Daily eating pattern???

[Jenniferh]

Hi guys, this is my first time to post, I just love this forum!! What does an average day of eating for you guys look like?? Please help motivate me with nutrition.. I have the exercise part down, but am having a hard time eating right.. so anyway's just wondering what your eating schedule was.

Thanks
Jennifer H

 

[Aimee]

Welcome Jennifer!!

I probably won't be much help,because at 9:00p.m. I turn into a pumkin and then my eating sucks

! I'll show you what I mean. 7:00a.m.- bowl of shredded wheat or oatmeal with 1cup of skim milk. 10:00a.m.- energy bar. 1:00p.m.- Lean Pocket. 4:00p.m.- lean beef,chicken, or fish, 1yam w/1tbsp margine and 1tsp sugar and cinnamin. 6:00p.m.- hand full of grapes or an apple. 9:00p.m.-UGHH-ice cream or whatever other sweet my husband happens to be eating. I usually take 3or4 bites of his dessert. So there you go, not the greatest,but I'm working on it. One day I'll be able to give up that ice cream

! Hope this helps!!

 

[tricial]

Hi Jennifer!

I'll bite!! I noticed your post, and I'm also interested because I don't do a great job nutritionally, either! My problem is that I don't eat very much during the day, then when my DH gets home (around 7:00 or 8:00 pm) we eat a big supper- since we're both starved by then!! So I'm wondering what everyone else has to say.
Here's what I had yesterday:
7:30 am - half of a Cinnamon Raisin Round with PB on it, and 2 cups of coffee.

2:30 pm - 6 pierogies with butter and a glass of sweet tea.

8:30 pm - a turkey sandwich w/ Miracle Whip, another glass of sweet tea, and a handful of Nilla wafers.

Can you just see the nutrients flying at me here or what!!!

I believe that my non-existent eating schedule, as well as avoidance of the food pyramid are why I can't lose any excess weight. I think I need to eat more (and better) servings so that my body can give up some pounds!!
Sorry so long winded, this post really caught my attention!! Can't wait to hear what everyone else has to say.

Tricia

 

[KathyH]

What I Eat

Hi Jennifer! I eat pretty nutritionally so I'll give you an example of what I eat in one day:

Breakfast: shredded wheat w/blueberries & ff milk with a banana, or oatmeal w/raisins or a toasted bagel w/ff cream cheese

Snack: Usually 2 hrs. later I'll have cottage cheese with pineapple or triscuit crackers with peanut butter (usually 8 crackers making them into 4 sandwiches)

Lunch: turkey on whole wheat w/ff mayo with a few slices of avacado & tomato & a salad. Salad consists of string beans, corn & tomato w/Italian dressing or soup

Snack: fruit

Dinner: Now I work out at 8:30 p.m. so I usually make a protein shake made from Gary Null's new nutrition book. If I don't feel like a shake which is usually Sat. or Sun., I'll make a vegetable lasagne or steak, baked potatoes or sweet potatoes with a vegetable.

Make sure that when you cook, you only use Pam or Extra Virgin Olive oil. No sauces of any kind. Keep your diet as clean as you possibly can. This means eating the food only in its natural form. Nothing added. To meats spice it up.

Well that's what I eat for the day. If I happen to be more hungry, I'll have pretzels or soy nuts or popcorn. Good luck! Kathy

 

[srmohler]

Wow - you guys hardly eat anything!!

You guys aren't eating much food ! I don't know how you keep up your energy for working out. I eat quite a bit more than you do, and based on counting the calories, I eat about 2100 calories a day. If I eat much less, I don't feel very good.

Normal day:

Breakfast (730 am): toasted bagel with lt cr cheese and coffee with cream/sugar, or oatmeal with sugar/1% milk and coffee.

Lunch (1130 am): Turkey sandwich with lt mayo, bowl of soup, light yogurt and a few cookies

Snack (230 pm): banana or similar fruit or pack of cheezits or pack of lowfat animal crackers

Snack #2 (500 pm): small bowl of cereal with 1% milk

Dinner (700 pm): grilled chicken breast, potato, vegetable and 1 piece of bread

On weekends, I tend to eat more for dinner, because we go out and eat bad things, like Mexican or Italian. I probably go up to 2500-2750 calories on those days.

I assumed that I ate a normal caloric amount, but now I'm not so sure!

I am not overweight, by any means, but I'm not as lean as I'd like; about 21% body fat, last time I was measured. I am 5'9-1/2", and weigh around 134 pounds. I workout 5 days a week for an hour, and am 41 years old.

How do you guys keep up your energy on so little food?

Sandi

 

[Heather Y]

I'll add mine too

I love seeing eating schedules so I will add mine to the bunch.

7:30am: scrambled eggs - 4 egg whites and 1/2 yolk with a little bit of low fat cheese on top. I will eat a piece of fruit or a slice of whole wheat bread with this.

10:30am: protein shake - I buy the Myoplex regular - make it with 2 1/2 cups of nonfat milk and a graham cracker and split the shake into two. I eat one half of the shake this time.

1:00pm: sometimes it is a turkey sandwich on two slices of whole wheat bread with mustard, sometimes it is a can of tuna with a little bit of sweet relish and nonfat mayonaise. With the sandwich I will add a salad or carrots. With the tuna I will add the salad or carrots or leftover veggies from the night before and a piece of fruit. Or, it may even be leftovers from last night's dinner.

4:00pm: snack - other half of the Myoplex shake.

7:00pm: Dinner - can be a piece of chicken, fish, pork, or other lean protein portion (i.e. low fat hamburger meat rinsed off after cooking), with a portion of a carb. (like a whole wheat tortilla shell, brown rice, potato, whole wheat spaghetti) and a veggie. Sometimes I eat them all plain and sometimes I mix them up like a fajita or spaghetti or something.

9:30pm - If I really need a snack I will eat one and try to stay pretty good. Cottage cheese works well here, sometimes it is cereal and milk - like Wheaties.

Once a week I give myself a day that I eat whatever I want. I usually try to keep my meals pretty safe and just go crazy on ice cream and cookies.

When I am really good and watch my portion sizes I can see results. But, it does get pretty easy to let the portion sizes get too large or go overboard on the evening snacking. But, if I eat plenty of good food during the day and am sure not to just eat carbs but always balance them with a protein I can usually keep my cravings in check.

Oh, and I usually workout around 9am or 6pm. I try workout at least 2 hours after my last meal or workout first thing in the morning. Then, I try to wait about one hour after working out before I eat again - unless I lifted heavy weights then I eat immediately.

Please add your schedules too!

 

[Aimee]

Hi Sandi!!!

I can't speak for the others, but I think I eat TOO much!! I keep a daily food diary, and according to that I eat between 1500-2200 calories a day. I'm only 5'1" and (now)108lbs. I just gained some. Which is exactly why I think I eat too much

! I've decided to experiment though, because like you, I feel awful on less calories, so I'm REALLY going to watch my fat intake and try to keep my calories consistant. Hopefully, this will take off the extra weight I've put on.

 

[honeybunch]

I agree about eating enough!

I eat five times a day, and I'm a very boring eater because I eat the same things everyday. It keeps the planning down to a science, though!

7:30 AM A can of water packed tuna and two slices of Brownberry bread

9:30 AM two oranges

12:00 noon (This all fits into a 3 cup Rubbermaid container) Chicken breast, yukon gold potatoes, and stir fry veggies.

2:30 PM A Myoplex Lite shake

6:00 Dinner is simliar to lunch with the addition of JELLO FAT FREE SUGAR FREE CHOCOLATE PUDDING!!!!!

That come out to about 2000 calories.

Gotta fuel the old furnace!

Then we have the blessed pigout day on Saturday. I will eat anything that isn't nailed down, but not all day. I eat in the afternoon, about 3:00 PM. In the early part of the day I eat normally, especially if I want to work out.

 

[KathyH]

I do EAT!

Hi Sandi! I'm only 5'2" tall and weigh 110 lbs. and I'm 46 yrs. old. I do eat enough for me. On either Sat. or Sun. I consume much more calories. This is my one day to really pig out! The protein shakes are thick and filling and by the time I finish working out, it's too late to eat anything so I have to take a shake before I work out. My DH and son can't stand watching me every night drink the shake but that's just too bad. I do have a lot of energy. I work out every day with Cathe's Xpress tapes and then Fri. do whatever tape I want or just rest. I will say that I do also eat leftovers for lunch that my family had for dinner. That way it's not always a sandwich. It'll be flank steak w/a veg. & a sweet potato or baked potato. So don't think we're starving. We're not. Take care, Kathy

 

[LauraSB]

opinions? and the MULTI-DIET

Hi!
Hmm. Interesting thread. Especially since I just started reading "The Multi-Diet" -- yes, a "new" way to lose weight.

I can't figure my body out. I work-out intensely for at least 1-2 hours a day, 6 days a week -- weights and cardio. But no matter how little I eat, I can never lose weight.
And yes, I eat clean:

breakfast: soy cereal one scoop soy protein powder in 1/2 cup skim milk

snack (sometimes): balance bar or apple with a few almonds

lunch: salad w/ plain tuna, balsamic vinegar as dressing OR smoked salmon with steamed veggies OR cottage cheese and a few nuts and 1 piece fruit

snack: 1/2-1 cup cottage cheese (nonfat) fruit and a few baked tortilla chips OR balance bar or similar bar

dinner: this varies -- I get home from gym around 7 or 8 pm and don't feel like cooking. Last night I had 1/2 baked acorn squash, 1 cup steamed broccoli, 1 boca burger plain, and left-over eggplant parmesan (lowfat, healthy frozen dinner kind from whole foods market (see any defensiveness here??) -- this may seem like a lot; I estimate it at about 375-400 calories.

I did, indeed, have 2 bites of ice cream also...

This is a fairly typical day for me.

But according to the charts in this book, the "Multi Diet" (whose 1-week diet sample consists ONLY of 2 pounds of frozen veggies per day; 12 oz lean meat per day and 1 tablespoon each of flaxseed and safflower oil per day!) no fruit, nothing else -- except supplements.

Anyway, according to them, my BMI is 25 (too high, they say). I weigh 150 at 5 ft. 6 inches -- also too HIGH according to all sources. But my body fat, at last test, is 20.7% (I'd say it varies up to 24%). Also too high.

WHAT TO DO?? I work out, weight lift 2-3 times a week all body parts, eat fairly healthily. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.....

Oh well. Sorry to vent.

HOpe every body else out there is having a good weekend!

Laura

 

[wendy2]

food--love it!

Hi Jennifer. First I have to get on my little platform and say that I think it is a shame that we all know what and when we eat. It would be great if we lived in a society that didn't make us obsessed about it--I'm NOT saying any of US are obsessed, just that it is an obession among many American women. Ok, it is an obsession with me, but I fight-fight-fight it! I want to not think about this so consantly, and actually I think I've been making some steps towards this goal. (virtual pat on the back)
Ok, I don't have a time schedule that I follow anymore, because then food is not as enjoyable. I love to taste food, savor it, and not feel guilty about it . For this reason, I TRY to eat with the following guidelines:
*when hungry, eat
*eat a piece of fruit or a vegetable with every meal or snack (this is most easily done if you plan most of your meals and snacks in advance, so they are ready for you when you are hungry)
*eat breakfast every day--this is my fuel
*try for balance--we need carbohydrates, protein, fibre, fat to live well
*eat fish (tuna is good) at least twice a week--I don't do well with this one
*don't eat the same things all the time--just as in exercise, we need variety in our food
*eat gummy bears--the hard ones from Germany--as often as you want
*eat often to ward off hunger
*creamy sauces tend to cover up the FLAVOR of whole foods
Ok, so maybe a typical day would be (ideally):
breadfast: whole grain cereal
fruit
skim milk
(little yogurt in the cereal?)
snack: fruit
crackers with cheese or PB
lunch: sandwich on whole grain bread:
turkey with mustard or
PB and J
OR
Big salad with lots of red, green,and orange stuff in it
fruit
snack: fruit or vegetable
dinner: pasta with
tons of vegetables
chicken or fish or (yes) red meat!
OR
Huge salad with chicken
OR
homemade soups (thes always have lots of vegetables and beans and good stuff)

dessert: ice cream or frozen yogurt
fruit!
Cooking Light magazine has some good recipes

Yum, I'm hungry!
Wendy
PS--lunch is often leftovers from dinner, I always eat desert, I work out 5-6 times a week with cardio and weights balanced, i like the idea of eating a rainbow of food (color-wise) because then I know i'm truly eating to be healthy and not skinny! I maintain my weight well with this "plan"

 

[Aimee]

Wow Laura!!

I think you eat and exercise GREAT!! I not sure I like the diet plan you described though. You sound very healthy to me!! Of course, from the sounds of it, we are battling the same war, and are fighting with the same weapons against fat. So why are we losing??? Beats me!! If you do give this plan a try, let me know how it does and maybe I'll try it myself if it work for you

!

 

[bkloots]

Laura, just wanted to sympathize

Like you, I eat healthy, exercise consistently, and pretty much stay the same weight-wise--which is to say, a little fatter (in certain spots) than I want to be.

To you, I will say what I say to my own mirror: relax. Your weight/height ratio and measured bodyfat are great! (Mine, too). Don't pay any attention to those silly books designed to sell supplements. Keep up the good work!

Did that help? NO? Me, neither. I want to weigh less. I want to jiggle less. Sigh.

Recently, I started a new routine that includes more and longer cardio days, and no heavy weight work. I'm finding it very refreshing. Maybe I'll burn a few more fat cells and start seeing more of those great muscles I've been building with PS and MIS. Maybe not.

Mainly, I'm just trying to maintain my motivation for healthy living, regardless of my obsession with a little bit of remaining fluff. You hang in there, too!

Barbara

 

[LauraSB]

THANKS TEAM!

I feel like I have a web (no pun intended) of team-mates around me. All of us are really fit (otherwise, we wouldn't even THINK of trying Cathe) but I know that I, at least, am never satisfied.

Barbara-- you made me laugh. Thanks. I will TRY to relax. ... Maybe I need a meditation.

Aimee -- THANKS! I sincerely doubt I will try the Multi-Diet "Proof Plan" (look at multidiet.com or multi-diet.com) ...

I find that part of my brain just says forget it all and eat healthy. Oye vay!

Well, on another note, I must say that I am truly looking forward to trying Cathe's new videos. I am not home yet to do them...

Have fun!
Laura



I guess I just can't

 

[srmohler]

It sounds like everyone eats healthy, and still enjoys themselves

Yes, I too think it is a shame that we pay attention to everything we eat. My husband couldn't tell you what he ate this morning.

It sounds like all of us eat healthy, and most of us still enjoy a good meal every day. It also sounds like most of us spend at least one day a week eating more than usual. I think that is the best way to be successful. If you deprive yourself every day, you set up cheating habits, and then overdo it.

Good luck to everyone!

Sandi

 

[Amysue]

Eating well

I just wanted to say that I think this is a very interesting thread. I tend to agree that we obsess too much about when and what we eat. I try to eat healthy and I try to eat when I'm hungry. Sometimes diets or eating plans sabatoge what we are actually trying to achieve--lean, healthy bodies. But, I am such a great cook and I enjoy eating. I just don't ever eat a lot of anything, ever. Well, ok, maybe mashed potatoes and gravy if I'm really depressed.
If you are healthy, have a good life, have people that love you, have the stamina to do your workouts, help other people with their problems...see what I'm getting at? At the end of my life, I don't think I'll look back and say "Boy, I wish I hadn't eaten this or that." Food and fitness go hand in hand. Eat to live, don't live to eat.
Amy

 

[Aimee]

Beautifully said.

At sometime in a point in history, that's exactly what happened. We stopped eating to live and started living to eat. While I'm guilty of believing what society deems beautiful, it is time that we all get deprogrammed. Maybe that will be my goal. If I do, it will probably one of the toughest goals to achieve.