New to Cr and need some help

[heatherpelletier]

Hi,

 

I am very interested in the idea behind cr and I am very excited to start a healthier lifestyle. I have read that some people do not keep track of their calories and or nutrients, but instead just guess or assume they are on the right track. I have also read that some people keep track of everything they eat. Since I am some what of a perfectionist (which I hate to admit), I need to keep track, weigh and record everything I eat to make sure I am getting every nutrient that I need or else I will never feel like I am doing it properly. That being said, I signed up with cronometer and got started recording my food only to realize that I have so many questions. I understand the basics, weigh the food I eat and simply enter it. But what about foods that are not single items. For example, Frozen mixed vegetable. I live in Canada and for most of the year getting local fresh produce is not an option and I have read that frozen is a better option then imported produce. (please let me know if I am wrong about that) The calorie content is listed on the bag but should I be weighing while it is frozen or prepared? Also, since it is mixed produce, how do I accurately measure the nutrient content? or is that even possible? I am also having the same problem when making a stir-fry type dish. Since the nutrient content changes when cooked, how do I accurately measure the calories and nutrients when everything is mixed together once cooked? What about making vegetable and fruit juices? Do I weigh before I make the juice and will the nutrition content remain the same? My other question is for dry foods. For things like rice, the calorie content is listed on the bag, but is that for when it is cooked or dry? Also, I buy a product of sprouted mixed beans and lentils, which I love. How do I accurately measure the nutrients since it is mixed? I buy sprouted cause I get terribly bloated from non-sprouted beans. Does sprouted change the calorie and nutrient content of the food? Is there a way to get my body to accepted non-sprouted beans?

 

Sorry for so many questions. I will be very great full for any help that I can get. Also, if anyone could recommend any other sources to help me get started and answer my questions such as any books or online resources, that would be greatly appreciated. Finally, if there are any other Canadians out there who read this and are successful in this way of living, I would love to hear your story. I am worried that the weather here might make this harder for me but maybe that may not be so. I do not know anyone personally that is into this way of living nor do I know anyone who even cares about that they eat and I would love to meet or at least have contact with someone who is successful in the cr way of living for further questions and support. I understand and like the fact that everyone does this their own way, and for that reason, I am very interested in how other people have adapted to this lifestyle.

 

Thank you so much for reading my really long post. I can't wait to read some responses.

- Heather

[keithsct]

Hi,

 

I am very interested in the idea behind cr and I am very excited to start a healthier lifestyle. I have read that some people do not keep track of their calories and or nutrients, but instead just guess or assume they are on the right track. I have also read that some people keep track of everything they eat. Since I am some what of a perfectionist (which I hate to admit), I need to keep track, weigh and record everything I eat to make sure I am getting every nutrient that I need or else I will never feel like I am doing it properly. That being said, I signed up with cronometer and got started recording my food only to realize that I have so many questions. I understand the basics, weigh the food I eat and simply enter it. But what about foods that are not single items. For example, Frozen mixed vegetable.

 

Hi Heather, I'm glad you found this site and are taking an interest in healthy eating. I'll try to answer your questions in-line. I'm also Canadian and have lived in Edmonton, Winnipeg and Calgary, so I know what the winters are like.

 

The first resource you should try to use is the label on the food package. The manufacturer of the food product is required to take into account the proportions of foods that go into making their product and provide a pretty close estimate of the nutrition as far as the label requires. It's sometimes possible to find better information online than you will find on the labels. Here's an example: Peas & Carrots

 

At best this information is a guess since nutritional content varies according to season, soil condition and location. I consider the information good to about +/- 10%. Luckily your body can deal with any minor excess or deficiency in most cases. Also remember that the recommended daily allowances for nutrients are based on statistical models anyway and have a little padding to make sure that 95% of the population is satisfied.

 

 

I live in Canada and for most of the year getting local fresh produce is not an option and I have read that frozen is a better option then imported produce. (please let me know if I am wrong about that) The calorie content is listed on the bag but should I be weighing while it is frozen or prepared?

 

Fresh is a relative term depending where you are in Canada and the time of the year. I try to buy organic and fresh wherever possible, and will settle for frozen when no fresh is available. In Seattle there's always fresh organic available. When I lived in Winnipeg, I remember that we used to rotate thru different produce items as they came into season. Definitely we ate better in the summer than in winter.

 

Most food items nutrition labels are specified as prepared according to directions. So choose the prepared entry in cron-o-meter.

 

Also, since it is mixed produce, how do I accurately measure the nutrient content? or is that even possible?

Rely on the nutrition label first. Second choice is to estimate the proportions and make multiple entries into cron-o-meter. Once again, don't get so hung up on getting the exact nutrition amounts. Farmer A may grow his crops in soil that is rich in selenium. Farmer B may only have 1/2 the selenium compared to Farmer A. At the store, you don't really know whether you get produce from Farmer A or B, so take the cron-o-meter entry as an average.

 

I am also having the same problem when making a stir-fry type dish. Since the nutrient content changes when cooked, how do I accurately measure the calories and nutrients when everything is mixed together once cooked?

 

Once your dish is prepared, you will be eating cooked vegetables, so you should report cooked veggies. I make separate entries for each element of the stir fry. So lets say I make beans and rice with salt and mushrooms. I weigh out all the ingredients before I cook them, then once the dish is cooked, I weigh out the full dish and the portion that I eat for my dinner. If I make that dish often, I'll create a recipe in cron-o-meter and then just use that entry. Don't forget the weight of the water!

 

What about making vegetable and fruit juices? Do I weigh before I make the juice and will the nutrition content remain the same?

Fruit and vegetable juices need to be considered separately from their base fruits/veggies. There are separate entries in cronometer for juices. Really fruit juices are not a good idea because they remove all the fiber from your diet and then you absorb all the sugar all at once causing an insulin spike. When you might have a tooth problem, you could crush up some vegetables, but don't juice.

 

My other question is for dry foods. For things like rice, the calorie content is listed on the bag, but is that for when it is cooked or dry? Also, I buy a product of sprouted mixed beans and lentils, which I love. How do I accurately measure the nutrients since it is mixed? I buy sprouted cause I get terribly bloated from non-sprouted beans. Does sprouted change the calorie and nutrient content of the food? Is there a way to get my body to accepted non-sprouted beans?

 

For dry foods, the nutrition on the label is for prepared food. For the mix of beans, rely on the nutrition on the label.

 

Sprouting will change the nutrition content, so try to get the nutrition from the label. If not detailed enough, then email the company. Sprouted products are often a product that the makers take pride in producing. They should be happy to tell you all about the nutrition in it.

 

Sorry for so many questions. I will be very great full for any help that I can get. Also, if anyone could recommend any other sources to help me get started and answer my questions such as any books or online resources, that would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.crsociety...ources/cr_guide lists 3 or 4 great books to get you started.

 

is a video uploaded by Matthew Lake who also practices CR. He has uploaded several relevant videos on CR.

 

Finally, if there are any other Canadians out there who read this and are successful in this way of living, I would love to hear your story. I am worried that the weather here might make this harder for me but maybe that may not be so. I do not know anyone personally that is into this way of living nor do I know anyone who even cares about that they eat and I would love to meet or at least have contact with someone who is successful in the cr way of living for further questions and support. I understand and like the fact that everyone does this their own way, and for that reason, I am very interested in how other people have adapted to this lifestyle.

 

Thank you so much for reading my really long post. I can't wait to read some responses.

- Heather

 

I've been doing this for about 4 years now and my health has never been better. All my problems disappeared and I feel pretty darn healthy everyday. I'm happy to help others with their journey towards great health.

 

 

If you want to chat sometime over skype or IM, just let me know and maybe we can set something up.

Cheers,

Keith

[JJeffreyBragg]

Hi Heather! I live in Canada, too. It's a big place... do you live in all of it? ;) I live in a little rural corner of it on a quarter-section of former farmland in the Parkland region of west-central Manitoba near the little village of Rossburn. The nearest city of any size is Brandon a good two hours hard drive distant; I get there maybe half a dozen times a year.

 

Like you, I'm struggling with the "keeping track of everything" challenge. (See my topic posted this evening "CRON Conundrum: Menus and Recipes" for some of my other newbie concerns.) For me, though, it isn't just keeping track of everything, it's obtaining some of the things that are needed for the kind of sophisticated nutritional balancing act recommended by Dr. Walford's book (the one that's supposed to be required reading for all who post in these forums). Some of these things I can probably obtain on my next trip to Brandon (if I have the spare cash to buy them, that is), but the fresh highly-perishable ingredients like tofu I simply have to forego and forget about.

 

And yes, the winters. I've been successfully coping with -25C and windchills of -40C whilst consuming between 826 and 1250 calories and I'm not dead yet! :P It can be done. I have my moments of hunger and low energy, granted. But they pass and the determination remains.

 

As many seem to do, I started Calorie Restriction blindly, feeling I just had to do something to shed my ridiculous belly flab and to feel better. My height is 5'11", my age 67, and I've gone from an estimated 215 pounds (I didn't even own a scale at the time) to my present weight of 160 pounds since the beginning of last November. I found about CRON and the CR Society just after New Year. I'm still evolving rapidly, finding my way, gaining practice, learning more and more about nutrition, and *feeling better* with *more energy* despite the calorie restriction and steady weight loss. I'm now trying to slow it down just a bit preparatory to feeling out my equilibrium point of calorie intake, at which I'll neither gain nor lose weight. There is inevitably a good deal of trial and error involved, and you can expect to make some mistakes.

 

Let me STRONGLY suggest that you buy Dr. Roy Walford's "Beyond the 120 Year Diet" if indeed you have not already done so. It is absolutely indispensable. There are other books by other authors around but this one is the definitive presentation of CRON by the man who knew more about it than anyone else. It's beautifully written and organised, a real treat to read and work with.

 

Funny about these forums. Nobody here but just us Canucks, huh? B)

 

Best of luck with your CRON practice,

Jeffrey