So If you have read my other post I was only eating 800-950 calories a day. I am trying to take advice and eat more calories and less processed foods. Is this day sufficent?
Is This Day any better. Not 1200 calories but close It's 1142
Breakfast
-Special K Blueberry Cereal-1/2 cup 1%milk 155calories
Snack
-Sgar Free Creamsicle 20 cal
Lunch
-Tuna Fish 80 ca
-Light Mayo 2 tbsp 35 cal
-Special K Crackers 90 cal
-3 oz baby carrots 35 cal
-3 oz strawberries 27 cal
Snack
-Cottage cheese & pineapples 130 cal
-diced peaches in splenda 25 cal
-apples with carmel 70 cal
Dinner
-Brown Rice 170 cal
Broc& Cauli Raw 100 cal
Tuna fish 80 cal
Light Mayo 35 cal
Special K Crackers 90 cal
Now, if you had non fat Light and Fit Yogurt at 80 calories or
one slice of of reduced fat Provolone Cheese at 60 calories or
one wedge of Laughing Cow cheese at 25 calories
Hunt's non fat pudding 70 calories
There are all kinds of possibilities.
I have my mayonnaise right infront of me it's Hellmann's Light Mayonnaise It's 1 tbsp Calories 35 Calories from fat 30
I took 10 minutes just checking all of the labels before I found the lowest one.
Thanks Bargoo for the response. That was Wednesday Menu so not able to add anything to it but for today I have so far....
Breakfast
-banana nut cherioes 3/4 cup 100 cal
-1% milk 1/2 cup 55 cal
-3 oz strawberries 27 cal
Snack
-Kettle Corn 100 cal
Lunch
-Tuna 180 cal
-mayo 70 cal
-Special K Crackers 17 for 90 cal
-swt potato 100 cal
Srawberries 3 oz 27 cal
So Far 729 Calories.
I cold have a snack before Dinner. I have...
-apple sauce 50 cal
-yocrunch yogurt 100 cal
-hunts tapioca pudding ..I think 80 cal
-apples and carmel sauce 70 cal
-baby carrots 35 cal
-strawberries 27 cal
Any Sggestions??
I am not sure what I am having for dinner yet. Trying not to have processed foods...
Thinking maybe 7 slices of turkey 60 cal, brocc & Cauli 100 cal, brown rice 170 cal.
Do you like sandwiches? You could add some calories by eating a whole sandwich with your fruits and veggies. A nice whole grain bread with a good amount of fiber in it is my recommendation. A nice turkey sandwich, or tuna or pb&j maybe?
As far as protein, tuna is great, but eating too much of it can raise your mercury levels. Every day probably isn't a good idea unless you are buying Tongol Tuna, which is the lowest in mercury and even then I'm not sure every day would be okay. According to the Enviromental Work Group, you should only be having 3 cans per week of light tuna or 1 can per week of albacore tuna. Here's a link to their tuna calculator: http://www.ewg.org/tunacalculator. This number is assuming you don't eat any other sources of mercury (other types of seafood that are high in it.)
My favorite sources of protein are yogurt, cheese, chicken, occasionally pork, eggs, some fish (tuna--in moderation, salmon, etc), nuts, beans, and tofu at times. I think it's important to have variety in your diet and to eat all things in moderation (easier said than done--I know.)
Since you are having such a hard time getting the calories in, maybe a few tweaks are in order? Why not switch to 2% milk and yogurt. Those few extra calories may boost you up where you need to be. Or add a handful of nuts as a snack. Honestly, I think you may need more fat in your diet, along with the protein. I don't see much there and fat is very important and necessary for your body to function properly. Fat is not evil like we were all led to believe in the 90's.
You're doing a great job, trying to get in more food! Keep it up!
Thanks Zenor, I am so afraid of eating over that I look at the stuff I have and then find soemthing lower in calories.
I have 2% Milk but I went out and bought 1% so I could have less calories. I have double fiber bread but it's 50 calories per slice and then top that with peanut butter it seems so high.
Cheese is very high is calories so I stay away from it. I picked one up at the store and it was weight watchers cheese I think 35 calories a slice I put it down and decided it was not worth the calories.
I have yocrunch yougurt but it is 100 calories and I figure I could have 3oz of strawberries and carrots for less then that so the yogurt is still in the fridge.
I am having a hardtime right now because I feel like I ate so many calories today but it was only 1264. I know I should not feel this way with that low of calories but I do.
For Dinner I had
7 thin slice of ham 70 cal
brown rice 170 cal
brocc & Cauli steamed with butter 100 cal
sweet potato 100 cal
sweet potato were with no skin sliced in potato wedge slices coated with butter flavored cooking spray 0 cal tossed with 1 pkg of spleda and cinnamon baked in the oven.
When I want to up my calories a bit I add in a tbs. of pnut butter or a handful of almonds. Also a great seet treat that I've found is chocolate soy milk. We're close to the same weight and we're the same height. My cals are supposed to be somewhere around 1700 and I usually hit around 14-1500. I typically eat a snack between lunch and dinner and one after dinner. That usually helps me up them a bit.
2 slices of bread at 50 calories each, plus 1 Tablespoon of peanut butter at around 100 calories, and 1 Tablespoon of low sugar jam at 35-ish calories isn't that much for a meal, even with fruits and veg (235 for the sandwich + for the veg and fruit.) You could even skip the jam and crush some of your strawberries into the sandwich instead. How are you breaking out your cals? It might help if you have a set goal for each meal instead of for the day.
I don't know all your stats like age and exercise, but I'm shorter, in my 30's, only walk for exercise on occasion and I lose on 1500 calories. So, if you go a little over, you should be okay. I would think given your height and current weight that you could lose while eating more than 1200 calories.
Another thing that might be helpful, is to give yourself a range instead of an absolute number. Say 1200-1400 calories per day. That way, if you go a bit over it won't feel so terrible. I'm fairly certain that not one of the calorie counters on here hits an exact number every day. In fact, I've NEVER hit my goal number exactly. Try not to fear going over a bit, it's okay. Calorie counting isn't exact anyhow, it's mostly just good estimates that keep you on track.
I'd stop eating the sliced turkey for dinner. Replace it with other lean meats, like boneless, skinless chicken breast or lean ground turkey. I usually eat about 8oz of chicken with dinner. You can make whole grain pasta with sauce and add in 4oz of lean ground turkey. I love spicy italian sausage, and the kind I buy is only 210 calories per link.
Another easy way to up calories is to increase your food amounts. You don't have to eat just one serving. If I had cheerios, I'll eat 1 1/2 servings and a 1/2 cup milk with a yogurt. I eat bread that's 110 calories per slice. Instead of one cup of soup, I'll have two. Nuts are a healthy high calorie food and go great with fruits. It's small things that can really add up!
I know how to add calories it scares me to do it though. I need to get over being scared. I guess I am just tired of being fat. I figure the more I eat the less I will lose.
Actually, the opposite is usually true (at least after an initial period of weightloss). I am only 5'1" with a slow metabolism, and I have had to increase my calorie intake from 1000/day to over 1200 to get off the starvation plateau I hit several weeks ago.
Eating less will work for a little while, but it isn't sustainable, it can wreak havoc on your long-term metabolism (which is not good if you hope to maintain the weight loss) and you will eventually get VERY frustrated when, already at a terribly low level of calorie consumption, you cannot drop any lower to get the weightloss moving again. It is better to eat more and add in extra exercise.
It also seems to me that you eat a lot of your calories by way of fruit. There is nothing wrong with fruit, but I tend to metabolize fruit into sugar and feel undersatisfied (versus eating lean protein and green veggies).
Here is an average day of food for me (I always eat 6 times per day, evenly spaced out):
Meal 1
Atkins Protein Shake (160 cal) OR Steel Cut Oatmeal (150 cal)
Black tea with half and half (40 cal)
Meal 2
4 Omega-3 Egg Whites (64 cal)
Meal 3
Chick-fil-A Chargrilled with 1/2 bun (185 cal)
Slice of cheese (80 cal)
Medium Fruit Cup (50 cal)
Meal 4
Laughing Cow Light Cheese (2 wedges; 70 cal total)
Wasa Light and Crispy (3 crackers; 60 cal total)
Meal 5
Atkins Caramel Chocolate Peanut Nougat Protein Bar (160 cal)
PLUS... I usually have 3-5 pieces of sugarless gum at 5 calories each (15-25 cal total). I also add 1 packet of 10 cal crystal light lemonade to a liter of water, and drink 2 liters per day (20 cal total). And I take chewable multi-vitamins and vitamin C which each have 15 calories (30 cal total).
If I have worked out particularly hard that day, I will often ADD a low carb 100 calorie fudge bar or sugar free jello with 5 cal whipped cream to the above list. After sitting at the threshold of losing 20 lbs for more than 3 weeks (likely because I was eating less than 1200 calories), I now make a concerted effort to eat a minimum of 1200 calories each day. And my weight is starting to move down again...
Mkmlaw is absolutely right. Eating the low amount you are eating right now will work for awhile. Not for very long, though.
My last real effort at weight loss started with me buying vegetables and telling myself I'd do everything right. A few weeks later, I was eating nothing but frozen diet meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Don't get me wrong, those meals are great for lunch or whatever, I still eat them now if I'm in a rush and don't have time to prepare anything. However, each one is only around 300 calories or so, so I was consuming about 900 calories a day. I dropped about 65 pounds in 4 months, and then it just stopped. I plateaued, and my weight wouldn't budge.
I also bottomed out my metabolism, so as soon as I started eating more, I put on weight. I put on all the weight I had lost, so 4 months of practically starving myself were for nothing.
I also find it hard to eat more than 1200 calories and lose weight. I've tried all different levels of calorie intake, and for me I find around 1100 calories a day lets me shift roughly 2 pounds a week. However, I also have a few days when I eat more - I find mixing it up helps.
According to various online calorie calculators, I should be eating more like 1600 a day, but at this level I just don't lose weight.
I don't slavishly count calories, so things like tomato ketchup, lemonade, cups of tea etc may not be counted, so I'm probably eating about 100 calories more than I think I am.
Last night I drank a small bottle of wine, and this morning had dropped another pound.
I went through a phase of eating ready meals like Lachelle has described above, which was a bad way to lose weight (mostly because the food is full of salt).
Last edited by Snappymuffin; 03-21-2009 at 04:01 AM.
I have stopped eating the processed meals as much, maybe one with lunch every once in a while and I have a bag of steamed veggies with it.
Specially after reading the sodium content in them.
I am really into, brown rice, broccoli & Cauli steamed, Sweet potatoes I might have 2 of them a day. Tuna and crackers with light mayo, baby carrots, strawberries, apples with carmel, for breakfast I have cereal or waffles with a side of fruit. I have lost just under 11 lbs in less then 2 weeks.
I do realize I need to eat more so when I do stop losing I will have the option to drop calories to try and get the weight to start falling again. I only have about 22 lbs to be where I want to be. I am not a small girl and can not weight less then about 164 or I look sick. Plus with my job, I don't want the bad guys to take one look at me and think they can take me.
Not 1200 but close...
