Comments on: Diet Compliance Chart

By: The Lazy Man’s Guide to Getting Ripped « Healthhabits

The Lazy Man’s Guide to Getting Ripped « Healthhabits — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:31:19 +0000

[...] And while that certainly is good news, what really excites me is the fact that he has been perfect on his meal compliance. [...]

By: DR

DR — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:35:40 +0000

Good idea Brit

Starting next week

By: Brit

Brit — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:12:46 +0000

I’d be interested in seeing what you eat on a day to day basis, DR, to see how you vary things and to get recipe ideas. You did a daily workout log for a while–how about a food diary?

By: DR

DR — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:47:25 +0000

It’s funny (funny-strange not funny-haha) how habit plays such a large part in the success or failure of any behavior modification plan.

And behavior modification is exactly what a diet is.

Most of us eat the same 10 or 20 foods over and over and ignore everything else.

This habit is responsible for why we think certain foods are breakfast foods (egg, bacon, cereal, bread, fruit), certain foods are lunch foods (sandwiches, salads, other convenience foods) and certain foods are dinner foods (meat & veg of many varieties + larger portions)

Why is it weird to eat dinner at breakfast?

Habit

But, I digress. Back to your question

Low carb breakfast foods:

Steak & eggs (skip the eggs and add some crunchy vegetables)
Soup – meat & veg based – This is a great choice. Just re-heat & serve on busy mornings. Some people also believe that a heavy meal first thing upon wakening is hard on your still sleepy digestive system.

If you are looking at more of a paleo-style diet:

Fresh fruit is great (especially in season)

By: bkakh

bkakh — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:36:43 +0000

My main problem on all of the low carb plans is that I can’t eat eggs. I really cannot put them in my mouth, the smell is gag-inducing. So, breakfast is a huge problem. Any ideas?

By: DR

DR — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:59:18 +0000

The generic Compliance Chart is also available as a torrent

By: Emily

Emily — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:31:27 +0000

Good points — both by Brit (you’re right — cheese and legumes hardly seem like junk food), and Steve. Maybe I’ll give a compliance chart a whirl.

Brit — on a side note, since part of DR’s health philosophy is doing what works for you (ie, not one-size-fits-all), maybe you could do a modified Paleo if you felt so inclined. Paleo, but have some cheese, some chocolate, etc. But I’ll leave that up to you — I’m certainly not telling anyone what to do with their diet!

By: Steve Parker, M.D.

Steve Parker, M.D. — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:04:51 +0000

DR, I like the simplicity of the charts.

As I’m sure you’re aware (but your readers man not be), many scientific studies document that keeping a food diary improves weight-loss results.

Keeping the diary as simple as possible improves compliance with record keeping.

I’ve started working with horses over the last year. A standard training principle is “Make it hard for the horse to do the wrong thing, and easy to do the right thing.”

Works in humans, too. The diary makes it a little harder to cheat on the diet.

-Steve

By: Brit

Brit — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:05:31 +0000

Yeah, but at this point I’m not eating a lot of chips or Hostess cupcakes or Snickers or cereal. For me it’s more restrictive on the whole foods side, the rice and pasta and cheese and chocolate and beans side. No dairy means I can’t have feta on my salad or a glass of milk with my apple and peanut butter for breakfast, no beans/legumes/etc means no hummus, no pasta means I can’t saute vegetables and toss with pasta or make mushroom stroganoff, no rice cuts out sushi and most of the Asian and Indian dishes I’ve come to love, no chocolate means I can’t have a piece after dinner…the list goes on. At this point, I don’t think I could continue eating a single meal I currently have.

By: Emily

Emily — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:53:03 +0000

My two cents: Though lower-carb (no grain)/Paleo-type diets appear to be restrictive, you’re actually opening yourself up to a whole food world, and closing off only a very narrow window. Grains/sugar/junk/processed foods are all basically the same thing, just in various forms. Same ingredients, mostly — or at least, same low quality of food and same effect on body. Chips = Hostess cupcakes = Snickers = cereal, etc. Packaging and “variety” make it seem like a ton of food is off-limits, but really it’s just the same batch of ingredients reconfigured — high-fructose corn syrup, flour, sugar, various chemicals and additives, etc. It helps me to remember this, and then you realize you’re not depriving yourself of anything, and in fact doing the opposite — giving yourself more than ever. (There are many types of vegetables and fruits out there, not to mention nuts and fish.)

Side note: I’m not sure how I feel about the diet-compliance chart. In theory I like it for motivational purposes (who doesn’t want gold stars?), but I’m generally anti-diet. Plus, what about the role of hunger? Quality vs. quantity debate, I suppose — better to eat “good” foods even if you eat sometimes when not hungry, OR, better to eat what you want (even junk) only until your hunger is satisfied, then stop? I guess in the end, the 90% compliance goal is the saving grace, as it allows for a somewhat relaxed mental state.

Long post — sorry!