What's A Typical MFP Meal Look Like?

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tamifanny
tamifanny Posts: 113
in Health and Weight Loss
I can't seem to get it right. :grumble: I do great in the morning and then Bam my evening's get ruined. How do you all do in the day?

Do you divide your calories (mine is 1200) through out the day? Do you allow yourself anything forbidden?:bigsmile:

I just started last week and am doing something major wrong. Maybe it's the wine in the evening?

I feel frustrated...any thoughts? Thank you in advance:flowerforyou:
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Replies

  • tamifanny
    tamifanny Posts: 113
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    I can't seem to get it right. :grumble: I do great in the morning and then Bam my evening's get ruined. How do you all do in the day?

    Do you divide your calories (mine is 1200) through out the day? Do you allow yourself anything forbidden?:bigsmile:

    I just started last week and am doing something major wrong. Maybe it's the wine in the evening?

    I feel frustrated...any thoughts? Thank you in advance:flowerforyou:
  • GinaB30
    GinaB30 Posts: 725 Member
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    When you exercise and burn (lets say) 300 calories, are you eating those calories like you're supossed to?
    Also, the wine needs to be included in your calories, otherwise that isnt gonna help...=o)

    I eat whatever I want so long as I don't go over my calories...but I have made my choices a LOT healthier..=o)
  • cnolovechild
    cnolovechild Posts: 179
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    Every day is different for me...sometimes i eat more during the day and sometimes more during the evening.. It all depends. I've made it a rule not to deny myself anything..but if I know something is not good for me I only eat a little bit or make sure that I'm doing some working out that day. Some people eat three meals a day and some people eat a bunch of meals throughout the day. You'll find what works best for you to fit your calories but if you're exercizing then make sure to eat your exercize calories as well!
  • tamifanny
    tamifanny Posts: 113
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    Thank you for the advice:smooched: I think I've been eating to many of my favorite carbs. I'm also thinking that maybe just 1 day a week, on the weekend preferrably to have my yummy 1 glass of wine. Wine stimulates my hunger so I will try this & see if my "ticker" numbers come down like all you people.

    I watched the Extreme Makeover program and wow people were loosing 30 lbs in 6 weeks with the Thurman guy. I can't handle eating all meat to loose it that quick. Plus it's bad for your Liver. My mother turned diabetic yo yoing with the protein back & forth diet.:ohwell:

    Thank you for sharing:flowerforyou:
  • kistinbee
    kistinbee Posts: 3,688 Member
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    Another GREAT tip is to plan you meal for the whole day in the morning before you eat it! That way you can see how many calories you will be using. Or...maybe you can figure what you'll have up until the afternoon, and then you'll know how many calories you have left for the evening. I workout almost everyday and I usually end up having extra calories in the evening!

    Hopefully this helps.:flowerforyou:
  • sftbutterflykiss
    sftbutterflykiss Posts: 223 Member
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    if i know what im having for dinner.. my other meals vary with that.. if its a spure of the moment.. i eat what i want.. low cal.. low fat.... like if i have a granola bar and an apple for breakfast.. then i have popcorn ..low fat.. low cal. for snack
    thats almost 300 calories.... i do that for lunch.. then excersise.. then im fine during the evening.. most of the time have room for snack... but yes.. excersise and get calories back.. it helps.
  • delpha2
    delpha2 Posts: 42
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    Hi!

    The first question I would like to ask you is....Did you find out your BMR yet???
    Your BMR is the amount of calories that your body would burn if you just laid around all day...to keep your heart beating and keep your lungs pumping etc.
    Find out what that is and adjust your calories to be closer to that...going below your BMR may not be the best thing for you. Also cutting your calories sharply and suddenly can send your body the message that it's starving. One step at a time will help you to adjust your eating habits.

    Other ideas...
    If you have 1200 cals divide them up across 5 meals.
    If you eat more often...and small meals you will rev up your metabolism.
    Example:
    Breakfast 300 cal
    Lunch 300 cal
    Dinner 400 cal
    Snacks x 2 @ 100 cal ea. - Adjust as needed....
    Eat about every two hours
    Set a window of time in which you will eat - I have a 12 hour diet...if I eat at 8:00 in the morning, that means I don't eat after 8 p.m.
    Eat the foods you like...but watch your portion size.
    Plan your meals ahead of time and limit the variety of foods you eat and change your menu on a weekly bases. That will make it easy for you to track it and to stick to your portion size.

    Anyone else have ideas on how to deal with meals?

    Oh yeah! Drink lots of water :flowerforyou:
  • chelsey787
    chelsey787 Posts: 261
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    i tend to front load my calories - i eat breakfast, a small mid-morning snack (usually some fruit), a larger lunch with some lean protein and some carbs, an afternoon snack (yogurt, cheese, Gnu bar - if you haven't tried these, they are great! go to www.gnufoods.com ) and i usually have a smaller dinner because i don't like to feel stuffed at the end of the day.

    i try to eat smaller, more frequent meals and i never let myself get too hungry because i will most definitely binge if i do that!
  • dothompson
    dothompson Posts: 1,184 Member
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    As you can tell from the answers, nothing is typical. By trial and error you have to find out what works for you. A glass of wine might help you relax and be important enough to warrant those calories. 1200 is a pretty low number you should add some exercise to make things easier.

    I also have trouble at night. I find that if I start the day at 5PM it works better for me. I have to advance the date to put in dinner and PM snack, but I find that I can control things much better during the day and if I run out of calories after lunch I know 5 o'clock isn't too far off. When I used to run out after dinner it was too far until breakfast that I would crack.
  • tamifanny
    tamifanny Posts: 113
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    As you can tell from the answers, nothing is typical. By trial and error you have to find out what works for you. A glass of wine might help you relax and be important enough to warrant those calories. 1200 is a pretty low number you should add some exercise to make things easier.

    I also have trouble at night. I find that if I start the day at 5PM it works better for me. I have to advance the date to put in dinner and PM snack, but I find that I can control things much better during the day and if I run out of calories after lunch I know 5 o'clock isn't too far off. When I used to run out after dinner it was too far until breakfast that I would crack.

    This is very interesting....how did you learn/do this? I would like to know. I think I would like to try this:flowerforyou: Evening is very hard for me as I am picking up teenagers from their jobs etc and can't go to sleep early to help with hunger like when they were little. Now I'm up early in the morning and late late at night until 1am at times. It's not that I'm super hungry at that my willpower gives out that late too.

    :bigsmile: Thank you for the tips:bigsmile: :
  • klarson
    klarson Posts: 43 Member
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    I only get 1310 cal/day and I find it very difficult to stay within my calories w/out exercise. I try to keep my breakfast to 300 calories or less. I tried eating around 250 but I felt ravenous by mid-morning... [today: 1 Quaker Breakfast Cookie (180cal) 15 cherries (64cal) Tall NF Cappuccino (60 cal)] Lunch is harder... i try to stick to 400 calories or so [today: 5 mini corndogs (260cal) 15 cherries (64cal)] and then allow for one 100cal afternoon snack. That leaves me with about 600 or so calories for dinner which is do-able but I have to be really careful with my portion sizes at the end of the day. It is WAY easier to stick to 12-1300 calories per day if you can add even a short workout.

    Maybe TMI but I hope that helps!

    :tongue:
  • jroji
    jroji Posts: 4
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    I have to eat a decent sized breakfast (300 minimum) or I will binge later on carbs! I too have a 1200 calorie diet.
  • firegirlred
    firegirlred Posts: 674 Member
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    The percentages are less important than the total calories eaten. No matter how you shape it,
    calories consumed must be less than calories spent. Carbs have fewer calories to the gram than fat does, so it is easier to eat carbs and get full than fatty foods. In addition, low fat diets have a few benefits. You can eat more food if they are less calorie dense and you will feel fuller. A good minimum is 10% of your diet devoted to fat.
    As far as foods, check the Mediterranean diet. These foods tend to be higher in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and especially healthier fats. I've found I eat more food, get fuller, and stay within my 1240 calorie count. Also, i exercise when I see I'm going to go over my limit (4-5 days a week) and I plan my day. This helps me by knowing where I stand and where I'm going.
    Remember this is all just personal experience.
  • veracruz
    veracruz Posts: 104 Member
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    I took the advice of a health magazine and now eat 5 small "meals" throughout the day. Not only does it keep my energy/blood sugar up, but I don't get the ravenous feeling I used to feel just eating 3 larger meals a day. I can tell it's increased my metabolism too. I've lost 40 lbs in about 3 months this way. I eat roughly 250 calories at each "meal" and I've been creative with my choices which has helped from getting bored. A couple of my friends have tried it now and have had similar results. Just a suggestion.....
  • dothompson
    dothompson Posts: 1,184 Member
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    As you can tell from the answers, nothing is typical. By trial and error you have to find out what works for you. A glass of wine might help you relax and be important enough to warrant those calories. 1200 is a pretty low number you should add some exercise to make things easier.

    I also have trouble at night. I find that if I start the day at 5PM it works better for me. I have to advance the date to put in dinner and PM snack, but I find that I can control things much better during the day and if I run out of calories after lunch I know 5 o'clock isn't too far off. When I used to run out after dinner it was too far until breakfast that I would crack.

    This is very interesting....how did you learn/do this? I would like to know. I think I would like to try this:flowerforyou: Evening is very hard for me as I am picking up teenagers from their jobs etc and can't go to sleep early to help with hunger like when they were little. Now I'm up early in the morning and late late at night until 1am at times. It's not that I'm super hungry at that my willpower gives out that late too.

    :bigsmile: Thank you for the tips:bigsmile: :

    I learned that trick from a Weight Watchers leader some time ago. On MFP when logging my calories after 5 I just advance the calender to the next day to do the input. Not hard at all, but it helps me alot.
  • AlliOops
    AlliOops Posts: 66 Member
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    I think eating the RIGHT kind of calories are what keeps me within my daily allowance (1200). High fiber foods are excellent low calorie filling options.

    Breakfast
    Fage 0% yogurt
    I add any of these items to the yogurt depending on the day: 1/4 cup fiber one cereal, 1/4 cup Kashi GoLean, 2 tbsp. almond slivers, raisins, blueberries

    This meal is around 160 calories and you actually feel full!

    Snack on cheese, almonds, pears, apples, bananas - All high fiber or high protein

    Believe me, I like to eat a lot - and maximizing each calorie has been the most important thing I learned so far.
  • tamifanny
    tamifanny Posts: 113
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    I only get 1310 cal/day and I find it very difficult to stay within my calories w/out exercise. I try to keep my breakfast to 300 calories or less. I tried eating around 250 but I felt ravenous by mid-morning... [today: 1 Quaker Breakfast Cookie (180cal) 15 cherries (64cal) Tall NF Cappuccino (60 cal)] Lunch is harder... i try to stick to 400 calories or so [today: 5 mini corndogs (260cal) 15 cherries (64cal)] and then allow for one 100cal afternoon snack. That leaves me with about 600 or so calories for dinner which is do-able but I have to be really careful with my portion sizes at the end of the day. It is WAY easier to stick to 12-1300 calories per day if you can add even a short workout.

    Maybe TMI but I hope that helps!

    :tongue:

    Thank you for the examples...that is sorta what I need to hear. I'm comparing my non results with your postive results & wanted to see your menu -to see where I'm going wrong. I really do think I need to nix the wine though. I seem to eat alot of my calories in the late evening.

    Thank you for sharing:bigsmile:
  • 2day4ever
    2day4ever Posts: 178
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    Like you, I am finding that the wine sabotages my efforts. I do great all day but then the wine comes out and I find myself craving salt. So, I am trying no alcohol this week. So far, so good. The past few nights (without alcohol) have allowed me to stay within my allowed cals.

    My eating routine echoes a lot of what others have said: 5 small "meals" with mostly "natural" foods (i.e., I try to eat single ingredient foods like fruits and vegetables and I try to avoid processed foods that come in bags and boxes).

    I think the biggest difference for me is recording my "plan" for the day. If I can figure out what I am eating and how many calories it is going to cost me, I do so much better. Because of that food diary option, I have learned to make sure I add in nuts and deli turkey (high protein, low carb) to offset my "old" habit of lots of carbs. Also, if I know I have a food "event" like a special dinner or a party somewhere, then I can plan for that by making different choices in anticipation.

    Hope that helps.:flowerforyou:
  • BrandNewLaura
    BrandNewLaura Posts: 1,650 Member
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    I have a lot of weight to lose, so I am allowed many more calories than most of the other people who have posted in this thread, but I am finding that the "three square meals" a day doesn't work for me. Every morning when I wake up I pack myself a bag of a FiberOne bar, some yogurt, string cheese, baby carrots, a peach, a plum...just a nice variety of some healthy snacks. I carry it with me throughout the day and munch as I go...

    I find that I am very much so an "I eat it because it's there" person...so I always have my own food with me so I can resist temptation. This morning, the girls at work were getting breakfast from McDonalds, and while I did partake, I ordered a much smaller breakfast than I normally would (an egg mcmuffin and a sugar free vanilla iced coffee) and incorporated those items into my calorie plan. Because I had a fattier breakfast than I typically would have, I just had a yogurt for lunch and a normal sized dinner.

    Today I actually had two "real" meals and a bunch of little snacks...you really do have to find what works for you...
  • tamifanny
    tamifanny Posts: 113
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    :drinker: I do agree with drinking wine will ruin the evening food planner right away...it makes me crave chips. :noway: I didn't have any wine tonight...yeah. But here I am waiting for teens to come home. I have an 18 year old who is too darn independent and a 16 year old who doesnt get out enough. I will be up waiting to pick up kids until midnight or later. It's very difficult to maintain your progress while your up waiting, waiting, waiting. Maybe a pacifier would work? :bigsmile: As my Dad would say "Personal Problem":laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

    Thank you guys for all your advice & tricks of the trade. Maybe I finally get a "system" going for myself. Now that I've had back surgery & am on paid meds...taking the pounds off is so S L O W.

    I love hearing about how you all use your meal planning & what works for you all. Especially those of you that have lost a bunch of weight. I respect & admire you so much. :heart:

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