The ketogenic diet has recently made a resurgence — in a big way. The influx of keto-labeled items at the store and keto-this talk in the media may make it seem as if it’s a new concept, but this way of eating has actually been used for various therapeutic reasons for nearly a century.
I have been on a binge, and self loathing since a failed weight loss attempt in October. Recovering anorexic and bulimic. I am 5'2 and 227lbs now.
When I say failed weight loss attempt, I did lose 25 lb but it came off so slow. Over the course of months. The difficult thing is that when I was anorexic, weight would come off 10 lb a week. How do you cope with losing weight slowly after recovering from an eating disorder which caused Quick Weight Loss? I have pretty much stopped starving myself on account of having been pregnant three times and nursing three times, currently still nursing my last one. I can't starve myself and keep up my milk supply but I know I would do it if I wasn't nursing..
I haven't stopped binging and I try to avoid purging although over every once in a while I slip. I just feel like I have this overwhelming desire to binge that I cannot control. I lose control of my hands and my mouth and my legs take me to the fridge and I eat, and I eat, and I eat, and I eat. The whole time I am euphoric and hating myself at the same time. What is something you have done that has actually helped you avoid binging?
It’s Girl Scout cookie time.
Mini background there are two separate bakeries that make GS cookies, meaning the ones you get in one state could take completely different in another. This happened to me when I moved from the south to the north. I didn’t think I could hate a thin mint until I tried the ones from the other bakery.
Thankfully with modern tech, you can order online directly from the bakery you want and ship them anyway to the US, so I purchased about $120 with of cookies from the bakery I wanted. They came in yesterday and i posted my haul.
Incomes the floods of texts, messages, comments; people judging me, saying that I should stay away to not ruin my process, or saying they avoid these like the plague so they don’t slip up.
I haven’t had real pasta in almost 2yrs (my biggest weakness) , I rarely drink a soda, after almost always drinking soda at dinner, and I went from having something sweet after every meal to eating a handful of grapes.
So thanks, but I have self control. I want these to last awhile, I want my progress to continue. I Know what running through a box of thin mint would do. Through the weight loss journey you learn what full is, what craving is and how to concur it and you learn self and portion control. I’m longer scared to have 20 boxes of cookies near me because I know I won’t rip through a box a day.
This community has taught me all that, not giving up on things you love but moderating them.
(Long time lurker but first time poster so please go easy on me!)
I am a 25M 5'9" SW:221 CW:171 GW:166 I work in non-profit and homeless advocacy.
I was overweight/borderline obese and chronically depressed, low energy, sweaty, and self conscious from ages 13 to 22 before deciding to make a change.
I want to open by saying that I am not a role model.
Ya’ll’s positive attitude and progress pics are what have kept me going. I don’t look nearly as good as a lot of the people in this sub so I can’t tell you how to get perfect abs and a huge chest because I don’t have perfect abs and a huge chest. My journey hasn’t been about looking like a fitness model. My journey has been about striving everyday to improve my emotional and mental health and using fitness and nutrition as a vehicle to get there.
I have played sports my entire life so I have always assumed that I knew what good nutrition and exercise looked like. This is why it has always been extra frustrusting looking around a locker room and not understanding why my body looked different from all the other guys doing the same workouts I was. I tried just about every diet or exercise life hack I could find and never achieved any long-term sustainable results.
3 years ago I found myself in a really dark place. I was working too many hours, at a job I hated, for a company I didn’t believe in and progressively I found myself neglecting the important relationships in my life and feeling deeply depressed more often than I didn’t.
This realization settled in all at once when I vomited after trying to attempt to jog a mile on the treadmill.
I decided in that moment dry heaving at my office gym that I wasn’t going to allow my life to continue spiraling down the path I was going. The next day, I walked into my office, put in my two weeks’ notice, went home and bought a one way ticket to Madrid with every last penny in my savings account (I live in Texas). From there, without any training or previous hiking/camping experience, I backpacked 192 miles on foot from Leon to Santiago, Spain along the Camino de Santiago trail.
When I came home, I made the promise to myself that I’d never return to being the person I was before I left.
During the period of the 2.5 weeks I spent backpacking, I hiked an average of 15 miles a day while consuming what was likely more calories and fat than I ever have in my life and still came home having lost 11 lbs. This experience entirely altered the way that I looked at food and health.
While I was in Spain, my eating habits could not have been more different from the traditional “Western Diet.” I subsisted on primarily bread, tons of red meat and animal fat, a good measure of wine, and whatever fruits or berries I could find growing along the trail. I was eating the way the locals in the small villages I passed through ate. The food I consumed was simple, fresh, and produced almost exclusively within a 50 mile radius of where I was eating it. This simplicity has been the foundation of my current nutrition regimen. The only foods I actively avoid today are those that are heavily processed or high in sugar. And I eat local and flexitarian as often as I can. Aside from that, when I do crave a cheat meal whether it’s chicken wings or chocolate cake, I indulge! The difference is that now, I earn it by always cooking and preparing it myself.
Everyone’s path is different. For me, good fitness and nutrition has been about avoiding extremes of any kind, positive or negative, in exercise and diet. What I mean by this is that I’ve tried Keto diets, cutting out carbs, intermittent fasting, etc. and, to be fair, some of them gave me incredible weight loss results. The problem was that none of them were sustainable in the long term because they forced me to constantly monitor and sometimes physically weigh everything that went into my body. This realization to strive for “sustainability” as opposed to immediate results was the key to success for me personally in maintaining my lifestyle over a period of years as opposed to weeks or months.
My success in long-term diet maintenance can be simplified down to two key principles I learned from the writing of Food Journalist Michael Polan; “eat (real) food, not too much, mostly plants” and “everything in moderation, including moderation.”
My success for long-term fitness maintenance comes down to two simple rules I made for myself; make exercise the first thing I do in the morning and work-out in whatever way will get me moving based on my motivation that day.
Know yourself. I’m lazy! I know that. So by waking up at 5:15AM and going to the gym before work, I know that when 5PM hits I get to go home and play video games :)
If I were to offer one piece of advice to anyone getting started it would be to follow the “work-out in whatever way will get you moving” principle.
I never used to feel comfortable in a proper gym because I was always so intimidated by the yogeys, crossfitters, and gym rats. Everyone is different so it’s critical to make the gym work for you, not the other way around. For me personally, running, swimming, cycling and most other forms of traditional cardio are miserable chores. So instead, I chose to play racquetball and rock climb at a bouldering gym (for those that haven’t tried it, bouldering gyms are amazing; basically jungle gyms for adults with an incredibly supportive community) 3 days a week to make sure that I’m getting my heart rate up in a way that’s constructive but more importantly, enjoyable for me.
My greatest obstacle has been in working to fundamentally change the way I look at food and exercise. I had to learn to cook healthy foods in creative ways that actually tasted good (keep your baked chicken to yourself lol) and find fitness outlets that made me excited about going to the gym.
Long term success is not about working out to compensate for bad behavior, it’s about slowly accommodating your lifestyle to incorporate activities and choices that will make you look better and (more importantly) feel better every day.
Weight loss changes your life in ways you wouldn’t imagine. In addition to losing the 50 lbs. so far, I am so much less tired throughout the day, I don’t snore anymore, my chronic sweating has subsided and my skin is so much healthier. More impactful and important than any of that though is the fact that for the first time in my life, I’m confident being the man I am. I don’t have perfect washboard abs but I know that every day I get fitter, healthier, and stronger. Nothing is more rewarding than that feeling.
Healthfulness is about emotional fortitude not crunches and cauliflower
Your goal is to live a life that you’re proud of in all regards. What that means in pounds lost or miles run is ancillary and it’s up to you.
I’m sorry that I don’t have any current pictures but here’s a comparison of me at my heaviest to me 6 months ago (219lbs on the left and 185 lbs on the right)
https://i.imgur.com/CBGEC93.jpg
Love you guys. Thanks for listening.
I started my weight loss journey at 405lbs on Feb 5, 2018. Over the last year I have not had a cheat day, meal, or bite and have been grinding at the gym daily in an effort to completely take my life back from obesity! I recently started sharing my journey with others in hopes to spark change in those seeking it! I want to let people know that if I can do it clearly anyone can do it!
My diet was the key to my success. You can’t outwork a bad diet! I focused on 3 main things!
Reduce calories to 1500- calories are king! I focused on tracking my calories daily to the T! If I couldn’t track it I didn’t eat it!
I focused on my macros - I my goals were 40% protein, 30% carbs, and 30% fats. To do this I focused on lean meats, protein shakes, cheese, eggs, and Greek yogurt
I avoided all added sugars - after looking at calories i would immediately look at sugar content! Sugar makes people fat not fat content! I even tried avoiding artificial sweeteners as well as much as possible!
Once I had my diet plan in place weight started dropping fast! This helped motivate me to keep going and start exercising!
Towards the end of May I got a gym membership and haven’t looked back since! I am currently down to 219LBS and looking to get right at 200lbs.
Just yesterday Men’s Health shared my story as part of their January transformations series. If you care to hear more about my journey and see some before and afters the link is below!
If you are currently trying to lose weight keep going! Trust In your process and ultimately Train your mind and your body will follow!
Take care!
Okay, so you’re on a diet. But life doesn’t stop. The weekend’s approaching, you have friends and they want dinner. In fact, your group might love to meet up at one place in particular—the one with the amazing salmon, to-die-for appetizer or, of course, chocolate molten lava cake. Meeting up for dinner is like the go-to event when making plans. It’s an opportunity to get out, catch up and just forget about an incredibly busy, stressful week.
Unfortunately, this is where anyone on a diet finds themselves in a bind. It’s so tempting to just toss all caution to the wind the minute you see the featured entrees listed at the hostess booth, or the second the waiter asks you what you want to drink. Having friends that don’t share the same health goals can make it even harder.
So, what do you do? We could say, “willpower to the rescue,” but we know that’s not gonna cut it. So, focus on why you are actually there. Hint: It’s not the chips and salsa. You made plans with your friends, to be with your friends. Enjoy the time you have with them because obsessing over food was never really part of the agenda. Check out the restaurant’s website before you head over to get a glimpse of the healthy options. Many offer the nutritional information now. If you have a clear idea of what you should order going in, there’s no way to slip up when you’re going out! The Nutrisystem Eating Out Guide is also an excellent tool, providing all sorts of suggestions for making this decision and keeping diets on-plan, for any of your life plans.
Alcohol is any diet’s worst enemy, and we’re sure you’ve heard it before. A round of drinks equates to empty calories, roughly a hundred and twenty at a time, without the fun mixers. It might also leave you feeling horrible the next day (both sick and guilty). If you have an exercise regimen, chances are, you won’t even feel capable of taking it on after a night out drinking with friends. Worst of all, the booze you have out with your pals has the capacity to mess with your inhibitions and lead to a chain reaction of diet mistakes. Ever go out with your friends (and healthy intentions) to grab a salad and, after a few drinks, end up ordering the loaded pizza? This isn’t an uncommon story. Save yourself from the mess and order water or a zero-calorie, flavored beverage. If you must have a drink, stick with one light beer or glass of dry wine, then get back to the aqua.
This is the hard one. Every good restaurant has a waiter leave a beautiful assortment of bread slices or rolls on the table with butter for spreading. This situation is a carb-lover’s dream and worst nightmare, all bundled up into one health fiasco. The refined, simple carbs in a slice of bread might lead to instant satisfaction, almost a sugar high if you will, but just one will rarely do. The fiber is lost, along with the rest of the nutrients during processing. It won’t fill you up, so the waiter will keep filling up your basket. The butter: Just more calories and fat. Don’t be afraid to ask for a plate of fresh veggies to nosh on. While it may sound silly, they’ll most likely be happy to oblige, and you’ll feel better munching on something that keeps your blood sugar stable and your waistline in check. Or, have some at home before you head out so you aren’t ravenous by the time the bread basket rolls around.
Don’t get us wrong, we love avocados. In fact, we have a whole list on The Leaf of brilliant ways to use avocados. Avocado contains all sorts of nutrients and monounsaturated fats to keep you lean and your heart healthy. But, guacamole is the avocado-plus recipe: It’s avocado, plus a lot of extra ingredients (the sky’s the limit) that the chef of the day feels like tossing in. Fruit, cheese and bacon…. are all additions that can turn a basic recipe into a restaurant’s signature appetizer. Everyone’s always looking for the new thing, and restaurants, a way to stand out. Pair it with tortilla chips and you’re done for!
Guacamole is absolutely addicting and even the nutritional powerhouse, avocado, is something to be eaten in moderation because of the high calorie-count. It’s easy to lose sight of how much you’re eating very quickly. An order of guacamole and tortilla chips at a popular chain restaurant gets close to 1500 calories! Go out with your best bud, and the two of you have taken down 750 calories before the main course. Look for the plain, untouched fruit and have a tablespoon of that mashed (one Extra).
Sorry to burst your bubble, but even the salads at restaurants require a sharp eye, when you’re on a diet. Lettuce, tomatoes and onions are all wonderfully nutritious and best enjoyed fresh in a bowl, but, when your favorite joint gets fancy with their creations, all bets are off. Fried tortilla strips, honey roasted nuts, cheeses and creamy dressings take the calorie and fat counts higher than you could even imagine. Portion distortion is also at play, with a meal usually fit for three.
The Nutrisystem Eating Out Guide sites Applebee’s Grilled Shrimp ‘N Spinach Salad as a sneaky diet saboteur, worse than their seven-ounce sirloin. This seemingly innocent diet option has 1,000 calories and 66 grams of fat. Who could’ve guessed?
Our suggestion? Go as raw and basic as possible. Stick to the fresh vegetables, fruits (one cup of berries is a SmartCarb on Nutrisystem) and two tablespoons of fat-free dressings (one Extra on Nutrisystem). Skip the crispy carb toppings like tortilla strips and croutons. Limit the cheese (to one slice or ounce of low-fat, a PowerFuel on Nutrisystem) and ask for chicken or shrimp prepared plain (two ounces of cooked chicken is a PowerFuel, while three ounces of shrimp is a PowerFuel). If there are eggs, just have one as a PowerFuel for the evening.
Chicken wings are rarely grilled. They are spiced up and deep fried for an appetizer with a nutritional makeup that could ruin anyone’s appetite. Just one serving of medium buffalo wings at a well-known restaurant chain packs 1,090 calories! Want to know how many are from fat? 500. One night out for dinner should never take over your calorie allotment for the day, and this one gets mighty close.
This should be eye-opening, especially due to the fact that most store brands of hot sauce come with a big, fat zero in the nutrition label. Wings are pretty much all skin to begin with (why you bite the meat out from so many of them) from there, the frying drives them into the grave.
If you really love wings, experiment with an air fryer at home. The Leaf has an amazing recipe for Air Fryer Drumsticks. At the restaurant, ask for some hummus or shrimp cocktail instead. A quarter cup of hummus is a SmartCarb on Nutrisystem and you can pair it with all the fresh vegetables your heart desires. Three ounces of shrimp is a PowerFuel on Nutrisystem and one tablespoon of cocktail sauce translates to an Extra.
The Nutrisystem Eating Out Guide is on-point with this one. The way a food is prepared can spell the difference between a “diet do” and a “diet don’t.” Anything pan fried, scalloped, battered or creamy might as well be labeled “fat-bathed.” All of these cooking methods suggest that the fish, poultry or potato has been greased up with butter, oil or lard. And, your diet goals most likely aren’t on the chef’s mind… Flavor is.
So, what’s an extra stick or half-cup? Just about a massive calorie load, you don’t want. Instead, look for words like “roasted,” “grilled” or “baked.” You’ll still get flavor, but the taste will come mostly from the quality of the foods themselves, not whatever suspicious fat they’re masked in.
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The post Going Out to Dinner? 6 Restaurant Calorie Bombs You Need to Skip appeared first on The Leaf.
If you got an Instant Pot as a holiday gift—or if you went out and bought one for yourself—you’ll be happy to learn that you can make Nutrisystem-friendly meals in a snap using your new kitchen toy. According to the manufacturer, Instant Pot speeds up cooking by two to six times using up to 70 percent less energy.
The Instant Pot is the Swiss Army Knife of kitchen tools. It’s the next generation pressure cooker, but it also sautés, and acts like a slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, yogurt maker and a food warmer. If there’s ever an attachment that slices and dices or sends your shopping list to a grocery delivery service, you’ll be able to call it your own personal chef.
You can have this Sunday night special meal any old time since the Instant Pot makes it ultra easy and quick to prepare. Loaded with flavor from garlic, Italian seasoning, onions and black pepper, it’s equally loaded with nutrients since you’re adding carrots and potatoes to the dish. This recipe calls for two pounds of lean beef, such as rump roast, eye of round or bottom round. The cooking method is what turns these normally tough cuts into tender, juicy morsels luxuriating in a rich tomato-laced gravy. Only 359 calories, this dish counts as one SmartCarb, two PowerFuels, one Vegetable and two Extras on the Nutrisystem program.
Choose your protein—chicken, pork or beef—and add garlic, Mexican spice and fire-roasted tomatoes to your Instant Pot for instant, South-of-the-Border flavor. Avocado adds a dose of monounsatured fat—the one that’s extra good for you—and this dish is garnished with pico de gallo and chopped cilantro. This recipe makes four, two-tortilla servings at just 306 calories per serving. On Nutrisystem, this Instant Pot recipe counts as two PowerFuels, one SmartCarb and one Extra.
You’ll bounce out of bed to enjoy this egg-based breakfast made with cheddar cheese, tomatoes, spinach and hashbrowns that’s ready in just 20 minutes… And so will your entire family! This recipe makes enough for eight servings. Whatever you don’t eat, you can save for later in the week. One serving is only 115 calories and counts as one PowerFuel and one Extra.
With your Instant Pot, you don’t need a rotisserie, nor do you need to spend extra money to buy a ready-made chicken at the grocery store. All you have to do is use the “sauté” setting on the appliance, add one whole chicken, garlic powder, paprika, dried herbs (your choice) and some low-sodium chicken broth and olive oil. After the skin is golden brown, use your Instant Pot as a pressure cooker. Your “rotisserie” chicken will be done in 25 minutes! One two oz. serving of chicken is 116 calories and counts as one PowerFuel. Pair it with a large salad and a whole grain roll and your Flex meal is complete.
This soup is a hearty, satisfying, nutritious meal, bursting with flavor and warm comfort on a cold day. Don’t let the lengthy ingredients list daunt you. Once you get your veggies diced—or you get your already prepared vegetables out of the fridge—it takes no time to make. Imagine yourself sitting down to tuck into this steaming tomato-chicken broth-based soup rich with vegetables, beans, ditalini pasta and chicken, spiced with red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, pepper, thyme, bay leaves and rosemary. The recipe makes six servings, each 303 calories. On Nutrisystem, a serving counts as one PowerFuel, one Smart Carb, one Vegetable and one Extra.
It’s easy to whip up this traditional dish from Louisiana’s Big Easy using the slow cooker setting of your Instant Pot. Six hours before you plan to eat, place one pound of boneless chicken breast in the pot with onions, minced garlic, bell peppers, carrots, tomato, Creole seasoning, some broth and cayenne pepper for a real bayou flavor. When it’s done, shred the chicken and serve over cooked brown rice. This recipe serves six. Each serving is 262 calories and counts as one SmartCarb, one PowerFuel, one Vegetable and one Extra.
You’re going to wonder how anything that tastes this good can be good for you, but it is. Salmon is rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids that help douse dangerous inflammation in your body, which can contribute to heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s and arthritis. Salmon is also an excellent source of lean protein, as is the cup of chickpeas in this recipe, which are blended with raw vegetables such as zucchini, asparagus, bell peppers or broccoli. And did we mention Chili-Lime Sauce? That mix of chili powder, garlic, honey, lime juice and other flavorful ingredients makes the meal. The recipe makes two servings, and each clocks in at just 342 calories. One serving counts as one SmartCarb, one PowerFuel, half a Vegetable and three Extras.
In the world of side dishes, this delicious Instant Pot recipe reigns supreme. Imagine roasted potatoes done to perfection in seven minutes! You’ll need three cups of baby potatoes and a mix of herbs like thyme, rosemary, marjoram, oregano, some garlic powder and water. After sautéing briefly, use the pressure cooker setting to finish. Three cups of potatoes make six servings at 99 calories each. On Nutrisystem, this side counts as one SmartCarb and one Extra.
This isn’t the only cheesecake on the Nutrisystem diet, but it might become your favorite. It’s a satisfying cream cheese-ricotta style cake with a kicked-up lime flavor thanks to two whole limes zested and juiced, and sweetened with stevia, an all-nautural plant-based sweetener. You’ll need a mixer or a fork to work the ingredients together, but the rest is all Instant Pot. Best of all, this Instant Pot recipe is only 157 calories a serving and the recipe makes five servings, which each count as one PowerFuel and three Extras.
It’s up to you what you want to call this. It could be breakfast, dessert or your afternoon snack. Made with brown rice, raw cranberries, skim milk, light coconut milk, with a sprinkle of cinnamon and stevia, this 152-calorie bowl of comfort counts as one SmartCarb and one Extra.
Buffalo chicken lover? You need to bookmark this recipe. Shredded buffalo chicken is cooked to perfection with this help of an instant pot and served atop a lettuce wrap for a spicy and hearty meal. Complete with a homemade blue cheese dressing, this diet-friendly instant pot recipe has all the flavors of your favorite buffalo chicken dish without the added calories!
The post 11 Instant Pot Recipes You Need to Try This Instant appeared first on The Leaf.
