I admit it, I have no idea what I'm doing...
Lulzaroonie
Posts: 222 Member
I always thought low calories, working out would work, and it is to an extent, but very very slowly.
I see people losing 30lbs in a matter of months, and I lost 30lbs in a year.
Now it's been suggested I eat more calories, because on an average, I'm lucky if I make it to 1000 calories per day.
I eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, and apparently too many carbs, so was finding myself not very hungry.
Now I'm trying to cut back the carbs a bit, but I have nooooooo idea what to do now.
I don't eat fish and I don't eat eggs, don't like them, please don't suggest them...
The veg and fruit isn't a problem... just... where do I get my calories and fat and protein from?
I'm on a seriously low income, this week I have to try feed my family of three on £15 ($23), and don't want to push my dieting onto my son who is only 4 and is a normal weight for his age. I can't justify buying nuts and avocados for myself as it would take out a pretty chunk of grocery food for them.
I'm not making excuses, you work it out. Feed an adult (one normal eater) and one child (normal eater) who aren't dieting, and are very active, and me who is trying to keep a lowish carb diet, while hitting macros. I seriously need help with this.
I see people losing 30lbs in a matter of months, and I lost 30lbs in a year.
Now it's been suggested I eat more calories, because on an average, I'm lucky if I make it to 1000 calories per day.
I eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, and apparently too many carbs, so was finding myself not very hungry.
Now I'm trying to cut back the carbs a bit, but I have nooooooo idea what to do now.
I don't eat fish and I don't eat eggs, don't like them, please don't suggest them...
The veg and fruit isn't a problem... just... where do I get my calories and fat and protein from?
I'm on a seriously low income, this week I have to try feed my family of three on £15 ($23), and don't want to push my dieting onto my son who is only 4 and is a normal weight for his age. I can't justify buying nuts and avocados for myself as it would take out a pretty chunk of grocery food for them.
I'm not making excuses, you work it out. Feed an adult (one normal eater) and one child (normal eater) who aren't dieting, and are very active, and me who is trying to keep a lowish carb diet, while hitting macros. I seriously need help with this.
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Replies
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Do you like peanut butter? In my experience, kids love it and you can eat it with your apples. It's one of the "good" fats and would help to increase your calories! Good luck.0
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you could try using oil to cook? what about some meat when they're on sale? peanut butter? nuts and seeds? avocado/guacamole, hummus with raw veggies? tofu? protein powder?
Don't know the prices of things over there so just some suggestions!0 -
Yeah I like peanut butter, and we do have it normally in the house as the other half likes it, but I don't like the idea of just spooning it out and slapping it on things haha.
I think I'm really scared of doing something wrong, and my lack of knowledge is really holding me back.
To me, the amount of food I would have to eat (not including avocados, peanut butter etc) to hit my calorie goal would be a LOT of food, and to me, lots of food = gains, and this is a mindset I really have to work myself out of!
I also have a dietician I see once a month, but she can't tell me anything more than I already know, and she can't make a meal plan for me! Are they supposed to do that?0 -
I also have a dietician I see once a month, but she can't tell me anything more than I already know, and she can't make a meal plan for me! Are they supposed to do that?
That's so ridiculous...what in the world are you seeing her for then?! Ditch the dietitian for quality groceries!0 -
You don't neccessarily have to eat A LOT of food to meet the higher calorie goal. You need to eat foods denser in calories, and possibly a little higher in fats (the good fats). If you made your diary public we may be able to make better suggestions for you. Or take a look at other people's diaries to see what they are eating and you aren't.Yeah I like peanut butter, and we do have it normally in the house as the other half likes it, but I don't like the idea of just spooning it out and slapping it on things haha.
I think I'm really scared of doing something wrong, and my lack of knowledge is really holding me back.
To me, the amount of food I would have to eat (not including avocados, peanut butter etc) to hit my calorie goal would be a LOT of food, and to me, lots of food = gains, and this is a mindset I really have to work myself out of!
I also have a dietician I see once a month, but she can't tell me anything more than I already know, and she can't make a meal plan for me! Are they supposed to do that?0 -
30lbs in a year is good IMO and you're likely to keep that weight off.
You can eat the same as the rest of your family but you just have to keep your portions in check.
Do you like beans and lentils? They're a good and very cheap food, they can help you get more protein without breaking the bank on meat.0 -
3 chicken breasts (pre-cooked) in a store with less than decent quality food, is £3, fresh from a butcher, it's by weight and ends up a lot more. My other halfs sister once bragged to me they bought some lamb which cost £16, and I quietly gnawed my cheek, because thats half my usual weekly budget. Half my weekly budget on one cut of meat for two people, to me, seems wasteful, but then I'm poor, haha so maybe I'm being biased.
I use olive oil now when cooking, but I didn't before, though the dietician recommends I don't fry anything!
Wholefoods, should be much cheaper than they are, but pre-packaged, processed food is so much cheaper. I try to buy fresh when I can, unbreaded, unbattered, it's not always possible, and its something I really tear my hair out over. This should be so much easier than it is haha.
Lentils and beans, not so much. I don't know how to wow them up, so to me beans = bland and boring. But I would be very interested to hear ways to make them tasty and nice!0 -
3 chicken breasts (pre-cooked) in a store with less than decent quality food, is £3, fresh from a butcher, it's by weight and ends up a lot more. My other halfs sister once bragged to me they bought some lamb which cost £16, and I quietly gnawed my cheek, because thats half my usual weekly budget. Half my weekly budget on one cut of meat for two people, to me, seems wasteful, but then I'm poor, haha so maybe I'm being biased.
I use olive oil now when cooking, but I didn't before, though the dietician recommends I don't fry anything!
Wholefoods, should be much cheaper than they are, but pre-packaged, processed food is so much cheaper. I try to buy fresh when I can, unbreaded, unbattered, it's not always possible, and its something I really tear my hair out over. This should be so much easier than it is haha.
Lentils and beans, not so much. I don't know how to wow them up, so to me beans = bland and boring. But I would be very interested to hear ways to make them tasty and nice!
Just buy fresh, raw meats in bulk when they are on sale, and then freeze them. You may have to shell more out of pocket at first, but then you'll have it in your freezer, and you can cook it whenever you want.0 -
I also have a dietician I see once a month, but she can't tell me anything more than I already know, and she can't make a meal plan for me! Are they supposed to do that?
That's so ridiculous...what in the world are you seeing her for then?! Ditch the dietitian for quality groceries!
I don't pay to see her, it was a requirement (REQUIREMENT) from my consultant at the hospital to see her because they didn't believe I was doing as much as I said I was doing, or eating what I said I was eating, and not making weight loss progress fast enough. They wouldn't give me any treatment for my issue until I saw her.0 -
Do you pay for your dietician? If so get rid of her and use the money to buy food. She sounds useless.
I have to be honest I have no idea how you could feed a family of 3 on £15 a week. It sounds impossible, but you could try buying frozen meat or lentils for your protein, peanut butter to up cals and for good fats, etc. If you don't like the idea of spooning out peanut butter, buy a bag of nuts instead and have a handful as a snack.
It doesn't have to be a lot of food to up your goal. Hell, a peanut butter sandwich must be 500 cals.0 -
Thanks for the replies so far guys, I'll check back in a bit, I gotta grab my son from school and try to find something that won't rip my bank account in twaine for dinner HAHA0
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Get a slow cooker - I made an amazing beef and barley soup at the weekend with cheap stewing steak, veggies (carrots, onions, leeks) and some barley. My son said it was the best ever! And you don't really need recipes - just add meat, veg, tinned/pre-soaked beans and some stock and seasonings to your slow cooker, leave in cooker 6-8 hours and you hav a lovely soup/stew.
You can cook in bulk as well and freeze it in portions
And as others have said, a good dietician should be able to suggest healthy recipes which don't revolve around prime cuts of steak.
Try the BBC Good Food website - they have a whole section on economical cooking this week, but you can search for budget AND low calorie recipes.
ETA Last week or the week before bbc.co.uk/news had an article with a weekly budget of £15 - you should still be able to find it.0 -
I'm not sure our American friends will quite understand your budget and i believe food is more expensive here.
OP i can see how it must be a real challenge to feed 3 people on that budget without even thinking about what the food is. To be successful you'll really need to put a lot of thought into what you eat and figure out which are the cheapest, healthiest and most filling.
Fruit, veg and carb sources can all be bought cheaply so i'm sure that's not a problem.
Protein wise you'll probably have to opt for fattier meats. Fatty meats are fine it just means you don't get eat as much in the way of carbs. Things like chicken thighs, beef & pork mince and pork joints are usually all pretty cheap. Also look for recipes for beans and lentils as I mentioned before. Also cottage cheese is a good protein source.0 -
Do you pay for your dietician? If so get rid of her and use the money to buy food. She sounds useless.
I have to be honest I have no idea how you could feed a family of 3 on £15 a week. It sounds impossible, but you could try buying frozen meat or lentils for your protein, peanut butter to up cals and for good fats, etc. If you don't like the idea of spooning out peanut butter, buy a bag of nuts instead and have a handful as a snack.
It doesn't have to be a lot of food to up your goal. Hell, a peanut butter sandwich must be 500 cals.
I agree, I can't fathom $23 being enough to feed a family of 4 for a week. We spend about $75 a week on 2 people, and that's with coupons, sales, and only buying what we absolutely need.0 -
I would get a can each of cashews , almonds, and mixed nuts ...1 per wk and use those to supplement. I read somewhere that 2 oz. of cashews could have the same mental effect as a valium. I don't know if its true or not ,but I am good with thinking so!0
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Lentils and beans, not so much. I don't know how to wow them up, so to me beans = bland and boring. But I would be very interested to hear ways to make them tasty and nice!
Google 'lentil curry recipes'. Lentil and beans are very good for you, cheap, and a curry jazzes them up and it goes a long way. You also pair it with rice which is fairly high calorie.0 -
While you're focusing on reducing starchy carbs, also focus on replacing that with protein. Personally, I'm finding that if I think more about getting a higher amount of protein, the carbs just start falling into place in a better proportion almost naturally. Or maybe it's becoming a habit for me? I was so scared of the idea of reducing those starches. A meal without a heap of pasta or rice???? I used to build my meals around a starch and fill in the blanks with meat and vegetables. I didn't know how I could possible do it. But it's not that hard after you find your favorite protein sources and build meals around those. Now I build a meal around a protein and fill in the blanks with vegetables and a smaller amount of starch (if any at all).
I know you said that you don't eat eggs. Is that for a moral reason, health reason, or taste reason? If it's just that you don't like them, could you still use them in cooking? So maybe not eating actual scrambled eggs, but using them as an ingredient in a larger recipe?
Avocados have a small amount of protein. Garbanzo beans. Deli-type sandwiches. Hummus.0 -
I have a problem hitting my calories too some times. What about chicken and pork? I know it's hard on a budget, and I don't know how much it costs in your area, but even using them as a suppliment to your meals (i.e. salad with chicken) will add protein and calories. Full fat dairy like cottage cheese , regular cheese, etc. would also up calories, just don't buy them in individual packs (unless on a good sale) as they usually cost more than getting a bigger size and portioning it out later.
IMO if your carbs are coming from fruits and vegetables, that's not a bad thing, if they're coming from processed foods like bread, pasta, that's things that are a little more difficult but fairly easy to cut back on.0 -
For cheap and easy protein I think beans are a good way to go - you just have to get creative.
Beans and peppers are easy, fast, and delicious. You can get canned beans and frozen peppers, rinse them off and put them in a sauce pan and cook for a while. Add salad dressing, olive oil, or any spices that you like. Peas also have protein so sometimes I throw in some frozen.
I also make a lot of soup (semi-homemade). I get a package mix that makes 8 cups for $3-4, add in a can of beans ($1), and a bag of frozen veggies ($1). Generally I get 4-6 dinner-sized servings out of this - you can add more water as well, especially since you are adding more volume with the beans and veggies. Eat it as soup the first day, and the second day you can put over rice or cous cous to mix it up.0 -
For £5 you can get a big bag of frozen chicken breasts from Iceland/Asda/Aldi, drink full fat milk instead of skimmed, eat cheese!0
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Is there a paypal or something? I wanna buy you a steak.0
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make lentils and beans more flavorful with curry.
minestrone soup is really great too. and fantastic for using up leftovers.0 -
I've included my general list of healthy, calorie dense foods below. However, you are in a difficult situation. If you want a low carb diet, then you're going to need to eat more protein and fat. That's why people suggest eggs and fish and nuts (including avocado, which is a nut) because those are some of the best sources of healthy fats.
My main suggestion would be to get a turkey or a couple of whole chickens and roast them once a week. Chicken/Turkey with the skin is almost twice the calories as without. Whole, non-cut-up chicken is pretty cheap too. Full fat dairy, like yogurt, might be another good place to start. Whole grains like Quinoa, Buckwheat, Brown Rice or Oatmeal are rich nutrient sources, tend to be inexpensive, mitigate the effects of cholesterol, but they are also pretty filling.
Calories do not equal fat. They equal the ability to do fun, cool things with your body. And congratulations on your 30 pound loss!
Here are some ideas for adding healthy calories:
Chicken with the skin
Steak
Cheese
Whole eggs (including deviled eggs, egg salad)
Full fat dairy (including cottage cheese, yogurt)
Fruit,
Peanut butter or other nut butters
Nuts
Avocado
Dried fruit (raisins, apricots, apples)
Brown rice
Dark chocolate
Salmon
Add Chia seeds to salads or yogurt
Olive oil
Smoothies
Granola/sports nutrition bars0 -
Also, baked beans! A tin of baked beans costs about 11p and 1 tin contains 9g of protein.0
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If you like nuts, a handful has a lot of good fats and will give you a good calorie bump.0
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Lentils and beans, not so much. I don't know how to wow them up, so to me beans = bland and boring. But I would be very interested to hear ways to make them tasty and nice!
Google Tosca Rena's hearty chicken chili. TASTY. It's one of my staples. I make a whole pot and freeze smaller portions for myself for lunches and such.
Other than that, the MOST VERSATILE food is beans and lentils! You can make just about any kind of soup with them! I sometimes mash them up up with some toasted walnuts and flax meal to make bean burgers. Experiment
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3 chicken breasts (pre-cooked) in a store with less than decent quality food, is £3, fresh from a butcher, it's by weight and ends up a lot more. My other halfs sister once bragged to me they bought some lamb which cost £16, and I quietly gnawed my cheek, because thats half my usual weekly budget. Half my weekly budget on one cut of meat for two people, to me, seems wasteful, but then I'm poor, haha so maybe I'm being biased.
I use olive oil now when cooking, but I didn't before, though the dietician recommends I don't fry anything!
Wholefoods, should be much cheaper than they are, but pre-packaged, processed food is so much cheaper. I try to buy fresh when I can, unbreaded, unbattered, it's not always possible, and its something I really tear my hair out over. This should be so much easier than it is haha.
Lentils and beans, not so much. I don't know how to wow them up, so to me beans = bland and boring. But I would be very interested to hear ways to make them tasty and nice!
Make bean soup. It's amazing. I LOVE it and will eat on it for days. If you can get the beans some ham, toss in some jalapenos if you can handle a bit of spice or some hot sauce, and of course pretty much any sort of seasoning you like would work. Just some salt will do wonders on it. I usually have that and cornbread. You can eat on that for many meals, it's healthy and REALLY good.0 -
Here is some ideas for getting Beans and lentils in your diet
I soak all my beans before i cook them for 8 hours or longer
Then i take 2 cups of lentils cook until done
then i will take a onion chop it and add it to the pot with canned tomatoes and some chilli powder or curry i also add other spices just depend on what you have in your cupboard
Hummus is another good thing and its cheap if you make it your self
Avocados are a really good fat and you don't need a lot of them to get what you need in a day i eat a 1/4 to a 1/2 of one everyday so really the cost is that much
as far as you don't want to put your son on a diet the food you need to add in your diet each day are a GOOD HELTHY food that everyone should eat in a day they are not diet foods . And veggies are cheap if you don't buy organic they are a good carb
stay away form PROCESSED food and buy more Veggies and meats
i couldn't imagine only spending that on food for a week for 4 i spend that in 2 days for 2 people if not more0 -
Are you paying for the dietician or are you somehow getting her services for free? If you are paying her, I recommend cut that immediately and use that money for food!
$23 seems really low! Please cut gym memberships, tv, phone, etc.. whatever you have to do to find more money for groceries!
If you really can't find any more cash for groceries, I'll take a crack at a grocery list and menu (these prices are what I would expect in my grocery store, but they might vary at yours)
Bananas - $2
Oatmeal - $2
Bread - $1
Peanut Butter - $2
Head of lettuce - $1
Salad dressing - $1
Can of green beans - $1
Can of chick peas - $1
Can of kidney beans - $1
Bag of red beans - $1
Bag of rice - $1
2 bags frozen veggies - $2
Bag of frozen berries - $1
Pack of Yogurt - $4
Hamburger meat - $2
Kids breakfast - oatmeal
Your breakfast - banana and peanut butter
Kids lunch - peanut butter sandwich and yogurt with berries
Your lunch - three bean salad and yogurt
Kids dinner - red beans and rice OR hamburger and veggies (use bread as buns)
Your dinner - red beans OR hamburger (no bun) with frozen veggies or salad
Snacks - Yogurt, bananas, peanut butter, berries
Whew! That was hard, and it is probably not enough food for a week.
Sorry... I tried! 0 -
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