As long as you are eating your potatoes and vegetables whenever you’re hungry, and stopping when you’re comfortably full, you will lose weight!

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Re: How much can you eat?

Postby CrazyVegLady » Mon Aug 17, 2020 8:42 am

Thank you Goose!

Yes it’s roughly 50%, and I’m limiting salt and avoiding oil.

Just when I went for seconds I didn’t grab more veggies, mostly because I would have to cook more :lol:
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Re: How much can you eat?

Postby wildgoose » Mon Aug 17, 2020 11:14 am

CrazyVegLady wrote:Yes it’s roughly 50%, and I’m limiting salt and avoiding oil.

Just when I went for seconds I didn’t grab more veggies, mostly because I would have to cook more :lol:

I read your post on the Food and Recipes board, which helps to know what you’re eating. All good, except for maybe the hummus. If it’s not homemade, it’s undoubtedly loaded with oil. Even homemade hummus recipes can have tahini, which I avoid for weight loss. My homemade hummus is no-salt chickpeas, garlic, aquafaba (the water from the chickpeas), a little lemon juice, a little roasted cauliflower, and maybe some spices if I’m feeling adventurous.

Cronometer can be useful as an occasional nutrient check, but it will drive you nuts if you use it all the time for calorie counting. Just think calorie density. (If you haven’t seen Jeff Novick's video on Calorie Density, I highly recommend it.) Potatoes are about 400 calories a pound. So 3 pounds of potatoes, 1200 calories. Broccoli is about 150 calories a pound. So even if you ate 3 pounds of broccoli, you’d only be eating 450 calories. You’re not going to gain weight on that. Rest assured, you don’t need to count calories if you faithfully apply the principles of calorie density. I lost all my weight and never once counted a calorie.

I know when I first started this way of eating, I thought I was STARVED all the time. I finally figured out the difference between feeling hungry and feeling unsatisfied. When you go from eating a high fat diet to eating a diet much lower in fat, you’re going to crave fat. I mean really crave fat. Those fat receptors are going to be empty and screaming. So I was thinking I’m starving to death when in reality I was perfectly well fed but still wanting olives and peanut butter. (Well, to be honest, really wanting pizza, but I knew that was definitely off the menu. It did, however, give me a clue as to why a good meal of starch, veggies and fruit left me "hungry.")

This may not be the case for you. If it is, it may take up to 3 months for your body to adapt to lower fat eating (and if you cheat, it takes longer, because a high-fat meal or snack restarts the process to a certain extent — ask me how I know this :roll: ).

If you’re not having a problem with cravings and are truly hungry, just trust the program and keep eating starch with vegetables and fruit. Maybe add in some different starches to see if they satisfy you better. For example, I love sweet potatoes, baked until they’re really soft. I don’t eat oats in the morning, because I find I get hungrier faster after a meal of oats. I often have my oatmeal for dinner! There’s no rule that says you can only eat "breakfasty" foods for breakfast.

I also mix starches. One of my favorite meals is a huge bowl (like a mixing bowl) with a layer of brown rice, a layer of smashed pinto beans (Mary McDougall's recipe, which I think is great), a ton of chopped salad (romaine, spinach, tomato, onion....whatever), topped with salsa. Takes forever to eat but very filling.

You'll figure this out. It takes a while to see what works for you and what doesn’t. The scale is also not your friend at this point. If you can stop yourself from weighing every day (not easy for some of us, including me), it’ll help keep you from worrying so much.

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Re: How much can you eat?

Postby CrazyVegLady » Mon Aug 17, 2020 11:51 am

Thank you Goose!

I have about 12 lbs to lose, I’m not sure because some of it can be muscle. I made some black beans to mix things up. I think white rice is okay? But I’m afraid it won’t work.

I put a small amount of tahini in the hummus but it is homemade. I will cut that out. I like the idea of adding cauliflower!

I don’t even own a scale, I just knew by the feel of my clothes but had it confirmed when I had a medical test I had go get weighed for.

I really hope I can do this! I’m so scared. :crybaby:
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Re: How much can you eat?

Postby wildgoose » Mon Aug 17, 2020 12:26 pm

CrazyVegLady wrote:I have about 12 lbs to lose, I’m not sure because some of it can be muscle. I made some black beans to mix things up. I think white rice is okay? But I’m afraid it won’t work.

I put a small amount of tahini in the hummus but it is homemade. I will cut that out. I like the idea of adding cauliflower!

I don’t even own a scale, I just knew by the feel of my clothes but had it confirmed when I had a medical test I had go get weighed for.

I really hope I can do this! I’m so scared. :crybaby:

It’s harder when you have less weight to lose, and you have to be really compliant, but you can do it. Genetics plays a part too. My Gander is one of those genetically lucky ones who can eat anything and still be really thin. I, unfortunately, am not. So. I know that to stay at the weight I am, I have to keep eating the way I ate to lose the weight.

Black beans will do well in the menu mix. White rice is okay — I eat it about half the time. Brown rice may be better, but Dr. McDougall has pointed out that many historically thin Asian cultures have eaten white rice for centuries.

And yes, you probably have to lose the tahini in the hummus. A little cauliflower adds to the creaminess. So does peeling the chickpeas, if you can stand to do it. Also, warm the chickpeas before you put them in the food processor.

Good for you to not own a scale! Clothes are a good indicator of how much weight you are carrying. You point out that muscle weighs more than fat — very true. A fit body will be leaner (and feel better in the same size clothes), even though it may weigh more.

You can do this. Don’t be scared. You’re doing an experiment. Tell yourself you’ll eat this way for 60 days. No panic, just functional. Keep good records. Evaluate the results. If at the end of 60 days, you’re not happy with the results, make some adjustments and run the experiment again. What you’re looking for is equilibrium, between your behavior (what you’re eating) and the way your body looks and feels, over time. Once you get that, you have a template for life.

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Re: How much can you eat?

Postby CrazyVegLady » Mon Aug 17, 2020 1:04 pm

Oh yay thanks so much Goose!!

I will stop the tahini. I had posted this in the lounge, but it got moved. I thought they deleted it so I posted again thinking they didn’t like how I phrased it the first time :lol:
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Re: How much can you eat?

Postby deweyswakms » Tue Aug 18, 2020 9:43 am

wildgoose wrote: I don’t eat oats in the morning, because I find I get hungrier faster after a meal of oats. I often have my oatmeal for dinner!
Goose


So glad to hear somebody else say this. I LOVE my oatmeal but often feel like it crashes my blood sugar (weak, dizzy etc after having it in the morning), so I save it for an easy dinner.

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start weight 210 on 7/25/14; MWL recommit 7/2019 weight 197. 6/11/2022 weight 165.0. Height 5'8".
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Re: How much can you eat?

Postby Creaky » Wed Aug 26, 2020 9:51 pm

wildgoose wrote: I don’t eat oats in the morning, because I find I get hungrier faster after a meal of oats. I often have my oatmeal for dinner!
Goose


I love my oats in the morning, but I cook frozen spinach with it. 1 cup of old fashioned oats, 2 cups of water and 8 ounces of frozen spinach. Microwave it in a 4 cup pyrex measuring cup for 4 minutes. MIx well and enjoy.

I have a hard time with eating oats and fruit. I can make me hungrier too.
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Re: How much can you eat?

Postby squealcat » Thu Aug 27, 2020 5:49 pm

I learned a lot from reading your comments. I love oatmeal but get hungry so soon after and now I am thinking about having oatmeal for dinner instead. Genius !

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