Hi -
I've been eating completely organic, whole foods for a little over a year now. I cut out all processed foods, haven't eaten fast food in almost 2 years, and eat whole grains, fish, eggs, nuts, beans, fruits and veggies. My cholesterol has gone from 234 to 175 and I have lost 10 lbs (down from 175) BUT have plateaued and don't seem to be budging at all lately. Is there such a plan as a whole foods diet? It seems like most diets are gimmicky or make you eat tons of processed/quick/unnatural foods. I'd like something like a guide that would say for 1200 or 1400 eat:
B
1/2 cup dairy
4 oz protein
1/2 cup whole grain

Or a menu plan you could modify. I'm looking for a blueprint to follow so that I can maintain healthy portions and stick to a calorie plan in order to lose weight. Any ideas out there?

The Sonoma diet is a diet with a portion control mechanism built in. Instead of counting calories, you use a specific plate size and use portions of the plate for each type of food. Unfortunately a lot of people got very confused with this plan, but the premise is good.. whole foods and controlled portions. I personally use calorie counting with 20-30% fat 50% carbs and 20-25% protein as my guide. Fitday is a great and free way to track your calories and your fats, proteins and carbs. I use Dietpower which is downloaded to your computer so I don't have to be online to track things. If youa re intersted, it is at www.dietpower.com You can use it free for 15 days.

There is a Sonoma diet forum further up the main forum page if you are interested.. there are a few good stickies there that explain the plan

I might also recommend Eat, Drink and Weigh Less by Walter Millet, MD and Mollie Katzen (of Moosewood fame). The book included a 21 day diet plan with scrumptious recipes by Mollie. The diet is based loosely on the mediterranean diet

The mediterranean diet plan on that pay diet site would probably work well for you. I'm a member there now, you can PM me if you would like more details.

I combined calorie counting with a whole foods diet to great success! I do it in my head a lot like you laid out - 1 servings of whole grains is usually 200 calories (whether it's a serving of whole wheat pasta or 2 whole wheat tortillas or a serving of couscous), 1 cup of low fat yogurt is 100 calories, 4 oz of protein is smaller than your hand, etc. I usually only estimate calories and it works out pretty well for me! A good food scale/set of measuring cups can really help when you start out determining portion sizes (after all this time, I still carefully measure stuff like nuts, seeds, dried fruit, pasta, rice etc).

I definitely think you are on the right track! Good luck!

I also combine whole foods (for the most part) WITH calorie counting. Even though the foods I eat are healthy, I still need to watch my portions because they too can add up. Calorie counting forces me to set much needed limits.

So I don't follow any particular plan. It's all my own. According to what I like. Every meal/snack contains some protein and some fiber.

Breakfast is high fiber cereal and skim milk.
Lunch is either grilled chicken breast or tuna with a large salad. Or an egg white omlette and a vegetable stirfry. Or a veggie burger type product (my most processed food of them all) and 3 cups of cauliflower (my personal favorite)
Dinner is either fish and veggies or chicken and veggies.
Snacks are fruit or yogurt or more veggies.

As far as the calorie counting goes, have you tried an on line calorie counter, such as Fitday.com? It's very useful.

Another thing I see you have not mentioned - exercise. How do you stand on that front? Adding in exercise is a sure way to break a plateau.

I could not do it without fitday! I love it.

I eat what Robin and Glory do. Hopefully, I'll have the same success they have.

I can even get to fitday at work. Have a look

I'll second and third what others have said. I used calorie counting and a whole foods diet. For me, a scale and measuring cups are still essential. I just can't guestimate serving sizes very well. It's like food dyslexia. Knowing some basic calorie counts like Glory said means you could set up your own version of a plan. Before pg mine was usually something like this. I am lucky in that I could lose on 1800 kcal. Fit day is a huge help until you internalize some calorie counts.

B-2protein, 1 grain, 1 veg
S-1 fruit, 1 dairy
L-2 veg, 1 protein, 1 grain
S-1fruit,1dairy
D-2 protein, 2 veg, 2 grain
S-1 chocolate (hey, it's a food group)

[QUOTE=emilyk;1768652]I might also recommend Eat, Drink and Weigh Less by Walter Millet, MD and Mollie Katzen (of Moosewood fame). The book included a 21 day diet plan with scrumptious recipes by Mollie. The diet is based loosely on the mediterranean diet

Walter Willett, with a W, will be easier to find the book. And I second the recommendation.

I originally lost weight (70#) with weight watchers, and then moved to whole foods and calorie counting. I've put some weight back on and have rejoined WW, for the accountability and support, and am counting both points and calories, and still eating mostly whole foods.

And I'd join whoever asked, what are you doing for exercise? That will help, and even if you don't lose, you'll tone up and look smaller.

Lauritasol - did you find the "blueprint" you were looking for? I'm in the same boat...I'd like something with very clear guidelines for each meal and snack.

I've read the first Superfoods Rx book and I'm working hard to incorporate 7-10 superfoods per day. It's interesting to me that after 7 days of trying this healthier lifestyle, my skin looks better, I have plenty of energy and I'm not craving sweets!

I think this is a positive life change for me. My dad died at 56 of heart disease...my goal is to achieve better health, for my self and my kids (10 yr.old triplets!). Next step is to buy a small scale to weigh & measure portions. I've started using fitday to track calories too!

Any advice from the ladies who post often on "whole foods" is appreciated!

You guys, that guy's name is Walter Willet, not Millet . I have been searching the library's web site for him and finally googled. The book sounds interesting.

I agree with a few of the others - regardless of what you eat, keeping track of calories is important. Remember, healthy food has calories, too. Many people assume they can eat only healthy food and lose weight with no effort. But even with healthy/whole foods, you can still take in more calories than your body needs. Regardless of where your calories are coming from, if you consume more than your body needs to burn for energy, you're not going to lose any weight. And, yes, it's possible to start gaining again.

Many of us here use fitday to log everything we eat. It allows us to eat what we need without taking in more calories than our bodies burn

Millet, Willet...whatever.
No, seriously, sorry for the confusion! I'm glad you found it. I think his approach is nutritionally sound and easy to follow.