1500 calorie days
I'm really trying to stop eating highly processed foods or frozen foods, but it seems that they are the only way I can actually lose weight as they have calorie counts on the packages. Does anyone have any recipes with accurate calorie counts in which to make a goal of 1500 calories in a day? Would be appreciated.
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1500 calories a day seems really low for a man, how much less than your TDEE is it?
Regarding home cooked meals, what I do is log each ingredient individually, raw, so I get a value for the whole recipe. That's if I'm cooking for just me... if it's a family meal I log the whole meal, then save it in "my meals" (click on "quick tools" to get a drop down menu that allows you to do this) and remove the ingredients from my diary - then I weigh the whole recipe cooked, and weigh my own serving, and work out what fraction of the whole meal I ate. Then I go back to my diary, and enter it as the fraction of the whole thing that I ate... e.g. if I ate one quarter of it, I enter that as 0.25 of 1 meal. (and the same if I make batches to be reheated later, I put the whole recipe in "my meals" then log it as what fraction of the whole recipe it is.
I have found this to be the best way to deal with home cooking, especially as I'm not one to follow a recipe accurately. that way I have a value for what I've actually eaten, not someone else's version of the same recipe0 -
1500 calories a day seems really low for a man, how much less than your TDEE is it?
Regarding home cooked meals, what I do is log each ingredient individually, raw, so I get a value for the whole recipe. That's if I'm cooking for just me... if it's a family meal I log the whole meal, then save it in "my meals" (click on "quick tools" to get a drop down menu that allows you to do this) and remove the ingredients from my diary - then I weigh the whole recipe cooked, and weigh my own serving, and work out what fraction of the whole meal I ate. Then I go back to my diary, and enter it as the fraction of the whole thing that I ate... e.g. if I ate one quarter of it, I enter that as 0.25 of 1 meal. (and the same if I make batches to be reheated later, I put the whole recipe in "my meals" then log it as what fraction of the whole recipe it is.
I have found this to be the best way to deal with home cooking, especially as I'm not one to follow a recipe accurately. that way I have a value for what I've actually eaten, not someone else's version of the same recipe
Or, you could just use the recipe calculator
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Wow, yea, 1500 is quite low for a guy. That's how much *I* eat daily to lose weight, and I'm a 5'1"/140lb woman. You should probably be eating more to lose weight in a sustainable way.
Try to figure out your TDEE here: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
Then go from there to get to the deficit you want to have to help you lose.
I'm doing TDEE - 20%-25%. My TDEE is 2100-2200 cals a day to maintain my weight, so I eat at 1500-1600 to lose about a pound(sometimes more) per week. 0 -
I'm really trying to stop eating highly processed foods or frozen foods, but it seems that they are the only way I can actually lose weight as they have calorie counts on the packages. Does anyone have any recipes with accurate calorie counts in which to make a goal of 1500 calories in a day? Would be appreciated.
Use the site's recipe builder - it's fab.
You just say how many it's going to serve, and then add in each ingredient that goes into your meal, and it's saved in your recipe base for the next time you want to use it.0 -
1500 calories a day seems really low for a man, how much less than your TDEE is it?
Regarding home cooked meals, what I do is log each ingredient individually, raw, so I get a value for the whole recipe. That's if I'm cooking for just me... if it's a family meal I log the whole meal, then save it in "my meals" (click on "quick tools" to get a drop down menu that allows you to do this) and remove the ingredients from my diary - then I weigh the whole recipe cooked, and weigh my own serving, and work out what fraction of the whole meal I ate. Then I go back to my diary, and enter it as the fraction of the whole thing that I ate... e.g. if I ate one quarter of it, I enter that as 0.25 of 1 meal. (and the same if I make batches to be reheated later, I put the whole recipe in "my meals" then log it as what fraction of the whole recipe it is.
I have found this to be the best way to deal with home cooking, especially as I'm not one to follow a recipe accurately. that way I have a value for what I've actually eaten, not someone else's version of the same recipe
Or, you could just use the recipe calculator
You have to search for each individual ingredient using that, so doing it the way I said is quicker and easier, as I can just select all the foods from the tabs same as for when I cook for just one or log any other food. I cook a lot of my food from scratch and never make recipes the same way twice. I delete them from "my meals" after I've eaten all the batches. the recipe thing on here takes about 5 times longer than just logging raw ingredients from the tabs.0 -
Plus i would suggest you read this and calculate your BMR and TDEE, Knowledge is power
Here is good info:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-20130 -
I'm really trying to stop eating highly processed foods or frozen foods, but it seems that they are the only way I can actually lose weight as they have calorie counts on the packages. Does anyone have any recipes with accurate calorie counts in which to make a goal of 1500 calories in a day? Would be appreciated.
Only 1500 calories? That doesn't seem like much for a guy - I eat 1850 a day.
I cook nearly all of my meals from fresh and I don't have much trouble getting the calorie counts? Things like meat generally have it on the packet unless you buy it from the butchers. Fruit and veg are normally pretty accurate from the info on MFP.
Weighing everything is the key.0 -
To try and answer your question, you just need to start using the search engine. I eat loads of fresh fruit, meat and vegies. For example, I often have 150 gms of chicken, and then some vegies such as 1/2 cup peas and corn, a cup of zucchini, maybe 1/2 cup mushrooms, 5 pieces of asparagus etc. All of this is in the search engine. If I have steak or fish, same thing, weigh it and then search for it.
Sometimes my calories may be slightly out, but you never actually know what you are putting in your mouth, and I am as honest as possible. I have lost 33 kgs (73 pounds) so it is working for me.
I eat 1500 calories a day, so around 300 or 400 calories for dinner is good for me. I get hungry so am a bit of a snacker. I eat breakfast, recess (yes I am a teacher!) lunch, sometimes a snack in the afternoon and dinner. So, plenty of food and nowadays none of it is processed or frozen (except the peas and corn).
Feel free to friend request me because then you can see my diary every day. I am not always perfect but I eat well and log everyday. You will rarely see any processed food in there.
Hope this helps in some small way : )0 -
I'm really trying to stop eating highly processed foods or frozen foods, but it seems that they are the only way I can actually lose weight as they have calorie counts on the packages. Does anyone have any recipes with accurate calorie counts in which to make a goal of 1500 calories in a day? Would be appreciated.
Use the site's recipe builder - it's fab.
You just say how many it's going to serve, and then add in each ingredient that goes into your meal, and it's saved in your recipe base for the next time you want to use it.
Agreed. It's in the 'Food' section of MFP. Once you have inputted your favourite recipes you can go back to them time and time again.
A lot of the recipes on the BBC website also have calorie counts. The Hairy Dieter recipes in particular are really good (real food for real people!): http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/search?programmes[]=p00vq8c6
And, yes, like others on here I do think 1500 calories a day is likely to be too low for you. Is this what MFP has suggested? If so, MFP often gets it wrong. If you haven't already then have a look at here for advice on a good calorie intake for losing weight: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013
In a nutshell, calculate your TDEE and take off 20% (http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html). It will give you slow, steady weight loss that will stay off 0 -
As people have stated 1500 seems to be very low and I agree, however being 295 @ 6'2" I actually am gaining weight at 2000 calories a day (gained 4 pounds last week). I highly doubt it is muscle due to the fact that I haven't been working out the last couple of weeks. I'm only doing 1500 calories to push myself over the plateau I am at.
Entering the raw ingredients sounds like a good idea, I'd just need to start measuring food and weighing it before I start eating it. Thanks for the suggestions everyone.0 -
Try to increase your walking for exercise. Invest in a food scale. I weight now everything. 1 tb peanut butter can fluctuate a lot in weight!
Putting your stats at scoobie, I get BMR 2659! and TDEE-25%=2393 for someone doing deskjob with almost no exercise! I think you were undercalculating how much you were eating in order to gain with 2000 calories. There is no way you have gained 4lb last week by eating 2000 since each 1lb equals 3500 calories, above your daily TDEE. It would mean that this week you ate 14000! calories, above what your body needs to maintain the basic functions of life.0 -
As people have stated 1500 seems to be very low and I agree, however being 295 @ 6'2" I actually am gaining weight at 2000 calories a day (gained 4 pounds last week). I highly doubt it is muscle due to the fact that I haven't been working out the last couple of weeks. I'm only doing 1500 calories to push myself over the plateau I am at.
Entering the raw ingredients sounds like a good idea, I'd just need to start measuring food and weighing it before I start eating it. Thanks for the suggestions everyone.
Being 295 at 6"2 - you need to eat far more than 1500 cals! My partner is almost the exact same stats as you (he weighs 7lb more) and he is eating 2900 cals a day.
Eating at too low a deficit won't help you lose weight. Plus you will be hungry and far more likely to give up. Try upping your cals to at least your BMR.0 -
I am increasing my walking by walking around the block which take 40 minutes being 2.5 miles while decreasing my calories. May also be the lack of sleep I'm getting because I haven't been tired in the last couple of weeks at night.
The thing I don't like about rating scales Body Mass and is that it doesn't take into consideration body types. I'm just very pessimistic about eating something that doesn't have calories on the carton at this time. But thanks for suggestions everyone.0 -
Try to increase your walking for exercise. Invest in a food scale. I weight now everything. 1 tb peanut butter can fluctuate a lot in weight!
Putting your stats at scoobie, I get BMR 2659! and TDEE-25%=2393 for someone doing deskjob with almost no exercise! I think you were undercalculating how much you were eating in order to gain with 2000 calories. There is no way you have gained 4lb last week by eating 2000 since each 1lb equals 3500 calories, above your daily TDEE. It would mean that this week you ate 14000! calories, above what your body needs to maintain the basic functions of life.
Agreed. I can easily put on 4lbs day to day, but it quickly comes off again. Anything from water to the amount of salt you have eaten can have a big effect. Weight loss is not a linear thing - I often go for three weeks without loss as my body adjusts and holds on to water, then lose 3lbs in one week. Some weeks I put on a couple of pounds, the next week I lose four (there are quite a few stories about this on MFP if you have a search).
How long have you tried eating 2000 calories? If it's just for one week then that is not enough to get a true picture. Stick at it for four weeks and if you weight loss is still not going in the right direction, then you need to have a rethink (and a trip to your doctor if you are gaining as you should not be gaining on that calorie intake).
Hope you find a happy balance 0 -
yup, its all about weighing/measuring your ingredients. it is admittedly annoying and time consuming at first but it gets easier. One tip is to add the words "raw" or "fresh" to your search for any fruits and veggies. That helps bring back only just that item in the results instead of complete dishes that include that ingredient.0
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As people have stated 1500 seems to be very low and I agree, however being 295 @ 6'2" I actually am gaining weight at 2000 calories a day (gained 4 pounds last week). I highly doubt it is muscle due to the fact that I haven't been working out the last couple of weeks. I'm only doing 1500 calories to push myself over the plateau I am at.
Entering the raw ingredients sounds like a good idea, I'd just need to start measuring food and weighing it before I start eating it. Thanks for the suggestions everyone.
Unless you ate 14000 calories over your maintenence, that 4lb wasn't fat.
It was probably water retention, depending on how carb heavy you ate - see attached - http://www.justinowings.com/understanding-bodyweight-and-glycogen-de/0 -
Have a look at my diary if you like. Click on xxxminniexxx next to the post, will take you to my profile...view diary.0
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Plus i would suggest you read this and calculate your BMR and TDEE, Knowledge is power
Here is good info:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013
Definitely use this and try the hairy dieters cook book it has lovely recipes with all calories listed.0 -
Quaker - Old Fashioned Rolled Oats - Dry, 1/2 cup
Pb2 - Powdered Peanut Butter, 2 tbsp
Bananas - Raw, 1 small (6" to 6-7/8" long)
Vanilla extract - Imitation, no alcohol, 1 tsp
Egg Beaters - 100% Egg Whites, 6 tbsp
Blueberries - Raw, 0.25 cup
Per Serving: 358 calories 63g carbs 5g fat 21g protein 10g fiber 245 mg sodium
I just mash up the banana really well, add in all the ingredients, plus a little dash of cinnamon and cook them like pancakes. Takes about 10 minutes total and fills me up for hours. You can also alternate some ingredients to suit your dietary needs...like using 2 whole eggs rather than egg whites, using different fruit (or no fruit) besides the banana, and whatever spices you want. I just find they are less bland with the cinnamon. You also don't have to use the PB 2 but I love it.0 -
It's interesting that a lot of people find 1500 too little. I'm 5'11" and started around 250 lbs. I started eating around 14-1500 for an average day and i usually have about 12-1300 these days now that I'm a bit under 200 I lose an average of about 1.5-2 lbs a week and feel fine. It's not like I'm avoiding eating either (though a few times this last week, I've been a bit bad with eating something large in one meal and not much else for the others - horrible plan overall).Good luck either way, I hope you can do it!0
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I'm just very pessimistic about eating something that doesn't have calories on the carton at this time. But thanks for suggestions everyone.
You can try eating self contained items like eggs that you know have standard calories so you can slowly learn and become comfortable. A large egg is 70 calories. You can hard boil them, or make an omelet with 1tb olive oil and spinach or zucchini. Even if you go over on the spinach, it has few calories. You can also eat a lot of green salad. Get mixed greens, or an iceberg lettuce and top them with a can of tuna in olive oil and nothing else except grated carrots or tomatoes. That way you will have a low calorie item, ie lettuce which is ok if you do not have an accurate weight and combine it with a packaged item. Bake potatoes but top them with Greek yogurt and pepper. Eat fresh fruits, low fat fruits and vegetables like tomatoes. These will be items that is ok if you go over the caloric limits. Have you eliminated soda?0 -
A friend of mine lost a lot of weight without logging - he was about 8 stone overweight at the time. What worked for him was to only eat meals or individual foods that were 5% fat or less. It became a very easy way to check whether something was OK or not, and it's not hard to find out as lots of food (as well as processed meals) will say on the packet.0
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Not sure if someone has already mentioned this but the weights on packages actually aren't that accurate. Basically when the package says 250 grams it's actually allowed to weigh more (but not less). So if you're just eating out of packages and taking all the numbers at face value you may well be eating more than you think you are. Try weighing some of the packages and see.
As the others have said, the recipe builder is great for calculating cals of regular meals that you cook, but also websites like http://www.recipe.com have lots of recipes with the nutritional information already calculated.
Hope you break the plateau and start losing weight again 0 -
Do whatever is working for you. While I myself follow the TDEE/BMR, I am not going to push it onto someone else. And furthermore, you weren't asking if you were eating too little, you were simply asking for recipe ideas. That being said....
All of my recipes I input myself on here. I have my inputs for roasted veggies, meatloaf, etc... that I use. The best part is if you switch it up, you can go in and tweak the recipe a little to reflect the updated version of what you cooked. I would take a look at skinnytaste.com or go out and buy some low calorie cookbooks. Believe it or not, Bobby Dean (Paula Dean's son) has a really good cookbook out that has a lot of redone recipes that are awesome. I have taken some of them and tweaked them even further to be even less in calories. And there are lots of other books out there that are awesome!
Sit down and plan out your day the day before. Go over breakfast, lunch and dinner...and your snacks!0 -
I eat 1500 calories daily, sometimes 1600. I'm 5'3.
Peanut butter is your best friend! (only all natural though. no ingredients except peanuts!)
You could introduce new whole grains into your diet.
Cheese can be a good way to get calories, if eaten in moderation. I stick to about an ounce (30 grams) daily or every other day.
Use chicken a lot to get good, wholesome protein. This goes for all meat, provided it's not processed and crappy.
Fat is your friend - eat higher fat foods. No, I don't mean mcdonalds. I mean avocados, and nuts. Just one walnut has 20 calories!
Make zucchini bread to snack on.
Introduce healthy oils to your diet (like coconut oil)
Try Peanut butter and banana icecream. I make it all the time, and it's about 200 calories... OF PURE BLISS.
and remember: Treat yourself. If it fits your macros, have a cookie! ( the trick is only eating one!)0 -
As people have stated 1500 seems to be very low and I agree, however being 295 @ 6'2" I actually am gaining weight at 2000 calories a day (gained 4 pounds last week). I highly doubt it is muscle due to the fact that I haven't been working out the last couple of weeks. I'm only doing 1500 calories to push myself over the plateau I am at.
Entering the raw ingredients sounds like a good idea, I'd just need to start measuring food and weighing it before I start eating it. Thanks for the suggestions everyone.
That doesn't sound possible. Maybe you have a medical condition? Or maybe you didn't log accurately? I'm a female, 5'4" and 200 pounds and losing on 2000 calories. My TDEE is 2500.0 -
It's interesting that a lot of people find 1500 too little. I'm 5'11" and started around 250 lbs. I started eating around 14-1500 for an average day and i usually have about 12-1300 these days now that I'm a bit under 200 I lose an average of about 1.5-2 lbs a week and feel fine. It's not like I'm avoiding eating either (though a few times this last week, I've been a bit bad with eating something large in one meal and not much else for the others - horrible plan overall).Good luck either way, I hope you can do it!
As 1200 calories is for females, 1600 is for males. It's not recommended to go below that. You could be losing too much muscle mass that way. :ohwell:0 -
I cook mostly from scratch (though my diary doesn't always reflect it because I'll use closest-approximations sometimes).
If I'm eating a meal made of whole foods cooked relatively simply, I just add the components. So when we have chicken/bean burritos, I add how much grilled chicken, black beans, cheese, and greens I put into my tortilla. If we have chicken, asparagus, and couscous -- I just add those three things to my diary.
If I'm making a one-pot meal, like a curry, I add everything to the recipe creator and set "servings" to the number of servings I get when I divide the pot between our plates. That has the advantage of everything being there the next time I make it.
There are some recipe calculator sites I like better than the way MFP works, so I also have used those and then input the results as though they were a food product.
Remember, the nutrition labels on packaged foods are not required to be completely accurate -- they're allowed a LOT of leeway. This means that those labels are not necessarily more accurate than using the calculators yourself. It also means that you shouldn't let the labels be the reason you don't eat the food you want to be eating.0 -
The freezer and my kitchen scale are my favorite tools! Build a recipe (trying to stay as healthy as possible) in the food recipe calculator. Adjust the number of servings in the recipe to achieve your desired calorie intake.
Use your kitchen scale to calculate the weight of the entire recipe. Divide the amount by the number of servings you decided in the recipe builder and freeze the portions in zip lock bags. If you do that 5 times you could easily have as many as 20 meals.... Double up on your favorite recipes & build a freezer full of favorites!
You can freeze almost everything! Be sure to label and date your meals. Believe me, after meals are frozen, it is sometimes very difficult to figure out what you have. As an added bonus, it is very simple to add that item in your daily diary.0 -
As people have stated 1500 seems to be very low and I agree, however being 295 @ 6'2" I actually am gaining weight at 2000 calories a day (gained 4 pounds last week). I highly doubt it is muscle due to the fact that I haven't been working out the last couple of weeks. I'm only doing 1500 calories to push myself over the plateau I am at.
Entering the raw ingredients sounds like a good idea, I'd just need to start measuring food and weighing it before I start eating it. Thanks for the suggestions everyone.
A lot of people miscalculate their daily calories. Make your diary viewable. 2000 calories with light to moderate exercise and you should lose no problem.0
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