So I’ve had quite a few emails asking me about meal plans, calorie counts etc. First of all… I am not a doctor or an expert. I am just a person that has happened to find out what works for ME to lose weight. So I cannot say that this plan will work for you. BUT it’s wholesome, sensible and operates on the basic principal of burn more calories than you take in.

First of all you have to find out how many calories a day you need to eat to lose weight. So go here
http://www.tlbc.ca/blog/index.php/bmr-calculator/
and follow their instructions.

To lose 1 lb a week you need to create a calorie deficit of 3500. You do that by shaving 500 calories off of your intake a day. If you want to lose two lbs you have to shave off 1000 calories a day. That SOUNDS like a lot… but really? Most people are eating at LEAST 1000 calories over what they should a day anyways…

So to start I ate 1800 calories a day. After losing 142 lbs I have gone down a bit to 1600 calories a day. You need to find the amount that works for you. If you are over 200 lbs a good place to start is 1800-2000 a day… under 200 you could start around 1700 and adjust from there. DISCLAIMER: NEVER EVER EVER eat less than 1200 calories a day. It’s virtually impossible to nourish your body properly at that low of a calorie level and even harder to maintain that calorie level long term.

I don’t follow any low carb, low fat, low calorie plan. I eat CLEAN carbs (meaning cut the white. No white sugar, grains, breads…) LOTS of protein and a healthy amount of fat. My basic macro breakdown looks like this:

Protein: 25-30ish %
Fat: 25- NO MORE THAN 30% fat
Carbs: 45-55%

I track every bite that I eat and plan ALL of my meals in advance. I use the daily planner at: www.fitday.com

And that helps me to make sure that I’m eating no more than my allotment and getting all of my macro’s spot on the night before.

I always try to pair carbs with protein or fat. It keeps you full longer. I have 5 meals a day and eat every three ish hours. That works out for me to be:
Breakfast 8:30 am
Lunch 12 pm
Snack 3 pm
Dinner 6 pm
Snack 9 pm

Eating often helps keep your metabolism up and keeps you full. You won’t succeed if you are always starving. I don’t cheat (a bite is a cheat) or treat (often.) But I’m not insane either. If I really really want something (not often) I will work it in to my calories. I’m not going to sugar coat it though… I daily deny myself things. DAILY. I prefer to lose weight over eating those chips… candy bar… drinking that pop. It’s a choice I make. I chose to be HEALTHY over instant gratification.

There is a detox process you will go through. But after the first couple of weeks you won’t crave the crap any more. I promise you.

Okay… nitty gritty. You want menu plans… I’ll give you a weeks worth of examples at 1800 calories. This is from when I was still having a morning snack which I recently cut out but only because it was a stretch to eat it midmorning.

Day 1
B- 1 slice Orrowheat sprouted grain bread, 1 T natural peanut butter, medium banana
Snack- president’s choice creamy yogurt cup, Vital brand granola bar (100 cal)
L- 1 cup cottage cheese, kiwi fruit, 2 wasa bread and 2/3 cups imitation crabmeat
Snack- 2 cocktail tomatos, 1 oz extra old cheddar cheese
D- Soft taco with 1 large whole wheat tortilla, ½ cup extra lean ground beef, ¼ cup red onion, 2 cups cabbage, 2 T sour cream, 2 T salsa
Snack- 100 calorie popcorn bag and fruit source bar

Day 2
B- 1 slice toast, 1 T Peanut butter, medium banana
Snack- 2 wasa bread, 3 T hummus
L- 3 cups cabbage, 1 cup imitation crab, 2 T low fat Thai dressing (stir-fry)
Snack- 1 cup cottage cheese, 1/8 cup peanuts
D- 1.5 cups grilled chicken, 1 cup steamed stir fry veggies, 1 cup brown rice, ½ T olive oil
Snack- 100 calorie popcorn bag and applesauce cup

Day 3
B- 1 slice toast, 1 T Peanut butter, applesauce cup
Snack- 2 wasa bread, 3 T hummus, banana
L- 1 cup chicken breast, 2 cups cabbage, 2 T low fat Thai dressing
Snack- ½ cup cottage cheese, kiwi
D- Tuna melts: 1 whole wheat English muffin, ½ can tuna, ¼ cup onion, 1 T mayo, 1 oz cheese, 1 cup roasted cauliflower, ½ T olive oil
Snack- 100 calorie popcorn bag, applesauce cup

Day 4
B- 1 cup Nature’s path Optimum slim cereal, ½ cup skim milk, medium banana
Snack- applesauce cup, 1 oz mozza cheese
L- 3 wasa bread, 2 hard boiled eggs, ¼ cup onion, 1 T mayo (egg salad) and kiwi fruit
Snack- ½ cup cottage cheese and apple
D- 6 pierogies, ¾ cup broccoli, ¼ cup cauliflower (roasted) with 1 T olive oil and 2 T salsa
Snack- 1 slice toast, 1 T peanut butter, ½ pear

Day 5
B- 2/3 cup raisin/almond PC granola, ½ cup skim milk, medium banana
L- Cloverleaf pre-packaged tuna steak, 2 cups broccoli, 1 oz mozza cheese
Snack- weight watchers whole wheat bagel, 2 laughing cow cheese wedges, clementine
D- soft taco’s- ¾ cup extra lean ground chicken, ¼ cup mozza cheese, ½ cup lettuce, 3 baby tomatos, ¼ cup onion, 2 T sour cream, 2 T salsa, 1 large whole wheat tortilla
S- (had an sales party this night) 3 mushrooms, 5 cucumber slices, 5 baby carrots, 15 bakes lays tortilla scoops, 3 T salsa

Day 6
B- 1 whole wheat weight watchers bagel, 1 T peanut butter, apple, yogurt cup
L- 1 can tuna, 2 T hummus, ¼ cup onion, 3 wasa bread, 1 cup broccoli
Snack- medium pear, 15 almonds
D- foot long Subway Oven roasted chicken sub on whole wheat with mustard, lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, pickles, onions, olives. NO CHEESE. Around 650 calories!!!
Snack- 50 calorie fruit bar, 1 oz mozza cheese

Day 7
B- 1 whole wheat weight watchers bagel, 1 T peanut butter, yogurt cup, medium banana, 1 T raspberry jam
L- 1 cup grilled chicken, 2 cups steamed broccoli, 1 T low fat salad dressing (sweet onion by Kraft) kiwi and 14 almonds
Snack- medium pear, 1 oz mozza cheese
D- 1 cup sushi rice, 26 baby shrimp, 1 cup stir fry vegetables
Snack- 1 large whole wheat tortilla, 3 T spicy hummus

Tips for success:
I weigh EVERY morning. I track my weight at fitday
I plan my meals the night before
I drink 2-3 litres of water per day
I pair carbs with either fat or protein
I PLAN if I want a treat
I write my menu in paper as well and take it with me
I rarely eat out
I phone ahead when we are eating at family/friends and find out what’s on the menu
I pack meals/snacks with me where ever I go
I walk 4 miles three times a week and do yoga and heavy stretching 2-3 days a week.

So this is it. This is what I do. Good luck my friends!!!!

This is great... I just saw today how much progress you have been making. It's amazing. I feel like I make a good effort but reading through this has shown me some areas I can work on. Thanks so much!

You are SO AWESOME!

Such a basic plan that has worked so very well for so many here at 3FC! This should be a lesson for each of us here. Expensive pills, drinks, facilities, equipment, doctors, etc are not necessary to lose weight. Tammy, Thank you for this timely reminder. I was doing exactly what you described and was losing weight consistently. It is time to get back to the basics.

Your eating is really similar to mine - and WOW do you look great! Cheers to good health, CFMama!

Can you pm that to me now? lol jk!

Sounds great! I'm amazed at your loss- you rock!

Tammy,

Thanks for posting this! You are great.

Does your weight loss equal what the calculations show you?

Roughly yes. I would maintain my weight on around 2800 and I eat 1600 a day. So a calorie deficit of almost 9000 calories and a weight loss of around 2.4 lbs a week average. And I'm right about there. Maybe a bit more. Of course when I was a LOT heavier I lost more because I could create more of a deficit with just food.

Awesome info!

When I read the menus, I started thinkin it looked so simple. No fancy recipes. Not a lot of effort to put together the meals. Maybe part of my problem is a always want something new to eat. I need to get over it and just eat what I need to eat and not get all crazy with trying to find substitutes for my old favorites.

Thanks

I eat around 1700 calories per day...But I weigh 190LBS...I am Very active! I walk 3+ miles every day, do work out tapes a few times a week, and go to the gym at least once a week...plus try to move as much as possible doing boring tasks. That said, I am experiencing a really long plateau (like 6 months) I have tried eating less but that makes it worse...What do you think I could be doing wrong? Thanks!
~Sara

Interesting. I notice you have a lot of variety in your diet.

I think I tend to get in ruts.

Very generous post, that's great

Similar to mine, and it's working for me, for sure.... but a bit slower because I DO cheat a little bit more (usually a small thing like I had some extra WW chips and a bite of brownie today) because I find that if I really stay absolutely 100% strict, I'll actually go crazy eventually and really blow it. Also, I allow myself a cheat day where I can have some fatty food that I'm craving, or go out to dinner with family, etc. Other than that one cheater day, I stay under my calories and have been slowly but steadily losing at least a pound a week. And I'm happy with that.

yes it is a very generous post....I know it'll help out a lot of chickies and save you from repeating yourself!

great menu! thanks