Facts?

  • Ok, I have heard somewhere that if I limit the foods I eat to those with less that 4g of fat in 100g I will be off to a good start. Is that right? Surely you need to focus on more things than just the amount of fat.

    I have also heard that you should be drinking 2 litres of water a day. I have just started to do this and it would really help to know if I should be.

    I have a lovely tea last nite, I had some rice with vegetables in it with some turkey in pitta breads. It was gorgeous. How bad for me was that?

    If i know what to look out for within the foods I purchase I am sure I will succeed. The only really time consuming piece is finding time to do the hour of exercise I do a day, as I work full time.

    Oh well, chin up!
  • A lot of us here like fitday.com. I think the 4 gms per 100 sounds a bit complicated, but then I tend to be a bit simple

    In fitday you'll be able to watch out that your fat calories are too big a percentage of your total calories.

    You've got the big picture ... eating less and moving more ... That's where to start. You sound like you're doing just fine.
  • What I've seen often is that 1,5L a day is what a person should normally drink, outside of intense physical activity, that is. This includes tea, coffee, etc, not only water, but of course, better avoid sugary drinks and the likes, since they're extra calories. I can't exactly remember why one should drink that amount; I know part of it is to eliminate toxins, as well as to avoid the feeling of thirst, that certain people mistake for hunger (thus eating too much as a result). At the fitness center where I go to, they also told me to add an extra half-liter per half-hour of cardio-training.

    Hope this helps
  • 4g of fat per 100g of food sure does sound complicated and difficult to track. Like someone else suggested, recording your foods using a program like fitday will tell you how many fat grams you are consuming daily. According to the American Heart Association, you should keep your fats to 30% or less of your total intake for the day, but that can be adjusted depending on the individual. When making this lifestyle change, fat grams isn't a necessary consideration--it all comes down to calories whether those calories come from fat, carbs, or protein. However, for health's sake, it is wise to eliminate "trans fats" as much as possible (if not listed on the label, check the ingredients--anything "hydrogenized" creates trans fats) and to limit saturated fats.

    As for water, the rule of thumb has been for years: 8 8-oz servinga daily, which is 64oz total. The more you weigh, the more you should drink, for the larger your body, the more there is to hydrate! And also more if you are exercising intensely. It's hard to drink too much water (possible, but difficult unless you chug about a gallon at a time!), but it's VERY easy to drink too little. Water helps to keep thing flowing in your plumbing, if you know what I mean, as well as keeps your skin and hair healthy. It's not a magical weight loss tool--you can lose weight while underhydrated, but when you initially increase your water intake, you should see some water weight disappear quite rapidly for a week or 2 if you haven't been consuming enough in the past.
  • loopy:

    if you want to watch your fat just try not to add more than 1 Tbls of margarines and oil to your foods for the day. It is important to drink water, a minimum of 2 liters per day, your urine should be very pale to clear in color if you are drinking enough and you are already dehydrated by the time you feel thirsty so that is a good guidline.

    If you are not big on drinking plain water, you can make up some of your favorite herbal tea without sugar (orange and peach Tetley is my fav right now) and keep a liter or two in the fridge it is a very nice change from the plain water.

    Something else that works well is to limit your intake of anything white. If you can cut out refined sugar, flour and grains and you will be well on your way to losing.