You must eat the foods that you like and are accustomed to eating in order for a diet to be successful. That sounds logical, doesn’t it?
And when I say that, I mean you must eat everything from the desserts we so dearly love to French fries, fast food cheeseburgers, and frozen meals.
How many times have you started diets only to be faced with eating strange and unfamiliar foods?
It’s not long before that diet is out the window because you begin craving the foods you are used to eating.
And why should you eat the foods someone else tells you to eat on expensive, commercially-designed diets when all the tools are readily available for you to design a program for yourself.
What I’ve learned is that it is a matter of making choices - making choices among the foods you love. You also need to know the caloric value of foods. Walk down the frozen food aisle in your local grocery store. Each and every packaged frozen meal has a Nutrition Facts label on it giving you the number of calories per serving. The Food and Drug Administration explains the labels on their Food Lab website.
I don’t stick to any one brand of frozen meals, though I eat more of the Stouffer’s brand frozen meals than any other. I also select frozen meals from among the Kraft’s South Beach Diet frozen meals, Weight Watchers, Amy’s Kitchen, Boston Market, and other brands. You’ll notice that most of the single serving frozen meals are 400 calories or less, PERFECT for designing your own diet. Avoid the meals with higher calorie counts or eat half of the meal, saving the rest for the following day.
I use a lot of convenience foods and I don’t feel guilty when I occasionally get into line at the local Dairy Queen drive-through to order a DQ Homestyle Double Cheeseburger (540 calories) or a regular size DQ Cheeseburger (340 calories). Check their website for their latest nutrition information.
When I order a double cheeseburger I order nothing but the cheeseburger for that meal and carry my own 8-ounce bottle of skim milk (90 calories) because DQ and other fast food restaurants that I frequent don’t sell skim milk. I don’t want to consume the extra calories in either 1% or 2% milk. I often just ask for a glass of water. With the skim milk, the double cheeseburger meal totals 630 calories, roughly the amount of calories I allow myself for my evening meal. If I’m having the burger at supper time, fine; if not, I simply switch my 500 lunch calories to my evening meal and eat accordingly then so that I don’t go over my goal of 1600 calories per day.
I could also order the regular size DQ Cheeseburger so together with skim milk, I’ve got a 430 calorie lunch. If I have a friend with me, I’ll offer to split a small order of fries (300 calories) but I’ll have water instead of my skim milk. The regular size DQ Cheeseburger (340 calories) and half of a small order of fries (150 calories) equals 490, very close to my 500 calorie goal. If I’m at the drive-though alone I DO NOT order fries or a small chocolate malt (540 calories) as add-ons to go with my cheeseburger. If I’m craving DQ French fries, I’ll make a meal of them alone.
Who said we have to eat protein at every meal? I’ll order the small size fries (300 calories) and pair them with the skim milk for a 390 calorie lunch to which I can add an apple (81 calories) or even one of my diet cookies as a treat (100 calories - Nestlés Ultimates Big Cookies as Diet Cookies) and I’m still under my 500 lunchtime calorie goal.
I don’t advocate eating like this every day, but this is the way you fit fast foods into your diet. To make this diet work you HAVE to know the caloric value of foods so that you can make educated choices. Nutrition information is readily available from the individual fast food restaurants or from its website. The information is also available on such Internet websites as Calorie-Count from About.com and CalorieLab. Corinne Netzer’s book The Complete Book of Food Counts is an invaluable tool.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t just eat frozen meals or fast food. I make meals centered on shrimp and filet mignon and spaghetti and salmon and pancakes and tortillas. I planned this diet program around the foods that I love and they are just part of the foods that I eat for variety. We have so many convenient foods available to us now days, why shouldn’t we use them to our advantage? And, I’m not going to worry about the unfamiliar ingredients listed on some of the packaged meals that are used to enhance flavor and increase shelf life. My priority is to lose weight - because it will improve my health - and if these foods can help me to accomplish my goal, I plan to eat them.
I believe that eating the foods that I love and that I’m accustomed to eating is the reason why I’ve been able to continue on the Do It Yourself Diet and I will, in time, reach my goal weight. You can do it, too.
Join me in designing your own Do It Yourself Diet. Together we can do it.
Constance Makela
