Posts by warbler02

I get so confused coming onto this thread! Everywhere I go, I'm told to eat 1500+ calories per day, but then on this thread there are people subsisting on 1200 calories!! And people who are much bigger and more active than I am who eat only 1600 calories. Am I eating too much? I am 5'4, 20 years old, and I work out hard for 1/2-1 hour every day, doing cardio and strength training. Atleast that's what I've been doing for the last few months. My goal is to maintain my weight. I currently eat about 1400-1500 calories a day. Please tell me I can eat more without gaining weight because it feels like I'm eating so little, even though I eat very healthy :( Do I really have to eat as few calories as you all do?

Here is what I ate today:

Breakfast: organic raisin bran (315), plain yogurt (120), english muffin (100), almond butter (100), jam (50)

Lunch: hummus (100), plain yogurt (120),  cucumber sticks (20)

Snack: clif bar (250)

Dinner: boca burger (100), egg (80), spinach (20), peppers (20)

Snacks: dates (40), almonds (14), jello (10)

breakfast: creamed corn with a spoonful of sugar

snack: white wheat toast with peach mango jam and cheese

lunch: cold udon noodles with spicy peanut dressing

snack: lowfat strawberry yogurt with flax seeds

dinner: oatmeal with cinnamon, sugar, and some frozen peaches

Thursday:

Breakfast: peanut butter trail mix bar, 1 slice white wheat bread with peanut butter & sliced bananas and 1 slice with peanut butter & strawberry preserves

Snack: lowfat plain yogurt

Lunch: LOTS of chocolate frozen yogurt

Dinner: tuna salad with mustard, lowfat plain yogurt, diced cucumbers, jalapenos, and tomatoes

Snack: jello

Friday:

Breakfast: honey bunches of oats w/ almonds w/ 2% milk, peanut butter trail mix bar, 2 slices dry white wheat toast

Snack: cheese crackers from the vending machine...bleh

Lunch: old-fashioned oats w/ lowfat strawberry yogurt

Dinner: veggie burger w/ white wheat bread and sliced jalapeno

its friday, so nutrition today is pretty crappy:

breakfast: peanut butter trail mix bar, english muffin, girl scout cookie, ghirardelli chocolate square

snack: scrambled eggs (including yolk) w/ cheese and spinach

lunch: old-fashioned oats w/ cinnamon applesauce and truvia

snack: high-fiber, high-protein tortilla

snack: peanut butter trail mix bar

dinner: roasted portobello mushrooms, mashed potatoes, sauteed spinach w/ garlic and butter

i bought a box of nature valley sweet & salty peanut bars yesterday--they are like CRACK!

breakfast: old-fashioned oats w/ truvia, reeses pieces, M&M's, and 1 cup banana slices (oatmeal sundae )

snack: girl scout cookies

snack: english muffin w/ apricot preserves

snack: peppermint tea

lunch: homemade dal makhani

dinner: veggie burger on white wheat bread w/ mustard, alfalfa sprouts, and cheese

snack: jello

I eat all my treats in the AM so it's easier for me to 1) control portions, 2) avoid temptation later in the evening. Try that? Eat something decadent for your breakfast/morning snack so you don't feel like you're dieting all day. When you get home for the evening, you'll be able to resist the treats much better. And of course, keep counting your calories.

Personal example: today I knew I was going to have lunch with my colleagues at a very tempting buffet. In the past I would have skipped breakfast in preparation/fear, but then gone to the buffet and caved in at the free cheesecake, parfaits, ice cream, and petit fours. Now I know better. Today I made sure to eat a breakfast I really liked, and then to have a small ration of treats before lunch (2 Girl Scout cookies and a small handful of M&M's and Reese's Pieces). I easily ignored the desserts at lunch and managed to eat a very light lunch amidst all the unhealthy choices.

I also find this to be incredibly helpful:

http://www.bulimiahelp.org/tools/binge-bustin g/halt-taking-first-bite

breakfast: 1 cup banana slices on white wheat toast

snack: girl scout cookie

snack: peppermint tea

lunch: 1 baked sweet potato, lots of fruit salad (raspberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, honeydew melon)

snack: m&m's

dinner: homemade dal makhani w/ pita bread

almond butter mixed with strawberry cream cheese. i can eat this with a spoon

Here are mine (with plenty of repeats--people have hit on a lot of good ones so far!)

-oatmeal (instant is really convenient and tasty but i am trying to eat real old-fashioned oats these days)
-spicy foods (i use hot sauce and mustard daily)
-lowfat cottage cheese
-mini cucumbers
-homemade hummus
-boca vegan burgers
-lean ground turkey
-yogurt (my favorites are stonyfield farms lowfat and chobani greek)
-low-cal bread products (la tortilla factory 80 cal tortillas, nature's own 50 cal white wheat bread, thomas 100 cal light english muffins)

Methods/etc.:

-scrambled eggs in the microwave. no oil required! you can use regular bowls or tupperware and they won't stick.
-measuring cups and spoons
-eat pasta sauce over steamed veggies and instant mashed potatoes instead of pasta. just 1 serving of pasta is 200 cals and it's not very much or very filling. 1 big bowl of idahoan instant mashed potatoes is 80 cals and it goes great with pasta sauce and eggplant parmigiana and stuff like that. i often add a whole pat of butter to that for a much more satisfying side that still has fewer cals than pasta. steamed broccoli is also bulky and great.
-big breakfasts. starting off your day hungry is a recipe for disaster.
-eat treats like cookies for breakfast and get your cravings over with, instead of saving them for night

Breakfast: white wheat bread w/ cheese spread and apricot preserves, girl scout cookies

Snack: homemade oatmeal cookie w/ dried cranberries and prunes

Lunch: white wheat bread w/ alfalfa sprouts and homemade hummus (garlic, chili oil, lemon juice, and chickpeas)

Snack: english muffin

Dinner: homemade tuna salad (1 can of tuna, mustard, vinegar, hot chili sauce, lemon juice, lowfat plain yogurt), lettuce w/ light caesar dressing

Question for you all: how many grams of fat do you aim for per day? How much fat do you think is appropriate for a healthy diet?

breakfast: scrambled eggs with cheese, english muffin

snack: cottage cheese

lunch: veggie burger on white wheat bread with cheese and alfalfa sprouts

snack: m&m's

snack: tortilla

dinner: guacamole salad with alfalfa sprouts, tomato, lettuce, and 1 whole avocado

i was kind of surprised by how fast the calories added up today. i hate days like that--you don't seem to eat a lot of food but before you know it you're at your calorie limit.

Well before you go around saying you need "mush" and "curves" to look like a real woman, you should remember that not all of us girls are blessed with fat in all the right places. I have a very small chest and no butt either. It's how I am naturally built. But I think I too have the right to be proud of my body and to feel that I'm an attractive girl.

I personally don't think you need to be fat OR skinny to be "girly." Being a woman has nothing to do with how you look. Sure, I would love to be of another ethnicity (I'm Asian) so I could have some "cushion" in the "right" places but I'm not built to have curves. There is no one ideal "girly" body, that is the point I am trying to make.

I planned this day out and it will be much more satisfying than the previous 2 days. Amazing how a little planning can completely change the profile of your diet from one day to the next without changing the amount of calories. Your post reminds me of that, lafoutloud01. I'm glad you had a satisfying and successful day :)

Sunday:

Breakfast: 3 banana pancakes w/ syrup

Lunch: mashed potatoes, eggplant parmesan w/ butter

Dinner: steamed shrimp bun, crab dumplings w/ chili sauce

1. what's your favorite source of meat? (chicken, pork, etc): seafood.

2. what about your least favorite kind of meat?: pork

3. what meats are traditionally served at thanksgiving in your family?: we don't do thanksgiving

4. what's your favorite way to cook meat?: seafood - braised, chicken - grilled, pork/beef/turkey - ground

5. do you think meat is worth the calories?: definitely. its just the add-ons that aren't worth the calories (like deep frying it or covering it in gravy...the meat itself is low-cal)

6. in your opinion, what's the most exotic meat you've ever eaten?: octopus, peacock, jellyfish, sea cucumber, rabbit

7. is there a kind of meat you'd like to try that you've never tried?: no.

8. what's your favorite thing to do with chicken?: grilled on top of pasta or caesar salad. or in chicken tenders

9. how do you like your steak?: don't really like steak. but if i eat it then it should be medium-rare.

10. what's your favorite thing to do with fish/sea food?: curry, sushi, or crab cakes

11. honestly, since becoming calorie-conscious/health-conscious.. do you miss bacon?: i barely ever eat bacon anyway

12. what is your favorite non-animal source of meat? (eggs, beans, nut butters, etc): eggs, cheese

13. what was the last meat product you ate?: do eggs count? today for lunch

14. do you weigh out an 85g portion (1 "serving") of meat, or do you just eat however much you want as long as you log the calories?: i never weigh it out, but i don't usually eat very big portions

15. what is the next meat product you'll most likely eat?: im having scrambled eggs tonight...actual meat product will be crab...im making some dumplings tomorrow