Help- Recipes, Food, Exercise, and a good jump start!

erica_turner88

Hello! My name is Erica and I recently joined MFP! I have been trying to lose weight for over two years now. Growing up I was a healthy size for my height but I had two kids back to back and put on a lot of extra weight. I am 22 years old and for as long as I can remember my family never really ate "healthy". We always had 2 starches at meal time and just about everything had salt and butter. I recently lost my 41 year old mom to a severe heart attack and have family members that suffer from diabetes and other weight related health issues. After the death of my mom I had a big eye opener. I want to change my eating habits and get healthy and live a long active life with my fiance and children. So where I am getting to is, I need help creating healthy recipes 1200-1330 a day. What to eat, what not to eat? I do currently exercise 4 times a week doing aerobics and zumba. How do you cook healthy? If it doesn't cook in a skillet or slathered in butter I am not sure how to make it ::embarrassed:: lol. But just overall I need some healthy tips, tricks, recipes, and a good quick start on my weight loss journey. I am 5'1" and 186lbs, I am not sure how much weight I need to lose but I do want to feel and look healthy. Help anyone?

superhippiechik

A good place to start is by ditching anything that comes in a box. Hamburger helper and mac-n-cheese has a ton of sodium and that will keep you from losing weight and affects your blood pressure. Home made mac-n-cheese is surprisingly easy! No veggies in a can. Fresh or frozen is best. A salad at dinner,eaten first will fill you up. I love cookbooks and the food network!
I hope this helps:flowerforyou:

danastar

Welcome Erica! One of the things that has really helped me lose weight (besides getting a lot of exercise) has been to purposely try to incorporate more vegetables and/or fruit in every meal. If you imagine a plate, I always aim for one half of my plate to be covered with vegetables and/or fruit, 1/4 lean protein, and 1/4 starch (preferably whole grains). Since I've been aiming to eat this way, I've lost more weight than when I was exercising like crazy, but not paying attention to portion control, nutrition, etc. Hopefully, this will help you too!
Good luck. Oh! And if you're looking for a good way to cook vegetables without all the butter, trying roasting them with a little olive oil at a high heat (450). There's all kinds of recipes for roasted vegetables on the internet...some of my favorites are roasted asparagus, beets, and winter squash.

kbooth

Baby steps!!!

Try cooking with Olive Oil (lightly spray) if you must fry something. Invest in a grill (indoor or outdoor) or try baking your meats. Steam some fresh veggies or add a salad to your meals.

Start reading the nutrition labels and looking at the serving sizes, calories per serving, fat/sodium/carb/fiber/protein contents. Compare labels...many of the "pretty packaged" things only say they are good for you...but they really aren't the best choice!

Make small changes like going from whole milk to skim milk, reduced fat/reduced sodium, etc.

Take it one day at a time and make small changes. They will add up to great results and a better overall lifestyle in the end! :flowerforyou:

JLeeAlton

As for making healthy meals.. what I did was took a pen and pad to the bookstore.. found healthy cookbooks and started writing down the meals that I though would be good for myself and my FH. Obviously you can always buy the books as well. I have filled up my recipe box and I am always still looking out for great recipes. You can find a ton online as well and print them out. Each week I would pick 3 meals (well the FH would pick too) and I would make them all!

melonyw

I am a true southern cook so changing the way I cook has been very hard. One thing you need to learn to use is a Crock Pot. One simple meal that my children love and is also healthy is as follows:

Salsa Chicken

4 boneless/skinless chicken breast
1 jar salsa

Cook on med/high for about six hours if thawed or eight if frozen.
Shred meat and thicken sauce if needed. Serve over rice with a side of re-fried beans.
Use leftover chicken for burritos or quesadillas.
Easy and Healthy!

erica_turner88

Thank you everyone for your input! I really appreciate it! I have been slowly changing things in my life since the beginning of November to work myself up to the lifestyle changes but starting Dec 1, I am hardcore doing what I need to!

npryor100

Try looking at other members diaries as well. I have mine open for viewing!

My first steps to eating healthy were switching to mainly chicken, ground turkey and fish instead of red meat. I also switched white rice for brown rice and white bread to whole wheat, multi-grain bread. I cook with extra virgin olive oil (I only have butter occasionally on morning toast) and try to use spices instead of salt to season my food. I switched from sugar cereal to Kashi Go Lean and oatmeal for more fiber and protein in the morning.

It can be tough to cook healthy food that pleases the whole family, but you'll be amazed how the little steps add up!

AnaNotBanana

Erica, congrats on taking stand and taking care of yourself! The best website I've found is www.hungry-girl.com. I'm domestically challenged but her recipes are really easy to make and taste delicious. I just made the cheesy chicken enchiladas from her website last night and they were super tasty and only 288 calories each. Even my boyfriend loved them.

fittocycle

Erica-I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your mom. I bet she would be proud of all the changes you are making.
If you can stick with more whole foods and eat clean, it would really help. As one of the other posters said, try to stay away from anything in a box or processed.
Do you have an indoor grill, like a George Foreman grill? You can cook just about anything on one of those and it will be healthy. Vegetables, such as squash and zuchinni are great on it as well as salmon, chicken, etc. Plus, it's very quick!
If you cook steamed brown rice, you can save it for several meals as a side dish or a main dish by adding chicken or shrimp.
Old fashioned oatmeal is a great healthy breakfast. You can dress it up with walnuts, cinnamon, a little brown sugar, etc.
Best of luck to you. I know you'll do just great!