No Carbs After Five

[Trek420]

- Food is fuel. It doesn't have to be indulgent, it doesn't have to taste good, it doesn't have to fill you up, it doesn't have to be pretty. I actually prefer food that doesn't taste delicious because it's way easier to back off when I start to get full and prevents me from craving more when I've eaten the proper serving size for me.

disclosure, I don't race, I'm waaaaay above my goal weight, I'm a slow but steady 50 year old.

But I'm an ex-souse-chef with an arts background.

We "eat with our eyes" first, and other senses too, sometimes more than the 5. It's fuel for the soul as well as the body.

Healthy meals and snacks that look good make it easier to meet a goal. Cutting soda from your diet? The slice of lemon and mint leaf in water or ice tea ... healthy meal in a crock pot so you open the door when you get home and *poof* whole house smells like good food ... using a favorite plate or bowl ... appearence means a lot and it does not take much to do that.

So what do you do to make eating "right" fun?

[equus123]

I think it's all perspective. Sure, I don't want to eat gruel for the rest of my life even if it would mean I would lose 20lbs. But if I think of food as purely fuel I need to survive, I will eat only what I need, or at least less. It's a mindset.

that's one of the perspectives I have on food - yes it makes it easier for me when I look at food in that light.

[equus123]

So what do you do to make eating "right" fun?

I guess for me its the comfort or satisfaction in *knowing* that I'm doing the right thing in order to reach my goals in this sport as well as for me, athletically.

I grew up in a huge italian family where we all lived 20 minutes from one another. small family dinners were 12 people. My mother is an INSANE cook, my grandmother is an even more insanely good cook. Needless to say, I grew up around a ton of delicious food. At the time my parents moved out of state, I was totally ready to stop eating so much good food. I swear...the way my mom cooks....she makes her food addictive. We had the fridge in the kitchen, a fridge/freezer in the basement, and a full freezer in the garage - ALL stocked with food, prepared food, leftovers, you name it.

My past (which you all don't/didn't know about) explains my current eating habits and views on food. I've experienced good food, I've had plenty of it, I know what everything tastes like. Now - I don't care if its good or not ( you know what I mean), I don't care if its not pretty, I don't care if its plain tasting.

None of that matters to me because it is what it is. Chicken is still chicken, pasta is still pasta, salad is still salad. My life doesn't revolve around food and that's not a bad thing.

[emily_in_nc]

None of that matters to me because it is what it is. Chicken is still chicken, pasta is still pasta, salad is still salad. My life doesn't revolve around food and that's not a bad thing.

I kinda get what you're saying. Yes, I love "good" food; nothing like dinner at a really fine restaurant to excite my senses (and cause me to eat way too much!) OTOH, for weight loss or maintenance, I think "plain food" is very helpful. My DH is retired and does most of the cooking now. He makes a lot of soups and other simple dishes that are tasty, but not fancy, not covered with delicious high-fat, creamy, winey, buttery sauces that might cause me to pack on the pounds. Eating simply has definitely helped me maintain my weight because it removes the urge to overeat whatever it is because it is *so amazing*. I eat a serving and I'm done. Earlier in our marriage, when I was doing more of the cooking, I tended to make dishes that were more my special favorites, and as a result, I had a much harder time pushing the plate away.

My mother has struggled with her weight for years and tried all kinds of diets. Her weight has gradually crept up-up-up. She also watches The Food Channel (Network?) a lot. I kinda in jest (but only partly!) suggested that she might want to change back over to HGTV or something, just to avoid such an emphasis on food in her life. She talks about shows she watches on that network all the time, different food prep methods, new recipes, etc. I think if she would focus her energy on something other than food, she might have an easier time losing weight. It works for me -- I'm much more likely to be thinking about, reading about, or watching TV about other areas of interest entirely, and I don't have a weight problem now. I used to be much more interested in cooking and food in general, and that's when I was overweight and had to "diet". Now that I've lost the weight I needed to (six years ago), I focus on fitness and fun in lieu of food, and it seems to be working....

Emily

[equus123]

Good deal Emily

[RoadRaven]

I think if she would focus her energy on something other than food, she might have an easier time losing weight.
>>>>It works for me --
>>>>Now that I've lost the weight I needed to (six years ago), I focus on fitness and fun in lieu of food, and it seems to be working....

Emily

I think you have hit the nail on the head, Emily... if you think about something all the time, you "do" it all the time...

Just look at us and our purty bikes!

[RoadRaven]

In a local magazine: New Zealand healthy food guide – August 2006… pages 78-79

Excerpts…

“It’s a common piece of advice for those trying to lose weight: ‘Don’t eat after 5!’ But will we explode if we do?
“Some popular diet books advise cutting out eating carbohydrates, or anything at all after 5 or 6pm. The diets often reduce the total carbohydrate intake by cutting out carbohydrates such as pasta, breads, rice, potato, biscuits, cakes and soft drinks. Vegetables, dairy products and fruit are the type of carbohydrate allowed.
“But a search by Sanitarium of more than 4800 scietific journals in the National Library of Medicine medline database failed to find a single study that supported the theory that carbohydrates need to be cut out after 5pm in order to lose weight.
“In theory, cutting out some of the carbohydrates after 5pm or not eating after 8pm could reduce the total energy intake for the day. This would ultimately lead to a reduction in weight.”


The article also makes a good distinction in the jargon which I have never understood before… what is the difference between serving size and portions???
“Serving size is the average serving size of the product. However, this may not be the same as the serving you actually have. In fact your serve size may be a larger portion. A portion is how much you actually eat. “


And of course, the article ends sensibly…
“So, no carbs after 5pm? It is not the time of day that foods are eaten, but it is the combinationof the totla ammount of foods, what the food is made up of, the ammount of activity taken over a day and general health which causes weight gain. If there is a balance of food and activity over a day, body weight remains stable.”

Well - Ive been doing this around a fortnight (no carbs after 5) and no significant weight loss. I'll stick at it for another two weeks and report back...

[RoadRaven]

Well, its more than two weeks... I found it really hard to do, and no significant weight change... I think part of the problem was that I would get home and be tired and hungry and the kids/partner would have dinner organised and it would inevitably involve carbs, and if I was too tired to be bothered I would eat a few carbs.

So this turned out to be a "fewer carbs after 5" diet... and it made no discernable difference.

Maybe I'll try again when I can have more control in the food prep area.