changing eatting habits

[xeney]

I have found that one of the best things I can do regarding healthy eating is to manage my breakfasts, because it is easy for me to eat a very healthy meal at that time of day. I eat the same thing most days: two slices of toasted Alvarado Street bread (weird nutty texture, but very high fiber and protein, and it's actually low carb although I don't really watch carbs) with about a tablespoon of no-added-sugar peanut butter and a little bit of low sugar jam. (Not the kind with aspartame, just the kind that isn't as sweet.) That has something like 14 grams of protein and some fat, but it's more filling than cereal and won't make me sugar crash like a pop tart! If I exercise in the morning or if I am hungry again, I have some combination of a banana, a small glass of skim milk, or a container of yogurt around 10 or so.

My rule with lunch is that I just try not to overeat, but I tend to be starving mid-day no matter what I did at breakfast, and I am often eating out, so I don't worry very much about lunch. I generally eat healthy leftovers or choose the healthiest menu option that doesn't sound revolting, but if someone invites me out for Mexican food I am not going to pick at a plate of plain beans and rice. But I do try to get three servings of vegetables in at lunch time.

For dinner we almost always cook something healthy, even when we have been out for a ride and don't get home until it's dark and we are already starving. The secret: garden or Boca burgers. We aren't vegetarians but we keep those in the freezer, along with whole grain buns. They aren't high calorie but they have a lot of protein, and they cook in about five minutes. Back in the days when it was safe to eat salad we usually had a Boca burger with a big salad after our Wednesday night date night (which usually means biking or canoeing).

Another thing that makes quick healthy meals easier is that Barilla Plus pasta, the stuff in the yellow box. It's not weird tasting like whole wheat pasta, but again, it's high fiber and high protein. (It's made with lentils or something weird like that, but it just tastes like pasta.) We eat that with sauteed vegetables, or a sauce made of roasted winter squash, or occasionally with low fat chicken sausage.

[Pedal Wench]

....The secret: garden or Boca burgers. .....


Another thing that makes quick healthy meals easier is that Barilla Plus pasta, the stuff in the yellow box. ... or occasionally with low fat chicken sausage.

Have you tried Boca's Italian sausage? It's really, really good - I had some pasta sauce and hearty wheat bread left over after my BF's visit, so I've been making sausage sandwiches with this - wonderful, and I don't feel guilty eating it.

[xeney]

My confession: I kind of hate soy "meats." I can eat a Boca burger if I put a lot of other stuff on it (salsa, good tomatoes, maybe some cheese) but I'd rather have a Gardenburger. My husband likes Boca burgers so we usually do one of each. He loves the Boca sausages but I always wind up giving my share to the dogs. (Our dogs like Boca stuff more than they like actual meat.)

I am a big Quorn fan, though. We use the ground Quorn (unfortunately hard to find) for things like tacos, and I can add some seasoning and fool myself into thinking it's Italian sausage, too. Mostly we use the version that looks like chicken breasts ... low calorie, high protein, and much faster/easier than actual chicken (which grosses me out a little so I stopped cooking it at home).

[KSH]

DH and I are changing our eatting habits. we both want to loose weight...more loose body fat. the hard part i am having is that two days a week i am at school/work for 14 hours and get home too late to cook and eat, so we eat alot on the go. i am trying to find meals that we can both take with us to work/school, but it cant be refrigerated. we are on a budget also. i can only cook 3 days out of the week becuase that is when i have time.

so far we are eatting bagels, toast, poptarts, or cearel for breakfast. normally with milk, water, or juice. for lunch it is pb&j (but it is getting old fast) and occasionally hot pockets with chips and alittle something sweet. unless we dont have time to make it then it is what ever they have at his work or my school. i normally have a marathon bar or harvest bar in the afternoon to keep me going. and dinner well it is picking something up, or having it delivered. when we pick up we try to get chicken or with mexican food we get fajitas and chinese we get something with veggies.

any help is much appreciated!

Sandy

I did not read all the responses, so forgive me if I repeat something.

As far as breakfast goes... might I suggest that you stop eating PopTarts? Sure, they are yummy, but nutritionally, completely worthless and too high in calories for what you are getting. Also, if the cereal isn't very filling and leaves you quickly, oatmeal is a great low calorie/high protein option.

Hot Pockets... are you eating the low calorie kind? Chips, are you eating the baked chips (please say you do).

Can you find a microwave at your school/office? If so, you don't need to keep a frozen meal frozen until you cook it. If you put it in an insultated lunch bag until lunch, it will be fine. And it's typically still half way frozen.

As far as the bars you are eating... A marathon or harvest bar... are typically higher in calories than other bars you can get... depending on which one you are getting. You might want to look into Luna bars, Clif bars (Mojo bars are YUMMY!), or Kashi bars. All of those will be lower in calories, and have good nutritional value. If you go to: www.calorieking.com, you can compare/contrast the various bars.

Now, instead of eating OUT for dinner... why not eat a low-calorie frozen meal. Not very exciting ... I know.

BUT... if you look up what you are eating out vs. what you can eat frozen, you will find that there are more calories than you would expect from the take out food. You can look up MANY take out places on Calorie King.

If you are trying to stick to around 1800-2000 calories a day... that can by VERY QUICKLY if you eat out. This is also due to the PORTION SIZES with the take out food. Typically, a portion is the size of your hand. Is that all you eat of those fajitas or rice/chicken... then good. But if you eat more than that... then you are probably consuming too many calories.

If you aren't losing weight or seeing results... it honestly may not be what you are eating on those 2 days... but what you are eating across the board.

For example, on your PB&J sandwhichs... do you use low calorie bread? Did you know that Sarah Lee has this Delightful bread... 90 calories for 2 slices, and it's yummy. This is compared to normal white bread is around 70 calories a SLICE.

Might I also suggest you looking into getting a small, soft-sides ice chest to carry on those really long days. That way, you could keep some items cold. String cheese is low in calories, and high in protein. A great afternoon snack.

Uuuuummmm... not sure how much help I was... and sorry if I sounded "preachy"... I am currently trying to lose 10 lbs and I scrutinize EVERY bit of food I put in my mouth. For me, it's all about eating as few calories as possible, but getting good nutrition from those calories, and it filling me up.

[KSH]

My confession: I kind of hate soy "meats." I can eat a Boca burger if I put a lot of other stuff on it (salsa, good tomatoes, maybe some cheese) but I'd rather have a Gardenburger.

I'm a vegetarian... and Boca burgers so so nasty!

Morning Star Farms makes a yummy black bean burger (140 calories?). They also make this delicious breaded "chicken" patty... 170 calories and GOOD!

[KSH]

Microwavable soup containers - single servings with a slice of a hearty whole wheat bread would be good.

OH YEA! Those soups are a great idea. I get the vegetable... and for 200 calories I get a meal!

I would toss adding the bread though... unless it was 2 slices for 90 calories!

[Geonz]

I lost six pounds recently by simply misplacing my wallet for about five weeks. I *really* didn't want to ask friends to cash checks, so I simply stopped feeding the cafeteria and the vending machines. (I found it last Friday. ) No poptarts!!
Those little packets of instant oatmeal are my favorite, even though they've got a fair amount of extra sugar in 'em when I have the apples & cinnamon. (I'll mix an apple & plain one sometimes.) We have a microwave but we also have an instant hot water spout coming out of the coffee machine, and that makes the oatmeal really quickly.
I'll also go for straight carbs - leftover rice from the CHinese - 'cause that fills me up, but then I have to be sure to toss in veggies somehow.
Of course, fruits and especially juices have tons of calories (especially those funky, expensive blends the cafeteria sells - geez, now V-8 is fattening!). I take extreme pleasure in throwing a 2-cent teabag (or even two if I really want a jolt ) in that cup and walking by the $1.25 "iced tea" to fill it with the hot water. Four cents, no calories.
Good old fashioned sandwiches work, too. For me, it helps to munch 'em a little slowly, too, or to put that oatmeal off for another hour.
And then of course there's portion control.

[spokewench]

It is really hard to tell you that I eat something everyday - cause I don't I think it is really important to mix it up some - first for nutrition sake and second for taste's sake

I had a piece of toast, coffee with 1/2&1/2 and juice for breakfast.

Had a banana for a snack.

Had leftover mashed potatoes and mushrooms/onions/tomato curry for lunch.

Had coconut thai shrimp with butternut squash, red peppers and brown rice for dinner. Full fat coconut milk (Yum) and a beer!

Drank water throughout the day and one glass of lemonade

Today I had so far one egg and one piece of bacon on toast with coffee (no oj, we were out?)

This is pretty regular diet for me. I don't totally scrimp on fats, I eat lots of veges, I drink beer (tho I have to watch my intake); I up my intake when I'm riding or working out a lot. Usually, just by adding healthy snacks like more fruits, more lemonade, fig newtons, yogurt, ice cream sometimes as a treat!

[KnottedYet]

B'fast: brown rice, spam, walnuts

Lunch: brown rice, beans, cheese, salsa, Larabar

Dinner: m+m's

Today was not a stellar nutritional day for me!

[Dogmama]

B'fast: brown rice, spam, walnuts

Lunch: brown rice, beans, cheese, salsa, Larabar

Dinner: m+m's

Today was not a stellar nutritional day for me!

Please - NO SPAM SONG!

Regarding your nutrition - at least you got all of your "colors" in at dinner time!

[ClockworkOrange]

There have been wonderful suggestions. Everyone is different good thing there are so many food options.

I eat six small meals a day. My favourite book is Body For Life For Women. I need to keep my blood sugar happy and once I decided to actually listen to my doctor and do this, plus add in exercise, I dropped 60+ overall inches (fat, fat, fat), gained muscle (yay) and shed almost 70 pounds. (YAY ME!) It took me a year and a half, no quick fixes. Now I am healthier than I have ever been and loving every minute of it!

Now I just work on maintaining my weight and increasing my lean muscle mass.

I went from a size 20 to a size 6! I am extra proud, since I did it by myself.

FWIW-I did not overeat when I was big. Quite the opposite. I was never hungry. I would not eat until about 1pm or so after being up almost 8 hours! My metabolism had completely shut down, and it was a bugger to get it jump started again.

Now I am happily running, hopefully cycling outdoors as soon as I get the all clear from my neurologist and looking forward to my TNT training AND my goal to partcipate in a Tri before I am 40!

Wow, that is so impressive, well done you!

Just happened to look on ebay, and guess what, I just managed to get a copy of Body For Life For Women for $13 including p&p.

I lost around 3 stone when I first met my partner, got cycling to also thank for that but about a stone has crept on, so, going to give it a real good go.

Good thread, well worth reading.

Sally

[tygab]

For snacks:
-Dried berries/fruit (I'm partial to cranberries, blueberries, cherries - high antioxidants too)
-Reduced fat string or cheddar cheese blocks (Cabot makes some good ones)
-Wasabi peas - great for eating or adding to salads!
-Multigrain cereals without sugar coatings

For dinners, my husband and I have recently been challenging each other to make healthful meals for $10 or less. I don't cook much (he's a very good cook and enjoys it) so I sort of started it to see what I could do. He decided to start playing tonight. The meals we've had so far have been very tasty! I made marinaded catfish with long grain rice and peas last week. My turn's tomorrow & I'm plotting it now...

For dessert:
One square of organic dark chocolate - I am not a big chocolate fan, but read that dark chocolate's pretty good for you (in small quantities and not consumed with milk). It has a lot of antioxidants and in some studies has lowered chloresterol I think. It also has a lot of flavinoids which I don't know what they are but apparantly they're good for you I read about this in a running mag not too long ago.

Anyway, it's growing on me (I mean the taste) and it's nice to have an option that makes me feel like I am eating something 'fancy' but not damaging. We keep a bar in the fridge and one square is a nice treat. The articles note that white chocolate and milk chocolate do not give the positive benefits of dark chocolate.

Other: Drink more water! Apparantly a lot of times we feel hungry they are actually thirsty, and we don't know the difference. So have a glass water first, and if you're still hungry, then have a snack. Most of us don't drink enough water anyway. I know I have this problem.

[KSH]

Other: Drink more water! Apparantly a lot of times we feel hungry they are actually thirsty, and we don't know the difference. So have a glass water first, and if you're still hungry, then have a snack. Most of us don't drink enough water anyway. I know I have this problem.

Well, when my tummy is growling... I know it's from lack of food... but a huge glass of water fills it up and makes it stop growling.

[Bikingmomof3]

Wow, that is so impressive, well done you!

Just happened to look on ebay, and guess what, I just managed to get a copy of Body For Life For Women for $13 including p&p.

I lost around 3 stone when I first met my partner, got cycling to also thank for that but about a stone has crept on, so, going to give it a real good go.

Good thread, well worth reading.

Sally

Thank you. I ma glad you found the book and at such an awesome price. She also has an online newsletter. Enjoy!

[cherinyc]

I recently found, at Costco, a bag of frozen, pre-portioned Mahi Mahi filets. Figured I would give it a try. The filets must be frozen individually, so they are not all stuck together (which is what happens when I buy fresh fish by the pound and try to portion a meal for 2's worth and then freeze).
Few days ago, I opened the resealable bag and picked out 3 nice filets (1 for me, 2 for BF) and stuck in a ziploc to defrost in fridge overnight.
I found a recipe online for a quick sauce (a little butter, garlic, honey, dijon mustard - all cooked on stove, then add lemon juice last and cool for 10 min in fridge) and cut the fish into 2 oz portions. Spooned sauce on fish and baked for ~12 min in 450 deg oven.
Frozen organic asparagas in microwave for 2-3 minutes, and voila.

I prefer fresh as much as possible, but having some good quality frozen stuff will keep you from ordering Dominoes when your fridge is bare.