Can anyone suggest an eating plan to follow that is easy, filling, and low calorie?
Rannoch3908
Posts: 177 Member
So I have been having success once I realized that I simply need to focus on eating at a calorie deficit. Simple enough you would think. Lost 22+lbs so far.
But I do not like to plan my meals for the week or even the day.
I want to find a program (online, book, website, app) that will design my whole weeks meal plan for 1700 calories - three meals a day and some snacks - print me recipes - and print a grocery list. So I don't have to think at all - I just have to shop - then come home and prep everything and be done for the week.
YES - it's super dooper crazy amounts of lazy - but it's how my brain works right now. I get off track every time I fail because I don't want to spend the time planning my food every single week/day. I literally don't want to take the time to slap some lunch meat, lettuce, and tomato on bread in the morning - that takes too long. I want to have premade sandwiches I could grab and go.
I liked the idea of something like Atkins - buy some frozen breakfasts, some frozen lunches, some pre-made shakes, some of their meal bars, and some desert bars. Boom - done - week planned. Grab things as I need. But I don't want to eat low carb - I want to just eat at calorie deficit.
When I have to think about what to eat next I tend to just say - screw it - and go get something premade like a pizza or sub or burrito that is always bad for me. When I can go into my fridge and simple grab a frozen meal or shake or something I do it consistently because there is no thinking - just grab and go.
But I do not like to plan my meals for the week or even the day.
I want to find a program (online, book, website, app) that will design my whole weeks meal plan for 1700 calories - three meals a day and some snacks - print me recipes - and print a grocery list. So I don't have to think at all - I just have to shop - then come home and prep everything and be done for the week.
YES - it's super dooper crazy amounts of lazy - but it's how my brain works right now. I get off track every time I fail because I don't want to spend the time planning my food every single week/day. I literally don't want to take the time to slap some lunch meat, lettuce, and tomato on bread in the morning - that takes too long. I want to have premade sandwiches I could grab and go.
I liked the idea of something like Atkins - buy some frozen breakfasts, some frozen lunches, some pre-made shakes, some of their meal bars, and some desert bars. Boom - done - week planned. Grab things as I need. But I don't want to eat low carb - I want to just eat at calorie deficit.
When I have to think about what to eat next I tend to just say - screw it - and go get something premade like a pizza or sub or burrito that is always bad for me. When I can go into my fridge and simple grab a frozen meal or shake or something I do it consistently because there is no thinking - just grab and go.
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Replies
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I think a subscription service may be what you need.3
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Subscription service - sounds fantastic - any ideas for healthy, good, affordable ones?0
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What's your budget?Rannoch3908 wrote: »Subscription service - sounds fantastic - any ideas for healthy, good, affordable ones?Rannoch3908 wrote: »So I have been having success once I realized that I simply need to focus on eating at a calorie deficit. Simple enough you would think. Lost 22+lbs so far.
But I do not like to plan my meals for the week or even the day.
I want to find a program (online, book, website, app) that will design my whole weeks meal plan for 1700 calories - three meals a day and some snacks - print me recipes - and print a grocery list. So I don't have to think at all - I just have to shop - then come home and prep everything and be done for the week.
YES - it's super dooper crazy amounts of lazy - but it's how my brain works right now. I get off track every time I fail because I don't want to spend the time planning my food every single week/day. I literally don't want to take the time to slap some lunch meat, lettuce, and tomato on bread in the morning - that takes too long. I want to have premade sandwiches I could grab and go.
I liked the idea of something like Atkins - buy some frozen breakfasts, some frozen lunches, some pre-made shakes, some of their meal bars, and some desert bars. Boom - done - week planned. Grab things as I need. But I don't want to eat low carb - I want to just eat at calorie deficit.
When I have to think about what to eat next I tend to just say - screw it - and go get something premade like a pizza or sub or burrito that is always bad for me. When I can go into my fridge and simple grab a frozen meal or shake or something I do it consistently because there is no thinking - just grab and go.
Since you mention "prep for the week" but also use Atkins where everything is already made as an example, I can't tell from this if you are willing to do some prep and could thereby use something like Hello Fresh, where you cook the dinners, or you do want everything already made, in which case something like NutriSystem.
This is $12.14 per day.
https://www.nutrisystem.com/jsps_hmr/diet-plans/weight-loss-plans.jsp?plan=uniquelyyours#men-plan
(I am not affiliated with NutriSystem and this is not spam. I have no experience with it and am not claiming it is "healthy" or "good." "Affordable" is in the eye of the beholder. I am personally far too cheap to pay for the convenience. Plus I love to cook and log time spent cooking after the first hour.)2 -
Does noom have meal plans? Not sure.0
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[quote="Rannoch3908;c-45713713"any ideas for healthy, good, affordable ones?[/quote]
Affordable? Does not exist. You are paying --through the nose -- for the convenience. If you want affordable you will have to do your own planning, prepping (including weighing) & portion control.
Nutrisystem is probably the best for what you want. You can try EatCleanBro or DailyHarvest which seems like it's focused on vegetables. I think you still have to cook the stuff or blend it into smoothies depending on your choices whereas with Nutrisystem I think you just nuke everything.
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I don't know if it still does - but once upon a time, Spark People (spark people dot com) posted a suggested meal plan for each day. I think it even linked to a shopping list for the week. This was years ago though.0
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In case anyone else was curious, NutriSystem is providing 1200 calories (probably if you checked Women) - 1500 calories (presumably if you checked Men.)
https://leaf.nutrisystem.com/faqs/diet-food-nutrition-and-science/how-many-calories-should-i-eat-to-lose-weight/
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
The Nutrisystem diet plan provides between 1,200 to 1,500 calories per day, which puts you in the range to lose a healthy, sustainable avg 1 to 2 pounds per week. But we do all the counting for you—so you can lose weight without the worry of tracking calories, carbs or points.
If you work out vigorously or have more than 100 pounds to lose, contact our weight loss counselors, as you may require additional calories from SmartCarbs and PowerFuels to achieve optimal weight loss results.0 -
I know this is not what you are asking for so please feel free to disregard, but I found an easy to prepare breakfast, lunch, and snack that I like and I literally eat the same thing every day for those meals. Then I rotate 6-7 easy to prepare dinners. I plan my whole week on Sunday and plug it all in and then just make small adjustments during the week as needed. I have basically the exact same shopping list every week.
It's not the same as meal delivery (which sounds like you'd prefer), but the routine of it and the pre-tracking take all decision making out of the process, which has really helped me succeed. Because it's such a routine it doesn't feel like a ton of work because I am so used to making these staples. Just throwing it out there - to me the idea of having to figure out what to eat is where the danger lies much of the time, and it sounded like that was part of what you were struggling with.3 -
I have no idea where you are, but in the US many major cities have meal prep companies that will deliver weekly meals to you and calorie control is an option that many of them offer.
You're going to be paying what I would consider a lot for the service, but if you're truly looking to just grab it and go, it may be worth it to you.
If you're looking for easy, filling, and affordable, one of those is probably going to have to take a lower priority because if it's "easy" you're going to have to pay someone else to do the work and if it's "affordable" you're going to have to do some of the work yourself.
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I’ve a question. How do plan to maintain your weight once you reach it? You need to figure this out unless you plan on people helping you with meal planning til the end of your days. You need to think about the big picture here.14
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It involves cooking,but I once did the Cooking Light Diet. If I remember correctly, you may have been able to choose how much cooking you wanted to do, but it was affordable because all they were providing was the meal plan and recipes. Also, if you to theirs or their affiliate Eating Well's website, you can often find meal plans based on your calorie level and nutrition needs/style.
Back in in the day there was Ediets, which I know included the option to buy some premade meals at the store, as well as make your own easy recipes. Pretty sure they don't exist anymore.0 -
Can you access the Centr app from the US? It's Chris Hemsworth's lifestyle/fitness app, and it does all that - gives you daily workouts as well as weekly meal plans complete with shopping list and recipes. I've tried a few of the recipes, as I tried them out during a 6 week free trial, and they were all delicious. Also - more of a bonus for me than for you, probably - you get to see Chris Hemsworth every day.2
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Alternately, make yourself a meal plan and just repeat that week after week. You don't need to reinvent the wheel each week. That's pretty much how I roll as I do all cooking and meal planning for my family, so they all know Monday is fajita night, Tuesday is curry, Wednesday is roast chicken and roast veg etc etc. Makes shopping and cooking 100x easier as I know exactly what I am doing, I don't need to think about it, and I have fine tuned it to beautiful, efficient perfection. I leave Saturday open as a "what we feel like" night, but otherwise, nothing wrong with repetition.
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$150-$160 a week maybe for meals for two people.
Right now I spend around $75-$100 doing it all myself for us.
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How do I plan to maintain weight - I plan to do this forever - this is a lifestyle change (pre made meals shipped to me or bought locally).0
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There's also this option, for prep-it-yourself at a calorie level and eating style you specify:
https://www.eatthismuch.com/3 -
Rannoch3908 wrote: »$150-$160 a week maybe for meals for two people.
Right now I spend around $75-$100 doing it all myself for us.
The NutriSystem plan for men I linked above comes to $85 per week and hopefully the women's is a little less as it provides 300 less calories, so right in your ballpark. Try it for a month.
(However, as I remember you're a big guy so you'll need more than 1500 calories per day, especially since you exercise.)1 -
Perfect - $85 for a couple?0
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What happens if there is a zombie apocalypse? 😂5
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L1zardQueen wrote: »What happens if there is a zombie apocalypse? 😂
For myself, I'll be the first one to trip over myself, fall in to the zombies, and get "bit". Meal planning won't worry me anymore
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I'll get bit and then all I will eat is brains - no preperation needed.3
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You’ve got this!Rannoch3908 wrote: »I'll get bit and then all I will eat is brains - no preperation needed.
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Rannoch3908 wrote: »Perfect - $85 for a couple?
Not for two. For one man:kshama2001 wrote: »Rannoch3908 wrote: »$150-$160 a week maybe for meals for two people.
Right now I spend around $75-$100 doing it all myself for us.
The NutriSystem plan for men I linked above comes to $85 per week and hopefully the women's is a little less as it provides 300 less calories, so right in your ballpark. Try it for a month.
(However, as I remember you're a big guy so you'll need more than 1500 calories per day, especially since you exercise.)0 -
L1zardQueen wrote: »What happens if there is a zombie apocalypse? 😂
Oh, I'm first in line for growing the food and cooking the food. I should start saving seeds now. And dried beans. Oh wait, I already am
Others can hit up the gun stores - I'll be scavenging at the garden centers.3 -
You may want to look at the subscription service (meal plan map dot com). They're a monthly charge that offers the meal plans and then provides the recipes, shopping lists etc that you can print out. They used to be ediets which I had been very successful with and loved their plans. In the past they offered atkins options so not sure if the new site has it. They usually will provide the calories and you can then switch to the pre-packaged items that fill it similar. I don't think the new site lists the different packaged meals that they used to do, but possible they still do; I just didn't use that plan when I tried the new site. You do have to shop for your own food so if you want food delivery options this won't do that for you (at least I don't believe they offer their food delivery with this site).
Their recipes were usually for the 1 serving but usually able to increase the recipe for multiples.
I had liked their meal plans over what Spark People offered.0 -
Rannoch3908 wrote: »Perfect - $85 for a couple?
FYI, I believe Nutrisystem is all freeze-dried and powdered food. Even devotees of meal prepping/pre-made meals might find it difficult to sustain for life.
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Personally, for me I found it very important to track food, calories and macros in beginning (for as long as it takes to get a good understanding of what you eat and it's macro/calorie content. This trains one to actually understand what a TBSP (leveled) of butter actual is. How much is a ounce of cheddar cheese what does it look like (16 slices out of 1lb brick)? How many ounces is a typical roasted chicken leg (7 to 9oz) and how many calories is it. etc.
Once you have a good handle on all that sort of stuff, it becomes less important to track. And then all one needs to do is occasionally look up a food your not familiar with. Or if you find yourself struggling and weight loss slows or stops, you may wish to log your foods again for a few days and see what the deal is. Or perhaps you've reached the point where a further restriction would be beneficial.
Anywhoo, once you understand the food you eat better. Then you also understand portion size. Perhaps at the beginning of the diet for me I may eat 6 ounces of Prime Rib steak with broccoli for dinner... However 6 months from now I will probably limit my self to 5 or even less etc. Adjusting can become very easy. For a snack where I might have had 1 ounce of cheese, I may just have 3/4 ounce... Or 1 mini peppertree instead of 2 through out the course of the day.
It isn't mandatory to maintain that strict journal for life. Depending on how you keep that journal it can be quite time intensive (paper journal, constantly looking up info in a book) and as such can deplete time with your family and personal enjoyment in a life where there isn't enough time already. (This is why I like MYP, as it very quick to utilize).
One last thought... We eat very much the same things diet or not. Chicken, porkchops, Steak, Sausages, Random more complicated meal like Keto Taco's or keto shepherds Pie or keto Pizza etc,,, Monday I made curried butter chicken thighs for the first time on Cauliflower rice. But we constantly have the core 4 meals, Chicken thighs or legs, Porkchops, Steak and sausages every single week. So I can safely say I very much know the calorie content of those particular meals. The vegetables also rotate, Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts, Salad. You might think it's boring, but I absolutely love all those foods, and that's whether I'm dieting or not.0 -
Poobah1972 wrote: »Personally, for me I found it very important to track food, calories and macros in beginning (for as long as it takes to get a good understanding of what you eat and it's macro/calorie content. This trains one to actually understand what a TBSP (leveled) of butter actual is. How much is a ounce of cheddar cheese what does it look like (16 slices out of 1lb brick)? How many ounces is a typical roasted chicken leg (7 to 9oz) and how many calories is it. etc.
Once you have a good handle on all that sort of stuff, it becomes less important to track. And then all one needs to do is occasionally look up a food your not familiar with. Or if you find yourself struggling and weight loss slows or stops, you may wish to log your foods again for a few days and see what the deal is. Or perhaps you've reached the point where a further restriction would be beneficial.
Anywhoo, once you understand the food you eat better. Then you also understand portion size. Perhaps at the beginning of the diet for me I may eat 6 ounces of Prime Rib steak with broccoli for dinner... However 6 months from now I will probably limit my self to 5 or even less etc. Adjusting can become very easy. For a snack where I might have had 1 ounce of cheese, I may just have 3/4 ounce... Or 1 mini pepperette instead of 2 through out the course of the day.
Even with experiencing logging, some people might struggle to consistently distinguish 3/4 of an ounce of cheese from 1 ounce or 5 ounces of meat from 6. "Portion drift" is a real thing and many of us lack eyeballs that double as accurate weight scales.
I think it's great this works for you, but I think we should acknowledge that there are some people also find long-term success by continuing to use tools to accurately measure portion size and to log their meals.5
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