Need help refining my menu items and diet!

flutatious1

OK... I just looked at my eating habits over the last month and I need to seriously refine a few things.... I need to significantly RAISE the amount of PROTEIN, POTASSIUM, and IRON while I LOWER the amount of SUGAR, CARBS, SALT and FAT. Please give me some ideas on how to fix this!! I'm on 1200 calories/day right now....diary is open :-)

dga226

yes i need help to we here as a family are trying to eat healtly

Francl27

Why are you on 1200 calories with 48 lbs to lose? That's too little.

TavistockToad

Eat your exercise calories back so you at least have a chance at getting the nutrients that you need each day!

flutatious1

Usually eat my exercise calories.... looking for ideas on low cal meals/snacks to up the previously mentioned items in my diet.

candylilacs

I'm noticing a lot of processed foods in your diary. Those, especially deli meats, have a lot of sodium. I would also suggest more complex carbs and vegetables/fruits.

For breakfast, I would just eat eggs/egg whites and cheese omelette or scramble. One piece of whole wheat toast could be OK.

HeidiCooksSupper

I would change what you are shown on your diary to show you carbs and not worry at this point about cholesterol. Then you can identify the high carb items and decide how to start replacing them with other options.

The recent science on fats versus carbs seems to be finding that we have overemphasized the importance of controlling fats and increased our carb consumption and for some of us that is contributing to our weight problems. So, for example, consider replacing the skim milk and sugar in your coffee for whole milk without sugar. Yes, you'll up the fat but you'll lower the sugar and it may help you with appetite control and weight.

Check out the "healthy eating plate" at http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/ and aim toward that in your food consumption. It works great for me when I do it. Keeping starches to a minimum except for whole grains, eating plenty of veggies and a couple of servings of fruit a month, and eating chicken or beans more often than beef or pork helps.

The foods that get me in trouble are bread and butter. As I eat more carefully, I start to recognize what healthy foods fill me up AND make me feel better. You will find that, too, for you and your family as you experiment.

I love to cook and talk about cooking and nutrition -- and being a retired librarian, enjoy hunting for the info we need to make good eating decisions so feel free to friend me or ask questions whenever.

Heidi

NaomiJFoster

You're most likely getting much more potassium than you think you are. Most of the items in the MFP database do not have their potassium amounts in their info. People who created the entries just don't seem to remember to add that in the list. It's weird. So, a lot of foods that say "Potassium 0" actually do have some potassium in them, it just doesn't show up in your diary.

marysidneyherbert

I just looked at about a week of your diary. It looks like you could use a bigger variety of fresh vegetables and fruit, things like carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, broccoli, kale, mixed greens, tangerines, grapes, blueberries (all kinds of berries, really); also yellow vegetables like squash (any kind of squash is really easy to make--poke holes in it with a fork and put it in the microwave, turning it every few minutes till it is soft). This will increase your intake of all kinds of vitamins and phytochemicals. I would also recommend lean proteins like chicken and fish with those veggies. You can use these ingredients in stir-fries with brown rice; pasta salad that is heavy on the veggies; omelets with extra egg whites; etc. Sometimes I just saute a huge handful of fresh kale with whatever I have on hand--tomatoes, carrots, pine nuts, squash chunks, chicken pieces, etc., along with a tablespoon or so of something like a balsamac vinegar salad dressing for more flavor. It's fast and easy and healthy--and tastes great. You might also try green smoothies. You can look up recipes online, but this is my favorite--just put the following into a good blender: 1/2 cup almond milk, 1 banana, handful of washed, torn-up kale with ribs removed, a few strawberries, a squirt of lime juice, a few basil leaves, a few ice cubes.

Oh, and I'd like to add a plug for oatmeal. I mix mine with berries and a teaspoon of sugar.

flutatious1

Thanks for the replies! The only reason why I'm watching cholesterol is because I just had bloodwork done and my numbers have increased. My blood pressure is slightly elevated at well.