Diary is open, what suggestions can you offer?

It would be helpful to know your stats - weight, goal weight, settings, etc?

Also, the last couple of days you've had 500 - 1000 calories left. Is there a reason for that?

It seems alright to me. I agree that the more fresh/clean foods you can eat the better but it looks like you're getting a decent amount of protein. If you're looking for ways to add chocolate in there you could try the Fiber One 90 calorie brownies, chocolate protein bars, the chocolate PB2 (I'd add it to smoothies or mix it with cool whip), sugar and fat free pudding, or add some chocolate chips to a handful of nuts or something. I saw a recipe for apple "nachos" today - apple slices with drizzled caramel on top (I'd use the 100 calorie reduced sugar packs), and some mini chocolate chips on top. As far as dinner and such goes have you considered pork? It's pretty lean and it's easy to cook up some pork chops or tenderloin (so yummy!). I highly suggest you get a food scale if you don't have one already. I got a cheap on at Walmart a few years back and I love it! It takes the guess work out of eating fresh meat and veggies. Another thing I like is to get the spray dressing and spray it on steamed veggies to mix things up a bit. Beans are another great thing you can add to any meal and they have tons of protein and fiber which help you fill up and stay full. Oh another thing I love to do is cook up some carne asada on the stove with salsa and put it over lettuce with black beans, corn, low fat cheese, and fat free sour cream. Oh and some avocado if I have the room for the calories. My diary is open too if you want to take a peek for ideas. I do the Olivia Method which means I'm set at maintenance - that's why you'll see so many remaining calories

I think you're doing pretty well!
Maybe keep track of sodium, a lot of the food seems proccessed,which calls for concern of possibly going over sodium intake.
Add more veggies and fruits, and you'd be doing fantastic!
Best of luck, you're doing really good:3.
extra small suggestion~~Switch your iceburge lettuce to romaine, much more nutrition!

chocolate suggestion for you! If you like dark chocolate, that is. These mini chocolates are 25 calories apiece, and are fair trade!
http://shop.equalexchange.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=18613

For those times when you just need chocolate, one or two of these will do the trick! I keep mine well out of reach so I have to go out of my way to get one.

i use the recipes at allrecipes.com, and i type in budget meals, etc and get lots of stuff i have 3 cookbooks full of ideas. what do you like food wise and i do almost all homemade cooking( from breads and pastas to homemade box meals and copycat restaurant meals)

Chocolate protein shakes lots of vitamins and only 150 calories www.netrition.com healthsmart Chocolate supreme

Make your own protein shakes/smoothies

love to cook, what about roasted vegetables combo, whole grain muffins with berries, banana, etc.

Do you like pork? pork loin, pork chops, pork tenderloin lots of crockpot recipes available

Turkey? lots of options here also. Shrimp? Crab? Scallops? lots of options

Chocolate--3 musketeers, tootsie rolls, malted milk balls, low in calories and very satisfying, Ovaltine with hot milk--not low in calories but good.

Take care and be well,

Becky

So here's what I am looking for, some more dinner idea's and I need some form of chocolate in my life, or I become a sour person! Thanks in advance!

For chocolate, try Chocolate Covered Katie( http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/chocolate-covered-recipes/ ). Her recipes tend to be quite low fat/calorie.:)

As far as the chocolates, I always make sure to have 2 Dove dark chocolates every night when I come home from work in the evening. This is my little sweet treat to myself ( I keep them in the freezer, so they are cold and crunchy..soo good!) You can have 2 for 58 cals feel free to check out my food diary for some dinner ideas. Good luck

I agree with the good job so far. I also agree that in looking over the past week I can see those toddlers running you ragged! I know when you have little kids you end up eating what they like. I totally get that. Took me until my daughter was 13 to realize I had to stop that. This is also a great time to introduce them to some healthier choices. I agree with the last poster that moving to more fresh whole foods is a great idea. To be specific try to move away from anything with white flour. I know that some whole wheat breads are like eating tree bark but there are others that are amazingly flavorful. I would also try to get a higher nutritional bang for the buck when eating carbs. Tortillas are amazingly high in calories for the small bulk and little nutrition. I love Peperage farms thin wheat bread when I occasionally eat bread. Try eating more fruit and veggies and less meat and bread. Since you love to cook there are so many choices. Experiment.
I would also suggest you double check the calorie counts on the choices from MFP. There are lots of acurate numbers but there are also some inaccuracies (sp?). Look over the last week and you will see that you have 2 entries for cuties that are very different. You also have some dramatic differences in turkey. The reason I mention this is that as you get closer to your goal weight the correct numbers make all the difference in the world.
I would be starving with the small quantity you are eating and it makes me worry that its going to come back to bite you. If you don't consume enough calories your body will start to scream at you and its really easy to go for the kids cookies at those moments. If you are like most of us-this is for the long haul. You didn't get here quickly and its not going to go away quickly. Feed your body what it needs and then allow just a little of what it wants and it will all work out.
As for chocolate... I try to stay away from full sugar anything except on the rare occasion. In the meantime I love the jello sugar free pudding cups. Just 60 calories plus a few more for 2 T of ready whip and I get my chocolate for under 100 calories.
As for ideas: I love oatmeal (old fashioned-never instant) for breakfast but always with fruit. I try to eat about 3 different fruits every day. I use silk coconut milk instead of cows milk in my cereal. It is only 80 calories for 4 ounces and has a lot more calcium,
Love humus with veggie strips (I like the red yellow and orange bell peppers or carrots with it.
I make a pot of veggie soup on the weekend and then that is what I eat for lunch. 2 cups os only 80 calories and very satisfying. It is actually a WW recipe. add me as a friend and message me and I will send it to you. It is basically chicken broth, spinach, cabbage, carrots, onions, garlic,zucchini, diced tomatoes and some tomato paste oregano and basil. I think one of the keys is planning ahead and having foods that you want to eat within reach. Salads are good but most FF dressings leave a lot to be desired. One thing that I have learned is that salsa is my friend. It helps salads have a little zing. One of the other sweet treats I like is sugar free popsicles. If you are around a Kroger-there brand is the best. They are like 20 calories per pop. Frozen grapes are also a wonderful thing. Frozen banana slices are great too.
One more idea. Sugar free jelly-Yuck. Simply fruit-Yum.

i dont think you are doing that bad at all.. depends on one's preferences as to what they want to eat.. i did notice a lack of water intake though.. they say at least 8 glasses of water a day.. i steer more towards a gallon a day for myself .. water is so essential especially when you are dieting and working out ... if i were to make some changes in your diet i would try to make more fresh foods and less processed ..im at a different level now where it concerns condiments but i really try hard not to have mayo and ketchup ect .. i will use hot sauce though ..preferrably franks hot sauce .. maybe put some fresh fruit in the diet too ..i try to have at least one serving of fresh fruit a day

I agree with everyone else... you are doing great! I think someone else said it, but check out skinnytaste.com. There are a ton of yummy recipes and all of the nutritional info is supplied.

A dinner I like to make is a variation of dirty rice. I take a pound of browned 97% lean ground beef, a chopped onion, diced green bell pepper, a can of diced tomato (not drained) a cup of rinsed cooked black beans and cook it all together in a skillet until everything is warmed through. I eat it over either a small russet potato or brown rice. When I entered the recipe into the recipe tool on here it came out to 292 calories for the beef mixture per serving.

One of my favorite snacks is only 69 calories: 1/2 cup of sliced cucumber, 5 large baby carrots and a laughing cow cheese wedge.

Good luck and feel free to friend me. :happy: