Serious question here....

ZombieChaser

I've never been one, at all, to make healthy meals. Normally if it pops in the microwave or open from a can that was my meal.

Now however I'm trying different things, like making turkey burgers, and making turkey meatloaf.. all of this, is new to me.

I know it's really hard (and a bit scary) to overhaul your entire kitchen/cooking habits...but, it will be SO worth it! There's a section on here called "recipes" on the message boards, and here you can get all sorts of user-contributed meal ideas that are healthy and easy to make. Also, don't be afraid to google healthy meal ideas - you'll be surprised of what you can find

The hardest thing for me was the prep work - chopping, slicing, peeling etc... so, I did most of my prep on Sunday, and cooked a huge meal on Sunday, so I had it for dinner, and lunch for the next day. And meal plan! I still write a 7 day menu and then shop accordingly. You'll find when you have a plan, you're not grasping for meal ideas at the last minute, then going for the canned goods as a last resort.

I hope this was helpful If you want, friend me and I can help with you figure out meals and give you ideas I love cooking and creating!

Crys32

So then are my dinners healthy? That's the only meal that I have time to fix, when I come home because I don't plan ahead, yet.

Or am I still picking the wrong items?

Crys32

I've never been one, at all, to make healthy meals. Normally if it pops in the microwave or open from a can that was my meal.

Now however I'm trying different things, like making turkey burgers, and making turkey meatloaf.. all of this, is new to me.

I know it's really hard (and a bit scary) to overhaul your entire kitchen/cooking habits...but, it will be SO worth it! There's a section on here called "recipes" on the message boards, and here you can get all sorts of user-contributed meal ideas that are healthy and easy to make. Also, don't be afraid to google healthy meal ideas - you'll be surprised of what you can find

The hardest thing for me was the prep work - chopping, slicing, peeling etc... so, I did most of my prep on Sunday, and cooked a huge meal on Sunday, so I had it for dinner, and lunch for the next day. And meal plan! I still write a 7 day menu and then shop accordingly. You'll find when you have a plan, you're not grasping for meal ideas at the last minute, then going for the canned goods as a last resort.

I hope this was helpful If you want, friend me and I can help with you figure out meals and give you ideas I love cooking and creating!

I'd love to add you, I need all the help that I can get.

kit_katty

From the looks of things, you're eating sometimes 500+ calories under your goal, which is already set to lose at least one pound a week, you need to eat more! And as other posters have said, more nutritious, veggies, fruit, add a piece of fruit with breakfast, that's easy to do! Your calorie goal is there for a reason, you're supposed to get as close to that goal as possible! Food is fuel!

kleighsamboer

I can tell you what the issue is. Too many processed foods! You need more greens like spinach, kale, collards, ect. and veg like cucumbers, celery, green peppers, yams, squashes, broccoli, ect and good fats like avocado and nuts/seeds.. I don't care what people say-not every calorie is created equal. processed foods put a burden on your system and make it harder to break down. Our health is in our gut and if that isn't in tip top shape you won't burn the calories that you need to.

beattie1

I looked back over a couple of weeks and what struck me was how "up and down" you are. Sometimes over, sometimes under your limit. And you're often way over on sodium, fats, cholesterol. More home cooking could help all these - if you try you can build up a repertoire of dishes that you know how to cook without consulting a recipe, once you've made them a couple of times. Start with some low fat meat or fish if you're a carnivore and add veg plus a modest (measured) amount of carbohydrate.

jtintx

Sounds like you are doing the same couple of workouts. Our bodies are very smart and adapt quickly. You have likely become very efficient at the workouts you are doing and they have become easier for you. Therefore your body is not having to work as hard to do the same workout and not burning as many calories as it did at first. You should try shaking things up a bit. Do some high intensity *something* for 30 seconds to a minute to really elevate your heart rate, recover and repeat at least 8 times. With this I think you will break through your plateau. Best of luck!

Edited to add: I just saw that you are using your HRM to calculate calories. If that's the case and your settings in it are correct then it should be pretty accurate. But, I'll leave the above in case it might help someone else.

vmrink

Crys32, although you are quite often under your "calorie" goal for the day, you are more often over your "fat" intake for the day. I see that as a huge problem.

I know everyone is on the "no processed food" kick, but that doesn't always have to be the case. I eat processed foods and I still average about 2 lbs a week, as long as I exercise and stay within my goal limits. My processed foods happen to be Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice meals. Sometimes SmartOnes. I do eat my lean meats, vegetables and fruits too.

I occasionally will have a nice treat as I don't deprive myself of any thing. But I also try to have those "yummy" things in moderation.

Crys32

Crys32, although you are quite often under your "calorie" goal for the day, you are more often over your "fat" intake for the day. I see that as a huge problem.

I know everyone is on the "no processed food" kick, but that doesn't always have to be the case. I eat processed foods and I still average about 2 lbs a week, as long as I exercise and stay within my goal limits. My processed foods happen to be Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice meals. Sometimes SmartOnes. I do eat my lean meats, vegetables and fruits too.

I occasionally will have a nice treat as I don't deprive myself of any thing. But I also try to have those "yummy" things in moderation.

I've never been a cook, and haven't really cooked at all until I decided to make a change, so hot pockets and frozen dinners were my meals. So what is a healthy range from sugars to fats to sodium should I be in? I thought I was doing great, besides the eating out that I've done. But I went from eating out twice a day to once a week or twice a week now.