Best type of food to eat at night.

[Blancita]

Ned, if you haven't spent your life battling your weight and just for the first time had to lose weight because of an injury, you're right. You really do know very little about people who have lifelong weight problems. Obviously you will have an easier time of it, just losing by cutting out a tad, because food is clearly not your issue (otherwise you would have either spent your life watching your weight or getting fat like us, or a combination of both).

 

[wishes]

All the food you eat in restaurants has labels on it? Not here they don't. Don't you ever eat at friends? Does everything you eat come from packets?

Of course not, there are online calorie calculators for everything. you dont need to count exact number, but i know in general a slice of bread is 60-100 calories depending on the size (toast of sandwich etc).

Do you alway eat the whole pack or do you weigh it out too? And you're really going to do that for the rest of your life? If that's the way it needs to be it's no wonder so many people slide right back to where they were.

I guess this is where you assume we are all really really stupid and cant recall what the calorie content is on some things. I mean most people eat the same kinds of food often because they like them. Most of the time if you know the calorie content of say bread then a roll you can guestimate if you dont know and are at a friends of elsewhere.

The packets tell me how many calories in 100gm or "a portion", not how much I've eaten.

yep and they also usually tell you how many portions per bag also, so if a bag of chipies is 200 calories per portion and there are 4 portions in the bag i can fairly easily guess how much 1/4 of the bag is without scales or anything else.

If you are fine with measuring out everything you eat, writing down, and adding up the calories for your entire life while avoiding eating at anywhere but your own home from labelled packets then there's no problem but if you'd like to stop doing that some day you might just have a problem.

Again, clearly you are tarring everyone with your own stupidity brush here. I havnt written down calories for about a year almost now. now i KNOW what foods are high calorie and so know that i can eat them but i eat less of them. The whole calorie counting thing is so you understand what has calories and what does, and how much.
Most people who are overweight have no idea whats good for them, they just base it on what the media says.
I mean for instance, i know one lady who is very overweight, she eats nothing but 'healthy' and 'good' foods. Once she started calorie counting she realized that the 'good' oils in avacado and nuts and her spreads were also very high in calories, she modified that and learnt.
She no longer needs to calorie count now she knows where the extra was comming from and what she SHOULD be eating.

In the end, each to their own method. What works for one wont nessarily work for others.

 

[Cams Habs]

I'm sure you'll be successful JR long-term.

All this dieting is totally new to me, never needed to diet before in my whole life, so I may know less than anyone.

But when I asked around it just amazed me how many told me they had been on many diets before, often lost weight, but it usually eventually all ground to a halt at some point or other and then ended in failure.

All of them followed "diet plans" that for one reason or another they got bored with. Some had been to some sort of classes such as Weight Watchers or Rosemary Connelly. When they stopped the classes the weight went back on. All are franchises making money and the more often their customers fail and come back the more money they make. It's a huge industry that wouldn't survive if they didn't make people fail or become forever dependent on their services.

Worse still, they too often make dieting sound like rocket science and the idea that you need to weigh, record and count every calorie must encourage that view.

I've heard it said that "Dieting makes you fat" which surely can't be true but following rules that are so difficult to follow forever possibly does.

It really isn't that complicated surely? Sure, people need to know what food contains and which could make them fat. They also need to know which are the "good fats" and the cholesterol building "bad fats" because being skinny yet eating bad food isn't good for anyone either.

But I can't see it's helpful to encourage the idea that it's so difficult and complicated. It really isn't.

I've got back down to a reasonable weight in about 3 and a half months without any hassle or tears. I've just cut out the foods that are obviously high in calories and reduced a bit overall. No pain, no drama. I know what's fattening and can see with my eyes what's too much without weighing it.

With so many people going on "diets" only to fail there must be something amiss and a better way. Let's keep it as simple as it really is.

Calorie counting is not a diet. Not to me. I am not on a "diet" because I count and restrict my calories. I am on a lifestyle change, a journey, a beginning with NO end. Diets have an end, and I am NOT on a diet. It's not my job to say what people should do, especially so with my limited knowledge, but the methods I use are based on the methods other people have used - not diets, lifestyle changes. It works for me and countless others. It is all about what works for you.

I don't weigh myself meticulously, I don't record everything to the calorie, I don't keep a detailed journal. I don't need to. I don't want to. I do monitor my calorie intake with some brief notes so that I am aware of what is entering my body, and if it is too much or not enough for healthy weight loss. Just because someone counts calories, it does not mean they are journal-writing, record keeping, obsessive people - it simply means WE TRACK WHAT WE EAT. That's all there is to it. Some like to keep journals and keep detailed notes because they need to, because it helps them.

Again, counting calories is far from difficult. Every package of food - bread, cereal, most meats, cookies, popcorn, everything - they all have detailed nutrition information. It isn't difficult at all to keep track of your intake. Coupled with brief research on the internet, maybe even utilizing tools such as which has all the information for food, and bang on - you're set.

I am a little bugged that you are on a hard course of telling people that they shouldn't count calories, yet you are on a calorie reduction yourself, even though you don't track it.

You said it yourself - it isn't complicated. When you eat, you consume calories. When you breathe and do activities, your body expends those calories. Expend more than you consume, then there is weight loss - thats all there is to it. If you are like the majority of people, you need to in some way track what you are consuming, sometimes simply to ensure you are expending more than you consume.

If it is simple for you to cut away crap and eat less, and it works, then roll with it.

I think that's all I'll say... cheers and good luck

 

[Ned]

Of course not, ...

Wishes, it sounds to me as if you guestimate rather than count. You say you haven't written down all your calories for a year now. You say "now i KNOW what foods are high calorie and so know that i can eat them but i eat less of them".

So how long did it take you to know which foods were high in calories even though that info is in books and all over the net? Why would it take you any longer than a week to find that much out?

She no longer needs to calorie count now she knows where the extra was comming from and what she SHOULD be eating.

So she learnt she doesn't need to count too. Not really so tricky is it?

From reading posts here it seems a lot either really guestimate too or are just lousy at counting. Hence we get all the "I'm only eating 1000 calories but still putting on weight" stuff.

I don't assume people are stupid. You seem to be the one doing just that. People can do just the same as you did and learn which foods are high calorie and eat less of them.

By the way, "good food" has no connection whatsoever to do with calories. Sawdust is low in calories but still doesn't count as good food.

In the end, each to their own method. What works for one wont nessarily work for others.

Of course. That might be stating the obvious mightn't it?

 

[Cams Habs]

Wishes, it sounds to me as if you guestimate rather than count. You say you haven't written down all your calories for a year now. You say "now i KNOW what foods are high calorie and so know that i can eat them but i eat less of them".

It really took you a whole year to work out which foods were high in calories even though that info is in books and all over the net?



So she learnt she doesn't need to count too. Not really so tricky is it?

From reading posts here it seems a lot either really guestimate too or are just lousy at counting. Hence we get all the "I'm only eating 1000 calories but still putting on weight" stuff.

I don't assume people are stupid. You seem to be the one doing just that. People can do just the same as you do and learn which foods are high calorie and eat less of them.

By the way, "good food" has no connection whatsoever to do with calories. Sawdust is low in calories but still doesn't count as good food.


Of course. That might be stating the obvious mightn't it?

I know I said I would leave it, but please, you need to cut this crap. Your original point was that tracking calories, whether by print or mentally, is a waste of your time and not the way to live your life. We've established that is wrong - however people track their food is up to them, and tracking calories, whether by print, online, or mentally, is the most efficient way of doing it. You are really missing the entire point - even YOU are reducing your calories. Who the hell cares how they do it? As long as they are actually doing it, who has the right to say if it is the right way or not?

You seem to be more interested in promoting your idea that people don't need to count instead of actually helping out. It's complete bull, and you are missing the entire point...

 

[Invariant]

I'm sorry, but one person can't dissuade us 'calorie counters' from doing the best thing we know how, by convincing us that what we're doing is redundant because we'll never know for absolute certian how many calories are in what.

What Wishes is trying to say, is after counting calories for so long a time, what foods consist of and their caloric intake tags itself to your memory. Yes, technicially you're still 'counting' calories, but in reality, you no longer have to jaut them down.

Truth be told, it's not redundant to count calories in my opinion. I can now look at a piece of meat lover's pizza and KNOW that it has AT LEAST 300 calories loaded onto it. Knowing this helps me manage my food intake in regards to my daily allowance. Instead of two pieces, I'll have one. This helps me decide what I'm going to eat for the rest of the day.

For the past four years, this has worked for me. When I didn't count my calories and simply cut back, I only managed to MAINTAIN my obesity. It wasn't until after I began reading the caloric intake on labels and started calculating them, that I began loosing weight.

You're absolutely right about one thing, we won't know for ABSOLUTE certian how many calories are in what food. But the fact that we're knowledgeable in an *idea* of how many, is better than being clueless, imo...

For instance, if I *do* want to eat a whole pizza, I automatically know thin crust is better than hand tossed and cheese is better then sausage and pepperoni because of the caloric intake in the flour and toppings.

Calorie counting overall helps you make smarter choices in terms of what to eat and how much of it.

 

[Ned]

Again, counting calories is far from difficult. Every package of food - bread, cereal, most meats, cookies, popcorn, everything - they all have detailed nutrition information.

Calorie counting appears to be fairly difficult, why else are there all those post saying they're eating x calories and can't understand why they're gaining weight. Guestimates are easy, counting with any accuracy is time consuming and difficult. The packages don't tell you how much you eat. Accurate counting is also not necessary despite what the diet industry pretends.

I am a little bugged that you are on a hard course of telling people that they shouldn't count calories,

No I'm not telling anyone they shouldn't count calories but do wonder why they bother when, as Wishes has confirmed, it isn't necessary for her. The answer seems to be that most don't really count them at all, i.e. not the amount they consume.

yet you are on a calorie reduction yourself, even though you don't track it.

Yes, as I said, I've reduced the calories I get but without counting them. Not a tricky concept to get your head round is it? That seems to be similar to what Wishes now does and possibly you.

You said it yourself - it isn't complicated. When you eat, you consume calories. When you breathe and do activities, your body expends those calories.

Thanks, for the science lesson, I sort of grasped that bit quite early on.

If it is simple for you to cut away crap and eat less, and it works, then roll with it.

I hate to be the one to break the news but unless you eat less it won't for anyone.

 

[Cams Habs]

I think I'm going to pass out.

Ned, in one sentence, tell me what point you are trying to make.

It seems to me, the point of all your posts appears to be "You simply do not need to count calories because it is a waste of time, difficult, inaccurate and robotic, leading you on a path of eternal doom filled with endless scribbled-in food diaries."

You are wrong. There is no right path. My path is not the right away. Wishes path is not the right way. Your path isn't the right way. THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY. Everyone does it the way that works for THEM, and that is their personal right way. End of story really.

I don't know why you insist on saying how difficult calorie counting is, how many people are doing it wrong, blah blah blah. There are hundreds of people on this board who have lost weight counting calories because it is simple to understand once you have the knowledge. If you would rather not count, then don't. End of story.

Now I'm really done.. I'm just going to get myself worked up about it and there truely is nothing more to say.

There is no official right way. If people are comfortable counting calories, that is the right way for them.

Move on.

 

[Invariant]

Wishes doesn't have to count calories, because she's impressively well informed with the caloric intake in food BECAUSE she counted calories in the past...it's the same for me and other people on this board.

Once you stick to the routine of calorie counting, you memorize the calories in everything and effortlessly, you can assume the amount of calories in what you eat. It's not rocket science.

It's tantamount to memorizing multiplication. You do it long enough, and it becomes effortless. You don't have to sit there counting off your fingers how many times three goes into twelve, four pops into your head instantaneously.

This is the math of routine calorie counting.

 

[daybyday]

counting calories isn't difficult if you cook. many recipes list how many calories are in a portion.
most of my calorie counting for the day is done while I eat breakfast. it's really not as hard as you're trying to make it seem.

the others are right, after doing it for awhile it becomes second nature and you no longer need to religiously count calories since you know what a portion is and what it looks like.

if it doesn't work for you, fine. it does work for others, so what's the point in coming on here and arguing with people about it. it really doesn't look good on you.

 

[Ned]

I'm sorry, but one person can't dissuade us 'calorie counters' from doing the best thing we know how, by convincing us that what we're doing is redundant because we'll never know for absolute certian how many calories are in what.

We might be talking at cross purposes here. This thread was started by someone saying they were consuming 600 calories a day. I'd guess he was probably mistaken because if he was right within just a few days he would feel extremely dicky.

He was advised to use complicated calculations of what his calorific need was and to take away an arbitary figure to work out how many calories he needs to eat to lose weight. I wonder if his original calorie counting was unreliable why would all the other calculations help?

We don't need to determine how many calories we need or exactly how many we now consume. Determining that with any accuracy is nigh impossible. A very active man might need 5000 calories while an inactive one needs only 2000. There's no accurate way to measure the calories we use. It differs from person to person

If someone is putting on weight he needs less calories or more activity. We do know very accurately the energy of food bought from stores. I'm not suggesting otherwise. His choice is either to just eat less of his current foods or to eat foods that are lower in calories.

Counting calories is no more necessary than measuring every length of wallpaper before sticking it on a wall. The normal way is to see how much too long the piece of paper is and cut the surplus off. If you're getting too many calories you need to consume less. We all know that and there's now need for to do complicated calculations with purely arbitary figures. You do need to know which foods provide high calories and which foods provide the nutrition you need.

If you find guessing how many calories you need and counting the exact number to consume helps then fine but it's clear from how many people fail that it doesn't work for all. At some point it all seems to go wrong for whatever reason.

A friend was the same height and weight as I was 3 months ago and has been counting his calories for the last 2 years. Yesterday he was still pretty much the same weight and the most he's ever lost was 12 pounds for all his counting and sums.

Calorie counting overall helps you make smarter choices in terms of what to eat and how much of it.

Isn't it knowing what the calorific content and nutrition of foods that leads to smarter choices, not counting how much poor food is eaten? Is that what you call calorie counting rather than counting how many actual calories you consume in a day?

If so that something we've done most of our lives. That's why we grow so much of our own food, have never eaten junk food or factory pre-prepared dishes, including that Weight-watchers stuff in packets, and pretty much the only thing we eat from a freezer is ice and ice-cream. I never considered just knowing which foods were high in calories as being the same as "calorie-counting". If that's all calorie counting is I'm all for it.

 

[Ned]

after doing it for awhile it becomes second nature and you no longer need to religiously count calories since you know what a portion is and what it looks like..

I'm saying little more than you. You know what is too much and you say you don't need to count the calories either. You say you can tell by what a portion looks like. Me too. So why insist that others should? Are you saying they're to dumb to do the same as you and me? Are you and I doing something that's so difficult?

if it doesn't work for you, fine. it does work for others, so what's the point in coming on here and arguing with people about it. it really doesn't look good on you.

Not here to look good or play Polyanna. What would the point be in everyone here all saying the same thing and I'm sure you know that it takes at least two to make an argument. I haven't made personal or sanctimonious comments directed against you or anyone else, only disputed their opinions, so is it really necessary for you to make them towards me?

 

[Invariant]

I'm merely saying that those of us who count our calories are trying to avoid a surplus so we don't have to curse ourselves out for eating what we *thought* was a good amount of calories, and therefore cutting our intake of food.

I'm not saying you're wrong Ned, you are making points, but not everyone is like you. I can't do what you do. I need to count my calories and half the people on here are just like me.

We're going to eat poorly sometimes, it happens. We're only human, we can't resist the temptation of a double fudge piece of cake....but counting calories give us a good idea how much of that cake we can realistically burn off being sendentary. The surplus we'll then have to exercise off. That's what I'm saying.

I count calories so I don't have to wait until I hit a surplus. What would be the point of eating better if I was just going to gain the weight back because I didn't keep track of what I was *realistically* eating.

You can get fat eating nothing but veggies and fruit if you eat enough. If a whole bag of oranges is consummed in one sitting, guess what? It's not good for you. Why? Because they've just peaked your caloric intake REGARDLESS of the fact the sugar is fructose and that oranges are "good food".

 

[Darth Pooh]

Ned's argument stinks... because now that I have been on my CALORIC counting phase, I actually eat MORE food than I used to.

So, that is a really poor argument that just by eating less and smaller portions is good enough. It actually isn't, it makes you self aware of the content of the food you put in your mouth and holds you acountable, something you apparently don't have issues with (since this is injury weight) I don't really understand why you feel the need to make your point so clear to people who have lost an enormous amount of weight doing exactly what you are against. Don't use the method and move on from the topic...

I liked it as it was said earlier, you get to the same point in the road as me, just taking a different path. Who cares if my path was easier or harder, we both got there. Just like I tell my students with a math problem... different methods same concept.

 

[wishes]

ok some very good points made, i think we are now rehashing things.

This thread was all about eating in the evening, can we take it back there or not post at all

 

[Darth Pooh]

ok some very good points made, i think we are now rehashing things.

This thread was all about eating in the evening, can we take it back there or not post at all

Done, sorry.

I agree with many other posters here. I would say it doesn't matter what type of calorie you put in your mouth (I prefer high fiber for the filling effect but not because it's better or worse than carbs) just as long as you get the right amount.

 

[wishes]

hmmm bananas and fruit - heated so its sweeter! hows that not healthy for an evening snack?

baked apples sprinkled with cinnamon! I can think of tons of cool yummy healthy foods. Even custerd made from powder is not overly bad if you use light milk.

 

[Blancita]

Threads would be really dull and often uninformative if they always stuck only to the original topic at hand. Unless we're being rude, is it possible to just let threads go where they will?

 

[sawsilk]

Jello

I know this thread is almost dead but it'll still pop up on google when someone types "food to eat at night" or something. So I would just like to say that a good munchie is sugar free Jello. 40 calories per whole package! That is about 2 .25 cups of awesome jello-ness. Strawberry is quite good. Also you should know the 40 cal comes straight from 4g protein. No carbs or fat. so some extra protein, a good filler, testy textured... good for the craving person. But as for what you should eat.. Avoid transfat, and too much starch. If you eat something then wash it down with a could glass of water to facilitate gastric acid production, which occurs when stomach pH falls too low (which any neutral substance will do but water is calorie free).

So this will facilitate digestion and if there are lots of fats and starches they will not be used by the body for breathing and sleeping (simple sugars will be used instead), and they will get stored by the body which is what you don't want. So try for fruits with simple sugars.

 

[scottsblue]

i eat about 1000-1200 caleries a day and i`m 6ft 2, 215lbs and i belive what i`m eating i can stick with forever becuase its good food and i`m never sat there starving. yes some days i`ll go over with beer or cheese but thats like once a week.