Cannot devise decent menu

koinflipper

I need to lose at least 60 pounds so will take more than a year to do this on one pound a week weight loss. I am on 1400 calories per day with 25% carb, 25% fat, 50% protein. I am having trouble devising meals that meet my goals. I am only allowed 88 grams of carb and must eat 175 grams of protein. On my limited Social Security income I can not get that much protein unless I use legumes and then way over carb limit. Even meal replacement shakes for 2 meals will exceed my carb limit. I am considering meal replacement shakes for all meals using half the powder and adding 100% whey protein powder to limit carbs and increase protein. I met my goals for two days now but took hours of planning and replanning. I am very discouraged. Any ideas of inexpensive protein without carbs or fat? Or is this macro ratio with low calories even feasible?

emdeesea

I don't mean to be difficult, but do you need to watch your carb intake for any medical reason? Because I've lost more than 50 and haven't watched any of my macros at all (maybe with the exception of fiber and protein, but even then, it's not perfect).

Marilyn0924

Is there a medical issue that requires you to consume low carb or is just a preference? If it is the latter, allow MFP to set your macros and go from there. Losing weight does not require anything special, just that you eat less than you burn overall.

nutmegoreo

koinflipper wrote: »

I need to lose at least 60 pounds so will take more than a year to do this on one pound a week weight loss. I am on 1400 calories per day with 25% carb, 25% fat, 50% protein. I am having trouble devising meals that meet my goals. I am only allowed 88 grams of carb and must eat 175 grams of protein. On my limited Social Security income I can not get that much protein unless I use legumes and then way over carb limit. Even meal replacement shakes for 2 meals will exceed my carb limit. I am considering meal replacement shakes for all meals using half the powder and adding 100% whey protein powder to limit carbs and increase protein. I met my goals for two days now but took hours of planning and replanning. I am very discouraged. Any ideas of inexpensive protein without carbs or fat? Or is this macro ratio with low calories even feasible?

How did you decide on this macro breakdown? Once you've lost the weight, are you going to continue consuming meal replacement shakes? My suggestion would be to think about what you plan on doing when you have lost the weight, do that, but eat less of it. Alternatively, log everything you are eating now and see where you can cut back. Reduce the serving sizes. You can do it without changing your style of eating, you just need to reduce quantity.

As you progress, you may find some foods more filling than others, and begin to consume those more. You may also find certain macros more filling and gravitate toward those. Trying to make big sweeping changes can lead to giving up. Start simple. These first few weeks are a little challenging because you are learning to log. If you plan on taking a year to get there, the first little while learning to log accurately and learning what works for you, will be drop in the bucket. You don't need to stress about it this much!

Nikion901

Ditto the above posters ... and may I inquire as to why you want to eat 50% protein? That's an awful lot of protein for your kidneys to filter and an awful lot of uric acid production. Besides, excess protein only turns into glucose anyway ... so why not balance it out with more carbs. From what I've read, If you stay below 150 grams of carb a day you will still be low-carbing it. If Keto is what you are after, then you need to cut carbs even further, and also increase fat quite a bit. And, you need to lift heavy weights to sustain that kind of protein intake, for the repair of torn muscles from the heavy weight lifting.

However if you choose to stay on the macros you have described, then add protein rich elements to your food ... add chia seed to your meals, add whey protein powder to your meals, add egg whites to your meals, stuff like that.

seska422

Your profile says you are a 62 year old female. The RDI for protein for you would be 46 grams per day with a percentage range of 10-35% of calories from protein. If you want a bit more than the 46 grams, 75 grams of protein would be plenty. There's no reason at all for you to eat 175 grams of protein unless you've been specifically instructed to by your doctor.

Dietary Reference Intakes: Macronutrients

Weight loss is about total calories in being lower than total calories out. I've been using 50%C/20%P/30%F and it's worked for me.

bwogilvie

Like the others, I'm curious why you are aiming to get 50% of your calories from protein. Among foods that are almost entirely protein, the cheapest I can think of are canned tuna and boneless, skinless chicken breasts. If you're going to eat a lot of canned tuna, avoid albacore, which tends to be higher in mercury than other varieties. (It's usually more expensive, too.) Look for specials on tuna and frozen chicken breasts.

You can also make your own seitan (also known as wheat meat) with vital wheat gluten and a few other ingredients.

kpk54

Add me to the list wondering why 20% carbs and 50% protein. I'm your age, your gender and lost the amount of weight you are wanting to lose. I average about 30% protein and even that amount isn't necessary (unless medically prescribed for some reason). I eat a considerable amount of plain Greek yogurt, legumes, egg whites and then, of course, chicken/fish/pork and a bit of beef. Vegetables such as broccoli are fairly high protein. Do a google search for high protein vegetables for a list. I agree with those suggesting to start by focusing on calories 1st.

koinflipper

I have been eating 1400 calories for over a year now but no weight change. My doctor said Mediterranean diet but only maintaining weight/not losing. My blood work is always great with total cholesterol below 120, fasting blood sugar at 95. BP fine but on 3 meds for that.

My last annual checkup in Dec I had very elevated alkaline phosphatase, a liver enzyme. Doctor says could be fatty liver or sign of bone cancer. But I think it is from breaking my tailbone from fall on Halloween. Healing bone produces extra alkaline phosphatase. If I had cancer that spread to my bone I would be losing weight like crazy. I had blood work done last week and see doc next week so hopefully we will resolve that.

I did a lot of reading on internet about macronutrients and decided it wasn't calories. Carbs was the culprit. So I needed to eat a lot less carbs, moderate "good fats" and more protein.

Strong family history of metabolic syndrome including diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. 2 sisters died of heart disease at age 50 & 55. My father died at age 66 from heart disease and diabetes. Now my brother is diabetic. All siblings have hypertension requring meds. I have been on hypertension drugs for 30 years and statins for 20 years.

I have been vegetarian (not vegan) most of my life so only recently started eating chicken and tuna (I can only afford canned) . My whole family has been vegetarian but it obviously did nothing to prevent heart disease or metabolic syndrome.

I am unable to do much exercise beyond walking the dog (arthritis and back problems). Besides most research now shows that exercise does very little to help lose weight. Diet is the key.

Perhaps my macro ratio is too extreme as I obviously cannot eat that much protein on my budget without excess carbs. But I need to use less carbs and fat than average person for both weight loss and medical issues so that means more protein.

I think the biggest problem losing weight is my use of mostly legumes for protein which adds too many carbs. Legumes are cheap and supposed to be healthy. I guess not good diet for weight loss.

allaboutthefood

You can be a meat eater, vegan or vegetarian and still have bad health. I believe it's all about having a healthy balance when it comes to your food, the less processed the better or at least that is how I look at it. If you are counting carbs, make sure you are also tracking your fiber, you subtract your fiber from your carbs, that should help you, when it comes to eating beans and other foods high in carbs but also rich in fiber. I have just recently made the switch to a all plant based lifestyle 4 weeks ago. Before that I was a huge meat, egg, dairy, cheese eater. We are on a very tight budget and have to feed a family of five and we seem to always have a little money in the bank, since we gave up animal products. I have no issue with protean, fiber and everything else I need. I am once again losing weight, which is wonderful. I wish you best and do hope you find your balance and stay in good health

emdeesea

Do you use a food scale to weigh out your food? How do you confirm that you are eating 1,400 calories a day?

nutmegoreo

Are you able to see a registered dietician? Given you medical and family medical history, I would suggest starting with someone trained specifically to advise you. I'm not sure what the cost would be, or if it would be covered with a physician referral, but it would be worth looking into.

seska422

A low carb diet generally focuses on increasing the calories from fat, not protein.

What macro balance did your Mediterranean diet have? Did that work for you from a budget and satisfaction standpoint? If so, you may just need to tighten up your food logging. It's easy to eat more calories than you think you are eating if you don't use a food scale and log everything that has calories.

chulipa

Raise your fat and carbs and lower your protien then only eat what you want of the carbs and fat. My dietitian said women only need 40g of fat but MFP and others on here think you need more and fiber should be around 30g not 21g that MFP gives me. I never eat all my carbs and dont care. Get around 60g protein and 30g fiber and dont worry about the rest. I have a family history of heart and diebites my father died in his 60s along with most of his siblings. Some things are out of your control but remember diet and excercise play a big part when it comes to your health

kommodevaran

Maybe a lot less carbs, moderate "good fats" and more protein doesn't mean 25% carb, 25% fat, 50% protein. Did your doctor tell you to eat that? In that case, he/she should also provide you with a diet plan, and someone give you more money for all that protein If not, it could mean, for instance, 35% carbs, 40% fat and 25% protein = 120 g carb, 62 g fat, 90 g protein. This will provide plenty of protein, but also room for tasty balanced meals, and be much better for your wallet and kidneys.

areallycoolstory

will chia seeds help?

koinflipper

OK. Changed my macro ratio to 40% carbs, 25% fat and 35% protein. Made the change before dinner. I had only eaten 600 calories because such low carbs for two meals and snacks.

Had 800 calories left for dinner. So I splurged and went to SmoothieKing and got medium chocolate Lean1 with added Greek yogurt and ended up with all macros on target and 150 unused calories for today.

It will be easier tomorrow with more carbs allowed. Maybe I am focusing too much on macro ratio but just meeting calories only maintains weight for me over a year.

I really like Lean1 as meal replacement and can add just about anything to it in a smoothie, like PB2, ground flaxseed, frozen fruit. It has all the vitamins and minerals and propotion is automatic. So I ordered one tub of chocolate and one tub of vanilla on Amazon.

I'll start out with two meal replacement smoothies a day just to take the headache out of balancing macro ratios. Then I just need to plan snacks and one meal. I will probably have one meal replacement smoothie the rest of my life. I am single so don't have to plan meals for anyone else.

Thank you everyone for advice and suggestions. I am pumped believing I can really do this.

koinflipper

Too seska422: Mediterranean Diet never specified macronutrients so I have no idea of ratio. I just stuck to calorie count based on measured food.

After I read about thermodynamics of digestion, I realized that macro ratios really do matter. 1 calorie from protein is not the same as 1 calorie from carbs. For example, you burn 200 calories to digest high protein meal. Burn just 6 calories to digest high carb meal.

amusedmonkey

koinflipper wrote: »

Too seska422: Mediterranean Diet never specified macronutrients so I have no idea of ratio. I just stuck to calorie count based on measured food.

After I read about thermodynamics of digestion, I realized that macro ratios really do matter. 1 calorie from protein is not the same as 1 calorie from carbs. For example, you burn 200 calories to digest high protein meal. Burn just 6 calories to digest high carb meal.

That's simply not correct. If you burn 200 calories to digest a can of tuna, it would essentially be a negative calorie food. Yes, protein has a better thermic effect, but it doesn't make as much of a difference as you imagine in the grand scheme of things. You are trying to focus on what constitutes 1% of weight loss instead of what constitutes 99% of it. If you aren't losing at 1400 calories you are either underestimating foods eaten or your TDEE is closer to 1400-1500 (if you are already close to goal weight and on the shorter side). The first case is more likely since you said you needed to lose 60 pounds.

What you want to do is tighten your logging, get a food scale and log every single bite by weight. You will be surprised how much of a difference it makes. You will also want to double check nutritional info. The other day I used dry beans, but mistakenly entered info for canned. I caught it fast and corrected it, but the difference was huge! Especially that canned beans are conventionally measured with the liquid, not drained.

If on one day you don't feel like figuring out your macros, you could use the free version of https://www.eatthismuch.com/ to build a meal plan for the day for you. The paid version provides some nice options like a weekly planner, a grocery list, the ability to make recipes from ingredients already in your pantry..etc, but the free version is more than enough to plan a random day. You could even set a price limit to exclude generally expensive foods from your plan, and if one happens to slip in, you could just use the block function to block recipes you don't like or foods you don't want to buy. I trust their plans when I don't feel like thinking and planning because they are calculated based on USDA data and because they offer you the weight in grams of each item you use for cooking, which makes the error margin smaller.

Try logging accurately for a couple of months and see if it makes a difference.

Sued0nim

Weigh your food on a scale, don't measure

Listen to the wise people on here

Throw away what you think you know and focus on calories

koinflipper

I don't eat anything that I can weigh. No fresh chicken, beef or other such thing where knowing weight is really only way to know how much you are eating. Most everything I eat is measured in cups not grams or it is already packaged with known specified amount.

I don't eat fresh veggies except carrots and celery. All others are frozen so makes no sense to weigh the ice.

seska422

koinflipper wrote: »

I don't eat anything that I can weigh. No fresh chicken, beef or other such thing where knowing weight is really only way to know how much you are eating. Most everything I eat is measured in cups not grams or it is already packaged with known specified amount.

I don't eat fresh veggies except carrots and celery. All others are frozen so makes no sense to weigh the ice.

Weigh everything that isn't a liquid. Items are sold by weight, not volume. A cup of uncooked oatmeal may actually hold 1.2 times the grams expected (due to settling) so it would have 1.2 times as many calories and you won't know that unless you weigh it.

You can find grams in the nutritional information on packages and on Google (for instance, a search for carrot nutrition will show a chart on the right of the screen) if it didn't come in a package.

My food scale has helped enormously with portion accuracy.

For instance, peanut butter. Put the jar on the scale, tare the scale so it says zero, get out your peanut butter, and put the jar back on the scale. If it says -24, you used 24 grams of peanut butter.

I eat frozen dinners quite often. The nutritional info for tonight's Chicken Parm said that a serving was 308 grams. I weighed the meal before cooking and it weighed 360 grams. 15 grams of that was packaging so the food weight was 37 grams high. Therefore, I put it into MFP as 1.12 servings to account for those additional calories.

koinflipper

amusedmonkey:

You are making a lot of incorrect assumptions. I said 200 calories to digest a high protein MEAL, not just a can of tuna. And it definitely depends on the amount of protein in the meal.

You also assume that I have been gradually gaining weight over time through uncontrolled eating. This is not true. I weigh exactly what I weighed at age 21 and have maintained that same weight for 40 years. Too many issues outside my control makes losing more difficult than average person. So I decided just a year ago to try for first time.

Weight gain and loss it not as simplistic as you make it to be. There is a lot more involved than just the calories you eat versus calories you burn. Medical conditions and medications to treat them change metabolic rate in unpredictable ways. There is no magic formula that works for all people all of the time.

I maintained the same weight for 40 years through many changes in health and life circumstances. I will not let food or weight be the focus my life.

koinflipper

"The RDI for protein for you would be 46 grams per day with a percentage range of 10-35% of calories from protein."

That is not totally correct. You need 0.8 grams of protein for every kilogram you weigh. A person of normal weight probably calculates out to that recommended amount. A person weighing 60 pounds more than average needs more protein. 1 kilogram is just less than 1/2 pound. So 0.8 x 30 means you need about 24 more grams of protein than a person of average weight.

amusedmonkey

koinflipper wrote: »

amusedmonkey:

You are making a lot of incorrect assumptions. I said 200 calories to digest a high protein MEAL, not just a can of tuna. And it definitely depends on the amount of protein in the meal.

That's very theoretical. In practice the vast majority of studies report an increase of less than 10% even with high protein meals. Your meal would have to be 2000 calories to burn a maximum of 200 extra calories (this isn't how it exactly works either). Internet articles tend to over-simplify and over-exaggerate things, not to mention that the more fat you have the less thermic effect you tend to produce.

You also assume that I have been gradually gaining weight over time through uncontrolled eating. This is not true. I weigh exactly what I weighed at age 21 and have maintained that same weight for 40 years. Too many issues outside my control makes losing more difficult than average person. So I decided just a year ago to try for first time.

I did not make such an assumption. Note I said your calorie intake must be closer to maintenance, which by definition means maintaining weight

Weight gain and loss it not as simplistic as you make it to be. There is a lot more involved than just the calories you eat versus calories you burn. Medical conditions and medications to treat them change metabolic rate in unpredictable ways. There is no magic formula that works for all people all of the time.

Calories you eat vs calories you burn is exactly how weight gain and loss works. There are medical conditions that affect either side of the equation, or both, but the principle stays the same. Once you find out your true metabolic rate through logging as accurately as possible, you will be able to lose weight by controlling calories accordingly. My metabolic rate, for example, is about 150-180 calories lower than predicted by calculators due to medical conditions, yet it did not stop me from losing close to 100 pounds because armed with that knowledge I knew I needed to reduce my calorie intake about 150 calories further than the average person my weight to achieve the same results. Logging accurately to figure out my true maintenance was key.

bwogilvie

Listen to @amusedmonkey. Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) is a small effect; focusing on it is looking through the wrong end of the telescope. A couple of reliable books I recommend are Marion Nestle's Why Calories Count and Yoni Freedhoff's The Diet Fix.

seska422

koinflipper wrote: »

"The RDI for protein for you would be 46 grams per day with a percentage range of 10-35% of calories from protein."

That is not totally correct. You need 0.8 grams of protein for every kilogram you weigh. A person of normal weight probably calculates out to that recommended amount. A person weighing 60 pounds more than average needs more protein. 1 kilogram is just less than 1/2 pound. So 0.8 x 30 means you need about 24 more grams of protein than a person of average weight.

One kilogram is 2.2 pounds, not less than 1/2 a pound.

Your extra fat doesn't need extra protein. You figure protein off of your ideal weight, not your current weight.

It's good to have a bit more protein while you are losing weight and/or exercising more. MFP sets a default of 20% of calories from protein goal. That puts the protein at a minimum of 60 grams for women.

RoxieDawn

koinflipper wrote: »

amusedmonkey:

You are making a lot of incorrect assumptions. I said 200 calories to digest a high protein MEAL, not just a can of tuna. And it definitely depends on the amount of protein in the meal.

You also assume that I have been gradually gaining weight over time through uncontrolled eating. This is not true. I weigh exactly what I weighed at age 21 and have maintained that same weight for 40 years. Too many issues outside my control makes losing more difficult than average person. So I decided just a year ago to try for first time.

Weight gain and loss it not as simplistic as you make it to be. There is a lot more involved than just the calories you eat versus calories you burn. Medical conditions and medications to treat them change metabolic rate in unpredictable ways. There is no magic formula that works for all people all of the time.

I maintained the same weight for 40 years through many changes in health and life circumstances. I will not let food or weight be the focus my life.

With this information you provided here, you are the exception and not the norm, like you said things in your medical history current and family out of your control makes you not the average person.

IMHO you should be speaking to your doctor and that doctor should assist you in finding a dietician in order to set you up a plan that will aid you in loosing the weight you need.

There is some knowledgeable folks here on MFP that have been here for years and worked this process to much success including my self, and these people have helped many many others however the disclaimer here is we are not doctors and nor should we provide medical or dietary advise when such medical issues are present.

Get the food scale, you will be amazed how this little 20.00 gadget can change your life when used everyday, and the food is logged in the diary.

dubird

Seconding the food scale. When I switched over, even though I was measuring before, I quickly learned I was getting a lot of extra calories in the day due to the difference in weighing and measuring with cups/spoons/etc.!

And @amusedmonkey is right about calories. To lose weight, you have to consume less calories than you burn. That's all it is. Now, HOW you do that varies from person to person. If you have a medical condition like PCOS that makes it harder to lose weight, you need to make adjustments. If you're taking medicine that has to be take with food at certain times or can kill your appetite, you have to make adjustments. If you have a medical condition where you can't have wheat or iron or something else, you have to make adjustments. But those are adjustments you should be discussing with your doctor first. They can help you develop guidelines for eating that you can use to build your meals. They can also recommend a licensed dietitian that can help you as well.

Also, keep in mind this isn't a 'diet', it's you changing your eating habits to something healthier. Using a meal replacement shake for breakfast or as a way to get additional nutrients can be very helpful, but if you use it for all meals, you're not likely to learn how to adjust your diet once you lose the weight and the weight will come back. If you try something someone else does that worked for them, give it a week or two and then ask yourself 'Do I want to eat like this/do this thing for the rest of my life?' If the answer is no, it's not for you. And that's ok, we all have things that worked for us because we're all different. Trying things is great, it gives you pointers and directions, but you have to find what works FOR YOU.

CaptainJoy

koinflipper wrote: »

I have been eating 1400 calories for over a year now but no weight change. My doctor said Mediterranean diet but only maintaining weight/not losing. My blood work is always great with total cholesterol below 120, fasting blood sugar at 95. BP fine but on 3 meds for that.

I have been vegetarian (not vegan) most of my life so only recently started eating chicken and tuna (I can only afford canned) . My whole family has been vegetarian but it obviously did nothing to prevent heart disease or metabolic syndrome.

I am unable to do much exercise beyond walking the dog (arthritis and back problems). Besides most research now shows that exercise does very little to help lose weight. Diet is the key.

I think the biggest problem losing weight is my use of mostly legumes for protein which adds too many carbs. Legumes are cheap and supposed to be healthy. I guess not good diet for weight loss.

If you're not losing weight at 1400 calories, drop to 1200. Your cholesterol is good so eggs for breakfast, such as hard boiled or even scrambled, will provide good protein. You can put them on a slice of whole grain toast. Just forget about adding cheese or fatty breakfast meats. Cheese and sausage/bacon gobbles up calories and adds a lot of saturated fat that clogs arteries and leads to heart attacks in people with metabolic syndrome. Oatmeal is also a good breakfast food if you can do without too much added sugar. Canned tuna (packed in water) is a great source of protein.

Exercise does help one lose weight because it burns calories. You don't have to go to the gym to exercise. I had bad arthritis and back problems so I started by slowly walking our dog more often. If you can afford it or someone is willing to buy you one, a Fitbit (even the cheapest of the huge selection) will help you understand how active you really are. I went from averaging 2400 steps/daily to well over 7500 steps.

I also weigh almost everything. If I put tuna on toast, I drain the tuna, put the toast on a plate, weigh the plate, tare the scale so it's set back to zero, then add my tuna and weigh it in ounces. I do this when I add mayo, butter, salad dressing BBQ sauce or anything. It's usually easier for the spreads to measure in grams. Frozen vegetable should be cooked first, then weighed when you put them on your plate using the same method of taring the plate first. If you have a smartphone, you can use the barcode for lots of things, like a slice of bread, to get a very accurate calorie amount.

I have lost well over 40 lbs since mid-October and find the kitchen scale, Fitbit, and logging foods I eat to be the main reason that my weight loss efforts worked. I have actually saved money on food because I eat so much less of it. I can now afford a pound of extra lean ground turkey. I am also at risk of metabolic syndrome because of hereditary traits but refuse to give up. Good luck!

koinflipper

I avoid all breads and cereals. Just too many carbs. I do eat eggs and keep some hard boiled ones in fridge. Never have eaten sausage or bacon (vegetarian most of my life) so that isn't a problem. I don't care about how many steps I take during the day (like taking the dog outside or to the mail box). Not a significant contribution to weight loss as not sustained exercise.

I am just getting together what I need for exercise. Can't use wrist type because numbers too small for me to read (had cataracts removed so need reading glasses just to read text messages on cellphone.) Also, my cardiologist doesn't think wrist HRM are accurate enough. I need to see my heart rate in real time and very few devices do that. Important that my heart rate doesn't get too high (arrhythmia risk).

So I bought a Polar H7 chest strap to use when I am doing cardio walking. Tried a bunch of apps for my android and dumped most because they didn't display HR in real time or they crammed so much on display I could not read or find HR. I finally found ENDOMONDO. It displays everything I need and gives audio updates during training. Walked 1.25 miles today but for some reason ENDOMONDO didn't sync with MFP so had to manually enter it. MFP trying to work it out.

Although I have set my calories to 1400 a day, I haven't eaten close to that since I started logging. By end of day, I still have 400-600 unused calories. On average, I guess I'm eating closer to 1100. I have lost 2.2 pounds in 5 days since I started this. Probably all water, but encouraging anyway.

You lost 40 pounds since mid Oct? You are losing more than recommended 1 pound a week.