Low Sugar/Sugar Free Diet Help

mikeCFNI

So my diet plan is to eat as little carbs as possible. However, I've struggled to hit the 1,200 calorie minimum that this app sets. A friend recommended adding peanut butter where I could, but wouldn't that defeat the point of the diet? What about Milk, or Fruit?

CharlieBeansmomTracey

mikeCFNI wrote: »

So my diet plan is to eat as little carbs as possible. However, I've struggled to hit the 1,200 calorie minimum that this app sets. A friend recommended adding peanut butter where I could, but wouldn't that defeat the point of the diet? What about Milk, or Fruit?

im going by your name as you being male? if so the minimum for men is 1500/1600(not sure some say 1500 and some say 1600) 1200 is the minimum for sedentary,short.elderly women or a combo of the 3. also why as little carbs as possible?

mikeCFNI

Yes male, and 1200 cal is what MFP requires for men to complete the journal for the day.I just don't have time to eat enough for that without eating bad food. Also low carb because that facilitates fat loss, or so I'm told.

Alatariel75

When you go very low carb, you're supposed to up your fat. Fat isn't "bad" and low calorie doesn't necessarily = "good". Your undereating and doing yourself no favours. Ironically, undereating the way you are is far, far more unhealthy than any one given food.

mikeCFNI

So back to my original question, would the peanut butter or milk or fruit, impare my weight loss? If they do, then don't know how else to up my calorie intake in a healthy manner

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maryannprt

The short answer is you can add peanut butter, milk or fruit to your diet. As long as you remain in a caloric deficit, you will lose weight. You haven't said how tall you are, your age, or how much you weigh currently, but unless you are a little person 1200 calories is not enough for an adult male. Why are you concerned about time? Do you have a deadline you need to meet?

mikeCFNI

6'0, ~225lbs, 19.
Im a college student and the time restraint is because I don't have time to fit in 3 meals between classes. This is my first time on a diet so a lot of this is new to me.

Sunnybrooke99

Someone on here suggested peanut butter, oats, and maple syrup (as a cookie, so I guess you’ll want to leave the maple syrup out). I like to mash that all up, form it into a patty and sprinkle w salt (bc I like it), and then chill it in the fridge. Then I cut it into bite sized squares.

You must have some breaks in your schedule. Let us know if you need lunch ideas to grab and take w you.

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mikeCFNI

I do have breaks, it's when I eat now. Unfortunately, I'm on a meal plan, so I eat whatever they serve. Thankfully they always have something healthy to eat.

maryannprt

Ok. When you get your calories is technically less important than getting your calories. It only matters if you don't function well. Personally, I feel like I need to eat every few hours. Lots of people on here do intermittent fasting, so you might look up some of those threads and see if that is something that will work for you. If you have time in the morning, oatmeal with fruit, a couple of eggs and toast, a toaster waffle smeared with a little peanut butter if that's what floats your boat. Can you throw a sandwich in your backpack? A piece of fruit? A handful of nuts? Some hummus and carrot sticks? Hard boiled eggs? Something quick and easy, and preferably cheap, if you're like most college students. On the weekend, can you make a pot of lentils or chili or something to eat for dinner during the week? I pretty much lived on lentils and rice when I was a college student, and I still like them. I can't eat ramen anymore, though. Egh. You aren't that heavy, so you should look at losing 1/2-1 lb a week. If you look at making changes to how you're eating that you can sustain now and in the future, you'll be successful managing your weight, long term.

jaci66

@mikeCFNI Atkins bars are good choices. As well as cheese, peanut butter, plain ol' nuts for that matter, eggs. I'm assuming you live in the dorms at school, being a student. If you have a small fridge, you can do things like hard boiled eggs (can be bought in most grocery stores now already hard boiled) and cheese-meat rolls like Fiorruci snacks - my fave is the hard salami and cheese. There are also the P3 snacks that have cheese, a lean meat and fruit or nuts in them.

http://www.proteinproteinprotein.com

https://www.fioruccifoods.com/products/ (look under Paninos and Snacking)

Or just make your own. They are easy to do.

nvmomketo

To avoid sugars you will want to skip foods with added sugars (sucrose, dextrose, honey, syrup, HFCS) and limits fruits. Tropical (bananas, mangos, grapes, etc) and dried fruit (raisins, figs, dates) have the most sugar among fruits. Temperate fruits like oranges, apples, nectarines, plums, grapefruit, melons (just part) and pears have moderate to lower sugar levels, and berries (just a handful) are generally lowest in sugar.

To limit carbs, the easiest way is to avoid anything made primarily from flour (like bread, muffins, pizza crust, bagel, pasta) and grains (corn, rice, oats). Starchy root vegetables (potatoes, turnips, carrots) are also fairly high in carbs and may need to be limited. Unfortunately these are all really cheap foods for a student to eat.

Once you have limited carbs you'll want to increase fat and protein. Fat won't make you fat if you eat at a deficit. I lost my weight eating 70-75% fat. I personally think fat is at its worst when paired with lots of refined carbs. (or is a vegetable oil or trans fat.) Peanut butter, plain butter, or whipped cream in coffee will not harm your weight loss unless you eat too much.

Fruit or milk will not harm your weight loss either but it will increase carbs and possibly make it hard to stay low carb (under 100-150g of carbs a day).

My LCHF snacks are: cheese and pepperoni, eggs, nuts, coffee with cream and protein powder, veggies with cheese dip/cream cheese/ full fat salad dressing, salad, can of tuna, or leftovers.

Iamnotasenior

Can you define "bad food"? Weight loss is about calories in vs. calories burned. All calories are equal in that regard so a low carb diet will not help you lose weight any more quickly than simply eating within your calorie limit each day. For a male, eating less than 1,500 calories a day is dangerous and does not provide the basic nutrition your body needs for daily energy.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

mikeCFNI wrote: »

Yes male, and 1200 cal is what MFP requires for men to complete the journal for the day.I just don't have time to eat enough for that without eating bad food. Also low carb because that facilitates fat loss, or so I'm told.

did you check and make sure your settings say male? because that is the lowest calories FOR A WOMAN. not a male.now 1200 net maybe but males are supposed to eat no less than 1500/1600. Thats the minimum. so I dont see how you can close it out at 1200 if you are male, unless there is a glitch or something else. at your height,age and weight you are eating too little if you are eating less than the minimum for males.

Im female and I eat more than 1500 calories. when I was over 200 lbs I was eating more than 2000 calories(while sedentary) and losing weight. Im 5'6 1/2 and 43 years old.

caitlanbassett

I eat a low carb/keto diet for 2 years now!! Things like bread, pasta, starchy vegetables and most fruits are avoided. I've had great success with it losing 73lbs and have been maintaining. I've added what are healthier carbs like some sweet potatoes, brown rice on days that I do my strength and conditioning class. I've tested my blood sugars 2-3hrs after and no effect. I am not diabetic and both sets of grandparents have Type 2 diabetes.

Alatariel75

CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »

mikeCFNI wrote: »

Yes male, and 1200 cal is what MFP requires for men to complete the journal for the day.I just don't have time to eat enough for that without eating bad food. Also low carb because that facilitates fat loss, or so I'm told.

did you check and make sure your settings say male? because that is the lowest calories FOR A WOMAN. not a male.now 1200 net maybe but males are supposed to eat no less than 1500/1600. Thats the minimum. so I dont see how you can close it out at 1200 if you are male, unless there is a glitch or something else. at your height,age and weight you are eating too little if you are eating less than the minimum for males.

Im female and I eat more than 1500 calories. when I was over 200 lbs I was eating more than 2000 calories(while sedentary) and losing weight. Im 5'6 1/2 and 43 years old.

Re the bolded - men get the 'warning' if they're under 1200, women get it if they're under 1000. However, MFP will not set a goal for men under 1500 or for women under 1200.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

Alatariel75 wrote: »

CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »

mikeCFNI wrote: »

Yes male, and 1200 cal is what MFP requires for men to complete the journal for the day.I just don't have time to eat enough for that without eating bad food. Also low carb because that facilitates fat loss, or so I'm told.

did you check and make sure your settings say male? because that is the lowest calories FOR A WOMAN. not a male.now 1200 net maybe but males are supposed to eat no less than 1500/1600. Thats the minimum. so I dont see how you can close it out at 1200 if you are male, unless there is a glitch or something else. at your height,age and weight you are eating too little if you are eating less than the minimum for males.

Im female and I eat more than 1500 calories. when I was over 200 lbs I was eating more than 2000 calories(while sedentary) and losing weight. Im 5'6 1/2 and 43 years old.

Re the bolded - men get the 'warning' if they're under 1200, women get it if they're under 1000. However, MFP will not set a goal for men under 1500 or for women under 1200.

wow ok they need to fix that then if you ask me.

psuLemon

mikeCFNI wrote: »

6'0, ~225lbs, 19.
Im a college student and the time restraint is because I don't have time to fit in 3 meals between classes. This is my first time on a diet so a lot of this is new to me.

So there is no need to est 3 meals a day or anything like that. But eating 1200 cals or less is going to provide you little opportunity to get adequate nutrients to help sustain a healthy body. It will increase muscle loss with such an aggressive goal.

Second, the only thing that drives fat loss is a calorie deficit. Eating low cab can only do that if you are able to restrict calories. You can actually juat as easily gain weight on low carb as you can on high carb.

Ultimately, if you want a lean healthy body, than increasing calories will be key.

jgnatca

I think you need the basics before you go low carb. Just log your food. The app will tell you how many calories you are getting. Even though you are on a meal plan you can get some peanut butter and crackers I am sure. If your calories are too low by the evening, stock up with the snacks.

Apples are chiefly carbs. Milk contains carbs.

WinoGelato

How much weight are you trying to lose?
What rate of loss did you select?
What calorie goal did MFP provide?

Disregard whatever you heard about needing to cut carbs in order to lose weight. The only thing requires to lose weight is to cut calories, you can do that and still eat fruit, peanut butter, drink milk and even beer (you're in college right?!).

Set a reasonable calorie goal for how much weight you have to lose. It should not be more than 1 lb/week. Eat a variety of foods you enjoy within that calorie target. If your university meal program is run by a company like Aramark or Eurest then many of the foods may already be in the database. If you exercise, log and eat those calories back.

I'm a 5'2 female over forty and I lose weight eating 2000 calories. There's no reason a young male needs to cut to 1200 or lower to lose. You've been absorbing a lot of misinformation, disregard it and start all over. Read the stickied most helpful forum posts at the top of the getting started section on these boards.