WHAT TO EAT!!! Help

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xanjelicax
xanjelicax Posts: 9 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi, my names Anjelica. I'm new to MFP. I'm finding it really hard to know what to eat to try lose weight. I don't eat red meat. Can anyone suggest a simple meal plan consisting of chicken, veggies and/or tuna only? I'm trying to stay on a low cal diet to assist with my weight loss journey but wouldn't know where to start. Any help will be appreciated. Thank you in advance

Replies

  • pescetarian_love
    pescetarian_love Posts: 64 Member
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    Check out my diaries! I am all about no meat and lots of fish.

    For lunch I do a spinach salad with feta cheese and an ahi tuna filet. Low calorie and easy to make. That's just one option, but if you take a look at my diary it could give you some ideas. Good luck. B)

  • shinycrazy
    shinycrazy Posts: 1,081 Member
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    My fave meal along those lines are chicken thighs and veggies. Saute chicken in an (iron) skillet and then set aside. Add in shallots(like onions), mushrooms, and garlic until shallots caramelize. Set aside and add green vegetable of your choice, we usually do broccoli or asparagus when in season. I will weigh out my chicken and then cut into strips and put it over the veggies. Very tasty and filling. I usually have about 6 ounces of chicken, plus veggies and a bit of olive oil and it's about 500 calories. I prefer the chicken thighs because they have more flavor than chicken breasts. Having this for dinner tonight actually.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    It's not that hard. You use your food diary, eat what you want, log what you eat, and try to hit the amount of calories that MFP allotted you.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    Eat anything you want that fits within your calorie goal for the day.
    Play around with foods to find a balance between satiating (foods that keep you full), nutritious (foods that keep you healthy) and enjoyable (foods that make you happy).
    Log everything as accurately and consistently as possible.
    Exercise if you enjoy it, eating back some of those calories.
    Be patient.

    Oh and read the stickied "Most Helpful Posts" threads at the top of each forum section for more information.
  • xanjelicax
    xanjelicax Posts: 9 Member
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    Thanks so much for both of your replies. I will give that a go. I will deff look at your diary. I've lost 3 kgs so far. Another 20 to go. I drink 2-3 protein shakes a day. Before workout, straight after aswel as the afternoon. So hopefully with a little more help I will be able to stick to something for longer as I run out of ideas and just end up eating chicken and broccoli all the time And am slowly getting sick of it :p
  • dgood858
    dgood858 Posts: 2 Member
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    Hi eat alot of protein, fruits, veggies, raw nuts and drink alot of water. The biggest needs for weight loss is fiber, protein and water. Your body uses fat as energy and if you eat too much of it, your body will store it. Therefore, don't eat alot of sugar and carbs, b/c this turns into fat. Eat alot of Fiber, Protein and Water, so that your body can use the fat stores for energy. You can eat meat, just eat lean meat, start at weighing your food to make the portion around 4-5 ounces (about the size of the palm of your hand). I eat 1,500 calories per day. This helps me satisfy my hunger, without being lightheaded all day.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    dgood858 wrote: »
    . Your body uses fat as energy and if you eat too much of it, your body will store it. Therefore, don't eat alot of sugar and carbs, b/c this turns into fat.

    This is just not true.

    Your body will only store fat as energy if you eat more calories than your body burns. And carbohydrates (which include sugar) will only turn into fat if you eat more calories than your body burns.

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    You can eat whatever you like. What matters is calories, not food choice, for weight loss.

    If interested in learning more about nutrition, this is a good site: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/

    If you really want help meal-planning, I think this site is good and free and allows you to put in specific dietary preferences: https://www.eatthismuch.com/ That said, I personally find the idea of getting meal ideas from somewhere else makes me twitchy, as no one knows what I like to eat or how I like food prepared better than me, right? Trying to eat to a food plan IMO makes things more complicated. I tend to buy foods I like to eat (including lots of vegetables) and then tailor what I eat to what I have--if you find this difficult to do when counting calories, try logging in advance for a while. You can even take one day to plan a whole week and do some cooking ahead.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    dgood858 wrote: »
    Hi eat alot of protein, fruits, veggies, raw nuts and drink alot of water. The biggest needs for weight loss is fiber, protein and water. Your body uses fat as energy and if you eat too much of it, your body will store it. Therefore, don't eat alot of sugar and carbs, b/c this turns into fat. Eat alot of Fiber, Protein and Water, so that your body can use the fat stores for energy. You can eat meat, just eat lean meat, start at weighing your food to make the portion around 4-5 ounces (about the size of the palm of your hand). I eat 1,500 calories per day. This helps me satisfy my hunger, without being lightheaded all day.

    Quite a bit of misinformation in this post - sorry to tell you.

    The ONLY need for weight loss is a calorie deficit. Fiber, protein and water are important, but they are not required for weight loss. Sugar and carbs don't turn into fat if you are eating in a calorie deficit. Eating too many calories from any food, including those high in fiber and protein, will result in weight gain. While lean meat may help keep calories under control, there's no reason that fattier cuts of meat can't also be a part of a healthy diet.

    Good advice to use a food scale to manage portion sizes as well as to help with logging accuracy.



  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    dgood858 wrote: »
    Your body uses fat as energy and if you eat too much of it, your body will store it. Therefore, don't eat alot of sugar and carbs, b/c this turns into fat.

    No, fat and carbs (sugar is a carb) are fine. What is a problem for weight loss is eating more than you burn; what causes weight loss is eating less than you burn, whatever the percentages of fat, carbs, and protein (although being out of whack is bad for other reasons -- there's a huge range of reasonable ratios, though, varying based on your size and activity and total calories).

    Of the foods you mentioned, fruit and vegetables are mostly carbs, nuts are mostly fat. I happen to agree that those are great foods to eat (although for nutrition, not weight loss, although for many they may help with satiety also).
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
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    xanjelicax wrote: »
    Hi, my names Anjelica. I'm new to MFP. I'm finding it really hard to know what to eat to try lose weight. I don't eat red meat. Can anyone suggest a simple meal plan consisting of chicken, veggies and/or tuna only? I'm trying to stay on a low cal diet to assist with my weight loss journey but wouldn't know where to start. Any help will be appreciated. Thank you in advance

    It's not so much what you eat...it's how much you eat calorie wise.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    It's not that hard. You use your food diary, eat what you want, log what you eat, and try to hit the amount of calories that MFP allotted you.

    This^

    Eat your regular foods.....but learn portion sizes for them. Eliminating foods you eat (too much of) now may help you lose weight BUT it won't help you with maintenance. A list of "diet" foods that other people enjoy may be foods you don't like. Log everything and you can make informed choices.

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