advice needed!!!

doug1974 · February 2012

Hi i have been counting calories for the last 16 days and although i have eaten some rubbish i have been able to record lower calories every day. on many days i have still got 600-700 calories left!

now i could be doing this totally wrong, i have been eating what i want just making sure its within the limits.

is this correct? i havent been going hungry but like i said earlier i know i have eaten rubbish (but if i never eat the rubbish i would have had 1000's left)

i have lost 7 pound in 15 days and i am worried that i want to be on the right track! and i wont be helping myself so would welcome everyone to view my diary (i have been very honest) and let me know your thoughts!!!

Doug

itsablondething · February 2012

Ok, it is very obvious that you don't like to cook, and you eat a tremendous amount of take out/processed foods, and you are not a big fruit, veggie or milk eater.

Ok... simplest way to add some calories and nutrition to your day, that won't require any cooking. Add at least 2 servings a of fruit a day.. an apple, an orange, a banana... something with little prep required. Somedays you are getting some milk with cereal. Add another dairy serving. Yogurt or a glass of milk. Then... you need some more non starchy veggies (broccoli, green beans, cabbage, etc). SOme of the stuff you have listed I am not familiar with, so I am thinking you are a not in the US. Here, I can get bags of veggies I can steam in the microwave. If you MUST have cheese on it, just sprinkle with a little cheese instead of drowning it in cheese sauce. ( I did see one broccoli with cheese). Aim for... at least 3 1/2 cup servings of non starchy veggies at a time. I promise, you will eventually learn to like them. I used to have veggies.. they are now my favorite part of the meal.

Now, if you are completely unwilling to change where/ how you food comes from, if you can just add some of the above things, a little more nutrition will come rolling in. However, you may want to consider learning some simple cooking tecquniques.

As a single person who works more than full time and goes to school full time, and has very little patience for the clean up involved with cooking, there are ways around this. You can bake 5 potatoes at one time (simple.. you just wash the potatoes, pierce them with a fork, and bake them for an hour) and have sides for 5 meals that AREN'T french fries. I cook 1-2 times a week and cook massive amount, then box them all up for later this week. That way, I only have to cook, make a mess, and clean up the mess 1-2 times week. I bake 5 chicken breasts at one time (if you'd eat two at a meal, it is as easy to bake 10 at a time). Get some bagged salad mix and stick it in your fridge.

kyle4jem · February 2012

Hi Doug,

Ok, your diary is a revelation :laugh: and it's probably indicative of your diet before you joined MFP and started counting calories and probably very indicative of your lifestyle although I could be completely wrong.

Right, first things first, it would be helpful to know your weight and height. I can see you want to lose 144lbs which is 10st so I'm guessing you're a big guy (tall, rugby build) rather than short & fat. Your daily goal is just over 2000 Calories, so methinks you have that set to lose 2lbs a week? Have you thought about goals? How much do you want to lose in 3months? How much by Christmas? Realistically, you'll need at least 18 months to shift that kind of weight sustainably.

When you've been used to consuming 3000+ Calories a day and drop to 2000 or less, then it's not unsurprising that you've lost 7lbs in a fortnight.

Nutritionally your diet is a car crash, but I don't think you need me to tell you that. The hardest part of any weightloss plan is finding the diet that's right for you. I'm not sure your current diet is sustainable in the long term, but similarly if I were to suggest a diet of porridge for breakfast, vegetable soup for lunch and something like lean chicken breast, grilled with steamed veggies and no potatoes/pasta/rice for dinner, I don't think you'd last more than a couple of weeks.

Think of all the foods you like and write them down. Now look at that list and see if there is anything that can be substituted with a less calorie-dense, or nutritionally-charged alternative.

You seem to like beans on toast and funnily enough that's not that unhealthy, especially if you chose the reduced salt/sugar variety and maybe use a rustic loaf rather than white sliced. Broccoli and cauliflower are fantastic and if you use a light cheese sauce like (Bisto cheese sauce granules) then there's another quick meal.

If you like fish, Tesco do a brilliant fish pie mix (either fresh or frozen) and one of the quickest and most delicious things I do is poach ½ a packet from frozen in some milk with a few prawns, some dill and seasoning. Once cooked and reduced, add some frozen peas and cook for another 5 mins, then add a packet of Uncle Ben's or Tilda microwave egg-fried rice and cook for another couple of mins. That should be enough for 3 portions (divide it out into two tupperware pots and the third on your plate) and I like to eat it with a toasted mini naan.

There's a lot of trial and error involved, but you do need to find a path that suits your, your lifestyle, your palate etc (It's no use trying to eat so-called healthy foods if you just don't like them and at the end of the day you do need to enjoy your meals or you'll end up jacking it all in and heading for the Kebab shop!

I didn't see any exercise logged... so that's another thing we need to address... but one step at a time.

Take care and don't be afraid to ask lots of questions.

You will get 101 conflicting answers, but amongst them there will be ideas that will speak to you and which should hopefully keep you on track and help you achieve your goals.

pspetralia · February 2012

Take a hard look at your food diary and ask your self if the food choices you are making are going to get you to your goal. If your goal is to get healthy then you need to start adding in healthy foods like fruits and veggies. Want your body to be lean and strong? Then start logging exercise.
You can do it! I find the best part of MFP is all the wonderful people to support, encourage and occasionally kick you in the butt!

havingitall · February 2012

KFC and McDonald's shouldn't even be on there..... I think the others have said it....fruits veggies, lean meats whole grains..... dump the fast food and high sodium processed food.

Look at what Gillian McKeith or Tosca Reno recommend. Google clean eating and try to lean more towards that kind of food as opposed to the processed junk.

I am not saying my diet is perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I can't even remember the last time I had KFC or McD's and I like it that way.

annemama · February 2012

Hi Doug,

I took a look at your diary, and I actually think you are trying to make good choices... but you are not eating enough. We all lead busy lives, and sometimes a lunch at KFC is going to happen. Thats okay in moderation, and it looks like you are showing self-control there! I say you should continue to eat the things you like, and gently wean yourself down to a lesser amount of them as your taste-buds acquire a liking for clean foods. We probably have all had the experience of going all-out on a new "diet" and ended up failing because we felt hungry or deprived. If you could increase the health value of the rest of your food, an occasional fast-food meal won't ruin it all for you. So, with that said... lets look at what's missing. Fresh fruit. Take some with you for snacks.... seriously... put some in the car or at work, and eat it. Don't use it to decorate your desk! I saw a salad in there somewhere, but make sure you get veggies on the menu every day. Try carrot sticks... they actually taste sweet to me now. Try a big salad for dinner with a bag of salad mix, and some grilled meat (rotisserie chicken from the market is good)... Try different dressings so you don't get bored. I actually need to get back to these basics myself!

So Doug, you are not eating enough food... your calories are so low that I would suspect you are seriously hungry. Whatever you choose to do should be something you feel you can do for the rest of your life. I hope that doesn't sound discouraging.... it should be encouraging! You really can do this, and not ever have to "go back".... why would anyone want to go back! :noway:

Try to eat all of your calories... hey, you can really enjoy this journey, and it doesn't have to happen overnight. Have fun, and stay connected to your MFP friends... ask them to hold you accountable for things.. like eating a certain number of fruits/vegs each day... or eating all your calories. Good luck, and congratulations for making such a good decision to be good to yourself!

Beth

HauteP1nk · February 2012

Everyone else has said it...fresh foods, lean proteins, complex carbs, etc. There are lots of ways to eat healthy with minimal cooking. Google is a great tool that will help you find lots of easy clean eating options...

ahinski · February 2012

You are not eating enough, and you will stop losing weight (if you haven't already).

In the top of this forum there is a thread called "Newbies Please Read Me (2nd Edition)" and within that thread is a link to another thread that discusses why a girl eating a 700 calorie-a-day diet could still be obese. It outlines, in a very easy to understand way, why you can struggle to lose weight if your caloric deficit is too high.

Eat the recommended number of calories MFP gives you--with almost no exceptions. Log your exercise and eat those calories too. If it feels like you're eating too much at once, do what I do and snack often (this will help with your energy levels as well as prevention of cravings).

READ THAT THREAD!! Good luck

advice needed!!!

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