food really unlimited??

A place to get your questions answered from McDougall staff dietitian, Jeff Novick, MS, RDN.

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Re: food really unlimited??

Postby sweetpea47 » Mon Jun 04, 2012 11:57 am

wow and oh my....i am new here and i bought Dr McDougalls book because it sounded easy...fill 1/2 of your plate with starches and so on...now reading all this with the math i am not so sure this is the right plan for me ....His book did not make this a complicated as the board seems to have..His book gave a list of items you could have by plate measurments...thought this would be easier than Fuhrmans to follow...Bev :crybaby:
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Re: food really unlimited??

Postby JeffN » Mon Jun 04, 2012 1:31 pm

sweetpea47 wrote:wow and oh my....i am new here and i bought Dr McDougalls book because it sounded easy...fill 1/2 of your plate with starches and so on...now reading all this with the math i am not so sure this is the right plan for me ....His book did not make this a complicated as the board seems to have..His book gave a list of items you could have by plate measurments...thought this would be easier than Fuhrmans to follow...Bev :crybaby:


The math is just to show the science behind the program and why the program works and is totally unnecessary for anyone to be successful at this program

The program works but many people come here with questions about "why" and "what if" and "how come" and want more detailed answers then just, "it work's" and want to know why filling your plate "50/50" works.

It's like with your car. Anyone can learn to drive a car successfully and how to keep it up by following a few simple procedures without ever having to understand the science and the numbers behind the how and why a combustion engine, anti-lock brakes, automatic transmissions, etc, work.

Some people want to know that information too.

However, for those who do not like numbers.

http://www.jeffnovick.com/RD/Articles/E ... ition.html

The principles of calorie density all together and work regardless of the numbers or the system or the values used. In other words, from my experience and understanding of the research, people can eat freely of foods that are 300 calories/lb or less and not gain weight. People can consume relatively large portions of foods that are between 300 and 800 and still lose or maintain their weight depending on their individual activity level and metabolism.

And, when we look at the scale, we see that all vegetables, fruits, intact whole grains (potatoes, Pasta, Rice, Barley, Yams, Corn, Hot Cereals) & all Beans, Peas, Lentils meet that criteria. So, without knowing the numbers, we know we can eat freely of these foods as long as they are without added sugar, oil and/or fat.

When looking at the research, we also see that the intake of foods with a calorie density of 800-1800 should be limited as these can contribute to weight gain and interfere with efforts to lose weight. These are all breads, bagels, dry cereals, crackers, tortilla's and dried fruit.

Additionally, the intake of foods over 1800 cal/lb should be extremely limited as these foods can very easily contribute to weight gain and obesity and can greatly interfere with efforts to lose weight. These are nuts, seeds, oils, solid fats and most all junk foods.

To make it even easier, I can take the numbers completely out and it still makes sense and works.

Eat Freely:
(Foods Low In Calorie Density)
Fruits and veggies

Eat Relatively Large Portions Without Concern:
(Foods Moderate In Calorie Density)
Starchy Veggies, Intact Whole Grains and Legumes

Limit These Foods
(Foods High In Calorie Density)
Breads, Bagels, Dry Cereals, Crackers, Tortilla's, Dried Fruit

Extremely Limit These Foods:
(Foods Very High In Calorie Density)
Nuts, Seeds, OIls, Solid Fats, Junk Foods

The beauty of the principles of calorie density is that it frees us from all these numbers and having to count, portion weigh and/or measure anything. So, don't get caught up in the numbers and for those who do not like numbers, just understand the principle.


For review, here are the basic principles from the same note

Principles of Calorie Density

- Hunger & Satiety
Whenever hungry, eat until you are comfortably full. Don't starve and don't stuff yourself.

- Sequence Your Meals.
Start all meals with a salad, soup and/or fruit

- Don't Drink Your Calories
Avoid liquid calories. Eat/chew your calories, don't drink or liquify them. Liquids have little if any satiety so they do not fill you up as much as solid foods of equal calories.

- Dilution is the Solution: Dilute Out High Calorie Dense Foods/Meals
Dilute the calorie density of your meals by filling 1/2 your plate (by visual volume) with intact whole grains, starchy vegetables and/or legumes and the other half with vegetables and/or fruit.

- Be Aware of the Impact of Vegetables vs Fat/Oil
Vegetables are the lowest in calorie density while fat and oil are the highest. Therefore, adding vegetables to any dish will always lower the overall calorie density of a meal while adding fat and oil will always raise the overall calorie density of a meal

- Limit High Calorie Dense Foods
Limit (or avoid) foods that are higher in calorie density (dried fruit, high fat plant foods, processed whole grains, etc). If you use them, incorporate them into meals that are made up of low calorie dense foods and think of them as a condiment to the meal. For example, add a few slices of avocado added to a large salad, or a few walnuts or raisins added in a bowl of oatmeal and fruit.[/i]

In Health
Jeff
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Re: food really unlimited??

Postby sweetpea47 » Mon Jun 04, 2012 1:53 pm

Thank you so much for that reply...whew..haha i really needed it and i am going to do my best with the plan and i am sure if others have lost weight and improved there health well~~ so can i..getting started is the first step and i am ready.... :-D
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Re: food really unlimited??

Postby JeffN » Mon Apr 06, 2015 10:32 am

This recent post, Energy Density Studies, will be very helpful to this discussion.

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=46303
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