Successful Meal/Diet Plans?

corrine_b
corrine_b Posts: 14 Member
edited October 1 in Food and Nutrition
I'm looking for some helpful tips and ideas for some general every day meal plans!

I always drink coffee, and there is no way I can realistically give it up... and I also drink my coffee very sweet.
I've cut back on coffee creamers.. (HOLY COW THE CALORIES!). I've tried now to just use a splash of milk, and I only sweeten with splenda.

For breakfast I usually have Yoplait Light Yogurt, accompanied by either a banana or 1/2 cup of granola.

My usual snacks: 100 Calorie Packs, Oranges, Apples, Orville Redenbacher Popcorn Single Serve Mini Bags, Apple Crisps, String Cheese, Oscar Meyer turkey breast deli slices

I have a hard time coming up with good, balanced meals for lunch and dinner.

I'm looking for suggestions of meals and meal plans others have used and have successfully lost weight by following.

I'd appreciate your input, MFP members<3

THANK YOU<3
feel free to add me. (:

Replies

  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    ooh for your coffee.... have you tried sugar free coffee syrup? OMG! so delicious :D I have coconut, pumpkin pie, and blueberry :]
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    for lunch and dinner?

    Pasta is cheap :]

    also try for some protein. Chicken is my favorite.

    And i cook everything with olive oil to get my healthy fats :]
  • aa1440
    aa1440 Posts: 956 Member
    I just cut back on my meal portions and workout more. Read the labels on everything that you eat. You would be surprised how much we over eat and not know it. And when you go out to eat only eat half of your meal and take the other half home. It can be another meal later. Most restaurants give you too much to eat for one meal.
  • corrine_b
    corrine_b Posts: 14 Member
    I did try the sugar free ones.. I think I had vanilla, but I didn't like it too much. I'll look into more flavors :)
    Thanks for the advice :) so pasta isn't taboo? Everytime I think pasta I think tons of carbs...


    aa1440:
    This is true. I've been looking at labels so much lately and it's amazing how much food we over eat when you see the actual portions!
  • bicajen
    bicajen Posts: 6 Member
    Either for lunch or for dinner just make sure that its balanced! Try a salad with some protein like beans or grilled chicken, half a turkey sandwich on whole wheat with a salad. Or your regular dinner favorites with healthy twists like tacos with turkey meat and whole wheat tortillas. We love to make mini pizzas at our house with whole wheat pita bread, a little low fat cheese and chopped up veggies. If you make too much at dinner save the left overs for lunch the next day! Good luck!
  • corrine_b
    corrine_b Posts: 14 Member
    Thank you for the ideas! They're great :)
    Good luck to you too. I love my salads and turkey too, so this works great!
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    I did try the sugar free ones.. I think I had vanilla, but I didn't like it too much. I'll look into more flavors :)
    Thanks for the advice :) so pasta isn't taboo? Everytime I think pasta I think tons of carbs...


    aa1440:
    This is true. I've been looking at labels so much lately and it's amazing how much food we over eat when you see the actual portions!

    I didnt like the vanilla either actually xD or chocolate. I think its hit or miss heh

    And nah I am a runner. I eat pasta in smaller portions then top with grilled veggies and olive oil! Pasta has a bad rep but can be very healthy :] A enormous bowl of double alfredo just isnt the right choice xD
  • spaingirl2011
    spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
    I LOVE pasta, but as I need to cut down, I use spaghetti squash as a replacement for the pasta and just add the sauce of my choice and lots of veggies. Plus, the spaghetti squash makes so much that you can freeze the extras and have "pasta"--or veggies whenever you need a quick meal. And it's SO low cal. You can add sauce and cheese and it's still a low cal meal.
  • Run4UrHealth
    Run4UrHealth Posts: 348 Member
    Bump
  • jasondelmundo
    jasondelmundo Posts: 2
    1 dinner or lunch meal i have atleast once a week is a Whole wheat pita cut in half so you can have 2 pitas. 1.5oz of chicken breast in each. lettuce, mozerella cheese. oh and spread hummus on the insides of the pita. half cup to 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup carrots dip in 1 to 2 tblspn hummus (if you like hummus), and 1 more small item like a half banana or something. if you dont like hummus try celery with a tblspn of some healthy peanut butter. whole meal is around 5-650 calories. with a ton of protein. which helps your motablism
  • amandanzgirl
    amandanzgirl Posts: 79 Member
    For lunch I usually just have a sandwich (go easy on the dressings), or eggs on toast, or a 6" sub from subway (roast chicken).

    Dinner, I try to make healthy versions of meals my hubby and I enjoy eating. Some ideas are:

    Chicken wraps - chicken breast, salsa, little low fat cheese, LOTS of salad
    Pizzas - tortilla wrap - sliced chicken breast -little bbq sauce (or salsa), little low fat cheese, peppers, mushrooms etc
    Baked Potatoes - Med sized potato loaded with hot chilli beans, peppers, low fat cheese, lite sour cream. LOTS of veggies or salad on the side
    Homemade Burgers - low fat ground beef, little low fat mayo, LOTS salad etc

    Otherwise if it's something my husband has made (usually quite calorific!!), I have a small portion and load the plate up with lots veggies!

    Good luck!
  • daad13
    daad13 Posts: 68
    I love my coffee tooo! Usually I add 1/2 a cup of skim milk, splenda and some sugar free chocolate powder to sweeten it.
    For my meals...Lunch- I usually have a sandwich (Ex: a wedge of laughing cow cheese spread on top of two whole wheat bread. Sometimes I have egg sandwiches too where I slice boiled egg whites and add some veggies and feta cheese in between 2 slices of bread)
    For dinner I love to fill up on brown rice! I have a cup of cooked brown rice with something like sauteed veggies, mushroom, chicken or small slices of meat (sometimes I add 1/2 a cup of sauce to go along with the veggies)
    Check out www.allrecipes.com for more great ideas :)
  • corrine_b
    corrine_b Posts: 14 Member
    1 dinner or lunch meal i have atleast once a week is a Whole wheat pita cut in half so you can have 2 pitas. 1.5oz of chicken breast in each. lettuce, mozerella cheese. oh and spread hummus on the insides of the pita. half cup to 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup carrots dip in 1 to 2 tblspn hummus (if you like hummus), and 1 more small item like a half banana or something. if you dont like hummus try celery with a tblspn of some healthy peanut butter. whole meal is around 5-650 calories. with a ton of protein. which helps your motablism

    That sounds reaaaalllly good. I love pita bread and I also love hummus. Thank you for that :)
  • corrine_b
    corrine_b Posts: 14 Member
    1 dinner or lunch meal i have atleast once a week is a Whole wheat pita cut in half so you can have 2 pitas. 1.5oz of chicken breast in each. lettuce, mozerella cheese. oh and spread hummus on the insides of the pita. half cup to 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup carrots dip in 1 to 2 tblspn hummus (if you like hummus), and 1 more small item like a half banana or something. if you dont like hummus try celery with a tblspn of some healthy peanut butter. whole meal is around 5-650 calories. with a ton of protein. which helps your motablism

    That sounds reaaaalllly good. I love pita bread and I also love hummus. Thank you for that :)
  • corrine_b
    corrine_b Posts: 14 Member
    For lunch I usually just have a sandwich (go easy on the dressings), or eggs on toast, or a 6" sub from subway (roast chicken).

    Dinner, I try to make healthy versions of meals my hubby and I enjoy eating. Some ideas are:

    Chicken wraps - chicken breast, salsa, little low fat cheese, LOTS of salad
    Pizzas - tortilla wrap - sliced chicken breast -little bbq sauce (or salsa), little low fat cheese, peppers, mushrooms etc
    Baked Potatoes - Med sized potato loaded with hot chilli beans, peppers, low fat cheese, lite sour cream. LOTS of veggies or salad on the side
    Homemade Burgers - low fat ground beef, little low fat mayo, LOTS salad etc

    Otherwise if it's something my husband has made (usually quite calorific!!), I have a small portion and load the plate up with lots veggies!

    Good luck!

    Wow, those all sound delicious! I'll have to try some of them! I think your plan is smart because it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change and making better choices... and that's how you have successful weight loss.. rather than just dieting until you are thin and then gaining it all back when you stop. Thanks so much!
  • corrine_b
    corrine_b Posts: 14 Member
    I love my coffee tooo! Usually I add 1/2 a cup of skim milk, splenda and some sugar free chocolate powder to sweeten it.
    For my meals...Lunch- I usually have a sandwich (Ex: a wedge of laughing cow cheese spread on top of two whole wheat bread. Sometimes I have egg sandwiches too where I slice boiled egg whites and add some veggies and feta cheese in between 2 slices of bread)
    For dinner I love to fill up on brown rice! I have a cup of cooked brown rice with something like sauteed veggies, mushroom, chicken or small slices of meat (sometimes I add 1/2 a cup of sauce to go along with the veggies)
    Check out www.allrecipes.com for more great ideas :)

    I will definitely check that out!
    Yes, the coffee is really an addiction! I've recently been using milk instead of creamer, but it isn't much better because we only have 2% in my house. I want to either buy low fat or non fat, and I've always used splenda and it works great. I love brown rice too! I will def. check out that website, thank you! :)
  • corrine_b
    corrine_b Posts: 14 Member
    I LOVE pasta, but as I need to cut down, I use spaghetti squash as a replacement for the pasta and just add the sauce of my choice and lots of veggies. Plus, the spaghetti squash makes so much that you can freeze the extras and have "pasta"--or veggies whenever you need a quick meal. And it's SO low cal. You can add sauce and cheese and it's still a low cal meal.

    hmm, i've never tried spaghetti squash, but i would really like to ! thank you for the ideas! :)
  • SydandPaigesMom
    SydandPaigesMom Posts: 86 Member
    I don't have a meal plan per se...but here's how a typical day looks for me.

    Breakfast: a whole wheat english muffin, one egg white mixed with some cheese and chive egg creation cooked, one slice of low fat kraft cheese. Makes a nice yummy english muffin breakfast for less than 300 calories.
    The past week I have also eaten a lot of oatmeal. I got the recipes from this book. Ah-mazing! http://www.hungry-girl.com/books/6/2. All under 300 calories.

    Lunch: usually something like wraps, leftovers, if we are out it will be a 6 inch turkey breast sub from subway, or if we're on a picnic I usually do a PB sandwich on weight watchers bread.

    Dinner: honestly my favourite meal to cook! Last week I made
    Chicken Pad Thai http://www.realkidseatspinach.com/?p=212
    Lasagna Cupcakes: http://www.hungry-girl.com/recipes/search?q=lasagna&b=6&commit=SEARCH
    Low fat baked Ziti with spinach http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/09/low-fat-baked-ziti-with-spinach.html

    DH and the kids all gobbled them up. So delicious! Send me a message if you want any of the hungry girl recipes! I cannot find them on the website, but I have the book.
  • ljbhill
    ljbhill Posts: 276 Member
    I cook up a heap of turkey/chicken mince with spices (mixed spice/mexican) and portion it out into 100g-150g bags which I then freeze. I then buy the 90 minute brown rice bags and measure 1/2 cup out. Add a little brocoli and voila! A heap of lunches ready to go!

    Another suggestion is to stuff the mince into capsicums (peppers) and freeze until needed.

    Soup portioned into containers.

    Vitaweets with vegemite and butter

    Museli with yohurt and strawberrys (never had eaten this before but noe LOVE it!)

    Hommus (mini copperpot which is already portioned) and carrots

    Boiled egg (take it as a snack)

    Nuts

    Rice cakes with avocado

    Rice cakes with philli, ham and tomato

    Frozen vege patties (grab a roll, a slice of tomato and a lettuce leaf and DONE!)

    Tuna and Salad (green or bean)

    Freeze banana's in halves (grab one in the morning and blend with milk, agave/honey and a little cinnamon, YUM!)

    Salad Sandwich/Ham or Tuna

    I find if I portion meals out and have them frozen there is no excuse! I just grab one in the morning, without thinking!
  • babyblake11
    babyblake11 Posts: 1,107 Member
    look at my diary, for the last few days and even tomorrow(i plan my meals) :) im on maintenance but ive been eating the same just more. hope it gives you ideas
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