How does everyone know how to just NOT eat

amother

Blush

Fri, Jun 23 2017, 1:40 pm

You asked for menu ideas, here are some of mine. This is not strict, just an example of things I would eat for each meal. If I'm feeling hungrier, I'll add more. If I'm less hungry, I'll eat less.

breakfast: 2 eggs, sunny side up & an apple, OR 4 slices of smoked turkey (cold cuts) & 2 plums, OR 1 spelt or ww matzah with avocado & cut up veggies, OR half an avocado mashed, with cucumbers/peppers/whatever to dip into it.

Lunch & snacks: I'm generally at my desk during the day, and I've given up trying to find food I can bring to work, so I don't eat a serious meal during the day. I eat a few packets of melba toast with hummus/tahini, some fruit, veggies. When I don't have patience to prep, I just buy a bag of snap peas which don't need any cutting or anything. And right now I've been eating a bunch of summer fruit (peaches, nectarines, etc.)

When I'm not at work, I do eat more of a meal for lunch, for example:
Scrambled eggs with veg and/or potato. So I might sautee a zucchini and half an onion and then mix that into the eggs. Or I sometimes cook up a potato or two at the beginning of the week, mash, and keep on hand for when I'm hungrier, I make eggs and potatoes. Matzah/toast with avocado & sliced turkey, with fruit. Salad with bits of chicken and nuts. Bowl of soup with matzah/toast/crackers.

Dinner: This kinda goes through stages of what I'm into. Sometimes I'll eat spiced ground beef over hummus with an Israeli salad on the side. I also like kebabs a lot, and I have a few varieties of those I go through. It's your chicken and veg right there together. I like salad and I like vegetables, so those are not hard for me to include in my meals. I'm happy to make them the centerpiece, actually, because I don't love the proteins all that much. Meatballs (not sweet) with brown rice. Shnitzel (baked or fried - yes, I'll eat fried food sometimes) with baked sweet potato slices and salad.

I'm often in the mood for a snack later in the evening. I'll either have fruit. Or I'll make a shake from coconut dream, cocoa powder, maple syrup, almond butter, salt, and ice. Blend. [note: this will not taste good until you are off sugar!] I also make an "ice cream" with coconut milk, strawberries and raspberries with a tiny bit of sweetener or sugar.

amother

Orange

Fri, Jun 23 2017, 1:44 pm

I liked your post oliveoil!
(Are you Popeye's wife?)
There was only one thing I have to take exception to and that's eliminating dairy.
You mentioned that people have different metabolisms and react differently to different foods, so I'm not telling you to add milk to your diet.
But I'd like the OP (who sounds like she wants to lose weight) to know that there's evidence that adding dairy products to the diet can help speed up weight loss and make you feel less hungry while you're trying to eat less. Also, it's hard to get enough calcium from other foods, and calcium supplements are not the best way to get enough of that nutrient into the body either. Full fat dairy is becoming popular again, but for myself I find I get enough healthy fats from the foods I mentioned in my other post (nuts, avocado, olive oil), and I eat non-fat dairy products. Non-fat yogurt is a real super food and has a lot of benefits! The saturated fats in butter and cream may be healthier than trans-fats, but for those of us who need to limit our calories, they're not the best choice.

oliveoil

Fri, Jun 23 2017, 2:19 pm

amother wrote:

Thanks, yes, good points. Dairy is a killer for me, but that doesn't mean it's bad for everybody.

amother

Chocolate

Sat, Jun 24 2017, 11:01 pm

(Just realized my amother color is chocolate, that's funny in this context)

I followed the Shrink/Grow series, even though initially I was put off by the low-carb diet she was espousing. But it made sense

The thing that made the most sense to me was the whole idea that you have to count calories even when you're low carb, because you can overeat even on protein.

I also hired a personal trainer for once a week based on what she said, and signed up for an exercise class that requires a commitment (meaning, the lady needed all 6 ladies to show up or she wouldn't make any money on the deal) so I had to go, even when I didn't really want to.

What can I say? Dr. Koslowitz is a genius. I lost weight, figured out a new diet plan that I used to think would be very intimidating, and I'm continuing to lose. I only bought Binah for her series, and was so mad when it ended.

From my own experience, low carb and lots of exercise is the way to go, I'm much happier now and I'm not far from my goal weight. I already fit into a size that I like. I also feel very healthy.

watergirl

Sun, Jun 25 2017, 8:04 am

cookiewriter wrote:

I'm overweight, have tried every diet ever. Every nutritionist, meds, counseling etc. I travel in kind of fancy circles in Flatbush. And I see the women around me in my age group (30's) but really even the 20 yr olds and 40 yr olds are all BONE THIN. I have started paying attention and realized with kind of shock that they do not eat. I was at a weekend shabbos sheva brachos and none of the ladies even WASHED. For either meal. They didn't even touch salmon chicken etc. just a veg here and there. Don't u people get hungry? How do you all know how to be like this? And most importantly how can I learn to eat less??

I'm shocked that 4 pages in, no one mentioned what I've put in bold. You all think this is totally normal? Many women, invited to a weekend simcha, NO ONE washed or touched the food? If its true and OP isnt exaggerating at all, other than this being incredibly rude (the food had been paid for, not cheap to cater 2 meals!), this is a sad state of social paranoia indeed.
Its social pressure - no one wants to be the first one to wash. Especially if people are doing this in the name of health. We all know women who say that they are starving and simply wont allow themselves to be seen eating in public. Thats why many women go out for lunch and then maybe have a few bites of salad. Its NOT normal to go out, to a restaurant, to a simcha, and then not eat. And if these women truly did not touch the food, then it says a lot less about their "healthy" habits of nutritian and a lot more about themselves as a person. Anyone who is knowledgeable about nutrition knows how to go to a weekend event, kiddish, lunch date, and still manage to find food that is sensible and not starve. I'm not saying to take a heaping spoonfull of cholent, potato kugel, pasta salad... but there is almost always something.

OP, salmon, chicken, the vegetables - those are all healthh options, assuming that they werent floating in grease. If these women werent eating, please dont look to them as people to emulate. I'm sorry that after 4 pages in this thread, no one told you that.

ETA: before I get jumped on. Yes I'm sure that some people have restrictive diets and literally can not eat or will not eat catered food. I'm sure they bring their own and eat before/after. But thats not the case wherr op describes. Thats a whole other sad fad.

petiteruchy

Sun, Jun 25 2017, 10:16 am

I'm going to reply, even though I think the focus on thinness here is BS and I've gotten into it with people before.

I'll tell you what I eat, even though my thinness is almost 100% genetic and luck in terms of brain chemistry. I love vegetables and fruits, and I've been vegetarian for primarily environmental reasons for over 15 years, but I love food, I love the taste, the social aspect, etc.

I really do think it's possible to be healthy eating a huge variety of foods and amounts, and possible to be healthy at a variety of weights and body shapes. Look at the world around us. People eat hugely different diets from place to place, and I'll give you a hint... there is NO PERFECT DIET. If there was, Hashem would have made the exact same climate and crops and animals available everywhere. Our biology is not concerned with perfection, it's only concerned with survival... in the sense that our bodies are not intended to be perfectly precise machines running on some kind of exclusive blended fuel... people come naturally in all different shapes and sizes and I think it's a huge shame that we have been so blinded by capitalist advertisement strategies that we can't appreciate it. The "obesity-epidemic" obsessed always miss this one weird piece of the puzzle... supposedly all these people are obese because they aren't eating right, which they could fix if only they knew how, but they don't because lazy/ignorant/love being fat or something. Yet also we all know that being fat is the most horrible, disgusting thing we can ever be. How do these two things fit together? WHO benefits from us being unhappy with our appearance and yet also benefits from us wanting to consume?

That said, I think it is important for individuals to cultivate their love of fresh fruits and vegetables, and to encourage their brains to be healthy and balanced, so that food doesn't become a crutch or an escape, but a necessary and fun part of every day. If you're the type that really needs a lot of seasoning and dressing on every food, it could be that your ingredients aren't that high quality. Try buying really lovely fresh produce and see if that helps. Instead of taking away (since our brains are naturally protective of resources) ADD. ADD more fruits and vegetables and plant based oils and quality fats. PAY ATTENTION to how your food tastes, and enjoy what you do eat. If you see you don't like the taste of something, don't keep eating it. If you're feeling snackish, think about why: bored? actually hungry? thirsty? tired? Even I catch myself continuing to eat something that isn't really all that tasty, just because it's in front of me, but I do catch myself, question why I'm eating it, and usually end up putting it away.

Food is really something powerful and our brains need to have strong reactions to it, because that's how we stay alive! Our brains LOVE high sugar, high fat foods because that means we're done looking for calories for the day, and can now spend time doing other things. Our brains are also powered by carbs. Our muscles need protein, fats etc, but our brains run on sugar... don't forget it. Low carb diets aren't the worst thing ever, but people do seem to forget our bodies' basic physiology...

Anyway, if you can at all manage it, please try to accept your body for what it is, and learn to love it. I don't think you're going to get very far if you see your body as the enemy, and see thinness as the absolute pinnacle of success.

cnc

Sun, Jun 25 2017, 10:55 am

watergirl wrote:

I have close relatives in the food/ catering business.
Catered salmon and vegetables are NOT healthy options MAYBE if you're eating at a high end restaurant. Regular caterers take the cheapest type of salmon and douse it in sugar or unhealthy sauces to make up for taste. Vegetables are soaked in oil . Healthy food is expensive and time consuming to make-which is why caterers usually don't do it.
As I said before , I usually come to a simcha already eaten , but if not, I'll pick a couple of things to eat. Soup and chicken, or a bit of fish and soup. My body is used to my way of eating and if I would eat an entire catered meal I would be up all night with stomach pains and vomiting. (Before I watched my way of eating , I would have no problem eating the entire meal - it's only once I started watching myself that I became so sensitive..

marina

Sun, Jun 25 2017, 11:49 am

justforfun87 wrote:

Cutting out sugar... seems so general to me. What does that specifically mean? Must have 0 grams of sugar in the ingredients? Anything that has a sweet taste to It? Very obvious forms of sugar?

20- 30 grams of carbs a day. Those should all be from vegetables like zucchini, tomatoes, and broccoli. Absolutely no real sugar and no flour - basically nothing you say mezonos or hamotzi on. Also no potatoes or corn.

Pesach is actually a good barometer. On the low carb /Keto version, you can eat most pesach foods, but not matza, potato starch, potatoes, beets, carrots, or fruit. You can have berries in small doses.

Nothing ever that you say mezonos or hamotzi on. But you can have cocoa, fake sugar, cheese, eggs, and oil, so feel free to make chocolate cakes and cheese cakes etc

amother

Emerald

Sun, Jun 25 2017, 11:55 am

cnc wrote:

Cheap salmon is unhealthy? Even cheap salmon is close to $14 / pound where I live. Organic is closer to $19 / pound.

But I'm surprised to hear that non-organic salmon is considered unhealthy.

amother

Emerald

Sun, Jun 25 2017, 12:02 pm

marina wrote:

I typically make a protein, a carb, and veggies. I eat the protein and veggies, but skip the carb. Like chicken, broccoli and potatoes. Or salmon, salad, and couscous.

I hear. I guess I'm just thinking my kids don't eat salmon, grilled chicken just once in a while....

In any case I just did an online calculator which told me that on a keto diet, for my weight I should be eating 55 g. of protein per day.

A chicken breast is supposedly 43 g. So right there, just in supper alone, that would've been most of my protein for the day. After cutting out carbs and fruit, idk, this doesn't seem like enough food!

I'd also eat an egg or two for breakfast, a half piece of salmon or 1-2 pieces of cheese with vegetables for lunch, and then supper, but this would seem to put me way above the max protein threshold.

Am I calculating this wrong?

cnc

Sun, Jun 25 2017, 12:09 pm

amother wrote:

Cheap salmon is unhealthy? Even cheap salmon is close to $14 / pound where I live. Organic is closer to $19 / pound.

But I'm surprised to hear that non-organic salmon is considered unhealthy.

There are at least three or four kinds/ grades of salmon that are non- organic. It depends where they're raised and what they're fed. The color of the fish can tell you a lot about the grade. ( I've seen salmon ranging from a deep pink to white with just a pinkish tingish.) It is not necessarily that the cheapest salmon is unhealthy- it just doesn't have a lot of flavor so caterers soak in in "junk " (sugar, marinades, sauces) to give it flavor. Expensive top quality fish (and other foods) have enough flavor on their own usually.