# Another thread about questioning regarding diet



## Charus (May 31, 2017)

Exercise is one thing, but I think diet is very important if I'd want to lose weight and gain a more toned body.

With that said, I have a job/work, I currently work at a small coffee shop, and as a worker there, I pretty much get one coffee for free (And another I buy), usualy I drink cappuccino since I tried expresso and I didnt like it at all, since it tastes too bitter to me.

I was with a dietitian, it recommended me to stop putting too much sugar on my drinks and drink something else other than cappuccino for some reason I dont remember, but I'd want to know whether cappuccino really does contribute to weight gain?

Also, can saccharine be a valiable replacement for regular sugar?

Now regarding actual food, I'm trying to eat only 2 meals per day, and I try to eat small portions too, usualy I try to eat food high in protein since thats what I know is usefull for your muscle and usualy I've read that is what fills you up for a long time, though I still experience hunger which can be annoying.

The Food I am eating usualy is Eggs, pasta, fish/tuna and Schnitzel (Lately I am eating more Schnitzel because it is very quick to make, all you have to do is buy it from your shop and warm it up in a microwave, thats all), so I wonder whether I should ditch Schnitzel since I've read it is somehow unhealthy or something? I also eat pasta simply because thats what is the quickest for me to make at the moments and thats all I know how to make at this moment.

For cheat days, I usualy have only one cheat day where I go out with a group of people (Or with my father) and eat pizza or a burger, with a sugar-free soda drink (Usualy it is Coca-cola without sugar, the zero version).

Any tips what I can do to incorporate for a better diet?


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## tarmonk (Nov 21, 2017)

I don't think cappuchino itself contributes to weight gain, if you don't add sugars to it. Unless you're not tolerant to some natural components of milk at all - but experiment and see how it affects you.

Schnitzel is one of my favourites too - if you don't mind bothering, try to make them by yourself as those bought from shelves may contain unnecessary amounts of wheat flours (which act in body pretty much like pure sugars). I use almond flour to cover them - less carbs but the concept remains the same. And do add a nice amount of butter on top of it - this can do miracles - you feel more fulfilled for longer time and get some healthy fats as well.

Generally, if you cut off most sugars/carbs too suddenly, you can feel hunger - no worry, it's just a sign of that body is adapting to get off from sugar dependences. Hold on and it'll pass after couple of weeks or so (it's personal how long it takes for anyone).

Actually it's all easier if you make all meals that you can, by yourself - then you can see exactly what's in them. Processed foods often have unnecessary carbs in them (hidden sugars and flour), even in products that naturally shouldn't have any.

General rule is that you still have to get some amount of energy for a day - if it doesn't come from glucose that much any more, you need to increase intake of proteins and fats.


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## Bella2016 (Mar 5, 2013)

Artificial sugars could easily make you put on more weight and give you more health problems like cancer. Better substitute is a less processed sugar or fruit (not that you can put that in coffee but anyway).
Anything artificial will basically harm you. Gluten is natural (pasta), but fattening. It does have nutrients that could easily be important for good health. However anything artificial - colors, flavors, preservatives, etc. are going to mess with your health and are the easiest thing to get rid of. If your body copes with caffeine then it will have health benefits and no need to stop, just have in moderation. Be careful with milk substitues if you work out that it's the milk that's affecting your weight, because soy is a disaster for health even if it's promoted as a health food. Nut milks (if tolerated) can be a better alternative (depends on what's added to them however - some brands are worse than others). However I'm not personally against dairy because of the calcium and I don't think full fat dairy will necessarily even lead to weight gain (who knows).
You can always have less sugar because you will get used to less, and then eventually no sugar in coffee, because if you stop having it your taste will adapt (and you'll wonder why you ever needed it). People find this hard to believe, but taste does adapt.

You could also find that eating less can make your body store more fat than it would if you ate more.


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## leftover crack (May 12, 2013)

Purely for weight loss I would recommend the complete mediterranean cookbook 

its a bit of work coming up with meal pairs (it recommends you make two complementary recipes for a single meal, like one of the veg recipes together with a fish recipe) but you don't have to, a lot of the recipes will make lots of leftovers for the next day and it's super healthy and at the back theres a table of all of the recipes and their nutritional values per serving. One gripe is that since I apparently live in some destitute far away place in central europe I don't have easy access to all of the ingredients. I've yet to find jarred artichokes (I only found canned) or sherry vinegar on a store shelf but I've managed so far so I can't imagine it would be too difficult. You're gonna need to find the best cheap olive oil you can find since you'll be using a lot of it. 

Some kitchen equipment that i've found invaluable with this book:
US standard measuring spoons and cups
12 inch nonstick skillet with a metal handle so you can place it in a hot oven if you need to
something to cover that skillet (a lid preferably but i once covered it in tin foil and it seemed ok)
dutch oven medium to large leaning towards a bigger one, biggest you can find that will fit on the stove
a food processor since theres lots of sauces and pastes etc. that require it

It's a bit of work and planning but if you dedicate yourself to this diet, this book can really help.


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## eeo (Aug 25, 2020)

Diet is the most important thing for losing excess fat. There's a good reason for saying you can't exercise your way out of a bad diet. You'd be surprised how quickly the calories can add up with small amounts.

Saccharin is artificial, and has a nasty aftertaste. There have been studies about sweeteners, they can have different effects on bodies, so it might be useful to read up on them. Too much can make things taste weird, and anything in excess isn't healthy either. I've been using erythritol because it doesn't have a bad aftertaste for me.


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## leftover crack (May 12, 2013)

One more thing, food consists of Macronutrients and Micronutrients

You don't have to worry about micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, fatty acids though I'm not sure if those are in this category but they're important) as long as you eat a balanced diet mediterranean diet  but even then you need to make sure you keep a solid meal variety

Macronutrients are the ones that will help you lose weight the most, and they are counted as follows: 4 calories per gram of protein or carbohydrate, 9 calories per gram of fat.

Good luck!


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## Purrfessor (Jul 30, 2013)

Number 1 contributor to weight gain is liquids. If you drink stuff with sugar, or stuff that has artificial sweetener, you'll gain weight fast. Drink water, sports drinks, protein shakes, or milk (cuz it is loaded with nutrients). Stay away from orange juice, soda (even 0 calories), coffee unless it's black, and other juices. An option to drink something healthy is to make smoothies, blend up vegetables and fruits with coconut water base and add chia seeds and flax seeds for protein. Frozen berries like strawberries and blueberries, kiwi, banana, mango, lots of kale, lots of spinach, carrot, chia and flax seeds, coconut water should all go in it. It would be sweet and tasty but is loaded with nutrients to give you energy and happiness. Use as a meal replacement, or as a post workout drink. 

The physical food to avoid is carbohydrates. This is why pasta and schnitzel isn't good. The only time you want carbs is for breakfast to give you energy in the morning, and before workouts to give you energy for workouts. Worst case scenario is a carb dinner before bed. 

Also fats before bed like cottage cheese is good. This is because fats take longer to digest, so since there is a long break between sleeping and waking up for breakfast (8 hours), fats before bed allows you to be digesting well into the night so you don't wake up as hungry or as slothful.


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## eeo (Aug 25, 2020)

Purrfessor said:


> The physical food to avoid is carbohydrates. This is why pasta and schnitzel isn't good. The only time you want carbs is for breakfast to give you energy in the morning, and before workouts to give you energy for workouts. Worst case scenario is a carb dinner before bed.


No food groups should be avoided unless there are serious allergies or medical conditions involved. The chosen ratio of carbs, protein and fats can be down to individual preferences based on how you're feeling after the meals or how long they keep you full. But the body needs a good balance, and there are side effects to having too low or high amounts of any one of them. 

Schnitzel isn't the best choice for frequent meals because it's pre-processed, most likely breaded and deep-fried, and calorie dense for the amount you should eat. You'd get better nutritional value if you cooked the protein source yourself. Pasta isn't bad either, it's complex carbs. Balancing the carbs with a good source of protein and fats is still a good nutritious meal even for dinner when you're trying to lose weight. As you also pointed out with fruits and veggies, they're loaded with nutrients. So choosing the kind of carbs to include in your meals can make a difference when trying to keep a sustainable lifestyle during and after weight loss.


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## Purrfessor (Jul 30, 2013)

eeo said:


> No food groups should be avoided unless there are serious allergies or medical conditions involved. The chosen ratio of carbs, protein and fats can be down to individual preferences based on how you're feeling after the meals or how long they keep you full. But the body needs a good balance, and there are side effects to having too low or high amounts of any one of them.
> 
> Schnitzel isn't the best choice for frequent meals because it's pre-processed, most likely breaded and deep-fried, and calorie dense for the amount you should eat. You'd get better nutritional value if you cooked the protein source yourself. Pasta isn't bad either, it's complex carbs. Balancing the carbs with a good source of protein and fats is still a good nutritious meal even for dinner when you're trying to lose weight. As you also pointed out with fruits and veggies, they're loaded with nutrients. So choosing the kind of carbs to include in your meals can make a difference when trying to keep a sustainable lifestyle during and after weight loss.


Each macronutrient has a particular effect. They all give Calories but that's too simplistic to describe how your body processes them. Carbohydrates are processed like sugars and sugars will only burn if you are active. If you are inactive and consume carbohydrates then the sugars will be stored as fat. This is why carbohydrates are excellent for breakfast and preworkouts, being you will be active soon after consuming them. If it's a late night dinner and all you do is sit on the couch and watch tv after eating the pasta, your body will store the carbohydrates as fat. Protein calories will also be stored as fat if you are not exercising. The more you exercise, the more your body demands protein to restore the muscle fibers or build new ones. If you are exercising very little and consuming protein, you will use the minimum amount of protein then the extra will be stored as fat. Fat calories burn very slowly so if you only eat 2 meals a day they are awesome because they will be burning in between meals. If you eat fat calories in multiple meals a day like 4-5, then you'll store the fat calories as your own fat because you can only burn so much at once.

Carbohydrates = before activity
Fat = before fasting
Protein = after activity
Nutrients = after fasting

This is the ideal way to consume the macronutrients.


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## eeo (Aug 25, 2020)

Purrfessor said:


> Each macronutrient has a particular effect. They all give Calories but that's too simplistic to describe how your body processes them. Carbohydrates are processed like sugars and sugars will only burn if you are active. If you are inactive and consume carbohydrates then the sugars will be stored as fat. This is why carbohydrates are excellent for breakfast and preworkouts, being you will be active soon after consuming them. If it's a late night dinner and all you do is sit on the couch and watch tv after eating the pasta, your body will store the carbohydrates as fat. Protein calories will also be stored as fat if you are not exercising. The more you exercise, the more your body demands protein to restore the muscle fibers or build new ones. If you are exercising very little and consuming protein, you will use the minimum amount of protein then the extra will be stored as fat. Fat calories burn very slowly so if you only eat 2 meals a day they are awesome because they will be burning in between meals. If you eat fat calories in multiple meals a day like 4-5, then you'll store the fat calories as your own fat because you can only burn so much at once.
> 
> Carbohydrates = before activity
> Fat = before fasting
> ...


We're talking about different things. Yes, that's great to know and use to plan your meals if this particular way suits your needs and goals. But what if it doesn't work well for you? Breakfast high in carbs can bring blood sugar levels quickly up and down. This increases the likelihood of feeling hungry again in a few hours. You can fight the feeling, but if you're uncomfortable you'll be more likely to grab something quick before your next planned meal. If you'd have a more balanced meal for breakfast, you might feel fine until your next meal. More fats for dinner may be good for when you sleep, but if you have a headache because you didn't include more carbs, then you're more likely to grab something unplanned again before actually going to bed. This might seem insignificant, but things add up.

Keeping consistent habits will get you the results. If you have to constantly fight with hunger, worry about the right time to burn carbs, worry about storing fat (which is something the body is naturally supposed to do anyway), worry about getting enough protein for muscles day in and day out, the likelihood of giving up and returning to your old habits increases. There may be an ideal way to consume macros, but storing some fat may also be a small thing to accept when it still helps keep you going.


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## Purrfessor (Jul 30, 2013)

eeo said:


> We're talking about different things. Yes, that's great to know and use to plan your meals if this particular way suits your needs and goals. But what if it doesn't work well for you? Breakfast high in carbs can bring blood sugar levels quickly up and down. This increases the likelihood of feeling hungry again in a few hours. You can fight the feeling, but if you're uncomfortable you'll be more likely to grab something quick before your next planned meal. If you'd have a more balanced meal for breakfast, you might feel fine until your next meal. More fats for dinner may be good for when you sleep, but if you have a headache because you didn't include more carbs, then you're more likely to grab something unplanned again before actually going to bed. This might seem insignificant, but things add up.
> 
> Keeping consistent habits will get you the results. If you have to constantly fight with hunger, worry about the right time to burn carbs, worry about storing fat (which is something the body is naturally supposed to do anyway), worry about getting enough protein for muscles day in and day out, the likelihood of giving up and returning to your old habits increases. There may be an ideal way to consume macros, but storing some fat may also be a small thing to accept when it still helps keep you going.


yes I know what you are saying. I've put on some weight this last year myself and the reason is I've just been having to work at a near constant rate. In order to have the energy to keep going at a constant rate, I had to eat a lot of food multiple times a day. However this turned me more into a machine where I thought my body was simply just run on food. So I crashed finally and came to realize that there's more than just food that can get me going. Socially speaking, personal interaction can get me going. Playing video games can get me going. Watching tv can get me going. Cleaning can get me going. Planning my moves can get me going. I'm an INTP not an ISTP! I need that Ne stimulation so there is a problem with overworking/overeating that is personal and needs to be factored in. 

If you a) eat 2 meals a day b) work a physical job and c) have habits of eating carbs for comfort then you need to adjust the diet. Like I said, eating fats will help more if your style is 2 meals a day because they burn slower which will reduce likelihood of hunger. However if you are working you will need carbs and proteins too. It's better to get carbs early and while you work (lunch) and finish strong with protein to repair yourself. If you find that you are sleepy after work or uncomfortable then yes go into your comfort food of carbs. But it is more advised to not overdo it. This means to not only don't eat a huge meal of carbs (which will make you uncomfortable therefore not being the proper medicine), but also do not make it a habit. 1 or 2 times a week, mostly once though.

If you cannot do this for reasons, consider the possibility of simply accepting the fact that you may not be able to lose weight efficiently enough which may demotivate you altogether. But it should still be good to at least put in some effort to reduce improper caloric intake, where you can. Just knowing when and where you should eat is just a first step. Actually listening to that logic is another.


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## eeo (Aug 25, 2020)

Purrfessor said:


> If you cannot do this for reasons, consider the possibility of simply accepting the fact that you may not be able to lose weight efficiently enough which may demotivate you altogether. But it should still be good to at least put in some effort to reduce improper caloric intake, where you can.


Yeah, absolutely. Putting in the effort to become healthier, and form healthier habits will still make things a lot better than before. Just as small amounts can add up to a lot of calories, small changes can also add up to good results.


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## SgtPepper (Nov 22, 2016)

water is your friend indeed.


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## Scoobyscoob (Sep 4, 2016)

SgtPepper said:


> water is your friend indeed.


Water and soda.  Well, maybe that's just me.


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## BenevolentBitterBleeding (Mar 16, 2015)

Charus said:


> I was with a dietitian, it recommended me to stop putting too much sugar on my drinks and drink something else other than cappuccino for some reason I dont remember, but I'd want to know whether cappuccino really does contribute to weight gain?


It could be because it's made with milk/cream and that might add unwanted calories. Sugar might be considered really bad because they're basically empty calories. Like, you could drink an entire bottle of coca cola and gain like 800 calories, but it wouldn't really fill you up much, nor would it give you much in the way of nutrition. Potato chips are like that too, sigh...



> Now regarding actual food, I'm trying to eat only 2 meals per day, and I try to eat small portions too, usualy I try to eat food high in protein since thats what I know is usefull for your muscle and usualy I've read that is what fills you up for a long time, though I still experience hunger which can be annoying...
> 
> Any tips what I can do to incorporate for a better diet?


Just be careful if eating very high/all protein diet as it might increase the chances of getting kidney stones. If you're working out(body building), I think there's some kind of general information of taking around 1g of protein per pound of your overall LEAN body weight. If you look up studies, some of them have the optimal amount at less than 1g per lbs.

You might want to look into an app like Cronometer or myfitnesspal for your phone, and follow the setup instructions to figure out a general guideline tailored specifically for yourself for how many calories you 'should' be having daily/weekly in order to reach your target weight. I find when you first start it's a bit of a hassle, but it makes it much easier to keep track of everything. I prefer Cronometer because even the free version has a nutrition report section that also gives a breakdown of mineral/vitamins(so you're not just tracking carbs/fats/protein).

Like, if you put in all your daily foods for the day/week and find you're lacking in certain areas, then maybe you should buy a vitamin/multi vitamin supplement to round things out.

If you do go that route, you'll probably want to invest in a simple digital kitchen scale so that you can actually weigh your food portions. This is also a hassle in the beginning, but after awhile you should kind of instinctively know how much of what will give you what nutrition and the approximate amount of calories. This is useful for when you go out to eat and start wondering if a piece of meat/bread/veggies/nuts/fruits etc... is going to be too much.

Fiber is also important, so try to incorporate enough of that into your diet as well. Just be aware that your body will need time to adjust if you increase the intake, and you also need to make sure to drink enough water to help absorb/flush it out.

Lastly, I don't know how helpful this is, but I saw a video recently about diets, and how supposedly it's really not a one size fits all kind of thing... So maybe try _any_ diet for a bit and see how you feel/how your body reacts, and then adjust accordingly.


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## Raminan88 (5 mo ago)

Have you tried counting calories? All the food you mentioned wont matter if you count calories bc the most important thing is the amount of calories that enter your body, so you can still drink your cappuccino if you stay under calorie.... though if you want to do a specific diet then it depends on the diets requirement, is cappuccino allowed? Etc etc


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## DOGSOUP (Jan 29, 2016)

Try regular coffee with regular milk no sugar + increasing the amount of fresh vegetables in your diet.


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## Internal (Nov 4, 2020)

Raminan88 said:


> All the food you mentioned wont matter if you count calories bc the most important thing is the amount of calories that enter your body,


I respectfully disagree.
One can meet their calories goals with junk food and with an organic, nutritient-rich approach. And there will be a huge difference in terms of satiety, vitamin deficiencies, overall energy levels and concentration.
Determining the goal in terms of calories is a good step, but paying attention to the make-up of one's food is still necessary.


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## Raminan88 (5 mo ago)

Internal said:


> I respectfully disagree.
> One can meet their calories goals with junk food and with an organic, nutritient-rich approach. And there will be a huge difference in terms of satiety, vitamin deficiencies, overall energy levels and concentration.
> Determining the goal in terms of calories is a good step, but paying attention to the make-up of one's food is still necessary.


i was referrimg to cappuccino and whether its good or bad. And i think people already know junk food is bad. Im just implying that you dont need to completely revamp the type of food youre used to eating to lose weight. You can fit cappuccinos into it. Also youre right that it does affect satiety but its the thing ppl will find out when they start diving deeper. One does not need that much information when starting out imo... if i had to take every knowledge about nutrition into consideration when startimh out id get too confused.


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## leftover crack (May 12, 2013)

[video]


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