Anyone not really following a plan?
 

I'm not sure what "plan"/category I woudl fit into here on 3FC. I don;t like any kind of restrictions (you know, the minute that you tell me that I can not have some lowfat icecream, that's teh 1st thingthat I will crave).

I'm trying to lose 30-45 lbs by esting a whole foods, minimally processed diet. I eat lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains, good oils in EVOO and nuts, lean protein like chicken and beans, eggs, low fat dairy. I avoid HFCS, PHO's and all artificial sweeteners. I guess I'd liek to think of my diet as "natural and homemade". What plan woudl I fall into? Or is anyone else trying to lose by doing similar? TIA???

I'm not on a plan ... I just count calories and try to eat as much natural and whole food as I can.

One thing about just limiting yourself to eating naturally is that it is quite easy to eat an excessive number of calories eating naturally. It's not just the type of food you eat - it's the volume of food. I know that there have been days where I've taken a day off of counting ... and even though I ate no junk, I managed to consume 3000+ calories of healthy food.

Just something to keep in mind.

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Yes, I have noticed this too. In the past, I've tracked/counted calories at spark peope, but it took me F.o.r.e.v.e.r to key in all of my food from each meal, since I cook from scratch (It woudl be so easy to track if my meals were Lean Cuisine boxes or McD's drive through :devil:).. so I don't track too often.

Does anyone have advice on tracking too? Are there better and "faster" sites out there? TIA!

I personally use DailyPlate.com ...

One thing I like about it, is that I can create meals and recipes and save them. Like you, I cook from scratch a lot and the meal function is a lifesaver. Even with say my morning smoothie - I've created a basic smoothie "meal" which is the yogurt, protein powder, flax seed ... so I can add just the smoothie, and then the fruit.

It also saves the foods you eat most often to a column on the right, so anything that you eat regularly can be pulled from that short list, rather than having to search the whole database.

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Check out the Whole Foods forum :D

Whilst calorie counting can be time consuming at first when you cook meals from scratch, you quickly build up a list of things you eat on a fairly regular basis, so it soon becomes routine.

Kitty

I'm on a self created "plan" which I call "Jen Watcher". It's a combo of weight watcher ideas, Richard Simmons, Calorie counting (which I love to do) and food tracking/journaling. I do plan to check out some of the sites offered above though =)

Jennifer

That sound perfect :carrot:. off to look for it

Thanks for all of teh advice. I'll take more if anyone else has ideas for me. TIA :smug:

I can't find it. Can someone link me? Thanks!!

Sorry, it's way at the bottom of the main page :o

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=209

What struck me is when you said you "eat lots of...."
Losing weight is bascially about portion control and stopping eating when you are full. Take in fewer calories than your body burns. Like photochick said, you can overeat even on healthy foods.
It's great that you're adopting better eating habits.
Keep it up :)

I am not really on a plan either I started off my journey doing fat smash but only really did phase one. Now I just basically cut out fried foods, junk foods, I basically watch what I eat and eat healthier. I also work out and its working!

Thanks, I was looking through the "diet" section.. I think I opened every header there looking for a WF sub forum, LOL. I'll be visiting that WF section a lot :D

I am a calorie counter an effective, reliable and unrestrictive way of losing and controlling weight.

im not really following a plan either, i do a pilates routine for an hour every night, run for about 30 minutes a day, get plenty of walking in, and eat some carbs/protein/dairy everyday but mostly fruits and vegetables...its working and i am not stressed out couting calories or carbs or whathaveyou...ive failed before doing that, this makes me feel normal because there is nothing im not allowed to have