[alkali-feldspar]

Has anyone else had trouble in the past sticking with both a food pyramid and a lower calorie intake? I'm trying (esp. as a veggie) to get all of my fruits/vegetables/grains/proteins all into one day and still peak at 1300-1500 and it's almost difficult to do--almost. Am I eating the wrong kinds of fruits or proteins, perhaps? I generally eat melons, apples, and grapes for my fruits; beans, lentils, FF soy milk, or egg whites for protein, and brown or basmati rice, multigrain cakes (rice cakes only not), Kashi multigrain waffles or 12grain bread for my grains...should I be looking at different options?

This really is a tremendous learning process--I'm so glad I have everyone here to gently guide me through it! (by which, I mean thank you tremendously! )

[blues4miles]

On getting my fruits/veggies in I am definitely not one to talk...

...however, I've found that veggies are much more protein-filled and much lower calorie than fruits. I rarely have fruit, and though it is easier to "prepare" than most veggies, you just don't get the same ounce-per-ounce as I think you'll get going heavy on the veggie side. I can't speak on the grains bit either, so hopefully someone else will offer up advice on that. So far I think your protein choices look good - you can add low fat yogurt, low/no fat cottage cheese, low fat string cheese...I think broccoli is supposed to be somewhat higher in protein as well, so try using more veggies than fruit to get in both your servings under your calorie count and your protein. Just some thoughts, hopefully better experts than I will follow!

[susie_sunshine]

i've found that the fitday.com site with the daily nutrition report really helps me decide what foods I need to eat. At first I found it intimidating but now I really like it!

[srmb60]

There's not much wrong with 13-1500. And your food looks lovely and healthy. If I was going to trim, I'd look at quantity of breads and grains and types of fruits. Did that make sense?

[alkali-feldspar]

Thank you, all! I'm doing better in my fourth day (only!) and I'm trying to budget my calories more evenly. I think I was trying to stick to somewhere around 6 grains a day, per the veggie pyramid, but you just can't do that on a 1300-1500 calorie budget. So I'm staggering it out pretty evenly and still getting the results I'm looking for.

Thank you so much for the constant help and support, you guys are my favorites.

[srmb60]

I have trouble with overt carbs like bread. I don't want one ... I want them all! And I want slathery greasy stuff on 'em. So that's where I cut (when I'm good) A bowl of oatmeal is a fabulous one that I do have fairly often.

[alkali-feldspar]

I've always wanted to like oatmeal, but I've always found it totally unlikeable. =/ I'm okay with having one slice of bread or a cup of rice, so I'm pretty good there. The problem is, I like sugary fruits! I can limit those or switch them up in favor of less caloric ones with no problem at all, so far. I hope it continues!