Ok so after doing the exercise thing for 3 weeks I have decided to start working on my menu. It is frustrating. I put my info in MyFitnessPal and I need help figuring out how to change things. It appears I eat way too much sodium. I also eat way too much protein(who knew there is protein in baked lays?) but I don't eat enough calories nor do I eat enough carbs. What can I add to my meals that will give me more carbs? I think I can see where the sodium comes from so I think I can get rid of some of that. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

gosh, I'm the complete opposite - always too many carbs

You can get carbs from any veggies and fruits, rice, bread, potatoes, beans etc...

I wish I could build a menu with fewer carbs...unfortunately, I'm vegetarian, so it's hard

good luck!

Thanks for the quick reply. Maybe you can help me a little more? I need protein and fat(not over on fat most days but right at it) free carb food. Ideas please?

the veggies, fruits and rice will definitely give you protein free carbs. Maybe white pasta?

about your response to my thread - unfortunately, it's not the sweets that add to my carbs - I rarely indulge.
As a vegetarian, everything I eat has carbs - beans, lentils, whole grain bread, pasta or rice, vegetables, you name it. Even when I try to eat protein rich foods - they come with carbs. Thankfully, I don't have carb craving issues or that would be terrible.

Hey erh:

Do you have/are you working on a diet plan? I get the impression from your post that you're just following the default macros (that fat/protein/carbs) on myfitnesspal rather than figuring out the best plan for you. The thing to know is that there are LOTS of ways of eating to be healthy and lose weight. Personally, I feel best when I eat lots of lean protein and lots of veggies. I'm more dubious about fats and starches, so I try to watch those. So I've set up my myfitnesspal account to shoot for 30% protein/30%fat/40% carbs.

The point is that there's no one right way to do it. What do you think would work best for you?

Btw, it's really almost impossible to eat "too much" protein. That would require a very extreme and unlikely diet.

Yes I am just using the default. My trainer gave me a plan so maybe I can figure out how to put in her numbers. Maybe they will look better to me. I have felt really good this week with what I was eating. But they plan tells me I am not eating enough calories(by a lot some days a few on others).

To change the macros: Home > Goals > 'Change Goals' > Custom. Then from there you can put in your calorie and macro goals. IMHO, if you're striving to get more carbs, your macros need to be tweaked. Carbs are not an especially desirable category--lots of people have problems with them.

How many calories are you shooting for? Any reason that you're not meeting your calorie minimum? (Less is not always better!)

exactly what i was going to say.

me, i don't eat starchy carbs (or i eat very few of them). i eat mostly fibrous carbs in the form of tossed salad (no eggs, bacon, cheese, etc) and i eat very little dairy.

that's because starches make me feel groggy and dizzy and dairy is just too yummy to have around (although now that i've stopped eating bread, cheese is much more easily managed).

my bff, she is vegetarian and lactose intolerant, so she doesn't eat meat and her dairy is limited but she eats a lot of carbs and that works for her.

i try to keep my protein at a minimum 40%.

but as has been said, don't go by some set of defaults - find out what works for YOU.

I don't drink milk. I eat a lot of salad(like almost every meal is a salad. Don't use sweeteners or sugars. Don't eat much fruit(I know I need to up it.) Gave up sweets(ice cream, cookies, etc) for lent so none of those. Don't eat eggs(they make me sick). I could post a sample menu from a couple days this week so you guys can help more.

My trainer says 1600. My fit pal says 1200 but also says I need to eat the cals I burn when I work out(400 a couple days but 600 most days.) Monday and Tuesday I ate 800. Wednesday I ate 1100. Thursday and Friday I ate 1400. I eat a lot of salad. Sometimes with chicken. Sometimes without. If I ate meat this week it was chicken(always grilled). I eat oatmeal for breakfast with a tsp of pb. Or I eat a banana. As I said below I don't drink milk. I can't eat sweets right now. I don't eat eggs. And to be honest, last night I had nachos from Del Taco for dinner. Why? Because I was soooo not hungry but I knew I needed to eat and I needed to up my cals. I have been eating 3 meals and a snack(trainer wants 3 meals and 2 snacks). Hope this will help give an idea of where I am at.

1600 is a very good number to start with. Not too low, not too high. You should be able to meet that without too much trouble.

It looks to me that you're needing to increase your protein a bit: all meals should at least have SOME protein. Chicken is great. So is yogurt, nuts, cheese. A girl cannot live on salad alone--the salad needs protein and a little bit of fat.

hemp hearts - add hemp heart to your diet. you can sprinkle it on pretty much anything: salad, porridge, cereal, whatnot.

http://www.healing-source.com/about_HempHearts_b.htm

A 42 gram (4 heaping tablespoons) serving of Hemp Hearts contains 240 calorie energy from:

15 g. protein

15 g. polyunsaturated fats
(11.4 g. omega 6 and 3.6 g. omega 3)

2.7 g. mono-unsaturated fats

2.1 g. of saturated fats

2.5 g. fiber

4.5 g. carbohydrates

2 mg. iron

31 mg. calcium
3.8 mg. sodium

3.8 mg. vitamin E

956 IU vitamin D

.42 mg. vitamin C

.05mg. vitamin B6

.14mg. vitamin B2

.58 mg. vitamin B1

1.68 IU of vitamin A

threenorns, thanks for posting about hemp hearts. Do you find that they actually do suppress your appetite? They seem too good to be true. I'm also trying to find out how many calories they have per teaspoon. I tried to send you a private message but it seems you don't have it set up for it. If you can send me a PM, I would be so grateful. Thank you!

i used to use them a LOT - 20cal/tsp: 240/12 (3tsp per tbsp) = 20cal/tsp

i didn't use them in such large quantities but i did notice i didn't get the crave/binge thing going on.

i can't figure out where to send PM - i think it's not enabled on my account.