Foods to eat when on diet

amother

Sun, Feb 22 2015, 1:37 pm

I've been trying to lose weightfor a while. Some days I just slip - eat too many cookies for example.
Other days I just don't know what to eat. I'm sick and tired of chicken, meat and salmon.
Most days I eat:
Breakfast: 2 eggs or a slice of bread (WW) or some oatmeal (home made).
Lunch: lots and lots of veggies in different ways (baked, quiches, salads), Some rice (brown) or quinoa. Sometimes chicken or salmon. or eggs if didnt have them for breakfast.
Snacks are usually (when I'm good) rice cakes or crackers (rarely) with low fat cream cheese or oat meal or some dates and nuts.
dinners are similar to lunch.
I'm so so so tired of all these foods. I make variations of these foods.
I don't know what else to make! what else to eat!
Ideas please??? please please?
I don't touch pastas anymore so pasta and lasagna are off. I do have soups but less lately.

BTW I'm in EY so some meats that are used in the US are rare here.

Dolly Welsh

Sun, Feb 22 2015, 3:53 pm

This.

Alas you are having too much fun.

You are eating a respectable, nutritious, weight-maintenance diet. Nothing wrong with it, but you will stay the same.

If you want to lose, eat hardly any carbs and more or less almost NO sugar. And not too, too, many fruits. No dried fruits. No dates. Very few nuts. Lots of lemon water.

Certainly nothing with a crust, like quiche.

Learn to like salads with no oil on them, meaning, seasonings, and vinegar or lemon juice, only. If you throw in a handful of raisins, it's delicious, but there goes your diet. That's just eating like a normal person. No croutons.

Yogurt is fine, but plain.

I had a friend who swore by cups of hot chicken bouillon. Yes, that has salt. She didn't care.

As for fish, not the oily ones, like salmon; just the lean ones. No gefilte fish either, that's good food, but it has bread crumbs in it.

If all this is hard, eat a little more, but mainly, watch out for how much you are eating during the course of the whole day.

Walk more, and do your stretches after a hot shower.

Try to not eat anything to which you have not been properly introduced by name. Is this breakfast? Is this lunch? Is this dinner? Is this mid afternoon snack? What you eat should have a name.

Have a solid dinner, and do not eat at all after dinner.

Drink water before going to bed.

rachel6543

Sun, Feb 22 2015, 4:23 pm

Well, for variation you can make smoothies. I've been doing that lately. Veggies like spinach and kale can easily be added to a smoothie. Also, you can easily add protein by adding soy milk, yogurt, flax seed, hemp seeds, chia seeds, nuts or nut butters. Smoothies have been convient for me because I can make the night before and drink in the car on the way to work or have for a snack when working on th computer at work. I've eating way more spinach since I started doing this.

Another idea. Make homemade hummus and add some spinach to it. Serve with sliced veggies for lunch or snack during the day.

Also, I make homemade healthy baganoush (I cook eggplant in microwave, add lemon juice and garlic to taste, blend in food processor. I like to add a tiny bit of mayo to mine). Freeze extra babaganoush in small containers. Great with sliced veggies, whole grain crackers, rice cakes, whole grain pita...etc.

For when you have a sweet tooth, make healthier desserts instead. Check out chocolatecoveredkatie.com. Her blog has lots of healthier vegan/parve desserts. I've made many of them and they are great! I actually just bought her cookbook.

Have you tried making oatmeal in the crockpot overnight? You need steel cut oats for this, not regular oats. You can add fruit, spices... Whatever you like. Great way to have a healthy breakfast all ready made when you wake up. You can find lots of recipes online for this.

Make Healthy muffins. You can make 100% whole grain with white whole wheat flour. You can use applesauce in place of oil if you want. Pumpkin, zucchini, carrots, blueberries, bananas... All bake well. You can use dates instead of sugar. There are tons of recipes online. Great because you can freeze extras. Have a muffin for breakfast or a snack one day to switch it up. Also great for serving for shabbat lunches. Get creative.

You can make veggie patties. Grate carrots, bell peppers, spinach, onion, potatoes... Etc... sauté until soft.... Then add some egg and a little matzah meal to hold shape. Add spices to taste. Fry in a tiny bit of olive oil. Then bake in the oven a few min to crisp up. I like with applesauce. These also freeze well and can be served on shabbat too for a side dish.

Hope these ideas help.

ra_mom

Sun, Feb 22 2015, 4:44 pm

amother wrote:

how much fat are you using in your salads, roasted veggies, quiches, etc? How much extra starch are you eating in your quiche crusts, soups (potato, barley, noodles, etc)? These things add up so so quickly.
What are your portion sizes like?
Besides for calories and fats, cookies make you crave sugar and starches so they are a real no no when dieting.

amother

Mon, Feb 23 2015, 2:36 am

OP here.
By quiche I meant veggies with eggs and a tbs of WW bread crumbs or WW flour. NO CRUST.
I used to make healthy banana and carrot muffins but they are so good and are carbs so I stopped making them. They would be my best breakfast! Smile

I do eat oatmeal though every other day basically.

So where are my carbs? I feel like I eat too many but other than the bread in the morning which is maybe twice a week...what else are my carbs?
I don't like fruit (other than the few dates and nuts I eat for sweetness). I love smoothies but they don't fill me up so I stopped making them becuase they are just extra calories.
As you can see on top I don't eat much processed foods.
I dont like salad dressing. Theres one specific salad I add a bit mayo to (low fat) the rest I eat with salt.
I don't eat noodles, pastas. No barley (hardly ever bc DH doesn't like).
Of course I shouldne be eating cookies!! I do grab a couple somtimes (like yesterday) but normally I don't touch. They sure do make me crave sugar...

allthingsblue

Mon, Feb 23 2015, 8:58 am

Op, don't worry, you're not eating too many carbs. Daily recommendation for whole grains is approx. 7 oz, and I don't think you're even meeting that (don't worry about it though) so you're definitely not having too many.

Are you tired of chicken and fish in all its forms? Because you can cook it in such a variety of ways, and they have protein as well as other nutrients.
Here are some ideas:
Chicken burgers Salmon burgers Grilled chicken Grilled salmon (can use grill pan or broil in oven if you don't have a grill) Roasted chicken with different spices Salmon salad Chicken salad Chicken meatballs Chicken soup These are just ideas I came up with off the top of my head...
(obviously you should skin the chicken and salmon before cooking to lessen the fat)

You can make tofu- it's delicious in stir fries

I don't see a lot of dairy in your diet plan. Is there a reason for that? Lowfat dairy gives you calcium and vitamin D, and is quite important. You can make smoothies with lowfat milk and frozen fruit, or you can have lowfat (and sugar free!) yogurt- just add some fruit, or you can put in your own vanilla or coffee flavoring. Lowfat cottage cheese is good too.

amother

Mon, Feb 23 2015, 10:44 am

chani8 wrote:

It's not quality, it's quantity. It's not carbs or sugar or even processed food (yuck).

If you want to lose weight, you have to eat less than you burn. How many calories a day, on a regular day, do you burn? Eat less food, and you will lose weight.

To make your body healthy, eat low carb, no sugar, and stay away from yucky processed foods.

You can even eat chocolate if you count your calories.

I used to count my caloties on myfitness pal and got to 1200 calories a day (including exercise which I do around 5 times a week ) and didnt lose weight!

amother

Mon, Feb 23 2015, 10:48 am

allthingsblue wrote:

OK so I don't eat much dairy becuase it doesn't fill me up (yogurts and smoothies). I do eat milk in my coffee and oatmeal.
I should try tofu again..good idea! I didn't find it so tasty in the past but maybe I's time to try again.
I have been eating everything you mentioned above plus others Smile

but I guess it's just the way it is and I need to experiment more...

Thanks!

chani8

Mon, Feb 23 2015, 10:52 am

amother wrote:

I used to count my caloties on myfitness pal and got to 1200 calories a day (including exercise which I do around 5 times a week ) and didnt lose weight!

You were either making a mistake in your calculations, like not weighing the food properly, or if you have PCOS or a sugar issue, it can take some time to jump start the weight loss. There is a whole BBC series that shows all the mistakes we make when we think we're so careful and honest about calories, and the reality is that we're eating more than we think.

You didn't need to go as low as 1200 cals though, if you were working out. Likely you were setting yourself up to binge. Happened to me. I gained 15 pounds in one month after losing 30 in two years, all because I kept my cals way lower than I needed to. There is a BBC documentary on that topic, too. About the hormone that causes us to screw up our diets.

If you really hate counting calories, understandably, I recommend the No S Diet at nosdiet.com. It's free and simple and really helps with self control. If you combine it with what you know about calories, it's a sure fire success.

allthingsblue

Mon, Feb 23 2015, 11:13 am

amother wrote:

but I guess it's just the way it is and I need to experiment more...

Thanks!

Look for marinades for tofu (make sure they are lowfat and sugar free) and also spices to give it flavor

amother

Mon, Feb 23 2015, 11:19 am

chani8 wrote:

If you really hate counting calories, understandably, I recommend the No S Diet at nosdiet.com. It's free and simple and really helps with self control. If you combine it with what you know about calories, it's a sure fire success.

I don't mind counting but his nosdiet sounds cool!
I've actually stopped snaclking lately and it's suprisignly easy. As in - I always thought I needed it and I don't !
I think I've totally given up and therefore try less and therefore not lose or even gain- therefore giving up even more.