durrrr

[leah]

k so i have been scouring this forum to try to find a menu suggestion for six meals a day, to no avail.

could someone please link me (or perhaps suggest a menu hehe)?

thanks!

[liquidstayce]

Leah - You should be able to build your own meal plan. First determine your caloric goals per meal and per day. List out the foods you like and are realistic for you. Do some advance planning and meal planning or pick easy stuff if you are a lazy cook.. ie - canned hormel turkey chilli, cheese sticks, cottage cheese, etc
Just make some balanced meals. Toss out and example meal plan day of what you would like to do and then I'd be happy to help make suggestions if any are needed.

[liquidstayce]

I'm going to share with you one day of eating for me but this is way too low calorie for you (and even for me on a heavy workout day) My guess is that you probably need to be eating 1500 - 1800 calories. Any idea what you are eating now?


4:30AM Pre-Workout : Acheiv One Protein Hazlenut Latte

7:00AM Post Workout: Protein Delite, half banana, handful of frozen blueberries, 2 TB Flax Seed Meal, 4 oz skim milk

9:00 AM Late Morning Snack
2 Sargentos Cheese Sticks

12:00 Lunch
4% Cottage Cheese Cup (usually get 2% but they were out)
1/4 dried cranberries
sf pudding mixed in
Revival Salt and Vinegar Soy Chips

Dinner
1 C Hormel Turkey Chili with some added salsa

Other Snack Before Bed and or late afternoon - Power Crunch Bar and Revival Soy Chips

Stats plugged in from Fitday :
Calories Eaten Today Total: 1245
source grams cals %total
Fat: 38 344 29%
Carbs: 112 386 33%
Protein: 111 443 38%

[labbats]

I am far from a workout expert, but micromanaging food to the 9th degree will turn almost everyone off of their goal. Just eat sensibly. Don't put a lot of butter on stuff, don't eat fried foods, drink diet coke, avoid fast food or stuffing yourself. Stop eating when you start to feel full, etc.

Anyways, y'all are sexy girls already.

[leah]

i know it's all common sense and whatnots, i just can't wrap my head around six meals a day.

string cheesus count as a meal, then? that's what i was concerning myself about.

and thanks labbats


oh and i'm currently around 1200-1400 a day i think

[Eziekial]

I think my caloric intake is around 2600-2800 a day

[liquidstayce]

I hear ya labbats.. i dont track like that unless its for a check in or a few week thing to get me on track or it would drive me nutty. I use http://www.fitday.com for that purpose. Normally I eyeball it and don't track.

Meal planning and counting has its place though. Especially if you are not getting results by just making good choices and need to tweak a little. You see many people eat unconsiously and then wonder why they put on 15lbs all of the sudden. The forget stuff adds up or in some cases undereat and food gets stored as fat so they gain more. Meal planning and journalling help people to identify patterns so that they can correct behavior or make better choices in order to reach goals.
Sometimes it is as easy as just making healthy choices most of the time.. other time it take a while to work up to that.

[Eziekial]

I think my caloric intake is around 2600-2800 a day

[liquidstayce]

i know it's all common sense and whatnots, i just can't wrap my head around six meals a day.

string cheesus count as a meal, then? that's what i was concerning myself about.

and thanks labbats


oh and i'm currently around 1200-1400 a day i think

two string cheese + an apple would be a better choice then the two string cheese alone. Yes.. if you are doing 6 meals.. you can eat smaller snack like meals. string cheese = 80 cal X 2 = 160 + apple is another 100 = 260 total. I try to keep my meals 250 - 300 calories each. If you add a TB of some peanut butter to that apple too that would be a very nicely balanced meal.

[liquidstayce]

I think my caloric intake is around 2600-2800 a day

Dana use to eat close to 5000 calories a day when he was running.

[Jennay]

You guys are thinking about food way too much heh. What Labbats said, just don't stuff yourself with the wrong things, and keep exercising and you should be fine.

[DESX]

This is just an example plan but I would suggest planning it out something like this. It works really well I have one but only to gain 180.

[Oofdaa]

I have a suggested day meal plan my trainer worked out for me.... I'll find it and e-mail or PM you. And sista, 1200 or 1400 is NOT enough calories for you.... you just need to eat the right ones. When I lost 65 lbs I was at around 2100 , 2200 a day. Worked out 5 days a week. I think I was eating 3 meals 2 snacks a day.

Seriously go to fitday.com....... awesome tool to track your eating.


P.S. I'm not an expert, but if you are only eating that many calories a day you are doing more harm then good. Your body thinks it's not getting enough food and will start to hold onto everything rather then utilize it, hence gain or not lose any weight.

[liquidstayce]

Oof - Not sure if you meant Leah or me.. Unfortunately I am stuck doing 1200-1500 for now but it will go higher eventually. Probably closer to 1800 - 2000 by next year. It's part of the weight loss surgery and I work very closely with my nutritionist and surgeon on it. Thats actually on the higher end for RNY gastric bypass patients. I know some that do even lower and I think they are nuts. When weight loss surgery patients first have surgery they only have a 2oz pouch to work with.. it gradually expands back to 6 to 8 oz over the year. You start out very low calorie for a short period of time and then work back up. First 3 weeks you are on liquids. Weeks 3-7 soft foods only. After that its regular foods but very little if any sugars and nothing too high in fats or you get dumping syndrome. I'm 9 months post op. As I increase my workouts I adjust up in calories slightlly but right now this level works great.

I would not suggest that calorie amt for someone non-gastric bypass or doesn't have over 100 lbs to drop. I just wanted to show Leah how I break out my meals. I also have lab work every three months and plenty of doctors visits along with monthy support group meetings. Additionally, I run an online support group too for my surgeons patients. I am monitored VERY closely. You are right.. if you go too low your body will go into starvation mode and you stop dropping weight plus it isn't healthy. That isn't happening to me. I drop a nice consistent 2 lbs a week and have never been healthier. My lab work looks awesome too and my blood pressure is ideal.


I agree.. Leah needs to be up much higher then that. 1600 - 1800 or even closer to 2000 would be my guess if she plans on also adding in regular workouts.

[Jesus]

I average in at around 4k a day without beer. Been losing about 1lb a week inadvertantly at the same time =\

People have drasticly different caloric needs.

[leah]

keep in mind that i'm still learning how to eat normal people food after being low-carb for two years.

i'd say it's going pretty well though. while you may think my cal intake is a little low, i'm never hungry and have plenty of energy in workouts. i just eat a lot of fruits and vegetables which aren't exactly high-calorie foods.

[liquidstayce]

Thats good. A 1 - 2 lb weight loss (or gain if that is your goal) is considered the safe amt or healthy.

To determine your approximate caloric needs, you can easily compute your basal metabolic rate. This is the number of calories your body needs to maintain its basic functions and your current weight. You can determine your BMR by multiplying your current weight by 10. For example, if you weigh 180 pounds, then eating 1,800 calories a day would be your BMR.

However, this computation doesn't take into account exercise or your activity level. For example, since someone who exercises regularly can bring in more calories and still be at their maintenance weight, their BMR would be higher. Other issues like genetics, age and the amount of body fat/muscle you have can also affect your caloric needs. Jesus is right people have drastically different caloric needs and calorie levels isn't an exact science. More of trial and error to see what works.

As a rule of thumb, 3,500 calories is equal to one pound. For example, if you eat 250 calories per day fewer than your maintenance rate requires and exercise enough to burn an additional 250 calories each day, you will lose approximately one pound per week.

[Oofdaa]

Was talking to leah LS.

[KaiineTN]

Leah, as long as you feel healthy and have energy you're eating plenty of food. Most people eat way more than they need to. Foods like white bread, white rice, pasta, sugars etc can all trick you into thinking you're hungrier than you are.

I'm currently experimenting with how I eat. I'm trying to cut off most direct forms of sugar and going cold turkey off of caffeine. Most of my sugar is coming from fruit now, and I've already noticed I'm eating much less, and I'm not hungry or tired. In fact, I usually felt more fatigued when I ate the white bread, rice, pastas, etc...

I suggest that everyone reads some books that cover nutrition and such.. The more you understand about the subject the easier it is to motivate yourself and break bad habbits. I just finished a book called Ultraprevention, it covers lots of medical/health/diet issues, great general knowledge to have. I'd recommend it.