YOU: On a Diet - and other Oprah inspired diets - Automated meals

What meals are you all automating, and what are you doing?

I was thinking about automating lunch because that seems to be my hardest meal, but I get sick of salads, soups, and sandwiches pretty quickly (hence why lunch is so hard for me) I can't imagine eating the same thing every single day....

I may be WAY overthinking this diet, but it just seems so general that I am struggling a bit. I am used to a more structured plan that tells you how many servings of protein, fruit, veggies, dairy, etc, to eat every day. But then again, I guess that's why diets don't really work because to make a true lifestyle change you need to plan and eat a healthy, balanced diet on your own.

Hi ! Not sure what the "Oprah inspired diets" is all about - but what worked for me before was coming up with 6 or 7 meal choices for each meal. It made shopping really easy and with 6 or 7 options I didn't get bored. A nutritionist taught me a really GREAT lesson - think outside the box - if you don't like/want/are bored with breakfast options - eat a "lunch or dinner" type meal. I/O/W sometimes I would have a turkey sandwich and pickles for breakfast. Eat things that are healthy and don't worry so much about what fits in which meal category. My 10 year old just told me he can't stand breakfast stuff - cereal etc - in the morning. So I now give him other things - sandwiches - pasta - meatballs etc - he gets a nutritious meal and EATS so when he goes to school he can concentrate - and no sugar buzz. A little off topic - but you get the idea. He likes his breakfast options at dinner.

Don't know if that helped..............

Rizeninme - I actually sort of merge YOAD with other eating plans in order to come up with what I should be eating. The YOU part of it is that I try to only eat the suggested foods, and avoid the "bad" things.

As a rule, I like to have a carb and protein at every meal, and then add veggies into my lunches and dinners. I figure out what I want my calorie intake to be around, and then divide that up for 3 meals and 3 snacks. So, let's say I want to do about 1600 calories. Then I'd do my three meals at 400 calories each, and that would leave me 400 calories total for the 3 snacks. My 400 calorie meals usually contain about 4-5 ounces of meat, around 3/4 c. of a starch and then veggies. Fitday.com is a great site to use to calculate out your calorie totals.

To answer your initial question, I automate breakfast, and I somewhat automate lunch. My lunch is usually leftovers from the prior day's dinner, so although it changes all the time, I don't have to think about it, so it's automatic for me.
Cindy

I've automated breakfast - Quaker Weight Control oatmeal, 1/2 C blueberries, 1 C 1% milk and about 4 Tbsp of Coffeemate Sugar Free vanilla creamer. Makes life a lot easier.
Weekday lunch is automated to a Lean Cuisine and a bunch of raw veggies, sometimes with a yogurt based dip. Weekends I am a little more flexible.
Kim