What to leave out of my meals to reach my calorie goal for the day?

This is what I ate today- and I will not be eating anything else:

BREAKFAST: honey nut cheerios (1 cup with a 1/4 cup of skim milk)

SNACK: 3/4 of a dannon yogurt with fruit on the bottom (I never eat the fruit at the bottom - grosses me out, but I like the plain yogurt part).

LUNCH: 1.5 hard boiled eggs on 2 pieces of 100% whole wheat bread (90 calories a piece).

100 calorie sugar free cake thingy that tastes soooo good.

DINNER: ground turkey, steamed veggies (green & red peppers, mushrooms, garlic, onions and water chestnuts), and red kidney beans in a 100% whole wheat tortilla with hot salsa.

hostess 100 calorie pack- chocolate cake and chocolate icing.

I'm already over my calories for the day by 35 calories!!!! I can't think of what to cut out of my "real food" meals to keep my calories down?

I can always leave out my 100 calorie packs but I need them to survive and not binge.

After looking at my meals - any suggestions on what to leave out or what to edit to keep my calories down without having to give up my sweets??? I didn't think 200 calories a sweets a day was too bad! I'm one of those people who would rather eat dessert than dinner any day...

I wouldn't stress about 35 calories, unless of course you are feeling like you want/need more food.

Are you satisfied with your meals? Your dinner looks great.  But breakfast and lunch work leave me hungry... I would need more protein and fiber. I would have oatmeal (with fruit and a little splenda) or kashi crunch for breakfast, they do keep me satisfied and give me the sweet that I like. For lunch a huge salad with protein, your egg whites, or chicken...

Do you exercise? I do, just so those little extras don't matter. Just an extra few minutes and it is like the extra 35 calories didn't happen ;)

Actually, 35 calories won't ruin you, not even close. That's 1/100 of a pound. So I think you're doing pretty well calorie-wise.

First off, how many calories does your whole day actually add up to?

We'd need to know your stats and how you arrived at your daily calorie level. 

It really doesn't look like enough food.

The biggest changes I'd make are to switch to plain fat free yogurt and sweeten it to taste.  It's cheaper and you can eat more of it.  Then I'd get rid of all the packaged junk food.  Just because it's 100 calories doesn't mean it's a good idea.  Switch to fruit - you can have a much bigger serving - a whole cup of strawberries is only 50 calories. 

In my opinion, Cheerios is junk food.  If you want oats, cook yourself some real old fashioned oats and have it with a whole cup of milk.  That wills stay with you.

I allow myself to go up to 50 calories over my limit of 1400 and dont' worry about it, but I eat as much whole, fresh food as possible and stay away from anything in a wrapper. 

What does that add up to?

Why are you buying fruit on the bottom yogurt if you only like the plain part - just buy a large container of plain yogurt - saves money, cuts down on packaging, and you know how much you are eating - if you use the fruit on the bottom ones, you don't know how many calories you are leaving in the cup.

And bottom line... if you are worried about 35 calories, you are focused on the wrong thing.

Think she means that she's 35 over and still hungry?  Idk.

If you need something to feel ~special~ and not binge (I need it too! That's how I thought of this)  Make yourself 100 calorie crustless pumpkin pie.  Follow a pumpkin pie recipe, but take out the butter, substitute sugar, etc.  No crust, just put it in oven-safe little bowls and bake!  Yum yum and pretty low-cal high-fiber.

I'm still hungry yes. Those calories add up to about 1335 according to this site.

According to CC I should be eating about 1300 calories a day. Yes, I do exercise - about 40 - 60 minutes of cardio, 3-4 times a week.

And I need more protein without a lot of carbs.

I'm really trying to loose weight the healthy way and I'm finding that I'm always hungry...especially at bed time.

Oh - and for the fruit on the bottom - that's my husband. He went to the store and I told him to get me some low fat yogurt.

He came back with 20 Dannon fruit on the bottom yogurts! He's learning...and sooo cute....

Melt 1 slice of nonfat cheese (should be like 30 calories) into 1 can of tuna.  Microwave.  Alternately, microwave tuna alone and then add a little of your favored salad dressing.  Alternately, use one of the above two  (both are wonderful) in place of salad dressing on a bed of spinach or lettuce.  1/2 a can of tuna has 11g of protein if I remember, and 50 calories.  Save the other half for later unless you REALLY need protein!

I really think you aren't eating enough of the right kinds of food - you can get more volume for fewer calories  AND you can get the right balance of food AND feel full :)

I'm eating about 1250 cal per day and I aim for 2 dairy servings, 1.5 cups *each* of fruit & vegetables (2 cup green salad = 1 cup veggies), 4oz. (75grams) of protein, 25grams fiber, and about 5oz. of Grains (about 200 grams, give or take 25grams).  From these servings I pick and choose until I get the right balance & calories.

To give you an idea, and so you can compare to what you ate today - here is my menu for today (total about 1300 cal) -

BREAKFAST: 1/2c Egg Beaters, 3/4 slice kraft 2% sharp cheddar cheese, and a homemade Blueberry Flax muffin (123cal & YUMMY!), coffee

SNACK: Dannon Light & Fit yogurt (45cal & 5grams protein!), 1/2c red grapes

LUNCH: 2c romaine & spinach salad, 1/4c radishes, 1T kraft light ranch dressing mixed w/1T fat-free milk, 3oz. salmon steak, 1/2c fat-free milk

SNACK: another Blueberry Muffin

DINNER: 1/2c black beans w/1T taco sauce (surprised me how good this was!), 1/2c roasted carrots, 1/2c red grapes

SNACK: 1 big slice of homemade whole wheat & oat honey bread (1/12th of the loaf) with 1T Skippy reduced fat peanut butter AND a 10oz. Minute Maid orange juice

That worked out to 21% fat (30grams), 23% protein (78grams), and 56% carbs (197grams) + 23grams fiber.  You could eat everything I did plus your two 100calorie snacks and still be on target :)

It is *hard* to figure out what to eat each day and get the right % and nutrients and calories. I spend time every night figuring out what to eat the next day and it's a pain.  I hope that soon it will become more of a 2nd nature to me but for now I just keep adding and taking away and recalculating until I get it close to right.

I don't think that 35 calories is much to worry about but if you wanted to re-vamp your menu to cut some calories

BREAKFAST: plain cheerios with fat free milk or oatmeal made with water

SNACK: dannon light & fit (the vanilla is AMAZING), perhaps with some grape nut

LUNCH: salad with eggs, toast on the side if you like

100 calorie sugar free cake thingy that tastes soooo good.

DINNER: ground turkey, steamed veggies (green & red peppers, mushrooms, garlic, onions and water chestnuts), and red kidney beans over shredded lettuce and some tortilla crisp

hostess 100 calorie pack- chocolate cake and chocolate icing.

but really, i wouldn't worry about it :D

i dont know what kind of bread u buy- but sara lee has this awesome honey wheat bread thats 45 cals a slice, its a big pricey in my area, but i still buy it- when i'm broke they do have reg white at the store- usually store brand- its 50 cals a slice..

If you only like plain yoghurt, why buy the fruit ones at all? Dannon sells a plain vanilla yoghurt, or even a 'natural' yoghurt with no flavouring in it at all. Reading down, okay I see... well DH tried! lol

If I was going to pick on your day's eating, I'd say that it's a bit low in fruits and vegetables... for lunch I'd have two eggs with ONE slice of bread and a big juicy apple or a salad. Maybe even a salad with apple in it. I'd sub a piece of fruit for one of the sweet snacks (keep the other - everyone needs a treat...) And for breakfast I'd have a cup of plain cheerios mixed with 1/4 cup fiber one to boost their nutrition, and more milk. Cheerios are good, but adding extra fiber helps to make you feel full for longer, and the fiber one also sweetens the bowl without adding any calories - it's my one exception to my 'no artificial sweeteners' rule.

I would start by switching from honey nut cheerios to plain cheerios. Both look like 110 calories but  honey nut is for 3/4 c and plain is for 1 c. That will save you a few. THen I would switch your yogurt. Yogurt at the bottom is some of the worst yogurt you can eat, and it has the most sugar. If you dont like the fruit I suggest switching to light n' fit yogurt. It has little to no fat and only 80 cal per serving. Also I would look over your whole meal plan thing again. While eating less you need to make sure you are getting foods high in fiber ( since your digestive system will slow down) along with other needed nutrients. Start thinking about dieting as a way of life, to make you look, feel, and actually be healthier!  

Original Post by ceils444:

I'm still hungry yes. Those calories add up to about 1335 according to this site.

According to CC I should be eating about 1300 calories a day. Yes, I do exercise - about 40 - 60 minutes of cardio, 3-4 times a week.

1335 is about 1300 so you aren't over your recommendation.

Did you add the 40-60 minutes of cardio into CC+ before it recommended about 1300 a day? 

Original Post by tealparadise:

Melt 1 slice of nonfat cheese (should be like 30 calories) into 1 can of tuna.  Microwave.  Alternately, microwave tuna alone and then add a little of your favored salad dressing.  Alternately, use one of the above two  (both are wonderful) in place of salad dressing on a bed of spinach or lettuce.  1/2 a can of tuna has 11g of protein if I remember, and 50 calories.  Save the other half for later unless you REALLY need protein!

 I'm sure you meant to say to take the tuna out of the can before Microwaving, right?

I suggest more fiber, or cut out the sugary 100 calorie pack. Maybe have 2 sugar free jello with 2 tablespoons of light cool whip.

Why not walk for 10 minutes or add a couple more minutes on cardio and then you don't have to cut anything :) have your cake and eat it too!

try the natures own light wheat bread.. 40 calories per slice... find something else beside the tortilla... even the light ones are high in calories