Help!

kaitlinmre · February 2011

Hey everyone---
I need some suggestions for foods, and I also have some questions. I did really well this past week staying under in my sodium intake.. but i was practically eating the same thing every day. peanut butter sandwich and a fruit/veggie for lunch.. in the past i would eat turkey and cheese roll ups but i didn't realize how much sodium was in lunch meat! so, for a working college student that still lives at home, what are some good ideas for meals to take to school for lunch? on wednesdays i also have to pack my dinner... and ive been making the steam-in-a-bag veggies but those have a lot of sodium in them too

i feel like everything thats convenient for me to eat or the only things i have time to eat are loaded with sodium from the preparation and packaging! ahh.

also, as far as recording the "cups" of water, how would i log a 16oz bottled water? i usually just divide the size of the cup/bottle by 8.. for example if i drink a 32oz glass of water at work i would count that as 4 "cups" of water.. is that incorrect?

last thing! saturdays are my weigh in day, and i weighed myself this morning and then an hour later and within the hour i had lost an extra pound. is that incorrect of me to log the lower weight?

sorry if some of these questions are dumb. thanks guys!

katie

asj0901 · February 2011

I don't know if its "right wrong or what ever" but I always log my lowest weight of the day. I weigh on Sundays and you can bet that I am logging the lowest number of the day. I need to see my ticker move in the right direction. Its my little motivation. The only down side is I know I have to work that much hard to see that lowest number go down the next week, so its like a little Motivation and a Little Personal Challenge... Good Luck!

I alway call a cup 8oz. So yep I would divide the total by eight and thats you "cups"

As far as low sodium.... I dont have a lot of ideas. I love to eat the Trader Joes Multi grain pilaf. It is very filling with 9g of protien per serving and 200 calories. and cooks in 2 minutes. 440 mg sodium (i don't know if thats a lot....) But it is yummy and handy

kaitlinmre · February 2011

Makes sense

Thanks!!

ilvpsu · February 2011

You could try taking yogurt...I get plain, put some fruit, or maybe flax seeds in it.... I like cottage cheese, but I think that is high on the sodium. Are you watching sodium closely? I tend to ignore that, but that could turn into water retention which isn't a good thing. Do raw veggies, whole grain crackers, I also get those imitation crab legs for some protein...not a huge meat eater.

Calidaho · February 2011

I have seen low sodium turkey in the deli but I don't know how that would taste. You could roast a turkey breast on a day off and slice it up for roll ups during the week. You could probably even freeze a lot of it if you cooked a whole breast.

I wonder if a rotisserie chicken has a lot of sodium? That could be easy to pick apart for roll ups.

Good luck!

traceybett · February 2011

I haven't tried this yet, but just bought ziploc steamer bags. I am planning to package vegetables in them to take to work and steam in the microwave.

This would give us steamed veggies without the sodium

I am very busy too and I know that I have to take time on the weekend to prepare: plan, shop, package food for the week. That way I can grab and go.

Good luck! your doing great!

sugarbeans · February 2011

First off. None of these questions are stupid lol.

A cup (250ml) of water is equivalent to 8fl oz. So YES you are correct!!

As for lunch ideas.

If you really like turkey how about going to the store and buying a turkey breast cook that up and freeze it in serving sizes that way you are in control of the portion how you prepare the turkey and it will cut the sodium down. I usually grill chicken breast and divide that into portion sizes.
I also enjoy a tuna sandwich.
making homemade soups in advance (I don't know how much time you have for preparing foods) If I know that I have to bring my dinner too I usually just take a container of soup and let it thaw through out the day until it's time to eat. depending on how big of the container it should remain cold until you need to heat it up. If you don't have access to a microwave this option won't work.
Sometimes left overs from the night before is my lunch.
I will make pinwheel sandwiches, I personally though if I'm going to have a sandwhich bread has to be toasted.

My lunch will contain a meat, veggies, fruit for later, yogurt I try to make it well rounded and clean. I as well like easy ready made lunches because of the convenience but due to the high content of sodium I have just sucked it up and make healthy lunches the night before.(not complaining just stating lol)

As for weighing in I would pick one time during the day and stick to that. I used to be obsessed with the scale and found it to be detrimental in the end. I tend to have my weigh in on Tuesday or if I forget than friday morning.

Hope this helps

kaitlinmre · February 2011

Thanks everyone!!! My parents bought some turkey burgers tonight at the grocery store so I might try taking one of those to work tomorrow.

Thanks so much for the input! I'm glad my questions weren't dumb

Keep the suggestions coming!

Nigel99 · February 2011

I like to take leftovers from dinner sometimes if I have something really good (may not work for you if you can't keep it cold until eating time), and salads can be prepped to carry with you Steamed veggies in a bag are good, but you have to go for the ones that don't add seasoning or sauce. I've found Hanover and Pictsweet brands have some good options for veggies that have a minimal amount of sodium in them.

TeeTee11 · February 2011

sandwiches! I always have tuna sand (some mayo, salt and pepper, boiled egg) ....or chicken and cheese sand...

and if you need to watch the carbs, just leave out the bread!

ofccat · February 2011

Not sure if your deli has Boars Head brand foods but they offer a lot of lower sodium lunch meat options. I am sure others do as well so I would look into that.

emlov81 · February 2011

Thanks everyone!!! My parents bought some turkey burgers tonight at the grocery store so I might try taking one of those to work tomorrow.

Thanks so much for the input! I'm glad my questions weren't dumb Keep the suggestions coming!

I weigh first thing on a saturday morning!!! I find this a good day, so I can have a treat on saturday night!!! I feel an early morning weigh in is more confidence boosting, as it is not dependent on what you have eaten through the day!!

Hope this helps!!

Help!

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