My eating "clean" meal plan. Suggestions Please!

irie_nik

Hi everyone! I am new here and was hoping to get some input on my meal plan. I want to lose 50 lbs by May 2014. I am 5'4'' and currently weigh 180 lbs and want to get down to my ideal goal of 130 lbs. I have recently started to eat "clean" and have made many improvements in what I eat, and the more I learn the more I adjust what I eat. I try to stick to eat fresh fruits and veggies, lean protiens, whole grains and healthy fats.

A typical day of food would be the following:

Breakfast- Parfait (4 strawberries, 1/3 cup blueberries, 4 tbs 0% plain greek yogurt, 3 tbs granola) OR 1 whole egg/1 egg white scrambled with onion and green pepper (sometimes in a whole grain tortilla w/ salsa), 2 slices turkey bacon and 1/2 grapefruit OR slice ezekiel bread with almond butter and banana.

Snack- Smoothie (1/2 cup mango, 1/2 cup strawberries, big handful of spinach, 2 tbs 0% plain greek yogurt, 1/2 cup water)

Lunch- 4 small turkey meatballs (just ground turkey, onion, garlic, egg white, herbs/spices), spinach salad with tomato, cucumber, onion, peppers, 1/2 avocado and 1 cup grapes. OR whole wheat pita or tortilla with chicken breast, veggies and hummus, side salad or veggies and 1 cup blackberries.

Snack- handful almonds and 3 dried apricots OR greek yogurt cup and apple OR veggies and hummus

Dinner- salmon with spinach salad OR chicken breast with sweet potato and roasted or steamed veggies

Snack- Kale "chips" OR fruit OR small parfait OR veggies and hummus


I drink water and green tea only throughout the day.



This weekend I will be making my own salad dressings and hummus to be even more clean

I would love to hear some suggestions on what to improve, or what I am doing wrong and right. Thanks so much in advance!!

BrainyBurro

you don't need to eat "clean" to lose weight.

in fact, it will often prevent you from sticking to your calorie goal if you eliminate foods from your diet that you love. this leads to obsessing about them, and often later binges on them.

what you eat is irrelevant for weight loss... all that matters is how much.

go through your meals and count the calories and fats and protein macros. make sure you are meeting your daily calorie goal and meeting your daily fats and protein minimums, and you'll be fine. the foods you use to meet those goals are up to you. they don't have to be "clean". if you want to adhere to arbitrary food restrictions, then feel free of course. but you don't get extra credit for doing so. you lose weight by eating fewer calories than you expend.

when it comes to nutrition, food choices play a bigger role. i personally recommend a good daily multivitamin as a sort of nutritional insurance policy. beyond that, i'd say try to eat the foods you like and will enjoy eating, and then see if you're getting adequate nutrition from those foods. if not, add supplements or other foods to correct any deficiencies.

bajoyba

I'm just going to jump right in and say that weight loss really just comes down to being in a calorie deficit. There's nothing wrong with eating "clean" if you enjoy it, but "clean eating" in and of itself will not cause you to lose weight. You simply have to eat fewer calories than your body requires to maintain your current weight.

I recommend plugging your info and weight loss goals into MFP and eating the calorie goal that it assigns you (plus exercise calories). You can reach that goal eating "clean" foods if you like, but it's not necessary. Just eat food that you like. Keep in mind that aiming to lose 2 lbs a week is often too aggressive for most people, and the closer you get to your goal weight, the slower the weight may come off. Try to find a way of eating and exercising that is sustainable for a lifetime. Log everything you eat as accurately and precisely as possible, and you will reach your goal.

diannethegeek

How many calories does that add up to? How much fat? How much protein?

The numbers really do matter more than how clean your diet is. Are you eating at a reasonable deficit? Are you getting enough micro and macro nutrients? Log your food and adjust your diet as necessary.

irie_nik

Thanks for the advice! I have never tracked calories or fat before, but it was actually very easy and helpful! Eating clean is more of a lifestyle change for me than something I'm doing just to lose weight. I feel eating clean is giving your body the best nutrition and in turn will help weight loss as well.

I feel like I ate a lot of great food today and according to what I should be eating:

- I am under 100 cals
- I am under 22 carbs
- I am under 12 grams fat
- I am over 29 grams of protein
- I am over 76 grams of sugar!!! wow


I should be eating 1200 cals, and I actually thought I would be over in cals, carbs and fat. And under in protein if anything. I ate a cherry yogurt cup which has tons of sugar, and I never knew mango and honey crisp apples had so much sugar!! my daily recommended sugar intake is JUST in a cup of mango! I will have to adjust that in my smoothies and know not to snack on a mango from now on lol.

I already started writing down everything I eat, but the counter is amazing and really helps to see where I go wrong.

RllyGudTweetr

Unless you're diabetic or have another blood-sugar related condition, sugar is just a carb; don't demonize carbs.

1200 is quite often a very low number of calories that is especially hard to maintain long-term, and in the majority of cases, requires you to eat more if you're also exercising. MFP's calculations include a built-in deficit, and expect you to eat back your calories. This is particularly true on 1200 calories, as to my knowledge, MFP spits out 1200 when you identify as Female, Sedentary, and wanting to lose 2 lb/week (MFP's maximum allowance on loss/week).

bajoyba

You really don't need to worry about tracking sugar unless you have a medical reason to do so - especially if the majority of your sugar is coming from whole foods/fruit. Many people choose to track something else instead. I stopped tracking my sugar and started tracking my fiber in its place.

I just want to emphasize the importance of eating to MEET your calorie goal every day, especially if your calorie goal is 1200. I understand that eating "clean" foods means you end up with a greater volume of food and tend to feel fuller faster, but eating too few calories is not a good idea. Food is fuel, and your body requires a certain number of calories a day just to perform basic functions and daily activities. It also requires macro-nutrients like fat, protein, and carbohydrates, and eating adequate amounts of your macro/micro-nutrients is an important part of your nutrition. Less is not necessarily better.

Also, eating fewer calories than necessary means you are going to lose lean body mass (muscle) along with fat.

kelly_e_montana

I don't care what anyone says. Yes, you can lose weight just eating in a calorie deficit but you will feel better and be healthier if you eat healthier! Weight loss isn't just about appearance; it's about health. Some people just want to look good. Others want to be nourished.

I lost 35 pounds simply eating cleaner and not even counting calories. I don't count calories 80% of the year and I keep it off. You don't need to be a slave to a calculator for the rest of your life. You just need common sense.

If you eat clean, allow yourself cheat days. Eat your favorite treat out for dinner or split a dessert with a friend. The point is, most of the time, you're fueling your body and using real food instead of just shoveling quasi-food or food-like products into your mouth for entertainment.
I feel so much more energetic.

There is a clean eating group if you want some ideas without the lectures.

I've done it both ways: just deficit and eating clean. Deficit only cannot hold a candle to how much better you feel when you give your body the nutrients it desires.

Read Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet book for some good ideas.

rileyhunter169

Hmmm.... Needs more cowbell.

bajoyba

I don't care what anyone says. Yes, you can lose weight just eating in a calorie deficit but you will feel better and be healthier if you eat healthier! Weight loss isn't just about appearance; it's about health. Some people just want to look good. Others want to be nourished.

Hey, I'm not against eating whole foods. I'm a vegetarian. I love my veggies, and I try to eat whole foods as much as possible. I eat plain steamed broccoli almost every single day, because I like it. But I also eat pizza sometimes. And I like beer. Nutritionally, whole foods are awesome! No argument there. But when it comes to weight loss, the calories are what matter. It's simple math.

The reason why "clean eating" often works for weight loss is because it causes people to eat mostly whole foods (which tend to be high volume and low calorie) and automatically results in a calorie deficit. Again, not a problem if you're giving your body the fuel it needs and you enjoy eating that way. But it's not okay to eat just 800 calories a day of whole foods and assume your body is healthy and getting what it needs just because you're "eating clean".

I'm not against eating whole foods. But I do think it's important that people understand how weight loss works. You can eat "clean" if you want to, but you don't have to. There are lots and lots of successful people here who have awesome, strong, fit bodies and don't eat "clean".