Quote from: fatalerrorI talked to a few coworkers who recommended foods like nuts in place of meats and yogurt and granola for energy in the morning.
Coworkers aren't necessarily the best source of information on health-related stuff.
Nuts are "healthy" in that they don't contain saturated fats, but overall, they're fat-intensive -- not what you need for weight loss. And granola is loaded with fat and sugar. It doesn't matter whether it's high fructose corn syrup, honey, or evaporated cane juice (the current euphemism for cane sugar); it's all sugar, and not nutritious -- just empty calories. (One way manufacturers trick people about sugar content is to use several different sweeteners, so that each one is lower on the list of ingredients.
) There's nothing wrong with meat, in moderation and chosen carefully -- skinless chicken breasts, fish, and low-fat cuts of beef and pork are all excellent sources of protein. They have the added benefit of ensuring that you're getting enough iron and all the amino acids your body needs -- while it's possible to do this on a vegetarian diet, it takes some effort and knowledge.
Quote from: blinkDon't get in a rush/go overboard, remember whatever you do has to be sustainable. No point doing extreme things to lose weight fast and then gaining it back.
This, in spades. In the long term, "dieting" is counter-productive, IMHO. For most people, counting calories isn't something they're going to sustain over a lifetime. Drastically restricting what one eats, with the idea that it's only for a limited time, usually just leads to "cheating," and almost guarantees regaining the weight once a person resumes their "normal" diet; and as others have noted, in the long run major calorie restriction lowers the metabolic rate and makes the body
want to store fat.
Mo' bettah to think of it as just eating a healthy diet: lots of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes (beans, lentils, etc. contain almost no fat, are loaded with complex carbs and fiber, and are very filling), moderate intake of non- or low-fat dairy products, small portions of low fat meats now and then, and avoiding processed foods. A diet like this is sustainable over a lifetime and also has major health benefits, not the least of which is that it's easier to lose weight on a low-fat diet.
It does help a lot to learn to cook -- even if your time is limited, you can make a big batch of something like vegetarian chili or grilled chicken breasts once or twice a week, and have healthy "fast food" on hand when you want it.
