what do you eat for breakfast and lunch?

[surgtech1956]

What do you usually eat for breakfast and lunch? Do you commute with a brown bag lunch, do you eat out in restaurants often, do you eat fast food, what is your fav fast food? Do you eat breakfast on the run, drink your breakfast, energy or breakfast bars, or a big old healthy breakfast?

[lph]

I'm a huge creature of habit. This is basically it, every day:

Breakfast at 7: A glass of orange juice, 3 seal oil capsules, 2 calcium tablets. A huge cup of coffee. Two slices of wholegrain bread with something like sliced banana.

Once I get to work at 9, two wholegrain crackers, cup of green tea.

Lunch at 11: a large bowl of salad relying heavily on chick peas and beans.

2nd lunch at 2.30 ;) : 2 double wholegrain sandwiches from home with something uncomplicated on. Cup of green tea.

That's usually enough for me to ride home on, then dinner around 6.

I used to eat a lot more bread even, but now I really crave that salad if I don't get it.

[Offthegrid]

Wow, a lot of questions!

Packing: I eat breakfast at work practically every day. And because there are virtually no gluten-free food choices at any restaurants within walking distance, I pack my lunch every day, too. Depending on my evening schedule, sometimes I even have to pack dinner. It can get complicated.

Breakfast: Cottage cheese and banana
or, gluten-free bagel with jelly

Snack: Piece of fruit or rice bar (about 100 calories here)

Lunch: This week it's meatloaf, sweet potato and green beans

Snack: Handful of nuts and raisins or another piece of fruit

Dinner: Varies. Typically is a chicken breast with rice or potato and broccoli

Fast food: Virtually no fast food is gluten-free. I struggled the most with this because I was a fast food junkie. Now that I haven't had it in a long time, I don't crave it anymore. And making a burger and potatoes myself tastes SOOOOOO much better (except I can't have a regular bun). Now if I get fast food, it's usually a treat like Wendy's Frosty.

Breakfasts: I wait to eat at work because I'm lazy or because I've gone swimming that morning before work. On the weekends, I make a nice, hot breakfast like GF pancakes or eggs. Sometimes frozen GF waffles.

[Thorn]

Another habit-formed creature...

Breakfast -- yogurt sprinkled with raw oatmeal mixed with walnuts, ground flax seed and raisens. On the weekends, the breakfast becomes a mixed-grain and rice porridge.

Mid-morning snack -- a breakfast bar (e.g., Luna, Lara, Alpsnack, etc.).

Lunch -- soup. I try to make a big pot of something on the weekend and then eat it for lunch during the week.

[spokewench]

Breakfast varies:

1.Whole wheat toast with butter, coffee, orange juice and a piece of fruit.
2. Oatmeal, lots of fruit on top, orange juice, coffee.
3. Whole wheat toast, one egg sandwich, oj, coffee.

Snack: fruit banana or something like that around 10:00 in morning at work.

Lunch:

1. Turkey, swiss, tomato sandwich on whole wheat.
2. Soup and grilled cheese sandwich
3. Soup with whole wheat bread
4. Pita wrap with grilled chicken, romaine lettuce, tomato, etc.
5. Salad with veges - with or without some kind of turkey/chicken. small piece of bread
6. Burrito (Bean cheese rice or chicken bean cheese rice)

[Jenn]

I'm doing the whole plan my dad has me on, and have lost 7 lbs in the the last week.
Meal 1 1/2 cup oatmeal,4 egg whites one whole
Meal 2 Protein shake
Meal3 1/2 cup brown rice, 6oz chicken, beef or fish, 2 cups veggies
Meal 4 Protein Shake
Meal 5 4oz chicken, fish or beef, 3 cups veggies
Meal 6 Protein shake or brownie out of it

I eat every 2.5 to 3 hours but it's just for 30 days until they start adding fruit in. So far I like it, but I'm craving sweets BAD!!! But, seeing the weight coming off and my clothes getting looser is paying off.

[limewave]

Breakfast:
fried egg sandwich
(1 egg + 1 egg white, whole wheat english muffin)
nonfat cappuccino

Snack:
banana or nutrigrain bar

Lunch:
Yoplain No Fat Yogurt w/ 1/4 cup grape nuts
String Cheese
1 cup pretzels

[michelem]

Well, I try to vary things, but I'll give you today for an example:

Breakfast (the measurements are of the dry ingredients, obviously they "puff up" when cooked, so I get a very big bowl of hot cereal out of this):
1/4 c. cream of rice
1/4 c. buckwheat
(like I said, I vary this, so sometimes it's quinoa and sometimes it's amaranth . . . just depends)
1 pear, diced
cinnamon
(I nuke the pear with cinnamon for about a minute while the cereal is cooking on the stove - sometimes I use frozen berries (no cinnamon) or use an apple instead of the pear)
1/4 c. nutritional yeast flakes
2 T flax seed (I use this for a couple weeks and then take a week or so off)
Sometimes (like this morning) I will also mix in about 1/2 to 1 c. organic plain yogurt or kefir (with live, active cultures)
Once or twice a week I'll mix in a whole omega-3 egg as well (I just stir it in and it cooks within the cereal).

Lunch:
I always bring my lunch. Today's probably sounds pretty gross as it's a hodge-podge of what I have left in the cupboard (time to go grocery shopping):

1 large sweet potato
1 medium sized avocado
1 can cannelli beans

Also, unsweetened cranberry juice self-sweetened with a few drops of Stevia.

We rarely eat out. I usually take one weekend per month a cook, cook, cook - soups, stews, etc., etc. and fill the freezer. Then I have stuff to bring with me to work every day and have stuff that just needs to be heated when I get home. I hate coming home hungry and not being able to eat within the 1/2 hour.

Last night, for dinner I sauteed a white onion in olive oil. Then I added curry powder (or sometimes I'll do ground ginger and ground cumin), and diced chicken. Stirred that around a bit and when the chicken was about done I threw in some spinach and cooked brown rice pasta.

I really like fish: salmon, halibut, etc. Some of my favorite recipes are beef & barley stew and morroccan chicken soup. Oh, I also recently learned to make porcini mushroom risotto - yummy! A real stick-to-your ribs kind of thing. It's very good paired with roasted chicken breast with just a bit of salt and pepper to taste, and a green salad with balsamic vinegar. Roasted fingerling potatoes are fun too. Cube the potatoes, coat with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic - spread out on a pan and bake at 425 for about 30 minutes. Yummy.

I have some different food allergies, sensitivities which make eating out kind of a pain.

As for supplements, I take calcium, vit. d, zinc, and fish oil pills. On rides, I mix one Emergen-C packet in my water.

[indysteel]

For breakfast during the week, I usually eat a tub of yogurt or a banana. I During the weekend, it depends on what I'm doing, but it's usually one or several of the following: high fiber cereal with low fat milk, yogurt, whole wheat waffles with lite syrup, whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter and jelly, banana, kiwis, strawberries, orange, etc. I am not a natural breakfast eater. Anything before 9 a.m. makes me feel kind of sick.

For lunch, it really varies during the work week because I usually eat out. I often have a salad with a mix of veggies and beans and a little cheese. Or I might have turkey or tuna salad on whole wheat, pasta with a red sauce and veggies (I eat this when I feel sort of spent after long weekend rides) or a black bean burrito. If I bring a brown bag, it's usuall PB&J on whole wheat, yogurt and a piece of fruit.

I also often eat a piece of fruit or have some yogurt mid-afternoon.

[mimitabby]

Breakfast: 2 pieces Sprouted whole wheat (or whole grain anyway) toast with butter and honey or jam.
small cup of blueberry, cherry, grape, or pomegranite 100% juice.
1/2 can of sardines, or equivalent amount of herring, salmon; oily fish.

on weekends i vary this with 2 eggs instead of the fish or oatmeal + fruit and nuts and lots of water.

lunch; leftovers from dinner; usually meat, starch & greens.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Breakfast (about 4-5 times a week, at Ralph's Pretty Good Cafe, usually at the start of my bike rides....):
Double shot espresso latte
2 scrambled eggs
1 freshly baked croissant
OR...
Double shot espresso latte
Challah French toast
Bacon

The other 2 or 3 days a week when I have breakfast at home, I just have a bowl of Swiss Familia cereal w/milk.

Lunch?- usually whatever is leftover from what I cooked for yesterday's dinner.

Breakfasts at Ralph's Pretty Good Cafe are a major part of my personal spiritual program for inner serenity and joy.

[Kitsune06]

I generally have a generous bowlful of whatever granola looked good in the New Seasons bulk aisle, throw a scoop of spirulina/whey protein powder in and add rice milk liberally. :) Wash it down w/ emergen-c.

[KnottedYet]

Huge gigantic b'fasts, usually involving eggs and cheese and potatoes and salmon/chicken/steak/tempeh/mushrooms. Often SPAM. A piece of fruit. Coffee. A couple squares of chocolate. Some tortilla chips. Yogurt and honey if I'm still feeling peckish.

Lunch is about half what I eat for b'fast, and usually just whatever I can find to toss in a bag and take to work. I like V8 in the pop-sized cans, cuz I can chug one in a hurry. It's not too easy for me to get time to eat some days.

[LBTC]

breakfast becomes habit, but changes periodically. Years ago I'd make fabulous banana bread loaded with so many yummy things, and just eat 2 slices once I'd ridden my bike to work and settled in. That ended when I crashed on the way to work, broke my shoulder and was told not to eat until I had surgery.....12 hours later I find out I won't have surgery until the next day.....

I don't leave the house without eating breakfast now. That was a LONG wait for food!

Currently, what with the crazy diet restrictions, I have a small serving of rice krispies (actually store brand), which, the way I read it anyway, was healthier than special k, with a sliced banana and a handful of one or two types of berries and goats milk. blueberries are my favourite. plus a cup of tea - I'm trying to have a different tea each morning to reduce the repetitiveness - there are theories that eating the same thing over and over is not so good for you.....I've got to start small, though, so just working on changing up the tea....

And then there are all the pills: 7 prescription tablets in the morning (3 different meds), omega 3, glucosamine, ginseng, ester C, evening primrose oil

morning snack- between 9:30 and 11:00 am....depending on how I feel - a boiled egg and a banana, or rice cakes with fruit goat cheese, a small serving of leftovers....

lunch is leftovers from last night, or that I froze a long time ago. usually a "mix up" with chicken, fish or occasionally beef - sometimes more of a stir fry, sometimes in a white sauce of cheese sauce made with goats milk and rice flour, always with a generous portion of a variety of colours of veggies, often with a rice pasta or potatoes. I'm looking forward to being able to tolerate raw veggies again so I can snack on them during the day, and so I can have salads again!!

I do keep lots of snacks at my desk, too - unsweetened applesauce, dark chocolate sweetened with beet sugar, lara bars, etc - I try to make sure a few bars last all week.

On weekends I make waffles with rice flour, sweetened with maple sugar, covered in fruit. yummy

I usually am not well prepared for lunch on the weekends...just scrap something together. not the best way to eat!

So, I stopped eating fast food many years ago. It all hurt. Even subway sandwiches. I've always loved my home grilled burgers better anyway - even with store-bought cheap pattys...

Now that I have a Crohn's diagnosis, and a laundry list of food sensitivities that makes so much sense!

We eat out seldom - almost never for lunch, but there is a specialty cafe a couple of blocks away that caters to gluten free, vegan, food allergies, etc, so I'm looking forward to my next lunch date trying that out! Favourite dinner is Thai, and the better of the local restaurants is really good. Apparently I'm sensitive to coconut, but I'm probably going to bend that rule the next time I have a chance to eat thai! mmmmmmm

Darn, now I'm getting hungry!

wonder what's in the kitchen....:confused:


Hugs & butterflies,
~T~

[han-grrl]

Ok so my breakie is:
a bowl of fresh fruit
and either Fiber one (1/4 cup, yes measured) plus milk
or a piece of whole grain toast plus a tsp peanut butter
and either a strip of chicken bacon or a poached egg (espcially if i have a full morning)

If i am on the run, i will pack veggies, plain yogurt, nuts, some form of protein, either a tuna "snack" tin, or some cubed tofu with sauce, or...and a piece of toast or whole grain crackers (serving size 20 g of carbs)

lunch is typically salad with whatever i feel like eating - shrimp with salsa, plain yogurt and brown rice (1/4 cup) is a favorite of mine.

Dinner a favorite is chicken curry lots of veggies and millet (1/4 cup)

If i am doing a long ride, i will pack bananas and granola bars.

Smile
Han

[pooks]

My favorite healthy breakfast. You can measure if you want, but I generally don't.

In a bowl --

Some lowfat cottage cheese.
Frozen blueberries.
Chopped nuts (or chunky peanut butter, better than you'd think)

That's is. Protein, fruit, healthy fat. And if I want to make it extra delish, I put a lot of chopped mint on top.

I also use this as a snack sometimes, or a light supper -- smaller quantities for snack, larger for supper.

I'm not sure why, but it really hits the spot and is easy to have on hand.

[Bklynmom]

Breakfast:
Oatmeal with a handful of nuts, a handful of bluberries and a packet of splenda (sorry)
Or
Uncle Sam Cereal with some nuts and fruit - usually blueberries

Snack:
Lowfat liquid yogurt and piece of fruit

Lunch:
BLT with Turkey bacon OR
Egg Salad on wheat bread

Snack:
Fruit or a yogurt
little carrots while cooking family dinner

Dinner:
Big portion of Protien, usually chicken, and a large vegetable portion, like a whole container of rosted Brussel sprouts, or Kale sauted with Garlic.
Recently I have been having my lunch carbs at dinner if I have a bigger ride the next day, like rice or pasta

Sometimes if I get desperate I have one of those Weight Watchers deserts.

Lost about 8 lbs in the last 3 months this way. I do find that when I increase my mileage, I get hungrier for a week or two and then it levels out.

[run it, ride it]

Well, I'm a student... so I don't do 'meals' so much as 'forage.'

Breakfast is a must, and usually my biggest meal--but it's spaced over about 2-4 hours while I study as my classes are late in the day. I like to do some rice cereal with no-fat soymilk, or oatmeal with fruit on top, along with a cup of yogourt and something like 3 egg whites plus one whole egg mixed with mozza cheese and veggies.

Later on I'll hit up some rice cakes with peanut butter, an apple, an orange, a pear, some grapes maybe... sometimes this all occurs within my 'breakfast' hours.

Then I go to class, or sometimes the aforementioned paragraph happens after class... then I run, or bike.

After excercise I stock up on protein--1 scoop of protein powder mixed with water and some salmon ala George Foreman grill. Sometimes I'll cook up a small potato to go with it. I guess you could call this dinner--it tends to occur between the hours of 3pm-midnight.

My other 'dinner' favourite is making a pizza on a rice pizza crust with pesto and mozza and more mushrooms and broccoli than you can shake a stick at.

Random snacks include a platefull of rice crackers with mozza and peppers melted on top.

I recently affirmed that I have a wheat allergy. This was a huge adjustment as I lived primarily off of bread beforehand. For the first few weeks of the switch I tried to substitute rice bread, but man does that stuff ever have way more calories, smaller slices, and cost too much. I'm trying to wean myself off it.

Another problem I have is that I am hungry ALL THE TIME now that food doesn't hurt to eat--when I was eating wheat, I'd spend most of the day in too much pain to want to eat anything. Sometimes in the morning I'll eat a bit of wheat just to curb my appetite. I don't need the extra food/pounds, and lord knows I can't afford it!

Meat also doesn't much agree with me, but I'm learning to like fish just to get some more protein in me and curb my appetite further. I've also started with tofu in my eggs.

[dex]

Breakfast (during the week): Foofie salad! Where foofie salad is oatmeal (steel cut if I thought to start them the night before), lowfat ricotta (or cottage cheese if I'm out of ricotta), a handful of frozen blueberries, with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a pinch of Splenda (sugar gives me hot flashes, so I try to stay away from it unless I'm having the very occasional dessert treat or a serious craving for Sprite, because I know I'm going to pay the price later when I'm trying to strip off my clothes...not good when one is about to go to the office).

Breakfast on the weekends usually consists of eggs, veggies, and cheese in the form of an omelette or frittata.

Lunch is, um, pretty much always restaurant purchased during the week, because I can't seem to get myself to pack up food to take to work.

[nicole309]

My breakfast is nearly the same every day. One sliced banana topped with granola and Kefir. I'll add organic raspberries when the CO-OP has them. After that I make a latte from the best coffee beans I can find. Lately, I have been getting them from Princess Valient in Port Angeles. There has been some great stuff in Victoria, Salt Spring Island, and the vicinity. I am a big fan of Discovery Coffee, Fantastico, and Bean Around the world when I am in Victoria. Also, love Bubby Rose's for breakfast when I am there.
Lunch varies from a sit down restaurant, lunch date with business partners or girlfriends to a power bar on the fly. That just depends on the day.

[shawnada]

this is my first post. I am new to this but I would like to respond to Jenn and what she is eating. You said that your dad had you eating a certain plan and you were losing weight. I read what you were eating and smiled and giggled because it is what I eat everyday and in the same order. I am a competitive bodybuilder who earned her pro card in 2003. That is exactly what we eat when we are in diet mode for a show. I am giving duathlons a try this year because I love cardio(and weight training) I am a natural bodybuilder so I'm not one of those girls that looks like a guy. I would like to know the background your father has in nutrition.

[Bikingmomof3]

Breakfast is fairly routine: Homemade whole wheat pancake with 1 Tbsp 100% pure maple syrup, 2 Morningstar Farms "sausage" links, yogurt, and coffee.

Since I eat 5-6 meals a day, this holds me over through exercises until my first snack. :)

[RoadRaven]

Jenn and Shawnada...

Sounds like a great diet to shed weight, but I am interested to know how sustainable it is in terms of power output...

I can understand it for body-building, when the weight loss is importance for muscle definition...

But in an endurance sport like cycling, surely you are not feeding the muscles as you shed the fat?? Or am I interpreting this wrong?

I would love to shed weight that quickly, but I don't know if I could be a mum, have a FT job and bike on that fueling system.

What do you both think based on having lived with/on it?

[Zen]

Raven, those were my thoughts exactly.
This is a bodybuilders diet, it's not for endurance sport.

[surgtech1956]

JENN - I like your 'diet' to shed the weight. I'm a vegetarian - is there a vegetarian version? What kind of protein shake do you drink/make??? Thanks for your post.

[shawnada]

You are right regarding our diets. It is ideal for bodybuilding because your goal is to eliminate as much fat and sodium from your diet and body to show all definition and striation. Your carb intake is low, women loose their menstrual cycles because body fat is so low, your cranky and irritable and above all else exhausted and hungry. It is not a healthy sport but the reward is when you are on stage and you look dam good!!!! I am not competeing this year in bodybuilding because I have chosen to do duathlons this year in the northwest. The hardest thing for me in my training is to consume more carbs and calories. It messes with me mentally because it is opposite of my normal eating and calorie intake. I am a creature of habit. I eat the same things every day and a cheat on the weekend. I am learning to increase my portion sizes so I can have the energy for the amount of training I am doing. Low carb and low-cal should never be used in the same sentence when doing endurance events.

[RoadRaven]

Thanks for clarifying that shawdana. Good luck with increasing the carb/calorie intake. I know it can be tough when one style of eating has been a complete focus and a way of living.

Surgtech... be careful about opting for this diet... consider it well in combination with what you are asking from your body in terms of energy output/exercise. :)


EDIT:
Whoops :o These are your first two posts, Shawdana. Welcome to TE and great to have you joining in our discussions!

[hellosunshine]

Huge gigantic b'fasts, usually involving eggs and cheese and potatoes and salmon/chicken/steak/tempeh/mushrooms. Often SPAM. A piece of fruit. Coffee. A couple squares of chocolate. Some tortilla chips. Yogurt and honey if I'm still feeling peckish.

Lunch is about half what I eat for b'fast, and usually just whatever I can find to toss in a bag and take to work. I like V8 in the pop-sized cans, cuz I can chug one in a hurry. It's not too easy for me to get time to eat some days.

can i come to yours for breckie!!!!


im porridge,1/2 pint of milk,tea,2 toast


on the bike bread roll,2 small nanas,apple(2 1/2-3 1/2hr training ride)

porridge,tea,protein drink (80 calories)


lunch,cottage cheese sarnie.2 small bananas.1/2 pint milk.porridge.2 pears
maybe tuna sarnie some days,maybe meat!maybe tin of beans on toast.........


NEVER eat out,NEVER been to a take away in my LIFE!!!sounds excessively dull,never done drugs either!and i hardly drink,CLOSETED!!!:D

[maillotpois]

Yeah, I want to go to Knot's house for breakfast, too!!!

My breakfast varies but always involves either hot or cold cereal and a 4 or 5-shot soy latte (depending on mood).

[teigyr]

Count me in as one of the ones camping out at Knot's house!

Breakfast is my most structured meal. I tend to eat eggbeaters scrambled with onion, turkey bacon or Morningstar "sausage" (love it!), and a whole wheat english muffin. I tend to also sprinkle fat free cheese, parmesan, or feta on the eggs. I usually make either coffee or mate just to wake up.

For lunch I tend to grab low fat frozen food or leftovers. I also bring an energy bar and something else to snack on. Today I brought whole wheat Fig Newtons.

For dinner, well, we sin at home :D We're never totally unhealthy but we'll do things like low fat burgers, pizza, or more complex things if we have time.

[surgtech1956]

How are those whole wheat fig newton's????

[deedolce]

man, I should eat better. I get away with it for now.

Breakfast : poptart
Lunch: Frozen bean and meat burrito and a banana
DInners vary.
:p

[pooks]

Perhaps i'm supposed to be shocked by what you eat, but actually I'm impressed by how little you eat. Only one poptart? LOL

[deedolce]

Yep. I never was a big eater. My family claims I used to cut rice grains in half to eat. But I can gain weight pretty darn easily. Ever since I hit my mid 40's, especially! grumble. ;)

[teigyr]

Well, I'm not so much of a regular fig newton girl so it's hard to say. They work well for riding and I don't think they are horrible for you. Truth be told, I'd rather eat peanut butter cups :D

I don't really notice a difference though between the whole wheat and the regular. I am used to whole wheat; I know some people aren't and really don't like it. Costco had the WW ones so I am stocked!

[Popoki_Nui]

Wow. You folks eat a lot.:eek:

Breakfast (about 10am): ~4oz grilled beef, chicken or fish. Small chunk of cheese. Tea or decaf coffee, black.

Lunch: lunch?

Dinner (about 4pm): small mixed salad, no dressing, often with a hardboiled egg. Tea or decaf coffee, black.

Evening snack (not every night): cup of mixed nuts, or a couple cups of popcorn.

Lots of water and plain tea (black, green, herbal) in between. Ride days I'll have my morning protein in a sandwich between wholewheat bread or in a wholewheat wrap. And a juice and power bar midway thru the ride.

Not helpful for weight loss, though. :mad: :mad:

[shawnada]

You eat in one day what I eat in 1 1/2 meals. Do you feel tired all the time or do you do ok? Your carbs are next to nothing and calories and nutrients are scary low.

[Popoki_Nui]

You eat in one day what I eat in 1 1/2 meals. Do you feel tired all the time or do you do ok? Your carbs are next to nothing and calories and nutrients are scary low.

Yeah, well...it's what I have to do to keep the weight from packing on. I make sure to take a high quality women-specific miltivitamin every day, plus fish oil supplements and so on.

I used to eat most of you, but I ballooned up to 242 pounds in spite of lots cycling, hiking, walking, and generally being more active than I've been since I was a teen. Not much else I can do...

[onimity]

Wow, I am amazed at how little some of you eat!

I am not a breakfast eater but since I've been riding to work have become one.

On weekdays:

Breakfast 1: a big glass of (whole) milk and a banana/apple/etc., more if I actually feel hungry.

I ride a little over 10 miles into work, stop about 7 miles in and have a Gu or similar before the big hills begin, otherwise I am shaky and mean when I get to work! :)

Breakfast 2: Oatmeal, juice and anything is free for the taking in the office kitchen. Maybe a bagel, maybe a breakfast burrito, maybe just some more juice.

Snacks: I snack at my desk throughout the day; I make a habit of bringing snacks with me throughout the week so that I always have a good variety on hand. Things like: crackers, granola/yogurt, trail mix, dried figs, wasabi peas, sunflower seeds, and of course chocolate (dark). Lots of juice, lots of water.

Lunch: Sometimes I'll eat out (never fast food though), sometimes I'll pack a lunch, just depends on what's going on work-wise. If I pack a lunch it's usually leftovers or a frozen Indian entree from the health food store (convenient, but I can recognize all of the ingredients!), some sort of fruit or vegetable and a big salad.

The big snack: before the ride back home I have a big snack, and then eat some sort of energy snack as I ride, a pack of shot blocks or Sharkies fruit snacks.

I have a glass of juice and another small snack when I get home.

Then Dinner, usually cheese/crackers and salad to start, then some meat/fish with pasta/rice/bread and another veggie, squash is a favorite, or yams, or broccoli, or artichokes. I usually try to pick something local and in-season. I eat out a decent amount for dinner too, but usually the pattern is the same. I love food. I eat almost any type of cuisine and try to get a wide variety of foods in my diet.

On weekends I usually go for longer rides so I like a bigger breakfast before I head out. One of my favorite things to do is to make 'leftover breakfast burritos' Egg+cheese+tortilla+salsa+leftovers. It's amazing how good things like butternut squash or salmon can be in a breakfast burrito!

Popoki Nui, do you track the number of calories that you eat a day? I ask not because I am a calorie counter in the limiting sense, but because it seems that you are not even getting enough calories to sustain your normal (non-cycling) needs. If your caloric intake is too low the body can go into panic-mode and slow your metabolism down to a snail's pace. Not to mention that you burn muscle, etc.

I had a nutritionist put me on a really strict diet a few years back when I was having problems with hypoglycemia. She calculated (who knows how!) that I needed 1,400 calories a day. I ate precisely what she specified (3 meals, 2 snacks) and I gained 20 pounds in short order, lost my muscle tone and the energy to do even the most basic things. I decided that it wasn't working for me and ate the way I normally do. My energy came back, the weight dropped off, and all by eating more. I'm no expert, but these things aren't always totally logical or simple. If that's truly all that you are eating in the course of a day you might try seeing a Dr. that specializes in these things for some advice? We're all very different of course, but I don't think that I could ride even a mile a day eating that little.

Anne

[Raindrop]

Three mornings a week I teach early morning Spinning classes so on those mornings I eat a whole wheat tortilla with sunflower seed butter and water, and coffee.

After class and on the mornings I don't teach I have eggwhites (about a half cup) and a cup of oatmeal or whole grain cold cereal w/dried blueberries.

Mid-morning I have an apple and some nuts, or just sunflower-seeds (I'm addicted to them).

Lunch is pretty much always the same, a small or half of a yam, zapped in the microwave, with spinach and three chicken tenders (the kind you get at costco).

I'm a creature of habit who finds it easiest to eat the same things every day simply because then I know the nutritional value of my intake.

[surgtech1956]

What's sunflower seed butter?

[Zen]

Wow. You folks eat a lot.:eek:

Breakfast (about 10am): ~4oz grilled beef, chicken or fish. Small chunk of cheese. Tea or decaf coffee, black.

Lunch: lunch?

Dinner (about 4pm): small mixed salad, no dressing, often with a hardboiled egg. Tea or decaf coffee, black.

Evening snack (not every night): cup of mixed nuts, or a couple cups of popcorn.

Lots of water and plain tea (black, green, herbal) in between. Ride days I'll have my morning protein in a sandwich between wholewheat bread or in a wholewheat wrap. And a juice and power bar midway thru the ride.

Not helpful for weight loss, though. :mad: :mad:

That's not enough to eat, especially if you're trying to lose weight. Your body sees that it's not getting enough nutrients and is holding on for dear life, literally.

[GLC1968]

I'm getting some good ideas for new meals from this post! Cool!

For me, I like variety but out of ease, these are my go-to breakfasts and lunches:

B -
Protein banana nut muffins (or the pumpkin version)
or
eggs/whites, wheat english muffin, oj
or
GoLean Crunch with skim milk and fruit
or
protien waffles reheated with power butter and apple butter on them
or
oatmeal with protien powder and PB

Morning snack is usually a Kashi bar and my coffee (with skim milk).

L -
tuna with 2 cups of steamed veggies
or
salad with chicken/shrimp/or tuna on it
or
turkey bean chili with lf cheese
or
leftovers from dinner

Afternoon snack is usually a source of protein and a fruit (like grapes and slices of ham, or lf cheese and an apple)

My meals don't vary in size much, but I use my snacks to up my intake on ride days by adding extra bars, extra fruit, extra whatever... ;)

Dinner is usually some meat on the grill and veggies, salad and a starch (potato, rice, bread, etc).

If I stick to this, I lose weight until I get to optimum weight for me, and then I maintain. Problem is, I let biking tons of miles be my excuse to eat more crap that I could possibly burn off and I gain. :( In the past couple of weeks, I've finally gotten back to this way of eating and I've dropped 5 lbs already (only 20 more to go!).

[Triskeliongirl]

Just curious GLC, how many calories per day do you eat when you are actively losing weight, and roughly how many miles per week are you cycling (commutes included)? I can't imagine you needing to lose another 20 lb though, you look quite lean in the pics you have posted.

[GLC1968]

I'm 5'4" and at 155 (160 two weeks ago). I'm fittest at 135. I don't think I can go lower than that without dumping muscle, so that's my goal. I've still got a ways to go!

My calories really vary a lot, but when I'm losing, I log about 1300 to 1700 calories per day. I'm not the best 'logger', so realistically add 10% to that for fudge factor. I'm probably eating more like 1450 to 1900.

I average about 120 miles a week and I do weight workouts twice a week as well or at least, that's the plan. I've really sucked about getting them in like I should. :o

As my milage increases (which it will as I try to commute more and train more), I'm pretty sure I'll have to up the calories. I'm trying to not get ahead of myself just yet though as I've been really inconsistant in my riding since February. What I used to find myself doing was planning to increase my eating, not get in my rides, and still ate the extra food. Not good! :p

[Suzi-Sue]

Breakfast: 4 fruit smoothie or 1 wheetabix
Snack: Yoghurt or grapes (something small!)
Lunch: Eggs or some wheaten bread (things along those lines)
Dinner: Chicken with some green veg, or something with wholemeal bread or pita like chili/tuna or beans on toast.

Usually only have meat n veg for dinner, but if i'm riding in the evening, i would put some carbs in like wholemeal pasta/bread.

Would take some protien shake after some rides to aid recovery.

:p I'm reading through all your diets to get some tastey ideas now!