I need help with food...

MsSophySticated

Hello guys

So I wanted to ask you what I could do to lose weight. I started MyFitnessPal last week and my daily goal is 1,800 calories. I usually am under my calorie goal. But I have a hard time knowing what to eat. I tried cutting on the sugary stuff but I am a huge carb fan sadly... So for dairy I eat 0%, if I need to add sugar I use Stevia and honey (but I try to eat very little honey since it's very sugary) I love meat and sometimes it says I'm over my protein goal percentage. I have done the Dukan diet in the past which is a protein diet without carbs, sugar and fat (you can look it up here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dukan_Diet). I then stopped doing it and gained weight, sadly so I want to do have a healthy lifestyle, not always having to do a diet but I want to know what to eat since I am struggling with that a lot...

Thank you guys for the help, feel free to add me if you want to follow me on my journey :happy:

Francl27

You can eat what you want within your calories. The hardest part is finding the right balance between eating what you want and what will keep you full enough. MFP's protein goal is very low so going over is great, plus protein keeps you fuller usually.

_TastySnoBalls_

Eat what you like... Don't torture yourself. It's all about portion control.

MsSophySticated

You can eat what you want within your calories. The hardest part is finding the right balance between eating what you want and what will keep you full enough. MFP's protein goal is very low so going over is great, plus protein keeps you fuller usually.

I've noticed that too! Since I was on a protein diet before, proteins helped me to get full for a long time. But the thing is eating what I want would be lots of sugary stuff and carbs which isn't good at all... :embarassed: Would like white rice, baguette and potatoes be good or not? I know that eating veggies and fruits are the way to go but I've noticed that some fruits are so high in sugar that I'm scared to eat them since it messes up my whole calorie-intake goal :frown:

Thank you for the help, I appreciate it!

MsSophySticated

Eat what you like... Don't torture yourself. It's all about portion control.

What would be a good portion? I currently do only 2 meals a day but I have a hard time making my portions smaller, you think I should eat more often and cut on my portions?

Thank you for the tips!

JoJo__Fit

How many times a day are you eating? Are you focusing on low carb or low fat?


If you are eating 4 to 5 meals and your consuming 1800 a day eat between 3.5-5oz of protein should be good enough and won't make you go over your protein.
if your going to be consuming carbs fill up your plate with vegetables of course but focus on complex carbs as well through out the day. The Good thing is you can have a good size portion about 3-4oz of sweet potato, 1/2cup of oatmeal to a cup. 2/3 cup of brown rice.
For fats : 35g-45g of avocado and 1 oz of nuts along with oils. If you are finding yourself always under the calorie intake just add a tbsp of coconut or mac oil onto your dinner dish or oatmeal in the morning

I always plan out my meals the night before and I make sure I hit my macros. If I go to low now on my macros or calories, when it comes down to dropping those last 5lbs it won't be hard for me because I've been on target and I won't have to go below 1300 calories to drop the weight.

Francl27

Yeah it's tough, I'm not going to lie, lol. I love baguette and white rice, I just don't have them much because 200 calories later, I'm still hungry So it's a once in a while thing. I honestly don't eat that much fruit anymore (well, I mostly like Summer fruit, so there's that) because of the high calories too - plus they make it harder to reach my protein goal (120g). Sugar doesn't bother me one bit though, as long as I'm close to my protein goal, I don't care if I go over on carbs.

jwdieter

This is a fairly comprehensive attempt to help people with food, MFP, and related items:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

MsSophySticated

How many times a day are you eating? Are you focusing on low carb or low fat?


If you are eating 4 to 5 meals and your consuming 1800 a day eat between 3.5-5oz of protein should be good enough and won't make you go over your protein.
if your going to be consuming carbs fill up your plate with vegetables of course but focus on complex carbs as well through out the day. The Good thing is you can have a good size portion about 3-4oz of sweet potato, 1/2cup of oatmeal to a cup. 2/3 cup of brown rice.
For fats : 35g-45g of avocado and 1 oz of nuts along with oils. If you are finding yourself always under the calorie intake just add a tbsp of coconut or mac oil onto your dinner dish or oatmeal in the morning

I always plan out my meals the night before and I make sure I hit my macros. If I go to low now on my macros or calories, when it comes down to dropping those last 5lbs it won't be hard for me because I've been on target and I won't have to go below 1300 calories to drop the weight.

I have been focusing on the calorie intake since Monday last week. I don't really know how to plan my meals... I used to eat 1 meal a day but then would binge myself with food and that wasn't a good thing so I added another meal which is breakfast and dinner. Here's an example: I would cook 3 eggs and eat 3 figs for breakfast and would feel full until dinnertime then for dinner I would do 2 plates of a small portion of white rice and some chicken with potatoes, carrots, onions and mushroom with some yellow curry and coconut milk. I'd have a little bit of coleslaw salad with some chicken in it and then some yellow honeydew. 6 cups of water and 3 of green tea with mint in it during the day. I am doing a squat and abs monthly challenge (pictures below). I also swim for around an hour every Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and run around 2 miles for Tuesdays and Thursdays.






Thank you for the support!

MsSophySticated

This is a fairly comprehensive attempt to help people with food, MFP, and related items:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

Thank you, I am reading it at the moment! :happy:

MsSophySticated

I wish I could be that way, things is all the carbs and sugar I eat goes right to my :frown:

JoJo__Fit

Why don't you include some snacks in between your meals. I like to eat heavy in the morning and in the evening but between I carry my bag of almonds or mixed nuts.

Example of a well balanced day

Meal 1:

2 whole eggs
2 slices of turkey bacon
1 slice of toast
Spread coconut butter on the bread or drizzle honey
Green tea or Coffee whatever you like or water

or

1 cup of oatmeal Add some banana, berries, stevia cinnamon & walnuts with honey
1 cup of egg whites


Meal 2:

1 oz of almonds & 1/2 of grapefruit

or

Piece of fruit with plain greek yogurt add stevia and cinnamon

or 1 tbsp of almond butter with 1 small apple

Meal 3: Lunch TIme

4oz of chicken breast, 1/2 cup of brown rice, veggies & slices of avocado

or

1 can of tuna, mix 1 tbsp of greek yogurt or mayo whatever you prefer and add celery, onions & tomatoes add seasoining
with a side green salad with 1 tbsp of mac oil or coconut or whatever you prefer

or

Turkey sandwich homemade


Dinner time

5oz steak or 6oz of fish with sauteed veggies & sweet potatoes

or homemade pizza : use a low carb tortilla add tomato sauce cheese and add whatever protein you like...


If you want some chocolate at trader joe's they sell this dark chocolate 1 net carb & sugar free

Hope this helps you and gives you an idea

MsSophySticated

Why don't you include some snacks in between your meals. I like to eat heavy in the morning and in the evening but between I carry my bag of almonds or mixed nuts.

Example would be:

Meal 1:

2 whole eggs
2 slices of turkey bacon
1 slice of toast
Spread coconut butter on the bread or drizzle honey
Green tea or Coffee whatever you like or water

or

1 cup of oatmeal Add some banana, berries, stevia cinnamon & walnuts with honey
1 cup of egg whites


Meal 2:

1 oz of almonds & cheese

or

Piece of fruit with plain greek yogurt add stevia and cinnamon

or 1 tbsp of almond butter with 1 small apple

Meal 3: Lunch TIme

4oz of chicken breast, 1 cup of brown rice & veggies

or

1 can of tuna, mix 1 tbsp of greek yogurt or mayo whatever you prefer and add celery, onions & tomatoes add seasoining
with a side green salad with 1 tbsp of mac oil or coconut or whatever you prefer


Dinner time

5oz steak or 6oz of fish with sauteed veggies & sweet potatoes

or homemade pizza : use a low carb tortilla add tomato sauce cheese and add whatever protein you like...


Hope this helps you and gives you an idea

Thank you very much! YES, it does help a lot :happy:!

JoJo__Fit

you welcome

AnabolicKyle

meal timing is irrelevant in weight loss, it doesn't increase your metabolism .

as other have said eat what you want but some keys to look out for

Healthy diet - i would define as minimal/not processed, lots of vegetables, and high variety of foods.

foods that make you feel full

good balance of macros & micros

if you let MFP set your macro i would suggest increasing the protein intake to a minimum of 95g to insure fat loss and muscle maintenance while you cut weight

MsSophySticated

meal timing is irrelevant in weight loss, it doesn't increase your metabolism .

as other have said eat what you want but some keys to look out for

Healthy diet - i would define as minimal/not processed, lots of vegetables, and high variety of foods.

foods that make you feel full

good balance of macros & micros

if you let MFP set your macro i would suggest increasing the protein intake to a minimum of 95g to insure fat loss and muscle maintenance while you cut weight

Thank you so much, I appreciate the help and those tips are useful too! :happy: