Diary Advice Needed (Be Gentle)

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EccentricDad
EccentricDad Posts: 875 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Things you need to know

Food intolerances: Wheat, Oat, Rye, Barley, lactose (suspect Dairy as a whole), sugar (affects my ADHD - fruit seems to be okay though), artificial sweeteners, and Soy (possibly all legumes but not sure). If I eat any of the grains, I get bloated, have acid reflux, and my digestive system feels like I swallowed knives and I need to eat "soothing foods" to aid the wound (which only exacerbates the problem). The rest of them either give me migraines, body aches (like an allergy would), anxiety, mood changes, irregular heart beats, arthritis, a dull heavy feeling in my stomach, and/or brain fog (ADHD symptoms).

Budget: $250~$350 per week to feed a family of 4 (30 male, 31 female, 10 male, 6 female).
Caloric Needs for Light Activity (cleaning house, caring for kids, cooking, standing most day) 2206 calories (TDEE)
Caloric Needs for Sedentary (if cleaning and home making doesn't count as "light activity) 1925 calories (TDEE)
Caloric BMR that you all believe I should never eat below: 1646
Currently eating 1450 (from 1200 last week) because 1) I don't want to increase too fast from a 1200 calorie "eating disorder", 2) because the cost of quality food is too damn expensive, 3) because I want to still be at a deficiency so I can see weight loss (but more because of reason 1 & 2)

Oh, and I have never been at a "gain" on the scale, but the reason I'm asking for advice is more of a nutrition question than a weight loss question. I only saw a 0.4 loss this week but that I guess should be expected eating more calories. But I saw the .4 loss at a 1 lbs deficiency! And I only weigh in once a week. :indifferent:

I am sorry if I take your advice poorly. As an HSP, I have a very tender ego and I get defensive very easily.

Replies

  • EccentricDad
    EccentricDad Posts: 875 Member
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    BUMP (shortened it for all you tl;dr people).
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
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    what is your question?
  • AnnaMGP
    AnnaMGP Posts: 60 Member
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    You need to get with your doctor and ask to be tested for Celiac Disease. These are classic symptoms of it. Will mean going on a gluten free diet.
  • EccentricDad
    EccentricDad Posts: 875 Member
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    You need to get with your doctor and ask to be tested for Celiac Disease. These are classic symptoms of it. Will mean going on a gluten free diet.

    I am gluten free right now. Feels great! No health insurance though so can't get tested; must just assume I am.
  • EccentricDad
    EccentricDad Posts: 875 Member
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    what is your question?

    View Diary. Offer advice. Read context above. My Goal: Lose weight SAFELY. Get me there.
  • linz1125
    linz1125 Posts: 441 Member
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    I think your diary looks pretty good, there is just one thing that jumped out at me, and that was the dole salad...if it was just lettuce I would try to add some stuff to it. Maybe switch out the iceburg for romaine. I like to add things like walnuts, dried cranberries or rasins, or even grate a carrot into my salad.

    Have you considered buying more meat in bulk to save money? I think you can definitely eat a clean diet on $250/week (depending on where you live) for 4 people. Maybe try to look for more economical options and shop the sales and farmers markets. I think with a few minor changes you could see more money opening up so you can incorporate more protien into your diet. I would say to clip coupons too, but I find that the coupons are all for processed stuff that I don't want to eat...So I don't even do that. If you have a close friend/family memeber see if they will take you to Sams or Costco to get some meat and freezer bags so you can freeze it. Then your weekly budget goes down, leaving a little more room for more veggies/unprocessed food.

    Also, have you tried Quinoa? I find a lot of really great quinoa recipes, and it is very quick to make...not sure if it is something you are allergic to because i'm not familiar with wheat/rye/oat allergies.

    Please dont' take any of this with any offence - Its just an honest reply and suggestion. I truly hope that you do find some suggestions that can help you out.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    Doesnt look too bad except you need more calories as you know. Vlcd lead to loss of lbm which it critical to overall health. The more LBM you have the stronger your immune system, better insulin control, and more protected and effective your body will function.
  • leilaphoenix
    leilaphoenix Posts: 839 Member
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    Really sounds like you need to see a doctor to get a proper diagnosis on what is going on with these 'intolerances'.
  • EccentricDad
    EccentricDad Posts: 875 Member
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    I think your diary looks pretty good, there is just one thing that jumped out at me, and that was the dole salad...if it was just lettuce I would try to add some stuff to it. Maybe switch out the iceburg for romaine. I like to add things like walnuts, dried cranberries or rasins, or even grate a carrot into my salad.

    Have you considered buying more meat in bulk to save money? I think you can definitely eat a clean diet on $250/week (depending on where you live) for 4 people. Maybe try to look for more economical options and shop the sales and farmers markets. I think with a few minor changes you could see more money opening up so you can incorporate more protien into your diet. I would say to clip coupons too, but I find that the coupons are all for processed stuff that I don't want to eat...So I don't even do that. If you have a close friend/family memeber see if they will take you to Sams or Costco to get some meat and freezer bags so you can freeze it. Then your weekly budget goes down, leaving a little more room for more veggies/unprocessed food.

    Also, have you tried Quinoa? I find a lot of really great quinoa recipes, and it is very quick to make...not sure if it is something you are allergic to because i'm not familiar with wheat/rye/oat allergies.

    Please dont' take any of this with any offence - Its just an honest reply and suggestion. I truly hope that you do find some suggestions that can help you out.

    I don't know if I tolerate Quinoa well or not. I had it once but I also had a yogurt with it so I don't know which gave me reactions. Quinoa is not cheap but I do have several boxes of it right now. Just trying to find the right meal to prepare it with. I don't know where to find large bags of it though if I do well digesting it.

    I have a huge freezer but without a paid membership to Sams or Costco it does me no good. The family packs at grocery stores only offer $0.20 cents off per pound... It should be more like $1 off per pound!
  • EccentricDad
    EccentricDad Posts: 875 Member
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    Really sounds like you need to see a doctor to get a proper diagnosis on what is going on with these 'intolerances'.

    Yeah, I do. But whether you believe me or not is NOT the question. In April of 2010 I had to take 5 servings of Tums a day to keep my acid reflux tame. After quitting the listed grains, I haven't had to take a single Tums since. Explain that one?
  • EccentricDad
    EccentricDad Posts: 875 Member
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    Doesnt look too bad except you need more calories as you know. Vlcd lead to loss of lbm which it critical to overall health. The more LBM you have the stronger your immune system, better insulin control, and more protected and effective your body will function.

    I agree entirely. I just need to know how do I do that afford-ably and still eat healthy. The way I'm eating now is already putting a strain on the family. I tried eating 1900 calories last week and I almost ate an entire week's worth of food to get there. Ended up filling up on fruit and peanut butter (a tolerable legume).
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
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    Doesnt look too bad except you need more calories as you know. Vlcd lead to loss of lbm which it critical to overall health. The more LBM you have the stronger your immune system, better insulin control, and more protected and effective your body will function.

    I agree entirely. I just need to know how do I do that afford-ably and still eat healthy. The way I'm eating now is already putting a strain on the family. I tried eating 1900 calories last week and I almost ate an entire week's worth of food to get there. Ended up filling up on fruit and peanut butter (a tolerable legume).

    Start using more oils - cook with olive oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, etc. It will boost your calories in a fairly cost effective way.

    And I do think you could find more deals on bulk meat - you just have to know where to look. Check out Aldi's for good prices on frozen chicken and fish, do an internet search for farmer's markets that might have cost effective solutions. Also, you can eat cheaper cuts of beef (which will have more calories - a plus for you). I make chuck steak instead of sirloin - it's about half the price and when I served it to a friend a couple of weeks ago, I was told it was the best steak he had ever had. It's all in how you cook it (low & slow for cheaper meats).

    Also, instead of buying bags of baby carrots - why not buy large carrots and cut them up yourself? They are cheaper that way. The same goes for any veggie that's already sliced or packaged for individual servings. Instead of salad mix, buy heads of lettuce and chop/tear them yourself.
  • EccentricDad
    EccentricDad Posts: 875 Member
    Options
    Doesnt look too bad except you need more calories as you know. Vlcd lead to loss of lbm which it critical to overall health. The more LBM you have the stronger your immune system, better insulin control, and more protected and effective your body will function.

    I agree entirely. I just need to know how do I do that afford-ably and still eat healthy. The way I'm eating now is already putting a strain on the family. I tried eating 1900 calories last week and I almost ate an entire week's worth of food to get there. Ended up filling up on fruit and peanut butter (a tolerable legume).

    Start using more oils - cook with olive oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, etc. It will boost your calories in a fairly cost effective way.

    And I do think you could find more deals on bulk meat - you just have to know where to look. Check out Aldi's for good prices on frozen chicken and fish, do an internet search for farmer's markets that might have cost effective solutions. Also, you can eat cheaper cuts of beef (which will have more calories - a plus for you). I make chuck steak instead of sirloin - it's about half the price and when I served it to a friend a couple of weeks ago, I was told it was the best steak he had ever had. It's all in how you cook it (low & slow for cheaper meats).

    Also, instead of buying bags of baby carrots - why not buy large carrots and cut them up yourself? They are cheaper that way. The same goes for any veggie that's already sliced or packaged for individual servings. Instead of salad mix, buy heads of lettuce and chop/tear them yourself.

    Very helpful, thank you.
    I'm still very concerned about saturated fats though. Doesn't chuck steak come with more saturated fats? I'm learning to embrace fats, but I know there are ones to avoid like saturated and trans fats. Having a hard time wrapping my head around the "fat doesn't make you fat" concept; goes against everything I was taught as a kid. Also, I don't want to gum up my arteries with cholesterol but medical science hasn't reached a conclusive study where the high cholesterol of the bad one is coming from (dietary cholesterol or saturated fats or both)...
  • Flafster
    Flafster Posts: 106 Member
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    What about moving to a more Asian diet? Rice, rice noodles, soba noodles (you'll need to check ingredients list), fish, lots of fruit & veg. Buy really good knife / cleaver then buy whole chickens, joint & freeze the portions so you should save money on pre-packed stuff.

    Get to know your butcher, they're a great resource of information on cheaper cuts, and how to prepare them. Actually most of them will sell you a chicken, jointed at the same price as a whole chicken.

    Slow cooked stews can be great for feeding a family, especially if bulked out with things like sweet potatoes, lentils, chickpeas etc ( I know you said you suspect issues with legumes, but I think you should certainly test this, it's a vast group to skip)

    Oh also corn. cornmeal / polenta can be great to cook with. If you can tolerate chickpeas, chickpea flour is also good for making dumpling style things to go in stews.

    Basically shift your thinking Eastwards
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    Options
    Doesnt look too bad except you need more calories as you know. Vlcd lead to loss of lbm which it critical to overall health. The more LBM you have the stronger your immune system, better insulin control, and more protected and effective your body will function.

    I agree entirely. I just need to know how do I do that afford-ably and still eat healthy. The way I'm eating now is already putting a strain on the family. I tried eating 1900 calories last week and I almost ate an entire week's worth of food to get there. Ended up filling up on fruit and peanut butter (a tolerable legume).

    Start using more oils - cook with olive oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, etc. It will boost your calories in a fairly cost effective way.

    And I do think you could find more deals on bulk meat - you just have to know where to look. Check out Aldi's for good prices on frozen chicken and fish, do an internet search for farmer's markets that might have cost effective solutions. Also, you can eat cheaper cuts of beef (which will have more calories - a plus for you). I make chuck steak instead of sirloin - it's about half the price and when I served it to a friend a couple of weeks ago, I was told it was the best steak he had ever had. It's all in how you cook it (low & slow for cheaper meats).

    Also, instead of buying bags of baby carrots - why not buy large carrots and cut them up yourself? They are cheaper that way. The same goes for any veggie that's already sliced or packaged for individual servings. Instead of salad mix, buy heads of lettuce and chop/tear them yourself.

    Very helpful, thank you.
    I'm still very concerned about saturated fats though. Doesn't chuck steak come with more saturated fats? I'm learning to embrace fats, but I know there are ones to avoid like saturated and trans fats. Having a hard time wrapping my head around the "fat doesn't make you fat" concept; goes against everything I was taught as a kid. Also, I don't want to gum up my arteries with cholesterol but medical science hasn't reached a conclusive study where the high cholesterol of the bad one is coming from (dietary cholesterol or saturated fats or both)...

    I think there's always going to be some new study that says something or other is bad for you. I'm pretty skeptical of any of those studies, honestly. I guess it all comes down to who is funding the study, and who gets the greatest benefit from the findings.

    With that said, here's some info from the Mayo Clinic on lean cuts of beef:

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cuts-of-beef/MY01387

    And here is a link to info about the fat contents of the 29 cuts mentioned by the Mayo Clinic:

    http://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/CMDocs/BIWFD/29 lean cuts wallet card.pdf

    Per this document (and yes, I'm aware that's it's published by the beef people....who want you to eat more beef...but every other site seems to have the same info.), chuck steak is pretty on par with everything else.

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