HELP I don't know what to eat!

imdawn

I was eating an egg flavored bagel with peanut butter for breakfast and it was a lot of calories-like A LOT

I was going to eat a Clif bar instead this morning and it's 240...

I'm only allowed 1200 in a day (unless I excercise) I'm afraid to eat lol

MaraDiaz

Whole eggs cooked in real butter if you don't have cholesterol problems. Or you could skip the societal conditioning and just have a nice, fatty steak.

kr1stadee

I'm not going to tell you what you should eat.
BUT with 15lbs to lose, your weight loss goal shouldn't be any less than 1 pound per week. Because it's a smaller goal, it will take longer. Might as well enjoy eating!!

In order to stay within calorie range, pre-plan your day for the first while until you get the hang of it.
You could also find your TDEE and subtract 20%.

Eat more to lose, it's a strange and scary concept, but it WORKS!!

jenlatham

Try bagel thins (100 calories per serving). Add a whole egg cooked in Pam (80 calories), or egg whites from a carton (like 35 calories, I think) or some goat cheese (90 cal/oz). Add sliced tomato or sprouts to up your fiber and fill your belly even more, or a few slices of avocado for healthy fat, satiety, and even PMS relief!. You can have an amazing breakfast for under 200 calories, easy peasy.

imdawn

MaraDiaz lol I like the way you think!

Kr1stadee-I gotta change that I wanna lose more like 35 pounds!! What is a TDEE??

Thank you

kr1stadee

TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure. There is a whole bunch of calculators out there. http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html is one. I don't use this method, YET..

I'm at 40lbs left to lose and I've got my setting to 1 pound per week. Slows things down a bit, but maintenance is easier when I'm used to eating!

I did end up at 1200 calories for a short period of time. I was cold all of the time, hungry and cranky. The upped calories has helped immensely!

Good luck, and feel free to send over a friend request, if you'd like!

cheyy_nicoleee

If you like your bread, try Sara Lee Healthy Multi Grain 45 calorie. One slice is 45 calories and has less calories and sugar than most other multigrain or whole wheat breads. It tastes good too! I usually spray it with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray (0 calories, carbs or fat) and sprinkle cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice on top! So yummy also try some fruit!

jsd_135

Hi, imdawn--

My diary is open if you want to have look. Our weight-loss goals are pretty similar. I started at 1200 calories, but upped it a few weeks ago to mid-1300s using TDEE minus 20%. I'll let someone else explain that. I've had a lot of success so far (9 pounds since Jan. 10) on both the 1200 and 1300-something allowance, though I think the higher amount is more sustainable.

My biggest change since starting this has been breakfast. I've cut out bready stuff pretty completely (except for the family pancake breakfast on Saturday or Sunday). As you noted, that bagel is just not worth it. So much better stuff to eat: yogurt, eggs, granola, steel-cut oatmeal are my favorites for breakfast. Brown Cow vanilla low-fat yogurt is fantastic (100 cal. for 1/2 cup).

For lunch, I have leftovers, or have a half sandwich and some soup. Dinner is my biggest meal, and I'm not afraid to use butter or olive oil when cooking. I just watch the portions. I highly recommend a good food scale that can be zeroed out each time you want to add something.

Feel free to add me if you'd like.

blu_meanie_ca

It sounds like 1200 was an arbitrary number, and that you aren't really sure how much you should be eating. Before going on a "diet", there are a few steps to take.
Find out your body fat % -
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/body-fat-calculator/
This will help you figure out your lean mass
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/body-fat-calculator/body-fat-chart.php
From there, figure out what you want your body fat % to be, and determine your "ideal" weight from there.
Forget BMI... most of us don't fit into "average".

Then, plug those numbers into MFP. Excercise you *kitten* off, and eat well (a variety of hearty and nutrient dense foods). Eat more protien and veggies, less carbs (greater volume of food = happier people). If MFP tells you to eat 1200 cals, kick it, and custom change your goals. Ultra low cal (1200-1300) is fine short term for people like myself with A LOT of weight to lose, but, for most people (with out the fat reserves) it's too low, and you'll feel hungry. Heck, I lost 20lbs and now that my body is working better *I* get too hungry on 1200 cals.

hiyomi

I rather exercise than eat that little lol

imdawn

Thanks everyone good tips

da_bears10089

I started off with 1200 too, but after a lot of researching, i've realized that 1200 isn't good for longterm weight loss. I've customized my goals in MFP to match IPOFRM 2.0. here is the messsage board. Eat more to lose weight.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

makes a HUGE difference. I've also started lifting heavy 3 times a week and cardio 1-2 times a week. The scale isn't moving the fastest, but i'm losing a lot of inches, and to me, i will take inches lost over pounds lost any day of the week. Don't be a slave to the scale!

purpleipod

We can't really tell you what to eat. Eat whatever you want, stay within your numbers, pretty simple. Plan your day ahead of time if you're having trouble figuring it out the day of. That seems to help me a lot.

rininger85

My breakfasts consist of one of the following depending on the day and what I plan to eat the rest of the day...

1 Cup Cheerios + 1/2 cup Milk = 160 calories

2 Slice of smart wheat bread with lots of Jif peanut butter = 480 calories

6 slices of turkey bacon (cut in half to fool my mind into thinking its really 12 slices) = 150 calories

I've been alternating between those three for the past couple weeks just depending on what the rest of my meal plan for the day involves, so I always try to plan at least 1 day in advance so I know which breakfast to start my day with