How Strict With Foods on Low Cal?

[sleemie]

I'm relatively new to the low cal thing, I've been Atkinsing and South Beaching off and on over the past few years and it's pretty straight forward as far as how to eat. Since doing low cal I'm trying to do it using some of the principles of south beach because I do think it's a good diet, I just don't want to be locked in to certain types of food...although i'm finding that that's what i've been doing. I try to avoid as much as I possibly can saturated fats and "bad carbs" and try to focus on the good stuff like wheat bread, yogurt, fruits, lean meats, fish, etc.

I wonder if I'm a little to strict about things because sometimes I will totally avoid certain foods if it's got some "bad" stuff in it. For example, I was trying to decide which sandwhich to get from a deli today and I was going to get whole wheat pita and they had some sandwhiches which are basically healthly, but I wouldn't get one if it had whole cheese on it or if it had bbq sauce or regular mayo. It's like I expect most meals to have like no more than maybe 2 grams of saturated fat and no more than a 2-3 grams of bad carbs. It makes it very difficult to get any type of quick food while out or even sit down dinners. I was at the mall yesterday for a few hours and ended up just skipping dinner, which I know is bad, but I couldn't get myself to eat anything from the food court because there was no "perfect" low cal meal available...or even anything close to it. I guess I could have gotten two small tacos from taco bell for about 400 calories and been well within my limit for the day, but couldn't see doing it with the fat in the ground beef and the bad carbs from the shell.

 

[LeanBean]

First and foremost, I'd like to say that with fad diets, you aren't likely to succeed with them. The majority of those who've actually lost weight from them usually end up gaining all, and sometimes even more of the weight back. It's all because the diets involve extreme restrictions (even completely eliminating a food group). This is particularly why low-carb diets (like the ones you've mentioned) have a high failure rate.

Food nourishes you, and it makes you feel good. Don't forbid yourself from certain meals because it contains a food with too much of something. It takes the fun out of eating, and you'll no longer enjoy yourself when you go out to eat at restaurants. Just learn how to eat the right foods, without having every little ingredient scrutinized under a microscope.