Yummy ideas for a gal trying to lose weight....

M

Megan Turnidge

New member
I've set some pretty big goals for myself. I'm going to lose 20 lbs. by January 1st (or hopefully sooner). I've started working out and am cutting out soda and cutting way back on chips, candies, etc. Now I need some help picking out meals that are delicious, nutritious, and filling (without being too high in calories). Help a girl out! :)
 
Here are some common staples in my daily diet that are healthy and clean.

Breakfast ideas:

Oatmeal with 1/2 cup fresh fruit
Egg white omelet with bell pepper, tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms (lots of possibilities)
turkey bacon (yum! I prefer it now over pork)


Lunch ideas:

If you like hummus (any flavor will work), both of these sandwiches are delicious:

Hummus spread on each side of pumpernickel with leaf lettuce and tomato

Hummus spread on each side of toasted whole wheat bread with diced cucumbers and sliced black olives

Salad
possibilities with this are endless......
grill up a few pieces of chicken at a time for several meals
make it a fiesta salad...with salsa, black beans and fat free cheese

Lettuce wraps with white turkey, fat free cheese and hummus

For snacks I eat:

pb on celery sticks
string cheese
fruits
yogurt
carrot sticks
rice cakes

Want more? I have tons - I just don't want to bore everyone! I eat pretty clean and healthy most of the time.

ADDED: One thing that I did when we started eating clean was to slowly work more turkey into our diet because it is healthier and lower cal than beef or pork. So, I started by switching to 3/4 lb. ground beef and 1/4 ground turkey in recipes...then 1/2 and 1/2, then 1/4 and 3/4...until we were strictly ground turkey. We also eat turkey sausage....like for dinner tonight...it was skinless turkey sausage....my kids love healthy food now. Go for whole wheat where you can too instead of white. Less calories there too!
 
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Awesome! Okay.......let me pull out my arsenal......I know things will come to me the next day or so. I will just keep adding to the thread when I think of things......coolio?

Here is a diet that my bff does from time to time....(she gets bored and changes things ALL the time!) She is smokin' hot btw......total fitness and health nut! HERE she is .....

BREAKFAST:
*2 scrambled egg whites w/1/2 cup of any veggies- plus 2 strawberries or sub any fruit
*1/4 C scrambled egg whites (like egg beaters)w/ 2 roasted peppers and 1 cup steamed broccoli
*Mexican eggs:2 scrambled egg w/onions,peppers,mushrooms + 1/4 C black beans
*Egg white omlett w/veggies and spinach plus small serving fruit
*Portein shake
*1 cup cottage chees with small serving fruit

LUNCH: (Dressings:low fat or balsamic vinnagrette, or 2 tbsp olive oil w/lemon juice)
*4 oz Grilled salmon or tuna on large salad -balasmic vinagrette dresing
*4 oz grilled ck w/2 cups steamed or roasted veggies OR Large green salad w/light dressing
*Chicken and veggie stir fry
*Grilled ck taco salad: 4 oz ck on top of huge salad with tomatos and onion(if wanted)and 1/4 C balck beans on top plus salsa
*4 oz grilled shrimp w/2 cups veggies or large salad
*Turkey Burger w/onion and pepper stir fry
*Broiled Halibut w/shitake mushrom and asparagus stir fry

DINNER: (Basically protein and veggie, so mix and match to what you like)
*4 oz any protein you like:fish,shrimp,ck,or veggie burger patty
PLUS
*2 cups any veggies cooked any way(you can even buy those steamed bags and just throw em in the microwave!)
OR
Large salad w/dressing(same dressing as lunch)
OR
A little of both.
OR
Home made veggie soup(i have a recipe)

SNACKS: (Choose 2 a day but if starving at night have 1 more, best thing at night is 1/2 cup cottage cheese)
*2 hard boiled egg whites and 1 cup carrots or any veggie
*turkey and asparagus rolled up toether
*celery and cucumber spears w/2 tbsp hummus
*raw veggies and 10-12 almonds
*Protein shake
*2 oz ck and 1/2 a grapefruit
*1 apple and 1 tbsp natural Peaunut butter or almond butter
*2 pieces turkey bacon and 1 cup grapes
*2 oz turkey or ck w/a slice of low fat cheese rolled together
*2 oz tuna mixed w/chopped celery,1 tsp light mayo,and 1 tsp mustard, serveon lettuce or w/cucumber slices
*small sugar free yogurt w/10-12 almonds
*10-12 almonds and 2 tbsp raisons
*1/2 C cottage cheese w/ 2 tbsp salsa mixed in or just cottage cheese w/fruit

Ok lunches and dinners can kinda be exchanged too. Just giving you different ideas. So if you want one of the lunches for dinner or vise versa no biggie.
Honestly id pick about 1 of each and make alot of it, portion it out into containers and have it all reasy in the firdge. But whatever works for you. Le tme know if you have questions on the food.

WORKOUTS?? What have you been doing for exercise? Are you pretty out of shape or ??? Maybe I can give you some tips on this.....


*Oh and I don't claim to be an expert by any means but, have just picked up things here and there over the last 3 years and I get TONS of tips and info. from a fitness forum that I have belonged to for several years. In early 2006, I got up to my heaviest at 172 and said...."uh uh.....I am not having this!" So, I went on a quest to a healthier me.....I worked out 5 days a week (just 40 mins a day) and cut back to 1400 calories and I got down to 135 in 6 months.

So, your goal is VERY doable! Just stay focused!
 
Here are some specific dinners that we love:

Hot Chicken Salad

2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
3/4 c chopped celery
1/4 c slivered almonds
1/2 T minced onion (or chop fresh)
1/2 c light or FF mayo
2 t lemon juice
1/4 t pepper

combine all ingredients and place in greased baking dish. Bake uncovered for 25 min. @ 350. Yum and healthy!

*Serve with whole wheat dinner rolls and a cup of fruit


WILL BE BACK WITH MORE....we just had this one again last night so, the recipe was out! LOL
 
neetdesigner said:
WORKOUTS?? What have you been doing for exercise? Are you pretty out of shape or ??? Maybe I can give you some tips on this.....

So, your goal is VERY doable! Just stay focused!
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the ideas! :)

Yes, I am really out of shape. I used to play soccer and enjoyed running a lot... so I'm basically just getting back into running. Starting off running 1 mile 5 days a week and then go for a walk each night with my daughter. By the end of OCtober I want to be up to doing 3 mile runs... and by January I want to be able to run 5 miles.
 
I' doing the Weight Watchers thing right now. I've lost 25 pounds since beg of May (could be more if I was more strict with myself!). The key to me has been cutting out processed foods. There is a great site call Bootcamp Buddies (a forum) that has the WW Core food list - you have to join the forum. Those foods are the ones I try to use for most meals. Fruit, veggies, low fat meats, lots of whole grains.

I'm totally loving Arnold Sandwich Thins in place of bread. We eat turkey burgers, veggie burgers and PB sandwiches on it.

WW yogurt has some good protein and some fiber in it for a good start to your day or for a snack.

For dinner I try to have one lean meat, 2 veggies, 1 fruit and maybe a whole grain (if I haven't had one already that day). Meat serving sizes should be about 4 oz. Load up on the veggies to fill in and mix with brown rice, yellow rice, beans.

Lean meats - pork tenderloins (not marinated before purchase), 93% lean ground beef or turkey, good as burgers, in chili, with whole grain pasta for spaghetti (watch the sugar in spaghetti sauce). Chicken breasts - our favorites our Lemon Caper chicken, grilled chicken.

Switch to low fat/fat free cheeses and dairy.

Search WW dinner recipes and you'll find some great lower fat/higher fiber dinners to work into your rotation.

Good luck!
 
mturnidge said:
Thanks for all the ideas! :)

Yes, I am really out of shape. I used to play soccer and enjoyed running a lot... so I'm basically just getting back into running. Starting off running 1 mile 5 days a week and then go for a walk each night with my daughter. By the end of OCtober I want to be up to doing 3 mile runs... and by January I want to be able to run 5 miles.
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Wow baby! This is AWESOME! That cardio will be great for you and you can definitely hit that goal by combining that kind of exercise with your cut in calorie intake!

Be sure to get in some kind of weights 2 to 3 days a week. If you are doing that much cardio...you will drop the weight but not be as toned. You don't have to have a gym....get some hand weights.....I have tons of basic strength training exercises I can give you.
 
Ooh - I'm so subscribing to this thread! I have decided to finally get rid of my baby weight - about time as the kids are 7 and nearly 3 :o

My main problem is drinks, I'm addicted to coke and I really need to give that up. And the diet versions are not the same, so I'm not even considering that, I just need to get in the habit of drinking water instead. I'm doing really good at work (mainly because they only sell Pepsi, not Coke ;) )but not so good at home. For food I ususally have oatmeal or crispbread for breakfast when I have time to eat it, a salad or something for lunch, and a bit of lean pork, fish or chicken with lots of veggies for dinner. Then I eat fruit or nuts for snacks - we get free fruit at work so that really helps. I've swapped to brown rice of pasta too, and I actually quite like it.

I need to lose about 30 Ibs to get skinny, but I'll be happy with 20 too. I haven't set a time I need to do it by though, maybe I should.
 
Sometimes deadlines work in your favor, and other times they don't Kristine. The only reason I've been working out and eating better is to lose weight for the wedding. I do plan on continuing on with this weight loss journey after the wedding, but my wedding dress is my main motivation, lol. If I didn't have that, and the deadline of the wedding, there's no chance I would have stuck with my workouts like I have. So for me, the deadline idea has definitely worked in my favor. Although admittedly, I've done it before with goals and just given up and resigned myself to not looking so awesome at whatever event the deadline was for. So I think it goes both ways, lol.

Megan, count yourself lucky that DH will eat healthier with you. Jordan could care less to workout or eat healthier. When he works out a ton and eats super healthy, he only loses 5-10lbs which for him is nothing. So he just doesn't care to. And he's SUPER picky about stuff he will eat, so I'm kinda screwed. I've been eating salads before/for dinner and eating MUCH smaller portions than I used to eat. Portion control is huuuuuuggggeeeeee. I eat on the smaller salad plates instead of the big dinner plates, because it looks like I'm getting more, but I'm really eating less. And yes, I have to trick myself like that, lol!! I also try and eat slowly, and drink an entire glass of water during the meal. The water makes me feel full, and by eating slowly I give my body time to actually tell me "hey! Stop! You're full down here!". One of the biggest reasons people eat so much, is that they don't realize they are full because the wolf food down. Then afterwards you're like "omg I'm gonna explode! I ate too much!". Eating slowly will help you avoid doing that.

Kristine, if you drink a ton of soda, make sure and slowly wean yourself off of it. You can go cold turkey but you will get slammed with caffeine withdrawal migraines, and those suckers are NO JOKE. Also if you set yourself a goal for how much water you want to intake (60-80 oz usually) and tell yourself that you can't have that Coke until you drink all your water, but the time you drink all the water you probably won't even want the Coke. That strategy has worked for me :)

By now everyone knows I've been doing Jillian Michael's workouts, but I'm really seeing results and I feel amazing about myself and my body. The best I've felt about myself in a long time. Once you get into the groove of working out (I try and workout at least 5 days a week, more if we're home on the weekend) you actually start to look forward to it.
 
Kristine, I think giving up my beloved Dr. Pepper is harder for me than motivating myself to run. I looooooove that stuff! But, the last time I gave it up, I lost 5 lbs. without altering any other part of my lifestyle, so it's so worth it! Glad to hear you don't like the diet sodas because I've read those can make you gain weight too... perhaps because it makes you eat more. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/04/earlyshow/contributors/emilysenay/main2330142.shtml

Col, great advice! I have been reaching for water when I think I need a snack... because sometimes our bodies can confuse thirst with hunger. I'm also eating WAY slower and my portions are much smaller too. Totally agree with ya on all that.
 
Thanks for the thread... what I find the hardest in dieting is switching to the low cal version of the item and they replace the sugar with Aspartame, which I'm allergic too... and I'm doing away with the high fructose corn syrup in the house too. I'm so sick of salad... I think it's growing out of my ears. :)

Here is what we're having for lunch... (actually it's part of the diet plan that my hubby is following... he and his buddy have a twitter following if you want to follow his progress)...

Apple and cheddar salad
1/2 red apple sliced
2 tsp lemon juice
1 stalk of celery
1 oz low-fat cheddar cheese in chunks
1 T of low fat mayo
salt and pepper to taste
Toss to coat.

Then supper will be a large salad and one of my hubby's fav's...
Chicken "Parmesan"
Grill chicken, In a pan cook veggies (any that are on hand - onions, celery, carrots, zucchini, etc.) in a little bit of olive oil. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, garlic, curry powder. Add 1/2 cup of bottled marinara sauce. Top the sauce on the chicken and add 1 T of grated Parmesan cheese.

The for a sweet...
Banana dish for one
one banana
1 cup plain yogurt (I really like Greek yogurt)
and a little bit of toasted coconut on time...
I like it a bit more sweet so I add a drizzle of honey on top.
 
Oh, and I am okay with eating real sugar and the same cheese I usually eat. It's all about moderation and being realistic... I know I won't eat stuff with aspartame in it and I don't use a ton of cheese anyway. I still want to eat GOOD food, kwim? I'm cutting out the premade frozen skillet meals (seriously, those things are so unhealthy... one I cooked the other day had 20 g fat per serving and 50% of your sodium!!) and using fresh ingredients instead. Instead of sitting down with a bag of my fave m&m's at the computer (and unknowingly eat a third of the entire bag), I'm leaving the candy in the pantry and can grab 3 m&m's at a time... my bag of m&m's is still half full and I've had it for 4 days (and been sharing with hubby...lol). Switching white grains for whole grains... stuff like that! :)
 
Sounds like you're well on your way Megan :)

One other thing I wanted to add, is EAT BREAKFAST!! I never really believed all the hype about eating breakfast, but it's TRUE. On the days I eat breakfast I'm much less likely to snack my way through the after on junk. I'm satisfied most of the morning and only have a granola bar, if that, before lunch.

Eating breakfast works! Lol!

Oh and not eating out of a bag or container is great advise too. Don't sit down with a bag of chips, sit down with a handful on a napkin. You're much less likely to mindlessly eat because it's right in front of you.
 
BrodoNY0123 said:
One other thing I wanted to add, is EAT BREAKFAST!! I never really believed all the hype about eating breakfast, but it's TRUE. On the days I eat breakfast I'm much less likely to snack my way through the after on junk. I'm satisfied most of the morning and only have a granola bar, if that, before lunch.

Eating breakfast works! Lol!
Click to expand...

ITA. Not only that, but if you skip breakfast, you're putting your body into starvation mode and your metabolism slows down to conserve energy... so that's no bueno!
 
totally subnscribing to this thread :) and I copied alot of the recipes into a word document and am going to try some out :) thanks for starting this!
 
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