Need a good diet recommendation

Doctorwho281
Doctorwho281 Posts: 6
in Motivation and Support
Hi everyone,

I have a very busy schedule and work a lot so I don't much have time to cook or prepare meals, so what Im wanting recommendations on is a good diet where my meals/bowls/snacks, etc are already prepared or can be fast without no cooking or cutting up things. I mean, I get up in the mornings and Im out the door fast to work and mostly don't get home until the late evening and then it's off to the gym I go to workout for an hour or two.

I heard the best diets are ones where you eat about 6-8 small meals/snacks a day to keeping your metabolism up and that is fine, but I want to make sure they are 6-8 meals that either doesnt need to be prepared or cooked, because Im in the office and we can't cook anything while working and we don't have any kitchen so I can't really keep anything cold. I can prepare sandwiches which is fast and easy but I heard it's best to also keep away from breads and starch?

It's very different for me right now but I KNOW there are snacks or meals out there that require no cooking, or little preparations to do.

Naturally water is my source of liquid. Right now I weight 280lbs at 6'2" which yah......Im a BIG guy. My goal is to get to 200lbs or 220.

Heres the tough part. I have been around this weight for over 20yrs of my life. Since '94 I have been fat so a lot of my mass is solid concrete fat and it will be VERY hard even with exercise to get it to come off, so reason Im looking for a great diet I can use to where all I have to do is open a bag or jar and eat whatever is in it, close it up, and 2-3hrs later I eat my next small meal and same thing; I open whatever is in the jar or bag and eat it, and back to work.

This is pretty much what Im looking for. The liquids Im good for with water and my exercise is 1hr a day at the gym.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Mike

Replies

  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    6-8 meals a day? who the heck has time to eat like that

    the best diet is the one you will be able to stick to in the long run.

    why not start with something simple like getting used to tracking what you eat and then working on your portions?

    in other words, what did you eat when you were gaining weight? you must have liked it and found it easy to eat. just eat that, only less of it
  • Doctorwho281
    Doctorwho281 Posts: 6
    Hi Mesh,

    I don't mean to sound harsh, but all you said has been already told to me numerous times, and THAT is where Im stuck at. I've been told by numerous that eating like 2-3 meals a day is not necesarily good for you, or even eating 1 - 2 meals a day because it will lower your metabolism, so Ive heard from so many that by eating smaller portions multiple times a day (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack) you raise up your metabolism.

    What I WAS eating before hand was nothing but breads, starch, fried foods, etc and it's what my body craves, but I know it's only killing my body as I need help in suggestions on what foods to eat to build good tone and lose weight while exercising.

    Some people suggested eating nothing but 2 boiled eggs in the morning, then grains/nuts for a mid morning snack, then a big lunch, snack mid day, then a very light dinner as I heard it's not good eating past 6p because your body slows down in digesting foods in the late evening.

    Where Im stuck at is WHAT foods and snacks I should start eating.
  • Bobbie8786
    Bobbie8786 Posts: 202 Member
    You can eat anything you want, it's as simple as calories in and calories out. If you want to lose weight you simply have to log every calorie you eat and make sure you weigh and measure properly. If you want super easy where you have to do nothing, you might check out one of the programs that delivers food to your door. There is no magical time of day or magical food you must or must not eat. It is honestly simple math. I have been doing that alone for 7 months and am pretty pleased with my progress.
  • Flab2fitfi
    Flab2fitfi Posts: 1,349 Member
    You can eat anything you want, it's as simple as calories in and calories out. If you want to lose weight you simply have to log every calorie you eat and make sure you weigh and measure properly. If you want super easy where you have to do nothing, you might check out one of the programs that delivers food to your door. There is no magical time of day or magical food you must or must not eat. It is honestly simple math. I have been doing that alone for 7 months and am pretty pleased with my progress.

    I agree. Eat when you are hungry - I often eat late at night if I've been for a run and timing makes no difference.

    As said above it is a simple case of maths and look at what you are eating not when. Try swapping some of the fried foods for a healthier way of cooking and swapping SOME of your cabs for some fruit. Little change can make a huge difference and just dropping 250 calories a day is a weight loss of 1/2 lb a week.
  • Stripeness
    Stripeness Posts: 511 Member
    I kinda see what you mean. Yet, the advice to start with logging is perfect. You need to deal in facts - what are you currently doing?

    Personally, I was surprised by how *little* fat I eat, left to my own devices. And like you, I recognize life is short and there are only so many hours in a day! If you look at my food diary (let's not talk about today, ok?), it's not super-clean eating, yet puts me on the path to a basic 55/30/15 ratio. I also eat the same things pretty frequently. It cuts down on my cooking, and makes it easy to log & snack as needed. The cashews? Weighed out & put into snack bags in one session of watching a movie. Now all I have to do is grab them & go.

    CAN you eat totally clean? Sure. CAN you tweak the ratios? Of course. But why not just start where you are, and see how that lines up with the conservative ratio?

    Another big favor you can do yourself is ask your doc to test your RMR (resting metabolism rate), so that you are dealing in FACT, not the guesses of online calculators. It's simple and painless, and lets you know exactly where you're at. Armed with that and consistent accurate logging, and you'll see progress!

    Good luck, & I hope to see you in Success Stories :-)
  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    ^Read through this. Meal frequency doesn't matter. Concrete fat? After being in a surplus for a great length of time, your body should be a great candidate for fast loss. All you need to lose weight is a calorie deficit. I highly recommend a digital food scale and make sure you log 100%. Good luck!
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    ^Read through this. Meal frequency doesn't matter. Concrete fat? After being in a surplus for a great length of time, your body should be a great candidate for fast loss. All you need to lose weight is a calorie deficit. I highly recommend a digital food scale and make sure you log 100%. Good luck!

    ^This. And here are a few more good tips/info:

    http://body-improvements.com/2013/05/24/undiet-your-diet/

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1122891-9-reasons-fat-loss-is-always-slower-than-you-d-like

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1105036-article-on-flexible-dieting-by-armi-legge?page=1#posts-17068746
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    Hi Mesh,

    I don't mean to sound harsh, but all you said has been already told to me numerous times, and THAT is where Im stuck at. I've been told by numerous that eating like 2-3 meals a day is not necesarily good for you, or even eating 1 - 2 meals a day because it will lower your metabolism, so Ive heard from so many that by eating smaller portions multiple times a day (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack) you raise up your metabolism.

    What I WAS eating before hand was nothing but breads, starch, fried foods, etc and it's what my body craves, but I know it's only killing my body as I need help in suggestions on what foods to eat to build good tone and lose weight while exercising.

    Some people suggested eating nothing but 2 boiled eggs in the morning, then grains/nuts for a mid morning snack, then a big lunch, snack mid day, then a very light dinner as I heard it's not good eating past 6p because your body slows down in digesting foods in the late evening.

    Where Im stuck at is WHAT foods and snacks I should start eating.

    ok i think i know what you mean.

    if you have certain foods that act like triggers and you *right now* have a trouble with not overeating them, then i would say start with getting rid of them now.

    i know for me when i first started last year (i rest my ticker after last year's loss) i had to ban all takeout, candy, chips and ice cream from my place because this was the stuff i couldn't eat in moderation.

    for the first few months it was hard (especially with the no takeout) i focused on logging what i ate and learning how to cook.
    start off with a list of things you like to eat and take it from there. for instance if you like fried chicken, then there's chicken on your list.
    make your list of proteins, carbs and fresh produce that you like and then think of ways to lighten the calorie load of those.

    i'd also suggest changing your eating habits 1 meal at time. for me i didnt cook at all so i started with breakfast then once i got that down i moved on to dinner. trying to do too much at once is a set up for failure.

    and for the record after around 8 months, i was able to gradually add back in the foods that used to be overeating triggers for me. since i made healthier habits those things are now like extras for me that i sometimes even forget i have in the house.

    and like others have noted, meal timing and meal frequency arent really an issue unless you have issues with insulin
  • Doctorwho281
    Doctorwho281 Posts: 6
    Thanks guys. This really does help. Got some reading to do! Thanks again
  • Doctorwho281
    Doctorwho281 Posts: 6
    @ Mesh,

    That's the thing' I DON'T cook. My kitchen is literately spotless clean. Im single so being a bachelor has it's perks with not worrying so much on cooking for others. lol

    The foods is what I don't know what to concentrate on. Sure, i like chicken a lot. i love ham, turkey, etc; but I dont want to cook up a meal and eat it later. I want to be able to either buy the dish already made and ready to eat, or a variety bag that is already made.

    You would think that places like H.E.B grocery would have pre-made sorted meats, veggies, etc bags you can just buy and eat throughout the day to give you the protein, fiber, nutrients, etc that you need to have a stable and healthy body.

    Sure, people tell me too to just eat what you like but in smaller amounts to suppress the calorie intake, but if I did that, my body would only be getting fed unhealthy foods and that's NOT the direction I want to go.
  • Doctorwho281
    Doctorwho281 Posts: 6
    In the past, people would suggest myself eating lots of fiber in the morning and grains, so my original diet I thought to myself; "Well, I don't like to cook or prepare meals, SO, if fiber is what I need, Ill eat 2 FiberOne bars for breakfast one day and then the next oatmeal, since all you do is add milk to the oats"

    Boom, that was my breakfast. It got old real quick, but it was healthy.

    For lunch people recommended that I eat high protein and minerals, SO for lunch I ate a lot of baked chicken. This got old too real fast. I also ate a lot of salads.

    .....BUT......I noticed after loosing 20lbs my weight did not decrease no more. So I did research as to WHY my weight was not dropping as fast as it used to and I discovered that chicken, EVEN BAKED has pretty high calories. Same with assorted salads like chicken caesar salads or turkey and ham salads. I just didnt get it and got WHY I wasnt loosing weight. I even was exercising an hour a day and still my weight stayed around the same weight after so long.

    SO.......THIS.....is where I stand. Im not sure if I should go BACK to salads and baked goods or switch to some other source of foods that would provide the nutrients, fiber, protein, etc that I need??

    Not sure if this clears any confusion or clouds in some minds?
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    Learn to cook. it's not exactly difficult and it's the only way you will know accurately the calories and macros of the food you eat. Arguing lack of time is a non starter. It's easy to get recipes of simple healthy meals that take little time to cook.(google is your friend) Pre made foods are normally high in salt and not the best quality ingredients. To be harsh it sounds like you want someone else to do all the work for you. If you want this you need to take some responsibility that is the only way you will be able to do this sustainability and be able to accurately monitor your calorie and nutrient intake.
  • NaturalinCO
    NaturalinCO Posts: 164 Member
    6-8 meals a day? who the heck has time to eat like that

    the best diet is the one you will be able to stick to in the long run.

    why not start with something simple like getting used to tracking what you eat and then working on your portions?

    in other words, what did you eat when you were gaining weight? you must have liked it and found it easy to eat. just eat that, only less of it

    ^^Perfect. One friend lost a lot of weight just cutting portions. No need for a "diet" per se, just what you usually eat in less quantity. And try not to let junk food take up too many of your calories. That seems much easier imo
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    You can eat any prepared meal just have to learn how to portion it. If you are getting a prepared meal there should be enough for 2-3 meals. Why the aversion to learning how to cook?
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    @ Mesh,

    That's the thing' I DON'T cook. My kitchen is literately spotless clean. Im single so being a bachelor has it's perks with not worrying so much on cooking for others. lol

    The foods is what I don't know what to concentrate on. Sure, i like chicken a lot. i love ham, turkey, etc; but I dont want to cook up a meal and eat it later. I want to be able to either buy the dish already made and ready to eat, or a variety bag that is already made.

    You would think that places like H.E.B grocery would have pre-made sorted meats, veggies, etc bags you can just buy and eat throughout the day to give you the protein, fiber, nutrients, etc that you need to have a stable and healthy body.

    Sure, people tell me too to just eat what you like but in smaller amounts to suppress the calorie intake, but if I did that, my body would only be getting fed unhealthy foods and that's NOT the direction I want to go.

    :laugh: i lived in apartment for 5 years that had a brand new oven that i never used or even had hooked up t gas, so believe me i KNOW how easy it is to rely on takeaway.

    get some cookbooks, especially if there's a certain type food you like. check out allrecipes.com. watch cooking shows get some good cookware (i like cuisinart since they are pretty much burn proof). you have to start somewhere, when i first started i was setting off my apartment's smoke detector at least 3 times a week and i ate around a lot of nasty burnt crap, but at least it was my nasty burnt crap! :laugh:

    get a crockpot, it will save your life! you can make tons of things in them : roasts, soups, rice, chili, etc . and they are so easy to use, just throw your stuff in, put some seasonings in, put in some liquid, put on the lid, turn it on low and after a a few hours your meal is ready.

    at first my menu went something like this:

    breakfast: crustless quiche (mix eggs, spinach, cooked ground turkey, chopped onions, chopped bell peppers, feta cheese in a large bowl. pour contents into a casserole dish. bake until done.
    eat with fresh berries

    lunch: precooked chicken breast and/or chicken thighs (can be made in a bit batch in your crockpot) with fresh salad

    dinner : crockpot turkey chili : put ground turkey, canellini beans, canned tomatoes, chopped onions, garlic, cumin, bell peppers, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, oregano in a crockpot before you leave for work in the morning. cook on low. come home and BLAMMO dinner is ready with a side salad.

    once you get used to making a few things then you can expand into learning more stuff. i remember the first time i made chicken pad thai. it took half a day but it was probably the best pad thai i'd ever eaten.
  • sloane70
    sloane70 Posts: 45 Member
    I am with a lot of the previous commenters. Just log your food, and you'll start seeing where adjustments can be made (for instance, I had *no* idea that I could make my lunchtime takeout sandwich healthier by having it on thinner bread and using mustard instead of mayo - but that cut out over 100 calories of stuff my body didn't need). Also - as you start eating differently and feeling better, your body is going to tell you what it needs. I occasionally get hungry and look at my log and realize that I haven't had enough protein or complex carbs, so I know that what I need is yogurt with some granola, rather than a salad with no dressing (just an example). The logging keeps us mindful of what we're putting into our bodies, and looking at it as a series of small adjustments over time instead of a whole-diet change all at once makes it a lot easier (and a lot more sustainable)
  • Doctorwho281
    Doctorwho281 Posts: 6
    I do have a crock-pot, and this I have thought of putting into my diet for use.
  • believeinfamily
    believeinfamily Posts: 242
    I don't think you should diet. Diets don't work. Like a pp you need to stick to something for the long run. It is not a diet it is a LIFESTYLE CHANGE. You need to do it for the rest of your life. That's all I am doing. I have noticed that once I try something that I have cut out my weight starts to come back. I have tried and I just can't do it anymore. Take salt right out of what you eat. I like to snack on carrots and frozen peas and corn.
  • GymTennis
    GymTennis Posts: 133 Member
    Eating 6-8 small meals in regards to "speeding up the metabolism" is a myth. There's no such thing, you don't speed up your metabolism by eating.. I eat 2 big meals a day most of the time and I'm pretty lean year round.. It's calories in vs calories out.. That's all you need to control to lose/gain/maintain weight.. Good luck

Categories