Hi all,
I've been so torn and frustrated lately, jumping from plan to plan, not knowing who to believe.

I lost 35 pounds a while back doing a low carb diet and felt pretty good. Then I switched to being a vegetarian (lacto-ovo) and started reading a lot of books on veganism and wanted to try it out. That was 4 years ago and it has been an experiment in disaster, for which I blame myself. I gained not only the 35 pounds I lost but another 30 (had to do not so much with the actual vegan diet but with life stress and lots of moves and indecision).

Anyway, I've been trying to lose the weight for 2 years now and I keep pinging back and forth. I've tried vegan diets, including very low fat vegan diets (with less than 10% of calories from fat) and have not really enjoyed them much. I then switch to trying to do more of what I did when I lost weight, but not eating meat and eating lots of veggies. I like the plan and do lose weight with it but I keep feeling guilty for eating dairy and eggs and hearing the voices of the vegan doctors in my head.

I've recently done some research on CRON (Calorie Restriction with Optimal Nutrition) and it just makes sense to me. I am now trying to eat a calorie-dense diet with lost of veggies and good proteins, but I am eating dairy and eggs as well.

I guess I'm just having a lot of trouble focusing on calories and not nutrients. It's absurd, really. I plug my food into Fitday and it all looks just fine - I'm actually eating very balanced (40% fat, 30% carbs, 30% protein) and getting all the RDA nutrients. I'm feeling satisfied, as I eat a lot of salads, which I love, dairy, which I love, and eggs, which I like. I actually don't feel cravings for sweets at all, even though I've significantly reduced the amount of sugar and carbs that I eat.

I'm trying to make a commitment to eat this way for the next 3 weeks and monitor how I'm doing, including blood tests at the end of it to see if what the vegan doctors predicted is right - that eating dairy and eggs will have ill effects on my health. I've been blessed with good health so far, better than anyone in my family, and even my doctor was impressed with my numbers since I'm so overweight. But the last time I had blood work done, I was eating a near-vegan diet. So I'm scared to see what adding dairy and eggs back will do.

Do others have this problem - getting caught up in macronutrient ratios rather than just relaxing, focusing on calories and eating whole good foods?

Tam

My response , if it works don't fix it. The diet that you are on now sounds just fine and it is working,. Where is the problem in that ? I think you just have a problem with being over critical. If you want and try hard enough you can find something wrong with any diet.

No. As long as I'm following an overall healthy diet I figure the macronutrients will sort themselves out. Vegans will tell you that eggs/milk will make you feel worse, meat eaters will tell you that giving up meat will rob you of energy, and low-carbers will tell you that carbs will give you bloat and skin rashes. Ultimately, only YOU can decide how these foods make you feel. In my case, there is no food that upsets my stomach, noticeably affects my energy levels, or gives me any other symptoms. So I just focus on eating healthy foods I enjoy and figure the rest will take care of itself.

F.

Good advice here.

Personally, I believe any plan will work if you stick with it long enough.

The key is sticking with it... well... LONG enough.

That means you have to choose a plan that you will stick to forever. Truly. There are no shortcuts. That means you have choose the plan that makes the most sense to you. The one you can do today, in five years and in twenty years.

It's not easy, but I believe it'll be worth it.

Best wishes (to all of us).

I can really relate. I research things to death sometimes. When all of the experts seem credible, it can be somewhat paralyzing. Despite past success with calorie counting, this past year I bounced around Atkins, Southbeach, Weight Watchers, Paleo/Primal/Leptin Reset, and I even did HCG. It was ridiculous! But each time, it seemed as if the experts had nailed down the "optimal diet."

I had a period of rebellion where I ate whatever I wanted, didn't count anything or restrict anything (and I found out my body doesn't do well with sugar). After I got that out of my system, I did the sensible (IMO) thing and went back to counting calories. I'm also staying away from the "experts" and I'm doing what seems reasonable to me. I feel so much better and more in control. I hope you can figure out what works for you!

I used to switch from plan to plan. Everyone out there has a different opinion on what kind of food you should be eating. I lost 55+ pounds just counting calories. I have felt that it was the least restricting diet I have ever been on and so its worked. Just be consistent with the plan and it WILL come off.

It sounds like you are doing a great job! Whole foods, especially healthy salads, can be great for getting a lot of food to feel full without a lot of calories. I think it's about balance. It can be nerve-racking to try to get the optimal nutrients every day, but if you are eating a variety of whole foods, I think it will balance itself out.