What food plan do you follow?

I opted not to follow any "plans" either. I do my grocery shopping and preparation of meals/snacks on Sunday so that I'm not tempted by the "quick fix" when pressed for time. Typically I'll prepare:
1) a hearty dinner dish, enough to last me the week (such as Jambalaya - recipe here)
2) pre-portioned veggie bags to juice (washed veggies that I can simply plow in to the juicer)
3) snack items like dehydrated kale leaves, zucchini chips, butternut squash chips

Keeping fresh fruit and veggies on-hand to snack on is a given but... I also make sure I'm stocked with frozen fruit to make smoothies when I'm craving something sweet. Also, little things like exchanging:
- Regular Milk for Unsweetened Almond Milk and,
- Regular Mayonnaise for Fat Free Miracle Whip
will save a TON of calories.

I'm just a 30 Day MyFitnessPal Rookie but have experienced surprising success so far. Track everything you eat, use some common sense, and you'll do great! During my "30 Day Fix", I've already lost 23 pounds all while feeling great.

I don't follow any particular plan, just adjust my calories. I did not eat a lot of veggies or fruits so I have been slowly adding them to my daily routine. I do like salads and will often have a salad for lunch or dinner. No food is off limits but I tend to eat some things less often or in less amounts. I do tend to stay away from fast food and prepared foods, making most of my meals from scratch. Logging my food and keeping track of the calories eaten has really helped me. My weight loss is slow but I figure it took awhile to get where it was so it's going to take awhile to come off.

MikaMojito wrote: »

I don't follow a plan as such but roughly this is what I eat. I tend to eat very little during the day because I hate being hungry in the evening.

Weekday breakfast: a banana or a banana with low-fat joghurt or quark
Weekend breakfast: either skip or scrambled eggs with bacon or smoked salmon

Lunch: Salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, bell peppers) plus a source of protein, such as lean ham or shrimp or chicken breast;

Snack: I try not to snack a lot but I keep small no-added-sugar cereal bars at school just in case I get horribly hungry

Dinner: Vegetables plus protein. Tonight it's salad with ham, last week I had green asparagus with salmon.

How many cals are you allotted daily? Doesn't seem like you eat very much... aren't you starving in-between your meals?

LyndseyLovesToLift wrote: »

MikaMojito wrote: »

I don't follow a plan as such but roughly this is what I eat. I tend to eat very little during the day because I hate being hungry in the evening.

Weekday breakfast: a banana or a banana with low-fat joghurt or quark
Weekend breakfast: either skip or scrambled eggs with bacon or smoked salmon

Lunch: Salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, bell peppers) plus a source of protein, such as lean ham or shrimp or chicken breast;

Snack: I try not to snack a lot but I keep small no-added-sugar cereal bars at school just in case I get horribly hungry

Dinner: Vegetables plus protein. Tonight it's salad with ham, last week I had green asparagus with salmon.

That just makes me sad. You get "horribly hungry" between meals because you're hardly eating anything at all.

Thank you for your concern, I appreciate it. And I have indeed been eating very little this week because there are two parties coming up this weekend and I've been saving up my calories. I know there a lots of people who don't agree with the concept of "saving up" but I think it's ok to disagree on that.

The thing is: different people eat differently. I've tried eating bigger breakfasts before I leave for work at 7 but then I'm hungry again by 9. So I eat again because I get bitchy. And then I eat again at lunchtime. At lunch I have a choice of school cafeteria which only serves very stodgy foods or sandwiches or salads. If I have a sandwich plus a bigger breakfast and something during break, most of my calories for the day are already gone. Now, other people would work out more so they can eat more but when I get home in the evening, I still have to grade papers etc. So I only manage to exercise 3 times a week. I COULD also have smaller dinners but I can't sleep if I'm hungry.

And last of all: you have no idea about the amount of what I eat. Eg the asparagus and salmon dinner: that was 500g of asparagus, fried in a tablespoon of high-quality olive oil with 200g smoked salmon AND 150g of quark-dip. I was seriously stuffed after that.

So all in all, what's wrong with this diet? I get fruit, veg and protein. I try to cut down on carbs which works great unless there's cake at work or when my boyfriend bakes bread etc. If that happens I happily eat these things, log them and fit them into my calorie allowance. But on a normal day I just try to keep things low-carb with plenty of fresh veg and protein.

And now I'm going back to my salad which is sitting next to me half-eaten because 150g of smoked ham plus tomatoes, cucumbers etc is actually a lot.

I've had significant success with Food Addicts Anonymous's plan (http://www.foodaddictsanonymous.org/faa-food-plan). I've lost 70 pounds. I also needed structure, and while the first couple of weeks were tough, my cravings stopped. I've since modified the plan (it was too much food in the beginning!), and focus more on total calories, but it might be something with checking out! Good luck!

Anything that keeps me on my calorie intake goal and can adhere to my 40/30/30 carb/protein/fat macro goals. *shrug*

Of course, avoiding packaged foods as much as possible and getting enough fiber from raw or cooked veg.

amandamartinez13791379 wrote: »

I have 160lbs to shed. I am having a hard time trying to figure out what to eat. I am not a salad lover (not yet anyways).
I think I need some structure. Any advice?

TIA

I eat whatever I want, at the calories I need and don't go over.

rainbow198 wrote: »

I don't follow a plan, but I eat a balance of carbs/fats/proteins, mainly just drink water and tea, eat lots of veggies and fruit daily, fit in a small dessert/treat after dinner and have 1 or 2 meals out on the weekend. It's very sustainable for me.

This,^ ^ I completely agree, for years I've done diets that promised quick , and guaranteed weight and fat loss. Restriction or elimination of carbs and fat, or fruits and just eat this and can't eat that,. And though I was losing weight, I was agitated and miserable. And then I'd put the weight back on because I'd binge on what I couldn't eat on that diet. Too many so called experts and the hype media diets all promise weight loss, but doesn't have the consideration for the aftermath. Is a diet that people can keep for the rest of thier lives? Life is all about enjoying yourself, and discovering things, and what works for you. And food ,although most will argue its for fuel, food still plays the biggest pleasures in life, . when I discovered mfp, I couldn't stop laughing. The answer was in front of me for years. Burn more, than what you eat. Eat things in moderation, have carbs, fruits , and those you love, but in small doses and move everyday. Why the hell, was I ignoring it and laughing at those that told me, the diet I was doing is stupid and to just burn more than what you consume. I've been on mfp for a week, and have already lost 5 pounds. My daily intake is 1700, 5.5 height and moderate activity. I've never been so happy and relaxed, about losing weight, like me, with this way,you'll find what works for you. Obviously some people can't tolerate certain food groups than others, but your body will tell you that.

jensmith1988 wrote: »

rainbow198 wrote: »

I don't follow a plan, but I eat a balance of carbs/fats/proteins, mainly just drink water and tea, eat lots of veggies and fruit daily, fit in a small dessert/treat after dinner and have 1 or 2 meals out on the weekend. It's very sustainable for me.

This,^ ^ I completely agree, for years I've done diets that promised quick , and guaranteed weight and fat loss. Restriction or elimination of carbs and fat, or fruits and just eat this and can't eat that,. And though I was losing weight, I was agitated and miserable. And then I'd put the weight back on because I'd binge on what I couldn't eat on that diet. Too many so called experts and the hype media diets all promise weight loss, but doesn't have the consideration for the aftermath. Is a diet that people can keep for the rest of thier lives? Life is all about enjoying yourself, and discovering things, and what works for you. And food ,although most will argue its for fuel, food still plays the biggest pleasures in life, . when I discovered mfp, I couldn't stop laughing. The answer was in front of me for years. Burn more, than what you eat. Eat things in moderation, have carbs, fruits , and those you love, but in small doses and move everyday. Why the hell, was I ignoring it and laughing at those that told me, the diet I was doing is stupid and to just burn more than what you consume. I've been on mfp for a week, and have already lost 5 pounds. My daily intake is 1700, 5.5 height and moderate activity. I've never been so happy and relaxed, about losing weight, like me, with this way,you'll find what works for you. Obviously some people can't tolerate certain food groups than others, but your body will tell you that.

^YES.
Bravo...well stated!