OneEyedJack's Zero Sugar Journey

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Zowie. I had a peek at Mahatma via Google:

"Mahatma rice is grown in the U.S.A. and is Kosher approved. Families can trust Mahatma to cook into fluffy white rice. Mahatma rice is naturally sodium free, cholesterol free, and fat free"

They claim 150 calories for 1/4 cup uncooked. I have a eye for numbers but the point spread is beyond any gamble I'd be betting on. I hope calorie tracking works for you as it appears to for many on this forum. You've just posted the best reason I have for not investing any time in that pursuit. I agree wholeheartedly in having some idea of what constitutes quality food and what's in it, but I have too little faith in my ability to guess as I rarely prepare my own food. I've found it easier to reverse the formula. Take weight loss in pounds and multiply by 3500 and you don't need to think about basal metabolism, activity calories or how many you may have consumed. If you get a few ounces of muscle replacing fat in the process, bonus.
 
Hale said:
Zowie. I had a peek at Mahatma via Google:

"Mahatma rice is grown in the U.S.A. and is Kosher approved. Families can trust Mahatma to cook into fluffy white rice. Mahatma rice is naturally sodium free, cholesterol free, and fat free"

They claim 150 calories for 1/4 cup uncooked. I have a eye for numbers but the point spread is beyond any gamble I'd be betting on. I hope calorie tracking works for you as it appears to for many on this forum. You've just posted the best reason I have for not investing any time in that pursuit. I agree wholeheartedly in having some idea of what constitutes quality food and what's in it, but I have too little faith in my ability to guess as I rarely prepare my own food. I've found it easier to reverse the formula. Take weight loss in pounds and multiply by 3500 and you don't need to think about basal metabolism, activity calories or how many you may have consumed. If you get a few ounces of muscle replacing fat in the process, bonus.
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I don't know what you are talking about honestly, with respect to multiplying times 3500. If you want to elaborate on that...great. I'm willing to listen. For me though, it works. And, for the most part...the information is correct...but there are mistakes made obviously here and there.

The reason I like counting calories is because...let's say the average person (not getting into gender specifics) burns 1800 calories every day...just in normal activity and sleeping. Well...If you are over weight and have been consuming, let's say...3000 calories a day...then the math is simple....your body has to store the other 1200 calories and we all know where your body stores that excess.
So, If you want to lose weight, it makes sense that you would want to dramatically reduce your caloric intake down to 1800 c...or go below that...and add some exercise to begin the metabolism of burning the excess.
Plus, if used correctly....you can obtain a lot of information on real numbers of things you are eating...like carbs, and sugars and protein and potassium and such. So, yeah, for me it makes sense...but I'd love for you to explain what your thinking is in detail.
 
I'm pretty new here and was not simply trying to discredit an approach shared by many forum members.

All I was saying that a pound of fat on the body equates to about 3500 (k)calories. If you want to lose 10 pounds, you will need to burn 35,000 kilo calories more than you consume.

If you don't know your basal metabolic rate which sets the calories that you burn sleeping and just living, if you don't know how many calories it takes your body to digest certain kinds of food, if your exercise machines lie to you about the calories you've burned and the food producers lie about caloric content and you misread the volume or mass of food you eat, or forgot to count something, well, it's a crap shoot.

Counting can help you make more mindful choices and aim for better nutrition, but, in my humble opinion, it's not sufficiently accurate to justify the effort to track. I like to take a photo of anything I put in my mouth before I eat it. If my average weight goes down 10 pounds from one month to the next, I can say with reasonable certainty that I've shifted the in/out equation by about 35 k kcal.

If you follow a fairly consistent menu you can use a combination of both methods to compare and calibrate your calorie count/burn differential. I saw a study before Xmas where a group of people who were trying to lose weight were failing because they were reporting fewer calories than recorded by camera. And that is only one piece of that side if the equation. Gaining weight on a caloric deficit just flies in the face of thermodynamics despite any explanations oe justifications claimed by members of the study.
 
I think I saw someone else here comment about the numbers from myfitnesspal being completely out of whack for many items.

Perhaps starting with a food log without worrying about tracking every calorie for a couple weeks might help until it's clear that you need to track calories. Personally, I've found the simple act of writing down what I'm eating tends to do a pretty good job at cleaning up my act :)

Good luck Jack
 
Dan, A lot of the info on MFP has been contributed by people who don't accurately put in the correct info. If it has a green tick next to it is has been verified. I often scan the barcodes to get an accurate input. I find keeping track of what I eat on MFP is mostly useful. Often I put something in & then don't eat it as I get a shock at the calories. The more you use it the more used to it you get & the easier it gets. After a while, you may not need to. I think most people consume more calories than they think they do.
I think you are doing well. Keep up the good work & try not to get too bogged down in the details :)
 
Thanks! I'm real excited about it all. There is a learning curve to most things. It is the learning curve for things that I'm only going to do once, maybe twice that make learning a chore. This is a curve that I plan on using the rest of my life. I'm pretty psyched about it!
I greatly appreciate the support and advice!
 
I think it's exciting too. Becoming more healthy & learning about nutrition is interesting & when you get results it's exciting. I'm CateAussie on MFP if you want to add me. Cheers!
 
Cate, you have been added on MFP. Thanks!
I love your quote. I wrote a poem a long time ago...reminds me of a line in it:
Pay no mind to the jumbled minds...and pay no bills for their costly thrills....
 
I'm pretty stoked this morning. I think I had a good eating day yesterday and this morning, the scale had dropped to 212.
Decided that I would add some milk so I could enjoy my shredded wheat and blackberries. So that's what I'm having for breakfast this morning at 7:13 am.
It's pretty bitter outside. 17 degrees F (-8.3 C)...Strong wind so the windchill is 1 degree F (-17.2 C)

Thought for the day:
Desire is the starting point for all achievement!
 
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For some reason I am really hungry this morning...lol. Probably boredom because of the cold. Just had some more yogurt with some oat bran and blackberries to 'fill me up'.
 
I'm going to respectfully disagree with Hale here. Everyone has something that works best for them and calorie counting might not be it, which is fine. I know plenty of people who have lost weight and never counted at all. But if you understand about what your total daily expenditure is and understand what you are eating, counting calories is simple math. I've compared my log of exercise and food with what should be correct in terms of weight loss (or gain) and it's pretty dang close. He is correct in that you have to understand what your BMR is (and what you burn on top of that just performing your daily functions) and be sure that you actually understand the caloric content of your food, but there are numerous calculators online that can give you a decent idea of where that number should be. Most of the problem that people run into is that they overestimate how active they are and completely underestimate the portion sizes of the things they are eating. That's why I weigh most of my food, which I completely understand is not something most people want to get into. Point is, if you do it correctly and are honest with yourself in terms of what you are eating and your activity level, calorie counting is one way that will always work.
 
That being said Cory...do you actually have an idea of how close or far 'weighing' the food is from 'estimating' the amount? I am kind of being as precise as I can, on purpose..not just...oh that looks like 1/3 cup...but actually measuring out everything. But honestly...some foods are just hard to measure. I am probably being a little obsessive with the numbers...but I just like the truth...and weight is pretty darn hard to argue with. I haven't even considered weighing out my food. But it makes a lot of sense. I think I will put it on my list of things to do to get a little scale. I know some people get overwhelmed with numbers...but I am actually enjoying studying the ins and outs. I think the more you know about food substance...the better choices you can make.

I have no problem with what ever works for someone else as long as the results are positive. Some of these diets out there are exactly that...out there...my thinking is that, we are a lot better off doing the hard work of 'knowing' what we are doing than just following someone else's idea. Health is the key word here.
 
most people are very poor at estimating, weighing food becomes second nature after doing it for a while but for most it is ok to not be so precise.
 
Trusylver said:
most people are very poor at estimating, weighing food becomes second nature after doing it for a while but for most it is ok to not be so precise.
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I've pretty much decided I'm going to start weighing things....like fruit especially.
I don't know if you do this or not...if not, that's perfectly fine...do you give advice on weight lifting at all on this forum?
 
-Cory- said:
I'm going to respectfully disagree with Hale here. .... Point is, if you do it correctly and are honest with yourself in terms of what you are eating and your activity level, calorie counting is one way that will always work.
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I haven't said that counting calories is a bad thing.

Given you are a bit of an empiricist, let's consider. If you look at the screen shot at the top of this page, the MFP app reports that a 3/4 cup of cooked, steamed white Mahatma brand rice contains 4 grams of salt and 2 1/2 grams of potassium. Add the macros: 246 grams fat, 796 grams carbs and 76 grams of protein and you get 1118 grams of food. Now I've done a quick Google of how much water is in rice generally: " 1 cup - 6.1 oz. dry weighed 17.9 oz. cooked". That goes along with the concept of 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice, provided we are discussing volumes and rice's specific gravity isn't far above one, and further assuming that an ounce is an ounce, though there is a 4% difference in size between imperial and US ounces and we are assuming US. How on earth does 6.1 oz. ~173 grams of rice contain 1118 grams of macros? That means a pretty full coffee cup of steamed rice would have very close to 2 1/2 lbs of food in it. Before you add the weight of the water!!! Last time I looked the water portion has zero calories. It is the ludicrousness of these numbers and the claims of Mahatma producers as to calories and salt in total contradiction to MFP that led to my comments.

Cory, you know what you need to solve an equation with 'n' variables, each of which is subject to error ranges compounded through the consequent system of equations. Doing it based on an averaged weight result gives you a statistical confidence r squared on essentially a single variable which coincides with what your tracking and can provide accurate data points.

I agree there is enormous value in understanding the calorie content of various foods to help guide choices and knowing that fat is around 9 calories per gram and protein and carbs are near enough 4.2 calories per gram. I'd be very impressed if any of those who've tracked for say, 6 weeks, would be able to take their calculated net calories over those 6 weeks, with averaged start week and end week weights, and have that equate to pounds times 3500, loss or gain. This is an untestable hypothesis as I don't track, but as many of you do, I'd like to know.

Lastly, I don't think it's particularly beneficial to eat to a particular count. I try to gauge my meals by what satisfies my appetite rather than 'x' scoops of 'n' size. While I'm not the best at reading how full I am, I have felt hunger and thirst and I've encountered neither in my 16 days posting here. Making a few changes and measuring the results seems to me, and apparently few others, a great way of evaluating whether your choices are making a difference. It's great that people do what works for them and I guess I'm asking whether it really does. Thermodynamics.
 
OneEyedJack said:
I've pretty much decided I'm going to start weighing things....like fruit especially.
I don't know if you do this or not...if not, that's perfectly fine...do you give advice on weight lifting at all on this forum?
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I do answer some lifting questions depending on how much time i have and if my internet connection is slowed lol
 
Typically when I go to the gym, I walk on the stair machine, I walk/run on the treadmill. I lift some weights and then I stretch...a lot.
On the free weights, I don't really know what I'm doing...so I just do like 10 curls with 50 lb...and then 10 pull up to my chin with the same and then 10 over my head. I try to do 3 reps of everything.

So, my question is: Keeping in mind my goal of just being fit and in good shape and healthy...plus, I want to get back into Taekwondo, and I have some lower back probs...mostly sore in the morning...nothing major.
Are these good exercises...is there a website you could recommend. I haven't even looked honestly. There is just so much information out there about everything...and you are the Boss...so I thought I'd ask you your thoughts.
Thanks!
 
I used to get some lower back pain. Discovered that it was ultimately caused by weak hamstrings and glutes, weak lower back, and overdeveloped quads in relation to the other two. Deadlifting has helped me, but there are some other exercises you could do to strengthen your hamstrings and glutes. Adding some leg curls will target your hamstrings and donkey kicks will target the glutes. There are a bunch more besides these, but these two happen to be some of my favorite pieces of assistance work.

That being said, Trusylver has a lot more experience than me and I would definitely defer to her advice over mine. Just thought I would share my experience with lower back pain here given the nature of your question.
 
-Cory- said:
I used to get some lower back pain. Discovered that it was ultimately caused by weak hamstrings and glutes, weak lower back, and overdeveloped quads in relation to the other two. Deadlifting has helped me, but there are some other exercises you could do to strengthen your hamstrings and glutes. Adding some leg curls will target your hamstrings and donkey kicks will target the glutes. There are a bunch more besides these, but these two happen to be some of my favorite pieces of assistance work.

That being said, Trusylver has a lot more experience than me and I would definitely defer to her advice over mine. Just thought I would share my experience with lower back pain here given the nature of your question.
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Thanks Cory. I've always had lower back probs since my 20s. My doctor said I suffer from SMS. (SuperMan Syndrome) Because I think I can do everything and usually do...like picking up a large a/c window unit and carrying it for 10 meters before throwing it in the back of my truck. Stupid things...like that...but you know, I just do what I have to do and that's that. But the latest problem was this damn koi pond I built. It is just a tad over 6 meters in diameter...a little over 1 meter deep...big waterfall, rocks all the way around it.
I did a good job...but it was the rocks...all those big rocks that I manhandled...my back hasn't been the same. But it also did a number on my right shoulder...hurt forever...finally I went to see my daughter's chiropractor and after a few visits...my shoulder was good.
I seriously need to get back into the habit of stretching every single day, several times a day.
What exactly is a donkey kick...is that the same thing as a back kick?
 
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