Need help meal planning to loosing weight

19Native_Girl91
19Native_Girl91 Posts: 1 Member
edited July 2019 in Food and Nutrition
I'm 305lb women in my late 20's. I need to loosing weight for my health but I don't know how much to eat and what to eat. I'm used to eating anything and everything. I need major advice

Replies

  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Based on your stats and fitness goals, MyFitnessPal assigned you a certain amount of daily calories along with amounts of carbs, protein, fats.

    Buy a kitchen scale so that you can measure your food to put in the diary.
  • VictorSmashes
    VictorSmashes Posts: 173 Member
    I agree that starting off by looking at what you’re eating and how much of what you’re eating is a really good idea. Once you’ve done that you can measure by mass or volume. The reason I say volume is OK is because when you have a lot to lose you don’t have to be as strict about being in a deficit is long as you start to see a trend going downward. If you don’t see the numbers going down then you will likely have to measure by mass. I personally measure by volume and I am 86 pounds overweight but that’s been working for me so far. My plan is once that stops working, I’ll buy a kitchen scale.

    As for what to eat and how much, I like to scan barcodes of everything that I eat so that I can see the vitamins and macros. MFP calculates the “normal” macro % (caloric breakdown) but you can change that based on personal needs if your doctor or nutritionist says otherwise. Looking at the calories and other needs, I plan my next meal every day, and I don’t plan days ahead. I won’t speak to planning days ahead but you might find it’s similar as long as you consider calories.

    I like to stick to staples like potatoes, and I eat bread every few days, but I also have frozen vegetables for stir fries almost daily, and frozen fruit for my smoothies. Of course I eat other things as well but those are my most common foods.

    Have enough variety that you’re getting enough vitamins from your food and that you’re not getting bored of it, but enough consistent foods that you don’t have to overthink it and you can more easily plan. I don’t cut out foods, I reduce them.

    For me personally, I find that just a few days or up to a couple weeks forms a habit (30 days forms a habit technically) so you might find yourself eating healthier foods more easily and in healthier quantities by then.

    I hope this helps; these are my findings so far. :)
  • lovesummers
    lovesummers Posts: 5 Member
    edited July 2019
    I have lost 38 lbs. since the beginning of May. I don't like to cook for just myself, usually, so I ate out A LOT. I am doing my own Jenny Craig using Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine. My kids were like, "Oh, that stuff is not good for you!" My reply was, "Well, it's better than McDonald's or pizza!" Special K and Jimmy Dean Delights have a breakfast muffin (egg, sausage, cheese) that is low in calories. I started with that for breakfast but have switched to 1 cup of Fiber One cereal (the flake kind) + 1 cup 1% organic milk to get my fiber in. It's VERY filling! Lunch is a Lean Cuisine sandwich. Snack: Boost Glucose Control vanilla or especially chocolate! (22g protein, 2.5g fat, 1g sugar, 120 cal. Sometimes I will make a smoothie using the vanilla, but oh so good alone! (also had trouble getting all of my protein in. this helped) Dinner is usually a Healthy Choice meal + a very LARGE salad to fill me up. (Oh, I cut up my veggies and put them in a plastic container, so at dinner time... everything is ready to throw a large salad together. This helped A LOT! Keeps a week.) Bolthouse yogurt dressing (from Kroger or Publix-by the veggies, not the dressings) is fantastic, tastes divine, and very, very low in calories and fat. Log EVERYTHING in My Fitness Pal. I will eat poorly once a month (started at twice a month), just so I get that head craving in, but still log everything. I am just doing a day at a time. It's a life change, not a short haul. If I only lose a pound in one week, that okay! I'm still a LOT healthier than I was. The best of luck to you! Just keep at it. One day at a time.
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    I remember how eye opening it was when I started logging and saw the number of calories I was taking in each day.

    I learned so much just by filling out the food diary. Then explore the community.

    Good luck!
  • flyflipboy
    flyflipboy Posts: 2 Member
    Find out what your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). There’s calculators online. The one that takes your body fat% into account seems to be the most accurate. Then multiply that number by .20 or .25 to find out how much your calorie deficit you should have. Eat only that much calories per day to lose the weight. Eat enough protein (around 1g/ body weight) and perform resistance training to maintain as much lean body mass as possible during the diet. Fat should be around 15 to 20% (you need fat for hormone and cell regulations). The remaining calories should be from carbs (which majority should be from veggies). This worked for me. Of course everyone is different so you might have special cases that can affect this process for you, so maybe get your doctor involved. I suggest watching some videos about fat metabolism or other topics like that to give you more idea of the weight loss process. Another advice, those fad diets work because it tends to put you on a caloric deficit one way or another. It’s about energy balance. Ok, sorry for the long reply. Good luck on your journey.
  • naomi8888
    naomi8888 Posts: 519 Member
    I'm 305lb women in my late 20's. I need to loosing weight for my health but I don't know how much to eat and what to eat. I'm used to eating anything and everything. I need major advice

    I plan out my meals on the weekend and prep breakfast, lunch and snacks for Mon - Thurs on a Sunday afternoon. Feel free to add me and look at my diary if you're interested.

    Breakfast is usually a frittata or overnight oats.
    Lunch is usually chicken breast, rice / quinoa / sweet potato, broccoli and / or kale and some type of dressing or topping.

    Easy to do but you have to be OK with eating the same thing for four days straight ( I cook dinner every night though).
  • smmrtyme1225
    smmrtyme1225 Posts: 4 Member
    I found a great resource on YouTube, C&C TV. She's known as CDHardy2016 on here. She was really on point and real. Made it super simple.
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    There's no reason for you to limit your foods so drastically right off the bat. That's what would make a person give up.

    Your way of eating has to be sustainable.
  • tlpina82
    tlpina82 Posts: 229 Member
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    There's no reason for you to limit your foods so drastically right off the bat. That's what would make a person give up.

    Your way of eating has to be sustainable.

    What would you suggest a sustainable?
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,445 Member
    tlpina82 wrote: »
    dewd2 wrote: »
    tlpina82 wrote: »

    After a week or two eating natural, single ingredient food, any gastrointestinal issues should be gone and it's time to start looking at how many calories you need to maintain your weight and cut them by 300-500.



    Why?

    Why?
    Because Frosted Flakes, Donuts and a Double Whopper is how people get to be 305 lbs.
    And 1 cup of Rice and 1 cup of beans has triple the volume and half the calories of a big mac.
    and perhaps this is the most important part, an organism that has been subject to highly processed, high sugar, low nutritional value and low fiber will most likely have a difficult time dealing with the High Fiber content of Natural food. The Bacteria and the intestinal flora need to adapt/shift and that means, in some cases, that there will be constant trips to the bathroom, some gas and cravings. Lots of sugar cravings.

    Add that to high intensity exercise, which the body is also not used to and it will be more difficult to keep a person motivated.



    I have never been close to 305 pounds and I eat everything you say I shouldn't (and more)*. Now if I had to change my diet to crap I did not like to lose weight it wouldn't be long until I quit completely. Look at the statistics (not some made up BS). Look at the diet industry.

    Please show me the evidence of all these issues you describe (not some nonsense blog or someone trying to sell me something). References to science please.


    *Frosted Flakes and Double Whoppers suck *kitten*. Replace that with other representative 'junk' in my case.
  • tlpina82
    tlpina82 Posts: 229 Member
    dewd2 wrote: »

    I have never been close to 305 pounds and I eat everything you say I shouldn't (and more)*.

    That's exactly my point. You have no idea.

    Food, for many people who are severely obese, is a vice, an addiction.
    And I bet you will never, ever find a nutritionist/dietitian that will take an obese person + all the metabolic issues that come with it and tell them it's ok to keep eating the very things that are making them sick.

    No one here says that you can't have those things ever again, but if you're a person trying to make a choice to lose weight and live a healthier life, the only place to start is the kitchen.

    Quick example:
    BIG MAC - 563 calories
    Large Fries - 510 calories (And lets be honest here, who orders small fries?)
    Small Coke - +/- 200 calories (And that's again, assuming small)
    Total - +/- 1273 Calories

    Or

    1 cup of Rice - 160 Calories (White Rice - Sona Masoori - So that there's no cheating the calories)
    1 cup of Black Beans - 227 Calories
    2 Boiled Eggs - 136 Calories
    1/2 can (130g) of sweet corn - 100 Calories
    1 Banana - 105 Calories
    150g of Greek Yoghurt (Fat Free) - 81 calories (Full Fat) - 100 Calories
    1 Cup of Blue Berries - 86 Calories
    Total - +/- 895 Calories

    I know this is a futile exercise and you know what works for you, but i have 3 questions:

    1 - Which meal is better for Health?
    2 - How Many people do you know that could sit and eat all that in one meal?
    3 - Which one is better for weight loss?

    SO, to @19Native_Girl91, the original poster.
    Read all of the replies and make a decision between changing your habits or keep doing what you do today and see if anything changes.

  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,445 Member
    edited July 2019
    tlpina82 wrote: »
    dewd2 wrote: »

    I have never been close to 305 pounds and I eat everything you say I shouldn't (and more)*.

    That's exactly my point. You have no idea.

    Food, for many people who are severely obese, is a vice, an addiction.
    And I bet you will never, ever find a nutritionist/dietitian that will take an obese person + all the metabolic issues that come with it and tell them it's ok to keep eating the very things that are making them sick.

    No one here says that you can't have those things ever again, but if you're a person trying to make a choice to lose weight and live a healthier life, the only place to start is the kitchen.

    Quick example:
    BIG MAC - 563 calories
    Large Fries - 510 calories (And lets be honest here, who orders small fries?)
    Small Coke - +/- 200 calories (And that's again, assuming small)
    Total - +/- 1273 Calories

    You just did EXACTLY what I suggested the OP do. Log what she eats today. If that is an actual meal (not saying the OP would eat this, just an example), then so be it. Log it and do the same for all other meals. Then you will know how much you eat and you can start making changes. Maybe drop the large fries to small and replace the coke with something else. See what I am saying here? Make small changes over time.
    tlpina82 wrote: »

    Or

    1 cup of Rice - 160 Calories (White Rice - Sona Masoori - So that there's no cheating the calories)
    1 cup of Black Beans - 227 Calories
    2 Boiled Eggs - 136 Calories
    1/2 can (130g) of sweet corn - 100 Calories
    1 Banana - 105 Calories
    150g of Greek Yoghurt (Fat Free) - 81 calories (Full Fat) - 100 Calories
    1 Cup of Blue Berries - 86 Calories
    Total - +/- 895 Calories

    I know this is a futile exercise and you know what works for you, but i have 3 questions:

    1 - Which meal is better for Health?
    2 - How Many people do you know that could sit and eat all that in one meal?
    3 - Which one is better for weight loss?

    SO, to @19Native_Girl91, the original poster.
    Read all of the replies and make a decision between changing your habits or keep doing what you do today and see if anything changes.

    You meal looks great on paper but in reality there's nothing there I would eat on a daily basis, therefor I would fail. This is what happens to people. They read some strict way of eating and try to follow it. It happened to me several times (and no, I was not morbidly obese but I was obese).

    Which meal is better? Neither. When you make things so black and white there's no room to find what works for you.

    And, at what point did I ever say to not change your habits????

    BTW - At 300 pounds the Big Mac meal would fit into a 2500 calorie diet and you could still lose weight. A Big Mac meal with small fries and diet drink would work even better.

    Question for you? What is more important NOW? Losing the weight or worrying about nutrition?

    FWIW - Nutrition IS important. Just don't try to do it all in one day.
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,445 Member
    Also, still need references for the processed food claims you made before. Maybe I can learn something new.
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    tlpina82 wrote: »
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    There's no reason for you to limit your foods so drastically right off the bat. That's what would make a person give up.

    Your way of eating has to be sustainable.

    What would you suggest a sustainable?

    I'm a little nervous about answering. The anger and tension are palpable.

    Sustainable is different for us all. I might like different foods than you. For me, a diet that is plant based with seafood, eggs and some dairy is sustainable. You might be allergic to seafood.

    That said, tomorrow I'm fitting a gyro into my calories. Why? Because I want to.
  • rompydompy
    rompydompy Posts: 54 Member
    I like food. I like a lot of it, and a lot of so-called "forbidden" foods. Thing is, I see a lot of my fitter, fabulous friends who indulge in those delectable goodies, and so I figure, if they can be fit and have treats, so can I. I eat high volume, low calorie foods so I'm not unbearably starving while I'm on this journey, and I treat myself with chips, ice cream, etc when my calorie goals allow it. To me, this makes my journey sustainable. If you think this approach matches your needs, feel free to follow me, my diary is public. Ive been trying post photos and calorie counts of some of my meals to keep myself motivated.
  • VictorSmashes
    VictorSmashes Posts: 173 Member
    edited July 2019
    tlpina82 wrote: »
    1 cup of Rice - 160 Calories (White Rice - Sona Masoori - So that there's no cheating the calories)
    1 cup of Black Beans - 227 Calories
    2 Boiled Eggs - 136 Calories
    1/2 can (130g) of sweet corn - 100 Calories
    1 Banana - 105 Calories
    150g of Greek Yoghurt (Fat Free) - 81 calories (Full Fat) - 100 Calories
    1 Cup of Blue Berries - 86 Calories
    Total - +/- 895 Calories

    I am not here to get in on the drama but I was watching this thread and I thought it was funny that what you suggested was pretty much my dinner today! (Close enough to for a resemblance but not exact.)

    And I guess I will comment that my HSW was 226 at 5'1" (154 cm) and even THAT was hard to just make the change. And yes the diet might be necessary to change when you're in a habit of eating massive amounts of calorie-dense junk food. For me, that was the only way I could teach my body to eat less calories. Now I've moved back into some processed food but stay under my calories. And a lot of this is what I eat daily or at least 1-2 times a week.... In fact eggs, bananas, and berries ARE daily foods of mine.


    Edit: I wanted to add for the OP: Do what works and change what doesn't. If you want to flip your diet to something healthy then I am all for that. If it's too hard, let yourself have a Big Mac or Whopper etc., but factor it into your calories.
    The most important thing for losing weight is having a calorie deficit. If you decide that in this time frame you would rather lose weight than eat healthy, that really is up to you. Change your "diet" as you see fit, and change what doesn't work, don't give up when things aren't going so well.
  • tlpina82
    tlpina82 Posts: 229 Member
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    tlpina82 wrote: »
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    There's no reason for you to limit your foods so drastically right off the bat. That's what would make a person give up.

    Your way of eating has to be sustainable.

    What would you suggest a sustainable?

    I'm a little nervous about answering. The anger and tension are palpable.

    Sustainable is different for us all. I might like different foods than you. For me, a diet that is plant based with seafood, eggs and some dairy is sustainable. You might be allergic to seafood.

    That said, tomorrow I'm fitting a gyro into my calories. Why? Because I want to.

    But see... THat's exactly my point.

    I was just pointing out the 2 different ways of thinking.
    One way is to eliminate stuff that you eat and are making you sick and fat and eat single ingredient food. Like vegetables, grains, legumes, meat, fish, eggs.

    But immediately, someone else came in trying to tell a person that was asking for help that it was ok to keep eating garbage.

    That's what got me upset... I didn't meant to make you uncomfortable.
    I just wanted to see if you had something different in mind.
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,445 Member
    First, to @tlpina82, if I pissed you off I apologize. It was not my intention. I am not upset nor angry. I simply disagree with you. Asking someone to completely change their diet day one is a recipe for failure for many. If you told me that a few years ago and I followed your advice I would still be fat. I have tried that before and I know many others who also did. Ask around here for advice from those who are successful long term and see how many changed things gradually (and didn't include foods they hate).

    I'll look at your sources later when I have time but, yeah, I do consider the opinion pieces on any web site 'some blog' even if they seem to be on respected sites.

    Meanwhile, a video in case you are interested in artificial sweeteners (I take it from the 'diet soda' comment you have issues with them as well). It also delves into gut health.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,213 Member
    tlpina82 wrote: »
    dewd2 wrote: »

    I have never been close to 305 pounds and I eat everything you say I shouldn't (and more)*.

    That's exactly my point. You have no idea.

    Food, for many people who are severely obese, is a vice, an addiction.
    And I bet you will never, ever find a nutritionist/dietitian that will take an obese person + all the metabolic issues that come with it and tell them it's ok to keep eating the very things that are making them sick.

    No one here says that you can't have those things ever again, but if you're a person trying to make a choice to lose weight and live a healthier life, the only place to start is the kitchen.

    Quick example:
    BIG MAC - 563 calories
    Large Fries - 510 calories (And lets be honest here, who orders small fries?)
    Small Coke - +/- 200 calories (And that's again, assuming small)
    Total - +/- 1273 Calories

    Or

    1 cup of Rice - 160 Calories (White Rice - Sona Masoori - So that there's no cheating the calories)
    1 cup of Black Beans - 227 Calories
    2 Boiled Eggs - 136 Calories
    1/2 can (130g) of sweet corn - 100 Calories
    1 Banana - 105 Calories
    150g of Greek Yoghurt (Fat Free) - 81 calories (Full Fat) - 100 Calories
    1 Cup of Blue Berries - 86 Calories
    Total - +/- 895 Calories

    I know this is a futile exercise and you know what works for you, but i have 3 questions:

    1 - Which meal is better for Health?
    2 - How Many people do you know that could sit and eat all that in one meal?
    3 - Which one is better for weight loss?

    SO, to @19Native_Girl91, the original poster.
    Read all of the replies and make a decision between changing your habits or keep doing what you do today and see if anything changes.

    Here's the thing: I got and stayed obese while eating pretty much the kinds of things on your "healthy foods" list, just waaaay too much of them, and I stayed obese while quite athletically active for 10+ years and eating those kinds of foods. Even now, at a weight in the mid-130s, I could easily eat all the things you list (for 895 calories) in one meal. (Occasionally, I pretty much do, with minor variations in the details.) I've never been much of a soda pop drinker, and I haven't had a Big Mac since 1974 (I've been vegetarian for 45+ years). I did eat fries occasionally . . . but I still do.

    What @dewd2 suggested is excellent advice, and I endorse it:
    dewd2 wrote: »
    Start by logging EVERYTHING you are currently eating. Weigh everything and don't cheat yourself. Look at how many calories you are eating and how many you should be eating (MFP will tell you that if you enter you stats and goals). Then start to look at ways to either eliminate some things that push you over or just eat less of them. Do this for a couple weeks until you start hitting your goals.

    There's no one true way to eat. You need to find what works for you.

    Good luck.

    As a more specific plan along these lines, this thread (below) describes the approach I used nearly 4 years ago to lose nearly 1/3 of my body weight, and maintain a healthy weight since, after literally decades of obesity (while age 59+ and hypothyroid, if that matters):

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/

    To lose weight (and especially to maintain a healthy weight long term), a person for sure has to change their habits. Which changes to make, and how, is a pretty individualized question. Overnight revolutions work for some people, but not for everyone.