My current diet*

[Tengu]

*N.B.- by "diet" I don't mean "I'm on a diet", like weightwatchers or nutrisystem. This is just what I eat.

So, barring my huge self inflicted binge the other day, my eating is pretty much "automated" now.

I wake up between 4:15 and 4:30 am (and walk to work to get there by 5 am), so I don't have time to eat breakfast at home, hence the reason I eat anywhere from 1.5 hours to nearly 3 hours later.

So here's are some typical days for me

5:30am - apple

7- Oatmeal, 1/2 c, 1 egg

9- 1/2 kiwi, 1 chicken breast

11- Apple

2pm- Salmon, 1/2 c brown rice

6- Chicken breast, apple

6:30- 3 eggs, 3 grape tomatoes

9- chicken breast

11- 50 cal low fat cheese stick

2- 3 oz tuna, 1/2 c cucumber, 1/2

tomato, balsamic vinegarette

6- Cod, 1/2c brown rice with soy

sauce

5- apple

7- 1/2 c oatmeal, 1/2 banana

9- 1/2 banana, 1 chicken breast

11- lettuce, 1/2 c broc, balamic

vinegar

2- 1/2c quinoa, 1/2c grapes, 1

chicken breast

5- Salmon, salad greens

8- low fat cheese stcik

7- 3 eggs, banana

9- chicken breast

10:30- banana

1- 1c grapes

2:30- 1/2 cup mixed rice/quinoa,

chicken breast

5:30- Cod, green peppers, onions,

tomatoes (1 c veggies total)

8- Fiber one bar (total cheat)

5:30- 1/2 c grapes

7 3 eggs, 50 cal of cheese, 4

grape tomatoes

10:30- chicken breast

1- 3 oz Shrimp, mushrooms

3- Chicken breast, 1/2 c quinoa,

1 c mixed peppers/onions

7- 3 oz steak, grilled onions

So is this a good regimen to follow? I try to keep most carbs (fruit and, obviously, some grains, ACK) early in the day.

I just don't think I'm eating *enough* (which might explain why I'm tired so much, I dunno)

Anyway, thanks for all and any input!

[Gobnait]

Instincts say to add a lot more green stuff and get a 6.oz bit of red meat at the end of the week. Then again, you get more fish that I ever would. (Cost availability.) I managed about six months on mostly eggs, beans, and chicken.

Since it's fall, adding one squash a week should be decent, as long as you're getting enough fat. I'd say one stick of butter until December and unless you're baking, the rest go in the freezer.

[JasontheKiwi]

Hmmm interesting. It would seem that you are spiking your insulin levels throughout the day with the fruits and dairy. I personally would replace the apple, oats and eggs in the morning for steak/bacon/chicken and eggs with avocado, cooked in butter or coconut oil, with black coffee and maybe a banana/prunes (for fibre) if you need too. If you are aiming for Paleo don't be afraid of the fat, it's going to become your main fuel source. I'd start with a massive protein and fat breakfast and then have smaller meals throughout the day. If you are going to have carbs like that it's actually better to have them at the end of the day so you feel lethargic before bed and then sleep well.

What you reckon?

[Tengu]

Instincts say to add a lot more green stuff and get a 6.oz bit of red meat at the end of the week. Then again, you get more fish that I ever would. (Cost availability.) I managed about six months on mostly eggs, beans, and chicken.

Since it's fall, adding one squash a week should be decent, as long as you're getting enough fat. I'd say one stick of butter until December and unless you're baking, the rest go in the freezer.

Green stuff, good, although I don't really have a taste for it.

And squash? I WISH I could eat it

I can't swallow it

[Tengu]

Hmmm interesting. It would seem that you are spiking your insulin levels throughout the day with the fruits and dairy.

What bit of (natural) sugar I'm getting, I'm trying to get early in the day.

And I the dairy is only low cal cheese (mostly protein and fat)

I personally would replace the apple, oats and eggs in the morning for steak/bacon/chicken and eggs with avocado, cooked in butter or coconut oil, with black coffee and maybe a banana/prunes (for fibre) if you need too.

I don't have time to make that in the morning, haha

Although I could eat my precooked chicken breasts in the morning, I guess.

If you are aiming for Paleo don't be afraid of the fat, it's going to become your main fuel source. I'd start with a massive protein and fat breakfast and then have smaller meals throughout the day. If you are going to have carbs like that it's actually better to have them at the end of the day so you feel lethargic before bed and then sleep well.

Oddly, if I have carbs at the end of the day, in light (or 'heavier) amounts, I get jacked up at the end of the day (and, according to my wife, "uber- bitchy" haha, much like I would be as innebriated....the other day was just the worst).

[JasontheKiwi]

I don't have time to make that in the morning, haha

Although I could eat my precooked chicken breasts in the morning, I guess.

You could make it at night, and heat it up in the morning Why do you need sugar at the beginning of the day?

[Tengu]

You could make it at night, and heat it up in the morning Why do you need sugar at the beginning of the day?

Maybe because I gave up two pots of coffee over the past two years? I honestly don't know.

My sugar intake is via fruits and the occasional unsweetened oatmeal, so "slow carb"? It's not like I'm jacking myself full of sugar right off the bat

One apple along with 1 tbsp of almond butter isn't, I don't think, a "carb overload" (my words, not yours )

I don't know, I'm only about 80-90% paleo, but I'm not trying to go all Atkins at all. I'm trying to keep my glycemic load at 50 or less per day (half the recommended USRDA)

[JasontheKiwi]

I know what you mean, but I used to eat a similar diet to you and was ssoooo tired all the time. I'd eat oats for breakky, with an isolate whey protein shake and fruit each morning... then would be tired and hungry after just 2 hours... then fish, rice & veg for lunch etc... I quit that and went strict paleo and never had a prob since. I got energy all day and can even go for ages without eating and not be starving or fainting away.

Do you also do a lot of exercise because that could contribute to tiredness a lot, especially if you feel your not eating enough.

[Tengu]

Do you also do a lot of exercise because that could contribute to tiredness a lot, especially if you feel your not eating enough.

Well I do basic workouts (pushups, planks, squats, nothing too strenuous), but I'm on my feet and moving (mostly at speed) for 8-9 hours a day (yeah, believe it or not, a head cook moves quite a bit, haha), in addition to walking to work and walking home (at an average of 4-4.5 mph, timed).

And let me tell you, being a cook (forced to stick to a menu of mostly crap) and eating correctly, or mostly so, isn't easy, hence the reason I take my food to work instead of eating what is available there.

ETA- I really think I need to eat more protein and veg (I should do a calorie count of my days and average them out).

ETA 2- Since going mostly (80% or so) paleo, I've noticed I'm not starving every 2-3 hours anymore, and the shakes I used to get are completely gone. Boy howdy, I do not miss the shakes and accompanying nausea.

[JasontheKiwi]

I bet. What sort of cook are you, it's a pretty stressful job eh?

I'd agree on the more protein, especially first thing. A calorie count is a good idea to see just how much you are actually eating, just not a habit to get into doing as living by food calculations make people neurotic I reckon haha.

Yeah I bet it's hard eating well when being around cooking all day. I suppose I'm lucky in that area as I'm far from a cook and don't have a sweet tooth at all

[UberMoM]

. A calorie count is a good idea to see just how much you are actually eating, just not a habit to get into doing as living by food calculations make people neurotic I reckon haha.

I agree with this, in the past I have only lost weight by calorie counting. The lower I got in weight the less I was supposed to eat and it became kind of a crazy obsession. I think spot checking is ok, but don't let it phase you if you see a pretty high number.

I went high protein this spring (before I got derailed by many nay-sayers) and I also wasn't starving all the time. I was eating a boat load of food every day and I still lost like 5 lbs. All of which I gained back by being lazy. So, I think the high protein and low carb/dairy is definitely real. The biggest problem that I have is no cheese. I love cheese.

One strategy that has worked for me is to mass prep and cook on a day off. This way I have everything I need to eat for the week already laid out. I thought I could stop doing it and stay on track, but it is surprising how when there is no plan, willpower points drop to like -1000. So maybe this is something that you can incorporate into your plan, a mass prep and cook day to lay out your week, then you have lunch and breakfast done and only have to work out what to do for supper.

[Tengu]

I'd agree on the more protein, especially first thing. A calorie count is a good idea to see just how much you are actually eating, just not a habit to get into doing as living by food calculations make people neurotic I reckon haha.

Yeah I bet it's hard eating well when being around cooking all day. I suppose I'm lucky in that area as I'm far from a cook and don't have a sweet tooth at all

Yay for not having a sweet tooth! (my bane is salty snacks, ack).

I'm the kitchen manager/head cook at one of the local schools in my town, hence the reason I said I'm forced to stick to a menu of crap. It's actually fairly easy for me to stay away from the 'garbage' and eat my food that I bring from home.

I agree with this, in the past I have only lost weight by calorie counting. The lower I got in weight the less I was supposed to eat and it became kind of a crazy obsession. I think spot checking is ok, but don't let it phase you if you see a pretty high number.

...

One strategy that has worked for me is to mass prep and cook on a day off. This way I have everything I need to eat for the week already laid out. I thought I could stop doing it and stay on track, but it is surprising how when there is no plan, willpower points drop to like -1000. So maybe this is something that you can incorporate into your plan, a mass prep and cook day to lay out your week, then you have lunch and breakfast done and only have to work out what to do for supper.

Mass cook off done! 5 lbs of chicken breasts marinated, cooked off and in the freezer in individual portion packs, fish ready to go, steaks individually sorted, frozen, ready for the indoor grill, (most of) the veggies chopped and sealed in the fridge

And yeah, I really need to jack up my calorie count via protein, fats and good veggies. Apparently, I'm only taking in somewhere between 800-1400 calories per day on average. No wonder I'm not shredding more body fat or gaining lean mass :(

[UberMoM]

Holy Frijoles!

No good for starving yourself. I am surprised you weren't crawling on the floor like a brain deprived zombie. I know I would have been.

[Tengu]

Actually, eating that much (little) doesn't leave me hungry. As a matter of fact I've been accused of eating like a bird, but I just can't eat as much as I used to, most likely due to the "tiny frequent meal" plan I was on when I lost 50 lbs two years ago.

So, time to step up on the intake!

[The Tin Man]

One strategy that has worked for me is to mass prep and cook on a day off. This way I have everything I need to eat for the week already laid out. I thought I could stop doing it and stay on track, but it is surprising how when there is no plan, willpower points drop to like -1000. So maybe this is something that you can incorporate into your plan, a mass prep and cook day to lay out your week, then you have lunch and breakfast done and only have to work out what to do for supper.

So much to this. I haven't acted on it enough but it's a major positive when I cook ahead of time. It takes choice out of the equation, especially when I take leftovers to work. Going to my work cafeteria can shift pretty quickly from "I'll make an awesome salad" to "burger and fries!" The decision is taken out of the picture when I have something waiting in the fridge for me.