[mrsgeb2]

i have come up with a diet plan for myself. i have been trying to control my portion at all meals this week and it has worked . i drink about a bottle and a half of water with every meal, trying to fill up my stomach. i have always been a " go back for seconds girl " and i'm trying to break that habit. this is the only way i can control it. i also have to fix my plate and put everything away right then so if i do think abour going back for second's i also have to think about taking everything back out again and warming it up. (2lazy4dat )

i usually eat two sandwichs instead of one, i usually eat four tacos instead or two . i am really trying to break this.

my question to all that read this is:
if i eat a single serving at every meal and drink as much water as i can hold will i lose weight ? the reason i feel this will not work is because i have not really stressed eating healthy foods. it's more like that same food just half of what i would usually eat.

i don't mean fast foods because i very rarely eat that , i mean like homemade tacos, tuna sandwich's, ramen noodles, chicken sandwich's, a smart one (spagetti) with two pieces of bread (i would usually eat at the LEAST three!!!) i am going to add 45 minutes on my stationary bike 3x a week starting next week. i drink a lot more water now than i did before , but i have not been keeping track of how much water.

since i started all of this this week i have gained 4LBS !!!! so i'm starting to wonder if this is really working . i only eat 3 meals a day and i eat the last meal every night by 7pm. i have also been eating a small amount of dill pickle chips everynight to help with my daily bm's (i know, 2muchinfo).

[Glory87]

Portion control is GREAT and definitely an important part of weight loss but ultimately it's calories in vs. calories burned. It is hard to judge your potential for success if you are just looking at serving size + water. A single serving of steamed broccoli is very different from a single serving of fried okra - servings are not created equal.

It is definitely a good idea to cut back from 2 sandwiches to 1 and to reduce the amount of bread you eat with your pasta dinner, you might add a filling, low-calorie side dish to fill you up in place of the second sandwich. I used to eat a big plate of pasta with at least 4 pieces of bread. Now, I eat a carefully measured 2 oz serving of pasta, a lot of healthy tomato-based pasta sauce and I put it all on top of a bed of spinach greens - I cut out the bread entirely from that dinner (the pasta is the carb).

You aren't eating very many vegetables or fruit - these are great, satisfying, healthy ways to add some low calorie, filling bulk to your diet. If you are eating typical ramen noodles, they are really high in calories and fat (the noodles are fried). Substituting your own stir fry dish made with whole wheat noodles or glass noodles might be a better option (with lots of vegetables and lean protein, of course).

I know a lot of people on this board claim that drinking a ton of water was the key to their success, that wasn't my experience at all. I never cared much one way or another and never did drink very much water (maybe a glass with lunch and a glass with dinner, a few cups of tea during the day, more if I exercised). Still lost 70+ lbs and kept it off. If water works for you, that's great - but it's debateable (at least to me) if water is a weight loss wonder tool.

You are on the right track - eating less than what you used to, drinking more water, exercising. Pickles are low calorie and should be a good snack (potentially salty though!). If you don't have any progress, use Fitday or some other tool to carefully record your calories for one week to get an idea of what you are eating and make adjustments from there! Calorie counting + healthy, whole foods definitely worked for me.

[Siena1383]

First, to answer your question: It depends.

If you were eating a balanced diet, then you'd probably lose weight by sticking to one portion (with all the water you want).

But it sounds like you are eating a lot of fattening foods at every meal. Cutting back to one portion will help, because you won't keep gaining weight as fast -- but you might still keep gaining weight.

A package of Ramen is HUGE calories and fat. If you want a 600 calorie meal, you can eat a lot more food than just a bowl of noodles for that amount of calories. (Steak, baked potato, salad... or spaghetti with meat and veggies in the sauce...)

And if you're eating a lot of salty foods, then you're probably retaining some of that water you're drinking. You don't have to cut back on the water; you need to cut down on the salt.

You can still have sandwiches, tacos and pasta, but make them lower in fat. You can use mustard instead of mayo, or just use a controlled portion of the mayo (a thin film on the bread instead of slathering it on). Tuna salad should be mostly tuna, not mostly mayo. Add in some hard-boiled egg pieces, celery, pickles since you like them. Cut down on butter, too. Bake things instead of frying them.

ADD veggies and fruits!!! This will fill you up better than water. Have some carrot slaw or broccoli slaw with your sandwiches. Add lettuce and tomatoes to them. Make your tacos at home, and pour in the peppers, tomatoes, onions, cilantro ... get some beans into them, since beans are big on fiber and low in fat. You can still put in chicken or beef, just don't make it the focus of the taco.

Let us know how you do weight-wise this next week.

[rai]

i agree to all that was sad above. Try making healthier eating choices. Take a look at Eating for Life.