There are some great suggestions here; I can see an expansion of my menus in the future.
Other people have listed their sample menus, so I should list mine, if it might be helpful. This is a typical day for me, consisting of three meals and three slightly smaller snacks. It comes in at just under 1500 calories and involves just some basic prep and cooking time:
- English muffin with an egg, cheese, tomato slice (I microwave the egg so there's no added fat in the cooking)
- Kashi Go-Lean Crunch with almond milk (I tried regular Kashi Go-Lean and I thought I'd opened my cats' Little Friskies by accident...stuff's just gross to me)
- Low-carb wrap containing roast turkey slices, baby spinach leaves, tomato slices, and thin slivers of red onion with a little hummus plus a bowl of tomato soup
- Stick of string cheese plus a small salad (vinaigrette dressing) plus an apple
- Chicken/vegetable curry (heavy on veggies) prepared at home from pre-mixed spice paste plus half a cup of brown rice plus a dab of full-fat yogurt 'cause that curry is spicy and my mouth needs a break that isn't naan bread
- Sweet yogurt, sometimes Greek with honey and fruit mixed in, sometimes pre-fab flavored low-calorie depending on my mood
Y'know, when I look at all that...it's really a whole freakin' LOT of food. That's what it takes to keep me feeling energetic and sated, though. If I tried to reduce the quantities, it'd leave me feeling starved. (I know I'll want to cut calories later as I lose, but that should just mean leaving off part of a snack here or a slice of cheese there without greatly decreasing volume.)
Anyway, that might give you some new thoughts on what you might enjoy as well.
This is a great thread! There is so much important advice in here. Robin and Eliana especially informative.
My first week of planned calorie counted meals almost over and I have been eating largely whole foods over packaged stuff but you can never get too many ideas for meals.
I think I have been pretty creative this week but I haven't made that many different types of meals, just working with the small amount of groceries in my house meaning beans, salsa, veggies, whole wheat wraps and somehow morphing those ingredients into different meals all week.
I love cooking and am sort of afraid to start really cooking with more ingredients like I use to. Some of you are making amazing sounding meals like chicken curry or chicken with mushrooms and wine sauce. This sounds like stuff I use to make but I am not sure it was ever healthy! I guess I just have look at all the nutrition in the recipes and revamp it to be healthy.
While I am really enjoying my beans and veggies meals from this week, its only been one week! In a few more weeks I am going to want more variety!!
But if others can cook healthy chicken curry then I think I need to face my fears and figure out how to too!
these are all great suggestions and comments. when i read them i recall that Gidget said she ate the bars for breakfast, because while she wasn't very hungry in the morning, she ate the bar because it seemed better than no breakfast at all. so she may be thinking i'm not hungry enough to eat a bowl of oatmeal or a real breakfast in the morning. that's all fine. maybe have a peice of fruit- think apples, pears, juicy oranges, tangerines. and bring a string cheese for a snack before lunch when you feel hungrier. or even wait untill later in the morning to eat at all. eating when i wasn't hungry is what got me to obesity, so try to tune into your body. if you aren't hungry yet, wait.
Also, your body may change. If your body was used to eating heavily at night, but now dinner is a light salad or grilled chicken and veggies, your metabolism may shift. or, some people are just not morning eaters. my dd is this way. it's difficult many mornings to get her to eat more than a few bites of food. she needs to gain weight. but that's another thread. we are all different, and our bodies change as we go through the journey.
could you tell us what fruits and veggies you like? do you like fish? you mentioned in another thread, that you have a panini press, maybe you could use that to 'grill' some veggies, marinated chicken or fish. that could be a really satisfying, easy, quick meal.
I LOVE chicken curry. i think one of the biggest differences in making it healthier, less calories is using more veggies, less rice or none, and using curry seasoning which is fat free instead of curry paste. simply cook the veggies and chicken in chicken broth or stock instead of oil. add in your seasonings- curry, cumin, garlic cloves or chopped, can't remember any others. oh some basil and cilantro or other herbs if you can.
often just adding some curry seasoning to an ordinary dish makes it taste like 'curry'. tuna salad- swap out some or all the mayo for basil paste(found next to fresh herbs in grocery store), baked chicken, baked/steamed fish. and this works for many of your fav. seasonings. this is just an example.
rachael ray has tons of ideas of how to make recipes healthier. one of her ideas is to make a roasted eggplant and peppers marinara sauce.
simply roast an eggplant, a few colorful bell peppers(or buy frozen, or already roasted in the jar)
roasted garlic(whole garlic wrapped in tin foil) in oven for 45 mins.(squeeze out the cloves when you are done)
blend all that in a blender or food processor with a can of tomatoes. serve over spagetti squash noodles.
tastes like eating spagetti, but it's really a bowl of veggies. and you can eat alot of it.
she has tons of recipes for different kinds of salads too. lots of ideas. different kinds of hummus, chicken/turkey burgers. and many of her ideas are really easy and made in 30 min or less.
ok, in the other thread you(Gidget) mentioned you always feel like a failure. this makes me feel...so empathetic, i just want to give you a big hug. i post about it in this thread, because i think as we help you with your plan, this can be eliminated completely. we shouldn't ever feel like failures. a diet is not punishment. we shouldn't feel tortured. this lifestyle is to help you EMBRACE your life, LIVE your LIFE. i'm sure we all only want to help.
so i ask,
why do you feel like a failure?
what are your expectations?
do you 'have' to stay under 1200 or other extremely low calories? this is completely unrealistic most of the time, and for almost all of us. even the feather weights.
i know we can help you with a plan that helps you feel successful each day. ready to jump out of bed and greet the day with a smile. because, once you have the right plan for you, and follow it- sticking to it like glue, YOU WILL SUCCEED! You deserve this. You really really do.
This is why i suggested making charts, tracking your habits. you could just pick 1 or 2. something simple. goals like i drank my 20oz of water(instead of diet soda or other drinks) or i exercised each day. just mark on the calandar each day you DID exercise. those days will start adding up fast. building momentum. everytime the scale isn't moving, just look at all those days you were exercising. keeping track of mins, intensity and so on later if you want. just really simple, easy at the beginning. forming a habit.
becoming more consistent(a huge problem for me) with my exercise is what broke my last plateu. i'm not saying this is your problem, it's just a suggestion. with back up plans when you can't get to the gym. a back up plan for meals and exercise will be really important. plan, plan, and plan some more. i hope this helps, and you feel better today.
I LOVE chicken curry. i think one of the biggest differences in making it healthier, less calories is using more veggies, less rice or none, and using curry seasoning which is fat free instead of curry paste. simply cook the veggies and chicken in chicken broth or stock instead of oil. add in your seasonings- curry, cumin, garlic cloves or chopped, can't remember any others. oh some basil and cilantro or other herbs if you can.
That is almost exactly what I do.
I do use the paste, though I account for the fat in it and count the calories up as usual. Pan-saute the chicken pieces in a non-stick or thoroughly Pammed pan, add the paste, add veggies in the right order (starting with the ones that take longest to cook) plus enough stock to keep everything in the pan moving, add a big can of stewed tomatoes if you like them, serve.
Aside from some preparatory chopping, it's just as easy and almost as quick as Hamburger Helper. Bonus: it's cheap, cheap, cheap per serving.
(Sorry, I couldn't resist the chance to talk about the wonders of a slapdash vegetable curry--it's too good to keep to myself!)
Pooh! I second the banana ice-cream suggestion, I make this for me and my kids all the time. Three frozen well-ripened (heavily spotted but not rotting) bananas (peel them before freezing or you'll never get the peel off) and a cup of frozen unsweetened strawberries in the food processor equals deliciously sweet and surprisingly creamy banana/strawberry ice-cream. It's very low in calories compared to comparable amounts of dairy ice-cream and extremely healthy, no added sugar, we all love it!
I see I'm not the only one who has problems with those 100 calorie packs. Lol
They seemed like a good idea when I saw a huge box of them at Sams Club. First day, I had one pack, but I couldn't get them off my mind. Second day, I had two, and they were on my mind all day. Next day I grabbed 5 of them to eat at once! I was going to budget them into my allotted calories for the day. Luckily, I stopped myself. Put them all out on the floor and stomped the contents to dust. Some popped open and it made quite the mess. Granny came out to see what the commotion was about and looked at me like I'd lost my mind.
I want you all to know how much I appreciate the time you have put into these posts.
The sample I gave...was just a "sample" of a day. It's not what I choose to eat EVERY day... sometimes, I have oatmeal for breakfast, sometimes I have ground beef for supper, sometimes I eat salads, sometimes I have shrimp and pasta... I do have a pretty good variety, or at least some variety. I am not that big of a cook, and when I do cook, I prefer that its very simple. I'm also a pretty picky eater... so I'm used to not having that many options. ( I don't like tomatoes, onions, or mayonaisse)
Anyway, I do recognize that even thought that is not my everyday deal... I do need to start trying to switch to almost always choosing whole foods over processed. It's just gonna take some time to get it right I think.
I am feeling much better. The scale... she still hasn't moved... but... I don't feel like a failure anymore. Largely due to all of the support here, I know that what I am doing makes me better than I was before, even if I can't "see" it yet.
What I'm doing is definitely better than the alternative... (sitting on the couch every evening shoving in chocolate, candy, chips, etc etc until I wanted to throw up, and then crying for hours because I felt like a loser). THAT... I don't want to go back to. So... if the scale chooses to stay the same for a while, so be it. I can move, I can walk, I can put healthier food in my mouth... I CAN go more than 30 minutes without eating and not die.
Quote:
Gidget Hi! I noticed you changed your avitar picture...you are so pretty!
Thank you for that. I don't feel pretty most of the time. I have inner demons that make me think I'm a big fat ugly slob. BUT... I'm changing that, with all of you girls' help.
So... if the scale chooses to stay the same for a while, so be it. I can move, I can walk, I can put healthier food in my mouth... I CAN go more than 30 minutes without eating and not die.
Thats the right attitude! You are being healthier than you use to be and it will only get better from here! The scale will move in time! Its the fact that you are making healthier decisions now that will pay off, stay positive like this! We are all here to give and get support!!
Anyway, I do recognize that even thought that is not my everyday deal... I do need to start trying to switch to almost always choosing whole foods over processed. It's just gonna take some time to get it right I think.
Jump in with both feet. Don't be afraid of it. Don't dread it. There is an incredibly delicious world of whole foods out there. They taste fabulous (that will take time to find ways to prepare them - be creative) and they're FABULOUS for you. It's a win/win situation.
But I will tell you this, even whole foods have calories and you will have to monitor/track, yes count them. I urge you, urge you, urge you to take it to that next step. It's SO worth it!!
You will lose that frustration of the scale not moving down. Seeing those results will propel you further and further.
Keep us updated, will you? I NEED to know how you're doing.
Exactly! For most of us, yo-yoing up and down all the time, it really is a victory to stay the same weight. to NOT gain. really and truly.
and....as we go along it's natural for our bodies to stop losing for awhile. this is our chance! practicing maintainance a little at a time. i was stuck all summer. my weight sayed within the same 5 lbs from may to aug. but you know what? i decided to just forget that scale and concentrate on mental homework. i tried to figure out why i was overeating. then i worked on exercising consistently, just marking on the wii fit exercise mins. it takes note and tells you if you've missed x days. and it's on a calandar. doing that, i finally got under 200.
so now, knowing i got through that, it made me stronger(mentally) and physically because i realized i needed to add really strong weight training. now i know! i know i can get through any plateu. and when i get to maintenance, i'll be able to keep my weight and habits fairly consistent. keeping it OFF. is more important than losing it quickly. keeping the weight off instead of yo yoing up and down. not gaining is truely a victory!
i'm so glad to hear you are feeling better and if you like to to keep it simple in the kitchen i have a few recamendations.
food network's $10 dollar dinners, 5 ingredient fix, and rachael ray's 30 min meals.
fit tv channel's sam the cooking guy on 'just cook this'. You may not have heard of him, but i love his show! he makes the food that is so easy, tasty and better for us. awesome.
all these recipes are online. sam's recipes are on here: http://health.discovery.com/fansites/sam-zien/recipes/
there's also lots of cookbooks you can get. i have a 5 ingredients or less cook book, and a weight watchers one that's kinda the same theme. it's a good idea to look around the library or just online. there's so much variety. i'm sure you'll find something you like. plus lots of recipes and ideas on 3FC.
I am also really picky, and don't like to cook. But I've found you can still eat "whole foods" like that. For example, my standard day is:
Breakfast: 300 grams cottage cheese with cocoa powder, equal, 15 grams wheat bran, and 15 grams oat bran.
Lunch/snacks during day: four slices nature's own 100% whole wheat bread with no-sugar added jelly, 200 grams of baked chicken with salt and pepper, 1 serving ff sf yogurt.
After work: HUGE mess of baked cabbage and onions with soy sauce
Dinner: same as breakfast
Before bed: 6 hershey kisses.
That is under 1700 calories and it's a ton of high fiber, high protein foods. Nothing is complicated to prepare: I cook the chicken breast on the weekends (just bake with onion soup powder) and it keeps in the fridge fine for the week. The cabbage/onions takes a few minutes, but when I am feeling lazy, I eat two 100 calorie pack of popcorn instead (popcorn is a whole grain! 4 grams of fiber/100 calories!).
I used to think "whole food" meant hours of complicated recipes with spices and vegetable chopping and standing over a hot stove. But it really doesn't have to be like that.
