starting my diet tomorrow - first day help needed!

[rainbowflower]

Hi everyone,
I'll be starting my diet tomorrow but having a hard time finding enough foods to reach my target amounts...
Because I'm BF, I'm aiming for:
1800 calories
60-65g fat (30%)
700-1000 mg sodium
60-65g protein


so this is my plan for my first day, please suggest improvements!

Lunch
8 Tesco low fat crackers:
264 calories
6.4g protein
4.8g fat
trace sodium

Cream cheese, light philadelphia
47 calories
2.5g protein
3.5g fat
100mg sodium

Apple (medium)
71 calories
0.23g fat
0.36g protein
1.4mg sodium

Green grapes (1 cup)
110 calories
0.26g fat
1.2g protein
3.2mg sodium

Tea
2 portions of pasta with home made tomato sauce:
790 calories,
18.8g protein,
2.2g fat,
trace sodium

Marshmallows – 4
95 calories
0.9g protein
trace fat
trace sodium

Supper:
2 WW lemon cake slices
160 calories
1.6g protein
1g fat
0.02g sodium




total:
1537 calories
31.76 protein
11.99g fat
124.6mg sodium

[swish]

I think it looks great, you could add Parmesan to your pasta to add calories and protein or full fat pop for empty calories?

[Mochagirl]

Yes, I'd add parmesan for sure. I use freshly grated Reggiano, with about 120 calories and 10g of protein per serving.

[atomic sagebrush]

First of all, I don't think you need to count the protein in fruits and veg because it's minimal. You can if you want but I just don't think that form of "protein" matters to your sway and it's just more to keep track of.

So you're low on everything but calories as I'm sure you can tell.

I totally agree with the Parmesan idea. I think you could also smuggle in some butter or oil to your homemade tomato sauce to get a bit more fat in there. And you could also use the full fat cream cheese rather than the light, and increase the portion size to get some more.

I would have egg whites scrambled with asparagus or zucchini (cooked with some butter or oil, to up your fat intake) along with with supper as a low cal way to get some protein. Plus an iceberg lettuce salad at lunch or supper with some vinaigrette with oil will get some fat in there.

There's always the possibility of a fat-free, sugar-free yogurt for 100 cals, 5 g protein, 90 mg sodium.

If it comes to it and you're really struggling with protein vs. calories, you can also include a handful of shrimp or a small portion of white meat chicken (3 oz of chicken is about the size of a deck of playing cards and has 30 g of protein with about 150 calories - of course you could easily halve that and get a nice shot of protein). One shrimp has 1.5 g protein and 5 calories, so about 6 shrimp could easily add 10 grams of protein with only 30 cals. You are prob. going to have to break some "rules" to hit that protein level and stay under the calories (there ARE no rules, as long as you're moving in the direction of less, you're swaying pink :)). Shrimp does have cholesterol so you might want to take your fiber supp with that meal. You could also sprinkle a SMALL amount of chopped nuts onto your salad - one almond has .5 g protein plus .5 g fat, with only 7 cals. So a few almonds are another low-cal way to sneak some protein and fat in there.

The pasta is what's killing you for calories as I'm sure you realize. Just know that on a non-pasta day, you might find it easier to balance everything.

At any time ever when you're on the TTC diet and you find you are low in sodium, simply salting your food a bit is always an option. It doesn't take much at all, here are the equivalent measures.
1/4 teaspoon salt = 600 mg sodium
1/2 teaspoon salt = 1,200 mg sodium
3/4 teaspoon salt = 1,800 mg sodium
1 teaspoon salt = 2,300 mg sodium

[Mochagirl]

atomic - I don't mean to hijack this thread, but I'm curious about that protein in fruit thing. I use FitDay to track my intake, and of course it tabulates every speck of protein in all my food, fruit included. I always struggle to keep to 40g, but if I took away the protein from fruit, I'd be well under the limit and could even eat some more substantial food.

For example, so far today I have had:
-coffee with a tiny bit of milk
-homemade low sodium bun with 1 tbsp low sodium goat cheese and a bit of balsamic vinegar
-1 cob of corn (no salt or butter)
-a peach for dessert (I know they're not the best fruit to have, but it's peach season and I can't resist them!)

If I include all the protein I ate, I come to 13.9g, but if I remove all sources of protein except the bun and goat cheese, it come to 9.6g - that's a huge difference when you are trying to eat only 40g per day. An extra 4g of protein could mean I could have another half serving of cheese on my pasta or a yogurt. I eat a little more fruit and veggies than most people on this diet do because I am a true fruitaholic and I figure it's a better vice than chocolate or meat, so fruit and veggie protein often make up a large part of my 40g limit - sometimes over 25%, especially when I eat high protein veggies like corn. Thoughts?

(again, apologies for the hijack - but hopefully this can help everyone with their meal planning).

[atomic sagebrush]

No, not at all!

Do not count the protein in fruit and most vegetables. They're not a complete protein for one thing (although your body does store amino acids and can create proteins out of them, but if you're eating less protein overall anyway and at 1500-1800 cals, you just have so much less ability to do that. Plus, fruit and low-nutrient vegetables have none of the rest of the stuff that things like eggs, nuts, meat (as in, a host of fats and nutrients that fruits and veg are totally lacking.)

PS - just out of curiosity, and this is not meant as a reproach, I really need to know. Did you not notice those instructions in the instructions for the Low-Everything diet...to not count protein in fruit and veg...in fact anything with 1G of protein or less I have as basically a free food as long as you're not going over calories for the day. Is that info getting lost in the shuffle? I'm trying to see where I am going wrong, because people are not eating enough and I'm confused because it's supposed to be a HEALTHY diet that people can stay on for a long time, as opposed to the other diets that are not good in the long term.

I went back and tossed that in in a couple more places because I can see that it might have gotten lost in the general info....I had it listed in the fruit/vegetable instructions and not in the opening. HTH. http://genderdreaming.com/forum/showthread.php?3316-Introducing-the-Low-Everything-Diet-for-TTC-Pink!

[Mochagirl]

No - I do remember you mentioning that - my problem is that I use FitDay to keep track of my nutrients, and of course it adds every tiny speck of protein I eat. As I said, if I take fruit and veggies and other 1g sources of protein out of the equation, I probably only eat 25g per day - I tend to eat 8-10g for lunch (usually plain rice mixed with a little plain yogurt) then about 15g for supper (rice pasta with parmesan). How exciting to think maybe I can eat some more cheese or bread! Increasing my protein now won't hurt my sway, though, will it?

One thing I might stress more in your FAQ are the lower calorie limits. Swish and I both regret that we started out with so few calories. I know you say many places that we should aim for 1500-1800 (and I know you specifically warned me several times), but maybe stress the repercussions of starting out too low - you lose weight too fast then are afraid to eat more calories because you'll gain weight and potentially ruin your sway. I think we all start out the diet thinking we'll only be on it 6 weeks then panic when we realise we potentially have months and months of 1200 calories days ahead of us!

Luckily I didn't stop ovulating like swish did, but I did lose all 20lbs of my weight (and I wasn't overweight to begin with) in my first 3 months on the diet. I am a lot more careful to eat more calories now and aim for 1800 every day - I only lost 1 lb in the past month, so I think I found a good balance.

Thanks for everything, atomic!

[atomic sagebrush]

I did change that as well Mocha, thank you!!!

I don't think you'll hurt your sway at this point by increasing protein, since you've lost quite a lot of weight. Now if someone had only lost like 3 lbs and then suddenly upped their protein, that might not be the best idea. But for anyone who has lost !!!20 lbs!!!, eating some more protein (and NOT gaining any weight back) will be ok.

[Mochagirl]

Good to know. I'm visiting with all my relatives today and might not be able to get out of eating chicken for supper tonight (everyone thinks I have an eating disorder and are watching me like a hawk). I'll feel a lot less guilty about it if I know I have a little more protein allowance in my diet than I thought.

[zanacal]

I think the problem with keeping calories high enough is that we're not eating until noon so that's half the day when we're not eating anything, then we're trying not to snack so trying to fit quite alot of calories into 2 or 3 meals and it doesn't feel good to be stuffing our faces to try and meet those allowances because we have in our mind that we're trying to simulate 'bad times' - also that squeezing in 3 massive meals at the end of the day will mean blood sugar levels aren't low at all!

I hope that makes some sense!

[Mochagirl]

Well said, Z! That, plus the fact that it's soooo hard to eat lots of calories without eating too much protein and sodium.

[atomic sagebrush]

I think the problem with keeping calories high enough is that we're not eating until noon so that's half the day when we're not eating anything, then we're trying not to snack so trying to fit quite alot of calories into 2 or 3 meals and it doesn't feel good to be stuffing our faces to try and meet those allowances because we have in our mind that we're trying to simulate 'bad times' - also that squeezing in 3 massive meals at the end of the day will mean blood sugar levels aren't low at all!

I hope that makes some sense!

Well, the thing is, you're right that your blood sugar will rise during the time of the day when you are eating, but everyone eats at some point, KWIM??? Skipping breakfast just ensures that for many hours out of the day, your BS will be on the low side, if that makes any kind of sense. If it's too tough to skip breakfast, it's ok not to. Some people have had better luck skipping dinner instead, skipping lunch, or just not snacking at all. Whatever works for you is what is best.

[atomic sagebrush]

Well said, Z! That, plus the fact that it's soooo hard to eat lots of calories without eating too much protein and sodium.

Can I ask, how much is the sodium restriction impinging on your ability to eat enough??? Because I would drop it in a heartbeat (or at least relax it) if I had to choose one part of the diet not to do.

[zanacal]

Well, the thing is, you're right that your blood sugar will rise during the time of the day when you are eating, but everyone eats at some point, KWIM??? Skipping breakfast just ensures that for many hours out of the day, your BS will be on the low side, if that makes any kind of sense. If it's too tough to skip breakfast, it's ok not to. Some people have had better luck skipping dinner instead, skipping lunch, or just not snacking at all. Whatever works for you is what is best.

That's a very good point - if blood sugar is low during the night (particularly because you've had a carb fuelled dinner!) and then again all morning, you have 3/4 of the day/night with low blood sugar! The skipping breakfast scenario actually works very well for me. In fact, I'm sure you'll find it encouraging to hear that (as somebody with more weight to lose than perhaps others), I've not struggled at all with the LE diet. In fact, I've never stuck to a particular diet for this long without cheating! So if you're in a position where you could benefit from going on a weight loss diet - this one is perfectly fine in the long term.

I actually find it even easier lately because I used to keep a spreadsheet to record everything I ate but now I just check I'm having up to 500 cals / 20g protein / 500mg sodium at lunch and at dinner then grab a handful of sweets or some other treat once the kids have gone to bed!

[zanacal]

Can I ask, how much is the sodium restriction impinging on your ability to eat enough??? Because I would drop it in a heartbeat (or at least relax it) if I had to choose one part of the diet not to do.

For me, it's bread/bread products which are too high in sodium. For dinner I'll either have pasta or want a bagel or a wrap or something along those lines. The bread usually has too much sodium (particularly if I've had the same for lunch) but the pasta in larger quantities has too much protein. It's not a problem for me because I'm not trying to reach a higher level of calories but I could see it being an issue if I was trying to increase my intake.

[atomic sagebrush]

That's a very good point - if blood sugar is low during the night (particularly because you've had a carb fuelled dinner!) and then again all morning, you have 3/4 of the day/night with low blood sugar! The skipping breakfast scenario actually works very well for me. In fact, I'm sure you'll find it encouraging to hear that (as somebody with more weight to lose than perhaps others), I've not struggled at all with the LE diet. In fact, I've never stuck to a particular diet for this long without cheating! So if you're in a position where you could benefit from going on a weight loss diet - this one is perfectly fine in the long term.

I actually find it even easier lately because I used to keep a spreadsheet to record everything I ate but now I just check I'm having up to 500 cals / 20g protein / 500mg sodium at lunch and at dinner then grab a handful of sweets or some other treat once the kids have gone to bed!

That was exactly my thinking when I first came up with the skipping breakfast. That even if people ate straight off the boy menu for lunch, tea, and dinner, they would STILL have prob. 16 hours during which they were taking in no food. Plus, it's mostly during the night and a lot of people find that they skip breakfast just naturally anyway (like, 90% of the girl moms haha). It's meant to be easy for people to do, not hard.

I do find it very encouraging to hear that you find the diet easy and effective. I also found it easy to lose weight on my embryonic version of the LE diet. That was my goal, to come up with something that people could stick to for a long time so they could do all the swaying stuff they wanted to do without running out of sway window - people weren't getting pg for 6-8 months and then they'd have to go off the diet to let their minerals return to normal.

I really think a lot of this trouble we're having of late would never have happened if not for the stuff going on in my personal life with my husband's family and him struggling with that emotionally. :( For that I really do apologize from the bottom of my heart. I had fully expected to have a somewhat complete diet and cookbook done by this point, and not to mention having all my swaying threads in order and done, which still isn't the way I want it to be yet.

All I can say is that I hope you guys will bear with me and continue to ask questions and give me feedback on what is not working for people so I can tweak the diet and explain things so we can end up with sways that will work for everyone in every circumstance.

[Mochagirl]

atomic - absolutely no need to apologise - real life comes first, and quite honestly, you're always there to answer questions whenever we have them. No complaints here!

I actually find skipping breakfast to be the easiest part - I've never been a big breakfast eater to begin with. I did, however, eat breakfast as a matter of course while TTCing my other sons as I was making a concerted effort to be healthier while trying to get pregnant. I could be wrong, but back then (2008) I don't think skipping breakfast was an official part of swaying - that breakfast study had just come out and I was avoiding cereal because of it but was still eating toast and other things in the morning.

Oh, and to answer your question - sodium isn't the hardest part of this diet for me. For the first couple of weeks or so it was, but as soon as I stopped eating bread products unless I made them myself, it became a cinch. In fact, my sodium's normally so low by the end of the day that I can eat a whole serving of Pringles as a treat and still stay well under 1000mg! For me the hardest part by far is the protein - that and the no snacking rule! I'm a grazer by nature, so it's really hard to stop that.

[zanacal]

I really think a lot of this trouble we're having of late would never have happened if not for the stuff going on in my personal life with my husband's family and him struggling with that emotionally. :( For that I really do apologize from the bottom of my heart. I had fully expected to have a somewhat complete diet and cookbook done by this point, and not to mention having all my swaying threads in order and done, which still isn't the way I want it to be yet.


Absolutely no need to apologise, it's not like this is your paid job! I've got so much information from you in just the way that I like to get it (explained and analysed) and I always look forward to your responses. In fact, it's probably good that you're not online every evening because I only have time to stalk you 3 days a week :wink:

[zanacal]

PS - once you do get that cookbook and I'm done with my sway I'd be happy to look at adapting it for us English gals if others think it will be helpful!

[rainbowflower]

zana - I sent Atomic a pasta+lemon+parm recipe I found in a magazine (adjusted of course to remove onions, garlic, etc.) - perhaps you can pm her your simple pasta one to add to the book?

[atomic sagebrush]

atomic - absolutely no need to apologise - real life comes first, and quite honestly, you're always there to answer questions whenever we have them. No complaints here!

I actually find skipping breakfast to be the easiest part - I've never been a big breakfast eater to begin with. I did, however, eat breakfast as a matter of course while TTCing my other sons as I was making a concerted effort to be healthier while trying to get pregnant. I could be wrong, but back then (2008) I don't think skipping breakfast was an official part of swaying - that breakfast study had just come out and I was avoiding cereal because of it but was still eating toast and other things in the morning.

Oh, and to answer your question - sodium isn't the hardest part of this diet for me. For the first couple of weeks or so it was, but as soon as I stopped eating bread products unless I made them myself, it became a cinch. In fact, my sodium's normally so low by the end of the day that I can eat a whole serving of Pringles as a treat and still stay well under 1000mg! For me the hardest part by far is the protein - that and the no snacking rule! I'm a grazer by nature, so it's really hard to stop that.

Thank you that is good to know about the sodium. I know making bread is a pain but I do think it's best because you can at least get something to eat and there's something so satisfying about homemade bread.

I don't think I had come up with the no breakfast thing by 2008 and it took them some time to implement it after I started talking about it, so it prob. wasn't in common practice by 2008.

Interestingly, I kinda think that's (suddenly eating brekkie) at least part of why accidents seem to more often be girls. So many of us, when we set out to get pg, decide we're going to start getting really healthy and completely change our diets around from what they normally are, start popping the prenatals, etc.

I also know of at least one mom of 5 girls who does the opposite, every time she thinks about getting pregnant, she suddenly decides she's going to lose a bunch of weight first!!!

[atomic sagebrush]

Absolutely no need to apologise, it's not like this is your paid job! I've got so much information from you in just the way that I like to get it (explained and analysed) and I always look forward to your responses. In fact, it's probably good that you're not online every evening because I only have time to stalk you 3 days a week :wink:

I know, but I hate setting goals for myself (and making promises to others) that I end up unable to keep!!! :/ Anyway I hope these two diet threads were helpful, I feel like I maybe explained some stuff in a new way than I had before.