Any tips? I'm at a loss!

jpbenjamin

Hey everyone,

I'm trying my best to get back into the groove of things and start eating healthy and exercising on the regular. The thing is that the way I lost a lot of weight before is not what I am trying to do now. I used to drink a lot of protein shakes but I want to be able to re-introduce foods like fruits and salads into my lifestyle. Does anyone have any good tips on how to find a good balance? How to eat foods that are good for you and still put the weight off? I really love fruits and vegetables. I also love rice and pasta! LOL. But i'm willing to do something that incorporates drinking a lot of water, eating fruits and vegetables, along with some sort of protein. I just dont know where to start! Help!!!!!

Sassy_Cass

Just a couple of small things

Try and load your major calories at the beginning of the day because that is when you need the energy, keep your dinners light and carb free. Ideally you should avoid carbs (breads, pastas, and rice) after 6pm as you don't need the delayed energy boost right before bed. If you love pasta I suggest spegetti squash as a dinner substitute. Although it is not identical it is pretty close and low cal option.

Also, try and eat small meals throughout the day, don't wait for the scheduled breakfast, lunch and dinner, to eat because you will send your body into starvation mode in between meals (these snacks would be a good time for a small protein shake).

Be honest with youself, don't cut it all out or you will not stick to it. This is about changing your lifestyle not you body for the moment. If you make too drastic changes and cut out everything you love you may lose quickly but you haven't learned something that is long lasting, once you give in the numbers will start to climb again. Focus on balance - you can have a cookie but not every day and not a dozen.

If you focus on the results you will never change. If you focus on change you will get results.

chunk3y_m0nk3y

I am with u with the love for pasta. lol I also love salads and I find the more I eat them the healthier I feel. The more fruits and veggies of any kind makes me feel good. I am trying to get off this weight that i had put on over the past few years and its not easy, but I am trying out eating more salads for lunches. I will also eat a small salad with my dinner so I dont eat as much pasta! That is so hard to do tho!! This is just what I have been doing and so far I found it to be helping me not be as hungry as often. I also started drinking more water to help with the full feeling. Im at a loss like u are but I hope maybe some how I was able to help u out a little. Hang in there and remember u CAN do it!!

wmjohnston_06

For the things that I know that are not great for me to eat (pasta and rice) I always make sure I measure how much I eat. Having a digital scale is great for making sure you don't over eat when you splurge. Remember that 2oz. is a serving of pasta and 1/4 cup dry rice is a serving. I've found that I can reduce the pasta by a half an ounce and just have a couple of tablespoons of cooked rice and I'm satisfied. Only let yourself have these things once or twice a week and you will be well on your way to your goal. Good luck!

TrainerRobin

I'd suggest to add fiber to your food diary, if you haven't already done so. If you include that (I shoot for 30 grams daily, but even 20 grams a day is a good start), and shoot for making the end numbers balance out (so you're not lacking any protein, carbs, fats or fiber, then that'll be a good way to see if something fits into your diet.

I hit our local Sam's Club at least once a week, and prewash and shine my apples and keep them in a big pretty bowl in the fridge. I prep all of my veggies (cutting and cleaning broccolli so I just have to toss it into a pan), buy the prewashed lettuce, and essentially, have my fridge packed full of healthy READY TO EAT fruits and READY TO COOK veggies so I don't take the easier route. I also cook a big pot of brown rice every week that lasts me all week, that way my starch/carb with dinner is just a "heat and eat" food that's right in my fridge. I have bowls of pre-cut melon and fresh berries ready to rinse and add to my Greek yogurt.

I buy only whole grain HIGH FIBER breads and cereals and nonfat dairy products (cottage cheese, milk, yogurt, etc.). I don't bring any "junk" into the house, making it only possible to eat that stuff when I'm out (and I only RARELY do that any more).

Having a house full of only healthy, prepped foods so that I don't have a choice as to whether I grab something healthy or not, and so I don't have to take a lot of time to eat healthfully. If you make it easy, and attractive, and yummy -- it'll happen much easier.

Be sure to measure (weigh) all of your food so you ensure that what you are writing down accurately reflects what you ate, and try to move at least a little each day. If you make those changes, you'll be well on your well to a healthier weight, a healthier YOU and an easier and delicious life.

Good luck!

hannahpalindrome623

Another way to help get more fruits/veggies is to do the prep ahead of time. If it's washed and cut and waiting in the frige, it's alot easier to grab.

For apples, I slice them up, put some lemon juice on them to prevent browning, and put them in baggies in the frige. I cut up a couple huge apples at a time and split them into half-apple servings and take them to work. When I get a craving for sweets in the afternoon, they're waiting for me.

A great resource for recipes is www.cookinglight.com. They have nutrition info with each recipe, and alot of the food is easy to prepare and/or remakes of classic stuff you might already like to eat.

Good luck!

jpbenjamin

Ladies thanks so much for all of your help! I'm already feeling more motivated then I did yesterday!

I went to the grocery store yesterday and bought salads, and fruits, and high fiber breads, and 1% milk. Today, I ate 1 grapefruit and 1 banana for breakfast, with OJ. That kept me until 10 where I had a yogurt. Then i had a salad and some ground turkey for lunch, and have strawberries later for a snack.

I did start preparing all of the foods the day before (cutting grapefruit, cutting strawberries, etc) and it felt good to have them already be ready this morning!

so should I eat some bread in the morning or during lunch and pretty much try to cut it out at nightime? I think that would be step 1 and hopefully it will help me more. I love carbs....it's the hardest thing for me to cut out. One thing i used to do was buy pita bread that had about 4g of carbs in it. That REALLY helped me still have the "carb feeling" without having as much. I guess i should jump back on that bandwagon!

I appreciate it all! If you have any other tips, please let me know! I really appreciate the tip on cooking light. I'll make sure to check that out today!

gabfly

Try using vegetables and fruits to liven up staple grains and proteins. The problem with a lot of protein shakes on the market is they are full of sugar! If you cut out some of that sugar, you leave room for a lot of stay-full, heart-healthy, energy-sustaining calories. Just check-in at each meal for protein, complex carbs, and veggies, and don't forget some fat from olive oil, nuts, or avocados. A sample day might be :

Breakfast: 1 egg plus one egg white scrambled with a chopped sauteed onion, zucchini, red pepper, or any vegetable you enjoy thrown in the mix. Aim for at least 1 cup. Add in 2 tbs. of fresh herbs like parsley, thyme, or cilantro, and a piece of toast or 1/2 cup leftover brown rice OR quick breakfast of: 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 6 walnut halves, 1/2 banana, and blueberries.

Lunch: 1 1/2 cups vegetable soup with 1/2 turkey sandwich, OR Beans, greens, and rice. OR have a salad with any vegetables you like, a little chopped fruit, a few nuts and tofu or chopped turkey, and some olive oil and vinegar.

Dinner: Chicken marinated in garlic, red wine, a little olive oil, and cilantro (or other herbs). You can bake it, grill it, or saute. I put sweet potato and a small green salad on the side, or a 1/2 cup quinoa (great protein rich grain) rice, or wheat berries with some steamed spinach or kale. Any chance I get I throw in vegetables for color, flavor, and fiber. The protein could be fish, turkey breast, or lean steak or other meats as well. Look for 100-150 calorie portion and dress it up!

Choose snacks with a balance of protein and carbs like greek yogurt or lowfat cheese, with veggie sticks or a piece of fruit. If you ever get hungry, just make sure you are eating the nutritious stuff, it is hard to overdo it! Stay away from sugar that sneaks into supposedly healthy foods like yogurt and dressing and become friends with herbs and new veggies.

In the winter you can take any root or squash (turnip, parsnip, rutabaga, butternut squash, yam, acorn squash, delicata) cube it and toss with olive oil salt and pepper, roast in the oven at 450 degrees for 30 minutes, and then eat as is or puree with a few cups vegetable broth for a delicious and deceptively rich and creamy soup.

Keep grain salads, bean salads, and roasted veggies in the fridge for healthy, quick meals and snacks. Find out if it's hot or cold food that keeps you satisfied. Make big batches of your best recipes! Hope this helps!

rockabyesarojane

Ladies thanks so much for all of your help! I'm already feeling more motivated then I did yesterday!

I went to the grocery store yesterday and bought salads, and fruits, and high fiber breads, and 1% milk. Today, I ate 1 grapefruit and 1 banana for breakfast, with OJ. That kept me until 10 where I had a yogurt. Then i had a salad and some ground turkey for lunch, and have strawberries later for a snack.

yay for you! i liked these suggestions too! now BOTH of us have been helped!

TrainerRobin

so should I eat some bread in the morning or during lunch and pretty much try to cut it out at nightime? I think that would be step 1 and hopefully it will help me more. I love carbs....it's the hardest thing for me to cut out.

You don't need to eliminate healthy carbs and it doesn't matter when you eat them. That has been proven wrong. And don't be afraid of healthy carbs. Just look for whole grain versions of them -- and high fiber! Whole wheat pasta (my kids will eat it if I slightly overcook it ... they say that makes it taste more like "regular" pasta), whole wheat bread, Nature's Grain Carb Check Bagels (they rock!!!), the carb control tortillas, super healthy cereals like Post Shredded Wheat 'n Bran, sweet potatoes (yummy microwaved and a little spray I can't believe it's not butter and sweetener and cinnamon), brown rice, steel cut oatmeal, etc. There are lots of options and they are GOOD for you. Don't be afraid of healthy carbs --enjoy them!!

jpbenjamin

TrainerRobin,

Can you tell i'm scared?! LOL. I just dont want to mess up. and i also want to make sure that too much fruit is ok. Like the breakfast I had today was a grapefruit and a banana with orange juice. It was pretty filling, and contained a good amount of carbs, just not "bread carbs". But i would like to add joseph's pita breads in the mix with some peanut butter and maybe a banana for breakfast, and then do a salad with chicken and fruit on the side for lunch, and have some salmon with broccoli or something for dinner and maybe i cup of rice. I just dont want to go back to those protein shakes! I used to drink 3 a day and have 3 meals (every 3 hrs rotating), and had minimal carb intake except 2 days out of the week. Results were nice, but i didnt think it would be a way of life....just a temporary fix that would then go away if i didn't stick to that routine! and that's exactly what happened. I guess i need to go and get some oatmeal, some pita bread, and some whole wheat pasta, and add that to everything else i have for me to get a great start on this awesome journey! 2011 is going to be my year! Plus...we are trying to get preggo and I want to make healthier choices now so that I can keep at it during the pregnancy as well...