Why Your Diet Isn’t Working

6 Comments

1. 

   JP

   December 14 2020 at 10:48 am

   On the note about weighing food, the oats are a great example.
   
   Another one I encounter every day are these "low-calorie" breads.
   
   One brand I like says a serving of 3 slices is 110 calories. But next to 3 slices it says (54 grams). So when you actually weigh 3 slices of that bread, it might weigh 76 grams. So I do the math and enter 1.407 servings in MyFitnessPal. Big difference over time.
   
   Another one is protein powder "scoops." In fat loss I try to avoid using protein powder period, because you don't want to drink calories (don't stay full), and when you use it in a lot of popular baking/cooking recipes, it adds a bunch of calories (about 130) without adding hardly any volume.
   
   But anyway the scoops NEVER are actually the serving size you think it is. I always weigh out protein powder so I know I'm getting the 38 grams I'm expecting. It also makes it a lot easier to accurately measure "half-scoops."

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2. 

   Ben Balthaser

   January 11 2021 at 2:51 pm

   " For example, old-fashioned oats might say something like ½ cup or 40g will yield 27g carbs. However, when I scooped ½ cup oats and weighed it, it was actually 52g."
   
   I literally did this today! Get out of my head! I use two 1/4 cup scoops and I got something like 36 g with my first scoop. Was going to ask you about whether to go by weight or volume.

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3. 

   Darryl W Cross

   January 13 2021 at 11:18 am

   This is a really great article, and I hope people pay attention to the macro issues instead of the micro ones. I am not talking about macros as in nutrition. I am talking about big strategies versus obsessing over tiny details.
   
   Yes when your food is important, but getting it accurate to the hundredth of an ounce is not. Focus on the big things like getting more sleep, lowering stress levels, coming up with a better program. Do not obsess over the thousands of a percentage point or debating which of nine different types of grains are best for your diet. Obsessing over details that don't make much difference is just a form of procrastination and avoidance of the big habits that are wrecking your results.
   
   Once you get all those big habits taken care of, you have earned the right to focus on micro details much like an Olympic athlete might. But, not before.
   
   Darryl Cross
   NASM Master Trainer

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4. 

   Alycia Israel

   January 13 2021 at 4:46 pm

   JP -
   
   Thanks for reading. And absolutely! Weight measurement is the way to go if someone is looking for diligent accuracy.

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5. 

   Alycia Israel

   January 13 2021 at 4:47 pm

   Ben -
   
   Yep!! lol. I don't care too much if I am not in a fat loss phase, but when I am I gotta weigh everything. It all adds up!

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6. 

   Alycia Israel

   January 13 2021 at 4:49 pm

   Darryl -
   
   Thanks for reading!
   
   For sure. I personally don't get too crazy with it unless I am in a strict fat loss phase or prep. Or if I have a client who is just freakin stubborn...then we will whip out the big guns lol.
   
   But yep definitely not something to stress over with a beginner.

   Reply ↓

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