The Nuts and Bolts of My “Diet”
Do I count calories? Yes and no. Most of the time I don’t count calories but when I feel like my weight is going up, I stop seeing results, or I feel like I may be letting too many little things slide by I start using online calorie tracking for a few days or weeks until I’m back in control.
Instead of counting calories most of the time, I look at each meal in “salad ratios”. In other words, I pay attention to the proportions of food to each other and I make sure I’m fueling my body with the highest quality fuel possible. Think of your average chicken salad. The biggest ingredient is usually lettuce, next comes the chicken, then usually there are some apples, croutons, and other tasty carbs. Lastly there is the dressing. You wouldn’t want more dressings than chicken. In the same way, you don’t want more fat than protein. You MAY WANT more croutons than lettuce but that’s not a good idea if you want to lose weight or stay slim. You don’t have to cut the croutons out completely but you want more of the veggies and an equal amount of chicken if you’re going to lose. So let’s use my “salad ratios” in a non-salad meal.
First I’ll fill half of my plate with some sort of green veggie or veggies. Don’t like veggies? I’m not crazy about them either! I NEVER find myself craving a plate of broccoli. Of course, I rather fill my plate with macaroni and cheese. But I also know if I do that every night I will be back to the Goodwill bag pulling out my old bigger pants and nothing tastes as good as thin feels. I also know that veggies are one of the best sources of nutrition out there. There are a tons of opinions out there but every diet from Atkins to veganism agree that veggies are good for you. My advice it to learn to eat them wether you like them or not. Sorry! Find ways that make them more palatable such as sauteing them in garlic and a a little oil.
Second I’ll put a serving of (usually lean) protein on my plate about the size of my palm or guess what…a deck of cards. I’m sure you’ve heard that before, well, it works. I prefer the palm sized method because bigger people have bigger palms and the bigger people need more calories than smaller people. Anyhoo, protein takes up a quarter of my plate.
Third I’ll have a serving, the size of my palm or fist, of complex carbs such brown rice or whole wheat pasta. Sometimes I’ll eat a serving of fruit in addition but after 3 pm when I don’t need as much energy, I count fruit as a complex carbs because of the higher amount of natural sugar in them compared to the veggies. Before 3 pm, I’ll have a complex carb and a fruit if I want because I know I have the rest of the day to burn it off. After 3 pm, I’ll have one or the other.
Lastly, I’ll have a serving of fat. I try to make them good fats such as salmon, flax, nuts, or avocado. But I live in a semi-real world so that’s not always possible. If I’m having a side salad I will have a good fat in the form of flax or olive oil base dressing. If I’m having a chicken quesadilla on a whole wheat tortilla well then I’m getting plenty of fat from the cheese (not a “good” fat). If I’m having Salmon, I’ll probably skip the fat all together because salmon already has good fat. Fat has 9 calories per gram as opposed to 4 calories per gram for protein and carbohydrates. That is why I always order dressing on the side so I can make sure that my ratio of fat is smaller than my proteins and carbs. If you eat a salad and there is a gob of dressings left over then you’ve had too much.
People have a lot of different ideas on the percentages of carbs, protein, and fats that should make up of caloric intake. Personally I find it sort of confusing and time-consuming. I’ve tried carb-cycling, low carbing, and who knows what else but I’ve found just looking at each meal in “salad ratios” to work the best. Again, half of my plate is made up of veggies, a quarter of my plate the chicken (or other protein), the other quarter of it the feel-good yummy toppings like croutons (complex carbs, although most croutons are not complex unless they are made from whole wheat!). Then topped with a moderate to small serving of fat. This tends to work out, give or take, to about 40% protein, 40% carbs, and 20% fat. This has worked very well for me in gaining muscle and losing fat. If I feel like I need a little boost for my weight loss I’ll drop the complex carbs from my last meal or two. Which then works out to be about 50% protein, 30% carbs, and 20% fats. I don’t drop protein because I want to “feed” all my hard earned muscle. If I’m feeling a little foggy or low on energy I’ll add a serving of complex carbs. Remember to watch the portion sizes of the protein, complex carbs, and fat. Go crazy on the green veggies! For carbs and protein, a serving the size of your fist or palm is a good rule of thumb. Fats, a serving the size of your big toe should work or about a tablespoon. Although I don’t recommend pulling out your big toe and measuring your dressing. You may start to lose friends or at least dinner invitations.
This is obviously not the only way to lose weight. I just find it to be the easiest and it works for me and many other people. And it relies on ample servings of veggies which we need for our health. So, no, I don’t typically count calories. I didn’t even count them that often when I was prepping for my competition. I try to stay away from counting calories because I get obsessive-compulsive and mean. Then I alienate everyone around me and find myself depressed hiding in the closet inhaling Cheetos. But once in a while I’ll go onto The Daily Plate and log in all my food just to make sure I’m on track. However, I do recommend writing down everything you eat until you are in a habit of making 90% of your meals healthy ones. It’s so easy to let the little things slip by and they really add up. Look at your list to make sure you are getting some protein and complex carbs in each meal. And if you give you peace of mind, every so often, take everything you write down and figure out your total calories. Chances are if you eat in salad ratios and controlled portion sizes then you’ll end up with a number that in a good range for you. Most people who eat like this will lose weight because most people are eating too much pasta, bread, and fats and when they switch to “salad ratios” they will be eating less calories. Add in a daily workout and your almost sure to start losing weight.
A quick but very ROUGH guide to finding a good caloric range for yourself is to take your body weight times 12-15. I’ve heard 10 but this just seems too low. If you are older or have a slow metabolism use a higher number and vice versa. This will give you a really rough estimate of maintenance calories because it doesn’t take into account age, height, activity level or body fat %. Then subtract 250 calories. And assume you will be burning another 250 calories through exercise for at total of at least 500 a day. Over 7 days you have a had 3500 calorie deficit which equals 1 pound of fat loss.
Here’s an example using myself. I currently weigh 122 pounds. Since I work out hard everyday I’m going to use a higher number (you shouldn’t consume less than 1200 calories). 122 x 14 = 1708 So that’s an estimated 1708 calories to maintain my weight. If I wanted to lose a pound a week I could cut my calories by 500 which would be too low in my opinion and I might actually end up making things worse by slowing down my metabolism. So instead I’ll cut by 250 and eat 1458 calories spread out over 5-6 meals.
In my opinion, there is just too much thinking and time involved in calorie counting. That’s why I prefer the using “salad ratios”. If I’m following the “salad ratios” and exercising my body just naturally finds a weight that it and I are happy about. Luckily if you enjoy counting calories there are some really great online nutrition trackers like The Daily Plate, Spark People, Fit Day, and I’m sure more!
What about dairy and sweets? Sometimes I use low-fat dairy as a protein source. Sometimes I count cheese as fat sources. Sweets are for free/sane days or meals. Cookies and candy are just not conducive to weight loss. I try to take either 2 free/sane meals a week or 1 free/sane meal day a week. On those days or meals I eat whatever I like and more.
Hope this helps!
xoxo
j
This is my (almost) sane quest for insane health. Let's 
Jenn, thanks for sharing your experience with us. I have another question for you. I knew that the success that you accomplished was possible even is such a short amount of time but I had no idea that it could be done without the help of a trainer. I see some of your workout plans and they are awesome, I am incorporating some of them now. My question for you is this, what types of supplements are you taking? I have been using SP since about May, I have changed my diet and began to exercise but I am not seeing the results that I thought that I would be. I am not taking any form of supplement though and I am not sure if my workout routine is good enough either. So I am now tring to revamp everything all over again and also want to include supplements now.
Thanks,
Kim