Stuck in a food rut!

135xo

Hi!

I lost 20lbs using MFP last year, but I deactivated my account when I got to goal because I didn't think I needed the support & accountability anymore. But now I'm back because I'm stuck in a food rut and I don't know how to get out of it.

I'm on 1350 calories a day and I almost always have pancakes, eggs and a banana for breakfast, the same soup, an apple and a cereal bar for lunch and a Weight Watchers meal for dinner. I'll have a chai latte and a snack at work too. But I am so bored of what I'm eating!

How do you keep the variety without going over your calories?

Empty_Calories

I typically have a smaller breakfast than you (usually just oatmeal and coffee) so it affords me a little more leeway with lunches. Luckily my office is surrounded by options so there's a number of places I can go and stay in the 5-600 cal range. I also try to get different kinds of protein bars or shakes to have as snacks. I enjoy the taste of them so it's a fun treat for me. You should be able to find different meals that hit your calorie goals and then just mix them up each week. Maybe try planning a week where you have something completely different from your routine each day? You should also try to add some friends on here and peek at their diaries for ideas. That's one of the best sources around.

notdieting

There are just sooooo many things you could be eating! If you ditch the weight watchers meals, you can cook some really good food for the same calories. It doesn't have to be time consuming to cook, if that's part of your problem. Presumably you don't mind so much if some foods are processed as you eat pre-packed meals so....

Fishcake with spinach and gruyere filling, baby new potatoes, rocket and babyleaf salad with sweet peppers and tomato and a sweet chilli and lime sauce. Tastes devine, under 450 calories.

Venison steak with roast carrot and aubergine (eggplant) couscous and baby broccoli and mange tout. Tastes devine, under 450 calories.

Baked salmon fillet, butternut squash and sugar snap peas. Tastes devine. Under 450 calories

These are just a few examples and none of them take more than 20 minutes to cook.

I would assume your pancake, egg and banana breakfast is quite high in calories so maybe cut some calories out of breakfast and add it to lunch or evening meals to enable greater variety.

The vast majority of my meals are made with fresh ingredients but with added pre-prepared bits to liven them up....whether that is in the form of sauces or the occasional processed food like fishcake or kievs. Mainly, however, I have a piece of meat with a variety of veg but rather than have the veg as plain, boiled and uninteresting, I'll dry roast them and mix them for flavour, adding herbs and spices along the way.

There are lots of foods that I have cut out of my diet as they are just too calorific and I'm not saying I don't miss them or crave them at times but I can say, with no word of a lie, that I ALWAYS enjoy my meals, they are ALWAYS flavourful and satisfying and I have yet to become bored with them.

I used to do exactly what you are doing....stick to the same foods and rely on ready made, portion and calorie controlled meals as I thought that if they were pre-prepared, I wouldn't cheat, I would know the exact calories and it was easy to throw one in the microwave each night but I also found myself exactly where you are.....bored....and so I started to slip.

135xo

I like the idea of protein bars & shakes. I had several kinds of protein powder but I threw them out because they'd been open for about a year I didn't know if they'd still be good.

I like those meal ideas too! I could pick up some of those frozen steam fish fillet thingies to have with veggies for some variety.

I should probably be more inventive with breakfast but pancakes & eggs feels so indulgent so it's hard to give up!

I like cooking and I cook all my boyfriend's meals from scratch but I end up eating a WW meal because the calorie content is right there and I don't need to do any math. I should probably just stop being lazy about it... lol

Thank you!

Empty_Calories

Honestly, if you're happy with your pancakes & eggs, stick with it! I dream about being able to eat that every day but I don't have time in the morning to cook anything. The other thing you could do is switch it up to 3-4 times a week and then have a more indulgent lunch/dinner on the off days.

I've been drinking a lot of the GNC ready-made protein shakes recently. It's easier for me to deal with at work than the powder. Their 'total lean" line has the same calorie/protein ratio as their performance line but they put them on sale on their website a lot so you can get them for <$1.50 per 14 oz bottle. The Swiss chocolate is delicious. You'll find a ton of posts on here discussing them, but Quest protein bars have a ton of yummy flavors. Just had a double chocolate one this afternoon and it's only 150 cal with 20g of protein and 16g of fiber.

littleburgy

My breakfast and lunches are often the same, I go through "phases" and rotate. Right now I love my morning oatmeal! I will throw in something different (usually on the weekend when I have more prep time) for variety. My lunches usually involve soup, salad or sandwich -- and each has so many options to switch up.

I like to explore different recipes for dinners, I love to unwind in the kitchen when I have time.

I love the recipe tool on here. If you have a good food scale then your calories should be pretty spot on.

135xo

I definitely need to eat more protein. I've just changed my macros settings on here and I'm going to have a look online for recipes to see if I can come up with some different meal ideas.

DamianaKitten

I'm just curious, if you're at goal, why are you still eating at such a deficit? Switching up to maintenance will allow you to eat a lot more food, and a lot more variety.

tfoste6278

Yea, I agree with ditching WW. I too cook great meals. Sautéed spinach and portabella mushroom with grilled blacken chicken breast. Or sautéed garlicky asparagus with grilled or baked flounder..yumm:-}

knra_grl

I make the same things I always made, I am just a little more aware of the ingredients and cut back on things that I know will increase the calories and I am careful to weigh everything and enter it in the recipes section of my foods and figure out the servings. I have pretty much totally cut out fast food (it just doesn't appeal to me lately) and have basically been eating home cooked food.

135xo

I'm only eating at a minor deficit. I think it's about 200 calories a day, and it's set that way because there's at least one day a week where I go out for dinner with my boyfriend or friends, and I never count the calories then, so to avoid gaining I keep myself at a little deficit the rest of the time.

I should probably start cooking for myself. It's just so much easier to throw something in the microwave. But it's also boring and unsatisfying. If only I had a personal chef.

hilts1969

I'm only eating at a minor deficit. I think it's about 200 calories a day, and it's set that way because there's at least one day a week where I go out for dinner with my boyfriend or friends, and I never count the calories then, so to avoid gaining I keep myself at a little deficit the rest of the time.

I should probably start cooking for myself. It's just so much easier to throw something in the microwave. But it's also boring and unsatisfying. If only I had a personal chef.

The answer is sauces. whatever meat/fish veggie you throw together if you know how to cook a healthy sauce it stops food being boring