What do you think of this day of food?

_lyndseybrooke_

BREAKFAST
1 cup of oatmeal made with skim milk and brown sugar and sprinkled with cinnamon
1 large cup of coffee with sugar free creamer and splenda
water

LUNCH
1 hard-boiled egg, 1 light string cheese, 1 banana
water

SNACK
1 small pouch chunk light tuna with a serving of Special K crackers
water

DINNER
steak taco made with thin top sirloin, fat free refried beans, yellow rice, and 2% cheddar cheese on a flour tortilla
water

DESSERT
container of mandarin oranges with no sugar added

Total Calories: 1300ish (goal is 1300)
Macros: 24 g over goal in protein and 4 g over goal in sugar; the rest is under goal

So what do you think? Good? Bad? Alright?

jlclabo

if it meets your caloric needs then its good, me personally id starve, lol

_lyndseybrooke_

if it meets your caloric needs then its good, me personally id starve, lol

Well I'd sure hope so, if you're a guy that lifts!

My old goal was 1500 calories, but I wasn't losing.

Ang108

BREAKFAST
1 cup of oatmeal made with skim milk and brown sugar and sprinkled with cinnamon
1 large cup of coffee with sugar free creamer and splenda
water

LUNCH
1 hard-boiled egg, 1 light string cheese, 1 banana
water

SNACK
1 small pouch chunk light tuna with a serving of Special K crackers
water

DINNER
steak taco made with thin top sirloin, fat free refried beans, yellow rice, and 2% cheddar cheese on a flour tortilla
water

DESSERT
container of mandarin oranges with no sugar added

Total Calories: 1300ish (goal is 1300)
Macros: 24 g over goal in protein and 4 g over goal in sugar; the rest is under goal

So what do you think? Good? Bad? Alright?

It looks on the better side as far as a healthy diet is concerned, even though I would have a hard time to go a day without vegetables....but I am curious about the amounts in regard to weight loss.
I also am always surprised. I eat 1200 calories ( weighed and measured ) and I eat a lot more than this in volume

Vickyb486

What about veggies? They will fill you up without many added calories.

Jaxsonjess

Looks good to me!! Maybe find a non flour tortilla, but those taste like crap LOL
You eat simlar to me. I am very simple but I get it done!

jlclabo

if it meets your caloric needs then its good, me personally id starve, lol

Well I'd sure hope so, if you're a guy that lifts!

My old goal was 1500 calories, but I wasn't losing.

do you exercise regularly? i know a lot of people(male and female) that do nothing but the caloric deficit and slowly lose weight, but a good exercise program including strength training will do wonders.
i eat pretty much everything you have listed in there, just about double though. the steak tacos are particularly good.... plus i eat a lot of vinison because i have a freezer full, lol. plus its very lean and work excellent in place of regular beef.

Arclight306

If you find yourself always hungry it is not a sustainable meal plan and at some point something is going to give and you will find it quite hard to continue.

You should consider adding vegetables to your meal plan. It will add natural fiber, micro nutrients and not a whole lot of calories.

Double check your calculations and make sure 1300 calories is sustainable for your body weight, size and physical activity.

mrsfeuer

I've never had good success when my dinners are large. The past couple evenings my dinners have been too heavy. I have good results when my lunch is a decent meal. For my oatmeal in the morning I've cut out the sugar and milk. I make mine with water and add fruit to it like frozen berries.

Don't forget some green veggies and leafy greens since those are filling and very good for you!

_lyndseybrooke_

It looks on the better side as far as a healthy diet is concerned, even though I would have a hard time to go a day without vegetables....but I am curious about the amounts in regard to weight loss.
I also am always surprised. I eat 1200 calories ( weighed and measured ) and I eat a lot more than this in volume

I included some measurements, but excluded the rest because of space. It's set up in my diary for this upcoming Monday if you're interested in portion sizes.

_lyndseybrooke_

do you exercise regularly? i know a lot of people(male and female) that do nothing but the caloric deficit and slowly lose weight, but a good exercise program including strength training will do wonders.
i eat pretty much everything you have listed in there, just about double though. the steak tacos are particularly good.... plus i eat a lot of vinison because i have a freezer full, lol. plus its very lean and work excellent in place of regular beef.

I do. I try to exercise five days per week - cardio and strength. If I do work out, I try to eat some of those calories back, but I don't always do so.

_lyndseybrooke_

If you find yourself always hungry it is not a sustainable meal plan and at some point something is going to give and you will find it quite hard to continue.

You should consider adding vegetables to your meal plan. It will add natural fiber, micro nutrients and not a whole lot of calories.

Double check your calculations and make sure 1300 calories is sustainable for your body weight, size and physical activity.

My TDEE - 15% is actually less than 1300, but I don't feel comfortable going below that number.

shannonshay1

What about veggies? Seems like a food group is missing.

_lyndseybrooke_

I've never had good success when my dinners are large. The past couple evenings my dinners have been too heavy. I have good results when my lunch is a decent meal. For my oatmeal in the morning I've cut out the sugar and milk. I make mine with water and add fruit to it like frozen berries.

Don't forget some green veggies and leafy greens since those are filling and very good for you!

My breakfast is usually around 320 calories, lunch is smaller at 250, a mid-afternoon snack that adds up to about 200, 500 calories at dinner, and my dessert usually falls under 100 calories. I don't have time at work for a big lunch and I cook for my husband, so very low calorie dinners don't really work out. I refuse to cook a separate meal for myself.

As for the oatmeal, I can't eat it bland. The brown sugar and milk are pretty much a must for me. I don't load it down with sugar, though.

_lyndseybrooke_

What about veggies? Seems like a food group is missing.

I know, I know.

Growing up, my parents never encouraged me to eat many veggies, so I never developed a taste for them. I've gone through multiple trial and error periods where I try different types of veggies (both cooked many ways and raw) in an attempt to force myself to like them, but I've had no luck. It's a texture thing, I think, but also a flavor thing.

Steak taco day is particularly void of veggies. I can stomach corn (which is more of a grain, I know) and a very small portion of green beans, but I've sort of given up on the veggie hunt for now.

mncdk

I'm having a hard time finding much fat on there. I feel there should be more.
You should get a minimum of 0.6g protein / lb bodyweight and 0.45g fat / lb lean body mass.

seltzermint555

It sounds good to me.

It's pretty similar to the way I eat and I share your calorie goal. Although I don't snack, and would eat your lunch and snack both (for lunch) at the same time. I'd probably add some veggies to dinner and maybe some crudités to lunch...and probably a tiny square of chocolate.

_lyndseybrooke_

I'm having a hard time finding much fat on there. I feel there should be more.
You should get a minimum of 0.6g protein / lb bodyweight and 0.45g fat / lb lean body mass.

My fat goal is 43 g per day according to MFP and this day consists of 34 g. And it's 91 g of protein, which is over my goal of 65 g.

_lyndseybrooke_

It sounds good to me.

It's pretty similar to the way I eat and I share your calorie goal. Although I don't snack, and would eat your lunch and snack both (for lunch) at the same time. I'd probably add some veggies to dinner and maybe some crudités to lunch...and probably a tiny square of chocolate.

I sometimes combine my lunch and snack if I'm extra hungry and have the time. I actually did that today.

mncdk

My fat goal is 43 g per day according to MFP and this day consists of 34 g. And it's 91 g of protein, which is over my goal of 65 g.

You should try to reach your macros. Some days can be lower, so long as you at least reach your macros on average, but those figures I mentioned were minimums.

If possible, work towards reaching those goals, and then fill in your remaining kcals however you prefer.

Bounce4

I don't know a lot about nutrition but it looks good to me except I'd be starving . I would add a truck load of veggies just so I could eat more. All my 'successful' days include a lot of veggies.

I eat a lot of raw at work but one of the tastiest ways to eat veggies is to roast them.

mncdk

And if you haven't already, you should set a custom goal.
I tried using MFP's "guided" goal, and it was miles off. Put me on 1340 kcal. Quite the deficit for a guy.

_lyndseybrooke_

And if you haven't already, you should set a custom goal.
I tried using MFP's "guided" goal, and it was miles off. Put me on 1340 kcal. Quite the deficit for a guy.

Ah, yeah, my 1300 is a custom goal. MFP putt me at 1200. I'd prefer to eat more, but I just wasn't losing for some reason. Once it starts coming off again (I just started with 1300 this week), I'm going to try to bump it up, or at least be sure to eat ALL of my exercise calories back. I haven't been all that hungry this week, but I'm definitely not opposed to eating more if I can still lose.

I got the 1300 from calculating my TDEE and subtracting 15%, and then adding a few calories.

mncdk

Looks like you're all set then.

Just keep in mind that, over time, you may have to adjust your calories, as your TDEE may not be completely accurate. It is calculated after all. But you can only really gauge that after a while.

In the end, empirical evidence > calculations.

For maximum scorekeeping, weigh often and take averages. :P

geebusuk

I would be aiming for that sort of protein level or higher every day (1g/lb of lean body mass, or perhaps put it at 1g/lb of weight at or a bit below your target weight.)
This will help to retain muscle mass.

One day's food is never make or break. Despite people going on about "RDA" and so on, your body is rarely that precise. It does make sense to aim to hit the macros on a daily target there or abouts, but it doesn't bother me if I'm a bit over one day and a bit under the next, say.
I try to add a reasonable bit of low calorie salad like lettuce and tomato to my food and often chuck in various fruit etc to add some micronutrients.

_lyndseybrooke_

I upped my calorie goal, added some protein and a serving of veggies. is this a little better?

Breakfast
1 cup oatmeal made with unsweetened almond milk, brown sugar, and cinnamon
1 cup Truetin protein powder with 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 large travel mug coffee with sugar free creamer and splenda
1 16.8 oz bottle of water

Lunch
1 medium banana
1 light string cheese
1 hard boiled egg
1/2 16.8 oz bottle of water

Snack
1 2.4 oz pouch chunk light tuna in water
24 special k multigrain crackers
1/2 16.8 oz bottle of water

Dinner
Steak taco with thin-cut top sirloin, yellow rice, fat free refried beans, and 2% mild cheddar on a flour tortilla
1 16.8 oz bottle of water

Snack
Handful of baby carrots with 1 tbsp light Ranch dressing
1 16.8 oz bottle of water

Gross calories: 1458
Burned calories: 210
Net calories: 1248
*112 g protein!

So, I kept my goal at 1300, but I'm making sure I get as close to 1300 NET as I possibly can, instead of eating 1300 and burning calories I don't plan to eat back.

Better?