Friends that have open diaries

Hi there,

My name is Melanie and I have been doing MFP on and off for a while but have been dedicated to it for a month now and have lost 16 pounds. I find myself always struggling to figure out what I am going to eat for dinner. Some employee at my gym told me to try and stay away from carbs after 4pm and I have been trying to do that but sometimes it's just too hard!

Do any of you guys know any cheap low carb meals for dinner I could try out?

Feel free to add me or vice versa if you have an open diary, even if you don't I would like more support and friends =]

My diary is open if you want to add me. I can't help you with the low carb ideas though, cause I don't pay a whole lot of attention to them.

feel free to add, my diary is open.
i try and stay under my carb goal most days. but i,ve had to ditch pasta and potatoes only eat them occasionally now and in moderation

I know I may not seem like the best person to be giving advice, but in my experience sticking to meals that includes lots of veggies and lean protein are great ways to cut down on carbs. This depends mostly on what kind of food you like to eat but some good examples of this are
~Salads(becareful with dressings, cheese, croutons, bacon and other fatty ingredients):try to focus on lots of fresh vegetables [ie bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, brocolli, cauliflower, sprouts, snap peas, etc} and greener leaves(instead of iceburg try spinach and spring mixes} Salads are a quick fix because you can improvise and use whatever you have on hand, protein ideas(Chicken breast, fish, shrimp, egg, low fat cottage cheese, lunch meat(watch your sodium and pick leaner cuts like ham, turkey, chicken)
~Stir-fry(leave out the rice and stick to the same rules with salads:Tons of veggies and lean protein) Frozen vegetables and expecially steam packs are great for fast and semi reasonable prices(not as healthy as fresh but healthier than restaurants)
~Breakfast!!- Omelets made with egg whites, low-fat cheese and grilled veggies, serve with salsa which is an awesome way to add flavor with few calories, make a scramble the same way you can even add grilled chicken of sliced turkey etc.
~If you like asian style food, I love to make lettuce wraps with chicken and mushrooms and onions, a little bit of sliced almonds add a healthy crunch.

Another really important thing to remember, carbs are not as bad as people make them out to be, just make sure you are picking healthy less processed carbs like fruit and whole grains.
I hope I helped some.

I know I may not seem like the best person to be giving advice, but in my experience sticking to meals that includes lots of veggies and lean protein are great ways to cut down on carbs. This depends mostly on what kind of food you like to eat but some good examples of this are
~Salads(becareful with dressings, cheese, croutons, bacon and other fatty ingredients):try to focus on lots of fresh vegetables [ie bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, brocolli, cauliflower, sprouts, snap peas, etc} and greener leaves(instead of iceburg try spinach and spring mixes} Salads are a quick fix because you can improvise and use whatever you have on hand, protein ideas(Chicken breast, fish, shrimp, egg, low fat cottage cheese, lunch meat(watch your sodium and pick leaner cuts like ham, turkey, chicken)
~Stir-fry(leave out the rice and stick to the same rules with salads:Tons of veggies and lean protein) Frozen vegetables and expecially steam packs are great for fast and semi reasonable prices(not as healthy as fresh but healthier than restaurants)
~Breakfast!!- Omelets made with egg whites, low-fat cheese and grilled veggies, serve with salsa which is an awesome way to add flavor with few calories, make a scramble the same way you can even add grilled chicken of sliced turkey etc.
~If you like asian style food, I love to make lettuce wraps with chicken and mushrooms and onions, a little bit of sliced almonds add a healthy crunch.

Another really important thing to remember, carbs are not as bad as people make them out to be, just make sure you are picking healthy less processed carbs like fruit and whole grains.
I hope I helped some.

I completely agree with this!

not all Carbs are bad sucha s brown rice and wheat theses carbs take longer to digest therefore you stay full for longer. its the white carbs you need to avoid like white bread, white rice. Please feel free to add me my diary is open.

Hi Melanie - I have an open diary to friends, so friend me if you'd like. :flowerforyou: My name is Laurie

I've sent a request - any one else can add me too I have an open diary!

Feel free to add me if you like. That goes for any & everybody!! : )

Umm...I really don't do low-carb usually, but I really like making turkey pepperoni chips. Just cook turkey pepperoni in the microwave for a little over a minute and eat them with dip like chips. Low-cal and low-carb.

My diary is open to friends and I eat low carb. As for inexpensive low carb dinners google Linda's low carb and its a website with a whole bunch of low carb recipes and I love it! My favorite recipe is the low carb spinach lasagna, it has a spinach mixture instead of noodles and in my opinion its better than any lasagna I've ever tired.

My Diary is open when I can remember to complete it on time.... I dont really believe any carb myth after 4pm... Or the dont eat after a certian time. Your body is a natural burning machine. it will burn better at times but it isnt going to care if it is 4pm or 8pm. it will burn what it needs to survive and nothing more... if you are overloading on caloric intake of bad carbs then it will be stored as fat no matter what time of day it is.

Focus on just not taking in extra calories. not all carbs are bad... Broccoli is surely going to digest different than a hostess pie. I have never heard of anyone gaining weight because they ate healthy foods after 4pm.

Congrats on your success. what an inspiration to me. I have the same problem with carbs so I really just follow the alloted amount MFP gives me.

Keep up the good work!! :flowerforyou:

I was reading the comments here and I saw one poster say that the cost of chicken breasts at Kroger is 1.99 a pound. My comments aren't really related to the original poster's request for ideas but I couldn't get over how cheap chicken breasts are where ever that person is. I live in Newfoundland Canada and just yesterday I stocked up on chicken breasts because they were half price at $3.99 a pound which is a really good price for here as usually they are about $7.99 a pound. I live on chicken and I wish we had those prices.

Anyways not really related but please feel free to add me if you are looking for more support buddies. I don't do low carb but I do love making my own sweet potato oven fries with them tossed in some of my favorite spices. I buy sweet potatoes for about $1.80 per pound but you can get a nice few out of one potato.