Hassle-free Weight Loss: The Zen Habits Meal Plan

Photo by Aylanah

Every Friday is Health Tip Day at Zen Habits.

I’ve decided that in order to get serious about losing weight, you need to count calories. I’ve tried doing it without counting, and while you do see some weight loss, it’s not the results I’m looking for.

However, I’m too lazy to measure and calculate the calories of every single thing I put in my mouth.

So how have I solved that problem? I call it the Zen Habits Meal Plan (clever, huh?).

Notice that it’s not the “Zen Habits Diet”. That’s because to me, diets are intended to be restrictive and temporary. I’ve created an easy way to plan my meals so that I don’t overeat, so that I’m eating fairly healthy, and so that it’s got some leeway for pleasurable eating. And for me, this has to be something I can do for life.

So here are my requirements when I was coming up with this plan:

Easy - I don’t want to have to measure or calculate calories for each meal or snack. I need to track calories, but nothing hard or complicated.
Healthy - I want to incorporate a lot of good, whole foods into my plan.
Not restrictive - I don’t want to feel like I’m starving myself or restricting myself from yummy foods.
Sustainable - This is not a temporary plan. It’s something I want to do for the rest of my life.
Prevent binging - If you allow yourself to get too hungry, you tend to binge. I don’t want that.

OK, so with those requirements in mind, here’s the plan:

Calorie goal: Using a calorie calculator, I figured out how many calories I burn every day, just by living my regular life (my Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR). It’s about 2,400. As I plan to burn at least 100 calories a day through exercise, I increased that number to 2,500. Then I figured out what I should eat to lose about 1 lb. a week (that’s a healthy and sustainable rate) … a deficit of 500 calories a day gets you to 1 lb. a week, so my calorie goal for each day is to eat 2,000 calories. Give or take 100 or so, but that’s my goal. So my meal plan is 2,000 calories a day … yours will be different, depending on your BMR and your weight loss goal.
5 meals: To prevent binging, I spread my meals more evenly throughout the day. Most people fall off a meal plan or diet because they are hungry. If you get hungry, you tend to eat unhealthy stuff, and eat too much. So my plan calls for 5 meals spread evenly throughout the day. As my calorie goal is 2,000, I divided that evenly into the 5 meals to come up with 400-calorie meals. Your meals will be different — divide your calorie goal by the number of meals you want.
Meal schedule: So I have 5 meals of 400-calories each … and my plan calls for me to eat them at regular intervals. Here’s my schedule: 6 a.m., 9 a.m., 12 p.m., 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. I found that after 3 hours, I start to get really hungry. But if I eat every 3 hours, I don’t binge. Your schedule will be different, but I suggest spreading the meals out every 3 hours, so that you eat not too long after you get up (within 2 hours), and not to long before you go to bed (within 3 hours or so).
No snacking after dinner: This has always caused me to eat too many calories. I eat dinner, and then an hour or two later I start snacking. However, I’ve told myself not to do that. It was hard at first, but now I don’t get hungry after dinner, usually. Your body adjusts.
400-calorie meals: So I created a list of 400-calorie meals. Foods I like to eat, that add up to 400 calories. I used a calorie calculator, or just looked on packages. It took me about an hour, but after that, I didn’t have to do any calorie countinig. These are medium-sized meals — not exactly snacks, but not huge meals. Just enough to satisfy my hunger.
Healthy stuff: I loaded my meals, as much as possible, with healthy stuff. That includes whole grains, nuts, beans, veggies, fruits, lean protein, flaxseeds, blueberries, avocadoes, oatmeal, lots of greens, etc. It’s not all healthy, but I tried to put in good stuff. I also put in treats, here and there, so that I can enjoy myself.
Eat till satisfied: For too long, I overate. This was mostly because I was hungry, but also because I wasn’t conscious of my eating and my body’s hunger signals. My goal during this plan has been to pay more attention to my body, and to know when I’m satisfied (not stuffed) and to stop. Sometimes I don’t think I’m satisfied, but I wait. And in about 10-20 minutes, I feel satisfied. Listen to your body.
Eating out: Another thing that derailed my previous plans is that I didn’t plan on eating out. But it happens, all the time. And as the restaurant food isn’t on your plan, what do you do? You just eat whatever’s available. My list of 400-cal meals includes stuff from all of the restaurants where I commonly eat.
Logging: I never used to log my eating, because it was so much hassle. But I’m now a firm believer in logging your eating. It keeps you honest, helps you to be more aware of what you eat, and helps you to stick to the plan. It doesn’t matter how you log, but three things: 1) keep it simple, so you can log quickly and easily; 2) log it immediately (don’t wait until later, when you might forget); and 3) let others see your log, whether it’s one person or all the readers of your blog. There are a million logging tools. I’ve recently been using Peer Trainer, and it works pretty well … you join teams of four people, and everyone on the team can see the logs of others, and leave comments for each other. Very motivating. Calorie Count Plus is another good one.
Cheat meals: Twice a week, I have a cheat meal. I try to keep these planned, but they’re flexible. So I might know that I’m going out with friends, and let that be my cheat meal … but if I go way over on a meal for some reason, I’ll designate that to be my cheat meal.
The Three-Bite Rule: If there’s a dessert or treat I want to try, I don’t deny myself. I just follow a simple rule: eat three bites, and no more, and eat them slowly. I try to enjoy the flavor to the fullest. And then I stop. With no guilt.
Forgive: If I mess up, I just forgive myself, and continue. Don’t beat yourself up about messing up. Just learn from your mistakes, forgive yourself, and keep going. This is a marathon, not a sprint.
Exercise: While exercise isn’t absolutely necessary for this plan to work, it certainly helps a lot. And it’s much healthier. My goal is at least 5 minutes of exercise daily, but I often do more. Once a week, I allow myself to take a complete rest day. If I don’t feel like working out, I just do 5 minutes — it keeps my habit going. It’s working well!

That’s it! I have a list of 400-calorie meals, and each day I choose 5 of them. I eat them at regular intervals, and log my meals. Easy peasy!

My Initial Impressions
I should note that I’ve only been doing this a few weeks. So far my rate of weight loss has been about 1 to 1.5 lbs. a week, which is exactly what I’d hoped for. It’s how the plan is supposed to work — sustainable, healthy weight loss.

The first few days were harder than the days following … my body had to get used to eating smaller meals, and I had to get used to eating only until I was satisfied. I would get hungry 2 hours after eating, and force myself to wait for the extra hour before eating again. But now, I don’t even get very hungry after 3 hours.

And I feel great. The plan is working like a charm. I’ve been hitting around 2,000 calories a day, every day. Sometimes I go over by 100 cals, sometimes I’m under by 100 or 200. And with added exercise, sometimes my calorie deficit is a lot larger than 500 (but less than 1,000), which is a good thing.

The cheat meals have allowed me to be flexible. And I’m also flexible throughout the day. For example, sometimes I’ll want some chocolate. No problem. I just take three bites, enjoy it, and log it. Then I’ll take the calories off my next meal, or just exercise more.

It’s important to be flexible. But by keeping my calories to a certain limit, and logging everything, I am guaranteed to lose weight over the long term.

Let me know what you think! I’d love to hear your thoughts on my plan.

If you liked this article, please bookmark it on del.icio.us or vote for it on Digg. I’d appreciate it. :)

Also see:

Hassle-free Weight Loss: The Zen Habits Meal Plan

Photo by Aylanah

Every Friday is Health Tip Day at Zen Habits.

However, I’m too lazy to measure and calculate the calories of every single thing I put in my mouth.

So how have I solved that problem? I call it the Zen Habits Meal Plan (clever, huh?).

So here are my requirements when I was coming up with this plan:

Easy - I don’t want to have to measure or calculate calories for each meal or snack. I need to track calories, but nothing hard or complicated.
Healthy - I want to incorporate a lot of good, whole foods into my plan.
Not restrictive - I don’t want to feel like I’m starving myself or restricting myself from yummy foods.
Sustainable - This is not a temporary plan. It’s something I want to do for the rest of my life.
Prevent binging - If you allow yourself to get too hungry, you tend to binge. I don’t want that.

OK, so with those requirements in mind, here’s the plan:

Calorie goal: Using a calorie calculator, I figured out how many calories I burn every day, just by living my regular life (my Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR). It’s about 2,400. As I plan to burn at least 100 calories a day through exercise, I increased that number to 2,500. Then I figured out what I should eat to lose about 1 lb. a week (that’s a healthy and sustainable rate) … a deficit of 500 calories a day gets you to 1 lb. a week, so my calorie goal for each day is to eat 2,000 calories. Give or take 100 or so, but that’s my goal. So my meal plan is 2,000 calories a day … yours will be different, depending on your BMR and your weight loss goal.
5 meals: To prevent binging, I spread my meals more evenly throughout the day. Most people fall off a meal plan or diet because they are hungry. If you get hungry, you tend to eat unhealthy stuff, and eat too much. So my plan calls for 5 meals spread evenly throughout the day. As my calorie goal is 2,000, I divided that evenly into the 5 meals to come up with 400-calorie meals. Your meals will be different — divide your calorie goal by the number of meals you want.
Meal schedule: So I have 5 meals of 400-calories each … and my plan calls for me to eat them at regular intervals. Here’s my schedule: 6 a.m., 9 a.m., 12 p.m., 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. I found that after 3 hours, I start to get really hungry. But if I eat every 3 hours, I don’t binge. Your schedule will be different, but I suggest spreading the meals out every 3 hours, so that you eat not too long after you get up (within 2 hours), and not to long before you go to bed (within 3 hours or so).
No snacking after dinner: This has always caused me to eat too many calories. I eat dinner, and then an hour or two later I start snacking. However, I’ve told myself not to do that. It was hard at first, but now I don’t get hungry after dinner, usually. Your body adjusts.
400-calorie meals: So I created a list of 400-calorie meals. Foods I like to eat, that add up to 400 calories. I used a calorie calculator, or just looked on packages. It took me about an hour, but after that, I didn’t have to do any calorie countinig. These are medium-sized meals — not exactly snacks, but not huge meals. Just enough to satisfy my hunger.
Healthy stuff: I loaded my meals, as much as possible, with healthy stuff. That includes whole grains, nuts, beans, veggies, fruits, lean protein, flaxseeds, blueberries, avocadoes, oatmeal, lots of greens, etc. It’s not all healthy, but I tried to put in good stuff. I also put in treats, here and there, so that I can enjoy myself.
Eat till satisfied: For too long, I overate. This was mostly because I was hungry, but also because I wasn’t conscious of my eating and my body’s hunger signals. My goal during this plan has been to pay more attention to my body, and to know when I’m satisfied (not stuffed) and to stop. Sometimes I don’t think I’m satisfied, but I wait. And in about 10-20 minutes, I feel satisfied. Listen to your body.
Eating out: Another thing that derailed my previous plans is that I didn’t plan on eating out. But it happens, all the time. And as the restaurant food isn’t on your plan, what do you do? You just eat whatever’s available. My list of 400-cal meals includes stuff from all of the restaurants where I commonly eat.
Logging: I never used to log my eating, because it was so much hassle. But I’m now a firm believer in logging your eating. It keeps you honest, helps you to be more aware of what you eat, and helps you to stick to the plan. It doesn’t matter how you log, but three things: 1) keep it simple, so you can log quickly and easily; 2) log it immediately (don’t wait until later, when you might forget); and 3) let others see your log, whether it’s one person or all the readers of your blog. There are a million logging tools. I’ve recently been using Peer Trainer, and it works pretty well … you join teams of four people, and everyone on the team can see the logs of others, and leave comments for each other. Very motivating. Calorie Count Plus is another good one.
Cheat meals: Twice a week, I have a cheat meal. I try to keep these planned, but they’re flexible. So I might know that I’m going out with friends, and let that be my cheat meal … but if I go way over on a meal for some reason, I’ll designate that to be my cheat meal.
The Three-Bite Rule: If there’s a dessert or treat I want to try, I don’t deny myself. I just follow a simple rule: eat three bites, and no more, and eat them slowly. I try to enjoy the flavor to the fullest. And then I stop. With no guilt.
Forgive: If I mess up, I just forgive myself, and continue. Don’t beat yourself up about messing up. Just learn from your mistakes, forgive yourself, and keep going. This is a marathon, not a sprint.
Exercise: While exercise isn’t absolutely necessary for this plan to work, it certainly helps a lot. And it’s much healthier. My goal is at least 5 minutes of exercise daily, but I often do more. Once a week, I allow myself to take a complete rest day. If I don’t feel like working out, I just do 5 minutes — it keeps my habit going. It’s working well!

That’s it! I have a list of 400-calorie meals, and each day I choose 5 of them. I eat them at regular intervals, and log my meals. Easy peasy!

It’s important to be flexible. But by keeping my calories to a certain limit, and logging everything, I am guaranteed to lose weight over the long term.

Let me know what you think! I’d love to hear your thoughts on my plan.

If you liked this article, please bookmark it on del.icio.us or vote for it on Digg. I’d appreciate it. :)

Also see:

Posted on 12 October 2007 in Health Tip Day |
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Comments (78)

Naomi Says:

October 12th, 2007, 6:11 am

Hi Leo,

I think it’s a fantastic plan. So many eating plans are incredibly complicated, and I just don’t think I should have to read a 400-page book to learn how to put food in my mouth.

The No Snacks After Dinner rule would be the hardest for me. (Okay, the only three bites rule would probably be a tough one too.) I’ve been finding that creating acceptable substitutions has been really helpful. When I say substitutions, I don’t mean things like low calorie cookies because I think eventually your brain figures out what you’re up to and cheats anyway. I mean that if I’m desperate for nachos, I try to have fajitas. At least that way I’m getting a boatload of vegetables and not quite so much cheese.

Thanks, and I look forward to hearing about your progress.

Bob Says:

October 12th, 2007, 6:38 am

Would it be possible to post your 400 kcal meals somewhere so others can get started without having to put in the hours of planning?

Jared Says:

October 12th, 2007, 6:40 am

Great suggestions. Leo. WIll def implement some right away. Another helpful tip I’ve found for eating out. I immediately ask the wait person for a to go box and half my portion. That way I have one of my next meals and control what I’m eating before it happens.

Les Says:

October 12th, 2007, 6:45 am

Leo,

Your five meal plan sounds like a Hobbit’s day — with breakfast, second breakfast, dinner, tea, and supper. A fine plan for Middle-earth — and for earth — furry feet or not — as long as you are not on a cross-country trek with Aragorn.

Regarding the difficulty — and overhead — of counting calories, I wonder whether counting exchanges would be easier. This is a fairly mature and well defined concept — developed, I think, for the diabetes community — and explained nicely in a book called “Exchanges for All Occasions” — which is out of print, but is available through ABEBooks.

I’m not sure whether exchanges would slimplify your plan — or make it somewhat more difficult.

William Mize Says:

October 12th, 2007, 7:05 am

Great post, Leo. Like I’ve always said, it ain’t rocket science, but some people seem determined to make it that way :)

Calories in, calories burned. Healthy food.

I also think that presentation and making the very act of making your own meals is very important.

I think these bento boxes are very cool:

http://www.laptoplunches.com/

Thanks again for a great article.

- Bill

Barb Says:

October 12th, 2007, 7:19 am

Great post, Leo! Good luck on your journey.

Another healthy lifestyle/logging site you may want to look into is http://www.sparkpeople.com (Sorry, guys, couldn’t figure out the code to make it all point and click)

SparkPeople has an exercise/calorie counter, meal planner and exercise planner (with suggestions for your calorie range provided by the site or not, as you choose), support groups, and is completely free as well.

Barb Says:

October 12th, 2007, 7:20 am

Oh, internet magic! Now I know how you clever people create those click throughs….

Barry Says:

October 12th, 2007, 7:48 am

When dieting, I create a “shell” of foods I can eat. This has been helpful for low-carb dieting for me. I want to have only 3 diet soda per day, 1 tomato, 3 slices of cheese (or 3 ounces), 1 low carb snack bar, etc. I consider lettuce a free food, and have a number of recipes I can plug in for side dishes for veggies. Then I can have all the lean protein I want, and when eating at regular intervals, I don’t consume a big amount. As for snacking, particularly after dinner, I always have sugar free jello (not a vegan option, I know) and some sugar free popscicles on hand. Thanks for the post.

Brock Tice Says:

October 12th, 2007, 8:13 am

I second the recommendation for SparkPeople. I finally got my BMI below 25 using that site.

William Mize Says:

October 12th, 2007, 8:23 am

I am thirding the SparkPeople recommendation. Maybe there should be a ZenHabits Group on there?

Kim Says:

October 12th, 2007, 8:30 am

Enjoy the comprehensive and simple weight-loss plan.

I’ve never found the calorie needs calculators to be accurate. I eat way more. A calorie-based eating plan was not enough food and I lost too much weight so had to add food. Now I’m breastfeeding and again I think it takes way more calories than the estimated 300 or so a day. Wondering what other people’s experiences are.

I had a plan based on food-pyramid style recommendations - eat so many servings of each category and a couple treats. As long as you know the size of a serving it works well. I put a piece of paper on the fridge or in my notebook and kept track tickmark-style.

Monica G. Says:

October 12th, 2007, 8:47 am

Leo that sounds like a great plan, it focuses on the long term life change rather than a temporary diet. Good luck!

Adam Says:

October 12th, 2007, 8:47 am

If you want a no-frill, own-hosted logging software, may I point you to the GPLed Diet Tracker.

Pablo Says:

October 12th, 2007, 8:51 am

Leo this sounds like a great plan. I second the idea of posting your 400 kcal meals. Would be a great resource. I also second the idea of a spark people group, that could be fun =)

Jen Burmeister Says:

October 12th, 2007, 9:12 am

Leo — I totally agree with your plan — I’ve been eating like this for years, and the weight maintenance has been very easy. The best part is never being overly hungry — the worst part is when you’re caught somewhere, more than 3 hours without any of your healthy food … lol … it happens sometimes. As far as eating after dinner, I disagree though — I think if you choose something smart like a Fat Free pudding cup or applesauce, you’re fine. I need to eat something after 6 because I get low blood sugar overnight if I don’t, and it really is ok as long as I don’t indulge in something crazy — however, I don’t really keep “sinful” desserts and treats in the house so it’s not really a problem. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

Thomas Says:

October 12th, 2007, 9:20 am

I have been using http://www.peertrainer.com for a year now. It has been easy to use and I really like my group members. There are 4 dads in one group, and that small format is easier on the psyche than some other places on the net.

Jeff Says:

October 12th, 2007, 9:26 am

For anyone who doesn’t think they can stop eating until they’re really full, eating lots of small meals will eventually train you to not need to feel so full. I eat a sixth before bed, larger or smaller depending on how much recovery I feel I’ll be doing that night (add 5lbs to my deadlift, eat a little more).

Exercising can make you more hungry, but eventually added muscle reaches a tipping point where the extra hunger doesn’t equal the amount you need to eat. If I’m eating clean, I have to force myself to eat enough because I’m carrying enough muscle. Other people are crazy jealous when they see you eat 3 decent sized meals at work and you’re still thin. They try to minimize it by saying you must have a good metabolism, but you know you worked for it.

Kefuoe Says:

October 12th, 2007, 9:39 am

I’ve found that eating this way has been remarkably successful for me. One thing to add, though– planning and preparation. Knowing what I’m going to eat for the week and then shopping accordingly really helps me stick to it. I only buy what’s on the shopping list, so I only have healthy snacks and ingredients for healthy meals in the house. Then, a big batch of cooking on Sunday means that time, convenience and availability are eliminated as reasons to grab fast food. I also bring my gym bag to work everyday to avoid the trap of going home first. Thanks for an excellent post.

disconnect Says:

October 12th, 2007, 10:15 am

Thanks, Leo! This is awesome. I would also love to see your 400 kcal menu items. Do you increase your food intake with exercise, and if so by how much?

Brandon Says:

October 12th, 2007, 11:50 am

Agreed! Logging is sooo important. I really believe that is what has helped me lose my weight this year. It just helps you to pay attention to what you are really eating. Plus, it helps you realize when you are eating too much junk.

I’ve lost 45 pounds in the las 6 months using logging and healthy eating. I’m trying to document my weight loss on my site (www.fithacks.com). ZenHabits has been an inspiration to me from the beginning.

bine Says:

October 12th, 2007, 11:53 am

this is pretty much what i do, except that i have two slightly bigger meals and three smaller snacks, all healthy and full of fiber. if i get hungry after dinner because i stay up too long, i make a smoothie with berries from the freezer so my stomach doesn’t keep me awake. besides cheat meals i allow myself a sweet treat now and then when my snacks have been especially low-cal, like the plate of carrots and apples i just polished.
i have been logging my intake every day up to now but i’ve discovered that i know the nutritional values of most foods i eat regularly by now, so i don’t really need to do it anymore. i rarely go over my 1,800 calories, even if i don’t log it.
it works. i’ve been at this for three months now and have lost 15 lbs. so far. i can only recommend this to everyone. and it doesn’t feel like “dieting” at all.

Jeniffer Says:

October 12th, 2007, 12:01 pm

Great plan, Leo! I like the idea of eating several times per day, rather than just three. I tend to binge with just three. But the three bite rule? I’ll try! And five minutes of exercise per day is very doable. Another great, helpful post.

Elaine Says:

October 12th, 2007, 12:02 pm

re: base metabolic rate. I was under the impression that this represented the calories burned just by essential living tasks - e.g. heart beating, breathing, etc. As in that’s how many calories you’d burn if you laid in bed all day. Getting up and moving around normally throughout the day - not what you’d really call exercise - would represent a significant increase.

Linda Says:

October 12th, 2007, 12:16 pm

Sounds like a fabulous plan! I am (mostly) vegan, and need to drop quite a few pounds. My overall diet is excellent…..just too much of it! So planning, portion control and keeping myself honest by keeping a food log would help me enormously.

Leo–I’d love to hear some of your specific meal ideas, especially the vegan ones.

I agree wholeheartedly on the wisdom of food logging. Whenever I do it, my success rate increases dramatically. It is a pain though, and the longest I have sustained it was for a year.

Caroline Says:

October 12th, 2007, 12:26 pm

logging is the single most important thing. I have been on peertrainer for 4 months logging every bite, every day. it totally changed how I think.

Productivity Blog Says:

October 12th, 2007, 13:29 pm

The one and only how I managed to control my weight was to exercise every day, early before work. Exercise is hard to do and requires a commitment. After doing a sacrifice to exercise I never cheated on my diet.

doug Says:

October 12th, 2007, 13:51 pm

this is basically the same plan I’ve been following since april. I’ve lost 40lbs so far.

Mike OD Says:

October 12th, 2007, 15:18 pm

Eat between 1pm and 6pm only. Fast on water and lemon all other hours….eat as much of lean proteins, fruits, vegetables and only 1 meal from other carb sources. Enjoy a desert only after a meal. Take fish oil daily at least 3grams or 1 tablespoon of oil. Walk 30-40min daily. Take Sat night off and go do whatever you want. Watch the fat just fall off while creating a realistic, healthy and easy lifestyle to maintain!

Mike OD Says:

October 12th, 2007, 15:22 pm

PS. Unless you are doing real weight training and you just want fat loss….all the BMR calculator stuff is useless….there is a reason most all trainers cant get their clients to lose weight…because they tell them to train 1 hour a day with weights 3x/week, 40min cardio everyday and then make them eat 3500 cal because of that stupid formula. It doesn’t work like that….if you don’t believe me feel free to ask a trainer why the levels of obesity everywhere have skyrocketed while the number of gyms and trainers have also rapidly grown. I’ve only been doing this for 10years….so that’s just my opinion.

Mark Says:

October 12th, 2007, 17:19 pm

Good info Leo! For point 13, I feel the only way to have long-term weight loss it to engrain exercise into your daily routine.

Best,
Mark
(formerly overweight and a runner for over 20 years)

Bethany Says:

October 12th, 2007, 17:49 pm

I’d also like to see that list of 400 calorie meals! Thanks for the post!

Rahul Says:

October 12th, 2007, 17:55 pm

Leo,

It’s exciting to see this is working for you. I’m glad it is, and you’ve got some great suggestions in this article.

One suggestion I’d like to make is to watch the change in your body composition. Purchase a body-fat caliper and make sure you’re not losing muscle and water weight, and that you’re actually burning fat. I’ve recently posted an article on how to optimize your body fat loss on my own blog. Maybe you’ll find some additional suggestions there.

Good luck!

Rahul

fubek Says:

October 12th, 2007, 18:28 pm

Weight logging:

For geeks, I’d like to advice you to check out the Hacker’s Diet. There’s an online weight tracker, check out my fubek “homepage”.

Also check out the online text. If you’re a geek/engineer, there’s your language, no frobzing around.

HTH, fubek

jason Says:

October 12th, 2007, 20:55 pm

I second THD. I don’t even count calories, just either fill up on low-calorie foods (brocolli, cucumbers, tomatoes, fruit) or eat what I would normally eat, but 1/2 to 1/3 less. On this plan I’ve been loosing 1/4 pound a day for more than a month, with little effort.

Rick Says:

October 12th, 2007, 22:30 pm

1. I think this is a good example of someone who has gotten real and accepted that they will have to burn more calories than they are eating if they want to lose weight and stay in shape. While the specific system outlined is not necessarily for everybody, acceptance of the basic principle is.
2. In my opinion, 1 to 2 pounds per week is a sustainable and healthy weight loss goal. This range makes it about lifestyle as much as weight loss and “looking good”.
3. You have to enjoy life, even if you are getting in shape. A plan that is structured around eating what is enjoyable to you as well as what is healthy probably promotes long term success.
4. CalorieLookup.com has great functionality for this system. You can create a “recipe” for each meal, and then easily add them to your food diary. CalorieLookup.com also tracks your BMR and your calories burned by exercise.

LenL Says:

October 12th, 2007, 22:41 pm

I avoid simple carbs (complex carbs only — okay, not always but nearly always) and *every* meal has a protein component. For me, a large glass of water about 30-45 minutes before a meal works well since body ’signals’ for thirst and hunger can be so easily confused.

I eat lots of salads now but my salads have the usual salad ingredients plus fruits. I also make them so they have lots of texture (cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, celery, red/orange/green peppers) plus a *measured* tablespoon of dressing.

I also noticed that the weight loss during the first three weeks was almost trivial but then, suddenly, the weight started to slough off. Many days I don’t notice anything but once a week or so I find I’m really, really hungry. I tell myself that this is when I’m actually losing weight and “cheating” now would be very counterproductive

I’ve dropped 10kg over 3 months.

Good luck on your journey!

Mardee Says:

October 12th, 2007, 23:09 pm

Here’s another rec for SparkPeople - I’ve been a member since 2003 and it’s a great way of journaling, staying fit, eating right and finding support. I’m in the process right now of losing weight - I’ve lost almost 40 lbs to date and want to lose another 30 - and think your tips are great. I use the 5 meal a day plan, too, and love it.

One thing I do different is to start my meals later - I begin breakfast around 8 to 8:30 am, and my last meal is around 8:30 pm. That way I don’t have to fight the nighttime munchies. It was always a losing battle with me, so I figured - why fight it? Now I have my last meal late, and have a piece of fruit for dessert, and don’t have the urge to snack after that.

I’ve also incorporated exercise into my routine. I think it’s integral to not only losing weight but keeping it off over the long run. It’s a nice feeling, too, to know that if I get off track and make a poor food choice that is high in calories, I can up my exercise and work off the extra calories.

Nick Says:

October 12th, 2007, 23:12 pm

I’ve been doing this for a few years now. I work out at the gym 3-4 times a week (lifting) and I eat about 300-500 calorie meals 4 times a day. I eat every 3 hours starting at 9am when I wake up. It has kept me lean while slowly packing on muscle.

This plan will work for anyone!

Eric Says:

October 12th, 2007, 23:45 pm

Why not try real Zen Habits.

Here is the daily Schedule for Hokyo-ji (a major Zen training temple outside Kyoto Japan)

wake-up 3:30 am
zazen 3:45-until the birds sing
morning service 5:00-6:00
soji (temple cleaning) about 6:00-6:30
formal breakfast 6:30-7:30
google search for “oryoki” and “formal zen meal” heres a link http://www.zenriver.nl/Oryoki.htm (to eat breakfast properly)
Work practice 7:30-10:00
formal tea 10:00-10:30
work practice 10:30-12:00
Formal Lunch (see link for lunch) 12:00-1:00
Afternoon service 1-1:30
informal tea 1:30-1:45
afternoon Zazen 1:45-3:00
afternoon work practice 3:00-6:00
evening meal 6:00-7:00
zazen 7:00-9:00

this schedule is a rough approximation from my time spent at Hokyoji.

Your diet has nothing Zen about it, claiming so hurts the reputation of vaild zen practitioners and the tradition as a whole.

chris Says:

October 13th, 2007, 0:02 am

good plan. Only thing I would add would be to decrease starch intake and increase the consumption of good fat ( nuts, seeds, olive oil etc) also supplement with omega 3’s

Len Says:

October 13th, 2007, 0:32 am

I’ve lost 50 pounds in 50 weeks, 250 to 200. “En piste” to hit 190 by Christmas 07, which would be my HS senio weight. I’m 6′3″. I haven’t felt, or looked (I’m told), so good in 30+ years.

It has been extremely easy, painless, no cravings, no constant, nagging, pre-occupying hunger between meals, no silly exercise machines of club memberships.

And there’s no trick, no expense, no come on.

The caloric reduction/deficit (the ONLY way to lose weight) was:

NO (explicit) CARBS, meaning:

no grains (corn, wheat, rice, or their products)

no sugar

no soft drinks

no alcohol

Basically, it’s a raw foods diet of wide variety of vegetables, and low-GI fruit, nuts, seeds, vegetable oils such as coconut oil, olive oil, Carlson’s lemon-flavored fish/cod liver, flaxseed/oil, occasional grilled chicken, turkey, and fish, esp salmon, occasional scrambled eggs covered in Pico de Gallo, canned tuna (even in oil), low/no-fat plain yoghurt and cottage cheese. The healthy plant/fish oils are essential to satiety. I guess continuously in or flirting with ketosis.

Some mock it as rabbit food, I call it gorilla food. :)

The only tactic considered a “trick” is taking natural supplements to lower/stabilize glucose, since it’s the peaks/valleys of glucose that drives us crazy, “diet blues”, pre-occupation with food between meals. My fasting glucose is 75. My BP is 104/61.

Glucose suppressing/stabilizing supplements are:
powdered cinnamon and fenugreek seeds (palatable mixed into no-fat plain yoghurt),
Ashwaganda,
Bitter Melon extract,
Gymnema sylvestre.

Exercise is NOT necessary to lose weight, and is useless, counter-productive as the primary weight-loss tactic, but of course is highly recommended. I was walking 25 minutes/day, but after a few weeks, I realized it wasn’t strenuous enough, not enough cardio-vascular exertiont.

So I bought a 4th-hand Trek 800 bike in perfect condition on craigslist, $150, added toe-straps so I can crank up as well as down, and started doing 3.5 miles in 15 minutes. Also added a hornless seat to spare my perineal nerves and arteries. Urologists HATE horned bicycle seats.

My calves, thighs, lungs tell me cycling is very strenuous, but becoming less so (the walking was comparatively useless). My neighborhood’s couple of slight inclines now require no down-shifting. Road cycling is no impact on joints, is not boring (as are stationary cycling, treadmill, stair machine, etc), is serious resistance training for calves, thighs, abdomen (lifting the toe straps), glutes, and lower back. For upper body, 15 lb dumbells. Recent research has shown the best cardio-vascular-pulmonary fitness is achieved with start/stop exertion, not periods of endurance training. Easy on a bike to crank hard a few minutes, then coast a few minutes, repeat.

Justin Says:

October 13th, 2007, 2:23 am

Leo,

That is pretty much the same way I lost 50 lbs. Took me awhile (on and off for a couple of years), but it stays off.

Another thing I developed as I was counting / logging calories: replacing high calorie foods I like with a lower calorie substitute. For example, I like BLT Sandwich’s, if I replace the 100 calorie / slice bread with low calorie wheat (80 cals / 2 slices) and use lean turkey bacon (20 cals / slice), just knocked off 200+ calories and get to eat something really close to what I would have had anyway. I would do it with everything I could.

Good luck, I’ll be joining you soon, I still have 15-20 lbs to go.

Zoe Says:

October 13th, 2007, 2:29 am

Some very good tips from a few people. I have been counting my calories per say for the last 4 months and have lost 10kg.

What I do wish to add to all the great comments is the ‘Plateau’ effect. From what I understand, your body is always trying to ’survive’ and thus it is always changing itself to work it’s best with what you are doing. So when we go on a ‘diet’ eventually the body learns to cope with this loss in calorie intake and you end up in a ‘plateau’.

This is often the time when a lot of people give up too, because they feel they are doing all this work and for weeks nothing is happening.

I went through this just 5 weeks ago when I was staying the same weight for 3 weeks in a row. I couldn’t understand what was going on until I started to research it.

So, how to get through this tough situation? From what I understand we need to trick our bodies on a regular basis. By switching and changing the calorie intake. For example, Leo you mention you have two cheat meals allocated per week.

You may wish to use these two cheat meals as the days when you have extra calories that day. So stick to your 2000 calorie intake a day for 5 days a week, but then have two days in a week that may be 2500 calories, your normal “maintenance” level eating. (Don’t go ‘over’ your burnt calories though)

Apparently this helps to trick the body. And it worked for me and got me out of my plateau. It is called the ‘Zig-Zag’ diet.

Another thing I would like to add about exercising. I read so many websites talking about how important weight lifting is and building muscle and yes I agree that building muscle is important. However, if you specifically wish to lose ‘weight’ not just fat like myself I have found that your diet is the most important step. Simply going to the gym or exercising does not work. I did this a couple of years ago, and yes I lost ‘fat’ but I didn’t lose weight which I needed to help a knee injury. I know attend an aerobic boxing class twice a week which is great because it also includes muscle building elements such as push ups, lunges, ‘punches’ etc plus keeps the heart going. I also go to another class that is a circuit which uses small weights but mainly body resistance exercise which again is fast paced, keeps the heart going and helps keep you lean and not lose too much lean tissue.

I am sorry for the length of this post. Love your site - have been reading for a few months - my first post had to be a long one didn’t it!

Nichols Says:

October 13th, 2007, 4:55 am

Great meal plan Leo.

The only thing I would change is to increase the exercise.. 20-30 minutes of moderate exercise a day will stop muscle loss from occuring due to the calorie restriction.

James Golden Says:

October 13th, 2007, 9:46 am

I recently thought about it for a while and started doing something similar, however it isn’t planned. I got myself a small pocketbook and started writing down everything I eat, without actually paying attention to the caloric values. I would not specify meal times, but throughout the week I would fluctuate what I ate in any given day, some days I would eat nothing, some days I would eat around 700 calories, and somedays I would eat around 3000. Because it was dangerous nutritionally, I take a vitamin every day, and I weigh in any time after sleeping, since most food was digested by then, it turned out I was losing .5-2 pounds a day, and I felt extra healthy all the time. Overall I think our ideas are similar, mine just includes short starvation periods between going to pick up food, and I could probably adapt in to something like this after hitting my target weight.

For people that eat fast food, A fish sandwich is /about/ 400 calories. Hold the fry and get a child soda if you desire it and you are still safe, and don’t need to feel fat for stopping at the unhealthiest food chain on the planet.

Deb Says:

October 13th, 2007, 10:44 am

Leo
I too would love to see your meals and second the sparkpeople website. I recently hired a personal trainer who has recommended six small meals a day. Some days I can do it and log it all on sparkpeople and other days I don’t want to even think about but wish I had a list of meals already calculated that I could just reach for.

I too would join a Zen Habits group on sparkpeople so will keep an eye out for it!

SpiKe Says:

October 13th, 2007, 13:05 pm

I wouldn’t want to tie my eating habits to a plan or schedule. Regards eating healthy I do the simple stuff like eat fruit as snacks, choosing lean meats, light options, etc. I’ve written more about it here. I lose the full-on benefits of a planned out meal plan, but I also gain more flexibility.

Rebeca Says:

October 13th, 2007, 13:35 pm

Hello Leo! When you have such a top-notch blog ranked so high in Technorati you don’t need any extra recognition or memes to become even more popular. But anyway I wanted to give you the “Thinking Blogger Award” to show my gratitude for giving me a very nicely written text to read every day and helping me improve my life step by step.
You don’t need to collect it anywhere or continue the chain. I just wanted to tell you that if there’s a blog that deserves such a prize, it’s yours!
Thank you and may your inspiration keep flowing!

Bogdan Says:

October 13th, 2007, 14:26 pm

I started using the Hacker’s Diet. I like the engineering way it looks at dieting. And after reading this article I’ll try to integrate it in my diet.

I’m posting the results to my blog: http://vaidab.blogspot.com/search/label/diet

Bogdan Says:

October 13th, 2007, 14:26 pm

Oh, and please post your 400 cal meals.

Len Says:

October 13th, 2007, 14:57 pm

logging? counting? Zen branding? engineered meals? WTF? :)

K.I.S.S.

zoom Says:

October 13th, 2007, 16:15 pm

Ok, I”ll try it. I’ve got six quit-smoking pounds I want to get rid of before they get too comfortable. This looks a lot more do-able than going to meetings and only eating things I hate.

Kristi Wachter Says:

October 13th, 2007, 16:48 pm

Like Fubek and Bogdan, I learned a lot from the Hacker’s Diet.

While counting calories is a drag if you do it all the time, doing it for a couple of weeks was really informative for me. It gave me a better idea of how often I was going over my personal calorie quota on any given day. It also showed me how various foods fit in to that total: you can eat a LOT of watermelon for a fairly small number of calories. And conversely, instead of thinking I’m not allowed to have any cookies if I want to drop a few pounds, I now know that there are 65 calories in a cookie, so I could have one every day if I wanted without affecting my daily total that much.

The best thing I learned, though, was the trick of cutting portions in half. That reduces calories AND keeps me from feeling deprived. If I go out for Chinese food, if I eat half and take half home, I can have shrimp fried rice TWICE instead of just once! And I’m often satisfied with half a peanut butter sandwich instead of a whole one.

Now that I’ve learned some better eating habits (mostly eating a bit less generally), I’m focusing on what I want to eat MORE of. I’m looking for opportunities to eat more leafy greens and more fruit.

Rui Carmo Says:

October 13th, 2007, 17:15 pm

I got good results from making sure I ate at least one fish meal a day (and I mean real fish, not frozen dinners), cut down _completely_ on sodas, coffee, etc. and replaced them with fresh fruit.

The only real change I did to my diet was foregoing fried anything with either grilled (meat) or steamed (vegetables).

But I would emphasise exercise - I walk at least 1.5Km on any weekday and use stairs whenever possible, and over a year got to the point where I can now climb seven flights of stairs with relative ease.

If that seems a bit much for you, well, start slow - walk to the corner shop, go down a couple of floors, etc.. Over time you’ll start getting positive feedback from the extra activity and want to do more.

Lucky Bob Says:

October 14th, 2007, 1:07 am

I appreciate everything Leo’s done here, although it seems to heavily echo “Feed the Muscle, Burn the Fat”, and of course “The Hacker’s Diet”.

I was just wondering if any of y’all had any advice on eating healthy in a collegiate/dining-hall environment. I’m at Uni, and just can’t seem to keep to what I know is healthy.

Bogdan Says:

October 14th, 2007, 2:39 am

Lucky Bob, I’m in exactly the same situation as you are. Actually the last post on my blog addresses exactly that:

http://vaidab.blogspot.com/2007/10/preparing-meals-when-youre-eating-at.html

Please tell me what you think.

Frosty Says:

October 14th, 2007, 12:14 pm

nice stuff mate,I have started following your advice and already starting too see some results :).I like the one about not punishing yourself as it help you mentally too and keeps you going

Brett Says:

October 14th, 2007, 14:58 pm

burning only 100 calories in an exersize is doing nothing you should be burning at least 1000. minimum! then not only are you lossing weight your getting stronger.

Havana Says:

October 14th, 2007, 17:38 pm

Hey, great post! You emntioned alist of your 400-cal meals? Mind sharing some with us? ;)

Dave M Says:

October 14th, 2007, 18:16 pm

I totally agree with Len here. In fact, what he describes pretty much sounds like the Paleo diet. Also called stone age diet, hunter gatherer diet, caveman diet or whatever.

Personally, I think it’s the only way to go. We just weren’t meant to jump through all these crazy hoops to stay healthy and fit.

There’s a program called TBK Fitness I read some time ago. As I recall, it describes pretty much what Len is doing. A google search on TBK Fitness should turn up a website.

Anyway, congrats Len — you’re doing great. And thanks for the info!

Len Says:

October 14th, 2007, 18:46 pm

Yes, Dave M,

A couple of caveman rules I’ve picked up:

1. If man made it (or modified it), don’t put it your mouth.

2. If man didn’t eat it 10K years ago, don’t eat it now.

It amazes me every time I go to the grocery store how much stuff, aisle after aisle, is simply not health-promoting, and is even health-impairing.

Dini Says:

October 14th, 2007, 19:10 pm

Sheer Genius for this plan. Key word simple. I currently eat on a similar routine, but the calorie technique is superior to mine. I will definately adopt.

pyko Says:

October 14th, 2007, 22:15 pm

hey Leo, great post!
i think as many people have also said, logging what food you eat and their calories is very important! I’ve actually just started my food log 2 days ago and realised i’m eating much more calories than I had imagined.

definitely going to take up some of your tips like pre-planning meals so it is easier to stay under the calorie limit

the only problem i’m finding is I love my cereals/bread - so in a day i eat too much carbs :( anyone have suggestions for this?

thanks for the great post!
pyko

Adrien Says:

October 15th, 2007, 8:34 am

The advice below is the most important advice of all for changing any behavior you have! No ones perfect every day, and if we get the habits we want to do right 60-70% of the time right, then we should be happy with that! Great blog, hope to implement 1% of the advice given and I’ll be successful.

“Forgive: If I mess up, I just forgive myself, and continue. Don’t beat yourself up about messing up. Just learn from your mistakes, forgive yourself, and keep going. This is a marathon, not a sprint. “

Fuzz Says:

October 15th, 2007, 10:00 am

The ‘cheat meals’ are definately helpful. I’ve been following your basic plan for about 3 months now, and while it was hard like you mentioned at the start, I’ve gotten to the point where I just don’t feel like finishing what’s on my plate when I go out to eat anymore (I used to be able to scarf down a footlong sub or a medium pizza on my own, now I’m left with about 1/3 of the food on my plate–I don’t do leftovers because I know I’ll be tempted to snack–and feeling full for the entire day).

Marius Says:

October 15th, 2007, 11:44 am

Coool article, this fits my philosophy very much, now I am dieting for 2 months with very nice results , and will show an abstract of this diet too, by core I am taking GLycemic index diet which dont count calories too.
it like a lifestyle not a diet:
http://www.mariuscivilis.com/glycemic-index-diet-probably-the-main-component-of-all-low-carbohydrate-diets/

Matt Says:

October 15th, 2007, 11:51 am

This is not hassle free.

Len has it. Keeping it as raw as possible, too == less work.

Matt Says:

October 15th, 2007, 14:42 pm

Yes, I lost 75 lbs by going raw. I went from “clinically obese” to “normal” (whatever that is). My total cholesterol went from (U.S. counts) 315 to 175. I could write a book on the differences in my life that the raw diet has made (but who needs more diet books?).

And, my meal prep times never exceed 15 minutes.

If I had my own garden/orchard, I could simplify even more by walking outside to eat instead of driving to / shopping at the store.

Len Says:

October 15th, 2007, 15:07 pm

The trick to losing weight is no carbs (no grains, no potatoes, no sugar, no alcohol). The glucose level goes down and stabilizes. The empty carbs drive you nuts, destroys every diet. Then once the excess weight is lost, stay with no carbs, or add some low-carbs, or even a high-carb splurge very occasionally (specical occasions), but you make the choice rather than a craving or glycemic valley making the choice. No carbs is really, really simple, easy, effective.

I don’t count calories, nor “engineer/plan” meals, WAY TOO complicated and pre-occupying, nor get on the scale, except every few months to put on number on what I, and everybody else, can see what is happening.

Scales are BS. weight varies too much day to day. Why torture/hassle yourself as your weight varies naturally 1 or 2 pounds up and down? At most frequent, weigh once/month. But the real payoff is not a number on the scale, but how you look and feel, once you escape the tyranny of empty carbs.

Leo Says:

October 15th, 2007, 19:15 pm

Thanks for all the great comments, everyone. Sorry I haven’t replied sooner but I’ve been in bed sick. :)

Anyway, a few responses:

1. SparkPeople looks really great. I wish it had a feature more like PeerTrainer, where you have a small, private group that can see each other’s logs and comment. You can do that with SparkPeople, I think, by setting up a private team, but it’s harder to look at everyone’s logs … as far as I can tell, the only way to do that is to create a SparkPage and share your log publicly. Other than that, it’s an awesome site.

2. I considered putting my actual meals in this post, but decided against it as the meals are customized for my calorie goal (and not for everyone else’s) and for my tastes. For example, there’s no meat in any of my meals. Still, after reading these comments I think I’ll do a follow-up post to share some of the meals. I’d just like to say, though, that I think you should each customize your own meal plans to have meals that work for you … food that you like, that you can easily whip up. Following my meals isn’t ideal.

3. Someone mentioned the Hacker’s Diet … which I have read and am influenced by, definitely. Great read. I think I mentioned it in a previous post. I didn’t read the Build Muscle, Burn Fat one, but have heard good things about it.

4. @Len … I agree with much of what you say, including eating more raw foods and less processed foods. However, a couple of things to say on your other comments:

* Having too many restrictions such as you suggest is too hard for most people. I’m a fan of gradual changes. While I think raw foods should be an eventual ideal, I know that if most people tried to switch to a diet like that overnight, they’d fall off it within days. It’s not realistic for most people.
* No carbs is also not realistic, nor is it healthy. And if you’re looking at how cave men ate, they definitely ate more carbs than fat or protein. Mostly grains and nuts and berries. The meat was a rarer thing for them (except perhaps for fish) … catching a wild animal is hard when all you have is a sling or a spear. Cave men had to go for weeks without meat. I agree that processed carbs aren’t good, but I think restricting too many carbs isn’t a good idea … allow for whole grains, such as sprouted breads, oatmeal, etc.
* Not counting calories might work for you, but I’ve found that my weight loss stalled for a few months … counting calories has helped me get back on track and see where I’m going wrong.
* I agree that weighing yourself every day isn’t a good idea, especially if you’re in weight-loss mode. I suggest once a week, at the same time of day (just after waking and using the bathroom). That’s how people who lose and keep weight off do it, and if it works for them, it works for me.

Eugene Says:

October 16th, 2007, 13:44 pm

Great post! I definitely agree with the idea of eating meals at three hour intervals (mine happen to be exactly the same). Another suggestion would be to drink a bottle of water an hour before each meal. I find that it helps keep the hunger pains away and avoids the digestion process becoming too “diluted”.

Brian Says:

October 16th, 2007, 15:42 pm

I started losing fat again the minute I started logging the food I eat through out the day. I just keep a running total of the calories.. Once I reach 1500 I quit eating for the day. The simplest thing that’s worked for me yet.

Larissa Says:

October 16th, 2007, 17:31 pm

These are all great, sensible tips. One thing that has helped me with night time eating is to just have a glass of low fat milk if my stomach starts to grumble. That way I know that I can at least have a little something. I try not to ignore a grumbling stomach since it is an important body cue. The milk seems to coat my stomach and cures any sweet cravings I might have. Plus it has tryptophan in it which can help with sleep. Thanks for this post!

Catherine Adekoya Says:

October 20th, 2007, 3:29 am

This was agreat post. I really appreciate the map you have drawn for us to follow. I am working on this plan for myself. I have been reading your site for a few weeks and have really enjoyed your simple straight forward way of dealing with various issues. Thanks for lots f good info.

Andrea Says:

October 21st, 2007, 9:47 am

I was raised with good habits and think this influenced the fact that I’ve never had a weight problem. Not having a weight problem it would be easy for me to not watch what I eat, but I prefer to.

Eating/lifestyle principles that I believe:

1. To lose weight eat less, move more.

2. Beyond that, every body is different and people’s nutritional needs are different (see book recommendation below).

3. I’m conscious about what I put in my body and try to only consume foods with a purpose. The “junk” foods that I eat usually have redeeming qualities in that way. Sometimes (very rarely) I’ll go against this but if my choice is between ice cream or something that’s 100% sugar, artificial flavour and artificial colour, I’ll take the ice cream. I prefer the taste, but even with all the sugar it’s more likely to be natural. And, it’s got calcium. I don’t like artificial things. When I see commercials for snacks marketed to kids and parents and I heard “Made with x% real juice” I think, “What’s the rest made of?” And if it’s not real, what’s the point of consuming it?

Read The Metabolic Typing Diet, which posits that everyone is one of three “food types”: Carb, protein or mixed (or along the spectrum). It’s one of those books you can read, consider and apply some of the principles without following the entire program specifically. One of the tips it gives is one that I heard from a naturopath. The book made me more aware of the fact that I feel sluggish when I eat meat at lunch, and explained why, so now I save meat for dinner. A lunch that makes you feel sluggish can lead to afternoon sugar and/or caffeine consumption, which makes it worse.

jasi Says:

December 17th, 2007, 12:59 pm

fantastic! simple and sensible.

i follow most of these rules, also, just for daily living. but i don’t count calories. i only eat healthy foods in portions i can fit appx in my cupped hands. my stomach isn’t much bigger than a fist, i’m told. why stuff it?

Vanessa Says:

March 5th, 2008, 7:26 am

I’ve just found a really good calorie and exercise tracker called Calorie King for my Palm (works on Pocket PC too).

The best feature is, it allows you to save your common meals and snacks so you can load them super-quickly after you eat. I didn’t have high expectations, but the program’s won me over. And I’ve lost a kilo so far!

Fitgirl Says:

April 12th, 2008, 6:44 am

You should try http://www.webdietsuccess.com
They have fun and easy tools you can use to reach your weight loss goals.