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Old 04-28-2010, 09:29 AM   #1  
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Default Anyone here diet without "dieting"?

I'm talking about just eating clean, very little processed foods, mostly eating whatever/as much as you want, but good clean foods -not canned or packaged in other words- and just exercise lightly (such as walking 30 minutes a day) .... and if so, how are your results? Do you feel like you're dieting? Do you feel good physically?

I've been reading a book (Oh no!!! LOL....) called The Schwarzbein Principle, by Diana Schwarzbein (MD), about "controlled carbs"....

To give you an idea... this is an excerpt from the website

The Schwarzbein Principle:

Degenerative diseases of aging are not genetic but acquired. Because the systems of the human body are interconnected and because one imbalance creates another imbalance, poor eating and lifestyle habits, not genetics, are the cause of degenerative disease.


Dr. Schwarzbein claims that even very overweight people can be malnourished, but because most people identify malnourishment with extremely thin, they don't see or comprehend the malnourishment.

Anyway - just wonder if anyone else has read the book and/or applied the principles and how you feel as compared to when you were dieting like crazy & not losing any weight!
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Old 04-28-2010, 10:10 AM   #2  
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While I do emphasize whole foods and limit processed foods*, I have to add portion control as a valuable component for healthy eating. Even after all this time, I will happily eat way more than a reasonable portion if it's on my plate. Since I know that about myself, I try to serve myself reasonable, healthy portion sizes.

Some foods are especially problematic, I know that I will be measuring the following foods for the rest of my life: brown rice, pasta, nuts, salad dressing.

For my life, it is not a hardship, it is just something to be done, like flossing and paying bills.

* I eat a lot of canned foods - especially canned tomatoes and beans.

Last edited by Glory87; 04-28-2010 at 10:11 AM.
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Old 04-28-2010, 10:38 AM   #3  
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I agree totally with the eating, but disagree with the small amount of exercise. When I joined the Y last November the trainer told me you really have to do both, eat right and get lots of exercise. In this modern world most of us just push buttons to do things, not like back in the "olden" days when you had to work to get your food and everything else. The human body is not meant to move so little.
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Old 04-28-2010, 10:41 AM   #4  
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I'm doing Tosca Reno's "Eat Clean Diet." I wish she had named it something else, because I really don't consider it a diet. It's a lifestyle change as far as I'm concerned, one that's definitely for the better!
The plan is pretty much exactly what you described, Beach Patrol. In a nutshell, it's eating whole foods that are nutrient dense and naturally low calorie/low fat (or, have good fats). You eat six times a day or about every 2 1/2 - 3 hours.

I love it! I really can't say enough about it. I feel satisfied, I'm not craving junk food, and I have way more energy. My body feels like it's starting to wake up. I can't wait until I'm a few months in and have lost more weight- if I feel this good being close to 300 pounds, I'm thinking I'll feel fantastic around 150!

The book you're reading sounds interesting. I don't buy that all degenerative diseases are due entirely to lifestyle/diet, but I think she's on the right track. Decades of eating chemicalized, nutrient poor foods in sometimes massive quantities takes a toll. I think we're only starting to learn the implications of what people have been convinced is food.

ETA: I think learning portion control is important, but you don't have to use a measuring cup or scale. There are ways to eyeball a food and compare it to something that's familiar to you so you don't have to break out a measuring cup everytime you eat. But, if you're more comfortable doing that, do it!
For health/endurance, I really believe that more than 30 minutes of walking is needed. Weight-bearing exercise is important.

Last edited by Viviane; 04-28-2010 at 10:47 AM. Reason: .
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Old 04-28-2010, 10:44 AM   #5  
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I focus on portion control with clean eating too. I could definitely eat too many berries.

And exercise...well that's hard for me to comment on because I just love it so much. I feel like I have control over how much exercise I do and how much gain I make in my fitness level whereas I do not have any control over my weight loss.
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Old 04-28-2010, 11:36 AM   #6  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Beach Patrol View Post
I'm talking about just eating clean, very little processed foods, mostly eating whatever/as much as you want, but good clean foods -not canned or packaged in other words- and just exercise lightly (such as walking 30 minutes a day) .... and if so, how are your results? Do you feel like you're dieting? Do you feel good physically?
I have been kinda-sorta doing this over the past couple of years with lots of tweaks. The changes have been gradual enough that I am happy with what I am eating and do not feel deprived - lots of fresh veggies and fruits, some lean meats, some whole grains, good fats like almonds and avocados, some treats here and there, very little processed foods, though some canned foods such as tomatoes and beans. One of my recent tweaks was to really cut back on the treats and I have lost several pounds in the past few weeks.

I also stepped up my exercise a couple of months ago for other health reasons and am really feeling an increase in my energy. I am doing mainly cardio consisting of fast walking with intervals, bike riding, and hiking. I plan to add yoga now that I have more energy and can fit in more exercise (don't feel the need to sleep so much!)

I am very happy with what I am doing and believe I can stick with it as a lifestyle.
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Old 04-28-2010, 12:21 PM   #7  
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I eat extremely "clean" but in order to lose weight I must count calories / limit portions and get a lot of exercise. When I don't limit portions and I don't exercise, I just maintain--which is a fine thing to do, but it's not my goal at present. When I started out 2 years ago, I did not count calories or limit portions and I did lose a significant quantity of weight pretty quickly, but that was mostly due to removing sugar and white refined junk from my diet.
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Old 04-28-2010, 12:28 PM   #8  
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I eat extremely "clean" but in order to lose weight I must count calories / limit portions and get a lot of exercise. When I don't limit portions and I don't exercise, I just maintain--which is a fine thing to do, but it's not my goal at present. When I started out 2 years ago, I did not count calories or limit portions and I did lose a significant quantity of weight pretty quickly, but that was mostly due to removing sugar and white refined junk from my diet.
Yeah, dumping that sugar & white refined junk seems to be an important key. And yet, I did that once - absolutely NO junk or snacks that I couldn't "pick from a tree", I mean no candies, no granola bars, no colas, nada! - and I didn't lose a single ounce of weight - PLUS, I was exercising 1.5 hours a day 4 days a week! And friends would say "oh, I just cut out sodas & hardly exercise at all & I lost 25 lbs! (humph!) My body is confusing me!
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Old 04-28-2010, 12:39 PM   #9  
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Oh I need the combination of the *clean* eating PLUS calorie counting. The counting provides built in accountability and much needed PORTION CONTROL.

I have gained weight from overeating butternut squash, pineapple, berries, etc.

For consistent, steady weight loss and now maintenance, there can be *no *eating whatever I want/as much as I want*. There is no way around that. It just can't be an open ended food fest. There HAS to be limits - yes, even on the healthy stuff. They've got calories too!! and if you eat too much of them, well, you can't lose/maintain.

But I don't find it a burden. I love the foods that I'm eating and the portions are more than adequate to keep me well nourished and satiated.
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Old 04-28-2010, 12:49 PM   #10  
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I just wanted to add, I don't consider what I do as *dieting* as the title asked.

This is no diet that *I'm on*. I eat responsibly and carefully - adhering to a healthy diet. And that's noteworthy, because I had to stop looking at it as a *diet* to be on. As corny as it sounds, it really was about accepting the fact that I would have to permanently alter my eating behaviors. And when I accepted that fact, that's when I started to look for and find the joy in this and not as *poor me*, I can't eat this and I can't eat that. But wow, look what I DO get to eat. Foods that taste great and are great for me.

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Old 04-28-2010, 12:56 PM   #11  
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I agree; I don't think anyone can "eat as much as they want" no matter how healthy a food is for you - there MUST be limits. But there's SO MUCH information out there, and so much of it contradicts other stuff, sometimes it's just a PITA to try to sort it all out.

The SP maintains "Do not count calories. Instead, balance the amount of proteins, healthy fats, real carbohydrates and non-starchy vegetables in your meals to meet your current metabolism and activity levels. Calories in versus calories out is a myth."

Myth - oh Really? Then again, I've always thought that a calorie is a calorie - not true. 40/30/30 seems to be "the proper ratio"... but then again, I guess it makes a difference on how ACTIVE one is...
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Old 04-28-2010, 01:07 PM   #12  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Beach Patrol View Post
I agree; I don't think anyone can "eat as much as they want" no matter how healthy a food is for you - there MUST be limits. But there's SO MUCH information out there, and so much of it contradicts other stuff, sometimes it's just a PITA to try to sort it all out.
It may be a PITA to figure it all out, but it's a bigger PITA to remain overweight.

And I think you need to stop looking at all the information out there and find something that works for YOU. Something that works for you and something that you are WILLING to MAKE work.

I have found that by eating those healthy foods AND counting my calories, well that's the only *balancing* that I need. By doing those two things, everything else has fallen into place. Though I should add that I DO have a difficult time with grains - even healthy ones and that I DO have a difficult time with the starchier veggies, such as potatoes and corn. But I had to experiment and find that out on my own. Not sure if any of the *information* would have told me that. Trial and error. Can't be beat. It is worth the experimentation and any and all effort put towards it.
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Old 04-28-2010, 01:18 PM   #13  
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Quote:
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The SP maintains "Do not count calories. Instead, balance the amount of proteins, healthy fats, real carbohydrates and non-starchy vegetables in your meals to meet your current metabolism and activity levels. Calories in versus calories out is a myth."
Statements like "calories in versus calories out is a myth" are made for the simple purpose of selling magic-formula diets. The laws of thermodynamics apply to human bodies just as they apply elsewhere in the physical universe. And while it's true that some styles of eating (elminating high-GI carbs, for example) do help people feel less hungry and more satisfied and thus naturally eat less, these styles of eating don't somehow defy the laws of nature and lead to weight loss even in a calorie surplus.
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Old 04-28-2010, 01:51 PM   #14  
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I don't feel like I'm on a diet. Shoot, later tonight, after my homemade chicken tacos and southwest salad, I'm going to have a whole chocolate bar AND a mocha smoothie. This morning I had an epic bowl of oatmeal.

I do calorie count. But, I also like to eat, quantity is just as important as quality. So to eat a lot of food, it didn't take me long to figure out that eating mostly unprocessed whole foods, mostly lean proteins, fiber and water heavy foods, and veggies was the way to go. Just by doing the math problem: highest volume to lowest calorie content makes me eat a balanced diet. Also, with the desire to eat more food, I'm very much encouraged to exercise more to increase my deficit. That being said, with calorie counting, I can very easily plan in junk treats that are simply for my own sanity and happiness. Such as my chocolate bar tonight.

Yes, I will most likely have to count calories for the rest of my life, so I will always be on a "diet." Perhaps I'll eventually get so well-versed in it, that I may not even have to plan and record, but I'm okay with doing it forever. I don't have a problem with that though. Either way, I'll have to stay under X amount of calories to maintain my weight. I don't care which diet I'm on or not on, that fact holds true. So I can either remain on my "diet" forever and eat X amount of calories, or I can stop "dieting" and gain the weight back. Two choices...I like the first one.

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Old 04-28-2010, 01:58 PM   #15  
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Oh, the "calories in vs. calories out MYTH" pushes my buttons! It's so not a myth and has played a part in how I got so fat!! I wish someone had told me it's NOT a myth a long time ago!

I grew up with the low-fat dieting craze...and I got fatter.

I tried other fabulous methods of eating certain foods in magic combinations...and I got fatter.

Calorie counting, however, works! Like Robin, I've had to tweak it. I've had to learn about insulin resistance and adjust accordingly. Now I'm learning about cholesterol and am adjusting to meet those needs. But it's still about how many calories I am eating.

The only thing about calories in vs. calories out that I do NOT believe is that it doesn't matter what those calories are. Some say that though it's not exactly nutritious, you CAN lose weight on 1200 calories of pudding. I just don't think that's possible.

Last edited by Eliana; 04-28-2010 at 02:00 PM.
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