This might seem bad...but

RiverInTheRoad
RiverInTheRoad Posts: 77
edited September 28 in Food and Nutrition
I have a sort of dilemma on my hands as of late. I've developed a meal plan for myself that consists of breakfast, lunch, dinner and a few snacks in between and so far, all is going well; no hunger pains, no cravings, etc. So I feel full all the time and I don't feel the ever present need to snack to satisfy myself. The only problem is that the total calorie intake is only 1020. I don't want to go into starvation mode but at the same time, this amount of food seems to more than fill me up. I also want to stay away from any sort of bread, pasta rice for at least 2 weeks which I know would help to bring up my calorie total. Here's a copy of my meal plan for the next few weeks (I'm keeping it limited to this and changing it up only a little bit everyday [adding turkey to the lunch salad instead of chicken kind of thing] My taste is pretty bland so I really don't mind the redundancy):

Breakfast
Generic - 2 Large Eggs, 2 cooked eggs 144
Oscar Mayer - Turkey Bacon, 2 slices 70
Generic - White Mushrooms, 1/10 cup 2
Generic - Green Onions, 1 stalk chopped (12g) ~1/8 bunch 3

Lunch
Fresh Express - Iceberg Garden Salad Mix, 1 cups 25
Fresh Express Salads - Spinach, 1 cups raw 15
Chicken - Breast, meat only, cooked, roasted, 0.25 breast, bone and skin removed 71
Wishbone - House Italian Dressing, 2 tbsp 110

Dinner
Generic - Bonless, Skinless Chicken Breast (6.987 oz Raw), 1 breast 192
Fresh Express - Iceberg Garden Salad Mix, 2 cups 50
Wishbone - House Italian Dressing, 2 tbsp 110
Vegetables - Mixed Vegetables, 0.5 cup 52

Snacks
Generic - Mozzarella Cheese Sticks, 1 cheese stick 85
Pistachios - Pistachios, 30 nut 91
Trader Joe's - Green Tea Unsweetened, 20 oz. 0
Water, 60 oz 0

Totals 1,020
Your Daily Goal 1,200

Again, I just want to say that this meal plan does leave my apetite satisfied and I'm never hungry. I don't want to force myself to eat more if I don't feel like it but I also don't want to be counter productive and go into starvation mode. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Replies

  • AshinAms
    AshinAms Posts: 283 Member
    Add an apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter and you will be right on target.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    Adding in a serving of almonds will up your calories to almost where you want to be. You could eat them as a snack, on your salad, etc.

    Most almonds give you a rather large serving size (22-26) and are around 170-180 calories a serving. They are a healthy snack too.
  • JulieBoBoo
    JulieBoBoo Posts: 642
    add sunflower seeds or slivered almonds to your lunch or supper salad. Add some cheese to your breakfast eggs. Add a glass of milk with your meal.
  • Kelly_Wilson1990
    Kelly_Wilson1990 Posts: 3,245 Member
    Maybe just add some croutons, a hard boiled egg, nuts and/or some cheese to your salads or some higher calorie salad dressing. That boost your calories. Your menu looks great to me.
  • CrazyAdventure
    CrazyAdventure Posts: 113 Member
    adding some fruit in somewhere, to snacks or even a meal. apples and bananas add calories as well as nutrients
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    I think the chicken nutrition is incorrect so you are probably eating more calories than you have calculated. I'm almost positive 1oz of boneless skinless chicken is 46 calories.
  • H8T3D
    H8T3D Posts: 77 Member
    You're only going 170 calories under your daily goal, our body will not go into starvation mode.. Daily goal calories are estimated and are different person to person!!

    As long as you are at goal or just under you will be fine, look's like some good choices, just watch eating same thing everyday... You can get bored of it really fast and can lead to cravings of the wrong foods.
  • angp7711
    angp7711 Posts: 324 Member
    I think it looks prett good I would add cheese to my egg or salad. And an avocado slice or snotty servings of nuts and I think you would be at the min 1200 cals
  • dpetre
    dpetre Posts: 22
    All the suggestions here are very good. You probably should add some sort of fruit and/or nuts to your diet. It will allow you to hit your 1200 calories and not feel like you are over eating.
  • PirateJenny
    PirateJenny Posts: 233
    It looks as if your fat totals are on the average-low side so you could add some additional calorie dense items like almonds or pumpkin seeds. Both have beneficial fats (as well as other nutrients) and a high calorie count per serving size, just stick to no salt added dry-roasted or raw. I also see you are eating pistachios, even an extra helping of those would bump up your total without adding too much volume.

    Good luck!
  • katt742
    katt742 Posts: 196 Member
    Im with these guys. Just add some more calorie dense items that are also nutritious. Peanut butter for sure! Almonds, walnuts etc...Even instead of Italian dressing, make your own with extra virgin olive oil! Add some cheese to your eggs in the morning...these things wont neccesarily fill you up, but they will up your calories. Also, are you working out?? After I work out I have a protein shake with a banana and its almost 300 calories right there!
  • ChantalGG
    ChantalGG Posts: 2,404 Member
    Eating the same thing everyday is how you fail on diets. mix it up there are so many other tasty foods out there to enjoy.
  • sportsjunkee70
    sportsjunkee70 Posts: 173 Member
    I say add a handful of nuts to your diet.
  • ncahill77
    ncahill77 Posts: 501 Member
    cheese or fruit with those salads and you are golden
  • angiesteele
    angiesteele Posts: 366 Member
    I may get flack for this but I dont see why you can't eat that amount and be fine. I met with a dietician and they reccomented a 1000 cal a day diet for me. 1200 is not a magical number. every person is differnt and if this works for you then that is GREAT!
  • amyyellis
    amyyellis Posts: 7
    Oh my goodness, you need fruit!
    Throw in a couple servings of fruit.
    I eat either a mango or apples with honey every morning!
  • Topsking2010
    Topsking2010 Posts: 2,245 Member
    Add some variety to your meal plan to prevent boredom but you're definitely on the right track.
  • ChantalGG
    ChantalGG Posts: 2,404 Member
    your count on 30 Pistachios nuts is off. 30 would be more like 200 to 300 calories.
  • cam14117
    cam14117 Posts: 4
    I know I'm going to get a lot of hate mail for saying this but If you're comfortable with those calories, I say keep at it and allow yourself an occassional splurge. The whole 1200 calorie minimum thing is a guideline and doesn't work for everyone. Your menu seems well rounded and healthy.

    Also, there is no such thing as starvation mode unless you have depleted all your fat stores. Our bodies like a balance and when we're putting in less calories than we're burning (which MUST be done to lose weight) the body tends to give little signals to slow down so we burn less. When people's weight loss slows down, it's really because they're burning less (either by slowing down or because they now weigh less and therefore need less).

    I spent my whole life, seemingly, trying to lose weight the right way by eating less and exercising more. The problem with a very slow weight loss is that any splurge will undo it and you're back at square one. Therefore, prefection with no splurges EVER is the only way. Since I'm not perfect, that didn't work for me. However, when I finally accepted that I had to be more drastic in my approach, I was successful and lost 65 lbs. I reduced my calories to a menu much like yours and lost weight faster which was very motivating for me to continue. When I inevitably screwed up and caved to something yummy, it didn't completely undo what I did, just slowed me down a bit, and I was able to get back up on the horse and continue.

    The moral of that story is to just find what works for you and do it. Adjust as necessary.
  • millermichellelea
    millermichellelea Posts: 226
    If you are eating under 1200 calories you need to keep on a eating schedule like eating every 3 hours to keep your metabolism up.
  • RiverInTheRoad
    RiverInTheRoad Posts: 77
    Hey all, thanks for the awesome advice! A few notes I probably should have mentioned in the original post: I'm sort of avoiding fruits for at least 2 weeks and will be re-introducing them in 2 weeks. I am replacing all fruits for these two weeks with vegetables. I'm trying to rid my system of as much sugar as I can and considering fruit's high levels of sugar, I'll just have to put this off until 2 weeks from now. Some may disagree with me about this method but I've gone about 3 months without a single peice of fruit (imagine eating everything bad under the sun with no signs of any leafy, fruity thing for you at all) so I think I can probably manage for 2 more weeks.

    I'm also broke as a joke (I literally had to live off of ramen and the like this last month because things were so tight). Although I would like to branch out and get a bunch of different things so I can diversify by meal plan a little bit (lean meats, salmon, etc.) I really can't at this point. To be completely candid, how I eat isn't the only thing I need to work on in my life.

    But again, I just want to thank you all for your awesome advice and will be considering some of these options. :)
  • RiverInTheRoad
    RiverInTheRoad Posts: 77
    your count on 30 Pistachios nuts is off. 30 would be more like 200 to 300 calories.

    I'm confused now; I'm pulling the pistachio cal. count straight from the search. I even looked at the nutrition facts on the pistachio package and 1/2 cup is around 160 cals (and I'm not even eating half a cup). Where are you pulling your numbers?
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    Eating the same thing everyday is how you fail on diets. mix it up there are so many other tasty foods out there to enjoy.

    I disagree. I'm a very picky eater who eats the same stuff day in and day out. I'm just picky. I've lost almost 60lbs doing that - I'm proof you can eat the same ole stuff and still lose.
  • RiverInTheRoad
    RiverInTheRoad Posts: 77
    Eating the same thing everyday is how you fail on diets. mix it up there are so many other tasty foods out there to enjoy.

    I disagree. I'm a very picky eater who eats the same stuff day in and day out. I'm just picky. I've lost almost 60lbs doing that - I'm proof you can eat the same ole stuff and still lose.

    Agreed. I don't really need to have variety to be honest, it's just a nice bonus. I also have been described as a VERY picky eater. As long as I like the taste, I can eat it all day every day. I used to do this back in high school. :P
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    Eating the same thing everyday is how you fail on diets. mix it up there are so many other tasty foods out there to enjoy.

    I disagree. I'm a very picky eater who eats the same stuff day in and day out. I'm just picky. I've lost almost 60lbs doing that - I'm proof you can eat the same ole stuff and still lose.

    Agreed. I don't really need to have variety to be honest, it's just a nice bonus. I also have been described as a VERY picky eater. As long as I like the taste, I can eat it all day every day. I used to do this back in high school. :P

    Maybe other people have issues with eating the same stuff day in and day out - but not me. I don't like to try new things - I have no sense of adventure when it comes to the food I eat. I want to eat the same ole stuff that I know I like. I'm okay with it and it works for me. :)
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    People have pretty much covered the calories, but I would like to point out that iceberg lettuce is void of any nutritional value. If you're at such a low caloric intake, you need to make sure you're taking in nutrient-rich foods. I would switch to a dark-green blend like red/green romaine. Also, a multivitamin would be prudent.
  • RiverInTheRoad
    RiverInTheRoad Posts: 77
    People have pretty much covered the calories, but I would like to point out that iceberg lettuce is void of any nutritional value. If you're at such a low caloric intake, you need to make sure you're taking in nutrient-rich foods. I would switch to a dark-green blend like red/green romaine. Also, a multivitamin would be prudent.

    I'm taking a "one-a-day" for women and I'm kind of using the iceberg as a crutch to get by (I prefer it over spinach) so I'm kind of mixing the two together and every day I'll be putting in a little more spinach and a little less iceberg until I'm not eating iceberg anymore. Thanks for the helpful tips! :)
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    People have pretty much covered the calories, but I would like to point out that iceberg lettuce is void of any nutritional value. If you're at such a low caloric intake, you need to make sure you're taking in nutrient-rich foods. I would switch to a dark-green blend like red/green romaine. Also, a multivitamin would be prudent.

    I'm taking a "one-a-day" for women and I'm kind of using the iceberg as a crutch to get by (I prefer it over spinach) so I'm kind of mixing the two together and every day I'll be putting in a little more spinach and a little less iceberg until I'm not eating iceberg anymore. Thanks for the helpful tips! :)

    Good ideas! I really like the bagged salad blends. I share them with my bunnies. :)
  • LimeyTart
    LimeyTart Posts: 303 Member
    Eating the same thing everyday is how you fail on diets. mix it up there are so many other tasty foods out there to enjoy.

    I disagree. I'm a very picky eater who eats the same stuff day in and day out. I'm just picky. I've lost almost 60lbs doing that - I'm proof you can eat the same ole stuff and still lose.

    I'm proof, too. I'm not a picky eater, but I like the routine of eating the same thing every day. I've lost 45 pounds in 4 months by doing it.
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