I need help starting on a diet plan

AnzianoMadsen
AnzianoMadsen Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have lost weight in the past. It pretty much consisted of eating the same food all the time. It is intimidating coming up with a food plan that I know which will help me lose weight. I know all the healthy foods and what's not healthy probably like anyone else. Coming up with a plan which I can really get behind and be committed to doing is the tough part.

Right now, everything I eat is just random. I'm just grabbing whatever is easiest to access and then eating whatever quantities I feel like at the moment. Usually what I'm grabbing is going to be white sugar or white flour. And, then some sort of carbonated beverage.

We eat a lot at fast food places. Both me and my wife are pretty big people. I'm at 275. That's pretty high for me compared to my average of about 250 and before I got married of about 205.

I'm thinking about just buying a ton of canned beans and then eat power bars between when I eat the beans. And, then drink a ton of water. That would be easy and straight forward with no cooking needed. I'm thinking that might not be the best way to maintain a diet over time.

Replies

  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,749 Member
    Eating to lose weight isn't that complicated. Eat foods you enjoy, but less of them. Look for foods that make you feel good and that fill you up but that don't have a lot of calories. Cooking doesn't have to be time consuming or difficult. I rarely take more than a few minutes to put together a meal, yet I cook most of what my husband and I eat. For me, that means focusing on meat, vegetables, whole grains and fruit. Buy foods that help you with your goals and don't bring home the foods that don't.

  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,460 Member
    edited December 2020
    Why not fill the kitchen with healthy food, and then just grab something healthy at home.
    Individual yogurt, cottage cheese, fruit, cups of fruit in juice or water, not sweetened juice. Ham and turkey lunch meat .
    2 slices of Bread frozen in sandwich baggies. Nuke them quick and add lunch meat. Grab a fruit and bottle of water for quick lunch.
    If you have time on weekends, prep things for the week. Maybe make a pot roast or baked chicken to eat
    Through the week.
    A really quick, easy, healthy dinner at home is a grilled pork loin chop or chicken cutlet with frozen veggies in the microwave.
  • AnzianoMadsen
    AnzianoMadsen Posts: 2 Member
    edited December 2020
    Isn't complicated... Ok. I just haven't been able to get it to come together for me. Anything that starts with "Just do... xyz. It doesn't work for me.

    Back to square 1... ohhh I am already at square 1.
  • globalc00
    globalc00 Posts: 103 Member
    You need to know what your TDEE is so you know how many calories you can consume to meet your weight loss goals. Once you know what that number is, you can then figure out a suitable meal plan that will help you lose weight and still be healthy.
    More than likely, you will have to do meal prep so you don't have to think about what you want to eat as it is already made and waiting for you. Trying to just eat green beans and power bars is probably not a healthy diet even if it will help you lose weight.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,632 Member
    I like the plan @ahoy_m8 recommends (😉), which involves starting from where you are, examining your eating, and systematically but gradually tweaking it in a positive direction until you reach a point that meets your needs/goals.

    If you want a very structured plan to do something very new and different, you could consider this site: https://www.eatthismuch.com/ You give it your calorie goals, number of meals, and a general eating style, and it spits out daily meal plans. (If you sign up, you can do more customizing, but the basics are free.)

    Truth in advertising: I've looked that site over fairly carefully, but I've never actually used it. I dislike structure . . . a lot. 😆

    I like the previously recommended https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm. That's how I lost from obese to a healthy weight in under a year, and have maintained a healthy weight for 5 years since.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,986 Member
    I agree with what aboy_m8 said: small and gradual changes. The problem with fastfood places is that it's difficult to figure out the amount of calories properly. Maybe start with trying to get a bit more structure into your eating: eat more at home, learn to cook quick meals or use an instapot (I learned that's a thing in the US). Hey, if you want to have a burger then see if you can make your own. You then decide how much and what ingredients you use.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    I agree with Ann and ahoy_m8--what I would do, if you, is log everything you were eating in a normal day pre weight loss efforts. If you haven't started yet, log what you are eating now. The calories might be a shock, but it's good to see where you are starting from. Then go through a day (or a few days) and see what the easiest changes are to make. For example, if you have a high cal fast food breakfast, come up with something tasty (it could even be something like an english muffin, egg, couple of pieces of bacon), and figure out how to sub that for fewer cals. If you are drinking juice, consider trying a piece of whole fruit instead. If the issue with breakfast is time, try various things (instant oats, egg bites) you can make ahead and have ready in the refrigerator.

    Similarly, look at your other meals and do the same.

    For many people (not all), an entire overhaul will be overwhelming and unsatisfying so smaller changes will work better, and for weight loss all you need is to cut cals. If you really are eating out a ton, you might want to work on one meal per week, and with the others make small changes in the meantime -- for example, drop soda for diet soda or water or unsweetened tea, switch a large fries to a small. Look at the highest cal items and see if you can switch them for something lower cal or look at things like portion size or added fats (oil, cheese, etc.) and see if the amount can be reduced. You will be surprised if you play with your diary how much little changes make a big difference. You don't need to eat a "diet" way -- a perfectly normal seeming eating style could easily lead to a sufficient reduction in cals.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Galluccio1972 wrote: »
    Isn't complicated... Ok. I just haven't been able to get it to come together for me. Anything that starts with "Just do... xyz. It doesn't work for me.

    Back to square 1... ohhh I am already at square 1.

    Start by revamping 1 meal at a time.

    Let's say your breakfast is cold cereal and milk (used to be my go to). Measure and log a sample breakfast. When I would measure and log cereal, it would come in at way more calories than I thought. For me, cereal wasn't filling either. I finally figured out that it's a bad choice for me.

    Protein, fat, and fiber are filling components. But, it's a different combination for everyone....you need to find what works best for you.

    My breakfast has more protein now. Greek yogurt with berries. A sprinkle of Fiber One cereal and sliced almonds.

    Find the good and the bad in your current diet. You won't have to change everything. But find small improvements because because weight loss is just the first step.
  • bubus05
    bubus05 Posts: 121 Member
    Based on my experience to successfully lose substantial weight one has to reach the point where one is desperate. I was in a similar situation at 270 lbs age 48 male happily married with my also overweight wife. We became desperate. We didn't know what to do, nothing seemed to work, so I was looking for a plan that would be considered extreme here I think, but we needed something. This was roughly seven months ago-beginning of covid lockdown where I live-not having to go to work helped TBH, we chose strict paleo which we did for about a month and gradually moved to keto combined with IF. Still pretty extreme and at this moment my weight is down to 210 lbs, ,my target is 200. I am by no means suggesting paleo or keto or IF, one has to choose a diet one can do and believes in whatever it may be, and than stick to it. But it will take massive discipline especially as we get older it will get more and more difficult lose weight.
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    Stay at a calorie deficit & move more, if possible. It’s a simple concept, but takes effort. Monitor macros.
  • tiwing
    tiwing Posts: 10 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    I disagree. Anyone can lose weight WHEN THEY ARE COMMITTED to it.
    I agree 100%. If you're not committed you won't be successful. If you want someone to do the work for you, you won't be successful. If you truly want to change your health (note I said health, not weight, because for me the driver of change was health), you'll make the little bit of effort.

    There is a list of stuff we all should do to be more healthy, but you already know them. Less or no fast food, less or no pop/juice, more fruit, more veggies.... etc etc. Portion sizes I struggled with and still do. But it helped to buy a new set of smaller plates that look full with less stuff on them, and get rid of the big plates you might have lying around. And only go back for seconds on the big occassions - thanksgiving, christmas, birthdays... Mind games. Good luck!!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,632 Member
    bubus05 wrote: »
    Based on my experience to successfully lose substantial weight one has to reach the point where one is desperate. I was in a similar situation at 270 lbs age 48 male happily married with my also overweight wife. We became desperate. We didn't know what to do, nothing seemed to work, so I was looking for a plan that would be considered extreme here I think, but we needed something. This was roughly seven months ago-beginning of covid lockdown where I live-not having to go to work helped TBH, we chose strict paleo which we did for about a month and gradually moved to keto combined with IF. Still pretty extreme and at this moment my weight is down to 210 lbs, ,my target is 200. I am by no means suggesting paleo or keto or IF, one has to choose a diet one can do and believes in whatever it may be, and than stick to it. But it will take massive discipline especially as we get older it will get more and more difficult lose weight.

    FTR, my click-reaction was a granny-hug **, not a disagree, but I kinda disagree with the bolded.

    If it always took massive discipline, I'd still be class 1 obese (if not higher), like I was when I got serious about losing weight at age 59, instead of at BMI 20.9 (5'5", 125.4) like I was this morning, age 65 (and around where I've been for the past 5 years since losing).

    Massive discipline is not my strong suit. 😉 Also, I think posing it as tantamount to climbing Everest can be a discouraging frame. Just chipping away at it, with an open mind and experimental spirit, can work fine. Even slow progress is progress (and slow progress is much more effective than giving up because of making it Too Hard.)

    It does take some patience and persistence, but I think us older folks often have some skills for that (from other long-term efforts like getting an education, building a career, raising kids, figuring out decent financial management to plan for retirement, maybe learning complex skills (like musical instrument, carpentry, needlework, gardening . . . ).

    Losing weight is kind of the same thing: Keep learning, keep going, stick with it, eventually we get to somewhere pretty good. It's not easy every moment, but it's pretty simple in a technical sense, and can be surprisingly doable for many people, with a good plan.

    ** I've noticed and appreciated how you're doing, as you make you way through the process, including taking on board the "different routes for different folks or different phases" idea. Good show! 😊
  • charmmeth
    charmmeth Posts: 936 Member
    Lots of good advice here: all I can really say, is good luck!
    However, here is a reflection from my own experience: I guess I am lucky because I always ate quite healthily and I like to cook, so for me it was about planning to keep my calories below a certain number, raather than a radical rethink of my diet. I don't always succeed in stying within my goal, but I am 57 and have lost over 25lbs since May, so what I am doing has worked reasonably well. Like others, my hints would be to track what you are eating as accurately as you can, and I would also recommend looking at trends. My weight is up from last week at the moment, but my trend tells me that is is down form last month.
    Good luck, really!
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited January 2021
    This content has been removed.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    bubus05 wrote: »
    Based on my experience to successfully lose substantial weight one has to reach the point where one is desperate. I was in a similar situation at 270 lbs age 48 male happily married with my also overweight wife. We became desperate. We didn't know what to do, nothing seemed to work, so I was looking for a plan that would be considered extreme here I think, but we needed something. This was roughly seven months ago-beginning of covid lockdown where I live-not having to go to work helped TBH, we chose strict paleo which we did for about a month and gradually moved to keto combined with IF. Still pretty extreme and at this moment my weight is down to 210 lbs, ,my target is 200. I am by no means suggesting paleo or keto or IF, one has to choose a diet one can do and believes in whatever it may be, and than stick to it. But it will take massive discipline especially as we get older it will get more and more difficult lose weight.
    I disagree. Anyone can lose weight WHEN THEY ARE COMMITTED to it. One doesn't have to be desperate. I've had clients that did it for revenge body after a divorce or just to be able to get in shape for an outdoor event.

    As to the OP, it's still all about counting calories. Whole foods are better nutritionally, but I teach my clients to eat what they like but learn how to control the AMOUNT they eat by counting caloric values. Ultimately it's you that's going to make the decision on what you like and don't like and it's MUCH EASIER to lose weight eating what you do like as long as you're getting your essentials in.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png


    Heck, I've lost weight when neither desperate or committed - just single with more free time that I spend being active vs cooking lots of high calorie "see what a good cook I am" meals and being sedentary together.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    with very few exceptions i eat the same foods I always have. There have been a few substitutions, and VERY few things that I wont eat or drink at all now (full calorie sodas being one). The overwhelming majority of the time my son and husband (neither of whom need to lose weight, the skinny jerks) eat the same thing I do, just more of it.

    Learn the basics of cooking (its really not hard) and learn how to properly weigh and measure your food.

    things I've eaten for dinner recently:

    chicken parm (that's tonight and I may or may not have the pasta with it, I haven't decided. I have room for it if I want)
    hamburger (on a salad as opposed to a bun)
    stuffed chicken breast
    steak
    BLT (on lavash bread instead of regular bread)
    Fish tacos at a Mexican restaurant
    ham broccoli and cheese quiche

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