help with eating the right foods........

carita1980

I joined this site a couple weeks ago and havent introduced myself yet. I didnt really think about needing to make friends but as time goes on I have realized that this is really hard to do alone. My husband although supportive is 6'3 and 170 pounds so his understanding only goes so far. I live in southern Indiana and work for a maid service. You would think that spending several hours a day cleaning would get me in shape and my extra weight would melt off, but not the case. Due to being on the road and traveling from house to house the restaurants ( not healthy ones) have taken a chunk of my change to say the least. I think that my biggest hurdle is really knowing what to cook for myself that is fullfilling and low in calorie. My cooking skills are not broad. I have about a dozen or so meals that i cook on a regular basis for my family but obviously those meals are not working for me right now. My food budget is small and i know i could check the internet for recipes but cant really afford a completely seperate shopping list for just me. I need to know how to make good choices for my meals with some or all of the food i already have. all ideas and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

msmith5251s

Smaller portions?

candb

One thing that would help the food budget is packing your lunch instead of eating out for lunch. There are some insulated lunch bags that work well. I have one from Thirtyone that keeps cool stuff cool until lunch. That way you can pack a sandwich, some fruit or veggies, and a thermos with water. For dinners I'm not sure what you guys like, but I find that paying attention to what a serving is and eating only that helps.

mampm1

Here's my suggestion: Buy a wok! It is by far the most versatile utensil in my kitchen. Dice up so boneless chicken breast, add fresh veggies, season to taste, use low sodium soy sauce and brown rice and you will be surprised how much nutrition you will get. That daily requirement of vegetables will be met and it is so delicious. P.S. Be creative!

psuLemon

It's hard to tell without being able to see yoru food diary, so if you can make it public we can help. You really want to look into eliminating/reducing processed foods. If it comes in a bag or box, it is loaded with sodium which will prevent weightloss. Next, do you exercise? If so, what do you do and for how long. Next, we need to make sure you are eating enough. If you are cleaning all day and exercising you are more than likely considered moderately active to very active and there is a good chance you are not eating enough. so lets start there and then we can build.

angelew

Hi there and welcome! I just joined recently myself. Maybe try packing a lunch and snacks to avoid the fast food....whole fruit would pack well (apples, bananas, oranges). Veggies would pack well, too-baby carrots, sliced cucumber or sliced up bell pepper. Sandwiches, soup in a thermos, a tupperware full of salad topped with tuna fish (water packed) would all be good lunch choices. You could buy a re-fillable water bottle and re-fill at your clients' houses to avoid buying bottled water. A filling healthy breakfast before you head out might be oatmeal topped with cut up apple. You can cook a big batch and store it in the fridge. Through the week just measure out your serving and microwave it. Do you have a grill? Keep your dinners simple-grilled turkey burger patties, grilled chicken or chicken sausage. Steam some veggies- frozen or fresh, cook some whole wheat pasta or brown rice and there you have it. I love looking at other members' food diaries for ideas- maybe you could do that also. Planning out your week's menus before you shop helps too- it keeps the grocery bill down and keeps you committed to your goal and away from restaurants! My diary is open to friends...add me if you wish! Good luck to you! Keep in touch...

msmandyjo

bump

springtrio

If you want your body to look like you're been eating the right foods, you obviously have to put the right foods in it. How about cottage cheese, bagged salads? I cook up my chicken for 2 weeks, all I have to do is get it out of the freezer zap it in the microwave, and cut it up for my meals or salads. I do one big cooking day a month for my meats, and major meals and it helps out a lot. You'll have a big mess to clean up, but it's very well worth it. I'm not perfect and if I'm on the go and just forgetful, I'll grab something (but healthy). The last time I lost weight, I looked thinner but not healthy...and you can really see the difference in my body this time around. I don't have recipes to offer, but cook once a month. It really pays off...in many ways.

jbdowns35

I know exactly where you're coming from! It has taken along time to get a system in place for this, but I finally think I got a handle on family dinners & cooking & food planning for the week. It also takes time to get a grip on learning how & where to shop in order to get the best bang for your buck. The first thing I do is take inventory of what I have in the house. I usually try to use up what might parrish in the fridge, what's been in the freezer awhile, etc. I make a list of what I have & if nothing comes to mind on what to cook, I go to allrecipes.com & enter in the food items I have & walla - a ton of recipes pop up for me to choose from & I can print them out already in 3x5 recipe card form. I'll try to pick the recipes that have mostly ingredients I already have on hand, limiting my shopping list. Once I get a few meals in mind, I sit down & think about the upcoming week & write down what meals I plan to cook on what evening. If there is a planned event one evening, I'll plan on a crock pot meal that night & prepare it the night before. Having everything written down for the week is a big help because I can plan ahead, preparing things in advance, sometimes I food prep on Sundays for the whole week, weather its cooking entire meals, chopping veggies, or just taking something out of the freezer, it's always nice to get ahead. Once I have my food plan down, I write a grocery list. I do alot of my shopping at Aldis & get most of my produce at a local farmers market, I save alot of $, but don't shop at just one place go to 3 or 4, shop around, you'll develop a system on what you get at different stores. Sounds like a pain, I know, but it's worth it. As for your work day - STOP GOING TO RESTARAUNTS. Go buy yourself a luchbox & pack yourself some healthy snacks & a good lunch. Buy yourself some healthy foods for your lunches & pack them the night before. Beleive me, it makes things so much easier. It took me along time to get it down, but it has really been working & makes my life easier when I have a plan.

ivette512

HI there, I too am new to this site so welcome. I'm finding it helpful to see what others are doing. I agree with some of the other posters, I think packing lunch for yourself will make a huge impact on your financial and caloric budget. There are some pretty good lunch bags out there (some are really cute too), and you could also pick up an ice pack cheap at many stores, if you need your food to stay cooler longer. Sandwiches and salads are good cold food options. If you have a thermos you could heat up some soup (get it really hot) in the morning and it stash it in your thermos (my sister actually does this for her five year old who refuses to eat school lunches).

As for your meals at home, the first time I lost weight on weight watchers I had a tough time trying to figure out how to incorporate what I needed with my families needs. We are hispanic so many of our meals would include rice, beans and meat. While the rice and beans are not horrible for you I was always overdoing it. So I slashed calories in a few different ways and it depended on what i wanted to eat. One day I would just have the rice and beans with a salad. One day I would have the protein with vegetables. Some days I just scaled down my poriton size and had the entire meal. This is just an example of how to adjust what you already do. These days, as I get older, I find that I do better with less starchy carbs so I keep bags of frozen vegetables (supermarket brands are cheaper) around and zap them and add to my protein.

Obviously without your journal its harder to be more specific, but I hope this helps get you thinking creatively about how to adapt this lifestyle change to your environment.

Good luck!

Ivette

carita1980

thanks for all the wonderful ideas. although scared i am going to make my food diary public. i hope i dont get slammed too bad. lol. I am truly thankful that this site is offering me such motivation and great friendly people.

psuLemon

thanks for all the wonderful ideas. although scared i am going to make my food diary public. i hope i dont get slammed too bad. lol. I am truly thankful that this site is offering me such motivation and great friendly people.

Please never be afraid for asking for help. We aren't going to slam you because of your diet. And please only take this as constructive and taking the next steps to a successful weight loss and healthy life. Now the fun.



McDonalds should never be a part of yoru weight loss program. It's extremely high in sodium and quite awful for you. Also, stay away from the process foods (anything really in a box or prepackaged). These are extremely high in sodium and will prevent weight loss. You need to start getting healthy foods (fruits, veggies, chicken, eggs, turkey, etc.. ). There is a reason why mcdonalds and prepackaged foods are cheap. It's because they are made with fake meat that is high in transfats and tons of saturated fats. Try to start packing your own lunch and premaking your meals. Look into stuff that is high in protein. If you start there, then weight loss will come but you need to stay out of fast food restuarants.

_Sally_

I recommend keeping your lunches simple. Try steaming or water sauteeing (you can google this method) a bunch of veggies, add some fresh lemon juice and some protein like tuna fish. beans (rinse from can), nutritional yeast, or leftover meat or fish from night before. You can also add some whole grains such as brown rice or quinoa.

oatmeal, along with some hard boiled egg whites would be a good, filling breakfast as well, to keep you from needing to snack too often during the day.

keep snacks simple. a piece of fruit or some carrots, celery or bell pepper slices and 6 nuts (almonds, walnuts, etc.) which are about 1/4 oz serving or one low sodium/low fat string cheese.

you will want to eat some protein with each meal, as that will make you fee full longer.

good luck!

lynnclagg

I just started a few days ago, but I have been overweight all my life. This...after 4 days has really helped me because I am forced to assess my progress or lack of. I believe I may be in for a long ride if I don't start choosing lower calorie foods. I am allowed 1700 calories and today I had 4 glazed donuts and a fast food plain chicken sandwich at the tune of 1200 calories. Well the good news is I stayed under because I had low calorie the remainder of the day, but I think I'm kidding myself into thinking I can eat like this. I really understand your delima it is hard to prepare right. You have my prayers for sucess. Maybe this will help, we were on a small budget during the time we were raising our children. I r emember buying cereal...all of us could sit down to the entire box, but I got out the baggies and made portion control bags. Cereal lasted much longer that way. It helps. You know even with weight watchers I did learn you can eat nearly all the fruits and vegetables you want. Try to incorporate more of this and smaller portions of whatever meat you normally prepare...watch out for the butter and oil seasoning. You have a wonderful evening and give yourself time. We really may have latched onto something with MFP.

hjollyrn

My food budget is small and i know i could check the internet for recipes but cant really afford a completely seperate shopping list for just me.

This comment caught my eye. You don't need to buy separate food for yourself. Find some recipes on the message board or other websites that are healthier and lower in calories and make the meal for your entire family. There are lots of great recipes out there that taste great that the whole family will enjoy. You will be happy because you're eating better and your family will probably have no clue that's it's healthier, but will still enjoy it!

moonflower09

I really have enjoyed recipes from Eatingwell.com. Its a great educational site. I am just starting out too. Good luck. Instead of eliminating food items my daughter and I are adding one nutritious food a week. We started w/ citrus daily, then berries and this week one more optional fruit. It does take planning to figure out how to get it all in.

TexasSunny

Find the best, and most convenient substitutes for you. Maybe "Eat This, Not That"....a book that shows how to substitute food items. Or just search online for healthier low-cal substitutions.

I've always had this same problem (with 5 kids). Trying to be economical and still offer things kids like..... but some changes are easy.... like broiling instead of frying. Use turkey instead of hamburger. Sugar-free jello desserts. Tuna wraps. Soups, salads, salsa, smoothies....etc. And don't finish the kids' plates!!!

carita1980

I started to put all these great ideas into practice yesterday. I bought a cantaloupe and did not realize that 10 oz (which is actually alot) is only a 100 calories. I preportioned them into tupperware containers and now when i need a snack i can grab a container and automatically know its only going to be a 100 calories. Also got a food scale and that in itself has made a tremendous difference. I bought a bag of caesar salad yesterday and divided it up into three servings and then added two oz of tuna ( wasnt sure how it would taste but actually it was really good). bringing these two things in a thermal bag for lunch today. hopefully all goes well. when i head to the grocery this afternoon I will be sure to keep an eye out for substitutes that i know my family will still eat but will be better for all of us in the long run.