What do do? Totally lost

csplatt · October 12

You should cook for the week on Sunday afternoons. Shred a whole pack of chicken in the crock pot then put it in baggies at 4-6 ounces each. Broil some Johnsonville sausages and put them in tupperware. Sautee mixed veggies and prep a big salad. Make some white rice.

Then throughout the week you mix and match the things you already prepped on Sunday. The rice you can serve by the half cup or cup. The veggies can be eyeballed as long as you log the oil. The protein is already done so you can look up the calorie count on those. Done!

For the following week, make a few different options so you don’t get bored. Rinse and repeat.

csplatt · October 12

Other things I find easy to make ahead of time:

sautéed zucchini + Just Bare frozen chicken breast + half a cup of marinara from a jar + 14 grams parmesan cheese

quarter cup black beans + 28 grams cheddar cheese + 3-4 ounces shredded chicken + 2 tbsp salsa + a pre packaged single serving of guacamole. sometimes i also add half a cup of lime cilantro rice

one frozen tilapia (defrost then oil / salt / pepper) baked. sweet potatoes diced and roasted in oven. piece of bread

rl2010 · October 12

making ahead. How do you keep the meat from drying out? And the veggies from turning to mush in the fridge? I can barely make a normal chicken breast and not be dry. Let alone store it in the fridge for a few days.

csplatt · October 12

Honestly this sounds like self sabatoge. You won't let yourself succeed. Look up recipes. Trial and error to find what works for prepping ahead of time. Eat it even if it isn't the best meal you ever had. Normally I keep it positive but this thread is tough!

I say this as someone who ten years ago had to realize I'd tied up my whole personality into what I was upset about at the time. Someone once asked me why I didn't just walk away from my negativity and start fresh. I realized it had become so engrained in who I was that I wouldn't know myself without it. It was a huge realization. I was keeping myself unwell without realizing it.

Hugs. You can do this!

Crochetluvr · October 13

If fast is all you are looking for, you are going to end up with bland, boring food and you will only sabotage your efforts because you won't want to eat it. Microwaving a chicken breast is not appetizing.

There are some stores that sell marinated or pre seasoned meat that you either bake or microwave. But you can't put one meant for the oven in the microwave....it won't cook properly and you will end up tossing it. I only use my microwave for reheating already cooked food of steaming vegetables....fresh or frozen.

Do you like flavored yogurt....with fruit? The cups are small, but I will have one for breakfast. Makes a good snack too.

You can use low carb tortillas and make tacos or burritos. All you need to do is prepare the meat.....beef, chicken....and you can get several meals out of it. Most everything else you can buy ready made....the tortillas, sour cream, beans, shredded cheese, guac.…you only have to slice tomatoes and lettuce.

There are SO many different foods you can eat that don't take a ton of effort.....but you do have to go through your grocery store and really SHOP. Most everything I buy is fresh....I eat very little processed food. It can be done.

rl2010 · October 13

I am afraid if I buy fresh and don’t use it in time it’s in the trash. My day always changes and planning for my one meal for myself is always a mystery. I can not count on anyone home as they eat what they want. I have tried to ask for help in doing this and it’s not there.

I could go buy a steak or chicken breast in the store on a Sunday and if I don’t use it by Wednesday it’s trash as it smells or like beef turns brown. The smell/ taste is repelling to me.

If I had nothing going on and I knew I would be home at say 6:30 pm and had to make a meal from scratch I would. Getting home after 8:30 I am not going to spend an hour to make it. When I get home full of stress/anger of the day the last thing I want to do is cook. Hence dining out. Which I don’t want to do. I am afraid that is I make something that is not good will add to more anger.

Do I shop every day on the way home and look for fresh food? That would just prolong the time I would eat as well.

I have tried to make a larger skirt steak and the night made its good. The next day or few days later it’s hard and not appetizing. Same for grilled chicken breasts. I could tolerate with a ton of fattening sauce on them or cheese which I need to avoid. So a straight chicken breast with salt/pepper on it is what it is. The next day it’s hard and dried out.

Making pasta and sauces and those the next day are doable but again not something I should have.

Reheating seafood isn’t too good either and since no one eats it here I get it when going out only.

I am looking into meal prep. Cooking baked/grilled plain chicken breasts, I don’t know how to make them good in a few days. I do see Tons of meals with pasta and sauces that are not that low calorie/low carb that are reheatable. I just don’t see reheating grilled chicken breast, rice, and some precooked vegetable that will be that good. I know I am missing something but from my experience anything not buried in a sauce does not reheat well.

Maybe a new way of stress relief if what I need as well. Maybe should join the new world in the world of vaping or similar.

again, I do read these over and over again and try to think to do something. It lasts a little while then I get so down and frustrated I give up.

Crochetluvr · October 13

Do you work 7 days a week? If not, you use one day to prepare food you can eat during the week. I just made a pot of chili.....I will get a weeks worth of meals out of it.

If you put food in the freezer, it won't spoil in a few days. Just take it out the day you are going to need it.

I just bought a seasoned pork loin in a package.....it says to keep it in the refrigerator and use by Nov 15th. So you see, not all foods will spoil in a few days. Look for meats like that so you don't have to use it right away. You are not the only busy person who has to find more convenient food....its out there. Like I said, you need to SHOP....not just buy.

rl2010 · October 13

and I can find time explain the following?

I get the butcher to cut 6 x 4 ounce chicken breasts, I get 6 cups of brocolli and 3 cups of brown rice. I cook all this at once. I bake/grill the chicken with salt/pepper, either bagged or baked brocolli and however you make brown rice. This divided into 6 meals is 326 calories each. I eat one the day I make it. Now what to do with the rest? If I divide these into 5 portions and put in a zip lock bag, Rubbermaid container, vacuseal bag, just put them in the fridge? And when I want to eat them, 1. Eat them cold, 2. Put in a dish and Microwave them for a few minutes? Doing this they will be dried out. Let alone bland. What about freezing them? Can I just microwave the bags of food to reheat from frozen?

if I do the same for basic steak and some vegetable, how to keep the food tasting good the following days and not dried out and bland?

Buying bulk food and freezing(raw) and taking out a steak/ chicken breast the day before to defrost and if I don’t eat in 2-3 days they are no good. I simply suck at planning and can not plan to be home at 6:30 every night.

rl2010 · October 13

back to my other issue. How do I feel good? How to I feel positive about trying to improve anything? How to I relieve stress?

csplatt · October 13

What if for a time you stop expecting food to be exciting and just call it fuel? Maybe it’s all bland because you’re eating out so much so by comparison, yeah it’s bland. I use Dales seasoning (marinade) with garlic powder and onion powder and pepper on my proteins and it’s fantastic for days.

I wonder if food could hold less power in your life if you stop expecting food to be fantastic and just let it be the calories you need for a while. Just a thought.

On another note, considering your stress and unhappiness, WHAT DO YOU LOVE? What in life do you find interesting or beautiful or exciting?

Crochetluvr · October 13

I guess you've never heard of marinade....or seasonings. Look up marinade for chicken or steak. And don't microwave them.....you gotta get off the whole microwave thing. Use the oven or grill.

I gave you several ideas for meals, but you seem to be stuck on plain chicken....not sure why. Marinades and/or seasonings aren't going to sabotage your diet.

As for all your other questions, try using Gemini, the AI app. It will tell you all the ways to store food for your situation.

rl2010 · October 13

I was using chicken as an example. We need healthy meals and most sauces are not that.

have not marinaded much of anything. I do have tons of rubs for when I used to BBQ/smoke meats but lost time and ambition for that. And unhealthy. Now just Sprinkling a rub on a piece of steak, pork, chicken and throwing in a pan to cook just ends up like I am just eating the rub on a Fork. All on the out side and nothing in the insides. Have done this with port tenderloins as well. The rub is too much on the outside.

Still eating anything and even when I smoked a brisket or pork shoulder. Even a cooked turkey A few days later it’s dried out from being stored in the fridge. Do I freeze the leftovers after I make them in a bad full of sauce that is not healthy? Don’t freeze vegetables?

I looked at allot of “healthy” meal prep ideas online and I don’t get why most are full of pasta and tons of carbs like rice, potatoes and cheeses. I just don’t understand how they think a cup of pasta, some meat, vegetable and sauce that adds up to 600+ calories is considered healthy especially when my limit is supposed to be 1500 calories under 75 carbs and over 100g protein a day. That one pasta meal blows most of that out of the water. Trust me. I love pasta there is a reason I am 300 lbs.

the microwave is for quick meals and reheating. In the chicken example. If I got home at 9:00 PM and want to avoid takeout I am looking for a quick/stress free meal. If I found a way to keep leftovers/meal prep work well how would I reheat. Microwave or turning on the oven, waiting for temps to come up then being the leftovers. That is about 45 min.

On days when I get home at. A decent time I could make something if it was available. We bought nice steaks a while back. We took them out to defrost. Did not eat them the next day as life is life. And 4 days later they were no good. This is why I do not like planning for fresh meat/food to cook as I never can plan. The days that we do I do not make extra as the next day it’s never good.

As for making meals not enjoyable and make them as fuel only. I WOULD LOVE TO. Currently it’s the only form of stress relief besides drinking a few nights that helps.

In my current state if I come home at 9 and then start cooking dinner it would just enrage my frustrating more.

As for what do I love, I have to take a long hard look. This is an issue. Used to love boating and fishing - find it too hard to do anymore, used to love my hobby of fish/reef corals. That has failed me and I am selling that all off. I don’t know what I like anymore. Not much I find to strive to do.

Crochetluvr · October 13

Nothing is written in stone....not the calories, not the carbs, not anything you are obsessing over.

All I can say is I tried, but you have an answer for everything....and its all negative. Go see a doctor or counselor and get your head straight. Good luck.

csplatt · October 13

100 grams of pasta weighed dry is 130 calories

Half a johnsonville italian sausage is 130 calories.

14 grams parmesan cheese is 60 calories

bell pepper and onion sautéed in half a tsp of olive oil is about 50-60 calories

That’s dinner at 420 calories.

It’s a learning curve to figure it out.

I think the main issue here is your own negative spiral—not the actual food. Maybe if you had things you loved again in life that made you feel at peace or excited and “alive” then some of this stuff would fall into place. I just have a hunch that this goes way beyond the food. The anger at food and defeatist attitude towards food is probably a symptom of something more all encompassing going on in life. So sorry! Wish you well.

rl2010 · October 13

thank you. I do agree. I do use food as the only release each day and I shouldn’t. So you are right I am taking it out on that.

I am taking my own depressed mindset and my health that is horrible take over.

I tried the therapist and it was not helping. Takes 3 months to get an appointment to see any doctor these days.

Thank you again for helping.

rl2010 · October 15

I am going to try to not be negative. Maybe I am dreaming too much and setting myself up for failure.

At 54 for a male that has never really exercised and has been overweight my whole life.

what is the reality for 6 months or a year? How much weight could I really lose? Could I really gain muscle. The book says 3500 calorie deficit for 1 lb a week. But someone that is so out of shape what is reality to achieve. 10 lbs in 6 months? Lift more than a 15 lb dumbbell? If I follow a 1500 calorie a day plan and find a way to push through What is reality?

Chat states 50lbs, BMR is 2063, now that is probably in a vacuum eating perfect and good health. But for someone that is not healthy and never exercised is it closed to 10? If I aim for 50 and only get 10 that would be a letdown.

I know my cardio is bad and I am not counting on that to improve due to the scarred lungs that much. But what the doctor says and what I feel, will that ever improve enough to get dressed or walk more than a minute without gasping for air?

AnnPT77 · October 15

My recommendation would be not to set outcome goals like X pounds in Y months. Instead, set process goals, like walking X blocks Y times per week, or logging food for X days, or limiting restaurant meals to X times next week, or something like that.

We don't control the outcome. We absolutely control the steps we take toward an outcome - the process steps. I suggest setting goals that are positive process steps. As long as we pick some good steps, that will take us toward a good outcome, and if we keep going, we'll eventually get there. The calendar isn't a weight loss tool.

And yes, you can improve enough to make a meaningful difference in your quality of life.

avatiach · October 16

I have seen dietitians suggest that you make one meal a day a frozen prepared meal. It makes it easier to not think so much about what you are eating.

You also might check out the volume eaters threads here. Some people have a lot of success by eating a lot of low-calorie items. For instance, bring a whole bunch of carrots, cucumbers, celery to work if you just like to snack. If you need a dip, you can bring a hummus or yogurt dip.

Try and increase your water.

And if you make a batch of food, you can freeze it in portions (don't keep it in the refrigerator).

I agree with Ann's idea about process goals. A success could be logging your food, going to a kid's softball game, walking around the block, or even doing 10 arm raises at work every hour.

Since you have a long commute, think about listening to some podcasts that give you ideas about health; or listen to music that you find uplifting.

rl2010 · October 17

thanks. Hopefully next week I can give try #79365 a go. Have and will not be home before 10PM at least until mid/late next week. Not a legit excuse but we have not been home much due to going to the hospital every day to visit my father.

Going to try a pork tenderloin cut up for a stir fry as a meal prep, then some sort of chicken.

have to find some good strong tasting salad dressing to cover up the lettuce taste that is very low cal to be able to load up on salads to offset the smaller meals.

Thought about trying to exercise but not there yet. Walking from the car to office and hospital as me gasping for air.

yakkystuff · October 17

So sorry about Dad

Maybe some hot sauce mixed into a preferred dressing

Sixteen_Tons · October 17

Hi there,

I'm a 68 YO male weighing 330 down from 440, actually got to 290 and gained 40 back. Currently I'm struggling to resume weight loss. This might sound harsh but 'Stop with the excuses'. You are either willing to do what it takes or you're not. Don't get me wrong, I know it's very hard, but it's all about your willingness to do what it takes. I've used all of the excuses at one time or another. It finally changed when I fell and had to call 911 to help me get up!

Sorry it's so long, and this doesn't guarantee success, but here's what I'm doing:

Don't be too aggressive with your weight loss goals. A pound a week is fine if it allows you to stick with it. Remember it probably took years for you to reach this weight. At a pound a week 100 pounds will take 2 years. Commit to it.
Only weigh yourself every week or so, any more and you'll get discouraged because the number isn't changing. Even if the number hasn't changed in 7 days, don't quit. The body is remarkably resilient so there will be weeks when there is no change.
Choose 2 days a week when you can exceed the goal calories. Try and make these days higher Fat days. This will help keep the body from adjusting to your new calorie intake. This is not a license to become a buffet shark, but to increase your intake by 20 to 30 percent. If you can, try and offset the increase by leaving some unused calories in the other five days. If you can't, don't worry, it will extend the time to your goal, but time has no calories;-).
List your food likes & dislikes all of them including fast food & take-out nothing is off limits. My personal downfall is McD's breakfast burrito or sausage McMuffin. If you like some cocktails in the evening, have them. Just include the alcohol and mixers in your calories for the day.
Take anything labeled 'Diet' 'Sugar Free', 'Fat Free', or 'Low Fat' ect.. off your list and substitute the regular version. Most of those products have a marginally less calories and high levels of sugar and fat, or taste really bad, adding incentive to quit.
Add the known calorie value to the list, most fast food chains have the caloric content posted on the net. If you can't find it there, find a copycat recipe and either use it's value or import it into MFP.
Add more 'greens' like lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, bok choy etc… Legumes & grains are good protein substitutes. Opt for 'dry' or frozen versions to reduce salt intake.
When you cook, cook for 1 or 2 extra meals instead of just enough for the meal. Buy inexpensive take out containers (I use the plastic containers for chinese food) and put the labeled extra in the freezer for days when 'you just can't cook'. Most things microwave well if you use a lower setting for a longer time E.g. 10-15 minutes at power 50 or 40. You'll get a feel for what works over time.
If you don't like to exercise, don't do it. Exercise will marginally burn some calories, but if the guilt of missing a day, or week stresses you stop doing it. I'm a committed couch potato, I walk a few blocks a day for mobility, not to burn calories.
Tell everyone that matters to bear with you as you start your journey. Conversely politely remind the well meaning 'Food Police' that while you respect their motives, it doesn't help you, it adds stress to an already tough time.
The most important thing is DON'T QUIT, DONT QUIT, DON'T QUIT DON'T QUIT.
Did I tell you DON'T QUIT?

I'm going to quote Crochetluvr 's last paragraph, because it says it all.

"I am not perfect....I have days where I slip up. But its only a day or so and I am back in the saddle, as they say. But I am not you. I can't stop you from eating wrong. The only diet police is yourself. But we all have the will....we just have dig deep, find it and use it. I hope you do."

If you need it I'll shovel with you. DON'T QUIT!

Respectfully,

SixteenTons

rl2010 · October 18

well hopefully soon we will be able to get back to a better schedule to move forward. With some major changes of possibly dad moving in to our lower level will change everything. We won’t be going out at all to restaurants or vacations going forward for a while. So this in itself may help. But this will add to more stress in my life what I really need to figure out how to relieve it.

Also the scare these past 2 weeks has made me want to drop this weight. I know it will take years to get it off. I just hope I could feel better to keep me going. Just thinking how many years are left to begin with. Maybe 20?

Hopefully I can learn how to cook better and not waste money on meals I make and don’t like. Still looking at recipes and making a list. It’s amazing how many meals you see are loaded with carbs or calories. Trying to find meals that don’t have rice or pasta or potatoes is almost non existent. There are some but a search for healthy meals reveals tons of pasta dishes which I need to avoid.

the 50lbs off earlier this year helped with the back pain a little but not the breathing. Now the 40lbs back on I am where I was in January. I know maybe the weight is causing most of the back pains. The thought of another year to still be very overweight is frustrating and depressing. Winter is around the corner and I need new clothes and will have to buy the clothes that fit me now and maybe new again if I ever lose allot of weight.

There are days I want to walk but when I do I am very out of breath and that stops that idea. I don’t know how I messed up my lungs but it is what it is. Not sure if that will ever get better. I’ve asked the drs as well and they don’t believe so and brush it off. So exercise may never happen which will be a problem

88olds · October 22

I’ll tell you again I was 44 and a heart attack waiting to happen. I’m 100 lbs lighter and 75 now. I started to see benefits after losing about 20 lbs. My back quit hurting all the time. I could go for walks. It was a big deal.

Until I was down 95 lbs I would have never thought I could lose 100. I think what I did was lose 5 lbs 20 times.

avatiach · October 22

You might try some crockpot meals, the slow-cooking kind. They tend to be easy to make (throw in the meat, vegetables, beans, water, tomato sauce etc. all at once) and saucy (which I think you like) and they will be warm when you get home. Then put the leftovers into portions, in the FREEZER.

And as far as walking, if you get out of breath when you walk 100 steps, that's ok, that's a baseline. Maybe the next day you can walk 110 steps. I actually really like having a fitness watch (I have a fitbit) because it gives me step numbers and I can track it over time. Slow and steady. Feeling out of breath doesn't mean you can't exercise at all, you can increase very slowly.

rl2010 · October 22

once we get back into our normal schedule of not going to the hospital every day/night will make an honest effort. Have some meals planned and used ChatGPT to change some ingredients around to lower calories.

Need to schedule some blood tests as well for yearly benefits. And that can maybe help determine how far off I am and if improvements are made along the way.

Now getting cold here and don’t have a jacket that fits. Let alone clothes that fit properly. Something has to give.

Still researching ways to relive stress so I am not using food or drinking as relief. Today I see exercise as something strenuous and almost impossible so that is adding stress thinking about it. That will hopefully change months from now. Therapist did not work to well as I could not stay focused on. There is Way to much negative thinking that needs to change. Just ended up more frustrated.

Need to find enjoyment again. Don’t even know where to begin. That could help as well.

yakkystuff · October 22

Glad dad will be able to go to your home. It will tot change things.

It seems like you wait to start - until it is maybe all ready, all or nothing. I get that - start stop yoyo.

But life is happening now. Look at todays choices, choose better when you can

When my dad was in the hospital, we had meals in the cafeteria - most of us took the chance to order ginormous meals, loaded with salt, along with little sleep, felt miserable.

— alternative, choose regular size meal, low sodium, lots of veggies. Who cares if not 5 star michelin - the choice is to give your body an assist.

— long day at hospital and work? Instead of hitting fast food drive through, stop at grocery pick up some fast, healthier food.

Don't excuse yourself, do for yourself. This is you, for you. NO ONE can do this for you. Only you. So do it for you, so you don't die too early.

yakkystuff · October 22

Came back to add, i don't mean to sound harsh nor unsympathetic - do quite understand feelings/frustration.

But feelings aside, this is something that we can choose and do and work into wherever we can.

Doing leads to feeling empowered and better about things, then doing the next things. Go for it.

AnnPT77 · October 23

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48807941#Comment_48807941

A lot of people have the mistaken belief that exercise needs to be some super-strenuous, punitively intense thing in order to have benefits. That's completely false.

In fact overdoing exercise is counter-productive for either weight loss or fitness improvement. The definition of "overdoing" depends on our current fitness level. The sweet spot is something, or a combination of things, that's a manageable challenge to our current capabilities.

Overdoing is counter-productive for weight loss because if we exercise to the point of fatigue, we tend to move less the rest of the day, effectively cancelling out some of the exercise calories. (That's called "exercise energy compensation" or "calorie compensation", and there's research about it - a real thing.)

Overdoing is counter-productive for fitness improvement because it short-changes recovery from the exercise. Exercise breaks down muscle fibers and challenges the body in other ways. Recovery is when the real magic happens, our body building back better than it was before. If we overdo, we hinder the building back and limit fitness improvement.

This next is just an example; your personal details will vary: If it's a physical challenge for you to walk to the mailbox, but you can do it, start there. Do it on repeat, every day if that's manageable, or every other day, whatever is manageable (but a bit of a challenge). As you repeat it, it will start to feel easier. (That may take some time, and that's OK.) When it feels easier, add something to make it a mild, manageable challenge again: Walk a little faster, walk a little more often, or walk a little farther . . . not all of those at once, but just enough for it to be a challenge again. Keep going like that. That's how fitness improves.

It's not about brutal, intense, strenuous exercise that makes a person feel miserable. As we get fitter, we can do more, but manageable challenge is still the sweet spot.

yakkystuff · October 23

@AnnPT77 wrote:

Overdoing is counter-productive for weight loss because if we exercise to the point of fatigue, we tend to move less the rest of the day, effectively cancelling out some of the exercise calories. (That's called "exercise energy compensation" or "calorie compensation", and there's research about it - a real thing.)

aah ha..., always kind of thought that? Have the concept language on that now, ty :)

rl2010 · October 24

curious then, since I walk up and down my stairs at home and get greased every day and I am out of breath doing both that does not get easier.
same for walking in the office that I get out of breath and people ask me were you running?

I am now at the point I do not do anything that involves extra walking due to embarrassment and frustration of being out of breath.

I know I have allot of combating issues (very over weight, lungs scarred, sleep apnea, fatty liver, over stress, anxiety, depression, self hate, etc). And dwelling on these back and forth all day. One compounds the other issue. Don’t know how to shut off the mind.

Would I feel happy/satisfied if I lost 100 lbs and still have this stress, sleep apnea, depression? I am not sure. I can not vision it. I lost 50 and still had all of this.

Sleep apnea I need another test. $2000 for it. Will have it forever.

Lung scarring. Nothing can be done. Can not undo.

depression don’t see how to get reversed. Tried 2 therapists. Nothing

Stress it’s my career. Adding my mind makes it worse. I have to work to have a house and live. Quitting equals not having a house. Changing jobs won’t come close to the income now. I can’t shut out the stress and constant thinking and this needs to be corrected.

Sadly food was some sort of stress relief or at least I think it does. Dining out is our entertainment. So it’s not even the food that much as more as something to do. If we did not do that. We would not do anything.

I really sound like a disaster. Maybe I should quit the job, dump/sell the house and live in a car. I don’t know what I should do anymore.

I feel that I need to get the stress relived, the depression/negative mind set corrected in order to fix this. Maybe another doctor is in order. Or some other type of doctor/therapist to figure out why I think the way I do. How to find happiness.

just thoughts. I am planning to try to eat better, going to try meal prep. I am trying to take stairs at work (even though it’s painful and gasping for air).

I will begin logging my whole day. What I do, what I eat, wear the Apple Watch to record the 1000 steps a do a day, etc. let’s see what that really looks like.

What do do? Totally lost

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