Meal Prepping, Low Carb diet

rim14isluv

Ok so I've never started a post here but now I need serious advice. For two years now I've been trying to lose and I've just been stuck in a cycle. I'm trying to revamp my lifestyle but I need help.

My Monday - Thursday typical day menu includes:

• Breakfast- Special K cereal with Cashew Milk (weekday staple, grab and go)
• Lunch- Spinach wrap with eggplant (breaded or grilled), tomato (or zucchini), lettuce and sometimes half a chicken breast.
• Dinner- Some Pre-made healthy choice or lean cuisine meal. (work 9-5ish, then hit the gym and when i get home its after 7p).

But that's not working out for me. I lose when I'm on it but i lose like 5lbs a month. And then I fall back into my Oreo cravings (on the weekends) and add them all on. So far i'm trying to revamp my diet but honestly, I don't know where to begin. So here's what I'm thinking my typical Monday to Thursday Lunch and Dinner servings could be.

• Baked Salmon, Potato, Cabbage & Carrots
• Baked Salmon (seasoned differently), Potato, Asparagus & Spinach
• Baked Chicken, Sweet Potato, Broccoli, Avocado
• Baked Chicken (seasoned differently), Potato, Cabbage, black beans

I'm thinking if I prep this on Sundays, I can mix it up between four choices per meal (lunch and dinner). What I want to know is does this sound balanced? Does it sound healthy? I'm not a lover of chicken but I understand I need to eat it. My previous meal fills me up and keeps me under my 1200 calorie limit but I feel like my body is no longer responding to that menu. Plus the Spinach wrap adds 300+ calories per lunch time. I'm trying to get away from eating loads of carbs and spending money in the Cafe for lunches that doesn't benefit me in the long run.

I'm just honestly seeking advice. I'm open to suggestions on how to attain a healthy lifestyle. Hopefully someone can help.

Thanks in advance!

tahxirez

Are you not satisfied with 5lbs per month loss? That sounds like a reasonable and sustainable rate of loss. If you are closer to your goal loss becomes slower naturally because a smaller body requires less energy to maintain. Do not doubt the system. Personally I am not a fan of any pre-packaged/processed meals like what you are eating for dinner simply due to the added sodium and sugar content needed to make such options palatable. Make no mistake those companies do not care about your health.
Your proposed menu sounds balanced though it does sound a little monotonous for my tastes. I wonder if you would find yourself unable to stick to such a meal plan after 3 or 4 weeks. I know I would. I worry that you may try to restrict yourself too much and end up in a restrict/cheat cycle. Do you have portion control issues? and are you consistently logging every mouthful you eat? Those are the keys here. What you eat matters for health, satiety and sustainability in my opinion but like those very angry people on here who yell CICO at everybody, calorie deficit is really the name of the game.
Eat your veggies (half your plate,) try to include some fiber, protein and healthy fats with your breakfast. You can easily prep some breakfast sandwiches on weekends that are heat and go and fit nicely into your goal (I share the same calorie goal.) I suggest playing with your menu, try new things on your days off, get a crockpot. Embrace food, for me that is the key. I want to enjoy eating not make it a chore, punishment or on the flip side a reward. Have you looked at the MFP Blog? There are a ton of recipes there that you can prep for. I am a huge fan of meal prep. Nothing makes healthy eating easier than having healthy food be faster and more accessible than ordering pizza or hitting the drive through. Feel free to add me if you like. And good luck on your journey!!

wkwebby

FYI, if you're trying to go low carb, the potato is sabotaging that one. You get plenty of carbs in veggies. You can add your wraps, but you have to ask yourself if you need it (or can spare it in your calories).

CICO is the mantra of MFP. Just moderate your meals to be within your calorie goal. I am also doing low carb, but weighing out 1 chicken breast was SHOCKING that it was over 9 ounces. They usually say that one portion is 4 or 6 ounces. Eat a ton of veggies to fill up your stomach and get full. The protein is a always good. If you don't like chicken, you don't have to eat it. Pork, beef, lamb, or eggs (you already are eating salmon, but any seafood is good), are all sources of protein. Changing it up is always better if you are worried about nutrition. Same with the veggies. Go for the green leafy veggies and colorful stuff and you can't go wrong.

gramarye

It does sound like you're strictly limiting yourself, and that's why you're eventually giving in to cravings. Is there a medical reason you want to limit carbs, or do you just think that you're "supposed" to? Because if it's the latter, then I wouldn't bother. The key to maintaining weight loss is sustainability, and it sounds like you're trying to limit yourself to something you can't sustain forever.

My honest advice would be to first just start honestly logging everything you eat during the day, without limiting or restricting. Every craving, every condiment on your wrap, every drink. Set MFP to maintain your current weight, and see how you're coming in relative to that.

Once you know what you're working with, just start trying to make healthier, more manageable changes to what you already like to eat. My first steps were to significantly reduce the calories I drank and use less butter/oil in my cooking. Then it became eating smaller portions of things like chips, crackers, and cookies. Then eating out less. Then it became including more vegetables, fewer starches in my meals. It snowballed into healthier, sustainable eating habits.

Also, I doubt you need to be as low as 1200 calories to lose weight, unless you're very inactive. Most people don't.

rim14isluv

Well that was just one week's idea. If I’m doing the cooking, i can't stick to such a meal plan every week, indefinitely. But those are staple ingredients in my plan. I can try different sauces and mix up my combinations, add different types of veggies but I want to stay within that idea weekly; one meat, one carbs and greens. I just want to know if it makes sense.

Here's my biggest problems:

• The Weekend munchies.

I can eat spinach alone every day at work without dressing if that's what i need to do, but from the moment i get home on Friday, i want something comfy and scrumptious. The weekend is an uphill battle (it’s my feb challenge). I like nuts (cashews, pistachios, peanuts, sometimes almond) but i can eat the whole jar if I’m stuff with it. I go up and down because I tend to have Oreos on the weekend if i see it, or a bit of cake or anything baked really. So my new idea is to start baking oatmeal bars for snacks on the weekends. I'm planning to half the recipe idea and half the servings so if i decide to go crazy and munch while reading, I’ll be done and won’t be able to get more.

• Eating healthy at nights

When I get home, it’s already 7:30pm and I'm beat from the work and dead from the gym. Before I'd just make a quick sandwich and call it a night. Ever since I started with the pre-packed dinners, I've been able to get some proteins in me at night and stay under my calorie intake. My sodium intake isn't high, so by the time I have it for dinner, i'm only at 1000-ish. I've never really gone over sodium really (only last weekend when i was munching on chips and pretzels with my godson, which was my first).

• Losing instead of Gaining on the Weekends

I work out Monday to Thursday for 1.5 hours. But when friday comes along, I just want to get out of the office and hide under my covers. Its so hard. Sometimes I do it, but my gym is near where I work and its a 30min trek. Working out in the gym on the weekends are less hectic but my patience also wears down on me. I try my home workouts but there's no way to track the burn correctly. I no longer have my fitbit. So my problem is i need to figure out how to burn more calories than i eat on the weekend to keep my weekly average looking great.

I'm planning to change my eating and then i'll work out getting outdoors more.

rim14isluv

gramarye wrote: »

It does sound like you're strictly limiting yourself, and that's why you're eventually giving in to cravings. Is there a medical reason you want to limit carbs, or do you just think that you're "supposed" to? Because if it's the latter, then I wouldn't bother. The key to maintaining weight loss is sustainability, and it sounds like you're trying to limit yourself to something you can't sustain forever.

My honest advice would be to first just start honestly logging everything you eat during the day, without limiting or restricting. Every craving, every condiment on your wrap, every drink. Set MFP to maintain your current weight, and see how you're coming in relative to that.

Once you know what you're working with, just start trying to make healthier, more manageable changes to what you already like to eat. My first steps were to significantly reduce the calories I drank and use less butter/oil in my cooking. Then it became eating smaller portions of things like chips, crackers, and cookies. Then eating out less. Then it became including more vegetables, fewer starches in my meals. It snowballed into healthier, sustainable eating habits.

Also, I doubt you need to be as low as 1200 calories to lose weight, unless you're very inactive. Most people don't.

See, That's my problem though. I'm limiting myself because I know i can't eat just one chip or one Oreo. I'm not at the point in life and i don't even know if i'll ever be. So i cut it out of my life.

I'm naturally not big on butter or salt. My tolerance for salt is extremely low and i've started stripping away my love for sugar. I have tea without sugar or milk, and no juice during the week but on the weekend I drink a little cranberry or lemonade.

Last year I started stripping away things from my diet. Like right now, my lunch has changed drastically. I don't use condiments, i added chicken to the wrap to up my protein intake, i switched from break to wraps. I stopped eating bread during the week this year, i just need to get the weekends right. That's where I really pack on the calories.

I don't eat out as much as i used to honestly. I was way more social before. I don't really have fast food either but on the weekend, i've crave some french fries. Stuff like that. I guess I should be asking, how to have a balance healthy diet during the weekend instead of the week because that where i'm failing.

Wow, Your post was certainly helpful. Thanks so much!!!

cathipa

I don't see anything wrong with the foods you are planning to prep. They are healthy and better than prepackaged foods. You mention low carb, but you have starchy foods with every meal (potato, beans). Also you may not be eating enough considering you workout 6 hours a week. 1200 calories is a bit restrictive which is probably why you are not losing like you once did. I eat 2200 calories a day and workout 6 hours a week and I still lose some or at least maintain. Maybe reconsider some of your strategy to include increasing calorie intake and not being restrictive with macros. You need carbs to fuel your exercise and day to day functions. Hope this helps!

gramarye

rim14isluv wrote: »

gramarye wrote: »

It does sound like you're strictly limiting yourself, and that's why you're eventually giving in to cravings. Is there a medical reason you want to limit carbs, or do you just think that you're "supposed" to? Because if it's the latter, then I wouldn't bother. The key to maintaining weight loss is sustainability, and it sounds like you're trying to limit yourself to something you can't sustain forever.

My honest advice would be to first just start honestly logging everything you eat during the day, without limiting or restricting. Every craving, every condiment on your wrap, every drink. Set MFP to maintain your current weight, and see how you're coming in relative to that.

Once you know what you're working with, just start trying to make healthier, more manageable changes to what you already like to eat. My first steps were to significantly reduce the calories I drank and use less butter/oil in my cooking. Then it became eating smaller portions of things like chips, crackers, and cookies. Then eating out less. Then it became including more vegetables, fewer starches in my meals. It snowballed into healthier, sustainable eating habits.

Also, I doubt you need to be as low as 1200 calories to lose weight, unless you're very inactive. Most people don't.

See, That's my problem though. I'm limiting myself because I know i can't eat just one chip or one Oreo. I'm not at the point in life and i don't even know if i'll ever be. So i cut it out of my life.

I'm naturally not big on butter or salt. My tolerance for salt is extremely low and i've started stripping away my love for sugar. I have tea without sugar or milk, and no juice during the week but on the weekend I drink a little cranberry or lemonade.

Last year I started stripping away things from my diet. Like right now, my lunch has changed drastically. I don't use condiments, i added chicken to the wrap to up my protein intake, i switched from break to wraps. I stopped eating bread during the week this year, i just need to get the weekends right. That's where I really pack on the calories.

I don't eat out as much as i used to honestly. I was way more social before. I don't really have fast food either but on the weekend, i've crave some french fries. Stuff like that. I guess I should be asking, how to have a balance healthy diet during the weekend instead of the week because that where i'm failing.

Wow, Your post was certainly helpful. Thanks so much!!!

Glad to help!

Everyone's food particularities are different. I totally get not being able to moderate certain foods, especially when you're just starting to. Like, it's been years and I still can't moderate cupcakes and donuts. I buy them in singles, and only rarely, because if I buy a dozen, I will eat waaaaay too many. (I also love french fries.)

Honestly, it's just a struggle for a while. I still have problems moderating on weekends as well, especially right now in the winter because it's too cold to go out and do something. I find it helps not to keep foods I don't moderate well in the house, and have honest conversations with myself when I do want to get them. Am I hungry or just bored? Does it fit my calories? Is there something else I could do instead?

Just keep working at it slowly and it'll get easier. It's *kitten* advice, because it such a personal journey at that point, but as long as you don't have any underlying mental health issues surrounding your eating habits, then that's really all there is. Just time and practice.

Yi5hedr3

Yep -switch out breakfast cereal with bacon and eggs. Keep carbs below 100 grams/day.

rim14isluv

cathipa wrote: »

I don't see anything wrong with the foods you are planning to prep. They are healthy and better than prepackaged foods. You mention low carb, but you have starchy foods with every meal (potato, beans). Also you may not be eating enough considering you workout 6 hours a week. 1200 calories is a bit restrictive which is probably why you are not losing like you once did. I eat 2200 calories a day and workout 6 hours a week and I still lose some or at least maintain. Maybe reconsider some of your strategy to include increasing calorie intake and not being restrictive with macros. You need carbs to fuel your exercise and day to day functions. Hope this helps!

I guess i should say lower carb. I won't lie, I try to say close to the macros and sneak in veggies when i can the most. I was also planning on having like two baby potatoes, not a whole lot. The beans i plan to use are to up my protein in addition to the chicken because it has less protein than the salmon (def not a professional so i could be getting this wrong).

I feel like when i was eating more and junky foods, it was easier to burn. When i cleaned up, its like my body got used to the clean eating everyday and is just content. But i need to lose... i'm not content.

Good news is that i bought a scale and i'm planning to cook more at home so i wont need the pre-made dinners any more.

wkwebby

There are a ton of time savers too. I hear ya on not wanting to cook something overly complicated when you get home at 7:30. There are always slow cookers or cooking on the weekend and freezing the 5 dinners for the week, or maybe only 3 dinners so that you can cook fresh the other two weekdays.

These are just ideas on how to save time during the week. Another suggestion, maybe just not buy what you can't moderate? There are always better "substitutes" for what you're craving. My sweet craving will be sated by dark chocolate, or Brookside dark chocolate pomegranates. I don't even take a full serving of it. I take a quarter of the suggested serving and then close the package and put it away. I then drink a full glass of water and see if I still crave sweets. If I do, I just take another quarter serving. By the second time, I'm just tired of taking it out again and putting it away.

This type of technique used to work for me too. The put it in the most inconvenient place possible so that it is not readily available to snack on. Only put the healthy things in reachable places (the fridge, the lower cabinets, the lower shelves, etc.) and put the "bad" stuff that you can't moderate up high so that it isn't in your sight line and you need a step stool to reach it.

You'll always have to think about if it is truly worth it to go and get. Good Luck!

rim14isluv

wkwebby wrote: »

There are a ton of time savers too. I hear ya on not wanting to cook something overly complicated when you get home at 7:30. There are always slow cookers or cooking on the weekend and freezing the 5 dinners for the week, or maybe only 3 dinners so that you can cook fresh the other two weekdays.

These are just ideas on how to save time during the week. Another suggestion, maybe just not buy what you can't moderate? There are always better "substitutes" for what you're craving. My sweet craving will be sated by dark chocolate, or Brookside dark chocolate pomegranates. I don't even take a full serving of it. I take a quarter of the suggested serving and then close the package and put it away. I then drink a full glass of water and see if I still crave sweets. If I do, I just take another quarter serving. By the second time, I'm just tired of taking it out again and putting it away.

This type of technique used to work for me too. The put it in the most inconvenient place possible so that it is not readily available to snack on. Only put the healthy things in reachable places (the fridge, the lower cabinets, the lower shelves, etc.) and put the "bad" stuff that you can't moderate up high so that it isn't in your sight line and you need a step stool to reach it.

You'll always have to think about if it is truly worth it to go and get. Good Luck!

I try my best not to end up in the snacks aisle in the grocery store but i could be going for a roll of Bounty and still end up (on autopilot) in the cookie aisle. Its a hard habit to break so now I try not to go to the supermarket for my fresh produce but instead go to the farmers market and the fish market. They have nuts and cranberries which catch my attention but i'm trying to reward myself with those instead so when i drop my next 5lbs, i'll be having some. Hopefully, this method will take care of the cravings. That's all new things i'm trying this year, i just don't want a repeat of last year. My weight loss struggle has some great highs and super low lows.