This is how I must begin and continue throughout a diet, if I'm going to be successful
1. Set my mind to stick to it until the weight is off (I don't start just prior to Holidays, vacations, or having company)
2. Prepare enough food for at least a week in advance, even if I have to freeze some of it (have plenty small containers available - 1 cup and less)
When I finally make up my mind to go on a diet, the most important thing after setting my mind to it, is preparation... I find that when I launch into (whatever diet)... if I don't have enough of every food I plan to eat for at least a week, I fail... AND.. even while I am just maintaining, I must continuously keep food made up ahead, because if I get hungry, it is too late... the food MUST be ready at any time during the day or evening... no prepping no waiting... or else I'll be eating more of something easy than I had planned, and I am referring to more calories.
3. Weigh and Measure
Also, I must be diligent when it comes to measuring and weighing foods that I prepare and eat; and not just guessing and approximating...
I have a good kitchen scale (a must) that weighs Lb/Oz Kg/gr, has the "tare" feature, as well as liquid oz... the brand is Escali... I purchased it on line (not intended to be an ad for Escali)
This is how I do it --- when I do it right:
• When I cook meat, I weigh it after it is cooked and after removing fat, bone, etc.; I weigh each serving -- it is difficult to measure meat into a cup, etc..
• When I cook mixtures, i.e. stir-fry, soup, casserole, etc., I prepare all the food for the dish I am going to make... as follows:
- Find the tare of vessel used for ingredients
• Weigh each ingredient - documenting the # of calories per gram (multiply gms x calories of each ingredient or go to:http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/)
• Add up (sums of calories for each ingredient found in previous procedure) all ingredients together to figure how many calories in the whole batch i.e.:
Onions 487 gr = 195
Yellow Squash 599 gr = 96
Zucinni Squash 676 gr = 108
1/3 C Olive Oil = 72
4 TBSP Smart Balance = 189
Total Calories = 660
• Then I cook up the dish
• After it is cooked I measure the whole batch out by the cup (document # of cups; this batch was 8)
• Divide the total number of calories for the whole batch by the number of cups in whole batch (or you could weigh it; I prefer to measure at this point)
660 calories divided by 8 cups = 82.5
The above procedure assists in determining how many calories per measurement (pint, cup, TBSP, etc.)
Calories per cup in this recipe = 82.5
The quota for calories I have allowed myself for the day, divided by the number of times I feel I must eat (every 2 hours), will determine how much of each item I can eat ... maybe only 1/4 cup of whatever... maybe 1/4 cup of the ingredient with 1/2 cup water added (soup)... etc...
4. I keep a log including calories, protein, carbs, fat, cholesterol, sodium, sugar, fiber of each thing I eat daily... this is very helpful in seeing where I need to make changes
After much trial and error, observation, etc... it is my opinion that I must eat at least some of the foods that I am accustomed to; otherwise I start craving my comfort foods, i.e. potatoes, bread, roast pork, rice, cereal, dairy, eggs, etc.. so I just use the above procedure and stick to the above outline... it works.
5. Weigh and document my weight weekly, trying to do it about the same time each week give or take a day/hour... (I also invested in a good quality digital scale) I keep a pen and paper next to my scale... I document the date and weight each time I weigh... then I adjust my calories either up or down which ever way I need to go. I also transfer these numbers to my daily calorie log for future reference.
I will publish other Posts with recipes, tips, etc..
RESOURSES:
http://www.nutrition.com.sg/he/herda-adt.asp
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/
note pads x 3
spiral note book x 3 (or database program)
scale: Escali (or one comparable)
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