Im on a diet but WHAT DO I EAT?!?!?!

How many pounds are you trying to lose per week. The reccommended is one pound per week.

What to eat. Hmmmm.....

You know, if this site could have an option to display our daily food diaries publicly, newcomers could examine what's being eaten so they wouldn't have that question quite as often as I see it.

So here are some answers to your question. I probably won't be as thorough as I could be, given that I don't want to make your eyes sore, but I'll give it a go.

As a general rule of thumb, most things that come out of a BOX are out. The reason I say MOST THINGS is that because obviously, there are some good things that come out of a box, such as South Beach, Lean Cuisine, that sort of thing. And understand when I speak about that, I'm talking from the perspective of a person who works 40 hours a week and has to take a lunch, so bear that in mind. Macaroni and cheese from a box? not so good.

Lean cuts of meat. If you can afford it, chicken BREASTS have the least amount of fat in them. Fish is a really good source of GOOD fat, and is excellent focus/brain food, and is also the lowest in calories and BAD fat. Avoid beef whenever possible, and if you have to eat it, buy the leanest cuts you can afford. I only eat beef 2x a week.

Whole grains. Aunt Millies 12 grain bread is the only thing I'll put in my mouth if I absolutely HAVE to have a peice of bread. Beans, chick peas, nuts in small amounts, brown rice (white rice is overprocessed), ground flax seed which can be sprinkled into. Bran Flakes.

Dairy - which in some peoples book include eggs, cheese, milk, and yogurt. I don't know how eggs got into that category, but it's there. I only eat my eggs hard boiled. They're a great source of protein and because they're hard boiled, I know they're in a perfect form - no grease added. And because I take them to work, I can't poach an egg, which is the only other way you can eat them 'pure'. Lite yogurts are good (another example of a 'boxed' food that is okay to eat). Skim milk, if you can stomach it. Cheese is okay OCCASSIONALLY!! - it is high in fat and sodium, so one ounce at a time, and only 2-3 times a week (for me - by choice).

VEGETABLES - this means just about any vegetable on the planet and the more the better. You can eat a peice of Pizza and call that dinner and you'll be hungry an hour later, or you can eat 5 cups of various vegetables prepared without butter, salt, and other addititives, and be full for hours, and never even come close to the caloric content of that one peice of pizza. While that example is a bit extreme, I only use it to showcase the difference in caloric content and to exaggerate the importance of vegetables in a healthy diet. And if you don't like vegetables, diets are more difficult, but not impossible. I have nothing else to add to that one.

You will have to buy things like low fat mayonnaise, give up butter, oil, and margarine, amongst other 'baddies'. But you didn't ask what you CANNOT eat, only what you CAN eat. So I won't create the list of what you can't eat because honestly, there isn't anything you can't eat, only how much of it you choose to indulge in. I eat chocolate - only, I don't scarf down a whole candy bar, I eat 3 squares of it.

So lets take some of those foods I mentioned above, and create a decent meal for you.

Take one of those breasts of chicken, and the low-fat mayo (2 tbsp), and chop up a half stalk of celery, and create a nice chicken salad. Put about 4 oz of it on ONE slice of the 12 grain bread, throw some fresh spinach leaves on it and a slice of tomato, and you have a great lunch for around 250-270 cals

Can you eat that??? I sure can!

Some things you will want to invest in: a kitchen scale. It is the best way to measure and weigh foods so that you can reteach yourself what 'a serving' is, actually. There are some decent ones out there for about $5. Spices: there may be some you've never tried - now would be a good time to indulge in one new spice a week - they are a great way to make things you wouldn't normally eat more palatable, and they are a great, calorie free way to add flavor to certain things that you might no longer want to put Ranch, Butter, Sour Cream or Salt on. FAT FREE versions of things you wouldn't normally worry about. I didn't like fat free mayo at first, but I got used to it. I didn't like fat free salad dressings at first, but I got used to them. My only REGULAR dressing is balsamic vinegar and oil, and I use it sparingly. If you have a gas grill, use it often - if you grill properly, you will add NO cals to your foods and add MAJOR taste. I try to grill all my veggies and I'm in heaven every night.

I do apologize for being long winded, but the question you asked requires a very long answer, as you can well see. Try to make these changes one at a time, because if you try to absorb too much at once, you will feel overwhelmed and maybe just give up.

For my fellow MFP-ers, 'let the beatings begin!'.:bigsmile: