The past week or so I've been trying to diet "on my own" - I went back to fitday.com today just to key in my food and see how I did.

Right now I'm at 1662 calories.. which I am very very happy with! But I'm at 69%carbs! Ouch!

I know what things are high carbs.. just didn't realize that I was that much of a carb addict...

I am getting so sick of chicken. any other protein ideas? I had 14% protein.. and 17% fat... not good, eh?

Dana

First, congratulations on starting over--it sounds like you're off to a great start!

I usually run at over 50% carbs, and I was looking back at my fitday.com diaries and saw a 27% fat day. Now, what you have to look at, though, is what kind of fat. I eat at least .5 ounces of walnuts each day (the dietician told me to) and on this day I ate 1 ounce. So the quality of fat was very good, but it looked bad when you looked at the percentages. Also, if you're eating a lot of fiber-rich, complex carbohydrates, to me that's a good thing. Now if it's white and refined, then that's a different story!

Personally, I love fish so I try to eat a lot of that. Pork is also a great protein source if you like meat. Reduced- fat cottage cheese, low-fat string cheese, eggs (although not too many), soy products like garden burgers and vegetarian chili are great alternatives. A taco salad with really lean ground beef that you rinse before you eat and salsa for dressing is a great idea, too.

Do you have a Trader Joe's in your area? I love that store! It's got some really great prepared food like sweet and sour shrimp stir fry and roasted veggie enchiladas.

Hope this helps.

Sheila's got some great ideas. I only have 2 things to add:

Black beans. You can make a meatless taco salad w/them.

Shrimp. Loooooove shrimp. Oh wait, that is fish.

sorry gals.. hate beans and hate all fish! yuck! but steak.. now I like that!
I try to bring more nuts into my diet - I eat soy nuts and sun flower seads.

So what are fiber rich, complex carbs?
most of my carbs come from fruit and breads...

my subway sandwich was 118 carbs today.. holy cow!

Protein: YOGURT! and tofu/tempeh/soy milk. Just give it a try. I seriously love tofu. It's part of my teenage rebellion. I come from a town where only "those hippie college kids eat tofu" so, I especially enjoy horrifying my dad with it.

Fiber Rich Complex Carbs: Vegetables. Leafy ones. The greener the better. Yummmm.

Dana,

Natural Ovens bread, brown rice, whole wheat (not necessarily organic) pasta, Fiber One cereal, etc.

Dana --

Would strongly suggest you get a good book that summerizes some of the latest research on eating. What you're asking about can get complicated.
I read the Harvard Guide to Heathy Eating, also recommend Prevention magazine.

Don't forget, you don't have to do all this at once -- we mix our brown rice with white rice, if we have pasta, it's part vegetable spaghetti, part regular spaghetti, and part whole-wheat spaghetti.

Another good source of protein is eggs= I eat a few a week, because I'm getting older, but you younger ones can have more.

Good luck -- I'm actually getting attached to eating healthy -- in fact, for more, eating right and working out is the main enchilada. Losing weight is just the bonus (Lord, I almost said the icing on the cake!)

You can even have a little cake once in a while. It's all about balance.

Yes, egg whites for breakfast are quick and easy and really low in calories. I scramble them up in a bowl and pop them in the microwave.

I second the eggs and the lowfat cottage cheese and the yogurt. I also make my own beef jerky from lean eye of round -- much less expensive than store-bought jerky and I can control the salt. I use it for an after-work snack during that danger time where if I don't eat something, an hour later I'll eat EVERYTHING.

Fish is a great protein boost. Smoked whitefish, flaked and mixed with just enough lowfat mayo or sour cream to hold it together, on wheat crackers, is one of our favorite cold dinners. And it's a change from tuna or the little frozen squares of baked fish we also eat a lot of. Ease of preparation and quick cooking time are high priorities in our household. /grin

Protein shakes are good, too, for a boost on a day when you haven't had much protein. You can get protein powder at most bodybuilding/nutrition stores, or even at WalMart sometimes. Get a neutral flavor, then add your own pizazz. I add frozen fruit, instant coffee, or flavored syrups or extracts, depending on my mood. My fave right now is banana-strawberry with chocolate powder.

You may hate beans, but have you tried pulses lately? Different family, so if you don't like the texture of beans, you might be able to tolerate pulses. My husband is like that. Pulses include peas and lentils. Try some Indian dal, or a good lentil soup. Or DH's fave, split pea soup with lots of lean ham.

Okay, here's what I had for breakfast this morning. A low carb tortilla spread with TJ's smoky black bean dip (okay, it's beans, but it's not really like beans if you know what I mean!), a scrambled egg + 1 egg white, topped with salsa. I also had .5 oz. of walnuts before I went to the gym. I get nauseous if I don't eat something before I lift.

The protein on my breakfast is 29%, the carbs 11% and the fat is 60%. The fat sounds scary, but it's from the walnuts and it is "good" fat. Sometimes I add soy sausage, which should give even more protein.

You do have to watch the nuts because they are so calorie dense. If I were you, I'd stick with soy, walnuts (which the dietician said was most heart healthy) and almonds. I also make a smoothie with yogurt, frozen berries and soy milk (to add more soy into my diet--another nutritionist idea).

Do you like veggies? Big salads with lots of different kinds of veggies are great, and full of good stuff. Add some lowfat cheese (I like pepperjack because it's spicy) or low-fat deli meat for protein.

Steak can be good--just make sure you get tenderloin. If you're @ Pick N Save, they will even cut it into 4 oz steaks for you.

You could prolly do lean pork, too. I hate pork, but I hear the butterfly chops are good. And of course, treat yourself to the occasional beer brat.

As for nuts, I like raw whole almonds, they come in a can w/a green lid from Walgreens. A serving of them is 36 nuts!!!

veal turkey lamb.

ground or otherwise.

it's the processed carbs that'll kill ya. everyone says [and i'm only just starting to believe them!!!] that the whole grains are the way to go. and limit yourself to like 4 servings and see how that works for you.

and then fill up on any kind of veggie except for white potatoes. ya gotta have the most vitamin punch per mouthful that you can get!!!!!

Cottage Cheese.
I live on the stuff.

never tried cottage cheese - looks like lumpy cheese.. is it really any good?

here is todays lunch.. it's better on the carb side:

egg white & cheese on low carb toast

chicken and onions on low carb bread w/ deli cheese

10 calorie jello cup

pretzels (a staple for me!)

grapes

soup - campbells soup at hand

pria bar

carrots

I know.. it's alot of food! - I work till 7 and I don't want to be starving to the death by the time I get home 7:30 pm

This is 45% carbs - compared to the other day of 67% - what are all of you at?

Dana

Thats alot of food? Sounds about right fo a long day at work. I always try to balance my carbs with my protein, and stay low fat.

Example
Breakfast
2 small slices of liver and a plum

Snack
turkey brat and 7 small prunes

Lunch
3-4oz of steak with ginger and peanut sauce
green beans

Snack
2 small pieces of liver and a plum

Dinner
5 oz of teriaki chicken cooked with onions and green peppers
handful of grapes for dessert

Miss Chris