I've tried looking at the nutritional value of menu items for my school's dining center before, but it is largely useless because I never know when specific entrees will be served so it makes it difficult to plan around that. They do give a schedule of what will be served on what days, but even that ends up being incorrect a lot of the time. Plus, the nutritional info is based on the size of "one serving", and the amount that is put on your plate varies considerably based on which lazy college student happens to be serving you that particular day.
There are a few healthy options they have daily though. The salad bar is always available, as is grilled chicken and lunch meats. There is also always some sort of fruit and veggies offered, which I've been making a conscious effort to incorporate into my diet lately. Of course, just because I'm eating healthier doesn't necessarily mean I'm losing weight.
The other problem is that with a busy school schedule it's hard to stay consistent with when I even go to the cafeteria. Half the time I just end up going to subway because I have one located in my dorm building, so it's quick and easy (and actually tastes good, unlike a lot of the cafeteria stuff)
The reason the IF method sounds appealing to me is because I rarely eat anything before noon anyway. I will occasionally have a cheese stick in the morning, but usually I don't eat until lunch. And I really need to make SOME effort to become happier with my fitness level and body image. The past couple of times I've drank, I've ended up getting down about how I haven't finished losing weight, and I've gone bulimic. Granted, I've never considered doing that sober, but even still the fact that I've gone and tried it makes me worried about eventually heading down a path that will leave me worse off than before.
The thing is, with my current meal situation, I don't have a huge amount of control over what is available. Something like this:
"I follow a paleo type diet, which for me means no grains (especially no wheat), no legumes, no vegetable oils (corn, canola, soybean, basically whatever most restaurants use to cook and fry), no refined sugar (except some raw honey at times). I eat a lot of potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, beef, butter, lamb, eggs, chicken, olive oil, coconut oil, spinach, kale, onions, garlic, peppers, fruit, plus nuts, mostly almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamias."
is not only well beyond the scope of my nutritional knowledge when it comes to figuring out how to actually balance all of those, but is also hard to pull off when I'm not buying my own groceries. A more simplified method like this, however:
"Basically, meat, vegetables, tubers, and fruits." is something I'd be able to work with.
Also, is far as what's available to me in the dorm, I have a fridge in my room and there is a microwave in the hallway. Doesn't seem like a lot to work with in regards to being able to whip up something healthy (but if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them)
Another problem is that I rarely get any exercise, but I'm looking to change that next semester. As it is now, our school has a rec center, but it costs money and you have to take a bus to get there. Next semester though, a huge new rec center is opening right on campus and it is free. It is also going to have a rock climbing wall and racquetball courts, which is awesome.
I'm proud of myself for losing 45 lbs this year, but I don't want anything to stop me from losing my final 30 in 2011! Maybe IF will be what works for me.
Although (admittedly not having read through the links provided about the subject yet), I'm wondering what the point of IF is if you are already following the paleo diet? Isn't that effective regardless of how you space out your meals?
I am let down by myself right now.
