How do you decide what to eat?

jc86
jc86 Posts: 151
edited December 2024 in Food and Nutrition
How do you decide what to eat? Do you just have certain go-to meals that you recycle through? Or do you aim for a certain number of calories per meal then throw together whatever you have on hand? I suck at this. Today for example I had like 650 calories left when I got home from work at 5. I had a bag of popcorn for 100 cals...then made dinner an hour later for like 350 cals...then an hour later had cottage cheese. I think I need to plan better or something.

Replies

  • offthedeependay
    offthedeependay Posts: 435 Member
    I eat when I am hungry and stay under my daily calorie goal,,it just that easy
    adding,,,I eat healthy food,count my calories of food before I prepare what I plan on eatting,eat everything in moderation,try to eat different foods every day,,food is fuel..
  • creature275
    creature275 Posts: 348 Member
    I find the best success comes from having a solid meal plan...key word is plan...to know what your putting into your body and why, eventually the goal is to look at food as fuel and not even as food anymore.
  • suzywuzy90
    suzywuzy90 Posts: 20 Member
    I plan ahead. Other wise I eat poorly and feel hungry later on. With good planning, I can eat smaller amount of calories with high fiber, good protein and low fat and feel full for a long time.
  • mnjhowell
    mnjhowell Posts: 11 Member
    Planning ahead is key as the others stated. I also stick to very strict protein first.
  • soontobesam
    soontobesam Posts: 714 Member
    Planning is key. It can be kind of boring but I know essentially what I will be eating every day (with some potential for variety).

    Oatmeal for breakfast, lately a protein shake for lunch (new to protein shakes so testing out different versions), Chicken breast baked in the oven with some BBQ sauce on it for flavor) with veggies and rice and or as a sand which. Every day after I get home from the gym I take out portioned out chicken from the freezer and I know it's game on for later.

    I also enter my food into MFP in the morning at some point during the day so I see what my day looks like and I can make tweaks here and there.
  • Elen_Sia
    Elen_Sia Posts: 638 Member
    Every weekend I plan and prepare a week's worth of meals. I make easy-to-grab stuff for work lunches and cook a few slightly more elaborate meals for dinner. And hard-boiled eggs -- 24 hard-boiled eggs every week. NOMZ. :flowerforyou:
  • Hood25
    Hood25 Posts: 201 Member
    I plan my breakfast and lunch ahead of time. I always try to even out the protein and carbs as much as possible. I don't restrict carbs but I watch them and plan for more protein.

    Breakfast I usually aim for plenty of protein, some carbs and fiber. I have breakfast burritos with bits of sausage, shredded cheese and scrambled egg whites or 100 calorie english mcmuffins with bits of sausage, one whole egg and 1/4 cup of shredded cheese that I premake and freeze so I can just pull them out of the freezer the night before. I add a really small gala apple or half a pear for fiber as well. Since i've started eating this I have felt full until lunch. Just under 400 calories

    Lunch i usually have a wrap on a whole wheat tortilla with mustard, 2oz of deli meat, and spinach along with 1/2 cup of cottage cheese and a sargento string cheese just under 400 calories. Lots of protein.

    Snacks I have lightly salted cashews or a protein bar and sometimes i measure out 1 oz. of lay's kettle chips

    For dinner i aim for more protein in chicken breast with a salad or sweet potato and i have dark chocolate for desert. I eat what i cook my husband but i just measure and weigh my portions

    Since I measure and weigh my portions I save them as meals so i don't have to enter all the ingredients and stuff every time. If you can somehow measure your dad's portions and make an estimated guess you can save them as your meals. we tend to cook the same things over and over so I save them for convenience of recording.
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