How to figure out my calories

Oh and as for exercise as I mentioned I walk 3x a week outside or the mall if weather prohibits.

Kaysteroni wrote: »

CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »

Kaysteroni wrote: »

I enjoy my fruits and vegetables. I like apples, bananas, cantaloupe, grapes, plums, Peaches, strawberries, oranges. Carrots, onions, potatoes, green beans, yellow wax beans, tomatoes, corn, Peas, Lima beans.

Its just a lot of them are too pricey for what I get each month.

Steak is usually about 4oz uncooked.
Tortillas are 160 for 2.
Margarine is 60 for 2 tsp. I'm thinking on switching to the "I can't believe it's not butter"
My cheese is 50 calories. I don't have it all the time.
The homemade fries I just cut up a potato, spray it with a little oil and place it in the oven.
Soup is usually a vegetable or tomato.

you can eat these things its fine just make it fit into your calorie goals,you dont have to cut anything out unless you have a health issue,since your dr told you to cut out/cut down on sugars do that. but why did he say cut down on fat? frozen veggies can also be cheaper and is just as good as fresh. is it possible to see a dietitian that specializes in diabetes? since you are disabled do you get disability

I do go to a dietitian. I get a disability check each month but it isn't much

So I'm a bit confused. If you have a dietician they should be able to give you a healthy diet plan to follow, if you ask I'm sure they'll give you an evaluation complete with caloric goals suited for your particular situation. Also your doctor if you've discussed using diet to control your diabetes should def have some advise on diet/nutrition plans that are perfect for you. I would listen to them before anybody online including me...

That said, if you're simply looking for online advise; cut out the processed foods and all of that margarine first. The meal you listed above is almost 500 calories not even including your protein or soup. Three of those a day has you at 1500 calories not including beverages etc. If you use MFP meticulously it will work and if 1200 is too low for you now, drop slowly to that number to allow your body to adjust.

I would shy away from removing any whole grains/fruits or vegetables if you can help it.

Helloitsdan has given you some pretty good advise that are accurate as well.

Good luck to you.

Kaysteroni wrote: »

singingflutelady wrote: »

Kaysteroni wrote: »

cmriverside wrote: »

I wanted to touch on this "I live next door to a YWCA, I can't afford to go there."

In my area, the Y has sliding scale and even 100% free membership for some people. If I were you, Kay, I would go over there and see what (if anything) they can do for you to help you get a couple days of exercise. It will help your hunger levels a lot and will help you in many other ways as well. I would be a mental basket case if I didn't get any exercise.

Talk to someone in the membership office and tell them you want to come over at least 2/3 days a week for an hour. I'm sure they will find a way. Then as soon as you can, start to give them a few dollars.

Also, are you on Medicaid (you don't have to answer that) - or any insurance at all? Call them and tell them about your surgery. You should qualify for physical therapy - most physical therapy practices have access to a pool. At the very least they can give you some exercises on their equipment or a routine for your living room.

Moving more is going to be key for you, honestly.

No. I'm not. I'm on disability. I've only had ear surgery. I'm part deaf and got a Bone Anchored Hearing Aid implant.

Check out the Y. I get a subsidized membership when I am a member (I am currently taking a few months that off).

Thanks for the tip. I just got back from the Y. I'm approved for a subsidy. I only pay $14.20 a month. My first day is next week for an hour with a free trainer.

Awesome! Enjoy!

Kaysteroni wrote: »

singingflutelady wrote: »

Kaysteroni wrote: »

cmriverside wrote: »

I wanted to touch on this "I live next door to a YWCA, I can't afford to go there."

In my area, the Y has sliding scale and even 100% free membership for some people. If I were you, Kay, I would go over there and see what (if anything) they can do for you to help you get a couple days of exercise. It will help your hunger levels a lot and will help you in many other ways as well. I would be a mental basket case if I didn't get any exercise.

Talk to someone in the membership office and tell them you want to come over at least 2/3 days a week for an hour. I'm sure they will find a way. Then as soon as you can, start to give them a few dollars.

Also, are you on Medicaid (you don't have to answer that) - or any insurance at all? Call them and tell them about your surgery. You should qualify for physical therapy - most physical therapy practices have access to a pool. At the very least they can give you some exercises on their equipment or a routine for your living room.

Moving more is going to be key for you, honestly.

No. I'm not. I'm on disability. I've only had ear surgery. I'm part deaf and got a Bone Anchored Hearing Aid implant.

Check out the Y. I get a subsidized membership when I am a member (I am currently taking a few months that off).

Thanks for the tip. I just got back from the Y. I'm approved for a subsidy. I only pay $14.20 a month. My first day is next week for an hour with a free trainer.

Yay!!!

jacksonkris8 wrote: »

Have you looked into your insurance? Some have the option to get gyms authorized... your doc may have to write a note but the ymca may have the ability to use your insurance.. just a thought

She's in Canada.

Learn to eat real foods, and find the ones that you like enough that you can eat the same thing every day for about six months. This will help keep you from over stimulating your appetite. Refuse to eat anywhere except at home. Research articles about "reverse dieting". If you eat the same thing every day, do the same exercise routine every day, and then reverse diet, you will naturally find out where your maintenance calorie level is. Then you can eat less to lose weight.

chandraminick wrote: »

Learn to eat real foods, and find the ones that you like enough that you can eat the same thing every day for about six months. This will help keep you from over stimulating your appetite. Refuse to eat anywhere except at home. Research articles about "reverse dieting". If you eat the same thing every day, do the same exercise routine every day, and then reverse diet, you will naturally find out where your maintenance calorie level is. Then you can eat less to lose weight.

I understand what you're saying but my goodness this sounds boring. Why Not diet eating a wide variety of foods and enjoy the process? This sounds like prison.

I understand what she means when she asks for what a list of foods to eat. When you first start, it's so difficult that it's hard to know exactly where to begin! And for some of us, it would be alot easier if someone came along and handed us a list of what we should eat haha.
I'm just restarting also, and also on a limited budget. My breakfast is easy because I usually just have yoghurt with some fruit. For lunch or dinner, I have a low fat smoothie made with skim milk and a banana and a protein/diet powder. My other meal is generally a toned down version of what the rest of the family is having. So more basic veges, less meat etc Snacks tend to be crackers with cucumber, or tomato. Sometimes lunch will be some sort of sandwich. I've found that in-putting stuff before I eat it, helps me keep within my calories because I can see how much my meal adds up to. (the other night I had some fries with my meal, but weighed and counted out to see how many I could have and stay within calories.) As others have said, scales are your best buddy!

Kaysteroni wrote: »

I don't have a lot to buy groceries. So it's going to be really hard

I don't know what grocery prices are in Canada and how much you have, but for one person I get a healthy, varied diet plus quite some snacks on about 70 pounds per month. How? Quite easy: Bulk up on cheap things and cook for several days. For example:

make a curry sauce or buy a ready-made one if you must.
Buy cheap cuts of meat, offal can be really cheap! or paneer for example.
Cut in pieces, fry in pan with bit of oil. Add the biggest onion you can find in bug chunks, cook until done.
Add a tin of tomatoes (400grams) and the curry sauce
Add a lot of cheap, frozen veggies. Broccoli, cauliflower and carrot are very nice in a curry actually! Or buy fresh veggies that are in season.
Serve with white rice, potatoes, or whatever your diabetes allows you to eat.
I get about 4 portions (rest in fridge/freezer) and one portion costs about 75 pence (readymade sauce) to 50p per portion. The important thing to keep in mind is that the meat and veggies don't get drowned in a curry sauce but they get some sauce. The stuff inside the dish is more important than the sauce.

You can do the same with pasta dishes, and also cook for several days and bulk up the dish with lots of veggies.

Also don't go to the supermarket thinking you need apples, cooked ham and cheddar. Go to the supermarket looking for fruit, meat stuff for on bread and cheese. Buy what's on offer.

In my experience, when you are on a tight budget frozen food helps a lot! It's hard to get fresh fruits and veggies each week, so I like to go to Walmart and get the biggest no name brand bags of frozen fruits and veggies I can find. The price for the quantity is great and it will last throughout the month too.

Think about the different food groups you need and prepare yourself a grocery list/menu around what you know is cheap and filling. Here's a couple of ideas:

Protein
* Canned tuna
* Eggs (also a good source of healthy fat)
* Chicken breasts
* Ground beef
* Plain Greek yogurt
* Cottage cheese
* Protein powder

Carbs
* Oats
* Rice
* Potatoes
* Popcorn
* Rice cakes
* Frozen veggies
* Frozen fruits
* Spinach
* Bananas
* Onions

Fats
* Almonds
* Peanut butter
* Coconut oil (fairly expensive, but will last you very long)
* Extra-virgin olive oil

For flavor
* Cocoa powder
* Truvia
* Vanilla extract
* Herbs and spices (I like oregano, cumin, garlic salt, salt and pepper, cinnamon and more)

Meal ideas
- Oats and frozen mixed berries
- Eggs and oatmeal
- Spinach omelette with onions
- Smoothie with frozen banana, spinach and PB and/or protein powder
- Spinach salad with chicken, onions and olive oil
- Chicken/ground beef, frozen veggies and potatoes/rice
- Celery sticks and PB
- Greek yogurt/cottage cheese with truvia, vanilla extract, PB and cocoa powder or protein powder
- Rice cakes
- Protein shake
- Popcorn
- Frozen banana dipped in melted peanut butter

You should REALLY check out Nicole Collet's YouTube channel... Her husband and herself lost 130lbs EACH! They are such an inspiration. They do take the cheat meals to another level, but keep in mind that they didn't do this when they started out, only once they had lost a big amount of weight and started working at a high intensity. I like watching their grocery haul, meal preps and ''what I eat in a day'' videos. They eat really clean throughout the week.

I hope this helps and give you some ideas. It's all about finding a way of eating that satisfies you mentally and physically. I think getting into a ''routine'' of eating the same things always helps me. You figure out your favourite go-to meals and then it becomes really easy to maintain.

Good luck oxoxox

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