Meal Plan Ideas?

littlemiss1933

I'm new here, just (finally) started going to the gym on the 15th of this month and haven't lost anything yet, I had a baby in January of 2015 and gained a ton of weight, I still look pregnant, I've always been a scrawny person at 120 lbs and now I'm 178 lbs, I honestly have no idea what to eat to lose weight, I workout 4 nights a week so far, 1 to 2 hours each night depending on the classes, I do Pilates, Zumba, Spin and Yoga. What can I do to lose all this weight? Thank you!

kommodevaran

You need to have a sustained calorie deficit to lose weight. This means to eat less than you burn and do it for a long time. Which is why you often hear "eat less, move more". It's really that simple. Just figure out your maintenance calories and consistently eat less than that. You can exercise to burn more calories, but it's not crucial to weight loss. Exercise doesn't really make up a big part of normal people's (not talking about athletes here) daily calories. If exercise makes you tired so you move less during the day, it will be outright counterproductive.

But losing weight isn't necessarily easy. Food tastes good and is everywhere. You may have to tell yourself no sometimes. You may need a bit of trial and error to find a way of eating that makes you feel full and satisfied, and makes you lose weight at a healthy rate - up to 1% of your body weight per week on average. You may need to be very careful in portioning out your food - logging everything you eat, honestly, after weighing it on an electronic food scale, and using correct entires, is virtually a fool-proof method.

There are no foods to eat or avoid to lose weight. Anything can be eaten in the right amount and context.

When you weigh yourself, be aware that weight fluctuates normally independently of fat gain/loss, which is much smaller in the timeframe of a week or two, so you need a lot of reliable, consistent data points over a long period to see a real trend.

You need to be patient, consistent, committed, vigilant, informed, relaxed and compassionate. Kind of being your own "dream parent".

MelaniaTrump

Opinion: Weight loss is 90% eating right and staying within your calories. Exercise for your health.
Get a food scale if you don't have one. Best $18 you will ever spend.
Plan your meal after your workout. I was actually stopping at Burger King I was so hungry. Better might be to have a protein bar with water on your drive home from the gym.
This place works. Don't give up.

rainbowbow

eat the foods you love and enjoy and have ALWAYS eaten.... while staying within a calorie deficit.

shinycrazy

rainbowbow wrote: »

eat the foods you love and enjoy and have ALWAYS eaten.... while staying within a calorie deficit.

This! It's the most sustainable way to go. When you ban foods, it causes cravings for many folks. I eat more veggies and less processed stuff (cookies, candy, donuts). Note that I said less not zero! I fit a krispy kreme donut in yesterday and it was divine. I've lost over 115 pounds!

bebeisfit

Excellent advice in the above posts. It truly is all about the food. For me, I find that exercise helps me want to eat a bit better, but as others have stated, you can't exercise away a poor diet. I'm also a firm believer in making small changes gradually. They will add up into permanent changes. Don't try to overhaul your entire life in the first month. Start taking the stairs more often, parking further, adding new and more produce every week, cut back on soda and booze (not eliminate, just cut back). Vegetables make a difference to me. They give me more energy, a better digestive system - fiber!! and they are typically pretty low calorie so you can fill your plate. I eat a lot of soups, beans - also budget friendly. Good luck! Be patient.

Lizzy622

Great advice above. As far as planning, I have found it to be key. It keeps me on track and stops me from stopping at fast food knowing I have a yummy healthy meal waiting for me at home. I use a time pressure cooker or slow cooker for many meals. Remember to keep meals simple on busy days and prep a little ahead when you have more time. This is where a plan is very helpful.

Trish1c

littlemiss1933 wrote: »

I honestly have no idea what to eat to lose weight,

Congrats on the little one.

It's not so much about what you eat but how much of it you eat. As I have learned in my short time here, a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. Some give you more nutrition then others but whether you snack on a 60 calorie apple or 60 calories worth of junk you still consumed 60 calories.

Before you start changing what you are doing, take a long hard brutal look at what you are putting in your mouth. Eat normally for the rest of the week but log everything, every mouthful, every condiment, every soda, every "I'll just pick" nibble. By Sunday you will be shocked. You never had any idea what a portion was. I almost fell over when I learned that 1 pack / brick of Ramen noodles was 2 servings! OMG!? Really??!

Once the shock wears off, see what you can cut / replace easily. For me I eliminated soda. At 150 calories per can, I'd rather eat then drink.

littlemiss1933

I guess I gotta eliminate sugar, it's so hard especially when my job makes fresh baked chocolate chip cookies every weekend. I've already eliminated soda a few months ago, I only have a few sips of one if I have a headache and that's rare, but I do have a candy, cookies and ice cream addiction I should start there are replace them with bite size veggies, thank you everyone!!

Neanbean13

What's your daily Cal count? 1400? 1200? I always put a choc or 2 on my diary or what ever my 'treat' is I feel like. Then plan rest of food around that. I do meal prep sunday n make n measure lunch for week so it's ready to go all measured n ready to take with me. When I do shopping lists I plan what I'm having for dinner each day in advance and plan it to what my week looks like. For example I know wed night I have gym and get home late at 7 so I make a 2 night dish tue night. So just reheat wed. Cauliflower rice is good if u want volume with food rather than pasta one night. I do boiled eggs, oil n butter free popcorn, porridge n frozen berries for snacks that I can make in advance. It really is food. Before I weighed food I just ate a lot of 'good' food and went gym 7 days week n didn't lose weight. Was annoyed was eating salads n doing nothing! When I started recording I nearly had stroke how many calories were in stuff like hummous etc and olive oil! Since I started recording weights been dropping off consistently. I'm getting g to point where body doesn't wanna let go of any more weight unless I increase cardio or reduce calories. But then I'll be miserable lol

kommodevaran

littlemiss1933 wrote: »

I guess I gotta eliminate sugar, it's so hard especially when my job makes fresh baked chocolate chip cookies every weekend. I've already eliminated soda a few months ago, I only have a few sips of one if I have a headache and that's rare, but I do have a candy, cookies and ice cream addiction I should start there are replace them with bite size veggies, thank you everyone!!

Implementing more vegetables is good! But you can't eliminate sugar. You know what? There's sugar in vegetables, fruit and dairy. And it's the same sugar as the sugar in candy! And it's treated the same way in your body! What gives?? Just eat a balanced and varied diet, have treats if you want to (nobody is saying (I hope) that you MUST eat candy and cookies). Eating too much is a bad habit, and certain foods are designed to be extremely easy to overeat, to make you want more, without satisfying, and aggressively marketed as "indulgences" you can and should allow yourself... often... (these are not evil schemes, but yes, they are cleverly exploiting our instincts just to make money) - so you can say they are "addictive"; but when you have an alternative that's just as good, and don't eat treats too often, you'll automatically reach for better foods. This means that your daily diet MUST be good - food you like, food that nourishes you, an eating schedule that fits in with the rest of your day and social life. If you try to eat "diet foods" and follow some silly fad plan, you will fail. Not because you're "weak", but because the plan is extreme, and we can only do extreme for a short time. Losing and maintaining weight is a - you guessed it - a long term project.

littlemiss1933

It says my daily calorie count is 2010?? Is that incorrect? I ate shredded wheat and some yogurt this morning, half a salad and some California rolls for lunch and I was starving all day, to the point where I felt faint, by the time I got off work tonight at nearly 9:30pm I had a headache and ended up at Del Taco getting 2 turkey tacos, I'm still starving but I'm trying to ignore it

kommodevaran

Open your diary. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/nb/account/diary_settings

littlemiss1933

Yes it says 2010 is my daily caloric intake

littlemiss1933

Ok I adjusted everything, and now it's giving me 1510 cals per day, but if I do two hours of cardio, do I still have to stay under 1510 or can I eat after my workout?

jeffrousey

If you set up for a 20-25% deficit for your calorie count then you probably should eat a portion of your burnt calories. I believe two hours of cardio is way too much. I do 2 hours of cardio per week, lift weights six hours a week and maintain a 25% calorie deficit for eight week blocks. Lifting weights burns more fat than cardio. I follow Mike Matthews and absolutely love his programs. There are a lot of folks you can follow to help guide you. Search for the one you trust and follow them. Read from multiple sources and check feedback. This is a great tool, coupled with a little dedication you will do great.

jeffrousey

Sorry Littlemiss, to figure out your meal plan you need to first settle on your macro breakdown. Mine for fat loss is 40% protein, 40% carb and 20% fat. The reason you need to know this is protein and carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram, whereas a gram of fat has 9 calories.

littlemiss1933

I am so confused lol