Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Alright, I guess I'm not getting the hang of this. Again I did not eat enough calories although I thought I had set it up right.
Today's menu:
Breakfast:
Banana
2 cups of the Soy Strawberry/Banana fruit drink shake thing. (DELISH!)
Total cals: 210
Lunch:
Half a boneless, skinless chicken breast, about 4oz
Salad consisting of same as yesterday....1/3 cup iceberg lettuce, 1/3 cup spinach, 1/3 cup romaine lettuce, less than 1/8 cup of each of the following: cucumber, roma tomato, red onion. 2tbsp croutons, less than 2 Tbsp Ken's Steakhouse Red Vinagerette and Oil salad dressing.
Total cals: 220
Dinner:
1 C of vanilla yogurt, (low fat)
1 C frozen strawberries, (no syrup, no sugars added)
Total cals: 148
Snack: A granola bar that has some chocolate on it.
Total cals: 120
Grand total of cals for the day: 697
SIGH! I thought it was going to be at least a grand. Dang it! Even if I was off by 100 cals, (which I'm not), it's still 400 cals less than I was supposed to get. Breakfast and lunch went well. I ate the granola bar simply because I left it at work, on accident, last Friday and it was something to eat, I knew I had the room, cals wise for it.
When I got home, I thought I was close to 1200 so I only had the yogurt and fruit. Now it's too late to eat more. Well, I'll keep trying to get this right.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnonChick
A lot of "diet fans" will say I'm out of my gourd..and the wheat-belly freaks will protest, and the gluten-intolerant people will whine, and the "natural whole foods only" people will complain, and the "con-agra is teh evilz lolol" crowd will have a conniption. But here's my foolproof breakfast:
What the heck are "wheat belly freaks"? I'm not concerned about what gluten intolerant people think because I'm NOT gluten intolerant so I don't have to follow their diets.
Quote:
1 cup (or less, as long as it doesn't go over the serving cup) of Maltos Frosted Shredded Wheat Minis (these replaced the old "white generic label" of the 1970's but are actually chock-full of nutritional supplements, and are otherwise just plain wheat, with a little sugar), a splash of plain whole white milk, and a cup of coffee with another splash of plain whole white milk and 2 teaspoons of normal cane sugar.
Get rid of the coffee and this is something I could do...on a day I'm off so I have time to sit down and enjoy it.
Quote:
That combination, because the cereal is fortified, gives you a solid morning's worth of protein, vitamins, minerals, is filling, tastes good, doesn't involve any cooking at all (other than flipping the ON switch for the coffeemaker), and is easy to eat QUICKLY and get out the door in time for work.
Chomp down half a banana in the car and suck down a 1/2 litre bottle of spring water on your way to work, and you'll be pretty much good to go til lunchtime.
Oh man, the water. Yah...it...uh...cleansed...shall we say. Man does it taste terrible. Not like when I worked in the boiling heat of Miami...then water was delicious because my body seriously needed it. Up here, where it's cold...the taste is so dull. But, I bought it so I'm drinking it. Boring as it is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lawmom
Three Wolves, you are doing fine. The fact that your are taking steps and trying, all while quitting smoking, is awesome! It's all a learning process. And as you can readily see, everyone has their own opinion about what makes a healthy menu. And research can show something and then be contradicted the next week, depending on who funds the research or how (in)valid the studies are.
Boy do you have that right. Always changing, very frustrating. And yes, I'm definitely trying...I'm taking a lot on at the same time so I'm not going to get this perfectly right but it's a step in the right direction.
Quote:
Part of this is to experiment and see what works for you. For me, I have found that an Atkins-type way of eating works best. The first two weeks are hard, but the cravings for simple/processed carbs does lessen over time. The good fats makes me feel satisfied. I can get hypoglycemic if I have too much of certain carbs, and of course those are the ones I have a very hard time controlling. Others are on the low-fat bandwagon. Personally, I think that movement is one reason why Americans are larger now. It's still the "wisdom" coming from bariatric centers and many doctors and nutritionists. Maybe it works for some.
Listen, I'm with you on the low carb thing. I did that a long, long, long time ago, before it was mainstream and when it was hard to find anything in the stores to eat BESIDES meat, eggs and cheese. I read the book, front to back, I did as instructed and I came up with meals from the very limited choices in the stores...because no one bought in to the Atkins thing back in the day.
And BAM! I lost weight, it came off fast and many at my job accused me of being a drug user because it came off so fast. And it stayed off. Until...I broke my ankle. (Ankle break was not recent.) Then, everything went to hell. I firmly believe in the Atkins diet, totally know it works. But I thought I'd try it the way so many on here say one is supposed to do it. I want to see if it works.
Quote:
In general, I think trying to eat as many organic foods as we can, avoiding as many processed foods as we can, concentrating on good fats and proteins, and veggies and some fruit, while drinking plenty of water will certainly help. None of us is perfect -- do the best you can within the confines of your budget and tastes and lifestyle. Kudos to you for trying!
Well, I don't know about organic, that is ridiculously expensive but fresh food...like real food...I'm trying to eat that. The only reason I am able to is because I finally have a job that allows me to afford this type of food. I did not have that before. But I'm making myself do it...we'll see what happens! You know, when I finally figure out how much I really can eat during the day.
With Atkins it was so easy...just count the carbs. I was able to eat so. stinkin'. much on Atkins as long as my carbs stayed below the magic number.
This time, I count cals. I'm hungry. (Expected, I didn't eat enough today.) But it seems more time consuming. STILL, I'm willing to give it a shot.
You're counting is off. I have no idea what brand of shake you're consuming, so I can't look up the calories on it. But here's what I have according to Myfitnesspal:
Breakfast:
1 banana = 100
2 cups of some kind of soy shake = UNKNOWN CALORIES
--------------------
Total breakfast: ??? 100+
LUNCH:
1/2 roasted chicken breast - no skin, no bone = 142 (that'd be roasted in its own juice, no oil or fats added) = 142
10 generic croutons = 25
1 roma tomato = 50
2 tablespoons of Ken's oil and balsamic vinaigrette (you didn't specify which so I took a guess): 60
Lettuces and greens = call it 25 total for a couple of cups.
------------------
TOTAL LUNCH: 302
DINNER:
1 cup low-fat yogurt = 208
1 cup frozen strawberries, unsweetened = 77
1 unspecified granola bar with chocolate = 120 (I'm assuming you actually took that calorie amount from the wrapper)
--------------------------------
TOTAL DINNER: 405
TOTAL DAY: 807 calories
Now here's the scary part:
6 grams (tomato), 34 grams (yogurt), 10 grams (strawberries), 8 grams (granola bar) = 58 grams of sugar = 232 calories of sugar = more than 1/4 of your entire day's caloric intake was sugar.
You NEED to cut back on your sugar intake. A *cup* of yogurt is too much yogurt. A *cup* of strawberries is too many strawberries. That's too much sugar to eat in a single meal, ESPECIALLY if that's all you're eating for that meal.
Now - notice I did -not- add in your shake, because I have no idea what shake you're drinking, and so I can't include the calories or the sugar content of them. But you say you had *two* cups of it for breakfast PLUS a banana.
That's too much sugar for breakfast, and not enough *food.*
Tomorrow, scramble an egg for breakfast, toss it on a single slice of toast, fold it in half, and eat it as your breakfast sandwich. Add ONE cup of that shake stuff, and have HALF a banana for your mid-morning snack.
The chicken and salad was great, but you still would be saving money AND doing a better job with your diet if you splashed your own olive oil and vinegar on the salad. Once you use up that dressing, don't bother buying more. It really is just a waste of money for overprocessed crap that can't beeven -close- to as good tasting as your own.
When you eat yogurt, you should eat 6-8 ounces. That's one cup of yogurt. But it *includes* the strawberries. That's a snack, not dinner. Here's another recipe for you, you can make enough to last you three days and pick from it, either hot OR cold, it's good either way:
A half pound of green beans. Snap or chop the tips off (I don't know why you're supposed to do that, but you are, so just do it ).
Stir-fry that in around 2 tablespoons of olive oil, on LOW heat, til the beans wilt and start to get bendy and flaccid.
Add 3-4 take-out packets of chinese restaurant soy sauce. Stir briskly to coat all the beans.
Let it simmer for a few minutes while you mince up two decent-sized cloves of garlic.
Toss the garlic in the pan, stir it around for around 1 minute. No longer, or you'll brown the garlic and it'll taste bitter.
Serve, and save the leftovers for the next day's supper side-dish. It's low fat, in that there's two tablespoons of oil for three servings.
You can also buy frozen broccoli tops in in the supermarket, there are "steamers" that are often on sale for only $1.29 a package, and that package is 2-3 full-sized servings (it usually says 4 but those would be tiny servings and it'd be assuming you're eating 2 servings of OTHER veggies with the meal).
And then you can buy a single potato, pre-wrapped in saran, for around $1.49. Nuke it for 6 minutes, slice it open, scrape out a thumb-length hollow in it, fill that hollow up with chopped chives and a few pinches of cheddar cheese, and eat with a fork and knife. Eat the skin too. TONS of nutrition, very low fat.
You're counting is off. I have no idea what brand of shake you're consuming, so I can't look up the calories on it. But here's what I have according to Myfitnesspal:
Breakfast:
1 banana = 100
2 cups of some kind of soy shake = UNKNOWN CALORIES
--------------------
Total breakfast: ??? 100+
LUNCH:
1/2 roasted chicken breast - no skin, no bone = 142 (that'd be roasted in its own juice, no oil or fats added) = 142
10 generic croutons = 25
1 roma tomato = 50
2 tablespoons of Ken's oil and balsamic vinaigrette (you didn't specify which so I took a guess): 60
Lettuces and greens = call it 25 total for a couple of cups.
------------------
TOTAL LUNCH: 302
DINNER:
1 cup low-fat yogurt = 208
1 cup frozen strawberries, unsweetened = 77
1 unspecified granola bar with chocolate = 120 (I'm assuming you actually took that calorie amount from the wrapper)
--------------------------------
TOTAL DINNER: 405
TOTAL DAY: 807 calories
Now here's the scary part:
6 grams (tomato), 34 grams (yogurt), 10 grams (strawberries), 8 grams (granola bar) = 58 grams of sugar = 232 calories of sugar = more than 1/4 of your entire day's caloric intake was sugar.
You NEED to cut back on your sugar intake. A *cup* of yogurt is too much yogurt. A *cup* of strawberries is too many strawberries. That's too much sugar to eat in a single meal, ESPECIALLY if that's all you're eating for that meal.
Now - notice I did -not- add in your shake, because I have no idea what shake you're drinking, and so I can't include the calories or the sugar content of them. But you say you had *two* cups of it for breakfast PLUS a banana.
That's too much sugar for breakfast, and not enough *food.*
Tomorrow, scramble an egg for breakfast, toss it on a single slice of toast, fold it in half, and eat it as your breakfast sandwich. Add ONE cup of that shake stuff, and have HALF a banana for your mid-morning snack.
The chicken and salad was great, but you still would be saving money AND doing a better job with your diet if you splashed your own olive oil and vinegar on the salad. Once you use up that dressing, don't bother buying more. It really is just a waste of money for overprocessed crap that can't beeven -close- to as good tasting as your own.
When you eat yogurt, you should eat 6-8 ounces. That's one cup of yogurt. But it *includes* the strawberries. That's a snack, not dinner. Here's another recipe for you, you can make enough to last you three days and pick from it, either hot OR cold, it's good either way:
A half pound of green beans. Snap or chop the tips off (I don't know why you're supposed to do that, but you are, so just do it ).
Stir-fry that in around 2 tablespoons of olive oil, on LOW heat, til the beans wilt and start to get bendy and flaccid.
Add 3-4 take-out packets of chinese restaurant soy sauce. Stir briskly to coat all the beans.
Let it simmer for a few minutes while you mince up two decent-sized cloves of garlic.
Toss the garlic in the pan, stir it around for around 1 minute. No longer, or you'll brown the garlic and it'll taste bitter.
Serve, and save the leftovers for the next day's supper side-dish. It's low fat, in that there's two tablespoons of oil for three servings.
You can also buy frozen broccoli tops in in the supermarket, there are "steamers" that are often on sale for only $1.29 a package, and that package is 2-3 full-sized servings (it usually says 4 but those would be tiny servings and it'd be assuming you're eating 2 servings of OTHER veggies with the meal).
And then you can buy a single potato, pre-wrapped in saran, for around $1.49. Nuke it for 6 minutes, slice it open, scrape out a thumb-length hollow in it, fill that hollow up with chopped chives and a few pinches of cheddar cheese, and eat with a fork and knife. Eat the skin too. TONS of nutrition, very low fat.
Your counts are way off. I'm going by what is on the actual container, not some generic list. The amount I put up is correct.
Ditch the Ceasar salad dressing, try some of the good vinegars out now. You can have a gigantic salad, minus the Ceasars and a few fat free croutons instead of a cup. I go with the spring greens, organic tomatoes and red onions myself. I once lost quite a bit of weight eating a large salad, a piece of fruit and two Lein Cuisines a day. That kept me under 1200 and I didn't have to worry about weighing my food and all.
Came back to share a book I found at the grocery store in one of those book piles of things on sale.
It is called THE WOMAN'S DAY WEIGHT-LOSS PLAN by Kathy Keenan Isoldi
Published in 2003 Original price was $22.95. ISBN 2-85018-645-7. She includes menus for 30 days of 1200 calories per day. She also includes what type of food each item is so you can substitute if you want to. 168 pages of diet information and suggestions for ways to stick to the diet and some recipes.
I find my biggest problem in dieting is boredom because I tend to choose the same foods over and over again until I have a hard time even looking at them. So this book is a boredom saver for me. I just look at what day of the month it is and go to that number to see how she planned it. I can follow her diet completely or if the list says one fruit, I can choose my own.
Your counts are way off. I'm going by what is on the actual container, not some generic list. The amount I put up is correct.
Okay so I wasted my time giving you suggestions on what OTHER Things you can eat, because that was what you claimed was the problem? And instead of considering those other ideas, you chose to nitpick the calorie count on labels that don't exist? (A banana doesn't HAVE a nutritional label on it, and neither does a roma tomato, or 1/2 a chicken breast).
Good luck to your weight loss endeavor then, Three Wolves in Snow. I'll bow out now and save my advice for someone who might actually be serious about asking for it.
Okay so I wasted my time giving you suggestions on what OTHER Things you can eat, because that was what you claimed was the problem? And instead of considering those other ideas, you chose to nitpick the calorie count on labels that don't exist? (A banana doesn't HAVE a nutritional label on it, and neither does a roma tomato, or 1/2 a chicken breast).
Good luck to your weight loss endeavor then, Three Wolves in Snow. I'll bow out now and save my advice for someone who might actually be serious about asking for it.
I could say the same for how you ignore everything else I write, you just tell me everything I get is wrong. I don't much care what the calories come from, I'm only concerned about being at 1200 or under...which is exactly how I started this thread.
As for the banana, find another site. Some bananas are smaller than others and some sites give you the cal count based on size. They are not the same. Same with the tomatoes, (I did not eat an ENTIRE tomato...I said so in my threads), and chicken. I am not going to use a generic site that says, "All bananas are 100 cals" because that is simply not true.
As for the yogurt, give me some kind of credit. I didn't just go in and buy some yogurt, I took time to find the one with the lowest cals that was not NON fat. The yogurt I got is ONLY 110 cals PER cup, NOT over 200. The strawberries are 50 cals per cup, NOT 77. Again, you can't use a generic site and say that is the end all, be all, calorie count because it's wrong. I can read a label.
Further, I got the fruit and yogurt on YOUR recommendation! Now, you said half a cup but again, I didn't have enough cals for the day so I went another half cup. Now you tell me I'm wrong for eating berries and yogurt.
I got the salad makings, on YOUR recommendations, now you tell me what I have in those salads is wrong.
What I got is better than what I've been eating. What I got is still not adding up to 1200 cals. Sugar does NOT make me hungry, despite how it may affect others. And again, at this point, all I care about is that the meals are interesting, not boring, bland and disgusting tasting and don't go over 1200 cals. That's it. I'm not concerned about sugars and fats and salt and all that...I can ASSURE you, I'm getting much less of each one just by NOT eating what I used to...so while you may not think I'm doing any good, I am. Maybe it's not to your specifications of a healthy diet...I'm not all that concerned about "healthy perfect diet" right now, I'm just concentrating on dropping some weight that I had plus the weight I gained from three weeks of me trying to stop smoking. (Want to talk about sugar? What I am eating now is nothing to the 10,000 fricken lollipops I was downing each day trying not to smoke!)
Last edited by Three Wolves In Snow; 11-20-2012 at 04:58 PM..
Snow, why can't you do Atkins again? You don;t get hungry on Atkins, right? That good fat and protein keeps you full and satisfied. Just curious.
I don't know about where you live, but meat is expensive here. The prices are ridiculous so I thought I'd try another way, where I don't have to spend so much money, (more than I've been spending but not too much), and see if it works.
I see so many on here saying the "low calories" is the "only proper way to lose weight" because everyone claims that if you don't do it this way, you will not only gain all the weight back, you will get fatter.
I know Atkins works...I just wanted to try it this way and see if it worked because, again, meat prices are out of control where I live.
So far I've lost 4 pounds so I guess it does work.
Thus far, I am eating better foods, not that everyone agrees, but then, everyone doesn't know what the hell I ate before. I KNOW what I used to eat, (Top Ramen, hot dogs, Banquet frozen crap...because it was CHEAP!!!!! and that's all I had the money for.)
This way, maybe I can get some things and not spend too much money. If I go back to Atkins, while yes, I will still eat a lot of veggies and such, (like my chicken and salad I've been having for lunch, I could do, minus croutons...I could use bacon bits instead and I think the onion is a no in the first two weeks..have to look that up again), there's also the pleasure of meat and cheese. But...I can't justify spending $4.99 - $6.99 on a pound of meat. Sorry, that is a rip off, to me.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
).
