ANY IDEAS>?

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nevaeh050506
nevaeh050506 Posts: 3
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I am the type of person to set a goal to lose weight and get fit, and then a few days later I find myself splurging in the refrigerator and food pantry for donuts and cookies, I need some ideas on meals that will help keep me in my calorie range. I need to lose 55 lbs, and I am not good with portions for meals, so any ideas and tips on how to measure portions would be great, some days my eyes are bigger than my stomach. Another problem I have is I wont eat breakfast so lunch time I am starving and I eat more becuase of that, I know that is not good, but I have no time for breakfast, so any ideas on some good fast on the go that will fill me up until lunch time tips would be appreciated as well.
thank you in advance for your ideas and help!:smile:

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  • nevaeh050506
    nevaeh050506 Posts: 3
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    I am the type of person to set a goal to lose weight and get fit, and then a few days later I find myself splurging in the refrigerator and food pantry for donuts and cookies, I need some ideas on meals that will help keep me in my calorie range. I need to lose 55 lbs, and I am not good with portions for meals, so any ideas and tips on how to measure portions would be great, some days my eyes are bigger than my stomach. Another problem I have is I wont eat breakfast so lunch time I am starving and I eat more becuase of that, I know that is not good, but I have no time for breakfast, so any ideas on some good fast on the go that will fill me up until lunch time tips would be appreciated as well.
    thank you in advance for your ideas and help!:smile:
  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
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    Welcome to MFP!!

    Start off your healthy eating with some wiggle room.
    Leave calories daily for a few cookies or a doughnut. Don't deprive yourself! Over time, you will eat less and less of these "bad foods" :wink:.

    Utilize your measuring cups!! Take the time BEFORE you are hungry to make or preplan your meals so you can measure everything out. If you are starving, you won't take the time and you'll be more likely to 'eyeball' the measurements, which never end up right if you are anything like me.

    Take it slow. This is a lifestyle change, not a diet. :flowerforyou:
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
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    1. Dont keep junk in the house..if you have kids or a spouse they dont need it either so remove it and find alternate things that dont cause guilt..I dont eat Bfast much either BUT I do grab a glass of juice ..or V8
  • expressbug
    expressbug Posts: 100
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    Great on the go breakfast.

    I like

    Bananas
    Apples
    Pears
    Fiber One Bars
    Nutri-Grain Bars
    100 Calorie Mini Muffins - Entemenns (Spelled Wrong LOL)

    I always pick one fruit and one of the others when I;m running late and don't have time for other things.

    Pack your Lunch the night before, that way you can't over eat. (As long as you only eat what you brought.)
  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
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    1. Dont keep junk in the house..if you have kids or a spouse they dont need it either so remove it and find alternate things that dont cause guilt..I dont eat Bfast much either BUT I do grab a glass of juice ..or V8

    See, that is where I disagree. My mom is in that situation, with my dad bringing horrible junk food in the house and she says as long as he brings it, she will never lose weight.

    The real world is full of tempations in food and beverage. You've got to be able to say no (and WANT to say no), or at least truly only have a taste and not an entire cake.

    For me, it's about self control.

    On the other hand, they recommend an alcoholic never partake of even one sip of alcohol after recovery begins, which completely contradicts my point.... :smile:
  • adopt4
    adopt4 Posts: 970 Member
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    You need to eat breakfast in order to get your metabolism going. Don't make excuses about time, just get up a bit earlier, make something the night before, etc. Grab a yogurt smoothie, a banana, and a protein bar, eat it on the way to work or whatever.

    And I agree, don't keep junk in the house. I have skinny, tiny little kids who the doc says give them junk food too - I just give them stuff I don't like as junk food so I'm not tempted to eat any of it. They also have plenty of good nutrition snacks and food, too, which I can have.

    Log your meals the night before, so you know what you're going to eat and how many cals it is, so that you can adjust if necessary before it's too late.

    This is a lifestyle change. Yes it requires sacrifice in some cases (donuts are out except for rare treats!) but it also requires changing your thinking. Put some time into it, think about how to make things work for your life. You can do it!
  • adopt4
    adopt4 Posts: 970 Member
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    And you have to measure. It may require buying smaller bowls for cereal so you can't put as much in it, etc. But you have to measure everything in the beginning so you can learn what a proper portion is. When you eat something that comes out of a larger package, read the nutrition info to find out how much a portion is, etc. You have to retrain your brain.
  • amymeenieminymo
    amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
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    Measuring cups and a scale is a must when figuring out portions, because it's very hard to eyeball a correct portion size, and most people are amazed to discover how small one serving actually is. Like a 20 ounce bottle of gatorade says it has 50 calories....but that's 50 calories per serving, and there are 2.5 servings in a bottle....so the whole bottle is 150 calories.

    I only had like two measuring cups and I was always having to clean them to use them for something else....so I asked for some for christmas....strange gift, but my dad's girlfriend was happy to get them because she needed a rather inexpensive gift idea. Now I have like 5 and always have some available for measuring.

    Also get a scale....you get get them as cheap as 10 bucks at walmart and meijer and such. They are a lifesaver!
  • samantha85
    samantha85 Posts: 10
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    I completely agree that buying smaller bowls and plates makes a difference. Instead of filling a big plate up, fill a smaller plate up and you'll feel just as satisfied. Your brain will think, "wow i just ate a whole plate of food!!" meanwhile it's 1/3 less than you'd normally have.

    I can relate to you in that i don't have a whole lot of time for breakfast either, but what i usually do is grab a banana and a yogurt on my way out and eat it after i get to work. It's so easy because it takes no preperation and it's healthy.
  • mszSHOGAN
    mszSHOGAN Posts: 2,278 Member
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    While reading you describe how you say your gonna get fit then end up eating cookies and doughnuts i was laughing because you sound just like me! :laugh: And I drive my husband crazy when I buy a whole bunch of healthy food then want to go get ice cream because I "have" to have it! I have however made a pact to myself to do it this time and I hope you do too! ....its for the best!

    I have only been at this a week so I am also struggling with portions but I measure EVERYTHING! It really helps you know exactly how much of what your putting in your body. I always was a breakfast eater but for those times when I'm rushing and don't have time to fix anything I grab a 90 calorie yogurt and fruit bar or a piece of toast. Just make sure you put SOMETHING in your body first thing in the moring! Good luck! :smile:
  • akamaki
    akamaki Posts: 33 Member
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    I went out and bought myself a smaller sized frying pan and pot specifically to make smaller portions. (I.E. if I were going to actually eat Kraft maccaroni and cheese, I could only make 1/3 the box at a time.) It works for me cause I only cook for myself. That way you cant keep going for seconds even if you bought those small portion bowls and plates.

    If you cook like that at home for a while, your appetite will naturally get smaller and you can eat in other venues more easily. :happy:
  • sonjavon
    sonjavon Posts: 1,019 Member
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    A scale is a MUST in my world. Strangely enough - I learned that I underestimated what a serving was - so when I was eyeballing it - I was robbing myself of calories that I COULD have had!

    MFP has made counting calories SOOO easy... figure out what you like to eat, what you want to eat and figure out how much of it you can have! I eat the same things that I used to most of the time, but I eat less of some things and more of others. Almost every meal begins with a salad... a GOOD, healthy salad. At first I ate off of smaller plates - but then I went back to the larger plates because I needed to see what a serving size looked like on a regular plate - so that I could eyeball it when I was at a restaurant or friends house.
  • terri0027
    terri0027 Posts: 51 Member
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    I recently saw a research study on the smaller plates and bowls idea. It was proven that if a person eats off smaller plates they each less. My salad plates are now getting a lot of use for regular foods and I'm eating salad out of a huge bowl.

    Read all labels. 1 slice of bread is a serving of most kinds of bread. I know it sounds picky but how often do you eat a sandwich and use 2 slices of bread? Remember that a portion is not a serving. In the sandwich example, you've eaten one portion of bread but that is 2 servings.

    As others have mentioned...measure, measure, measure. Use measuring cups and a food scale. There are several web sites that will help you determine serving sizes for when you can't measure. One rule I've found your fist is basically a serving of veggies and the palm of the hand is a serving of meat. http://web.mit.edu/athletics/sportsmedicine/wcrservings.html

    Eat breakfast. Fruit, cheese and crackers, prepackaged high fiber low sugar bars, or even low sugar high fiber "diet" shakes. Keep something on hand that you can grab. You will have less cravings throughout the day if you eat in the morning. Women who eat a good breakfast weigh an average of 9 pounds less than those who don't. http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/lose-weight-eat-breakfast

    And yes, if you don't keep junk food in your house it won't be there for you to eat. If you must, buy the prepackaged 100 calorie snack packs. They are more expensive but they help you limit portions. Sometimes it isn't the junk food itself but more the amount of the junk food we eat. Some tortilla chips list 9 chips as a serving. I could eat half the bag with a good salsa :-)
  • MOMOFTWO29
    MOMOFTWO29 Posts: 8,276 Member
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    Hello and welcome to MFP, the best website ever. You will love it here. I :heart: this site. It is so motivational, supportive, helpful, and everyone is so nice and friendly here. I just wanted to tell you good luck on your weight loss journey. You can do this.:smile::flowerforyou: :smile: :flowerforyou:
  • nevaeh050506
    nevaeh050506 Posts: 3
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    Thank you all for these ideas, they are truly helpful. I also joined a fitness club and I am working with a persanol trainer, so I pray this time I dont fall off, as I have in the past.

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