Spinoff:Lose 40 pds - HOW?! practical tips please!

amother

Wed, Jun 18 2014, 7:32 pm

Hi,
I'm the OP of the lose weight thread. Although I'm now in it to lose 40 lbs, I have lost around 20 lbs before by counting calories and exercising moderately a few times a week. I wasn't necessarily eating ONLY healthy foods (I would often have a slice of pizza for lunch, since 1 slice is approx. 300 calories), but I found as long as I stayed in my calorie range, I lost weight. At the time, I was eating around 1500-1600 calories, but everyone's range is different. You can use the link I posted in the thread, but note that you may need some more calories because you are nursing).

I totally understand you! I'm in a similar situation. I'm also a busy mom. I work & have 2 kids - a baby & a toddler; neither are in daycare.

If it helps, I'll show you what my daily food menu often looks like. The calories in parenthesis is what works for me, but sometimes I'll eat more or less. For example, if I eat a small breakfast, for ex, then I'll have more calories for snack, lunch, dinner, etc.
Here're some examples of what I usually eat that fits within my calorie range (1400 calories for me to lose 1.5-2 lbs/a week

Breakfast (400 calories)-
yogurt, granola, and 1 cut up fruit (mix it all in a bowl or put it in a Tupperware if you need to take it to work).
or a cereal/granola bar
or oatmeal
or cereal
or crackers w/ lowfat creamcheese & cut up tomatoes, cucumbers, or olives.

Snack (100 calories)
a fruit
yogurt
handful of pretzels or nuts
dried fruit
those 100 calorie snack packets
ices or low calorie ice cream

Lunch: (400 calories)
crackers w/ lowfat cream cheese & some cut up veggies
some kind of sandwich (tuna w/ lowfat mayo, cream cheese, peanut butter & jelly -- though I'll make sure to stick to 1-2 Tablespoons of 90 calorie PB...otherwise it is very high in calories, sliced cheese, etc.)

Snack (100 calories)
any of the above

Dinner: (400 calories)
this is where it gets tricky...as I really don't like making two dinners - 1 for me and 1 for dh and our toddler. So I'll try to make just one and eat a little bit, or make them dinner and I'll eat something else that's quick to whip up. Plus, we don't eat a lot of chicken/turkey/meat during the week, so I have to come up with dairy or parve recipes! I'll often serve anything with a low calorie salad (lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes dressed with only vinegar, lemon juice, and salt)
I like to make baked ziti with low fat cottage cheese and regarding the cheese on top: I sprinkle less motzarella cheese on one side, and more cheese on the other side. I eat the side with less cheese.
pizza (homemade or bought)
omelet w/ whole wheat toast and cooked veggies
burritos (whole grain tortillas, beans, veggies, and some taco sauce)
salmon kebabs (salmon, cut up veggies like onions, tomatoes, peppers, etc.) w/ rice on the side
baked fish with lemon and spices & steamed veggies on the side.
stirfry (use very little oil or PAM, sauté veggies, some egg or diced chicken breast. I like to put it some noodles or serve it with rice on the side)
vegetarian hot dogs in hot dog buns

Hope this helped! Good luck!! Smile