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Help! I'm not eating enough...

Old 02-09-2011, 04:15 AM
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Default Help! I'm not eating enough...

Hello All,

I'm really hoping to get some good advice here. I've been on the site about a week and have been religiously tracking everything I'm eating. Yesterday I had to bring my food diaries to my personal trainer so he could give me some feedback. Basically, my calories are too low. I'm hovering right around 1,000 a day. Now before you all jump on me for that being so low, please understand, I really had no idea where they were supposed to be. I was just trying to eat less so that I could burn more calories than I ate.

He wants them to be between 1500-1700 a day and to achieve that, I need to add more protein, and I need to start eating breakfast. Here's where I need the help!

I have high cholesterol so my dr said to cut out the red meat and the eggs & dairy (in addition to other obvious things). Also, I [I]hate[I] breakfast! I need some ideas for a quick and easy breakfast, maybe smoothies?? Also I need some ideas to pad my day with more protein so I can get my calories up. Please help, I want my diary to be more acceptable next week!!

~Alyssum
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Old 02-09-2011, 04:46 AM
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Adding protein shake powder to a yogurt or fruit smoothie will be fast and easy. You could also add the powder to pancakes. Also, you could get turkey bacon or turkey sausage links to replace the red meat.
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Old 02-09-2011, 04:57 AM
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A small yogurt and a handful of nuts, or some fruit and lowfat cottage cheese, are great for breakfast. I recently found lowfat cottage cheese and I eat a small portion every day. It increases my protein without increasing carbs or fat (much). Try some tuna or salmon to increase protein and omega 3's which will be heart healthy. Also, with high cholesterol, you should be eating some whole grains (one pack of oatmeal a day helps me with this one.) Be healthy!

-Christy
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Old 02-09-2011, 05:14 AM
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If you like Yogurt, greek yogurt is a pretty good and maybe unexpected source of protein (The Chobani brand found in most supermarkets has ~14g per cup, and a lot of flavors are 0% fat -- there are probably even better types out there, but that tends to be the one I buy. I like it better than all those light-and-fit style yogurts! It's yummy and creamy.). I eat it a lot as part of my breakfast, or even just as a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack.

I don't usually do protein powder, but it definitely is a quick option to add to smoothie, yogurt, pancakes...anything! Most recommend whey powder. I also agree with the turkey sausage - I find turkey more delicious than red meat any day! I also agree on the oatmeal! Adding a little fruit to it makes it more delicious.

Other sources of protein (though maybe not for breakfast too much) are beans (nothing like a nice chili in the cold of winter, yeah?) and nuts. I personally don't like nuts (though I keep trying them and hoping to like them!) but they are a very easy add. Good luck!
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Old 02-09-2011, 05:22 AM
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I'll play devil's advocate. I did nine months at a strict 1,000 cals a day w/less than 10 grams of fat total. I lost weight so fast you could almost see it melt off--around 200 lbs in that time period. I drank one to two gallons of water a day and exercised every single day for at least 30 minutes.

If 1,000 cals is working for you, why let anybody talk you out of it? That's just my .02. Of course, you "may" find that a slightly higher number lets you lose almost as fast and keeps you satisfied.

I can't say my 1500 cal limit this time has had quite the same results, but it is much easier to stick to and the average weekly weight loss is reasonable.

Regards,
Michael
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Old 02-09-2011, 05:39 AM
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Thanks everyone, and thanks Michael, it was nice to hear the other side of it too. I have been very satisfied this week and I didn't feel like I was starving myself. I do try to eat a bit more on the days that I see my personal trainer, knowing that I'm going to be working harder. It's good to know there was someone else feeling like I was!

I think I'm going to focus on eating breakfast (which I've never really done) and try to get a bit more protein. If anyone has more suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I wish I liked oatmeal because that's what everyone has been telling me, but I just can't get myself to like it
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Old 02-09-2011, 06:05 AM
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Dannon also makes a Greek Yogurt that is high in protein 12-14 grams...They have strawberry, blueberry, plain and honey. I love the honey with fresh blueberries. My nutrionist also suggested wheat toast with natural peanut butter or a protein bar (Lara)
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Old 02-09-2011, 06:05 AM
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Originally Posted by alyssumm
Thanks everyone, and thanks Michael, it was nice to hear the other side of it too. I have been very satisfied this week and I didn't feel like I was starving myself. I do try to eat a bit more on the days that I see my personal trainer, knowing that I'm going to be working harder. It's good to know there was someone else feeling like I was!

I think I'm going to focus on eating breakfast (which I've never really done) and try to get a bit more protein. If anyone has more suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I wish I liked oatmeal because that's what everyone has been telling me, but I just can't get myself to like it
If I was female, I think 1200 would be a pretty good place to be. Now, if you were to keep doing pretty much what you are doing, and add 200 cals of high protein food for breakfast, I think that would be good.

If I ate oatmeal for breakfast at 6, I think I'd be ready for more at 6:30! With my 300 cal (relatively) high protein breakfast I'm good 'till my 9am snack (100-120 cals of fruit).

Again, just my thoughts. Every body is different and it may take some experimentation and adjustments to find what works best for you.

Regards,
Michael

PS My breakfasts generally include some combination (adding up to 300 cals) of egg beaters, eggs, lean beef, bacon, lite turkey sausage, low cal ww toast, ham, cheese, salsa and flat out wraps.

Last edited by mecompco; 02-09-2011 at 06:09 AM.
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Old 02-09-2011, 06:05 AM
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I'm not going to tell you to eat oatmeal, I don't care much for it either. I agree with taubele on the Greek yogurt, only the brand I buy is Dannon Greek plain and add whatever I'm hungry for to it. It's good with low-sugar jam, fruit (fresh or frozen), it also makes decent sour cream. One thing I eat all the time for breakfast that I don't see here already is a tuna melt, 26-30 grams of protein for about 200-250 calories (depending on the bread and cheese). I also like to make a sandwich on toast, maybe turkey or chicken with some cheese, maybe throw a grilled egg white on it. You can also make egg white omelets, with veggies, turkey, ham etc, whatever you like on them. Another good breakfast around here is peanut butter, on a spoon, on a banana, on a piece of toast, whatever. Another easy go to breakfast is ff cottage cheese on toast, with either pepper or parm sprinkled over it (maybe both if I'm feeling crazy).

An easy breakfast fix for me would be something like a bottled chocolate protein shake or maybe a protein bar. I happen to really like the Pure Protein brand, they all taste good to me, but I like the Chocolate Deluxe best. Those are also things you can take with you and eat a little later in the morning. My husband uses Slim Fast shakes for breakfast, because he's also not a morning eater. Me I wake up so hungry I could gnaw off my own feet.

Last edited by almeeker; 02-09-2011 at 06:09 AM.
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Old 02-09-2011, 06:25 AM
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Thanks Almeeker for the suggestions, I guess I never really think that you can have non-breakfast foods in the morning too. I'm going to head to the store today after work and try to get a few different things to try for breakfasts and I'll let you all know how it goes. Keep any other suggestions coming, this has been really great!!

Thanks to all of you!
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