This is the most effective "diet" ever.

Hi!

I started reviewing this website in late 2006.  I lost 10 pounds by strictly sticking not to a diet, but counting what I eat.  From there I made an excel spreadsheet, entered what I burned on a daily basis plus what I was burning in the gym according to the treadmill/other equipment that I used that displayed what was burned.  Needless to say I dropped off the face of that two years later, am up 20 pounds, and I've lost the drive.  Before I was in school where it was convenient to order this wrap which I premeasued.  Now that I'm on my own, ordering/buying everything I eat, I'm at a lost for healthy foods.  I'm damned tired of eating ham sandwiches and carrot sticks.  I don't know what else is out there.  Last time I made an excel spreadsheet with formulas to what I burned/consumed and what amount of calories I saved.  It was perfect and effective.

Does anyone know a website, a book, personal advice, of food that is *simple* and fast to make that I can put togethor?  Like I said, I can't put another sandwich together everyday and it seems like I'm undereating because of lack of choice, and due to that I run to fast food and beer at the end of my shift (I dispatch for a police department).  

Current stats:  23 years old 601 205.

If you read all of that, I appreciate it more than you know.  What kind of food you can share with me would be the most appreciated.

If you are just joining this site, it's not a diet.  It's a simple counting procedure.  I reccomend a spreadsheet/calorie tracker, which I would be happy to make for you.  To me it was a simple mathematical equation .  When I followed it, I lost 10 lbs in no time, which sounds like a lot, but when the compliments start flowing in, it's more than worth it and it drives you even more.  

Thank you and good luck.

Forgot to mention, I also have access to a gym 24/7.  That part is not the problem, it's the food selection.

At the top of this Food forum is a stickie: HELPFUL FOOD LINKS

There you will find tons of links about food groups and options in each.  There are so many healthy foods that the issue becomes narrowing down to the ones you enjoy but if your short on ideas, I particularly recommend the links at the top:  Healthiest Foods and  Cooking Theasurus

Just curious, why do you need a spreadsheet, when CC adds up the calories (not to mention other nutritional information) for you?

spelling correction

Original Post by sirrveillance:

If you are just joining this site, it's not a diet.  It's a simple counting procedure.  

most importantly, it's a lifestyle change. yes, you count calories, but you also learn how to make healthier choices in different situations and how to properly nourish and fill yourself up. you lose weight, but you gain alot of really important knowledge too.

Original Post by amayou82:

Just curious, why do you need a spreadsheet, when CC adds up the calories (not to mention other nutritional information) for you?

spelling correction

 Yeah. That sounds like a pain the ass.

Eat less, exercise more.  Don't drink alcoholic beverages!

I think you're making this harder than it needs to be!  Poster #6 pretty much sums it up.

I think it really depends on your goals... are you looking to tone, to lose "weight" what's your goal look like?? Address your final goal (make it realistic); then place milestone markers before it... making small goals easily attainable in a way until you reach your final goal. My goals change frquently as I keep getting hotter ;D. It's getting harder to find womens' bodies I idolize and so right now I'm just refining. What's your workout routine look like?

"Last time I made an excel spreadsheet with formulas to what I burned/consumed and what amount of calories I saved.  It was perfect and effective." 

"Does anyone know a website, a book, personal advice, of food that is *simple* and fast to make that I can put togethor?"  

You seem to be unclear about the purpose of this site.  CC is not a diet plan.  It's a remarkable way to encourage a safe, healthy, permanent change in your relationship to food.  CC will track your calorie intake and expenditures simply and much more effectively than an excel spreadsheet.  Heck of a lot faster too.  Also includes weight tracking and food nutrition analysis tools.  The database of foods and recipes includes tens of thousands of items and includes more nutrition information than just calories (fats, sodium, carbs, etc.).  If you're looking for new foods, just browse the recipe collection.  The exercise database includes the calorie burn counts for every exercise I've ever heard of.  And a few that I haven't   .  If you need support, encouragement, have questions, or just want to share your successes, there are a lot of knowledgable and helpful folks using this site and a few professionals who offer excellent advice.   

So, if you're looking for a website.... you've found a really fantastic one. You might want to begin with the "getting started" tab to discover what CC can provide.  Good luck.

P.S.  Many thanks to the folks that are providing us with all the sophisticated features of CC at no cost to the users.  You are very very much appreciated!  

I literally live math (math degree and a job doing math) so I understand the desire to organise your life via excel spreadsheets.  Especially when it comes to calories, there's just so many numbers involved.

What's stopping you from eating well now??  Get any healthy cookbook that has nutritional values and make a meal plan. You can also use the recipe browser on here to find tons of easy and healthy things to make.  Only you know how many calories you need, so I don't think you can get someone else to make you a plan, except maybe a nutritionist.

As for using a detailed spreadsheet, simply tracking on CC, hiring a chef (I wish), writing in a journal or putting it in a day planner, everyone has a different way of tracking progress and keeping themselves in line.  That's why 'fad diets' don't work, everyone really is different.  So if this is what works for you, all you can do is do it and tell people about it if they want to try.  But preaching like you invented the wheel is no good, because YOUR system won't work for everyone.

^^^ Im with thermal but not because of a math love but because Im very visual and am a spreadsheet-aholic so I totally get it too.

... everyone has a different way of tracking progress and keeping themselves in line.

Exactly and how very kind of you sirrveillance offering to provide others with spreadsheets. Ive done that myself for certain spreadsheets because I know how well they work for me but true- doesnt always work best for all. Glad you found what works for you! 

I use a spreadsheet as well as the CC site to track my exercise and diet. I like the spreadsheet because I can easily see how much fiber and calcium I get from certain foods - and that's what I like to monitor. I also track percentages of protein-carb-fat to see how that affects my weight loss.

I started CC because I was looking for a place that had nutritional information for food, but found so much more on this site. It's the stories that I read here that really give me the motivation to keep going. The helpful information provided on this site has also come in very handy.

Does anyone know a website, a book, personal advice, of food that is *simple* and fast to make that I can put togethor?  Like I said, I can't put another sandwich together everyday and it seems like I'm undereating because of lack of choice, and due to that I run to fast food and beer at the end of my shift (I dispatch for a police department).  

I like this book from Nicholas Perricone: The Perricone Weight-Loss Diet: A Simple 3-Part Plan to Lose the Fat, the Wrinkles, and the Years (ISBN-10: 0345486498 ). He suggests superfoods and supplements that aid weight loss in a healthy way.

Jillian Michaels from the Biggest Loser also has this book "Making the Cut: The 30-Day Diet and Fitness Plan for the Strongest, Sexiest You " with diet suggestions depending on your metabolic type. She explains about that and she has some good recipes and workout routine. Don't forget that exercize is as important as diet. I also started doing J. Michaels "30 day shred DVD"  it's like a circuit of strength, cardio and abs for 20 min workouts. It's meant to be done at home, you just need some hand weights. It's very good.

As for food, I know you don't want more sandwiches but I love them but I vary what I add so I don't get bored. For protein: tuna, salmon, turkey, omelet, boca burger (when I feel like having a burger, it's vegetarian but quite good with mustard and ketchup and only 100 cal). And the toppings, fat free singles cheese, laughing cow swiss wedges, baby arugula, baby spinach, romaine, grated carrots, onions, green peppers.  For bread you should try Arnold's multigrain sandwich thins, it's round and already cut in half for only 100 cal and 5 g of fiber. If you have access to a microwave, try those frozen healthy choice meals or similar low cal ones. And always have some microwave light popcorn, they are a filling snack with only 120 cal a pack. Good luck.

 Ps: I thought I was the only one making an excell spreadsheet! I add the daily analysis and make weekly evaluation of food content versus amount of weight lost. I never thought of adding the burned calories too, that's a great idea. Someone asked why doing this. Well, CC can give you that too, but on a spreadsheet you have all data readily available in one place. I also add weight in kg and pounds (My scale is in kg but for CC challenges is easier to have pounds), BMI and TTOM day.

Oops, just saw you're a man, so Jillian Michaels might not be for you, although there are some male reviewers at Amazon that are praising the book. The diet section is quite detailed with recipes, check anyway. Men's Health magazine publishes a series of books for abs, strength training, etc. I cannot reccomend anyone in particular, but just go to the health and fitness section of the bookstore, have a coffee and browse, you may find one that matches your lifestyle. That's how I found those ones, but I always end up buying them at Amazon.com, they are usually cheaper there and you can read user's reviews to get a better insight on the book. Go to www.menshealth.com website, they have diet and nutrition info. Funny when I clicked the nutrition link there's an article "Beer with benefits", that might just be the site for you! LOL and www.t-nation.com is very popular with the male CCers, and remember muscle burns more calories, so strength training is very important for fat burning. Good luck.

Every single day I eat grass-fed[&finished] red meat which is SUPER FAST & EASY to make because if you over cook it then it won't be as good as medium rare - which MEANS it is even QUICKER to make! Plus, grass-fed & finished red meats as nutritional equals to fish except you do not have to worry about mercury, pbcs or even mad cow diseases!!

Eatwild.com has more information on the subject matter!

Original Post by amayou82:

Just curious, why do you need a spreadsheet, when CC adds up the calories (not to mention other nutritional information) for you?

It's actually really really helpful because it helps you see the big picture. CC is good for dieting day to day, but a spreadsheet is good to illustrate how each day adds up. You can calculate exactly how many pounds you've lost based on your overall defecits, you can calculate your average defecit to see how well you're doing on average, how much you've been eating per day on average, etc. Before I started using a spreadsheet I found myself getting off track a lot because I'd have a cheat day and I'd think "oh, it's no big deal," but I actually didn't realize how much they were adding up and reversing the overall progress I was making. Once I started using a spreadsheet I was better able to see my overall progress and how cheat days were affecting me, thus I was better able to stay on track! I would highly recommend making a spreadsheet, it's really easy and helpful!

Fast and easy?  That's the reason North America is in this mess to begin with, everyone wants fast and easy.  You need to take the time to educate yourself and learn to make better, healthier choices and that is neither fast or easy.