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My Current Diet

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01 / Original postMy Current DietJohn Ingram · 24 Sep 2004 02 / This pagePosts 1–8Page 1 of 1 · chronological order 03 / Latest replyPost #8Jan · 25 Sep 2004

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General fitness, health and nutrition
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24 September 2004
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25 September 2004
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John Ingram
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  1. Original post
    John Ingram
    Archived post
    #1

    Yes, I should probably consult with a doctor, but I just wanted to run
    it by here and see what comments you might have.

    Today is Day 8 of my New Life -- I hesitate to call it a diet, because
    most people think of a diet as something temporary. I call this a New
    Life. I quit smoking (I'm on the three-step patch), I started
    excercising, and I started watching what I'm eating. I'm not doing
    Atkins or any other "fad" diet (yes, I still consider Atkins a fad, just
    a long one -- not looking for any holy wars, though). I'm using the
    pure science of caloric intake and excercise to burn fat relatively
    slowly, recognizing as absolute fact that a net deficit of 3500 calories
    results in a pound of weight loss, balanced with the fact that you have
    to have enough calories to sustain your body at your current weight, or
    your body goes into survival mode, storing fat.

    So, having said all that, a little about me. I'm somewhere between 245
    and 250 pounds (I started at just about 250 pounds a week ago) with 30%
    body fat (I have a body fat scale). I'm 6'3". My "Air Force weight"
    was 207, so I consider that a reasonable goal, unless I'm doing some
    working out specifically to put on muscle, in which case I probably
    won't get down to 207.

    My excercise is walking about a mile and a half a day through my
    neighborhood, which is just hilly enough and just flat enough to be a
    decent workout. It's a brisk, deliberate walk, but not speed walking.
    I do that first thing in the morning, about 5 minutes after I roll out
    of bed, starting with a glass of water and a vitamin C chewable.

    Caloric intake: I used all the calculators I could find online for BMR
    maintenance calories. I was getting somewhere around 3000 for all of them.

    My daily target intake is 2000 calories with 70 grams of protein and
    that's ALL that I'm looking at. I pay no attention to carbs, fat,
    sodium, vitamins, etc... I eat whatever I want, prefering foods that
    have at least a 30-to-1 calorie-to-protein ratio, since that will give
    me 2000 and 70 at the end of the day.

    So far I feel great. As I said, I'm on Day 8. I drink water all day
    long and urinate clear all day long. If there's too much color in my
    urine, I know I'm not drinking enough water.

    Weight loss has been obvious, on the scale anyway. There's a lot of
    flucuation, though, because I don't have a consistent time to weigh
    every day. The scale instructions say to weigh in the early evening,
    which hasn't been very convenient so far. But I'm pretty confident that
    I've lost about 3-4 pounds in the first week. I have read here and
    there that weight loss can be quicker during the first week, until the
    body's metabolism catches up with the change. That's consistent with
    what I've seen.

    So... comments? Am I neglecting anything serious in my diet? Is the
    caloric intake too low? I had first decided to reduce my net calories
    by only 500 per day (1 pound of loss per week), but I found that the
    2000 calorie diet gives me everything I need, as long as I get enough
    protein. So I accidentally ended up on the 2-pound-loss-per-week system
    (lucky me if it holds up). What kind of adjustments, if any, should I
    make now that I'm starting the second week.

    Just looking for people with more experience in this to guide me in the
    right direction. I'm feeling great, morale is high, and I'm excited
    abou the New Life to come.

    Thanks,
    John

    Report
  2. cde
    Archived post
    #2
    John Ingram said:

    So... comments? Am I neglecting anything serious in my diet?

    Try to include

    -2-10 cups dark green or red lettuces, dandelion greens
    -1-2 cups crucifers (broccoli, bok choi, turnip greeens,
    mustard greens, cauliflower, arugula, brussels sprouts, etc.)
    -1-2 cups goosefoots (spinach, chard, beet greens)
    -carrots or sweet potatoes
    -red bell pepper, tomato, watermelon
    -dark blue/purple berries, eggplant
    -red berries
    -citrus
    -apricots, canteloupe
    -onion, scallion, garlic

    Try to eat most of your veggies and all of your fruits raw,
    cooking tends to destroy a good fraction of the protective
    phytochemicals and in most studies, raw vegetables are more
    protective than raw fruits, cooked vegetables, or whole grains.

    Could include some legumes, cooked from dried soaked (and
    preferrably, sprouted)

    fats:
    raw walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts/filberts, sunflower
    seeds, etc, extra virgin olive oil, olives, avocadoes,
    fish fat

    omega6:omega3 fatty acid ratio should be 4:1 or lower.

    fiber:
    current rec is 30 g per day, probably should be 30 g per
    1000 kcal/day.

    fish:
    should not be fried

    green tea:
    instead of diet soft drinks

    Report
  3. John Ingram
    Archived post
    #3
    cde said:

    Try to include

    -2-10 cups dark green or red lettuces, dandelion greens
    -1-2 cups crucifers (broccoli, bok choi, turnip greeens, mustard greens,
    cauliflower, arugula, brussels sprouts, etc.)
    -1-2 cups goosefoots (spinach, chard, beet greens)
    -carrots or sweet potatoes
    -red bell pepper, tomato, watermelon
    -dark blue/purple berries, eggplant
    -red berries
    -citrus
    -apricots, canteloupe
    -onion, scallion, garlic

    Try to eat most of your veggies and all of your fruits raw,
    cooking tends to destroy a good fraction of the protective
    phytochemicals and in most studies, raw vegetables are more protective
    than raw fruits, cooked vegetables, or whole grains.

    Could include some legumes, cooked from dried soaked (and preferrably,
    sprouted)

    fats:
    raw walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts/filberts, sunflower
    seeds, etc, extra virgin olive oil, olives, avocadoes,
    fish fat

    omega6:omega3 fatty acid ratio should be 4:1 or lower.

    fiber:
    current rec is 30 g per day, probably should be 30 g per
    1000 kcal/day.

    fish:
    should not be fried

    green tea:
    instead of diet soft drinks

    Wow, that's quite a list. Thanks for your input. When I say I eat
    "pretty much whatever I want", that's what I mean. I don't scoff too
    much at the usual family cereal, Frosted Flakes... I only separated my
    eggs once, Rice Bowl for lunch, though yesterday I had a normal Bubba
    Burger... and I'll partake in whatever the family is having for dinner
    (lasagna, chinese, pizza, whatever).

    In my research (though I'm no expert), what really matters is the
    calories -- which are made up of all the elements in the food (fat,
    protein, sugar). So if the protein content is high enough and the
    calories are low enough that I can "afford" them in my 2000 calorie
    diet, I can assume that the other calorie sources aren't going to give
    me much of a problem. So that bowl of Frosted Flakes isn't carefree --
    it's carefully measured and logged on the spreadsheet as 160 calories
    and 5 grams of protein (including the 2% milk -- can't stand skim milk).
    It's just under my 30-to-1 protein requirement, but I make up for it
    with eggs or cottage cheese.

    When I say it's a simple diet, I really mean it. It does take some
    effort to make sure everything is correctly recorded and to make sure
    eating is spread out throughout the day (I eat about 5 times a day, I
    guess). And one of the most important factors is to prove that weight
    loss goals are obtainable without turning into a barley-and-whey kind of
    guy.

    I enjoy food that tastes good and I believe a 2000/70 ratio supports
    eating the whole spectrum of food. If I skip a piece of cheesecake, for
    example, I don't want it to be because I'm not allowed to have it -- but
    because I choose to get my calories elsewhere. On the other hand, if I
    really want that piece of cheesecake, I just, as they say in the
    government budget world, have to find a way to pay for it -- giving up
    calories elsewhere throughout the day.

    Obviously, I'm giving an overview of my nutrition philosophy. If I'm
    way off base, feel free to jump in and warn me about my dangerous ways.

    Thanks for the fatty acid ratio, by the way. I enjoy having good,
    reliable math on which to base my eating decisions. I came up with the
    30/1 calorie-to-protein ratio with a pencil on the back of an envelope
    and it has been effective.

    Thanks,
    John

    Report
  4. Jan
    Archived post
    #4
    cde said:
    John Ingram said:

    So... comments? Am I neglecting anything serious in my diet?

    Try to include

    -2-10 cups dark green or red lettuces, dandelion greens
    -1-2 cups crucifers (broccoli, bok choi, turnip greeens,
    mustard greens, cauliflower, arugula, brussels sprouts, etc.)
    -1-2 cups goosefoots (spinach, chard, beet greens)
    -carrots or sweet potatoes
    -red bell pepper, tomato, watermelon
    -dark blue/purple berries, eggplant
    -red berries
    -citrus
    -apricots, canteloupe
    -onion, scallion, garlic

    Try to eat most of your veggies and all of your fruits raw,
    cooking tends to destroy a good fraction of the protective
    phytochemicals and in most studies, raw vegetables are more
    protective than raw fruits, cooked vegetables, or whole grains.

    Could include some legumes, cooked from dried soaked (and
    preferrably, sprouted)

    fats:
    raw walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts/filberts, sunflower
    seeds, etc, extra virgin olive oil, olives, avocadoes,
    fish fat

    omega6:omega3 fatty acid ratio should be 4:1 or lower.

    fiber:
    current rec is 30 g per day, probably should be 30 g per
    1000 kcal/day.

    fish:
    should not be fried

    green tea:
    instead of diet soft drinks

    Very good list, IMO! I would only like to add that tomatoes should be
    cooked to ensure the best absorption of lycopene.

    Jan

    Report
  5. cde
    Archived post
    #5
    Jan said:

    Very good list, IMO! I would only like to add that tomatoes should be
    cooked to ensure the best absorption of lycopene.

    That's what they say. But, I think it may be more
    complicated than that. Carotenoids are not very stable.
    Cooking may increase uptake of certain carotenoids while
    reducing bioactivity because of conversion from the trans
    to cis isomers. Cis isomers are less biologically active.

    Refs:

    Eitenmiller RR;Landen WO Jr.;. Vitamin Analysis for the
    Health and Food Sciences. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press; 1999.

    Cano MP, Vegetables. Jeremiah LE;. Freezing Effects on Food
    Quality. New York, NY, Marcel Dekker, Inc.; 1996: 247-298

    Report
  6. Jan
    Archived post
    #6
    cde said:
    Jan said:

    Very good list, IMO! I would only like to add that tomatoes should


    be

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    cooked to ensure the best absorption of lycopene.

    That's what they say. But, I think it may be more
    complicated than that. Carotenoids are not very stable.
    Cooking may increase uptake of certain carotenoids while
    reducing bioactivity because of conversion from the trans
    to cis isomers. Cis isomers are less biologically active.

    That was interesting to learn. This is quite academic, but how about
    switching the red bell pepper to the orange bell pepper? Orange bell
    pepper is the best source of zeaxanthin and a good source of
    cryptoxanthin.

    Jan

    Report
  7. cde
    Archived post
    #7
    Jan said:

    This is quite academic, but how about
    switching the red bell pepper to the orange bell pepper? Orange bell
    pepper is the best source of zeaxanthin and a good source of
    cryptoxanthin.

    Yes, that would be better. Do you have any data for
    the purple ones?

    Report
  8. Jan
    Archived post
    #8
    cde said:
    Jan said:

    This is quite academic, but how about
    switching the red bell pepper to the orange bell pepper? Orange


    bell

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    pepper is the best source of zeaxanthin and a good source of
    cryptoxanthin.

    Yes, that would be better. Do you have any data for
    the purple ones?

    No, I couldn't find any. My guess is that it has a good deal of
    anthocyanins.

    Jan

    Report

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