Diet Review

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  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    OP - I would recommend going into MFP custom settings and set it on 40p/30carbs/30fats…then enter your food each day and if you hit your percentages then you know that your macros are on….

    Your meal plan seems fine, if a bit bland/boring...
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    I've looked EVERYWHERE for a site where I can submit my diet for review with now luck, so I'm just going to put it out here and hope that someone knowledgable comes along. A little background: 5'7" female, trying to lose roughly 30 lbs- MPF suggests 1300 calories a day for me.

    breakfast: Noosa 8 oz yoghurt
    snack: 1-2 cups baby carrots
    lunch: 2-3 cups of veggies sauteed in evoo (zucchini, squash, mushrooms, onions), 4 oz of lean protein (fish, shrimp or chicken)
    pre-workout snack: 1-2 hard boiled eggs
    dinner: usually the same as lunch
    I sometimes then have a healthy choice (100 cal) ice cream bar for dessert.

    I think I'm on the right track, but would like to take advantage of the more knowledgable minds that might be here. Any suggestions?

    Thanks in advance!


    Are you saying that this adds up to 1300 calories ? I eat 1200 calories ( due to age and height ) and eat a lot more food than that.....

    I was thinking same thing...
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    Eat whatever you want as long as it's in your calorie budget?! Wtf kind of horrible advice is this? Fruits, veggies, and lean meats/proteins. Not processed junk foods. It's that easy!

    It's not horrible advice. You CAN eat anything you want. You don't have to cut out any kinds of food unless you have medical issues with them. It's all about maintaining your calorie deficit. Sure the nutrition contents of everything is different, but on a calorie level, they are all the same.
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
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    I've already posted it somewhere else but you should ditch snacks and put the carrots with your lunch. Seriously, if you have the standard 3 meals a day (although you can have the pre workout if you lack energy) you'll lose more weight, increase your metabolism and have better control of your glucose.

    My other recommendation would be to stop having yogurt if you are having the store brought yogurt. The good bacteria is already dead and you really don't get much benefit out of it. Although if you like yogurt then ignore that haha. I'd advise some steel-cut oats or oat groats with berries. Good breakfast. Oat groats has omega 3s (if anyone doesn't believe me check out it out online), has protein and has carbohydrates. The berries, blue berries in particular, will keep you full and are rich in antioxidants.

    Despite what some might think also try have the majority of your carbohydrates at night and the rest after your workout and the little in the morning. Having your carbohydrates at night helps you lose weight faster I'm not making that up.

    Hope I helped :)

    Oh goodness...please do not listen to this.
  • ashd8970
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    A few things... first, thank you all for your input. Secondly, this meal plan does hit 1300 calories a day, I promise; one of my main concerns was whether 1300 was even enough, so I'm definitely not going under that. :) And, lastly, although right now I am trying to stay as close to this as possible, I promise you all that I leave plenty of room for spicing it up. I don't keep myself from anything I really want, this is just a sample of a really good/ideal day for me. Again, thank you guys for the advice- some of it has been really helpful!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    If you are exercising, make sure you eat more calories. I can't stress how much you want to retain your muscle mass at this point. If you want to be lean, the more muscle you have the leaner you will be. Also, if you haven't start already, I would suggest weight training. Not only will it help you maintain your lean body mass, it will help maintain your metabolic rate.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    If you are exercising, make sure you eat more calories. I can't stress how much you want to retain your muscle mass at this point. If you want to be lean, the more muscle you have the leaner you will be. Also, if you haven't start already, I would suggest weight training. Not only will it help you maintain your lean body mass, it will help maintain your metabolic rate.

    x2

    and lifting is so much fun.
  • twixlepennie
    twixlepennie Posts: 1,074 Member
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    Eat whatever you want as long as it's in your calorie budget?! Wtf kind of horrible advice is this? Fruits, veggies, and lean meats/proteins. Not processed junk foods. It's that easy!

    :huh: It's actually pretty sound advice. Weight loss is about a calorie deficit. Period. Many people who are starting out think they need to drastically change their diet to 'healthier' foods, start eliminating foods that they enjoy, which ends up causing epic failure when the restrict/binge pattern starts. It happens all the time (just browse through this forum).

    You need to eat in a way that's not only sustainable for weight loss, but also for long term maintenance.

    OP-I lost over 50lbs eating fast food, processed boxed meals, cookies and chips along with veggies, whole grains etc. I kept eating the foods I liked, added a few new ones, and had great success. I didn't even know what a macro was until after I transitioned into maintenance-I focused on calories and lost the weight. Now I'm in maintenance and I'm playing around with macro splits right now, because I've changed focus towards fitness goals. But again-calories, calories, calories for weight loss :smile:
  • twixlepennie
    twixlepennie Posts: 1,074 Member
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    Eat whatever you want as long as it's in your calorie budget?! Wtf kind of horrible advice is this? Fruits, veggies, and lean meats/proteins. Not processed junk foods. It's that easy!

    You dont eat anything processed? What about in the future?

    This person eats paleo/primal, so yeah :tongue:
  • Maaike84
    Maaike84 Posts: 211 Member
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    I've already posted it somewhere else but you should ditch snacks and put the carrots with your lunch. Seriously, if you have the standard 3 meals a day (although you can have the pre workout if you lack energy) you'll lose more weight, increase your metabolism and have better control of your glucose.

    My other recommendation would be to stop having yogurt if you are having the store brought yogurt. The good bacteria is already dead and you really don't get much benefit out of it. Although if you like yogurt then ignore that haha. I'd advise some steel-cut oats or oat groats with berries. Good breakfast. Oat groats has omega 3s (if anyone doesn't believe me check out it out online), has protein and has carbohydrates. The berries, blue berries in particular, will keep you full and are rich in antioxidants.

    Despite what some might think also try have the majority of your carbohydrates at night and the rest after your workout and the little in the morning. Having your carbohydrates at night helps you lose weight faster I'm not making that up.

    Hope I helped :)

    yea, this is dead wrong.

    1. Meal timing and metabolism have nothing to do with one another. Eat six meals, three, one, etc…makes zero difference to metabolism.
    2. Carb timing has nothing to do with weight loss.

    This. Though I do like my oats and berries for breakfast. OP, your breakfast sounds very small to me, I'd be killing someone by 11 if I only had a yoghurt. But if it works for you, it's fine! It's about overall calorie consumption, not about meal timing.
  • htimpaired
    htimpaired Posts: 1,404 Member
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    I've already posted it somewhere else but you should ditch snacks and put the carrots with your lunch. Seriously, if you have the standard 3 meals a day (although you can have the pre workout if you lack energy) you'll lose more weight, increase your metabolism and have better control of your glucose.

    My other recommendation would be to stop having yogurt if you are having the store brought yogurt. The good bacteria is already dead and you really don't get much benefit out of it. Although if you like yogurt then ignore that haha. I'd advise some steel-cut oats or oat groats with berries. Good breakfast. Oat groats has omega 3s (if anyone doesn't believe me check out it out online), has protein and has carbohydrates. The berries, blue berries in particular, will keep you full and are rich in antioxidants.

    Despite what some might think also try have the majority of your carbohydrates at night and the rest after your workout and the little in the morning. Having your carbohydrates at night helps you lose weight faster I'm not making that up.

    Hope I helped :)

    Do you have references to back this up? Because I don't know if it matters if you eat snacks or not, depending on each person's personal preferences. I myself cannot go from lunch until after work without a snack, if I plan on going to the gym after work. Otherwise, I feel woozy. Again, that's my personal preference. Everyone needs to find what is right for them.
  • ashd8970
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    I don't think I did a great job of explaining all of this-- I was in a bit of a hurry when I typed it, and should have taken more care with it. The yogurt I eat is this brand called Noosa, and I eat the 8 oz size (which is a lot of yogurt, haha). Depending on the flavor, it has anywhere from 270-320 calories- it's not like one of those 80 calorie yoplait lights. Sorry for the confusion! I also keep the hard boiled eggs with me at work, and if I get hungry between breakfast and lunch I'll have one as a snack.

    Also, I really do enjoy the healthy foods, but I don't restrict myself from anything as I know that's a recipe for a binge-ing disaster. If I'm craving something I consider bad, I'll eat it in moderation (we had KFC for lunch Tuesday). I don't plan on making myself miserable by denying simple pleasures. Again, this is just a sample of an ideal day of eating- my main goal here was to make sure that I was giving my body enough protein/calories/fat to maintain muscle mass while still losing weight. I completely understand calories in/calories out doesn't care where the calories come from, but am aiming for more of an all around health goal, which includes heart health, etc as well as weight loss. Anyway, thank you all again, I think this is more than sufficient.

    -Ashley
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    I've already posted it somewhere else but you should ditch snacks and put the carrots with your lunch. Seriously, if you have the standard 3 meals a day (although you can have the pre workout if you lack energy) you'll lose more weight, increase your metabolism and have better control of your glucose.
    This is not true. Meal timing and eating/not eating snacks as nothing to do with weight loss.
    My other recommendation would be to stop having yogurt if you are having the store brought yogurt. The good bacteria is already dead and you really don't get much benefit out of it. Although if you like yogurt then ignore that haha. I'd advise some steel-cut oats or oat groats with berries. Good breakfast. Oat groats has omega 3s (if anyone doesn't believe me check out it out online), has protein and has carbohydrates. The berries, blue berries in particular, will keep you full and are rich in antioxidants.
    This is silly. No food is good or bad.
    Despite what some might think also try have the majority of your carbohydrates at night and the rest after your workout and the little in the morning. Having your carbohydrates at night helps you lose weight faster I'm not making that up.
    Not true either.
  • Paindoesnthurt
    Paindoesnthurt Posts: 51 Member
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    Yep I have refrences this is straight from my website:

    There was a study done on healthy males where one group ate three meals, while the other ate 14. At the end of the study the group that ate the three meals had increased satiety (felt fuller) but they decreased their hunger cravings throughout the day. Plus their Resting metabolic rate was increased in the three meal group vs the 14 meal group. Quoting the study: “Glucose and insulin profiles showed greater fluctuations, but a lower AUC of glucose in the LFr (low frequency) diet compared with the HFr (high frequency) diet”. This means that the glucose ratings in the 3 meal group compared with the 14 meal group was actually lower.

    Refrences


    Munsters, M.J.M., Saris, W.H.M. (2012). Effects of meal frequency on metabolic profiles and substrate partitioning in lean healthy males. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0038632
  • Paindoesnthurt
    Paindoesnthurt Posts: 51 Member
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    I can appreciate by the way that everyone needs to find their happy medium and there is benefits of eating after your training to replenish your glycogen stores as well as help start the repair process. The snacking thing however, putting science aside, is in my opinion counter-productive for losing weight. When you cut calories you'll be eating smaller and smaller meals. 6 rabbit meals a day is not going to do so well. Eating 3-4 meals a day that is decent sized will be much more beneficial in the long run. Just personal experience with myself and training others
  • Paindoesnthurt
    Paindoesnthurt Posts: 51 Member
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    One more thing! Never in the statement did I say that calories never mattered. They DO! It's a HUGE part of the equation! Any nutritionist (such as myself) will tell you that, and anyone who says calories don't matter and eat unlimited amounts of (let's put a new fad...chicken bones?) doesn't understand energy expenditure.

    If anyone is interested however, there's another study I can refrence that says you should eat the majority of your carbohydrates at night. The calories between the two groups were the same and this is a controlled clinical study. The group that ate 80% of their carbohydrate calories at night lose 20% more weight than the other group who consumed their calories during the day.

    What does this all tell you? That calories matter but other factors can make one have an easier time losing fat. Don't even get me started on your leptin stores haha. Anyway Check out the refrence I listed for yourself. It's a CLINICAL CONTROLLED study.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    Yep I have refrences this is straight from my website:

    There was a study done on healthy males where one group ate three meals, while the other ate 14. At the end of the study the group that ate the three meals had increased satiety (felt fuller) but they decreased their hunger cravings throughout the day. Plus their Resting metabolic rate was increased in the three meal group vs the 14 meal group. Quoting the study: “Glucose and insulin profiles showed greater fluctuations, but a lower AUC of glucose in the LFr (low frequency) diet compared with the HFr (high frequency) diet”. This means that the glucose ratings in the 3 meal group compared with the 14 meal group was actually lower.

    Refrences


    Munsters, M.J.M., Saris, W.H.M. (2012). Effects of meal frequency on metabolic profiles and substrate partitioning in lean healthy males. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0038632

    I just read the study and it doesn't directly correlate a tie between meal frequency and weight loss. As noted in the study below from the NIH, there may be a tie in MF and hunger, which may or may not lead to increase caloric consumption. As noted in the below NIH study, here is the conclusion:

    "We conclude that increasing meal frequency from three to six per day has no significant effect on 24-h fat oxidation, but may increase hunger and the desire to eat."


    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23404961


    If you want to talk confirmation bias, we can past the entire conclusion

    "In conclusion, glucose and insulin profiles showed greater fluctuations, but a lower AUC of glucose in the LFr diet compared with the HFr diet. The higher peaks and subsequently lower troughs of insulin in the LFr diet did not lead to a higher fat oxidation as hypothesized. RMR and appetite control increased in the LFr diet, which can be relevant for body weight control on the long term. However, this was studied for one day in young healthy males, which are very metabolic flexible. Therefore, populations at risk related to substrate partitioning and long-term effects have to be studied before firm conclusions can be made about the mechanistic effects of meal frequency on the metabolic profile and substrate partitioning."

    Essentially, your study does NOT apply to the normal population where as, the NIH study does.
  • Paindoesnthurt
    Paindoesnthurt Posts: 51 Member
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    Yep I have refrences this is straight from my website:

    There was a study done on healthy males where one group ate three meals, while the other ate 14. At the end of the study the group that ate the three meals had increased satiety (felt fuller) but they decreased their hunger cravings throughout the day. Plus their Resting metabolic rate was increased in the three meal group vs the 14 meal group. Quoting the study: “Glucose and insulin profiles showed greater fluctuations, but a lower AUC of glucose in the LFr (low frequency) diet compared with the HFr (high frequency) diet”. This means that the glucose ratings in the 3 meal group compared with the 14 meal group was actually lower.

    Refrences


    Munsters, M.J.M., Saris, W.H.M. (2012). Effects of meal frequency on metabolic profiles and substrate partitioning in lean healthy males. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0038632

    I just read the study and it doesn't directly correlate a tie between meal frequency and weight loss. As noted in the study below from the NIH, there may be a tie in MF and hunger, which may or may not lead to increase caloric consumption. As noted in the below NIH study, here is the conclusion:

    "We conclude that increasing meal frequency from three to six per day has no significant effect on 24-h fat oxidation, but may increase hunger and the desire to eat."


    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23404961


    If you want to talk confirmation bias, we can past the entire conclusion

    "In conclusion, glucose and insulin profiles showed greater fluctuations, but a lower AUC of glucose in the LFr diet compared with the HFr diet. The higher peaks and subsequently lower troughs of insulin in the LFr diet did not lead to a higher fat oxidation as hypothesized. RMR and appetite control increased in the LFr diet, which can be relevant for body weight control on the long term. However, this was studied for one day in young healthy males, which are very metabolic flexible. Therefore, populations at risk related to substrate partitioning and long-term effects have to be studied before firm conclusions can be made about the mechanistic effects of meal frequency on the metabolic profile and substrate partitioning."

    Essentially, your study does NOT apply to the normal population where as, the NIH study does.

    Thanks for taking the time to read the study and even providing me with another study a recent one too! well done!
    Here's why I said that it will help weight loss:
    The feeling of fullness. When one is more full one can control their cravings more and one can eat less, and in turn have an easier time losing weight right? The study I provided did show that. Why wouldn't it be for the general population? It's a good enough study to show that it is.

    in the study you provided it has had my exact experience that "increasing meal frequency from three to six per day has no significant effect on 24-h fat oxidation, but may increase hunger and the desire to eat" <<that is a quote straight from the study you showed me.

    Let me be clear because I seem to cause a stir and I apologize. Eating less meals has obviously no magical effect on fat loss in terms of fat oxidation. It does however have an effect in terms of feeling fuller for longer, and helping people control their eating habits by decreasing the desire to eat more. This is what I really wanted to drive home.

    My cliff notes are these
    Eating less does mean more fat loss in the long run by keeping one on track by making them feel fuller
    Eating more will make one have an increased desire to eat more
    Eating more does NOT have any metabolic benefit to losing more fat
    Eating less CAN in fact be better for glucose control

    Take what you will of what I presented. I personally have my own opinion based on experience as well as that study
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    You have to keep in mind that hunger is relative to a person. Many of us eat 6 to 8 times a day and are very successful.... some of us do better with interim fasting and are more successful. Essentially, you have to find what works better. I have tried IF and found it was miserable for me. My body struggles when I workout fasted as well. So you can recommend eating only 3x a day because there is nothing wrong but be clear that there isnt a benefit outside of hunger control. The bigger thing is understanding the importance of protein and fats to increase satiety and fueling a body for workouts. But I can tell you blanket statements on this board dont fly because many are relative to a individual.
  • Paindoesnthurt
    Paindoesnthurt Posts: 51 Member
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    Something we can both agree on is that we were both miserable with intermittent fasting and I personally wouldn't recommend that way of eating. We both have given studies and I guess it's up to everyone to experiment for themselves which is better for them. I would recommend 3 meals a day no more no less. It helps everyone get the variety with foods they need and is good enough to keep everyone fuller, and it is from experience from countless people that anyone who has eaten 6+ meals a day has done better eating the standard 3. I encourage everyone to try! To each their own though I'm just stating my opinion as are you :)

    You're also right about protein and fats being another topic for satiety but guess we'll save that for another thread haha.