Eating habits and calories
I got a lot of ideas from your posts last night and I thank you for that! I thought that tonight I would discuss my old diet versus my current diet. The following listing would have been a typical day's food for me over the last year. of course I didn't eat the same thing every day and somedays I ate more or less than this but I would say that represents at least the average calorie intake so it should give you an Idea of what I was doing to get to this point.
Meal 1: McDonald's 2 sausage biscuits (820 calories) / 2 hashbrowns (200 calories)/ meduim diet coke (0 calories)
total meal calories: 1,020
Breakfast - Sausage Biscuit
Serving Size: 112 grams
Calories: 410
Calories from Fat: 250
Total Fat: 28 grams
Saturated Fat: 8 grams
Cholesterol: 35 milligrams
Sodium: 930 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 30 grams
Fiber: 1 grams
Sugars: 2 grams
Protein: 10 grams
Breakfast - Hash Browns
Serving Size: 3 oz
Calories: 100
Total Fat: 3 grams
Cholesterol: 0 milligrams
Sodium: 30 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 17 grams
Protein: 2 grams
Meal 2: McDonald's 2 double cheeseburgers (490 cal x 2= 980)/ Large fries (580 calories) and Large Diet Coke
total meal calories: 1,060
Sandwiches - Double Cheeseburger
Serving Size: 173 grams
Calories: 490
Calories from Fat: 240
Total Fat: 26 grams
Saturated Fat: 12 grams
Cholesterol: 85 milligrams
Sodium: 1220 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 38 grams
Fiber: 2 grams
Sugars: 8 grams
Protein: 25 grams
French Fries - large
Serving Size: 198g
Calories: 580
Calories from Fat: 250
Total Fat: 28 grams
Saturated Fat: 6 grams
Cholesterol: 0 milligrams
Sodium: 960 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 77 grams
Fiber: 6 grams
Sugars: 0 grams
Protein: 6 grams
Meal 3: Pizza (240 cal per slice x 12 slices=2,880) and Diet pepsi
total meal calories: 2, 880
16" Round Pizza - Pepperoni (1/12 pie)
Serving Size: 102g
Calories: 240
Total Fat: 9 grams
Saturated Fat: 5 grams
Cholesterol: 20 milligrams
Sodium: 450 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 27 grams
Fiber: 1 grams
Sugars: 2 grams
Protein: 12 grams
After dinner snack: large bowl of buttered Popcorn 500 calories and diet pepsi
total snack calories: 500
Diet soda intake for the day was generally 3-4 liters/ I rarely drank water
TOTAL DAILY CALORIC INTAKE= 5460
Wow...I was eating like crap. I guess it's not like I didn't know it but I never really broke it down like that before.
Ok now you've seen what I used to eat and if you've been following my daily diet blogs you know that my current intake has been roughly 1600 to 1800 calories a day.
Some of you have expressed concern that such a dramatic change in my calorie intake is not healthy. First of all I agree. I'm supposed to be eating about 2600 calories a day meaning that I'm missing anywhere from 800 to 1000 calories. I want to assure you that this is not by choice. I am not by any means trying to starve myself in order to lose weight. My trainer asks me about it and I tell him that i'm trying. I don't want to make any excuses but the honest truth is that before I started this I ate food that was very high in calories and fat and the calories came fast and easy. I have looked at the reasons I'm not taking in the calories that I'm supposed to and the conclusion that I came to is that other than maybe 1 meal maybe 2 per day (usually the last meal of the day) the volume of food that I consume is only slightly less than it used to be just healthier. Take, for instance, my lunches... 2 double cheeseburgers and fries versus 1 large turkey sandwich on wheat roll, really the volume of food is about the same and I'm quite full on the turkey sandwich and bottle of water. And breakfast...I really don't like to eat before 11am. I never really have but I got used to eating crap just to eat it so it doesn't really phase me to miss breakfast and once I eat lunch and become full breakfast is just an after thought. I know very well that I'm supposed to eat breakfast but I just don't like to. I'm not a morning person and with sleep apnea and insomnia i rarely get any substantial sleep to begin with so if I can get 20min more sleep and skip breakfast I'd honestly rather do that than force myself to choke down 300 or 400 calories.
That leaves dinner. What I used to do was just glut myself and now I eat a sensible dinner that usually fills me to the point that I'm not hungry and I'm finding that that is enough. Sure I get hungry from time to time but I'm trying to not act on impulse like I used to do. Rather I try to determine if I'm really hungry or if it's just a craving...I'm still working that out.
My trainer has suggested supliments as an alternative to not only add calories but to give me energy. I do have a soy protein shake that I try to work in daily but honestly it's only 110 calories a serving and that's going to do little to get my count up. It does however give me 25g of protein so I do like it for that reason. And again, please understand that this is not an excuse but ligit reasons why supliments are difficult for me...most supliments are high in sugar which I can't have due to the diabetes and high in dairy which I can't have because I have a milk allergy. Diabetes is also why i can't just go around eating fruit all day. I would love to throw a bunch of apples and whatnot into a bag to snack on but I cant. Oh yeah also bananas are somewhat deadly to me as well... see what I'm working with here?
Anyway. I am constantly on the look out for foods that I can add to my daily routine, foods that are good for me and that I can enjoy. What i don't want to do is just eat for eatings sake. That's where I get in trouble.
Meal 1: McDonald's 2 sausage biscuits (820 calories) / 2 hashbrowns (200 calories)/ meduim diet coke (0 calories)
total meal calories: 1,020
Breakfast - Sausage Biscuit
Serving Size: 112 grams
Calories: 410
Calories from Fat: 250
Total Fat: 28 grams
Saturated Fat: 8 grams
Cholesterol: 35 milligrams
Sodium: 930 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 30 grams
Fiber: 1 grams
Sugars: 2 grams
Protein: 10 grams
Breakfast - Hash Browns
Serving Size: 3 oz
Calories: 100
Total Fat: 3 grams
Cholesterol: 0 milligrams
Sodium: 30 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 17 grams
Protein: 2 grams
Meal 2: McDonald's 2 double cheeseburgers (490 cal x 2= 980)/ Large fries (580 calories) and Large Diet Coke
total meal calories: 1,060
Sandwiches - Double Cheeseburger
Serving Size: 173 grams
Calories: 490
Calories from Fat: 240
Total Fat: 26 grams
Saturated Fat: 12 grams
Cholesterol: 85 milligrams
Sodium: 1220 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 38 grams
Fiber: 2 grams
Sugars: 8 grams
Protein: 25 grams
French Fries - large
Serving Size: 198g
Calories: 580
Calories from Fat: 250
Total Fat: 28 grams
Saturated Fat: 6 grams
Cholesterol: 0 milligrams
Sodium: 960 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 77 grams
Fiber: 6 grams
Sugars: 0 grams
Protein: 6 grams
Meal 3: Pizza (240 cal per slice x 12 slices=2,880) and Diet pepsi
total meal calories: 2, 880
16" Round Pizza - Pepperoni (1/12 pie)
Serving Size: 102g
Calories: 240
Total Fat: 9 grams
Saturated Fat: 5 grams
Cholesterol: 20 milligrams
Sodium: 450 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 27 grams
Fiber: 1 grams
Sugars: 2 grams
Protein: 12 grams
After dinner snack: large bowl of buttered Popcorn 500 calories and diet pepsi
total snack calories: 500
Diet soda intake for the day was generally 3-4 liters/ I rarely drank water
TOTAL DAILY CALORIC INTAKE= 5460
Wow...I was eating like crap. I guess it's not like I didn't know it but I never really broke it down like that before.
Ok now you've seen what I used to eat and if you've been following my daily diet blogs you know that my current intake has been roughly 1600 to 1800 calories a day.
Some of you have expressed concern that such a dramatic change in my calorie intake is not healthy. First of all I agree. I'm supposed to be eating about 2600 calories a day meaning that I'm missing anywhere from 800 to 1000 calories. I want to assure you that this is not by choice. I am not by any means trying to starve myself in order to lose weight. My trainer asks me about it and I tell him that i'm trying. I don't want to make any excuses but the honest truth is that before I started this I ate food that was very high in calories and fat and the calories came fast and easy. I have looked at the reasons I'm not taking in the calories that I'm supposed to and the conclusion that I came to is that other than maybe 1 meal maybe 2 per day (usually the last meal of the day) the volume of food that I consume is only slightly less than it used to be just healthier. Take, for instance, my lunches... 2 double cheeseburgers and fries versus 1 large turkey sandwich on wheat roll, really the volume of food is about the same and I'm quite full on the turkey sandwich and bottle of water. And breakfast...I really don't like to eat before 11am. I never really have but I got used to eating crap just to eat it so it doesn't really phase me to miss breakfast and once I eat lunch and become full breakfast is just an after thought. I know very well that I'm supposed to eat breakfast but I just don't like to. I'm not a morning person and with sleep apnea and insomnia i rarely get any substantial sleep to begin with so if I can get 20min more sleep and skip breakfast I'd honestly rather do that than force myself to choke down 300 or 400 calories.
That leaves dinner. What I used to do was just glut myself and now I eat a sensible dinner that usually fills me to the point that I'm not hungry and I'm finding that that is enough. Sure I get hungry from time to time but I'm trying to not act on impulse like I used to do. Rather I try to determine if I'm really hungry or if it's just a craving...I'm still working that out.
My trainer has suggested supliments as an alternative to not only add calories but to give me energy. I do have a soy protein shake that I try to work in daily but honestly it's only 110 calories a serving and that's going to do little to get my count up. It does however give me 25g of protein so I do like it for that reason. And again, please understand that this is not an excuse but ligit reasons why supliments are difficult for me...most supliments are high in sugar which I can't have due to the diabetes and high in dairy which I can't have because I have a milk allergy. Diabetes is also why i can't just go around eating fruit all day. I would love to throw a bunch of apples and whatnot into a bag to snack on but I cant. Oh yeah also bananas are somewhat deadly to me as well... see what I'm working with here?
Anyway. I am constantly on the look out for foods that I can add to my daily routine, foods that are good for me and that I can enjoy. What i don't want to do is just eat for eatings sake. That's where I get in trouble.
posted by Sean Perkey at Monday, July 03, 2006
17 Comments:
Hi Sean...thanks for breaking down the "before" and "after." Really informative! Here are some ideas to get your calories up: Odwalla bars or Clif bars or the like. They have lots of protein and grains and around 300 calories each. Maybe soy yogurts might also help? Do you have a health food store around you? B/c you could get healthy snacks more easily, and also get fresh juices (made of mostly veggies) or even get a juicer. It's a pain to do it yourself though, the juicer sucks to clean. If you can't come up with a solution that works, please visit a nutritionist asap. I'm a firm believer in seeking professional guidance with this issue, I've done it myself. xo Eva
p.s. I've also been posting on food lately, if you want to check out my blog (and maybe link to it???) xo E
Please see this article about the dangers of soy.
Instead, you might want to try upping your intake of free-range eggs? Also, how severe is your milk allergy? Would clarified butter (butter with all the milk solids removed) still trigger it? If not, this is an excellent way to increase your intake of vitamin A, get healthy fats, and up your caloric intake.
Consider basing smoothies on coconut milk instead of milk or soy. A friend of mine makes hers with avocado. Have you tried using Stevia as a sweetener? This is a natural herb that I believe diabetics can use. You could make a smoothie with coconut milk, an egg, Stevia (or raw honey, if that's not off your list), flax seed, flax oil, and throw in some carrots or avocado for more flavour, since fruit poses such a challenge. (Do berries cause issues too? Blueberries and strawberries are wonderful smoothie additions.)
I'm hoping that these suggestions will just tweak your own imagination. Yes, you have restrictions, but not unworkable ones (obviously.)
Besides the Weston A. Price site I mentioned earlier, Dr. Mercola's site is another excellent place to do research into healthful foods. Good luck!
Great suggestions! I love avocado, I know some people don't, but it's a great source of the healthy-type fats. (most commercially-made guacamole doesn't count, and sometimes doesn't even contain avocado)
Sean, there's a great lack of fats in your diet, with the no-sauce sandwiches, etc. On a cellular level, you need fat and cholesterol to function. I once read of a guy whose only fat intake was a tablespoon of olive oil he ate each day - right out of the spoon! That's a bit drastic ;) but you do want to make sure that you have sufficient fats in your diet. Check out this info: Click
You can totally eliminate the saturated/trans fats from your diet no problem, but try not to shun too many of the natural unsaturated fats - you need these, and eliminating them has not been shown to help weight loss anyway.
I'm not a professional, just did some personal research when I got some bad cholesterol test results. :(
Since this is another great thing to be aware of, perhaps you can track the amounts/types of fat in your new diet?
Looks like you had a good workout - way to go!
Sounds like you could use that returned Morgan Spurlock to his pre-Super Size Me health.
Oops, I guess I messed up those links.
http://www.healthychefalex.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Spurlock
Sean, Happy Indepencence Day! I hope you are enjoying a holiday. Your eating habits have improved dramatically since you have started this program, but I must ask, do you like to cook? I find that the more I know about what goes into my food the more conscious I become of what is in 'ordinary' food that you buy in the grocery store. Also, I understand your challenges with both diabetes and a milk allergy it seemingly makes your choices more limited, but, you will probably experiment more than people who will stick to bananas and find a better variety of foods for you. Yeeha leafy green vegetables! (From the woman who wraps her carrot sticks in kale :)
You might be interested in checking out Kashi's Go Lean line of foods--bars and shakes, and some other foods. I don't know if they would be too high in sugar for you, but the company has a strong commitment to whole grains, natural foods, and "good" sugars, and their bars and shakes are pretty tasty. Might make breakfast easier. It's hard to become a breakfast-eater if you never have been, but they say it's important because it starts up your metabolism.
There's so much conflicting information on what and how to eat, so you just have to find what works for you. It is a long journey to knowing one's own body.
Hey Sean,
I know that when I was doing Weight Watchers a while back I found that Glucerna & Pria both made pretty decent meal bars that were not to bad as far as calories or sugar...I too am a diabetic, so I looked. They're not Snickers but it's something.
Thanks for posting and keep up the good work.
Joe
I had a nutritionist tell me once that I should try to eat 3 things at each meal...a protein, a green leafy vegetable, and whole grains. One of my fav. concoctions is a big slice of toast with fresh spinach & sliced turkey. It's quick, it's easy, and you can take it with you so you don't miss a lot of coveted sleep time. It was odd, adjusting to eating 'lunch' foods for breakfast, but since I have, my blood sugar is much more level and I seldom crave foods that aren't good for me.
A bonus is that baby spinach (great mixed w/lettuce for a salad, or on a sandwich) has a lot of bulk to it and the serving size is an insane 3 cups! A serving of something that will fill you up & is also good for you...Bonus!
I agree with whoever said cooking your own food is important...you learn to put healthy foods together in a way that is appealing to you and you are not limited to what a restaurant/store has to offer.
Sorry-I meant to add that nuts are a good source of protein and healthy fats. Plus, they travel well and satisfy the occassional urge to snack...I particularly love walnuts & cashews.
Hey, Sean I pimped your blog today. Thought you might want to check it out.
As another point of view on soy, I find this to be a more balanced article.
I try to bear in mind that too much of any food can be bad, and that overmarketing and overprocessing is not just confined to soy.
Hey eva! I'll have tolook into the Odwalla bars. I don't think I've seen them. It just seems that all of the bars I look have high sugar or dairy content. Both of which I just can't have.
oooh veggie juice huh? I'm going to look into that today! I do likes me some carrot juice!
thanks eva...that may end up helping a lot! Oh and I just linked you! :)
Scrapnqueen: Hey! I just left a post on your blog. Thanks so much for the mention and all the support!
woah..it's really late and I haven't posted yet tonight. I want everyone to know that I read their posts and I love all the Ideas and will be testing some of them out in the near future. I have a feeling that I'll be coming back to this particular blog often.
Rebecca: I wanted to let you know that your advice is dead on. my fat content is low and I am looking for ways to increase that. Thanks for the links!
amy: that's great formula. I'll have to remember that and try to stick with that combination as much as possible.
haggardmom: Thanks for the second opinion on soy. I'm inclined to trust that Soy is ok for me. People have been eating soy products for ever and it has always proven to be beneficial. Thanks!
Hey Sean,
Have you seen a doctor about your sleep apnea? If you haven't you really should. CPAP machines aren't the sexiest things, but you'll sleep so much better with one.
anonymous: yeah...I accutually have a bi-pap machine because my Apnea is so severe that I need the dual preasure type but even with the humidifier it drys my mouth out so much I can only use it for 2 hours before I become dehydrated and when I say dehydrated I mean so bad that it takes hours of continuous fluid to feel better. We're trying to figure out other options but as it stands I either have to lose the weight or have part of my throat tissue surgicaly removed...
Hey Sean,
You are doing awesome! Keep up the good work! My co-workers husband was using the Cpap machine. He lost weight, but still suffered from sleep apnea. He did have the surgery with no problems whatsoever and sleeps like a baby now. My co-worker loves the fact that her husband no longer snores!
Hopefully, losing the weight will kick the apnea for you, but if not surgery can be a backup. Here's to sweet dreams whenever you can get them :)
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