making a switch

[leah]

sooo... after almost two years of eating strictly low-carb, it's finally driven me crazy.

i am within fifteen pounds of my ideal goal, and those fifteen are just vanity pounds that i really don't think it would make any difference if i lost or not.

as i no longer have such a substantial amount of weight to deal with losing, i've decided that maybe me and my strict low-carbing can now part ways in favor of regular exercise (which of course i'd been doing with low-carb) and counting calories.

man is it ever hard. the beauty of low-carb to me was that i didn't really have to pay much attention to calories... now that i'm counting those and not paying as much attention to carbs (i'm still watching them, it's pretty much permanently engraved in my head now) i'm having a really hard time knowing what's GOOD low-calorie food and what's NOT. so uhhhh...... any suggestions, other than the usual "grilled chicken and vegetables"?

[Goose_Man]

Read "The Abs Diet"

Basically you don’t have to worry too terribly much about calorie intake if you are eating the right "power foods". Just don’t gorge your self and be a glutton.

[liquidstayce]

Use http://www.fitday.com if you feel like you need a check in on your calories. Normally I don't go too nutty with the counting of anything but I also can pretty much look at a food now and tell you how many calories are in it from so many years of label reading. I can also estimate portions really well but I also have the added tool of my pouch which won't let me overeat if I follow the rules of it correctly. If weight loss slows down a ton or I gain thats when I start to look at what I am eating again more closely by logging it.

Why the decision to go lower calories or are you doing the same calories but just not focusing on low carb? Just curious. Also, are you still eating lean protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats mostly? How about fruits & veggies. I'm more focused these days on getting my protein in first (but only because its a rule for gastric bypass) but really just making healthy - portion controlled choices in general whenever possible. Following the "superfoods" in my other post to add to the healthy choices. I would not say I eat low carb but I do eat higher protein.

I have to say though like most .. with the holidays and all the junk around at work its been hard. I found myself stress eating. I've been a bit nervous with the upcoming surgery next week and also working on some contract negotiations with a software vendor at work that have been a huge challenge. I had a three chocolate cookies today, 1 candy cane, and 1 hershey kiss.. all the crap sugar I worked so hard to cut out. The stressful situation is not an excuse at all.. I just mention it because I know the route of the bad choices I made and am getting back on track again now. Normally I'm just not big on doing anything that has empty useless calories. Having a small stomach is a blessing in a lot of ways because it forces me to pick out the quality foods that fill me up first . Ohh I also had a sugar free mini cheescake after dinner which just didn't sit well. Probably too much sugar alcohol in them. At least that has some good protien in it. Dinner was some healthy sweet and sour sauce and three chicken meatballs with a little salad.

This evening I pretty much feel like shit and my digestive system is paying for it. Probably from the crap I ate earlier on in the day and that sugar alc. Planning on having a very active week and doing lots of working out/calorie burning so that should help offset some of the damage the last couple days.