Change of diet to break plateau, need opinions!

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  • catwrangler
    catwrangler Posts: 918 Member
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    Aside from that, your total calories seem kind of low for a guy your size. You may simply be not eating enough calories (judging by today's diary entry). A guy your weight, even if sedentary, should have a maintenance calorie level of about 2500 or more calories per day. If you get any exercise, then it would be even more than that.

    I was also thinking this^^^^
  • tomomatic
    tomomatic Posts: 1,794 Member
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    If you're gonna eat Fast Foods (and sometimes, there's not a lot of choice) then I'd put a quick hit menu for yourself based on what's around you and make sure you're aware of the right portions.

    - Baja Fresh Steak and Shrimp bowl is about twice what I should eat in one sitting. That's lunch AND dinner in a bowl.
    - BK has a Grilled Chicken Sandwich on a wheat bun. Skip the mayo and it's pretty healthy. Ask for extra jalepenos.
    - KFC 2 Pc Grilled Chicken meal for $5. Ask if you can sub the fries for green beans and toss the biscuit.
    - Taco Bell Fresco Menu - kinda bland so I keep a bottle of hot sauce at my desk.
    - 6 inch buffalo chicken sub (save the other half for the next day)
    - A Kid's happy meal - because sometimes you want a burger but you don't want to go overboard. Plus the little ones appreciate the toy and won't resent you for not bringing them...
  • cedarhurst2006
    cedarhurst2006 Posts: 378 Member
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    If you're gonna eat Fast Foods (and sometimes, there's not a lot of choice) then I'd put a quick hit menu for yourself based on what's around you and make sure you're aware of the right portions.

    - Baja Fresh Steak and Shrimp bowl is about twice what I should eat in one sitting. That's lunch AND dinner in a bowl.
    - BK has a Grilled Chicken Sandwich on a wheat bun. Skip the mayo and it's pretty healthy. Ask for extra jalepenos.
    - KFC 2 Pc Grilled Chicken meal for $5. Ask if you can sub the fries for green beans and toss the biscuit.
    - Taco Bell Fresco Menu - kinda bland so I keep a bottle of hot sauce at my desk.
    - 6 inch buffalo chicken sub (save the other half for the next day)
    - A Kid's happy meal - because sometimes you want a burger but you don't want to go overboard. Plus the little ones appreciate the toy and won't resent you for not bringing them...

    Watch out for the KFC grilled chicken - sodium is 700.
  • lbeasey
    lbeasey Posts: 254 Member
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    My suggestion would be to lower your carb intake - shoot for below 100 grams per day to start with. Also - increase your protein and fat. It takes fat to burn fat. And for protein, to preserve your muscle, you should shoot for 1 gram of protein per day per pound of lean body mass you expect to have at the end. For example if your goal weight is 185, but you expect to still have 20% body fat at that weight, then your lean body mass would be 148 pounds. At that, you should shoot for 148 grams of protein per day minimum.

    Aside from that, your total calories seem kind of low for a guy your size. You may simply be not eating enough calories (judging by today's diary entry). A guy your weight, even if sedentary, should have a maintenance calorie level of about 2500 or more calories per day. If you get any exercise, then it would be even more than that.

    Consider finding your own maintenance calorie level using an online tool (like the one below) and then cut about 500 a day from that and shoot for 500 calorie burn of exercise most days and you should drop 2 pounds a week at that.

    Not eating enough can definitely kill your weight loss. I've just increased my calories and reduced my carbs and started losing again after months of being stuck at the same weight when I was eating about 500 fewer calories per day.

    You can calculate your calorie needs here:
    http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

    Some great information on the website listed...going to do some hard thinking about my calorie intake.
  • ukhennin
    ukhennin Posts: 221 Member
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    Tons of great info in here. Yes, I'm thinking maybe I'm not getting enough calories as well. According to that calculator posted I should be having 1,950 for weight loss. So here's sort of what I'm thinking of doing:

    Breakfast:
    Salad with black beans, broccoli, and a hard boiled egg with some poppy seed dressing (I got this idea from the book Born To Run)
    Total: Around 4-500 calories

    Morning Snack:
    Greek Yogurt
    Banana
    Total: Around 250 calories

    Lunch:
    6oz can of tuna mixed with mayo with olive oil
    Celery
    1 serving of Almonds
    Apple
    Total: Around 450 calories

    Afternoon Snack:
    Protein Bar
    Orange
    Total: Around 300 calories

    Dinner:
    Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
    Green Veggies of some sort
    Total: Around 350 calories

    Daily Total: 1750-1850

    Opinions on this? :)
  • cedarhurst2006
    cedarhurst2006 Posts: 378 Member
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    Better. When I make tuna, I add green onions/scallions and gives it a ton of flavor and pop it into a ww tortilla or pita. Leftover grilled chicken can be used to make a quesadilla with lo fat mozzarella cheese and veggies. When we grill chicken, we grill lots and try to use it during the week
    homemade quesadilla, homemade pizza, homemade chicken salad, tossed salad with grilled chicken. Mix it up a little bit. Good luck and let us know what happens when you do this.

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