HELP!!!!!!! EATIng habitS!!!

My name is Jessica but please just call me Jessie!!!

I am 280 some pounds please just let me know of some exercises I could do or how I can improve on my eating! and by the way Im stuffed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! is that a bad thing????

 

Breakfast:

- One bowl of Kelloggs Frosted Flakes with 2% milk

- One cup of Oak Farms Orange Drink

Lunch:

- Fresh Express Salad

- Ranch Salad Dressing

- 6" Ham Subway Sandwich

- 2 Diet Dr. Peppers

Snacks:

- 2 or 3 Fun Ice Pops

- other 2 Diet Dr. Pepper

Dinner:

- Homemade Chili (a huge bowl) :(

- Hunt's Ketchup

- A Huge cup of Orange Juice

Jessie -- welcome.  Have you tried out the tools to see just how many calories you can eat (and still lose weight)?  I bet it's more than you thought.  While your menu today doesn't look particularly calorific (I doubt that's a word) -- it's also not very balanced.

1.  Find out how many calories you can eat every day

2.  Try to chose foods that give you the best bang for your calorie buck -- save the frosted flakes for a special day, try Fiber One, Kashi Golean crunch, or something else with lots of fiber (helps keep you feeling full).

3.  Start exercising -- something like walking to start off with if you haven't really done much exercise before.  It's easy and can be done anywhere.

So -- check out the Tools on the site, check out the Q&As (very informative) in the Library and explore.  Also -- if you put a profile in about yourself, it helps others get to know you and you may meet friends in similar situations (click on your name and then Edit Page underneath the box with the question mark)

#1. HOLY SUGAR!!!!! Frosted flakes, all that orange juice, popcicles, and all those pops, wow, you must have a sweet tooth. One rule of thumb, don't drink fruit juice. I know it may seem to be a healthy choice compared to a pop or something, but actually, it has just as much sugar and no fiber. If you're craving something sweet opt for the whole fruit, not the juice. That way at least you're getting the fiber out of it.

#2. Stick to drinking water only. You were probably a big pop drinker and decided to switch to diet to save the calories and shed some pounds, but diet soda is still terrible for you, even if it has no calories. It also makes you crave sweets and makes you more hungry throughout the day so you end up eating more calories anyways. DRINK WATER or maybe some skim milk or green tea if you need flavour.

#3. Ranch dressing....sorry to tell you but that salad may have had as many calories as a burger due to the dressing.  Stick to a vinegarette for dressing or a low-fat/no fat dressing on salad, AND MAKE SURE THAT SANDWICH IS ON WHILE WHEAT BREAD! No refined carbohydrates.

#4. Sugary cereals for breakfast are a very bad choice. Empty calories that leave you hungry an hour later. Go for something with TONS of fiber and use skim milk instead of 2%. If you absolutely cannot give up the sugaryness of the cereal add some honey or maple syrup to a very high fiber cereal like all bran with extra fiber or fiber one.

#5 MOVE MORE. Simple as that. move around as much as you can. Whether it's taking the stairs instead of the escalator or parking your car further away from places you need to go to get in a little extra walking. Just suck it up and do it.

Just eat lots of whole grains, whole fruits and vegetables, lean protiens, lots of fiber, cut the sugar and add in some movement and the pounds will melt off.

Good luck. 

yikes! the ranch dressing alone scared me!    try weaning yourself slowly down.    take out 100 calories tomorrow, and in 2 days take another 100 out, etc. before you know it, you will be able to train your stomach to require less foods to feel full.  I was eating over 2000 a day, without realizing.  Then i cut it down to 1500 as a limit.  I was hard for the first week but now 3 weeks later, in barely hitting 1200 on most days, and feel super full!   Patience is key, it wont happen overnight.   Also if you hate water like i did, try drinking once glass with every meal. before you know it, you wont want sodas any more.   

Today so far I have eaten:

Breakfast:

Kashi Cinnamon Harvest Cereal with Fat Free milk with Vitamin A and D

Lunch:

Weight Watchers Smart Ones Three Cheese Ziti Marinara and drank a Strawberry CAlcium Proper Fitness Water

AS a snack so far it has been One stick of Spearmint Trident Gum...

How am I doing so far???

seems like you are taking it from one extreme to another...a piece of gum IS NOT a snack. and its not just what you eat but how much. just because it is healthy for you DOES NOT mean that you can eat more. after all we are counting calories. instead of cereal try oatmeal. you get way more food for 150 cals which is sometimes less then 3/4 cup regular cereal for the same amount of cals. the salad was a good choice of lunch ( i have one every day) but try kraft light zesty italian dressing or light ranch and pair your salad with half of a sandwich on ww bread with turkey, half a piece of cheese and mustard (or low fat mayo if you prefer). or just pair your salad with a piece of fruit like an apple, nectarine or grapes. i'd try to lay off of the diet dr pepper. sure its diet and no cals but that could be contributing to why you feel so stuffed since its full of carbonation and other bad stuff. and a huge cup of oj can acutally be like 2 to 3 cups which can equal around 300 cals. and try eating your homemade chili in a small bowl and pair it with a salad.

I noticed you eat almost no fruits or vegetables. These really are an important part of your diet because not only do they have nutrients you really need, they are naturally low calorie and filling, so even just adding a few will help you eat less in other areas.

Yes, it looks like now you are not eating enough, and not eating enough produce. Add some fruit into breakfast and a big salad to your lunch. I would also add in a morning snack of something like an apple and peanut butter, or carrots and hummus (some combo of produce/protein/fat)

Hi Jessie.  Welcome to calorie count.

Unless you are a vegetarian or vegan, it is reasonable to eat a balanced diet that includes all the basic food groups: grains, vegetables, fruit, meat/beans and dairy.

A 2000 calorie a day diet would consist basically of:

 6 oz (dry) of grains

 2.5 cups of cooked vegetables (unless it is lettuce which about 2 cups per serving)

1.5 cups of fruits

5.5 oz of lean meat/fish/chicken or 5.5 half cups (cooked) servings of beans. 

Additionally it would include about 6 teaspoons of "good" oils and no more than 265 calories from sugars/sweets.

At least that is what www.mypyramid.gov says. 

2000 calories may be low for you at this point.  The "tool gurus" on the site can help you with that.  Start thinking in terms of "cup" versus bowl.  A measuring cup is a cup...8 ounces.  A "bowl" can vary depending upon what you have in your cupboard and how high you heap it.

Portion control is very important.  Get aquiainted with serving sizes.

Good luck to you.  Coming here is a great start.

If you have time (and if you don´t it´s good to make time) avoid prepackaged foods, even if it´s weight watchers.  Prepackaged foods are full of fat and sugar and nasty additives.  Put lots of whole grains (brown rice and oatmeal, wholemeal pasta and quinoa) into your shopping cart along with loads of fresh vegetables and fruit and perhaps a chicken (take skin off) for a special treat.  Lentils and beans are also great for protein and bulk but with fewer calories than meat.

When you cook, measure / weigh everything and use the calorie counter to see how many calories each thing has.

A typical, easy, fast and low cal meal made from scratch would be wholemeal pasta and tomato sauce.  Fry a chopped onion with cook spray or 1teaspoon of oil, add chopped garlic, 2 or 3 chopped tomatoes and a chopped zuccini.  Bring to the boil then leave to simmer for at least 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, heat up water to cook the brown pasta.  Once it´s cooked, weigh out about 6 oz and check calories on the packet or on the calorie counter.  You can add a little parmesan - it´s got such a strong taste a little goes a long way.

Another healthy time saver is to make stews with vegetables, lentils and a little meat or chicken.  Make a big batch so you can freeze some for future, home made ready meals.

 

Oh and another thing!  Sugary foods aren´t good - they give you calories but no goodness.  If you find you are really craving sugar, it´s ok to treat yourself within reason - a square or 2 of dark chocolate, for example.  If this doesn´t stop your cravings for sugar, go to the doctor´s as you may have a yeast infection.

Hey Jessie--

Your daily intake looks pretty good there are just a few things I would change. First, change to Skim milk it has less calories and fat. Second try Italian dressing instead of Ranch ( ranch dressing is nothing but fat sugar and calories) Third, try fruit(dried or fresh)for snacks instead of sugar filled popsicles. Lastly the only things that will help with that giant bowl of chilli is #1 smaller bowls, #2 eat a salad with it to help you feel full.