Meal plans that have worked for you??

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Hi I'm looking for some input on meal plans that have been successful for you. Think part o f my problem in loosing weight is knowing what not to eat and what is good and a variety. Any help would be greatly appreciated.:smile:

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  • Kimberrz
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    I lost 15 pounds on the Shred diet. Shred is a book by Ian K. Smith. It's 6 weeks so you would need to be pretty strict. I could have lost a couple pounds more but I had an event in the beginning of the 6th week and couldn't stick to the food or exercise plan. It has exactly what you should eat that days but it is not EXTREMELY specific like some other diets and also has an exercise guide. Good Luck!
  • Joannesmith2818
    Joannesmith2818 Posts: 438 Member
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    Maybe you could browse a few diarys. Mine is open....though not saying mine is a model example...but might give u some ideas!
  • runningvegan
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    I use the Fresh 20 meal plans (www.thefresh20.com) for dinner ideas occassionally. It's cheap, it includes a shopping list and provides nutrition facts for each recipe. The site only provides meal ideas for 5 out of 7 days of the week, so there is still room to work in some of the family favorites and/or eat out as well.
  • salsera_barbie
    salsera_barbie Posts: 270 Member
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    Hi I'm looking for some input on meal plans that have been successful for you. Think part o f my problem in loosing weight is knowing what not to eat and what is good and a variety. Any help would be greatly appreciated.:smile:

    In order to be successful you have to figure that out on our own. For example I don't like salads so I don't eat them but many people eat salad as part of a low calorie diet.

    In theory You can have anything as long as it fits in your calories and macros.

    If your asking for suggestions my diary is open check it out.
  • toscarthearmada
    toscarthearmada Posts: 382 Member
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    I follow the Insulin Resistance diet which is a low carb/fat/sugar diet to help with my PCOS and pre-diabetes. Really the book has taught me how to eat right and how to portion control my meat and carbs.
  • texastarmadillo
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    Get on YouTube and look at LeanBodyLifestyle aka Michael Kory, leansecrets, or sarahfit. Those are good places to start and they show you good meal options and how to cook them. Also, you could friend me and see what I eat. Some days are better than others. I haven't logged in since Friday but you could go back further and look. Hope this helps.
  • cdobrosemd
    cdobrosemd Posts: 6 Member
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    I recommend the cookbook "The Food You Crave" by Ellie Krieger. Really good tasting, filling recipes and the book has all the nutritional information with each recipe.
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
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    LOTS of vegetables in a rainbow of colors. Lots of lean proteins like chicken, turkey and fish. Fruits and whole grains, but don't overdo it. Dairy is ok too. Nuts and nut butters are great and provide healthy fats, which we need (but be careful about portion sizes. That goes for most things though). Prepare however you like, keeping in mind that everything you add to your recipes counts towards your calories.

    Also, you can eat whatever you want! You want red meat instead of something leaner? Go for it. You want a bowl of pasta instead of brown rice? Sure, no problem. Want some ice cream? Hell yeah. However, these higher calorie foods will take up more of your calorie budget for the day and you have to allow for that by eating reasonable portions, and not all the time.

    For ME, I do best when the majority of my diet comes from stuff like that first paragraph, without completely avoiding the things in my second paragraph.

    Count your calories, create a deficit, lose weight. Yup, it's that simple. (note that I said simple, not easy. It's not always easy!)
  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
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    Hi I'm looking for some input on meal plans that have been successful for you. Think part o f my problem in loosing weight is knowing what not to eat and what is good and a variety. Any help would be greatly appreciated.:smile:

    Unless you have a medical condition, there are no foods that you need to eliminate from your intake. If your goal is to lose weight, a calorie deficit is all that is needed to achieve that goal. Try not to label foods as "good" or "bad" or "clean" or "dirty" or whatever term is popular these days.

    Read this and all of the links in it:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?page=1#posts-16625920
  • KathryneJY
    KathryneJY Posts: 83 Member
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    The thing I have found useful for myself is to have the same thing for breakfast and lunch daily. I keep most of my calories for dinner and switch it up daily. I eat yogurt, fruit and an egg for breaksfast, a salad with some sort of protien (shrimp, chicken) and then eat whatever I want for dinner within my calorie goal. For me, it takes a lot of the stress out of eating within my calories becasue I am not balancing one meal against another, and shopping is easy. If I have 1000 calories for dinner, I'm happy.

    Just make sure it is something you can maintain. I love salad, I love yogurt and I love fruit. I get to eat them every day.
  • michybeans
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    I just taught myself how to cook things and experimented with a lot of different foods to find new favourites and ways to cook things. I just go to the store, don't buy anything processed, and enjoy eating delicious real food. Pretty simple.
  • mbar12
    mbar12 Posts: 125 Member
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    I have just started the 2 Day Diet, in which 2 days of low carb eating are interspersed with 5 days of eating 1500 calories, integrating healthy fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, etc. The diet is a book offered by Prevention Magazine, but also available on Ebay and possibly Amazon. The book also suggests combining 30 min of cardio with 15 min of strength training twice a week. The only equipment needed are two sets of weights, one light and one heavier. The really great thing about the book is that it gives absolutely delicious recipes and 3 weeks of meal plans that you can mix and match as you wish. I have lost 14 lb in less than 3 weeks.
  • Jill_with_a_G
    Jill_with_a_G Posts: 58 Member
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    Hi D~ It's amazing how you go from eating whatever whenever with no thought, to trying to figure out what to eat and how often. I did the same thing. It's about making the best choices within your calorie range. Figuring out what's worth the calories and what is not. Try to get a lot of protein (it fills you up longer) but balance it with carbs, fats, veggies, etc. Unfortunately, this will be a trial and error approach. However.....first... figure out what your trigger foods are (the ones you can't control yourself with, mine is oreo's. I'll eat the whole dang package with no remorse)...and eliminate it from your menus for a while. Not saying they can't come back later, but for now, better to not have them around. Look at other members diaries to get an idea of what food is out there and the caloric contents and carb/protein/fat loads for each food. We tend to get in ruts with what we eat. That is how we got where we were. Now, I still have ruts, but they are much healthier ones as I eat a much wider variety of food than I used to, but I almost always start my day with the same protein shake (at least until I run out of frozen figs). Feel free to look at my food diary, it's open to my friends. Also, you can set your diary to open for your friends so as you get more of them, we can all help suggest foods that you might like, and get menu ideas ourselves :)