Right now I'm doing the "Eat to Live" Diet. It's a low carb vegen/vegitarian diet. (BTW I am not a vegetarian)
I read on another post here about how someone combined diet plans to make it work for her. I did the Atkin's LC diet years ago, I lost 20lbs but didn't get anywhere after that. I couldn't seem to get past the Induction phase and move on to OWL. Eating on Induction for so long got very old after a time so I quit and gained it all back and then some.
I'm wondering if I can combine these 2 diets to somehow make it work for me. I love the veggies/fruits/beans. And I love to eat meat.
Eating vegetarian causes me to cheat with meat.
Eating meat, the low carb way, causes me to cheat with carbs.
I do have to watch my carbs as I am on the line of being diabetic. I'm so desparate to lose this weight that I'm doing it by going on these drastic diets.
I'm not saying that Atkins and ETL are bad diets but in my own opinion they are drastic because of all the foods that are off limits. I like both of these diets but I don't want to do them in such a drastic way that I lose interest because I can't eat meat or I can't eat the veggies/fruits.
Is there anyone that can give me advise on how I can make these 2 diets work together without going overboard with only eating meats or veggies?
Last edited by valentine21463; 12-18-2012 at 03:44 PM.
In my opinion - everyone should count and log calories for a while. Why? So you can get an idea of aproximately how many calories are in what foods and most importantly which foods have crazy amounts of calories.
For example - the costco hotdog is rediculous - and I had no idea a single hot dog could have so many calories. By the time I'm done with condiments ... it's over 600!
Anyways - when you're counting calories - you can start to create your own diet from foods you enjoy. The diet you're on is a whole foods diet - so just keep eating primarily whole foods but log your calories. From there you can create your own diet plan.
Make no mistake - calories dictate fat loss or gain. You lose weight - your insulin resistance will decrease - regardless of how many carbs you ingest.
There's a lot of trial and error in finding a way of eating that is right for you (meaning sustainable, and fairly easy to follow while working towards your goal). Sounds like maybe you know how you would like to eat, so just eat that stuff! You don't have to follow any specific plan of course, combine ideas of diets as you like and make little adjustments as you go.
JohnP & LockItUp ~ Thank you for your comments. I agree with both of you. I already know how I want to eat. I just need to find a balance. I don't like counting calories but I think I may need to just to start off.
Do you know where I can find a good calorie figure outer?
I personally LOVE Myfitnesspal.com! I find their database to be rather extensive. Out of the 3 or 4 I've tried, it's my fave!
Thank you, I'll look at that.
Question for you. When you calculate your calorie intake it will ask you for your current weight. When the calories are calculated is that calculation for you to maintain your current weight or is it the amount for you to lose weight?
Question for you. When you calculate your calorie intake it will ask you for your current weight. When the calories are calculated is that calculation for you to maintain your current weight or is it the amount for you to lose weight?
Nevermind! I figured it out! Fitness Pal figures it all out for you!
It shows that my calories should be 1340 for me to lose 1lb a week. Does this sound right? The 1340 cals sound pretty high to me.
Last edited by valentine21463; 12-18-2012 at 04:39 PM.
1340 sounds about right to me! Definitely not too high. I agree with all of the above comments as well- whole foods as much as possible and calorie counting. good luck!
Actually I'd say that's on the low side for starting out. If you're strict with calorie logging, I think you'll be more comfortable on 15-1600 per day, and then can lower it after a few weeks if you see a need. But often, we'e eating far in excess of even generous calorie totals, without even realizing it. I wouldn't go down that low, especially if you're exercising, unless you find you have to. And like me, you may discover that you can lose better on more food, but it depends on the food. I lose faster and more comfortably on 1800 calories of whole plant and animal foods than I do on the exact same calories of grain/legume/dairy mixed in with that. So experiment with what works best for you, but dropping calories too low to begin with is a recipe for adherence issues, not long term success.
Make changes you can live with, long term, or your chances of recidivism with old food habits are very likely to pop back up. If you're prone to yo-yo dieting, overly restricting calories is a bad idea. Smaller changes you can comfortably stick with are your best bet for losing and keeping it off, even if it is a bit slower!
Actually I'd say that's on the low side for starting out. If you're strict with calorie logging, I think you'll be more comfortable on 15-1600 per day, and then can lower it after a few weeks if you see a need. But often, we'e eating far in excess of even generous calorie totals, without even realizing it. I wouldn't go down that low, especially if you're exercising, unless you find you have to. And like me, you may discover that you can lose better on more food, but it depends on the food. I lose faster and more comfortably on 1800 calories of whole plant and animal foods than I do on the exact same calories of grain/legume/dairy mixed in with that. So experiment with what works best for you, but dropping calories too low to begin with is a recipe for adherence issues, not long term success.
Make changes you can live with, long term, or your chances of recidivism with old food habits are very likely to pop back up. If you're prone to yo-yo dieting, overly restricting calories is a bad idea. Smaller changes you can comfortably stick with are your best bet for losing and keeping it off, even if it is a bit slower!
Thanks! So maybe I'll start at between 15-1600 cals and just go from there.
Last edited by valentine21463; 12-18-2012 at 05:16 PM.
You might give some thought to South Beach, as well. It has always seemed like a very moderate diet to me, moderate carbs, moderate protein, moderate calories. It seems like South Beach has kind of gone out of fashion, but it's a very healthy plan that avoids some of the extremes, and is very easy to do longterm. When I lost weight, I did a combination of calorie counting and South Beach and found it worked very well for me. The guidelines are good even if you don't follow it to the letter.
Rethinking my diet
good luck!
