Need help with 'cleaner' eating

mozero

i buy a wholemeal roll from a local bakery and make a salad and sliced turkey roll for lunches. then i cut it in half, have half at 12, and the other half at 3. stack each one with a carrot, a piece of fruit, and lots of water, and i feel full on very few calories, with a good mix of lean protein and starchy and fibrous carbs

wow 1200 is low. at 1200 cals you have to do alot of things right for it to be effective. the starvation response will kick in after just a few days of that and you will really struggle to lose anything (as well as be grumpy, tired and hungry all day). theres nothing more devastating than struggling through 3 weeks of 1200s and not seeing the scales move at all. hunger will be a big problem for you too.

i suggest 1400-1500, but with cardio.

if you are going to keep going at that level, or even 14-1500
- eat every 3 hours. just keep putting fuel on that fat burning fire. do it even if your not hungry at that time.
- do cardio. morning is best.
- water, water, water.
- get a multivitamin, one that includes iron and b. you wont be getting that stuff from food, because you dont eat enough, so you have to get it from elsewhere.
- do what bodybuilders call re-feeds. every 4th day, eat your maintenance level, but stay clean. this kick starts a floundering metabolism.
- stacking. stack different types of food with others and eat them at the same time. before every meal, eat a carrot and wash it down with water, and follow your meal with a 40-80 calorie snack of something different.
- eat slowly. put down your food between every bite, and wash it down with water or skim milk.

by doing these things, you can still lose weight on very low calorie diets, and the hunger and tiredness doesent turn you into a zombie . i have spent weeks and months at those levels and its really, really tough, it takes alot of organisation and its not that effective and not really sustainable.

nowadays i tend to hit 2000 (im a male, it would be 1800 for you) and get my deficits with high intensity cardio and weight lifting. im ALOT happier, im full of energy, its alot more sustainable, and i still lose weight at the same rate anyway

mozero

also, clean can mean different things, but i use it the way bodybuilders use it, which is a good macronutrient ratio, say 50 carb, 30 protein, 20 fat

with
- no processed sugar at all
- very little saturated fat
- starchy carbs like wholemeal bread and sweet potato
- fibrous carbs which are fresh veges
- lean proteins like chicken breast

knovello82

I have been sticking to 1200 calories or a little more during the week, while eating my exercise calories. It has not been difficult. During the weekend I am higher, but I am keeping up with logging on the weekends and I hope it will cause me to lower my calories on the weekend (& to quit the darn drinking).

The thing is, I am a creature of habbit & I am not a cook, so when I am at work during the day I usually stick to the same things-instant oatmeal for breakfast, grilled chicken wrap for lunch, fiber 1 bar for afternoon snack. I keep reading that the 'instant' & 'diet' stuff is not good, and I agree. The problem is-I don't know what the heck to replace it with. I have tried fresh fruit for breakfast before, but after eating it for a few minutes I'm like "bleh" & throw it out-only to be starving half an hour later. Can you guys help give me some ideas?

Dinner is easier, because my boyfriend is the cook & has been making healthy meals, like chicken & rice, pork chops, salads. It's what I'm eating at work I need help with.

My concern is you're not eating enough, forget the clean eating bs, start eating more food, have a proper amount. Make sure you do things right. One step at a time.

Wow thanks for all of the yummy suggestions!

You are right, 1200 isn't enough. I just manually changed my goal to 1500. My brother is a trainer, & he said 1200 is way too low unless I am 125 pounds, which I am not (otherwise I would not be here lol). Yesterday I felt very sluggish & I didn't eat enough at work, so I made sure to eat a little extra last night, already feeling better.

I saw some arguments on here as to why I posted-I just tend to reach for the easy, prepackaged 'diet' foods intead of more, fresh stuff because I don't cook. But there are a lot of great ideas on here & I will try them.

FlaxMilk

That's good, "yummy food" is easier to stick to right? So it's more likely you will do this for the long term and be successful. (cough cough)

Yes, it was nice of the people who responded to her request for ideas of fresher foods to eat than the prepackaged "diet" foods with suggestions of different foods. They gave her some ideas that will help her stay the course and have long-term success within the parameters she asked for in her post.

Best of luck to you, OP!

Laurelthequeen

"You can make a big batch of REAL oatmeal, (I prefer steel cut oats, but old fashioned - NOT quick) and portion it out for each morning. Then all you have to do is heat it up and maybe add some milk, honey, peanut butter, chopped sauteed apples with cinnamon and nutmeg, or chopped strawberries. If you like it the same way each morning, you could even make your whole batch like that. Oatmeal is great with frozen blueberries too! "

Does it stay well if you make it the night before , I want to make it ahead of time for my husband to take to work for breakfast.

Yes. You may have to monkey with the liquid levels a bit. I find that even if I let it cool and pack it up "soupy", by the time I pull out out the next morning, it has solidified pretty effectively. I prefer to have it soupier with some milk though, so I just add milk and whatever else I'm feeling like eating that morning and microwave it for a minute or so, then mix it up to liquefy it a bit.

tigerblue

I love these ideas. I'm always seeking to eat fewer processed foods. The issue for me is not cooking. I like to cook. It is time and planning and shopping. . .

When you are a working mom of busy kids sometimes it comes down to a choice between workout time or cooking from scratch.

Oatmeal is always easy though--regular oats cook in 3 minutes in the microwave. Just make sure your bowl is large or it boils over.

How long and at what temp do you cook the little egg muffins/ mini quiches?