Starting again

lisa_barile

I’ve used mfp many times. I’m a college student and I’m trying to lose weight. I have trouble figuring out what to eat and what to cook since I am always only cooking for one myself. I need some motivation and to help me stay on track!

brendanwhite84

I was single for the first year of my use of MFP; I found that it simplified cooking a little bit because I didn't have to cater to anyone else's needs or wants. Mind you, I am less likely to cook when by myself, and tend to go in more for bits and pieces of meals rather than the whole package.

As far as the 'what to eat' part goes, for my part I happily stress the answer 'under your calorie goal'. The only things I take pains to target are:

• Daily protein in grams
• Overall calories
• Sodium, cholesterol, and trans fats below recommended levels

Every couple of days I make a point of eating a little fresh fruit or green vegetables to make sure I'm getting some phytonutrients and other micronutrients.

Beyond that I eat a diet that irritates my coworkers and girlfriend with how grungy it seems - but I'm a successful triathlete and weightlifter and in generally very good health. I fit into the American Council on Exercise's category of 'athlete' in terms of body fat percentage.

I'm a very strong believer in 'quantitative health eating' rather than the 'qualitative' counterpart that people seem to buy into a lot of the time. No activated almonds here.

tinkerbellang83

Will just make a slight adjustment to what is said above

brendanwhite84 wrote: »

As far as the 'what to eat' part goes, for my part I happily stress the answer 'under your calorie goal'.

You should be aiming for it not under it.

OP Try not to over-complicate it.

• Set yourself up in MFP with a reasonable calorie deficit (don't automatically pick the fastest rate of loss, shoot for about 1% of your current body weight) and make sure you have the correct activity level set for your home/school/work life without taking intentional exercise into account.
• Log your normal eating for a couple of days.
• Review those days to see where you can trim calories to get down to the allowance MFP gives you. This might be things like reducing empty calories items like high calorie drinks/snacks that don't fill you, reducing the use of cooking oils/using different cooking methods, substituting lower calorie versions of foods you already like or reducing portion sizes
• Once you have your calorie count under control you can then start tweaking your macros/micros to find what works for you to help you feel fuller longer and to get the nutrients your body requires. Getting adequate protein and fat should be your priority and then making up carbs with the remainder.

I am a single gal and I find batch-cooking really helpful for time/money, I plan a week ahead buy in what I need and prep some meals on the Sunday before the week ahead normally have a couple of pastas/soups/salads for work lunches and some sort of slow cooker meal (curries/stews/casseroles)/protein batch (homemade meatballs/fishcakes/burgers/etc) cooked or prepped for dinners with a few frozen for later weeks so I am not eating the same thing all the time. Pinterest has some great meal inspiration.

I have a few recipes on my blog website (not selling anything) https://www.exercisenotextrafries.com/recipes

brendanwhite84

tinkerbellang83 wrote: »

Will just make a slight adjustment to what is said above

brendanwhite84 wrote: »

As far as the 'what to eat' part goes, for my part I happily stress the answer 'under your calorie goal'.

You should be aiming for it not under it.

By under, I mean 0-50 (even 100) under. Definitely not much more than that under.

missysippy930

I really like to make things ahead and freeze them.
Pinterest has a lot of muffin tin recipes. Portion control and perfect size for individual servings. Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

scarlett_k

If you enjoy cooking you can usually scale recipes down to make them just for one or two servings, so you don't have to eat the same thing over and over. I don't like food that has been frozen really, always tastes gnarly to me.

tinkerbellang83

brendanwhite84 wrote: »

tinkerbellang83 wrote: »

Will just make a slight adjustment to what is said above

brendanwhite84 wrote: »

As far as the 'what to eat' part goes, for my part I happily stress the answer 'under your calorie goal'.

You should be aiming for it not under it.

By under, I mean 0-50 (even 100) under. Definitely not much more than that under.

Your calorie allowance already includes your deficit (250-1000 calories depending on the rate of loss you have chosen) so there is no need to be 0-100 under.