Doing it wrong??
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If you hate cooking and are short on time maybe buy a slow cooker. I literally just throw any meat or chicken in a few vegetables and turn it on when I go to work so its ready once I get home then I am not tempted to get a take away, if you google slow cooker recipes there is loads of different things to choose from :-)0
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tiffnkailey wrote: »How do you keep your salads fresh? If I buy salad I usually keep it in the bag "closed" with a clip, but after a few days the lettuce is brown and soggy.
Eat it faster! LOL. Unfortunately most bagged/container lettuce goes limp within 4-5 days. Have a salad with dinner every night and you won't have that problem. Also, be mindful about how much salad dressing you use. A healthy salad can turn fattening very quickly if you over do it on your dressing.0 -
I know how to cook speghetti. That was a huge milestone, and the first two times I tried I sucked and made a big mess with the hamburger. lol.
Part of it is I don't know how to cook, part of I have a busy schedule, but most of it is fear. I have some crazy fears about cooking. I'm going to burn the apt down, I'm going to accidently poison my daughter and i because I didn't cook something right, or I wasted a bunch of food because what I cooked taste nasty, and I don't have money to replace it. Recipes are intimidating to me too.
So I guess to get over my fear of cooking, I just need to take it step by step, and find some easy things to do first.0 -
tiffnkailey wrote: »I know how to cook speghetti. That was a huge milestone, and the first two times I tried I sucked and made a big mess with the hamburger. lol.
Part of it is I don't know how to cook, part of I have a busy schedule, but most of it is fear. I have some crazy fears about cooking. I'm going to burn the apt down, I'm going to accidently poison my daughter and i because I didn't cook something right, or I wasted a bunch of food because what I cooked taste nasty, and I don't have money to replace it. Recipes are intimidating to me too.
So I guess to get over my fear of cooking, I just need to take it step by step, and find some easy things to do first.
Absolutely, Jamie Oliver's 15 minute or 30 minute meals might be really useful to you with not having much time and also you can get all these free online.0 -
Yes, you are doing it wrong. But, also yes, you can do it right.
I'm sort of floored that you are an adult with a child and can't cook anything. Please find some simple recipes on the internet that you can learn. Buying groceries and cooking at home is much less expensive and creates better habits for you and your daughter.
Good luck.
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Hi Tiffnkailey, I'm new here but do think I can offer some help here. I looked over you food diary and one of the things that stood out to me was the sugar, sodium and fat content of the foods you're eating. Even though there is a goal for number of calories for you to eat per day, use it just as a guideline. One of the biggest mistakes I made when I started changing my eating habits was still eating as I normally did but trying to fit it within my calorie count and that did not work because my body was still getting it's fat and sugar content it craved so nothing was changing. I would recommend to start incorporating more fresh foods and less processed/packaged foods. Google Clean Eating and see if that works for you. I started that and lost 11 lbs the first four days just by what I was eating, no exercise had been introduced yet. It's hard the first week but trust me, you will see results almost immediately. Also, try to stay away from white sugar, white breads and white rice, tortillas, etc. If you do start clean eating, you'll start to transition from counting calories to just eating until you'll full and because you would be eating healthy foods, calorie count wouldn't really matter because it would be really hard to go over with clean eating. Hope this helps and good luck!0
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With respect to poisoning your child with home cooking, watch some y-tube conspiracy videos about what actually goes into fast food and what goes on in their kitchens. Things like pink slime and rat feces. It may motivate you to prepare your own foods a bit more for the sake of your child. Just keep things clean and don't under cook.0
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I'm with you on the coffee. I just like coffee... sometimes I drink it for a bit of energy, and sometimes I drink it as a comfort on a cold day or to dull my hunger in between meals. I can drink it black, but if I'm hungry or want something sweet, I'll get some sort of mixed coffee drink, usually a mocha. I'm not sure if other coffee chains do this, but at Starbucks, you can get some of their drinks in a "skinny" version, which cuts down on the sugar and sometimes the fat. That might be something to keep in mind if indulging in a coffee drink is something you really enjoy.
I'm not sure that you really need to track your sugar if you're already tracking your carbs. If you really want to see how many grams of sugar you're eating and think it might help you cut back, then you could track it, but your sugar intake is already being accounted for as your carbohydrates. If you tend to run low on iron or become anemic, I think you'd probably want to stick with tracking that. I don't track sugar and instead track fiber.
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Just wanted to add one more thing to all the great advice already given - It's only been 10 days! Sometimes it can take your body a little time to catch up with what you are doing, and water weight can fluctuate several pounds from day to day. You need to keep track of your weight over the course of at least a month to start to see a downward trend. Patience is a virtue
Good luck!0 -
Yes, you are doing it wrong. But, also yes, you can do it right.
I'm sort of floored that you are an adult with a child and can't cook anything. Please find some simple recipes on the internet that you can learn. Buying groceries and cooking at home is much less expensive and creates better habits for you and your daughter.
Good luck.
Most people are. It's a long story, something traumatic happened to me, and I was stuck mentally as a 16 year old for a long time. I didn't get out of that victim mentality till I was 27. I'm 30 now. So I have a ton of catching up to do. While most young girls are learning to cook/clean. etc I was on sucide watch. While most young girls are going to college, having their first apartment, I was in an abusive marriage with a child.
So life was always survival mode, until 27. Then 27 was getting out of victim mentality, making better choices, trying to get a job. 28-29 was holding down a part time job and starting college, while parenting, getting my first apartment. 30 Was/is Fulltime job, part time college, parenting, bigger apartment, and finally being able to work on getting myself healthy through eating and exercising.
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tiffnkailey wrote: »I know how to cook speghetti. That was a huge milestone, and the first two times I tried I sucked and made a big mess with the hamburger. lol.
Part of it is I don't know how to cook, part of I have a busy schedule, but most of it is fear. I have some crazy fears about cooking. I'm going to burn the apt down, I'm going to accidently poison my daughter and i because I didn't cook something right, or I wasted a bunch of food because what I cooked taste nasty, and I don't have money to replace it. Recipes are intimidating to me too.
So I guess to get over my fear of cooking, I just need to take it step by step, and find some easy things to do first.
There's LESS chance of this happening then there is the likelihood that your daughter has health and/or body issues from being raised on fast food. I'm sorry. I don't mean to be harsh, but making healthy food choices, learning to cook TOGETHER, and instilling good habits now are your responsibility to yourself and your child. There's been some great advice on this thread. Keep working at it and you will be successful!0 -
pinkberry25 wrote: »Hi Tiffnkailey, I'm new here but do think I can offer some help here. I looked over you food diary and one of the things that stood out to me was the sugar, sodium and fat content of the foods you're eating. Even though there is a goal for number of calories for you to eat per day, use it just as a guideline. One of the biggest mistakes I made when I started changing my eating habits was still eating as I normally did but trying to fit it within my calorie count and that did not work because my body was still getting it's fat and sugar content it craved so nothing was changing. I would recommend to start incorporating more fresh foods and less processed/packaged foods. Google Clean Eating and see if that works for you. I started that and lost 11 lbs the first four days just by what I was eating, no exercise had been introduced yet. It's hard the first week but trust me, you will see results almost immediately. Also, try to stay away from white sugar, white breads and white rice, tortillas, etc. If you do start clean eating, you'll start to transition from counting calories to just eating until you'll full and because you would be eating healthy foods, calorie count wouldn't really matter because it would be really hard to go over with clean eating. Hope this helps and good luck! quote]
there is no such thing as clean eating, she needs to create a calorie deficit to lose weight. What you are suggesting i.e eating without counting calories... will not work0 -
sherbear702 wrote: »tiffnkailey wrote: »How do you keep your salads fresh? If I buy salad I usually keep it in the bag "closed" with a clip, but after a few days the lettuce is brown and soggy.
Eat it faster! LOL. Unfortunately most bagged/container lettuce goes limp within 4-5 days. Have a salad with dinner every night and you won't have that problem. Also, be mindful about how much salad dressing you use. A healthy salad can turn fattening very quickly if you over do it on your dressing.
This is why I rarely buy salad haha.
However, I do this once in a while - I buy spinach as my salad and then after it's been opened for a few days I either freeze it or use it fresh in a lasagna. Both fresh and frozen (and squeezed) spinach can be used in a lasagna. At least then it isn't wasting it.
You might also want to look into buying frozen veggies over fresh since they last longer. They might cost a teeny bit more, but you'll throw less away. Also... I think most groceries will be cheaper than going for fast food. I assume prices will be cheaper where you are, but a fast food meal for 2 here is around $18 (and that's with parts of it being off the value menu). You should be able to feed at least 3 - 4 people for that amount of money used in the grocery store, especially since kids likely won't eat as much as you (depending on age. Sorry if you have a 15 year old boy! He might eat lots!)
Try buying bulk non-perishables like dry beans (you can rehydrate them yourself) or brown (or white if you prefer) rice, potatoes last a long time and are dirty cheap. Frozen meats are also easier to buy in bulk and on sale.0 -
tiffnkailey wrote: »Yes, you are doing it wrong. But, also yes, you can do it right.
I'm sort of floored that you are an adult with a child and can't cook anything. Please find some simple recipes on the internet that you can learn. Buying groceries and cooking at home is much less expensive and creates better habits for you and your daughter.
Good luck.
Most people are. It's a long story, something traumatic happened to me, and I was stuck mentally as a 16 year old for a long time. I didn't get out of that victim mentality till I was 27. I'm 30 now. So I have a ton of catching up to do. While most young girls are learning to cook/clean. etc I was on sucide watch. While most young girls are going to college, having their first apartment, I was in an abusive marriage with a child.
So life was always survival mode, until 27. Then 27 was getting out of victim mentality, making better choices, trying to get a job. 28-29 was holding down a part time job and starting college, while parenting, getting my first apartment. 30 Was/is Fulltime job, part time college, parenting, bigger apartment, and finally being able to work on getting myself healthy through eating and exercising.
You will be just fine It is all a learning game 0 -
With respect to poisoning your child with home cooking, watch some y-tube conspiracy videos about what actually goes into fast food and what goes on in their kitchens. Things like pink slime and rat feces. It may motivate you to prepare your own foods a bit more for the sake of your child. Just keep things clean and don't under cook.
I've watched some of those videos. They are horrifying to watch. lol I should probably watch them before I decide to go to Mcdonalds. That way I will be too grossed out to go.
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just eat at a deficit, fit things into your calorie goal there are no such things as "Clean eating" and "bad foods"0
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Good on ya for reaching out for advice and being humble enough to listen!
Here is a free online cookbook that was designed for eating healthy on a food stamp budget: https://8b862ca0073972f0472b704e2c0c21d0480f50d3.googledrive.com/host/0Bxd6wdCBD_2tdUdtM0d4WTJmclU/good-and-cheap.pdf
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There's LESS chance of this happening then there is the likelihood that your daughter has health and/or body issues from being raised on fast food. I'm sorry. I don't mean to be harsh, but making healthy food choices, learning to cook TOGETHER, and instilling good habits now are your responsibility to yourself and your child. There's been some great advice on this thread. Keep working at it and you will be successful![/quote]
I don't take offense to it at all. Sometimes people need a little harshness, or I like to say keeping them accountable, so that they can make better changes. I am lucky that my daughter isn't overweight. But I am sure she has some bad effects of a unhealthy diet. So its a good thing that I am trying to fix my healthy eating now. So it won't affect her in the future. She is 11 btw.
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TimothyFish wrote: »Sweet tea is how the south got fat.
As a dyed in the wool southerner... I can confirm.
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tiffnkailey wrote: »I track iron, because I was anemic. I can change it to track sugar. Yet I probably will go crazy when I see how much sugar I intake.
Since my eating was mostly fast food, I would have to rely on Coffee to keep me going during the day/night. So thats where the frappes came in. I am trying to eliminate those drinks now. I have a giftcard, only $5 left, and once I'm done with it, I won't buy anymore.
I like the hydroxycut shake, because it fills me up, and seems to wake me up like coffee does. Is says it has coffee in it. Plus it is low in calories.
Try transitioning to black coffee. If you're drinking it for the caffeine (and not the taste), it'll get you your fix without the calories. Not totally an easy transition if you've been drinking frappuccinos, but you can do it! (Plus, it's way cheaper, even if you drive through somewhere to get it!)
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Its so refreshing to see someone come to the forums for advice and actually ACCEPT what others are saying! Props to you!
just a little tip I have found: any veggie that is packaged as pre-sliced (baby carrots are a big example, the packages of asparagus that are "trimmed") is WAY overpriced. If you're not sure what part of the celery to eat: google it. It will be much less expensive to buy the veggies in their raw state instead of packaged.0 -
Hmmm I agree with everyone here, but someone does not have to learn to cook just because of weight loss. You can also make better fast food choices that fit within your goal. When your food stamp card loads up get quick and easy items for on the go. Freezer meals that you put in the skillet, sandwich stuff, fruit, raw veggies you like, oatmeal, greek yogurt, nuts and whatever else. Yes sodium causes water weight, but it does not stop you from losing weight. As long as you start eating less and in a calorie deficit you will lose weight.
Do what works for you, but you have to eat less to lose weight.
ETA: Okay went back to see what I missed reading and yes okay maybe learn to cook for you and your daughter. You can learn and cook together. Nothing like home cooking and kid friendly items are pretty simple to make.0 -
tiffnkailey wrote: »Yes, you are doing it wrong. But, also yes, you can do it right.
I'm sort of floored that you are an adult with a child and can't cook anything. Please find some simple recipes on the internet that you can learn. Buying groceries and cooking at home is much less expensive and creates better habits for you and your daughter.
Good luck.
Most people are. It's a long story, something traumatic happened to me, and I was stuck mentally as a 16 year old for a long time. I didn't get out of that victim mentality till I was 27. I'm 30 now. So I have a ton of catching up to do. While most young girls are learning to cook/clean. etc I was on sucide watch. While most young girls are going to college, having their first apartment, I was in an abusive marriage with a child.
So life was always survival mode, until 27. Then 27 was getting out of victim mentality, making better choices, trying to get a job. 28-29 was holding down a part time job and starting college, while parenting, getting my first apartment. 30 Was/is Fulltime job, part time college, parenting, bigger apartment, and finally being able to work on getting myself healthy through eating and exercising.
Good for you for reaching out for help to get on track! I can certainly understand that reasoning for not being able to cook. And so sorry that that's something you had to go through.
I'm a terrible cook, and not because I don't know how. I'm just kind of a spaz in the kitchen. I just received a cookbook for Christmas, Cooking Light in Minutes. I love it. It has healthy recipes with easy shortcuts, and the longest meal takes 30 minutes. The recipes are really easy, and I've made some delicious meals with them! Some of the shortcuts may be considered "unhealthy", like using jarred sauce with potential GMOs or other chemicals, but when on a money and time budget, those shortcuts can be great. And hey, you have to start somewhere with getting healthy! We can't all go vegan (or something similar) right away.. Baby steps to healthy! So I would suggest finding something like that online if buying a cookbook isn't in the budget right now.
You're definitely continuing on the right track, so keep it up! I was raised by a single mother, and I'm still always amazed at the things single moms are able to do. Good for you for still finding time to exercise and for putting your and your daughter's health as a priority now. 0 -
Its so refreshing to see someone come to the forums for advice and actually ACCEPT what others are saying! Props to you!
just a little tip I have found: any veggie that is packaged as pre-sliced (baby carrots are a big example, the packages of asparagus that are "trimmed") is WAY overpriced. If you're not sure what part of the celery to eat: google it. It will be much less expensive to buy the veggies in their raw state instead of packaged.
Yes!! I have noticed that. I usually buy the prepackaged baby carrots, and they are more expensive then regular carrots.
Google will be my best friend in the coming months.
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Good to hear that you are stabilizing yourself after such traumatic experiences.
Now that someone mentioned Youtube....my daughter (8 y.o.) watches A LOT of funny cooking blog videos online and loves trying them out. That may be a great way to start cooking with your daughter! It does take a little time to learn but it is worth the effort for both you AND your daughter.
Choose meals that you both like when you go out, like burgers or fried chicken, chicken tenders/nuggets and make them healthier - I don't fry chicken but make it oven fried and the kids love it - less fat and other bad stuff and still yummy!0 -
tiffnkailey wrote: »I know how to cook speghetti. That was a huge milestone, and the first two times I tried I sucked and made a big mess with the hamburger. lol.
Part of it is I don't know how to cook, part of I have a busy schedule, but most of it is fear. I have some crazy fears about cooking. I'm going to burn the apt down, I'm going to accidently poison my daughter and i because I didn't cook something right, or I wasted a bunch of food because what I cooked taste nasty, and I don't have money to replace it. Recipes are intimidating to me too.
So I guess to get over my fear of cooking, I just need to take it step by step, and find some easy things to do first.
There's LESS chance of this happening then there is the likelihood that your daughter has health and/or body issues from being raised on fast food. I'm sorry. I don't mean to be harsh, but making healthy food choices, learning to cook TOGETHER, and instilling good habits now are your responsibility to yourself and your child. There's been some great advice on this thread. Keep working at it and you will be successful!
This.
Alternately, do you have a good friend/family member that lives nearby? Confide in her/him. Ask for help. There are probably some very basic things that you could learn to make in an afternoon. Set aside a weekend day (or your day off) and experiment a little. Homemade chicken tenders are pretty easy. They don't taste like McDonald's (which, to me, is a good thing) but my son loves them. Pair them with a steamed vegetable (even something from the freezer section) and it's an easy dinner. Use them to make chicken parmesan with pasta for a meal that goes a little further.
The most important thing for you to realize with respect to weightloss is that you need to be eating at a deficit--take in less calories than you expend. You can eat fast food, sweets, chocolate and still do this, but eating a balanced diet of lean meats, veggies, fruits, and whole grains will be more satisfying and healthier overall.0 -
It takes time to see the weight come off. Don't get discouraged! I didn't see any weight loss at all for the first 3 weeks. I'm a single mom with a 13 year old daughter who is naturally thin and lately has become an eating machine, so I know how difficult it is to buy good, healthy food for your family that they will actually eat. Stick with it and make it a habit. I found that now, 2 months later, I am disappointed if I don't get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. What worked for me is I went very strict on myself for a month, eating only healthy, satisfying food, measuring and weighing every morsel, to now I am incorporating some more higher calorie items into my diet and not snacking mindlessly. You can do this, make the time to do this for yourself and your family. If I can do it, anyone can. Feel free to add me as a friend 0
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Saturdays and sundays are a good day for me to work on cooking, preparing meals. Most of my family is aware of my lack of cooking skills. They have said they would help teach me a couple healthy meals, so I just need to make it a priority to schedule time to go over there and learn.0
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I adore you already. I raised my two children as a single parent working full-time. I think pre-planned cooking will be your salvation. It's much cheaper than fast food, too. You might check if there is a community kitchen in your neighbourhood. You buy in bulk, make a whole bunch of meals together with a cooking coach, and take home your results for the next week.
Staples I always had on hand: eggs, powdered milk, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. You would be pleasantly surprised how many foods you can make with these few items. Pancakes, biscuits, pizza crust, cake, muffins, scrambled eggs, omelet, to name a few.
Frozen vegetables for your freezer. Then you don't have to worry about them going bad. If you buy fresh vegetables, take small amounts you can finish in a day or two. This also helps you to love your veggies. Long-lasting vegetables are cabbage and carrots.
I use aluminum take-out trays from the dollar store and leftovers are put in the freezer or taken for lunch the next day. I mark each one "350 degrees for twenty minutes" for my cooking-challenged husband. I remind him to take off the paper cover first.
Learn a few basic cooking techniques and you will be good to go.
huffingtonpost.com/the-daily-meal/7-basic-cooking-methods-e_b_4078339.html0 -
pinkberry25 wrote: »Hi Tiffnkailey, I'm new here but do think I can offer some help here. I looked over you food diary and one of the things that stood out to me was the sugar, sodium and fat content of the foods you're eating. Even though there is a goal for number of calories for you to eat per day, use it just as a guideline. One of the biggest mistakes I made when I started changing my eating habits was still eating as I normally did but trying to fit it within my calorie count and that did not work because my body was still getting it's fat and sugar content it craved so nothing was changing. I would recommend to start incorporating more fresh foods and less processed/packaged foods. Google Clean Eating and see if that works for you. I started that and lost 11 lbs the first four days just by what I was eating, no exercise had been introduced yet. It's hard the first week but trust me, you will see results almost immediately. Also, try to stay away from white sugar, white breads and white rice, tortillas, etc. If you do start clean eating, you'll start to transition from counting calories to just eating until you'll full and because you would be eating healthy foods, calorie count wouldn't really matter because it would be really hard to go over with clean eating. Hope this helps and good luck!
Nice first post
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