Weight-Loss Refining my throughout the day meals - help please!

[Ktalu]

Good afternoon everyone!

I've decided to start fresh, rejoin this forum, after a 2 year absence.

I need to refine my meals if i want to get serious about losing weight, here is what i usually eat through out the day (brace yourselves)

breakfast
- large glass of chocolate milk
- medium sized bowl of cereal (whatever is there, most often fruit loops) with
2% milk.
- or a whole wheat bagel with a cinnamon spread

(i got to school, so)

lunch
- either a pasta salad, or a cheeseburger

supper
- whatever is made that night, most often it is not too health conscience.


ideas for breakfast would be great! and to save some money and eat better
im going to start packing a lunch to school, so ideas for that as well. For supper i am kind of limited as it is up to my parents to really decided. But i ideas would be appreciated either way.


( would a pb and j sandwich for lunch be healthy? )

 

[ocd]

You really should stay away from garbage like fruit loops. It's just a bowl of sugar.

Try oatmeal or whole grain cereals instead. Be wary of how many calories they have, for example each 1/3 of a cup dry oatmeal is 150 calories. Oatmeal with fruit is a great breakfast. Slice in a banana, add blueberries, strawberries, blackberries.

On the subject of Milk, a large glass of chocolate milk is a hoard of calories and fat. Probably well over 200 calories by itself. I recommend eliminating anything but skim milk. I got used to skim milk and I love it, 2% tastes like cream now. 2% milk is an amazingly effective way to put on weight, I used to guzzle the stuff.

Just really start reading the labels on products, stay away from processed foods as much as possible, and look at the sugar content of everything. Most of us get way too much sugar. Become aware of the calorie count of every single thing you take in and count everything, for example that splash of 2% milk in your cereal could be an extra 100 calories. Consider cutting out sugar entirely, I no longer use any added sugar in anything. If I want something sweet it's a piece of fruit. But be careful with fruit too, all calories add up.

Pasta, give it up, it is not conducive to weight loss, If you are going to eat pasta make it whole grain at least. Whole grain everything for that matter but be wary of just how many calories are in grain products. Even a couple slices of whole wheat bread is over 200 calories.

Buy a vegetable steamer, I just got one recently and steamed vegetables are awesome, steamed broccoli, steamed cabbage, steamed asparagus. All things I enjoy and steamed vegetables are so much more flavorful than boiled.

Things like cheeseburgers, a fair size burger is like a 450 calorie hit for the burger alone, throw on 100 for the cheese, throw on 300 for the bun and surprise you have an 850+ calorie bomb for lunch, that doesn't include the 300 calories or more of fries people tend to like to nibble on with a burger. Be aware of how loaded with calories fatty meats like this are. Try lean turkey instead for a lower calorie alternative.

For me cutting down on meat was a big benefit, I was a monster when it came to eating way too much fatty meat. Try to stay to lean meats like chicken or turkey breast.

Try to keep your dairy skim or low fat.

Basically you are going to have to rethink everything about the way you eat, and do it in a way you can live with permanently, because if you do something unsustainable and go back you will gain the weight back. It sounds like you are not 100% in control of you food intake based on your comments on dinner. You need to take control of everything that goes into your mouth from the start of the day to the finish.

Oh and very important, stay out of pretty much all restaurants. They serve astoundingly high calorie foods. Example for the average chain restaurant like chillis most entree's are over 2000 calories a piece. One meal in one of these places and you are done for the day. That was all the easy part, it's really just common sense, don't eat junk, count every calorie. The hard part is making the permanent commitment to change your life, until you do that you will just spin your wheels. Be honest with yourself about everything and ask yourself if you really really want to commit to change, because proper nutrition is a permanent all or nothing thing.

 

[Kayshiz]

Just a couple quick ideas.

I don't know how you feel about "faux" milks, but that would be a great way to cut out some calories without losing out on nutrition.
Soy milk (I like Silk Unsweetened, only kind I drink) is very good and full of protein. I don't know if one exists, because I'm not a huge fan of chocolate milk, but maybe adding your own low cal chocolate milk mix would be less calories than the premade kind?

Also almond milk (I like Almond Breeze) is awesome on cereal and even less calories than soy milk, but not as nutritious.

For lunch, if there is a premade easy healthy option, that's going to be a good choice. I am a huge advocate of homemade lunches though. My husband always gets a sandwich (made with whole wheat bread fresh turkey or chicken lunch meat and real cheese) and a mix of the following:
apples
bags of baby carrots
string cheese
Kashi granola bars
nuts
sunflower seeds
etc...

He also likes the 100 calories packs of cookies and treat which I am not a huge fan of, but if it stops him from making the wrong choices, I'm all for it. I just make sure I can get as many nutrient dense foods in him as possible so it balances out.

Dinner is hard when you don't have control over it!
One quick tip:
When I was a vegetarian, my parents didn't change what they were eating for me, but at my request (and since I would usually make it myself) we would have extra vegetables with every dinner. They don't have to change what they eat, you have a better option to eat with dinner, and you can still have a little of what they make too so you don;t feel like your missing out.

I think it's easier for people to add to what they are doing rather then change what they have been doing for years.

I hope at least one thing i said helped. Good luck with your weight loss!

 

[ocd]

Well, there you have two very different suggestions.

I didn't mean to make things sound melodramatic or scary, but I do tend to get a little opinionated on making nutritional changes, or at least the method to go about them.

In the end eat healthy and find something that most importantly is sustainable and comfortable for you.

 

[Ktalu]

Thanks a bunch!

i will certainly try some of these suggestions, its just i have very little to work with, because i am in high school, i live at home, so i don't buy the groceries, so i do not have much say in the food around my house. But i will try to find a few different healthy meals to make with what is in the cupboard.

Also, another question.

I'm new to this, so is the 6 smaller meals a day the way to go? or should i just stick to breakfast lunch and dinner?

 

[Harold14370]

breakfast
- large glass of chocolate milk

Not good because of the added sugar and butterfat (assuming it's not made with skim milk) OJ would be a better breakfast drink.

- medium sized bowl of cereal (whatever is there, most often fruit loops) with
2% milk.

Try oatmeal but not the sugar added kind, or if you don't like that, something like plain cheerios or raisin bran would be better than the
Froot Loops.

- or a whole wheat bagel with a cinnamon spread

(i got to school, so)

lunch
- either a pasta salad, or a cheeseburger

supper
- whatever is made that night, most often it is not too health conscience.


ideas for breakfast would be great! and to save some money and eat better
im going to start packing a lunch to school, so ideas for that as well. For supper i am kind of limited as it is up to my parents to really decided. But i ideas would be appreciated either way.


( would a pb and j sandwich for lunch be healthy? )

How about eggs for breakfast? They are very nutritious and not too many calories.
pb&j with whole wheat bread is not bad.

 

[Tamago]

Don't totally restrict yourself from eating foods you enjoy, a diet that does not have flexibility is one that usually fails. Eat pasta, or PB&J, or even a hamburger here and there, just make sure to calculate it into your diet and know how it affects it. This isn't just a short term diet right, it's about thinking in the long term, so you want something you can live with. Basically if you're eating right 80% of the time the 20% you don't won't make a big enough of a difference to matter.

Some people think six smaller days a meal is good, I myself find it more satisfying to have three larger meals or even just two really large meals because small meals don't fully satisfy my hunger and always make me want to eat more. If you learn to count calories properly you can eat whenever you feel hungry and stop before you hit your limit.

 

[Kayshiz]

i have very little to work with, because i am in high school, i live at home, so i don't buy the groceries, so i do not have much say in the food around my house. But i will try to find a few different healthy meals to make with what is in the cupboard.

Don't be afraid to talk to your parents and tell them what you are trying to accomplish. Not everyone is pro weight loss, or maybe they think your to young to worry about losing weight (I hope not, but some people are this way), but you should still let them know your goals. You might be surprised at their reaction or maybe this is the boost they need to be healthier too (not necessarily weight loss, but just healthier).

I was surprised at how well my parents took my decision to be a vegetarian. It's not easy, but picking up some extra broccoli for $1.50 for dinner might not be completely out of reach.

Plus, if your buying less sugar cereals, sodas, and snacks there might be extra room in the food budget for the good stuff.

 

[KaraCooks]

Something that no one else has mentioned at all is PORTION SIZES.

You're saying a "Large" glass of chocolate milk. A "Medium" bowl of cereal. Etc. Those words are meaningless, in the context of knowing what you eat.

A proper serving size of milk is 8oz. I would bet your "large" glass contains at least 3x that - or over 400 calories of milk (before the added sugar and chocolate).

A proper serving of most cereals is 1/2 to 3/4 cup. A "medium" bowl is often 3-4-5 servings of cereal - making it 600+ calories.

A "glass" of orange juice - a serving is 6 oz.
A cheeseburger should be 4oz of meat on a small bun, not a double Quarter pounder with cheese on 3 buns.

Etc.

Pay close attention to how much you're eating. If you're a teenager, there's nothing wrong with drinking full fat milk - you probably need the calories and calcium and fat. But drinking 24 oz at a time is not a good thing.