Trying to lose weight - food/meal suggestions?

Hi all,

I had a pic taken of me recently, and I did not like what Ive seen.  So I am going on a super strict diet.  I have never really had healthy eating habits, but I am determined to.  That and with me moving to England...and clothes being offered in smaller sizes...the time in now!

So first off I am ending my long love with pop (Pepsi, Coke etc), also sweet tea (a southern thing), and anything other than water.  I am giving up my hot tea...erm the sugar part of it.  Pple have suggested honey, but honey is sugar and isnt that still bad?  I am giving up all sweets, cakes, candies etc.  And I am going to increase my water intake.

In addition I have limited access to a gym, but I have decided to do the elliptical (which i do have) for so long each night, and lift hand weights, and do situps/crunches.  On this note....I have a question - so I have a child, and with childbirth I have the "mommy belly" meaning skin (I know i went through this and it still grosses me out), is there a way to get rid of it?  I mean if i lose weight or flatter my belly...will this only get worse?

ANYWAYS - I was wondering if people could give me suggestions on what to make/eat for breakfast or lunches?  Breakfast less so...more on the LUNCHES.  I work in an office, and  need something easy to make, not mega pricey, and ok to pack and bring in a lunch.  I am  a leftovers type of person and this is not healthy...or weight management good.

Any suggestions will be helpful

Hi all,

I had a pic taken of me recently, and I did not like what Ive seen.  So I am going on a super strict diet.  I have never really had healthy eating habits, but I am determined to.  That and with me moving to England...and clothes being offered in smaller sizes...the time in now!

So first off I am ending my long love with pop (Pepsi, Coke etc), also sweet tea (a southern thing), and anything other than water.  I am giving up my hot tea...erm the sugar part of it.  Pple have suggested honey, but honey is sugar and isnt that still bad?  I am giving up all sweets, cakes, candies etc.  And I am going to increase my water intake.

In addition I have limited access to a gym, but I have decided to do the elliptical (which i do have) for so long each night, and lift hand weights, and do situps/crunches.  On this note....I have a question - so I have a child, and with childbirth I have the "mommy belly" meaning skin (I know i went through this and it still grosses me out), is there a way to get rid of it?  I mean if i lose weight or flatter my belly...will this only get worse?

ANYWAYS - I was wondering if people could give me suggestions on what to make/eat for breakfast or lunches?  Breakfast less so...more on the LUNCHES.  I work in an office, and  need something easy to make, not mega pricey, and ok to pack and bring in a lunch.  I am  a leftovers type of person and this is not healthy...or weight management good.

Any suggestions will be helpful

I would suggest not being 'strict' and just make general, long-term changes to your diet. Diets do not work. You can be healthy and still have sweets occasionally. Don't get me wrong, speaking as a cola addict, if you have the will power to go cold turkey, more power to you. However, [unless you really want to] you don't have to feel like you have to give up your vices. With cola, for example, I decided instead of entirely giving my soft drinks up, I decided to cut down. Like only drinking soft drinks at lunch or dinner time.

You don't have to go to the gym. You can take up a sport, do a dance class, go swimming, etc, just do whatever you enjoy that way you're more likely to stick with it. I  would also recommend doing some weight lifting every so often. Not necessarily to bulk up, but to get some muscle, which will speed up your metabolism.

Watch what you eat. If you have a 'bad' lunch, eat a better dinner.

Limit the alcohol. Most of us who moved to the UK, ended up drinking more often than we did in the US 

Drink tons of water. It cleans out your system, reduces bloating and helps keep you full.

Snack, but have healthy snacks. I devour finger-food fruits like grapes and cherries. I always have a bowl of fruit nearby to munch on through out the day.

I think soups are quite good for lunch and there's so much variety to choose from. Yogurt is also very good, and convenient for lunch. You can get fruit, already cut up and packed or you can do it yourself. Or if you don't have time for that, I find apples to be very filling and no cutting necessary. There are also those 100 calorie packets of snack food like cookies or pretzels, which can bit a little pricey but wonderful for quenching cravings. Grilled chicken wraps are fantastic, in my opinion for lunch, because they're filling and they keep me going until dinner.

Great advice already given- I was going to say the same things. As someone who has lost a large amount of weight and so far managed to keep it off for over a year- I truely believe it only happens if done as overall changes, and not completely restrictive. I am a coke addict completely- but have changed to diet coke, but even then I really try not to have it in the house, because I rely on it instead of water. It is my treat out of the home.

Sorry- on to your question-
Lunches- nothing wrong with left overs for lunch especially if it was something healthy to start with- just keep the portions smaller. I would personally cook up some chicken breasts and then you can cut them up and they will be good for wraps, sandwiches, salads etc.
I also suggest having some healthy snacks for work- if you are like me you are used to grabbing something to eat at some point other than lunch time-- for me it used to be on the way home from work- a coke and a kit kat.
I agree switching to honey for your tea isn't the best answer- but if you are used to sugar in your tea, you might want to just cut it back some instead of going without any at all.

I agree with the advice that's been given so far.  Don't go on a super strict diet...as these fail 90% of the time.  You want to lose weight and keep it off forever.  Do it nice and steady with a lifestyle change...something you can stick to forever.  Otherwise, you'll just end up gaining the weight back later on (and it will be harder to get off).

My mom lost 60lbs so I sat down with her and asked her exactly what she was doing to lose weight.  When I followed her lifestyle change, I was able to lose 45lbs in 6 months and keep it over for over a year (until I got pregnant).  We began to monitor and restrict the amount of fat we were eating to 20grams a day or less.  The fat I did eat came from healthy things like eggs, oil, nuts, meat, etc (so not eating 20g of fat in chocolate each day!).  I didn't cut out sweets and junk food completely, but I used them more as a treat a few times a week (instead of a daily snack).  When I knew I was going to be eating junk (like if I was going to a birthday party and knew I wanted some cake), I would make sure to eat extremely low fat for the rest of the day to balance it out (so there was still less than 20g consumed at the end of the day).  Keep in mind that you can find a lot of sweet treats that have no fat.  One of my favorite snacks was strawberry shortcake.  I would get fat free angel food cake, strawberries and fat free cool whip.  Delicious and no fat involved.  

I didn't strictly monitor calories but I would try to keep them around 1500 per day (this is what worked for my size but might be a disaster for someone else so I'm not recommending that, just sharing my personal experience).  I broke my calories up into 3 meals (around 300 calories each) and 6 snacks (around 100 calories each).  This way I was eating 9 times a day, which kept me from getting too hungry because I knew I'd be eating again soon.  A

lso, lots and lots and lots of water.  My bladder really hated me in the beginning.  Keep in mind that whatever you are drinking contributes calories and fat so that has to be taken into consideration.

After 2-3 months, I didn't need to continuously check packages because I had a pretty good idea of how many calories and fat where in each item.  This is the point in time where my thinking switched from 'diet' to 'lifestyle change'.  I realized that this was something I could do for the rest of my life...as opposed to a temporary diet.  

I think the most important thing is to find something you can stick with.  This is different for every person so what is great for me might be a disaster for you.  Take all the suggestions you can get and see what works best for you.  

Good luck!

ETA:  If you like salad, it's a great meal or snack idea.  You can make several at once and it's super easy to take to work (that's what I ate every single day for lunch...I was eating at least 2-3 salads every day).  Keep in mind that you can do a lot of different things with salads to keep them from getting boring.  I had about 10 different salad dressings in my fridge at once to keep the flavour different.  Add chicken, tuna, different cheeses, avocados, fruit (I especially love apples and pineapples in salad), brocolli, etc.  You can put pretty much anything in a salad! 

The other posters have given you good advice.

I agree that putting yourself on a "strict diet" is not a good idea.

Change your eating habits so that you can maintain your diet for the rest of your life - that means you need to get enough vitamins and another nutrients.


Also, don't rush losing weight. If you are unhappy with parts of your body, there are always ways to camouflage them with clothing until you use the weight.

My top tips for health:

Less is more. Portion control. I freeze most meals to reduce food waste and control portions.

Share your food. If you like to bake like me, sharing your food is a lovely way to be sociable with friends and family and limit your own intake! Makes nice presents as well.

I don't recommend a strict diet.

Best quality food you can afford. e.g. choclate.

Substitute where possible. e.g. yoghurt for sour cream.

Exercise regularly. For example, if you can walk somewhere or part way, use that over the car. Get off the bus a few stops early.

Get enough sleep every night.

Make sure you are hydrated.

Don't skip breakfast.

Homemade soups are an excellent tummy filler and can be frozen.

Cook your meals. That way, you know what you have put in them.

Always have a healthy snack on you so you don't impulse buy rubbish: seeds, fruit etc.

Really, it is about permanent lifestyle change, in my experience.

Also some people recommend calorie monitoring sites like sparkpeople or foodfocus to understand their food intake.

Losing weight slowly is less hard on your body. Weigh yourself regularly and consistently, but not obsessively. Like every week at the same time of day to know if you are generally on the right track. It's OK if you are not losing weight one week, but it is more just to keep an eye on things in terms of a longer term pattern. And weight will fluctuate dependent on many factors.

Make your weight loss goal realistic and within a healthy range. BMI is a general indicator of this (though not without issues).

HTH.

I lost ten pounds in just over a month just by tracking my calories on Spark People and staying within the designated range they gave me, which is 1200-1550 calories per day and eating a balance of protein, carbs, and fats (mostly healthy fats like nuts, avocados, and olive oil). Try to make most of your carbs the complex ones - whole grains like wheat bread, oats, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, etc, and fruit and veggies. They keep you full much longer than white bread and regular pasta. Try to keep your proteins the lean ones like chicken or turkey breast, fish, shrimp, and lean pork and beef. Drink lots of water and cut back on alcohol. Don't do too much exercise to start with or you will burn out with too many changes at once. I focused on my diet for a while and staying within my calorie ranges just to get my diet under control, now I have added in walking for 30 minutes to an hour each day and doing a 20 minute circuit training video two or three times per week. I ride my bike sometimes. Since you are a mom, if you take your kid to the park, try to be more physical about it - like pushing the merry go round and climbing around with him or her. That counts as exercise and is great for both you and your child! I agree that it's good to find exercise you can live with. For me, that's walking outside or riding my bike, but for you that could be rollerblading or swimming, or whatever you find that is fun and doesn't feel like too much of a chore. Just don't cut your calories too low (below 1200 per day is definitely bad, and you may need more than that depending on your size and current level of activity - using Spark People or some other site to help you calculate what range you should be in to lose weight without starving is very useful). For me, times when I tried to take on too many drastic changes at once really caused me to burn out rather than stick with it. And the good thing about the calorie counting is that it helps you control your portions and you can still have the things you love in moderation, like chocolate, wine, french fries and pizza. It's unrealistic to think you will never eat those things again, so I think it's important to just learn how to incorporate them into your otherwise healthy diet without going overboard. Get a good set of measuring cups and spoons and a scale for the kitchen and start weighing out portions for yourself.  
For lunch, try making a whole wheat pasta salad or roasted vegetable cous cous and then you can portion it into containers to take to work with you (and include a piece of fruit or some popcorn or something for a snack). I love tuna and cucumber wraps - half a tin of tuna, one tablespoon of light mayo, and half a cup of peeled and chopped cucumber wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla with some lettuce or salad leaves. I have this with an apple and it keeps me full until dinner time. Getting a lot of fiber and drinking a lot of water are the two best things to keep you from starving while you cut back your calories.

P.S. I don't know what you mean about clothing being offered in smaller sizes in the UK.

The numbering system(the number on the label) is different, but the actual size of the clothing - the inches of fabric - is the same. You just have to convert from US to UK sizes.

P.S. I don't know what you mean about clothing being offered in smaller sizes in the UK.

Did I miss something?  Who talked about clothing? I am confused. 

That and with me moving to England...and clothes being offered in smaller sizes...the time in now!

The OP did.  And I know what she means.  When you are a size 12 in the US and you already feel fat...then you come to the UK and have to buy a size 16 (even though they are the same size as far as the fabric measurements)...it just makes you feel that much worse.

I agree with most of what everyone says but when eating grapes you have to be careful not to have too many cause they have natural sugar in them. also when eating nuts I was told not to have more than a palm full cause you are defeating the purpose if you have more cause nuts are high in fat. I agree with the keep a healthy snack on you or close to where you can get at it. I have a small snack size baggie with a palm full of raw whole almonds in my purse just in case I want a snack. I'm a seriously bad chocoholic so the almonds have saved me many a times when I would have bought a candy bar if I didn't have them in my bag.    

My Dietitian told me not to go cold turkey on sugary treats but to seriously cut back on them an then eventually cut them out if & when I'm ready to cut them out. she said if I go cold turkey next time I have my usual sugary treat I would binge on it then feel bad cause I ate so much its a vicious circle.     My Dietitian also said you shouldn't lose no more than 1-2 lbs a week if you want to have good long term results.

I'm not sure if you know this but if something says it is fat free that usually means they have jacked up the sugar level to make sure it still tastes good I learned that the hard way.  

I also agree with whoever said don't skip breakfast that just sets you up for failure cause by the time lunch rolls round you feel like you are starving an you will seriously over eat an the regret it later on. I also agree with whoever said something about portion control that is very crucial.    

Since you said you couldn't make it to the gym if you can afford it you could get a Wii Fit I have one an I absolutely love it.    

The OP did.  And I know what she means.  When you are a size 12 in the US and you already feel fat...then you come to the UK and have to buy a size 16 (even though they are the same size as far as the fabric measurements)...it just makes you feel that much worse.

I soo totally agree with you Bring Us A Shubbery about the clothes!!   

The OP did.  And I know what she means.  When you are a size 12 in the US and you already feel fat...then you come to the UK and have to buy a size 16 (even though they are the same size as far as the fabric measurements)...it just makes you feel that much worse.

But nobody expects everyone who moves from the US to the UK to immediately drop 2 sizes.

And people in the UK relate clothing sizes to body size based on UK sizes, not based on US sizes.

So to people in the UK, a size 16 doesn't mean the same thing (in terms of how you would imagine someone who wore a size 16 would look) as it does to someone in the US.

People in the UK don't care what an American size 16 looks like (unless they are buying something from America and want to make sure it will fit them).

You need to just forget about American sizing when you are buying British clothes.

It's kind of like dealing with money.  When you buy something in the UK, it doesn't make sense to think of how much it would cost in dollars, because you aren't in a country that uses dollars.

You're right that it would be a lot easier if we could just forget about sizes all together and start from scratch!  For me, it was just a psychological issue (I don't think anyone with body confidence issues feels good about having to buy clothes that are marked on the tag as being 2-4 sizes bigger than what they are used to).  The only way I was able to get around it was to constantly compare it to US sizes (saying, "Yes I'm a size 10 but that's "really" a size 8").  I'm sure with time you are able to train your brain to think differently (just like with pounds and dollars) but after only 7 months here, I haven't reached that point yet with clothing.

I definitely agree about the psychological aspect of the clothing sizes.  I know that it shouldn't matter, but it does make you feel different until you get used to it.  What finally helped me with clothing sizes was working at Harrods last summer in designer women clothing and discovering that we didn't carry anything smaller than a size 6 (UK) in that department.  Another useful thing was seeing other women shop and seeing what size they were.  It helped me re-adjust my thinking to what was "normal" clothing size here.