Eating at home! Difficult!

iandrew124

lbetancourt wrote: »

i want to eat at your mom's. what is she making today?

Dude, it sounds like you might need to turn down your mom's cooking if you want to make strides reaching your goal. you said it yourself, "if I'm going to be serious about having a healthier diet then I need to know what I'm putting in my body." You are going to have to put in extra effort into making your own meals for the week on weekends to fit into your busy schedule. if losing weight and getting fit were easy, we ALL would be. and, if you do want to have your mom's cooking on occassion, try to estimate the calories and you just might find that might be your only meal for the day to fit within your daily intake. good luck to you.

BTW: as a mom of 3 now older kids, i love that you mentioned that you love your mom and that she is amazing.

Sadly its random when she cooks due to her uber busy and hectic schedule. Like she's home for an hour or two because she knocks out because she gets home around 10:30-11 abd I know it's forthe well being of my brother and I so I don't push her too hard. But yeah, I wish sometimes I knew when she would cook and sometimes I do but I have college in the way so I can't help in the kitchen to understand how she cooks and write it all down. And yes, it is difficuly to make a better diet for oneself to lose weight. Oh and thank you ! c:

iandrew124

Laurend224 wrote: »

iandrew124 wrote: »

Capt_Apollo wrote: »

i love seeing posts like this, saying that because you're mexican/asian/german/whatever that your culture predominantly eats unhealthy. that is simply untrue. the people in your home eat poorly and you eat the unhealthy version of foods from your culture.

learn to cook your mom's foods... when she asks why, you say you want to learn. i think i was 19ish when i really learned how to cook.

I'm stating that we cook like the stereotype of mexicans like rice and stuff and flour tortillas so yes it is unhealthy because we eat a ton. xD Hence me trying to lose weight. Im not blaming my ethnicity but I do say its a cause.
She knows why I want to cook.

It's not what you're eating, it's how much you're eating. You can still eat rice and flour tortillas. Just limit your portions.

That's why I put " its because we eat a ton!" But yes! You are correct, I do need to imit my portions.

iandrew124

Nottafattie wrote: »

Honey, don't take this the wrong way, but it sounds like you're still in the excuse phase of this journey. If you want it bad enough, you will find a way to make it work (and your mother will still love you no matter what). Turn your want power into will power. Don't say you want to eat better; say you will eat better. Take any of the suggestions above and modify them until they do work for you.

And don't take this as criticism because we've all been at the point of making excuses why it won't or can't work. You'll find your way, just keep plugging at it.

Trust me, I am not at the excuse point right now but I can see where you're coming from. I am willing myself to eat better but this is an obstical I needed to address and get advice on from others so I can surpass it. That's why I'm posting it to see what advice I can get to pass this phase but I completely understand how this would sound like an excuse. I actually prefer criticism because I believe it helps sets this in perspective and keeps things real. Thank you for replying.

iandrew124

AngelsFan91106 wrote: »

It'd be great if you can cook for yourself. If not, eat your mom's food. Take a portion of her food. Weigh/measure it. Look in MFP for the nutritional value of a cup of rice/beans, 1 large corn tortilla, 4 oz of asada, whatever. It won't be precise, but at this point until you have total control over what you eat, approximation is still better than nothing. You do NOT need to be 100% accurate to get results.

If it turns out what you took was like 50% of your daily allotment of calories, take less next time. After a couple of weeks, or months, you'd have a pretty good grasp of how much you should take for your nutritional needs.

In the end, like several people have said. It's NOT what you eat, it's how much you eat that determines your weight gain or loss.

Good luck.

I do cook for myself at times so I have that working out for me but yes, I'm trying to figure it out so it can fit into my calories. But yes, it is aboutbhow much I eat . Thank you and I wish you look on your journey as well. c:

iandrew124

vivmom2014 wrote: »

Buy a bunch of bagged salads for yourself. Make sure salad fills over half of your plate, then take whatever your mom has cooked in a much smaller portion. Also good suggestions to start cooking yourself because you'll be on your own soon. Home cooking is often healthier than restaurant/take out and quality control is a zillion times better. Enjoy!

Yeah, someone else here suggested that and it sounds like an interesting diet choice. xD
But yes, I have begun cooking for myself. Thank you!

iandrew124

jennifershoo wrote: »

I agree with the idea of filling your plate with salad or steamed veggies and add a small portion of your mom's food on top. You can also cook for yourself during the weekend and fill out a bunch of tupperware for the week.

Yes! I'm planning to hopefully make time this weekend to make food for the week. o- o

iandrew124

markja wrote: »

I can relate. My wife makes these Cowboy Enchiladas, she uses flour tortillas instead of corn. All of the ingredients are available in the database so it's pretty easy, once you get the hang of it. Anyway, I break it down as best I can and estimate it like this:

Flour tortillas have about 130 calories and there are also calories for homemade tortillas on MFP, if your mom makes them herself. Corn tortillas are about 50 cals.

80/20 Hamburger is 80 cals per oz and one to 1 1/2 lbs is pretty normal for making a hamburger based meal. If you guess the meal has 8 "portions" you can figure 160 to 240 calories form hamburger for each "portion."

Plain pinto or black beans are about 100 per half cup. Re-fried beans can get real "heavy" very quickly because of the added fat. You've got to figure at least 150 cals per portion if she adds oil to them.

Spanish rice is harder because you have to know how much oil goes into the rice but, if you estimate 150 per half cup you should be OK.

Cooking oil is 120 cals per tablespoon. If mom deep fries anything, add about 220 cals to whatever it is.

Shredded cheese runs 100 cals per 1/4 cup.

I figure that my example enchilada dinner is at least 900 calories:
2 flour tortillas - 260
Hamburger - 200
Enchilada sauce - 40 cals
Re-fried beans - 150
rice - 150
Cheese - 100

To be sure, I'd round it up to an even 1000 calories.

This is a good educated guess and through my own experience, I trust it's accuracy. Let me know how it works for you.

Yes, I've been trying to do this for quite sometime. The recipe always changes so its difficult to see what the average calories are in but thank you for telling me how you have managed. Great advice!

Sandcastles61

iandrew124 wrote: »

momof3and3 wrote: »

You can also measure your food, so you know you are getting the proper portions.

There is no way I can do that when my mother cooks because I have no idea what the proper portions are because its just Mexican food we cook.

I'm an Italian mom, and started teaching my oldest son how to cook when he was about 12. I was honored to pass a few family secrets on to him and at 28 he's pretty terrific in the kitchen

But, I also know what the OP means when mom tells him she doesn't "know" what's in it.... Coming from a grandma that taught me to cook with a pinch of this, or a hand full of that, and recipes might change depending on what's in the fridge or the cabinet that day. What I would recommend is if she calls tomorrow's dinner enchiladas, weigh or measure the amount you put on your plate, then look up "enchiladas" on MFP and try to find one similar, such as chicken, pork, or beef, homemade refried beans, the type of cheese on top...... Just do the best you can. If it's something in a fried tortilla, add the oil and the tortilla as opposed to steamed where you would just add the tortilla. Maybe look for a restaurant listing or basic recipe on Pinterest or googling it to get an guess on what's in it. Definitely more difficult than if you were cooking for yourself all the time, but best guesses are better than no guesses . Good luck!