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    Can you lose weight on a 1,300 calorie diet, eating salads

    Posts: 7 Member
    edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
    I'm 25 years old, 5'1, and I used to weigh 162 pounds. I started dieting 4 days ago and as of today I weigh 158.2. I wasn't sure if my eating habits are considered healthy or a good way to loose weight , but for breakfast I always have a piece of toast with strawberry jelly, white gray, a sausage patty , a fried egg, and a piece of bacon. For lunch I have a salad that consists of diced oven baked chicken, diced tomatoes, cheese and 5 packets of fat free ranch dressing. I usually get hungry again around 5 pm so I eat another salad with the same ingredients except I use 2 tablespoons of olive garden light Italian dressing. I then work out, doing (20 of each ) sit ups, crunches, mountain climbs, leg lifts, squats and jumping squats. As for my fluid intake I only drink water with strawberry drink enhancer added to it or I have clear American waters that have 0 calories or sugar but it does have aspartame, I completely cut out sodas and sweet tea that I used to drink.

    So far I think I'm doing good and I've lost some weight but wasn't sure if my love for breakfast food is going to hurt me in the long run lol .

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    • Unknown
      Unknown
      This content has been removed.
    • Posts: 1,094 Member
      You don't have to limit your foods to mainly salads to lose weight. Find your calorie goal and stick with it and you'll lose weight!
    • Posts: 7 Member
      vivelajackie wrote: »
      That's a heck of a lot of dressing, but I'm usually more light on how I use condiments in general. As long as you're portioning out things like your jams, chicken, etc using a food scale for an accurate calorie log why not? You don't need to eat just salad to lose weight. Breakfast foods are delicious.


      I know lol. At home I feel like I get more dressing on my salad with just the 2 tablespoons and I'm content with that but when I'm work we just have the ranch packets and I feel like I barely have any dressing. I read 2 tablespoons is all you should use on your salads ? Is that right ?
    • Posts: 336 Member
      snuggze wrote: »
      show previous quotes


      I know lol. At home I feel like I get more dressing on my salad with just the 2 tablespoons and I'm content with that but when I'm work we just have the ranch packets and I feel like I barely have any dressing. I read 2 tablespoons is all you should use on your salads ? Is that right ?

      2 tbps is what I go by.
    • Posts: 876 Member
      You've already lost weight so yes.
    • Posts: 7 Member
      Thanks for all the quick responses and information !
    • Posts: 321 Member
      I generally go by 2tbs since that's usually a serving (I weigh it out though), but as others have said it's not a golden rule. I use a vinaigrette that is thin enough to make do with smaller servings. Your ranch is gonna be a thicker dressing, which means it doesn't spread without a few words and prods and stabs of encouragement. Nothing against ranch. She's just a little clingy once she settles on your plate.

      I also enjoy putting a variety of things in my salads to make them diverse without the dressing. An egg, tomato, chicken, and cheese are staples. You rely on those to offer more nutrients as well as taste so you don't have to lean on your condiments as much. Good luck!
    • Posts: 7 Member
      quiksylver296 wrote: »
      Can you eat this exact diet for the rest of your life? To be successful in the long run, you need to find a daily diet you can sustain for the rest of your life. You probably can lose eating that, assuming 1,300 calories puts you into a deficit.

      But I would freak out and binge on all the chocolate and ice cream after about 4 days of that. So, no, I couldn't lose weight in the long run doing what you are doing.

      My goal was to go by this diet plan for a month to see how much weight I could lose and then Branch out my food choices from there.
    • Posts: 7 Member
      quiksylver296 wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      Why? You can lose weight eating more variety of food, you just have to stay in caloric deficit. Again, I would freak out and binge after about 4 days, never mind one month.

      I figured that it's the quickest way to drop the weight since I've already lost 3 pounds since starting this past Monday. I guess I'm afraid if I venture out of what I'm doing now I'll pack back on the pounds I've worked so hard to lose already .
    • Posts: 28,439 Member
      snuggze wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      I figured that it's the quickest way to drop the weight since I've already lost 3 pounds since starting this past Monday. I guess I'm afraid if I venture out of what I'm doing now I'll pack back on the pounds I've worked so hard to lose already .

      Did you read the sexypants thread I linked above?
    • Posts: 4,770 Member
      snuggze wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      My goal was to go by this diet plan for a month to see how much weight I could lose and then Branch out my food choices from there.

      Why not "Branch out" your food now and stay in a calorie deficit? I would get bored eating the same thing every day for a month and would probably binge.
    • Posts: 7 Member
      quiksylver296 wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      Did you read the sexypants thread I linked above?

      I missed it somehow , I'll check into it now
    • Posts: 113 Member
      Congratulations snuggze on your success so far. I would echo the comments provided by chelseahatch24 and by janejellyroll relating to nutritional concerns. If you have comprehensively described what is in your salad (chicken, diced tomatoes, cheese), there may be a concern that you are not obtaining sufficient nutrition from your food intake: other than tomatoes, no other fruits and no vegetables (although I don't know what a white gray is, I assume it is neither a fruit nor vegetable). Depending on the type of bread used to make your breakfast toast, I would guess that your fibre intake on this diet would be way below recommendations. At a minimum I would suggest vitamin supplements.
    • Posts: 4,792 Member
      sparky00721 wrote: »
      (although I don't know what a white gray is, I assume it is neither a fruit nor vegetable).

      I think she meant white gravy Just FYI
    • Posts: 8,423 Member
      snuggze wrote: »
      I'm 25 years old, 5'1, and I used to weigh 162 pounds. I started dieting 4 days ago and as of today I weigh 158.2. I wasn't sure if my eating habits are considered healthy or a good way to loose weight , but for breakfast I always have a piece of toast with strawberry jelly, white gray, a sausage patty , a fried egg, and a piece of bacon. For lunch I have a salad that consists of diced oven baked chicken, diced tomatoes, cheese and 5 packets of fat free ranch dressing. I usually get hungry again around 5 pm so I eat another salad with the same ingredients except I use 2 tablespoons of olive garden light Italian dressing. I then work out, doing (20 of each ) sit ups, crunches, mountain climbs, leg lifts, squats and jumping squats. As for my fluid intake I only drink water with strawberry drink enhancer added to it or I have clear American waters that have 0 calories or sugar but it does have aspartame, I completely cut out sodas and sweet tea that I used to drink.

      So far I think I'm doing good and I've lost some weight but wasn't sure if my love for breakfast food is going to hurt me in the long run lol .

      Weight loss is the result of a calorie deficit. Not type of food.
      If you stick to your calorie deficit you can eat whatever you like. You can eat breakfast foods. You can eat salad. You could eat a sandwich. You could have a casserole. Whatever.
      Eating the same food daily could be too restrictive and dull to sustain. Someone will want you to eat out or will bring in food to work and you might find it pretty difficult to stick to your restrictive plan. You will have to learn appropriate portion sizes of a variety of foods at some point.
      Getting enough protein, fats and fiber help with satisfaction. Pay attention to those goals after calories.
    • Posts: 113 Member
      edited June 2017
      junodog1 wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      I think she meant white gravy Just FYI

      That makes sense, I should have been able to work that out! I think "white gravy" may be more frequently referred to, in Canada, as "country gravy", or perhaps that's just me. I have generally only heard of "gravy" - which is as deeply rich brown as possible - or "country gravy" which is the white or lighter colour gravy Denny's, for instance, serves.

    • Posts: 5,966 Member
      edited June 2017
      You eat the same thing every day? You plan on doing that forever? Why? That sounds like something you will not stick to... You can eat anything you want as long as you eat the right amount of calories. (To lose weight that is. To be healthy you probably need to eat some vegetables and fruits. Doesn't look like you get many of those)
    • Posts: 409 Member
      I'm sure she means white milk gravy made from the drippings of her sausage and bacon.
    • Posts: 489 Member
      edited June 2017
      Ready2Rock206 wrote: »
      You can lose weight eating anything you want as long as you eat at a calorie deficit.

      amen
    • Posts: 35,719 Member
      What you list doesn't sound like it makes up to 1300 cals?
    • Posts: 1,804 Member
      edited June 2017
      TavistockToad wrote: »
      What you list doesn't sound like it makes up to 1300 cals?

      Depends on the portion size. She listed a lot of calorie dense foods: sausage, gravy, jelly, salad dressing and cheese. They *could* be itty bitty portions for not a lot of calories, but they could also add up fast.

      If bread is 100 cals/slice with 50 cals jelly, 70 cals for the egg, 60 cals for the piece of bacon, 200 cals for the sausage and 50 cals for the gravy, breakfast alone would add up to 530 cals plus any butter or oil used on the toast or frying the egg. Obviously, those are numbers I made up, but they're pretty standard ones (for people who haven't made the effort to find the lowest calorie bread in the store).
    • Posts: 16,049 Member
      sparky00721 wrote: »
      show previous quotes

      That makes sense, I should have been able to work that out! I think "white gravy" may be more frequently referred to, in Canada, as "country gravy", or perhaps that's just me. I have generally only heard of "gravy" - which is as deeply rich brown as possible - or "country gravy" which is the white or lighter colour gravy Denny's, for instance, serves.

      I didnt get it either lol I thought it was some sort of early grey tea :open_mouth:

      @snuggze Eat whatever you want, make sure you get adequate protein and fat and vits and mins, that's it! Speaking purely of weight loss, calories are all that matter.
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