Eating 1x day to stay under calories

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  • brendak76
    brendak76 Posts: 241 Member
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    Do you qualify for any kind of food assistance? Or is there a food pantry available? $50/month for 4 people is $1.78 per person per day. Or 60 cents per meal. I don't know how you could supply enough calories to survive, healthy or not.

    If you are truly trying to survive on 60 cents a meal please don't buy diet pills. That money should be used for food.
  • DropofHoney
    DropofHoney Posts: 58 Member
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    @JennaR30 I live in NB if you go to Walmart you can get a package of Boneless Chicken breast for $10 for five breasts...:) I buy them by the ton.. Cuz our meat is so dang expensive here in NB also
  • slinke2014
    slinke2014 Posts: 149 Member
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    I do one meal a day during the week and two on the weekends. I just don't get very hungry during the day and the earlier I start forcing myself to eat, the hungier I am all day. OMAD works for some people and several small meals a day works better for others. Figure out which works for you and be flexible with it. Tweak until you figure it out.
  • DropofHoney
    DropofHoney Posts: 58 Member
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    I couldn't eat once a day. By 1-2 I become extremely fuzzy.

    In my opinion... Our bodies aren't meant to go 24 hours without nourishment. And eating once a day is doing just that . Depriving our bodies of the nutrients we need to just get through our day.
  • itsthehumidity
    itsthehumidity Posts: 351 Member
    edited January 2016
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    You don't want advice, you want attention. You have all the right information here and then some to move forward in a positive way but it seems as though you're putting all your energy into coming up with reasons you can't do any of it. This is a site about tracking nutrition, and the users are going above and beyond that here to help you consider your budget.

    What you appear to need is some professional assistance to help with your depression, as that really seems to be getting in the way here. None of us here are qualified to help you with that, but once you get that aspect of your life in order you'll have this thread as a resource to turn back to once you can focus on these secondary topics.

    You're absolutely worth as much as your loved ones and are deserving of love and respect, including (especially) from yourself. You are your own biggest obstacle right now, and you need help with that first before a conversation about cooking and budgets becomes meaningful. I wish you the best of luck.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
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    KurumiSophia wrote: »
    Worst idea ever?

    There are plenty of people that do a one plate a day meal plan and have lost. Do a search in the success stories for examples. I know some tried and it did not work for them because they couldn't eat that much in one sitting, the got hungry later in the day, or both.

  • DanBGVa
    DanBGVa Posts: 50 Member
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    Never ever eat just one meal a day... bad news, i'm sorry. You should always feed your body. I am amazed at some of the suggestions people give on this site. When we study nutrition in health management in my masters program (its an elective class) they are clear you must eat 6 small healthy meals a day to feed your body.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    DanBGVa wrote: »
    Never ever eat just one meal a day... bad news, i'm sorry. You should always feed your body. I am amazed at some of the suggestions people give on this site. When we study nutrition in health management in my masters program (its an elective class) they are clear you must eat 6 small healthy meals a day to feed your body.

    No!! Meal timing and frequency is very individual thing.
  • chucktaylor78
    chucktaylor78 Posts: 74 Member
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    You can go to a place like Kroger and get frozen mixed veggies, brown rice, white rice, for $1 a bag which is usually 4 servings each bag. Then get a 3-5 lb. bag of frozen chicken breast for around $13. There's a ton of food right there on the cheap.
  • Wetcoaster
    Wetcoaster Posts: 1,788 Member
    edited January 2016
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    DanBGVa wrote: »
    Never ever eat just one meal a day... bad news, i'm sorry. You should always feed your body. I am amazed at some of the suggestions people give on this site. When we study nutrition in health management in my masters program (its an elective class) they are clear you must eat 6 small healthy meals a day to feed your body.

    You should ask for a refund. Not true at all.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19943985

    http://muscleevo.net/six-small-meals-a-day/

    http://www.ebnutritionconsulting.com/blog/2015/8/17/6-nutrition-myths-debunked

    http://blog.wellnessfx.com/2013/04/11/trailblazing-thursdays-is-snacking-the-answer/

    http://suppversity.blogspot.ca/2014/03/human-study-links-high-meal-frequeny-to.html

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    DanBGVa wrote: »
    Never ever eat just one meal a day... bad news, i'm sorry. You should always feed your body. I am amazed at some of the suggestions people give on this site. When we study nutrition in health management in my masters program (its an elective class) they are clear you must eat 6 small healthy meals a day to feed your body.

    This is ridiculous. While lots of people have good results eating six small meals a day, others have success with one meal, three meals, four meals, or whatever. I usually eat three meals a day and I'm doing great. I would be extremely worried about someone who claimed to be an expert in nutrition teaching me that everyone on earth MUST eat six times a day.
  • DKG28
    DKG28 Posts: 299 Member
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    $50 a week is plenty to eat well...if you're willing to do some cooking. I have trouble eating everything I buy for $50 in a week. I buy things like dry beans, rice, lentils, fresh produce in season/on sale, milk, eggs, pasta, coffee, tea, onions, carrots, potatoes, cuts of chicken on sale. I'm all stocked up on herbs/spices - they last forever. I freeze a lot of things (including bread and butter) so they don't spoil before I can use them up. I hate food waste. At the end of the week, I'll figure out how to make meals out of whatever is left and perishable. One of the greatest motivations for me not to buy junk food is that it is expensive! $3.50 or more for a bag of chips that's mostly air. You can get a lot of veg for that. $3.99 for 6 tiny granola bars? No thanks. Plain Cheerios for breakfast are way cheaper, even with milk (less sugar and calories too!). You just have to be a little creative and do a little cooking and $50 will go a long way.
  • ericafranz
    ericafranz Posts: 6 Member
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    Some tips to eating regularly throughout the day, on a budget, and staying under calories while feeling full...

    1. Track everything you eat so you can easily plan what you eat throughout the day and what you can still eat while staying within your calorie goal. If you wait to track your calories until the end of the day you'll likely always be over your calorie goal, particularly when you're trying to eat as few as 1400 calories.
    2. Consider trying out a keto diet if you and your doctor determine it's a good fit for you. Eating meals higher in fat and lower in carbs, for many, gives you a feeling of being full/satiated more quickly than meals that are high in carbs.
    3. If you plan out eating every couple of hours and eat 200 calories or less for each 'meal' then with a 1400 calorie goal you could eat 7+ times throughout the day. Waiting until your hungry makes it easier to overeat during a meal and exceed your calorie goal.
    4. Avoid going into starvation mode, this disrupts many things including your metabolism which can actually lead to reduced weight loss over time.
    5. Limiting your food intake to 1x a day really opens the door, ime, to further unhealthy eating habits and possibly disorders.
    6. Drink lots of fluids between your meals. And by fluids, I mean water and non-caffeinated teas. Avoid juices, sodas, coffee etc. Keep you body hydrated, feeling dehydrated can easily be misinterpreted as feeling hungry. Your body also needs fluids to properly digest the food it's taking in, and to excrete the toxins that are going to be released as you lose weight.
    7. Whole foods are typically more filling than those processed, or with lots of additives like flavoring, sugar, salt, etc. If you're used to eating processed foods it will take a bit to overcome the cravings that come when you stop eating processed foods but it's a worthwhile effort, imo.

    My weekly food budget is typically around $40-50 and I make this work by buying in bulk wherever possible (things like frozen chicken, healthy fats, etc), making meals 2-3 ingredients at most and limiting the variety. Makes meal planning very easy and quick to prep.
  • Nice2BFitAgain
    Nice2BFitAgain Posts: 319 Member
    edited January 2016
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    KurumiSophia wrote: »

    I am trying to find exercises I can do with a partially attached left ACL. (I was ambushed by a car while on foot some years back and never could afford the surgery to get my ACL reattached on the one end) so ATM, I am not doing much in the way of exercising. I also have the limitations of a small space and a horror of exercising in front of other people. (I hate my body. Hated it when I was skinny too but at least I was healthier when I was skinny.)

    I had a torn ACL - you can walk as much as you want to get exercise with a torn ACL, biking, swimming and elliptical are also great exercises for this as well


  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    DanBGVa wrote: »
    Never ever eat just one meal a day... bad news, i'm sorry. You should always feed your body. I am amazed at some of the suggestions people give on this site. When we study nutrition in health management in my masters program (its an elective class) they are clear you must eat 6 small healthy meals a day to feed your body.

    Assuming the same nutrients and calories are consumed, what do they say will happen if you only eat 1 meal a day instead of 6? What if I only eat 3?
  • noobletmcnugget
    noobletmcnugget Posts: 518 Member
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    I much prefer eating once or twice a day, being able to eat substantial meals each time, rather than lots of smaller meals. I find that If I eat eat smaller meals more frequently I'm ravenous all day.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
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    I put myself below everyone else. I absolutely sacrifice myself so others in my family can have more then me.

    MIL is not old enough to retire. As it is, she is living off her 401K since she is currently out of work.[/quote]

    Does anyone know if the MIL having 401k assets makes her ineligible for SNAP? @shell1005 ?[/quote]

    To address OP's comment -- these are the words of a depressed person with extremely low self-worth. What are you teaching your daughter about valuing herself if you're putting yourself at the bottom and saying you deserve only one meal a day of Ramen noodles? To those who say you can survive on one meal a day -- yes, but only if that meal is high in nutrition, not Ramen noodles.

    Regarding SNAP, usually it's based on the income for the entire household. So, the salaries of OP, the husband, and if MIL is getting some kind of income from her 401K, like an annuity. My mom has income but it's less than $1000 a month, so she qualifies. If MIL isn't working and her 401K assets are enough to disqualify the family from aid, then perhaps she needs to be providing something every month toward room and board. My husband's family had his grandmother living with them; she was getting Social Security and a small pension, and she paid his dad $250 a month for her room and board. What I'm seeing is OP being forced to either starve or make poor food choices (and model those choices for her daughter) in subservience to the needs of everyone else in the household.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    edited January 2016
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    rosebette wrote: »

    I put myself below everyone else. I absolutely sacrifice myself so others in my family can have more then me.

    MIL is not old enough to retire. As it is, she is living off her 401K since she is currently out of work.

    Does anyone know if the MIL having 401k assets makes her ineligible for SNAP? @shell1005 ?

    To address OP's comment -- these are the words of a depressed person with extremely low self-worth. What are you teaching your daughter about valuing herself if you're putting yourself at the bottom and saying you deserve only one meal a day of Ramen noodles? To those who say you can survive on one meal a day -- yes, but only if that meal is high in nutrition, not Ramen noodles.

    Regarding SNAP, usually it's based on the income for the entire household. So, the salaries of OP, the husband, and if MIL is getting some kind of income from her 401K, like an annuity. My mom has income but it's less than $1000 a month, so she qualifies. If MIL isn't working and her 401K assets are enough to disqualify the family from aid, then perhaps she needs to be providing something every month toward room and board. My husband's family had his grandmother living with them; she was getting Social Security and a small pension, and she paid his dad $250 a month for her room and board. What I'm seeing is OP being forced to either starve or make poor food choices (and model those choices for her daughter) in subservience to the needs of everyone else in the household.

    How is she being forced to make poor food choices?
  • Blueseraphchaos
    Blueseraphchaos Posts: 843 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    KurumiSophia wrote: »
    rosebette wrote: »
    I thought you were working with $50 per person. $50 is quite low for 4 people, and if you and your spouse's income is so low that that is all you can afford on food, like others on this thread, I'd recommend you look into the SNAP (what is now called food stamps) program, or take advantage of some of the local food pantries. Otherwise, you need to find something else in your budget you can skimp on so that you can feed you and your family quality food. Your health and your daughter's need to be a priority. I noticed you said you value your daughter, but not yourself, but as her caretaker and someone working full time, you need to eat quality nutritious food. Even eating some of your daughter's peanut butter on an English muffin and a piece of fruit is more nutritious that 600 calories worth of ramen noodles. Also, what are your MIL and husband eating? Are they eating ramen noodles, too? Are you sacrificing your own nutrition so they can eat properly? Is your MIL on social security -- she may be eligible for SNAP, which would take some of the burden of your family's food budget. My mom is elderly, on social security and a small annuity, and lives on her own, and she is getting about $30 a week from SNAP.

    I put myself below everyone else. I absolutely sacrifice myself so others in my family can have more then me.

    MIL is not old enough to retire. As it is, she is living off her 401K since she is currently out of work.

    Does anyone know if the MIL having 401k assets makes her ineligible for SNAP? @shell1005 ?

    I think it probably varies from state to state. However, my state no longer counts any assets if there are children in the house.

    I agree, you need to deal with this depression first. Your daughter needs a good caretaker and you can't possibly be one if you don't take care of yourself. Also, you're teaching her to put everyone else above her own needs as well.

    I suffer from a lot of mental issues, but I'm raising my sons using logic instead of how i feel...and everyone who meets them says about how great they are. And that includes standing up for yourself and knowing what you need and what you are worth.
  • peleroja
    peleroja Posts: 3,979 Member
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    itsthehumidity wrote: »
    You don't want advice, you want attention. You have all the right information here and then some to move forward in a positive way but it seems as though you're putting all your energy into coming up with reasons you can't do any of it. This is a site about tracking nutrition, and the users are going above and beyond that here to help you consider your budget.

    What you appear to need is some professional assistance to help with your depression, as that really seems to be getting in the way here. None of us here are qualified to help you with that, but once you get that aspect of your life in order you'll have this thread as a resource to turn back to once you can focus on these secondary topics.

    You're absolutely worth as much as your loved ones and are deserving of love and respect, including (especially) from yourself. You are your own biggest obstacle right now, and you need help with that first before a conversation about cooking and budgets becomes meaningful. I wish you the best of luck.

    THIS. Please, OP, read this and consider it.

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