I'm Lost -- help

Hi Everyone,

I don't have that much weight to lose, but in addition, i'm also trying to eat healthy.  In order for me to lose 1 lb per week, I have to eat 1600 calories.  However, I know this pry sounds really dumb, but I don't know what I'm doing.  I've already had almost 1/2 of my daily caloric intake today.  Here's what I've already eaten:

Cereal w/skim milk (mini wheats)

1 c. prune juice

2 c. coffee w/h & h

 I know you are pry going to tell me to give up the half & half in my coffee, but i've just started, and have given up the sugar; am now using Splenda (which I can't stand the taste in my coffee). So, i'm still trying to get used to that.

Thanks for any suggestions !

New habits can take at least up to  3 weeks to become ingrained into our brains.  I like to eat like I am in training for a competition.  So, for breakfast today I had one egg white scrambled with one egg and 1 oz fat free cheddar cheese, a cup of yogurt. 

In a couple of hours I will  have another small meal.  The more frequently I eat the less deprived I feel.  It may be different for you, but it may be worth a try. 

It is hard to learn something new, but the rewards are worth the effort.  Keep trying.

Are the mini wheats frosted? They are probably full of sugar, that's the first thing i would nix. There are tons of low calorie cereals if you like cereal too much to give it up. If you are willing to give it up, try having tons more protein for breakfast. My nutritionist said that should be your biggest meal filled with tons of protein. It will keep you full longer. Try some turkey bacon and eggs or oatmeal. I eat a HUGE bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. Quaker makes  a lower sugar maple brown sugar one that is awesome. I put a banana in it and I am set for HOURS and feel great.

I agree with the above -- low sugar cereal will help you be satisfied for a longer (you won't have a sugar spike) and can save you considerable calories.

It took me a while to get off the 1/2 and 1/2 -- and I still indulge occasionally -- but I gradually shifted to Unsweetened vanilla almond breeze (almond milk), and seem to be doing great with that.

The prune juice is a major source of calories and sugar.  And because it is the juice, you are not really getting the fiber benefits.  You would be much better suited to having no more than 1/2 cup and supplementing your fiber through you cereal and/or the fruit you put on your cereal.

My main breakfast:  52g Kashi Go lean Cereal (140cal); 3/4 cup skim milk (sometimes more, sometimes less) (80cal); 80g raspberries (43cals); 1g  cinnamon (0); and 7-9g ground flaxseed (40cals)  -- my breakfast is usually 250 -- 275 cals and will keep me feeling fine for hours.

Good luck 

I second that fact that prune juice is prob something that might be better as a treat than a normal everyday thing. The sooner you replace stuff like that with water the better. Try not to drink your calories, that means juice, gatorade, sugar soda etc. When you have limited calories, it just makes more sense to use them on something you can chew IMO. Also b/c of all the stuff they usually put in juices it might actually be more nutritious to just eat a plum (or prune i guess lol).

 

I lost alot of weight eating sugar free unsweetened mini wheats combined with

running every day for half an hour.  It is higher in calories than other cereals but combined with cardio the

unfrosted kind is good for you since the only ingredient is whole wheat and nothing else I believe.

As for coffee, half and half gives me stomache aches!  Have you tried putting whole

milk in your coffee instead?  It is pretty creamy and lightens up the coffee pretty well.  I use skim milk with a measured amount of light International delight creamer in my coffee, but I think even this is putting weight on me!  Also another way to give up your coffee habit is to think what it is doing to your teeth.  My teeth have become yellow from years of drinking coffee and tea and now I have to stop and get my teeth bleached.  One alternative is to drink from one of those tiny stirrer straws though, but then that could cause mouth wrinkles if you are a daily coffee drinker! 

 I personally am going to cut down on my coffee consumption since it blackens my teeth and involves putting extra calories that I don't enjoy that much.  I would rather eat something good like london broil than consume sugary milk and cream in my coffees

 

Hi. I've been watching my foods and calories, or points or carbs for years, and I sometimes feel like I don't know what I'm doing either. The point is to be aware and notice what and how much you are eating. Your keeping track today is a great start. It takes awhile to see how you eat and what substitutions you might make, but definitely don't eat something you hate. If you like half and half, well have some. Just don't have a donut with it. You are making changes in your habits that you need to learn to live with, not just until you lose the weight, but for the rest of your life. 

Try fat free half and half by the way. Keeping track will come like second nature after awhile.

Good luck and do not stop trying. Just remember you didn't learn to walk all at once either.

Kayo 

Prune juice I believe is high in calories trade it for water and try not to consume calories in liquid instead have a fruit.

I am cutting out things I love, too, and I did exactly what you did, cut the sugar and replace with Splenda, and hated it.  Then somone suggested I cut my two cups down to one cup, and have my coffee the way I like it!  Try using organic cane sugar, its much sweeter than regular sugar so you use less!  Also, I started drinking a carnation with 1% milk for breakfast, and its very filling.  It tastes like chocolate milk.  You can do all kinds of things with the carnation, like the vanilla, and add a banana and orange and make a very very filling smoothie.  And instead of juice, two clementines are sweet, delicious, and filling!

Prune juice must be insanely high in calories for those three little items to total 800 calories!!

I must chime in along with the others that said a cup of prune juice daily may be taxing your calorie allotment.  Can you switch to another kind of juice?  Either that, or drink water and eat a few prunes ... probably lower in calories and more nutritional benefit.

I've practically cut out juice from my diet ... I'd rather eat my calories than drink them.

 

Mini-wheats are NOT that bad calorie-wise... even if they're frosted. Sure they have some sugar, but not enough to be a problem if you're on 1600 calories a day! The prune juice is chock full of calories though... it could make a major calorie cut if you switched to drinking water with your breakfast and ate a piece of fruit instead. 

If you don't like the taste of splenda, don't use it! Wean yourself off sugar altogether... Fake sugar tastes exactly that to me - cloyingly sweet and with an icky aftertaste. I'd rather not have sugar at all...

You don't have to change every bad dietary habit you have overnight... it's easier to sustain your healthy eating habits if you commit to changing ONE thing per week, and then stick to it. (instead of 3tsp sugar in your coffee, cut it in half for a week, and then cut THAT in half and so on.)

It takes time to educate ourselves.  Here are some articles from the CC+ Library that might help.  The first one explains how small meals effect your metabolism, and the other two are suggested meal plans that spell out what you need to be eating for good health.

Mini-meals and Metabolism,  

-calories in three meals a day,

1500-calories in six meals a day.