Nutrition Help!

mxburke

Hey everyone, just been finding my weight loss to be an extremely slow process and am definitely thinking it is because of my poor eating habits....just wondering what has worked for you guys, and what has helped you all keep within your daily calories....also what has helped with your cravings for the sugar, or the "junk" foods? I really want to get to my healthy goal weight and really need some inspiration/advice...

vanessadawn

Wow what a great many of answers I'm sure you will get, just to warn you lol. You might want to take a look at some previous threads to give you a basic idea. good luck, weight loss should be an slow process, quick and easy isn't going to be sustainable usually.

sarabear

Well it look like you've been loosing well 8.2 isn't bad, think 1-2lbs per week, stay away from refined, go whole & organic!

SHBoss1673

well, to start, I usually recommend 2 things. First, start off by planning out a few weeks of meals, once you get by the first couple of weeks, you should be able to figure it out on the fly, but the first few can be tough. Pre-package up some snacks for the week along with some meals. For instance, my wife and I make a big pot of healthy chili for the week and it makes about 10 servings, perfect! Grill or broil up 6 or 8 chicken breasts and put them in baggies, bag some servings of nuts in plastic bags, same thing with veggies and cheese. Buy some fruits (I lean toward servings of blueberries and strawberries because of the low sugar content, but also good is green apples, watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew melons). Anything that will keep for 4 or 5 days in the fridge is fine.
Second, concentrate on the macro nutrients (carbs, fat, protein) at first, and fiber. Everything else can be tweaked later when you get used to the process.

Oh and try to split your food up into 6 to 8 meals a day, between 200 and 400 calories per meal (bigger people can go a little higher). Less than 200 and you will still be hungry, which can open the door for snacking and cravings, Too much at any one meal will lead to fat storage, which is definitely not what you want.

Best luck to you

-Banks

dabombassmom

i know how ur feeling. Especially if you have young children and keep ur cupboards filled with their lil snacks and a junk food junkie of a husband! I usually treay myself to ONE hershey Kiss after dinner IF I was good all day (stuck to my diet) I know its just a small treat but eating a full size candy bar is not worth the guilt! or the unneeded calories. Try to keep in mind that it may seem like a small indulgence but every thing adds up and its just not worth all the hard work that you are putting into yourself & your happiness. I think when you reach ur goal weight it will make you much happier than the junkfood ever has! Godd luck Girl

rachi20024

What has worked for satisfying my sweet tooth is water and non-fat yogurt with splenda or stevia it's very filling.Sometimes I throw a little granola in there too. It has kept me away from the sweets at night(which is my biggest downfall).

paulamma1

"You crave what you eat", therefore keep the krap out of the house.

Consider moderation rather than abstinance. (If I'm told NOT todo something, it just makes me want to do it even more.)

PLAN, PLAN, PLAN your eating. No use coming home from ________________ (fill in the restaurant name) and being AMAZED that we've consummed 1,350 calories in a sitting.

PLAN, PLAN, PLAN your eating.

slimmingmom

What helps for me is choosing 3 different weekly meals (a whole days worth). So on any given day I can choose to have option #1 #2 OR #3! That way i'm not getting too bored with what i'm eating but I'm sure to stay within my calorie limit. And I eat no fewer than 1200 calories a day...and if i'm hungry I eat 1/2 my workout calories! The only thing with my meals though...is I can have anything as a snack if it stays between 100-200 calories. My favorite snack lately has been chicken lunch meat with laughing cow cheese rolled up!!! it's a lot easier shopping too when you only have a few things to choose from! Hope this helps you a little! Atleast enough to generate a plan of something that does work for you!

sarabear

i know how ur feeling. Especially if you have young children and keep ur cupboards filled with their lil snacks and a junk food junkie of a husband! I usually treay myself to ONE hershey Kiss after dinner IF I was good all day (stuck to my diet) I know its just a small treat but eating a full size candy bar is not worth the guilt! or the unneeded calories. Try to keep in mind that it may seem like a small indulgence but every thing adds up and its just not worth all the hard work that you are putting into yourself & your happiness. I think when you reach ur goal weight it will make you much happier than the junkfood ever has! Godd luck Girl

What helps is if it's a family effort, my kids eat what I eat, if they don't want that, then they don't eat. You'd be surprised what kids eat when the cookies, pudding, crackers & crap aren't there anymore. I used to cook separate for them, but then I thought what am I teaching them? Nothing! I realized it doesn't matter if you are overweight, the right weight, or underweight, you have to fuel your body with good food. My kids also no longer eat at school, I pack sandwhiches with extra veggies, carrot/celery sticks etc. Kids are like sponges, they learn even when we aren't teaching :happy:

paulamma1

i know how ur feeling. Especially if you have young children and keep ur cupboards filled with their lil snacks and a junk food junkie of a husband! I usually treay myself to ONE hershey Kiss after dinner IF I was good all day (stuck to my diet) I know its just a small treat but eating a full size candy bar is not worth the guilt! or the unneeded calories. Try to keep in mind that it may seem like a small indulgence but every thing adds up and its just not worth all the hard work that you are putting into yourself & your happiness. I think when you reach ur goal weight it will make you much happier than the junkfood ever has! Godd luck Girl

What helps is if it's a family effort, my kids eat what I eat, if they don't want that, then they don't eat. You'd be surprised what kids eat when the cookies, pudding, crackers & crap aren't there anymore. I used to cook separate for them, but then I thought what am I teaching them? Nothing! I realized it doesn't matter if you are overweight, the right weight, or underweight, you have to fuel your body with good food. My kids also no longer eat at school, I pack sandwhiches with extra veggies, carrot/celery sticks etc. Kids are like sponges, they learn even when we aren't teaching :happy:

I LOVE IT!!! :flowerforyou:

astridfeline

PLAN, PLAN, PLAN your eating.

This has been key for me. Like Banks I package up a lot of snacks, and freeze individual portions of chili, rice, burgers. I plan the next day's food in MFP pack it up before I go to bed. 'cause I never get up early enough in the morning to do this and will end up eating out.

Georg

[/quote]
What helps is if it's a family effort, my kids eat what I eat, if they don't want that, then they don't eat. You'd be surprised what kids eat when the cookies, pudding, crackers & crap aren't there anymore. I used to cook separate for them, but then I thought what am I teaching them? Nothing! I realized it doesn't matter if you are overweight, the right weight, or underweight, you have to fuel your body with good food. My kids also no longer eat at school, I pack sandwhiches with extra veggies, carrot/celery sticks etc. Kids are like sponges, they learn even when we aren't teaching :happy:
[/quote]

So true! When my kids were very little, my MIL once commented that she'd never seen kids who didn't beg for Kool Aid! :noway: As if kids are born knowing about garbage!? :grumble:
When told they'd never even had Kool Aid, she was quite surprised.
To this day, our grown son drinks milk by the gallon & daughter guzzles water.

sarabear

i know how ur feeling. Especially if you have young children and keep ur cupboards filled with their lil snacks and a junk food junkie of a husband! I usually treay myself to ONE hershey Kiss after dinner IF I was good all day (stuck to my diet) I know its just a small treat but eating a full size candy bar is not worth the guilt! or the unneeded calories. Try to keep in mind that it may seem like a small indulgence but every thing adds up and its just not worth all the hard work that you are putting into yourself & your happiness. I think when you reach ur goal weight it will make you much happier than the junkfood ever has! Godd luck Girl

What helps is if it's a family effort, my kids eat what I eat, if they don't want that, then they don't eat. You'd be surprised what kids eat when the cookies, pudding, crackers & crap aren't there anymore. I used to cook separate for them, but then I thought what am I teaching them? Nothing! I realized it doesn't matter if you are overweight, the right weight, or underweight, you have to fuel your body with good food. My kids also no longer eat at school, I pack sandwhiches with extra veggies, carrot/celery sticks etc. Kids are like sponges, they learn even when we aren't teaching :happy:

I LOVE IT!!! :flowerforyou:

Well what funny is now my kids know that if we are having burger and fries, it's not some greasey burger and deep fat fried potatoes, it's turkey burgers on whole wheat bun and baked sweet potato fries, mmmmmmmmmmm makes me hungry!

stormieweather

well, to start, I usually recommend 2 things. First, start off by planning out a few weeks of meals, once you get by the first couple of weeks, you should be able to figure it out on the fly, but the first few can be tough. Pre-package up some snacks for the week along with some meals. For instance, my wife and I make a big pot of healthy chili for the week and it makes about 10 servings, perfect! Grill or broil up 6 or 8 chicken breasts and put them in baggies, bag some servings of nuts in plastic bags, same thing with veggies and cheese. Buy some fruits (I lean toward servings of blueberries and strawberries because of the low sugar content, but also good is green apples, watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew melons). Anything that will keep for 4 or 5 days in the fridge is fine.
Second, concentrate on the macro nutrients (carbs, fat, protein) at first, and fiber. Everything else can be tweaked later when you get used to the process.

Oh and try to split your food up into 6 to 8 meals a day, between 200 and 400 calories per meal (bigger people can go a little higher). Less than 200 and you will still be hungry, which can open the door for snacking and cravings, Too much at any one meal will lead to fat storage, which is definitely not what you want.

Best luck to you

-Banks

Funny My spouse and I have been doing exactly this for the last 10 days. We baggie up raw veggies, grapes, berries, melons, 1 oz sections of cheese and turkey salami, so when we pack our lunches for each day, we just grab a couple for morning and afternoon along with lunch and whole fruits such as apples and bananas. He leans towards Hearty Soups for lunch and I have been trying Kashi microwave lunches.

When we get home, after our workout, we have a small(ish) meal.

Kids...they are learning from us. Very recently, our 13yr old is whining about how unfair it is that we have our snacks all made up...and where is hers? I showed her the other unportioned bags of fruit/veggies, cheese and salami and said...help yourself

healthychic

Some tips I have are to think about what foods you really crave. And then think of subsitutes that you can eat instead of those fatty foods. I love carrot cake and chips, so I buy the Little Debbie lowfat carrot cakes, and Baked Lays potato chips and eat in small portions. You will find that just getting a taste of what you want will satisify that craving. Also, try Weight Watchers foods such as Giant Icecream bars, they are only 120 calories and 3 grams of fat, and other items from them, and also, Special K. Also, when you get a craving, try to chug a bottle of water, this really has been helping me lately. Sometimes you just think you are hungry but really your body is mistaking that feeling for thirsty. Hope this helps!

-Danielle

Jennplus2

I try to focus on one small healthy goal at a time...

Give up all _______. For me it was my daily eat out at lunch. fast food & soda
Drink 64 oz of water a day at least! 90 oz is better.
Eat 5 fruits and veggies a day at least! More veggie than fruit. (Eating all 5 makes me full all day for not many cals- about 450-500 cals)
Eat every 2.5-3 hours. Snack all day.
Move. A lot of moving will help your body use your food better. Short walks often they add up fast!
Give up _______. I just started passing on my families Friday night pizza feast. This ones hard but so far so good!

Best of luck to you!:drinker:


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

jacmiley

I find the only sweet thing i can keep in the house and won't over indulge on is Nilla wafers. They are actually quite tasty and a whole handful is a serving with 140 calories. To me thats not bad.
If you like frozen treats fudge bars are amazing low in calories like 40.
My newest thing is light and fit vanilla yogurt and frozen fruit blends - I mix it all up in my magic bullet (love infomercials) That is like 150 calories. I'm weird too .. I eat that blend with a baby/kid spoon. So it takes longer and makes me feel like I'm being sinful yet not.
What can I say, I'm a rebel!