Motivation weight loss clinic

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Batdad236
Batdad236 Posts: 13 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey friends! I am desperate for help! I am currently in Motivation weight loss clinic and it is going well! Over 3 weeks I am down 1 stone! However the issue is the protein bars! They cost 50quid a week and that alone is not sustainable! I mean we have 2 kids and bills to pay. Yes my health and wellbeing is worth the price of the ticket but the additional 20quid a month is rough! Has anyone done the programme and made their own bars / snacks I would greatly appreciate some help here! 🙂
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Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    Not familiar with that, but why do you have to have protein bars?
  • Batdad236
    Batdad236 Posts: 13 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Not familiar with that, but why do you have to have protein bars?

    So the programme works differently depending on your weight, desired loss and male or female, for me I need 6 proteins a day and 3 of those are my bar / snack. It's a good program and I was successful back in 2014 but I moved county had kids and everything fell by the wayside! It's basically to stop me picking and eating a full tin of pringles and having a beer every other evening! So they keep me fuller and I am eating roughly every 3-4 hours
  • Batdad236
    Batdad236 Posts: 13 Member
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    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    weight loss is all about eating less than you burn.

    its just that simple.

    you can buy protein bars at just about any store now a days, certainly any grocery or big box store.

    But you don't have to eat protein bars at all. We have this thing. Called... meat. Many other protein sources as well, if you do not eat, or like meat.

    I've lost a WHOLE lot of weight, probably more than the average person on here, without touching protein bars. or following any special diet. Simply by eating less, and moving more.

    and, 1 stone in 3 weeks is too fast of a rate of loss. likely, a large part of that is water weight loss and not real (fat) loss, which is normal. So, you should not expect that rate of loss to continue, nor should it, if it does. For the overwhelming majority of people, it is neither healthy nor sustainable.

    Yeah I completely understand that uts about eating less than you burn but I am honestly struggling to understand the calorie counting thing (like any help on that would also be amazing). I am sure its the simplest thing but I can't get it in my head at all!

    Yeah I wouldn't be surprised if it was mostly water weight at all but I am not expecting losses like that at all if its a few pounds every week I would be delighted.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    Would you please post a screenshot of the nutrition information from your protein bar label? Also its ingredients.
  • Batdad236
    Batdad236 Posts: 13 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Would you please post a screenshot of the nutrition information from your protein bar label? Also its ingredients.

    Best I can do is the nutritional info, they don't have the ingredients on the boxes or their site 🤷‍♂️

    I also can't seem to upload the image from my phone so here's a link, sorry

    https://shop.motivation.ie/collections/bars/products/nutty-caramel-bar
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
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    You can look and see what the calories and protein content are on the bar and just replace it with something similar that costs less. Example: quest protein bars are around 200 cal/20g protein and cost $2 each. I can get pure protein bars for similar macros for $1 each.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
    edited September 2021
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    andygarton87 wrote: »
    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    weight loss is all about eating less than you burn.

    its just that simple.

    you can buy protein bars at just about any store now a days, certainly any grocery or big box store.

    But you don't have to eat protein bars at all. We have this thing. Called... meat. Many other protein sources as well, if you do not eat, or like meat.

    I've lost a WHOLE lot of weight, probably more than the average person on here, without touching protein bars. or following any special diet. Simply by eating less, and moving more.

    and, 1 stone in 3 weeks is too fast of a rate of loss. likely, a large part of that is water weight loss and not real (fat) loss, which is normal. So, you should not expect that rate of loss to continue, nor should it, if it does. For the overwhelming majority of people, it is neither healthy nor sustainable.

    Yeah I completely understand that uts about eating less than you burn but I am honestly struggling to understand the calorie counting thing (like any help on that would also be amazing). I am sure its the simplest thing but I can't get it in my head at all!

    Yeah I wouldn't be surprised if it was mostly water weight at all but I am not expecting losses like that at all if its a few pounds every week I would be delighted.

    Useful Links
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10683010/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-fluctuations/p1

    and basically ... all of these :)

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300319/most-helpful-posts-general-health-fitness-and-diet-must-reads#latest

    a few pounds a week is also unrealistic. It is the same rate of loss as what you have been experiencing. What you should expect to lose will depend on your current weight.

    Centers like that (although I'm not familiar with any specifically, I am familiar with what they ARE), are in it to make money. And all businesses ARE, but think about it - if they told you the secret to weight loss was to learn how to weigh your food, and teach you how to do that, and accurately calculate calories - and teach you to do that - then why would you need to go back? and how would they stay in business? ;) That protein bar has 157 calories. The ones in my kitchen that my husband throws in his lunch range from 100-120. He has some others that are much HIGHER calorie (he needs to gain weight the freaking @#$%^&*! ) but I wont count those ones since, I'll assume based on the calories of the one you linked, it's outside of the snack range you want to be in. We're in the US, so I don't know what is available in your grocery stores, but I'm positive you can find something in your range there as well, if you insist on continuing to eat them. However, there are other snacks in the same calorie range that are 'real food' and filling as well.

    We can help you out and teach you how to weigh and log your food. Truly, that's why most of us are here, aside from working on our own various goals.

    What are your stats? Age, height, current weight? and what are your calories currently set at? Have you set MFP up at all yet with that information or no?

  • Harpin_Maddog
    Harpin_Maddog Posts: 52 Member
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    Based on the link you provided, the bars are similar to Atkins bars. Relies heavily on sugar alcohol for non digestible carbohydrates. Not sure if Atkins would be cheaper though. Finding a substitute bar might be difficult. If it is protein you need, two hard boiled eggs, or a pack of tuna would be similar amount of protein without the sugar alcohol. I bet when you first started those bars you had some serious bowel movements until your body adjusted to all the sugar alcohol. But I would be careful looking for a substitute bar. They can be really high in fat and sugar compared to the ones on your program. Robard sometimes runs specials on their bars. They may offer free shipping also. You can buy those in bulk usually.
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,467 Member
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    Sorry I can’t help with bars, but some real food with similar numbers comes to mind—

    A small can of tuna with a small amount of low-fat mayo, maybe some pickle and/or onion, a few crackers.

    An ounce of cheddar cheese with a couple slices deli turkey

    2 eggs plus an egg white, prepared without butter, oil, or many extra calories.

    I don’t particularly have a sweet tooth, so I can’t think of sweet things, but if you do, I’m sure you can find something.

    Maybe do a search on MFP for protein cheesecake, protein pudding, or protein pancakes or waffles.

  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    greek yogurt and fruit would be sweet and have protein. i get the oikos triple zero which is 100 calories. they have another higher protein one now too that is 140 calories.

    cottage cheese and fruit (or honey)

    peanut butter (measure carefully) on rice cakes

    ive never tried it, but ive known people who mix the PB2 powder in plain yogurt. ive used the PB2 on english muffins or in smoothies/shakes

    i do tuna on a slice of toast for lunch fairly often. i mix about 7-8 grams of light mayo, some sweet relish (dont judge me), onion, and pepper and lemon juice. its a lunch for me, but may make a good snack for you. theres a whole thread somewhere around here about things to mix in tuna.

    its a lunch recipe, but i also make a chicken salad with shredded chicken breast, mixed with a ratio of 75% plain greek yogurt to 25% light mayo with a bit of honey, dijon, dried cranberries, and lemon juice. basically this recipe that ive modified a bit (lots of ways to customize it): https://www.fromvalerieskitchen.com/crunchy-sweet-chicken-salad-sandwiches-and-a-canon-powershot-giveaway/

    been mentioned a few times - but hardboiled eggs, if you like eggs. low calorie and pretty filling.

    carefully portioned out (weighed on a scale) chocolate covered nuts with (again, carefully portioned) cheese cubes



  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    andygarton87 wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Would you please post a screenshot of the nutrition information from your protein bar label? Also its ingredients.

    Best I can do is the nutritional info, they don't have the ingredients on the boxes or their site 🤷‍♂️

    I also can't seem to upload the image from my phone so here's a link, sorry

    https://shop.motivation.ie/collections/bars/products/nutty-caramel-bar

    No problem, here, I will do it:

    Protein: 15g
    Sugars: 4.1g
    Fat: 6g (3.8g of which is saturated)
    Calories: 157

    7xmga70h3gpk.png

    155 grams of low fat Greek yogurt will give you the same amount of protein for less calories.

    xqnrrmb9xqn5.png

    One of my favorite snacks is cottage cheese and a fruit cup, which I find more filling than just yogurt, likely due to all the bulk.

    u9f9vgnpvu1c.png

    A mere 49 g of chicken breast will give you that 15g of protein, for half the calories.

    k4k2ovyu85ny.png
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    edited September 2021
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    These awful food suggestions just give me a headache. OP, you don't need protein bars or goofy recipes. Just find the 10 or so low calories things you like and put them on a plate until you have the right calorie count per meal. For me, its about 400 each plus 400 of snacks during the day.

    Leave out all the calorie dense items until you get into a consistent loss pattern. The worst items to fit in a low calories regimen are peanut butter, cheese, mayo, yogurt, bread - all recommended above.

    Tuna sucks but you can get canned salmon fillets for $4 a can more or less. And, shrimp is about $10 a pound frozen here and has more protein/$ than a cheap protein bar.

    What the heck?
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
    Options
    wilson10102018 wrote: »
    These awful food suggestions just give me a headache. OP, you don't need protein bars or goofy recipes. Just find the 10 or so low calories things you like and put them on a plate until you have the right calorie count per meal. For me, its about 400 each plus 400 of snacks during the day.

    Leave out all the calorie dense items until you get into a consistent loss pattern. The worst items to fit in a low calories regimen are peanut butter, cheese, mayo, yogurt, bread - all recommended above.

    What the heck?

    I get that calorie dense foods like mayo, PB, and cheese can be challenging (however, I have had no problem working in small amounts) but I do not understand your objection to yogurt.
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    Options
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    wilson10102018 wrote: »
    These awful food suggestions just give me a headache. OP, you don't need protein bars or goofy recipes. Just find the 10 or so low calories things you like and put them on a plate until you have the right calorie count per meal. For me, its about 400 each plus 400 of snacks during the day.

    Leave out all the calorie dense items until you get into a consistent loss pattern. The worst items to fit in a low calories regimen are peanut butter, cheese, mayo, yogurt, bread - all recommended above.

    What the heck?

    I get that calorie dense foods like mayo, PB, and cheese can be challenging (however, I have had no problem working in small amounts) but I do not understand your objection to yogurt.

    Yea, I'm wrong about yogurt. I don't know anything about it.
  • Batdad236
    Batdad236 Posts: 13 Member
    Options
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    andygarton87 wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Would you please post a screenshot of the nutrition information from your protein bar label? Also its ingredients.

    Best I can do is the nutritional info, they don't have the ingredients on the boxes or their site 🤷‍♂️

    I also can't seem to upload the image from my phone so here's a link, sorry

    https://shop.motivation.ie/collections/bars/products/nutty-caramel-bar

    No problem, here, I will do it:

    Protein: 15g
    Sugars: 4.1g
    Fat: 6g (3.8g of which is saturated)
    Calories: 157

    7xmga70h3gpk.png

    155 grams of low fat Greek yogurt will give you the same amount of protein for less calories.

    xqnrrmb9xqn5.png

    One of my favorite snacks is cottage cheese and a fruit cup, which I find more filling than just yogurt, likely due to all the bulk.

    u9f9vgnpvu1c.png

    A mere 49 g of chicken breast will give you that 15g of protein, for half the calories.

    k4k2ovyu85ny.png

    Thanks a million for this its amazing!
  • Batdad236
    Batdad236 Posts: 13 Member
    Options
    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    andygarton87 wrote: »
    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    weight loss is all about eating less than you burn.

    its just that simple.

    you can buy protein bars at just about any store now a days, certainly any grocery or big box store.

    But you don't have to eat protein bars at all. We have this thing. Called... meat. Many other protein sources as well, if you do not eat, or like meat.

    I've lost a WHOLE lot of weight, probably more than the average person on here, without touching protein bars. or following any special diet. Simply by eating less, and moving more.

    and, 1 stone in 3 weeks is too fast of a rate of loss. likely, a large part of that is water weight loss and not real (fat) loss, which is normal. So, you should not expect that rate of loss to continue, nor should it, if it does. For the overwhelming majority of people, it is neither healthy nor sustainable.

    Yeah I completely understand that uts about eating less than you burn but I am honestly struggling to understand the calorie counting thing (like any help on that would also be amazing). I am sure its the simplest thing but I can't get it in my head at all!

    Yeah I wouldn't be surprised if it was mostly water weight at all but I am not expecting losses like that at all if its a few pounds every week I would be delighted.

    Useful Links
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10683010/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-fluctuations/p1

    and basically ... all of these :)

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300319/most-helpful-posts-general-health-fitness-and-diet-must-reads#latest

    a few pounds a week is also unrealistic. It is the same rate of loss as what you have been experiencing. What you should expect to lose will depend on your current weight.

    Centers like that (although I'm not familiar with any specifically, I am familiar with what they ARE), are in it to make money. And all businesses ARE, but think about it - if they told you the secret to weight loss was to learn how to weigh your food, and teach you how to do that, and accurately calculate calories - and teach you to do that - then why would you need to go back? and how would they stay in business? ;) That protein bar has 157 calories. The ones in my kitchen that my husband throws in his lunch range from 100-120. He has some others that are much HIGHER calorie (he needs to gain weight the freaking @#$%^&*! ) but I wont count those ones since, I'll assume based on the calories of the one you linked, it's outside of the snack range you want to be in. We're in the US, so I don't know what is available in your grocery stores, but I'm positive you can find something in your range there as well, if you insist on continuing to eat them. However, there are other snacks in the same calorie range that are 'real food' and filling as well.

    We can help you out and teach you how to weigh and log your food. Truly, that's why most of us are here, aside from working on our own various goals.

    What are your stats? Age, height, current weight? and what are your calories currently set at? Have you set MFP up at all yet with that information or no?

    Wow thank you so much for the support! I was with them back in 2014 and lost a lot of weight so naturally i thought i would go again now and it would "work for me again right?" I mean before lockdown here in Ireland i was doing well in the gym and using Kevin Curry's Fit Men Cook recipes ( i was a chef a lifetime ago but enjoy cooking Still). It was great the loss was great and i was feeling great then lock down in Ireland and we couldn't go back to gyms for almost a year, we could only travel 2km outside our homes and i suffered mentally as have so many others. So from the bottom of my heart i do thank you sincerely.

    So i am currently 34yrs 26.2stone / 366.8lbs / 166.3777kgs and i am 6foot3. i believe my calories are set to 2,260 and yes i do have my MFP set up with all that in and updated! lol
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    andygarton87 wrote: »

    So i am currently 34yrs 26.2stone / 366.8lbs / 166.3777kgs and i am 6foot3. i believe my calories are set to 2,260 and yes i do have my MFP set up with all that in and updated! lol

    I am thinking you can eat more than that and still lose at a good pace. That seems pretty low for a guy of your size (both in height and weight right now). Instead of the fastest rate of loss like it seems like you probably have it set at, set it somewhere in the middle. It will give you more calories to work with and you will FEEL better and that is a big thing! It also makes it far easier for you to stick with! Losing weight at a slower rate might feel a bit discouraging, but if it means you KEEP it off (and statistically, it means you are more likely to!) then it is worth it!

    If you haven't yet, read those first 2 links in particular I posted above, they will give you a good starting point for logging your food. Feel free to send a friend request if you would like (just click on my profile picture here). I'm off and on throughout the day most days, from stupid o'clock in the morning till suppertime.

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