What kind of diet plan for picky eaters with little time?
katiejay10717
Posts: 5 Member
I have a busy life. I work 7-5, and own a horse that takes up much of my evening hours and weekend time. I typically don't get home from barn work until 7:30 sometimes 8:00 at night. I do NOT want to cook that late.
I've tried time and time again to find a diet that suits me. I am a picky eater. I like basic, easy things. NO seafood, no weird stuff. I've tried to find meal plans online to follow, and they always sound 'okay' except for the part where you have to cook your breakfast in a skillet every morning, or the part where dinner consists of salmon or some other 1 hour to prep and cook type meal.
What do you guys suggest? Am I a lost cause? It doesn't seem like counting calories does anything for me. I somehow keep coming back thinking I will make it work, but I get discouraged by my "number remaining" each day until I just quit using my fitness pal.
Exercise has little difference on my body at this point. Three years ago it did wonders. Fast forward to now, and I'm a hypothyroid 25 year old who is in the worst shape of her life (isn't it supposed to be the opposite in your 20's?) and exercise does NOTHING, and in some cases it makes things worse.
Anyone have simple, easy to follow diet suggestions? Tried low carb, but it was a lot harder than it sounded. Any suggestions on where to get meal plans for picky people like me? SIMPLE recipes that don't take 20 ingredients? Extra brownie points for plans that can be prepped ahead of time (over the weekend?) and frozen until dinner each day...
Thanks!
I've tried time and time again to find a diet that suits me. I am a picky eater. I like basic, easy things. NO seafood, no weird stuff. I've tried to find meal plans online to follow, and they always sound 'okay' except for the part where you have to cook your breakfast in a skillet every morning, or the part where dinner consists of salmon or some other 1 hour to prep and cook type meal.
What do you guys suggest? Am I a lost cause? It doesn't seem like counting calories does anything for me. I somehow keep coming back thinking I will make it work, but I get discouraged by my "number remaining" each day until I just quit using my fitness pal.
Exercise has little difference on my body at this point. Three years ago it did wonders. Fast forward to now, and I'm a hypothyroid 25 year old who is in the worst shape of her life (isn't it supposed to be the opposite in your 20's?) and exercise does NOTHING, and in some cases it makes things worse.
Anyone have simple, easy to follow diet suggestions? Tried low carb, but it was a lot harder than it sounded. Any suggestions on where to get meal plans for picky people like me? SIMPLE recipes that don't take 20 ingredients? Extra brownie points for plans that can be prepped ahead of time (over the weekend?) and frozen until dinner each day...
Thanks!
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Replies
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What did you eat before? Just eat less of it. It's all about calories in versus calories out. Exercise is for health and calorie deficit is for weight loss.0
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I am a super picky eater also. I work from 7:30 to 4 during the week and have a second job on the weekends. I try to fit in as much cardio as I can to help with my calorie count but it is difficult when I also travel back and forth to my boyfriend's place who lives 40 miles away.
Since I usually do not have much time I try to stick with low calorie easy to make foods. I have been a big fan of Tuna lately and it is sold in perfect serving sizes. There is no exensive prep time. Simply put in what you like and mix it up. I usually go for a little bit of mayo with olive oil, dill pickles and pepper and mix it up.
On the weekends I will cook up some various meats and store them in the fridge until I am ready to eat them. I usually put them over salads and change out the dressings so that I dont get bored. I like choosing chicken or steak and then cutting them up in smaller peices so that they go well with the salad.
I have also recently started going protien shakes in the morning. Its quick and easy and you can mix in whatever your taste buds like.
These are just my tips and so far they have been working for me. There is not a lot of prep and if you are just making food for one then they are easy with out a lot of clean up afterwards.0 -
queenliz99 wrote: »What did you eat before? Just eat less of it. It's all about calories in versus calories out. Exercise is for health and calorie deficit is for weight loss.
I've tried to cut the bad, keep the good. Drink water, dump soda. 4 years ago if I stopped drinking soda daily I'd drop 20 pounds. Seems that whether I eat 1200 calories or 2000 calories, I'm still right at the same weight. I don't think that calories alone is cutting it for me, so I was looking for some diet plan of some sort to follow.0 -
I am with @queenliz99. What do you like to eat. For example, what veggies do you like, what fruit do you like, what types of entrée's do you typically eat, breakfood (cereal, toast, bagels) and of course the snacking?
Also, exercise is for being healthy, helping the metabolism and just overall well being. If you are burning more calories at the end of the day and within your deficit you should definitely be losing weight.
Simple recipes? Need to know what you like.. Picky eaters hate most foods, and texture of food is a big thing and of course the smell of food...
What do you like to eat... That will help us out...0 -
The same "plan" you're on now ... just smaller quantities.
You don't have to change, at all, in the slightest, what you eat. All you need change is how much you eat, right?0 -
Eat what you always do, only in moderation, at a caloric deficit.0
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Eat the horse? 2 Birds, One stone and whatnot.0
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I love beef, chicken, love ALL veggies and fruits. Those are easy. I'm not a big snacker. I struggle to consume enough water. Can't stand anything seafood. Every time I try to plan out things from online suggestions, they suggest a lean protein like fish. Can't do it. I really struggle with 'on the go' stuff. I'm at work for breakfast and lunch, and a big part of 'eating right' and 'being picky' seems to point to me needing to cook some extravagant meal each day. I just don't have the time (or energy). I don't do oatmeal. I get sick of trying to bring a salad for lunch every day.
I guess maybe I'm just not well organized for this? For those of you who need to bring a portable breakfast and lunch, what do you suggest? Can't really cook anything (only microwave or "no cook" foods).
Big fan of crock pot type stuff for dinners, as I can throw it in and it's ready when I do finally make it home at night. But it seems that a lot of crock pot food is too 'rich' and easily sends me over my calories for the day if I eat enough to 'fill up'.
There are also those times where I've been running around all day and I don't even want dinner. I guess I just am so ill educated on how to properly eat, that I'm not sure what I'm doing to my body. For instance, over the summer I wasn't getting home until 8 or 8:30pm and I wasn't even thinking about food. Clearly in a calorie deficit for the day, as I had typically eaten a 100 calorie breakfast and 400~ calorie lunch. How come I still never saw results then?
How can I be better armed to make the commitment?0 -
I eat the same meals I did before, but with smaller portions. I have cereal for breakfast - no time to cook either!
My meals could be healthier but weren't terrible to start with - ie they weren't processed junk out of the freezer every night.
I would question whether you're logging everything and accurately (weighing food?) if your weight stays the same at both 1200 and 2000 calories.0 -
pinkteapot3 wrote: »I eat the same meals I did before, but with smaller portions. I have cereal for breakfast - no time to cook either!
My meals could be healthier but weren't terrible to start with - ie they weren't processed junk out of the freezer every night.
I would question whether you're logging everything and accurately (weighing food?) if your weight stays the same at both 1200 and 2000 calories.
You're probably right on with weighing food. I've not done it. How can I get started on that? Just weigh everything out to the 'suggested serving size'? As I said--totally new to this stuff. Kind of oblivious. This time I want it to work, so I want to be super serious.0 -
kaitlynstrecker1 wrote: »I love beef, chicken, love ALL veggies and fruits. Those are easy. I'm not a big snacker. I struggle to consume enough water. Can't stand anything seafood. Every time I try to plan out things from online suggestions, they suggest a lean protein like fish. Can't do it. I really struggle with 'on the go' stuff. I'm at work for breakfast and lunch, and a big part of 'eating right' and 'being picky' seems to point to me needing to cook some extravagant meal each day. I just don't have the time (or energy). I don't do oatmeal. I get sick of trying to bring a salad for lunch every day.
I guess maybe I'm just not well organized for this? For those of you who need to bring a portable breakfast and lunch, what do you suggest? Can't really cook anything (only microwave or "no cook" foods).
Big fan of crock pot type stuff for dinners, as I can throw it in and it's ready when I do finally make it home at night. But it seems that a lot of crock pot food is too 'rich' and easily sends me over my calories for the day if I eat enough to 'fill up'.
There are also those times where I've been running around all day and I don't even want dinner. I guess I just am so ill educated on how to properly eat, that I'm not sure what I'm doing to my body. For instance, over the summer I wasn't getting home until 8 or 8:30pm and I wasn't even thinking about food. Clearly in a calorie deficit for the day, as I had typically eaten a 100 calorie breakfast and 400~ calorie lunch. How come I still never saw results then?
How can I be better armed to make the commitment?
The bolded statement cannot be true. FACT: if you spent a summer actually eating 500 cal a day, they you would have lost weight. Anyone on the planet would lose weight on 500 cal./day. You were most likely grossly underestimating your caloric intake.
Also you mentioned you are a picky eater - but you state that you love most meats, all veggies and fruits. Where does "picky" come into play?
Weigh, measure, and log accurately. There is no magic formula, no special combination of foods, no amount of water, nothing other than calories in v. calories out that will make you lose weight.0 -
I never cook breakfast during the week and because of my schedule dinners are not labor intensive. I just watch HOW MUCH I eat, not what! Last night I had pizza and salad and both were picked up from the local take and bake pizza place. This morning, I was running late for work, so breakfast is a granola bar and a couple cutie mandarin oranges. Losing weight is all about how many calories you eat. That's it. Well, that and having patience because weight loss is slow - especially if you don't have much to lose.
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You do have to be willing to weigh, measure and log everything you put in your mouth though. Including snacks and drinks. That is the only way to accurately know how many calories you are eating.0 -
Eat whatever you want, just eat less of it.0
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I work 7-4, at the gym or the dance studio pretty much every night and don't get home until 7, 8, or even 9 at night and have a part time job. I'm hypothyroid as well (also insulin resistant and PCOS) and pretty picky (actually, as much as I love to cook, I hate cooking for myself). For breakfast I usually will either have cottage cheese and fruit or baked oatmeal (you can make this on the weekend and eat it hot or cold, it's a great grab-n-go item), for lunches since you can't heat anything, why not have a sandwich, some cut veggies and a piece of fruit? For me, by the time I get home, I tend to want something quick, bake a piece of chicken in the toaster oven, single serve veggies in the microwave, maybe some brown rice or I'll toss a turkey or hamburger patty on the broiler, throw some single serve veggies in the microwave and chow down, if I make turkey meatballs over the weekend, I'll put some tomato sauce in a pan with the meat balls and let it heat up while I change, feed the kittes, check my emails/phone messages, ect.
Remember you're hypothyroid, your body works different for weightloss, I would suggest first and foremost, go to an endocrinologist and get a check up, make sure a)there are no other underlying issues and b) your meds don't need to be changed. If you have the opportunity to work with a registered dietician that works with patients with your medical concerns, do it. Mine helped me set up a food plan I can work with because while I'm fantastic about weighing and measuring, I trip myself up with tracking, she's made it so I can stay within my 1700 calories a day in a way that I'm sticking with it.0 -
My husband and kids love fish, but I hate it. I keep Lean Cuisine and Smart Ones in the freezer for the nights they eat fish, and those nights I don't have time to eat dinner. They need some seasoning, and have a lot of sodium, but I throw some salt free Mrs. Dash on it, and drink about 2 glasses of water afterwards, and they work for me. Also, diets tend to do more harm than good. Calories in versus calories out. It's really the only way to get it done. Counting calories and accounting for EVERYTHING you put in your mouth is tedious, I know. I did it about 2 years ago, and lost 60 pounds. I quit smoking, and gained it all back. I'm not looking forward to doing it again, but I know it's the only way.0
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I hate seafood too. I know you said you are not a fan of oatmeal, but if you add some juicy fruit on it like raspberries, or even some peanut butter and banana it will taste great. Other alternatives for breakfast is avocado toast, a simple egg, GREEK YOGURT with fruit on it.
Salads are boring for me too, but I change out the meats add different veggies and cheeses. Measure and weigh everything.. even the salad dressing! Eat what you like just less. Still have mayo, butter, etc. but measure it out and you will loose weight. I also found that the scale at home was not accurate it was reading less, so I invested in a new one.
If the remaining number hurts, plan all your food the day before. I typically know what I am going to have for breakfast, snacks and sometimes even lunch for the next day before I go to sleep. And if you are hungry between have water, tea, or keep yourself busy with your horse!!
Good luck.. add me if you wish!!0 -
Crockpot could be your best friend. Takes very little time or effort to throw chicken or a pork tenderloin in it. Add veggies for a more complete meal. Leftovers for salads or sandwiches. It's ready when you get home....
Sorry. I just saw you already use it.
Try looking for more lean proteins. Chicken breast with salsa makes great shredded chicken tacos. Pork tenderloin is super healthy. Also, place foil balls on bottom of crockpot. Top with whole chicken. Roasts beautifully. What about soups? Those would come out great in it. Buy frozen mixed veggies, throw in protein and seasoning.0 -
I make crock pot or casserole every week. I like to cook in bulk for the entire week.. If you need some ideas I can point you in the direction where I got my recipes.
Really tasty, healthy and easy to make.I have been very pleased.0 -
I've seen lots of MFP'ers who eat like you. I don't; I need variety. But if you are a picky eater who doesn't appreciate variety and does not enjoy a high-prep meal, your meal planning is screamingly easy. Have a meal prep day on the weekend and pre-package in the freezer. Have a slow cooker meal once or twice a week.
Your meal prep will be baking seasoned skinless chicken breasts and any other meat you enjoy all at once. Then package them and freeze them in individual portions.
Your pasta/potato/rice you may prepare in advance and freeze or cook on the day. Someone here shared a baked rice recipe (which you can bake the same time you prep your chicken) which is delightfully easy and delicious.
Frozen vegetables can be bought or re-packaged in to individual portions.
For breakfast, you can make up a batch of steel cut oats overnight. There are also egg muffins you can prepare ahead of time and freeze.
My lunch is typically leftovers from the night before. Easy peasy.
Eating this way has a delightful side-benefit; you can measure log and calculate your meals ahead of time to take the chore out of calorie counting. MFP is for calorie counters and it gives you information on what you are really eating. That is, if you want to figure out why you are stalled.0 -
kaitlynstrecker1 wrote: »pinkteapot3 wrote: »I eat the same meals I did before, but with smaller portions. I have cereal for breakfast - no time to cook either!
My meals could be healthier but weren't terrible to start with - ie they weren't processed junk out of the freezer every night.
I would question whether you're logging everything and accurately (weighing food?) if your weight stays the same at both 1200 and 2000 calories.
You're probably right on with weighing food. I've not done it. How can I get started on that? Just weigh everything out to the 'suggested serving size'? As I said--totally new to this stuff. Kind of oblivious. This time I want it to work, so I want to be super serious.
I just started out eating the same foods for each meal I was already eating, just weighing out one serving size on the scale (and stopping when I hit my calorie goal).
Yes, I used the suggested serving size if it was something with a nutritional label. If otherwise, I would just weigh out 1 apple or would eyeball a "serving" while putting it on the scale & enter whatever that weight was. Over time I learned how much was a good serving for me. For example, I usually will eat 100 grams of chicken breast or 100 grams of white rice. It's a nice round number (I like round numbers) and its a decent sized portion.0 -
You guys rock. Time to go get a scale. Anyone with more breakfast suggestions, please! Oatmeal just doesn't work for me. The consistency and whatnot...just not workin.
Someone recently told me that soups are easy and fun. Crockpot a bunch of veggies (maybe chicken too?) and then blend it up and eat as soup....
Thanks for the help. Glad to hear it might be possible to not change how I eat completely, but rather pay more attention to the amount. I don't consider myself one to gorge on loads of food, but they always say you'd be surprised at the amount you eat vs the portion you're supposed to...0 -
kaitlynstrecker1 wrote: »You guys rock. Time to go get a scale. Anyone with more breakfast suggestions, please! Oatmeal just doesn't work for me. The consistency and whatnot...just not workin.
Someone recently told me that soups are easy and fun. Crockpot a bunch of veggies (maybe chicken too?) and then blend it up and eat as soup....
Thanks for the help. Glad to hear it might be possible to not change how I eat completely, but rather pay more attention to the amount. I don't consider myself one to gorge on loads of food, but they always say you'd be surprised at the amount you eat vs the portion you're supposed to...
Yup, scales can make all the difference.
I just posted this video in another thread, but I'm going to drop it here too.
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kaitlynstrecker1 wrote: »You're probably right on with weighing food. I've not done it. How can I get started on that? Just weigh everything out to the 'suggested serving size'? As I said--totally new to this stuff. Kind of oblivious. This time I want it to work, so I want to be super serious.
If you have no clue at all, start off by simply eating your normal diet (no changes), but weighing everything and having a go at logging it accurately. Only then will you really know how many calories you're eating a day.
You can then look at your diary and see where you can cut back. Fewer snacks, smaller portions, etc.
Accurate logging is a faff at first, but after a few weeks it gets a lot quicker. I tend to eat the same meals, rotating them. So I'm not trying new recipes every single day. Once you've got items in your 'recents' list, it's quick to put in a day's food. Only takes me 1-2 mins to log all my daily food now. I put everything in at the start of the day that I'm going to eat.
After that, it's just trial and error. I had to fiddle about with portion sizes to get my meals to about the right number of cals each. Just try different numbers of grams in the tracker and see what you can have. Again, once you get going you'll have the same quantity each time and it's really easy to log.0 -
frozen breakfast burritos. you can make them ahead of time, freeze then microwave to eat. definitely get that scale and start weighing your food. weighing my food was an eye opener for me. while i was eating healthy meals i was eating huge portions and didn't even know it. chicken breast, salsa, rice, veggies in a crock pot dinner is ready.
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I make scrambled eggs in the microwave...mix them in a coffee mug with some salt and pepper and nuke for one minute. If I don't want eggs, I might have greek yogurt with some fruit. Sometimes I mix in some peanut butter. Or I have cottage cheese. Those could also be lunch or dinner depending on my mood.kaitlynstrecker1 wrote: »I love beef, chicken, love ALL veggies and fruits. Those are easy. I'm not a big snacker. I struggle to consume enough water. Can't stand anything seafood. Every time I try to plan out things from online suggestions, they suggest a lean protein like fish. Can't do it. I really struggle with 'on the go' stuff. I'm at work for breakfast and lunch, and a big part of 'eating right' and 'being picky' seems to point to me needing to cook some extravagant meal each day. I just don't have the time (or energy). I don't do oatmeal. I get sick of trying to bring a salad for lunch every day.
I guess maybe I'm just not well organized for this? For those of you who need to bring a portable breakfast and lunch, what do you suggest? Can't really cook anything (only microwave or "no cook" foods).
Big fan of crock pot type stuff for dinners, as I can throw it in and it's ready when I do finally make it home at night. But it seems that a lot of crock pot food is too 'rich' and easily sends me over my calories for the day if I eat enough to 'fill up'.
There are also those times where I've been running around all day and I don't even want dinner. I guess I just am so ill educated on how to properly eat, that I'm not sure what I'm doing to my body. For instance, over the summer I wasn't getting home until 8 or 8:30pm and I wasn't even thinking about food. Clearly in a calorie deficit for the day, as I had typically eaten a 100 calorie breakfast and 400~ calorie lunch. How come I still never saw results then?
How can I be better armed to make the commitment?
I eat a lot of baked chicken. 25 minutes to bake and I make enough for several days at one time. Then throw it in the microwave for a minute on other days. I eat frozen veggies every day...two minutes to nuke.
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Typical breakfasts for me: cold cereal with milk, yogurt, fruit, granola bar, leftovers, or a sandwich. I don't usually cook in the morning.
Typical lunches- sandwich, salad or leftovers.
Typical snacks- fruit, cheese, popcorn, trail mix, granola bar
Dinner is where I actually cook the most variety and put the most effort in.
I do use the slow cooker sometimes.
I try to have a big pot of soup once a week- freezes and reheats well. My family likes things like fassolatha, lentil soup, minestrone, tomato soup, meatball soup, chili.
Pasta can be quick.
Stir fry can be quick.
Eggs cook fast.
Double the recipe when you cook and save the extra for another meal. Cook on weekends for the whole week and just portion it out.
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I didn't read all the posts, most of them, but not all. I just wanted to get my 2 cents in, and hopefully hasn't been said.
I have a crazy busy life too with very little time to cook during the week, so here are my suggestions. At work, I keep an abundance of food in my desk. So looking at my "pantry" at work I have a box of granola bars, and box of wheat thins, a bag of bagel crisps. In the fridge I have laughing cow cheese, mini baby bells and greek yogurt. Here is what a typical day looks for me:
Breakfast: coffee and a granola bar
Snack: bagel crisps (or crackers) with laughing cow cheese, or a mini baby bell
Lunch: something frozen, lean cuisine, smart one, or something I made on the weekend and froze and a greek yogurt for dessert
snack: a couple of pieces of dark chocolate, or one of the above mentioned snacks
dinner: always something simple, because I don't have time. I buy frozen vegetables so I'll fry up a pork chop and throw veggies in the microwave. It takes about 8 minutes to fry a pork chop in olive oil. Or I'll just cook pasta with canned sauce. Or cut up chicken into cubes, throw it in the frying pan with salsa and frozen corn. Takes about 10 minutes to cook. Or I'll pick up subway...
Anyway, I hope these ideas help. I often cook crockpot things on the weekend so that I have the leftovers for during the week. Vegetable chili, soup with lots and lots of meat and veggies, or I'll make something like a shepherds pie.
Send me a message if you'd like more ideas.
Good luck!!0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjKPIcI51lU
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