Yet another Colinda the Healthy page...

michrocc

Colinda,

I've read your blog and I *think* I understand most of it.  Do you mind taking a look at a typical day for me to see where I can improve?  I am about 10 lbs over where I should be, so my goal is to improve overall diet and lose some weight.

Breakfast:

Handful of raw almonds (I've heard not to eat too many, though...what is too many with nuts?)

Fruit of some kind - usually berries or grapes, usually a handful

Lunch:

Cup of green tea

Carrot sticks

1 oz. sharp cheddar cheese

Fruit of some kind (banana, apple, grapes, etc...)

Frozen meal of some kind - usually Lean Cuisine or a sandwich of some kind - usually tuna fish or turkey

Crackers of some kind - usually low-fat cheez-its or triscuits

Afternoon Snack:

Laughing Cow cheese triangle and carrots or other veggies to dip

6 oz glass of 1% milk or diluted cranberry juice (half water/half juice)

Dinner:

This varies, but typical rotations are homemade veggie soups with low-sodium beef stock, baked chicken or pork chops with roasted veggies and usually a baked potato with greek yogurt instead of sour cream or rice as a side, curry with rice, beef stir fry with rice, etc...

 

I know that I need to cut carbs but I find it difficult to meet calorie goals when I do this.  Any advice?  Where am I going wrong?  Also, I am an intense cheese addict.  I don't crave chocolate...I crave dairy.  What are some options for someone like me? 

Thanks so much for any insight!

 

ColindaP

I will answer this fully when I get home and am on the computer instead of phone. Don't want you to think I'm ignoring you

michrocc

No worries - I know you get A LOT of these types of questions.  And I know there's probably A LOT of room for improvement on my end.

Thanks for taking the time to help me out. 

triple_sevens

*butting in*

Your diet is so, so, so good compared to mine, michrocc. My biggest problem is my erratic  schedule and weird concentration habits-- I'll be unable  or forget to eat for most of the day and then become desperately hungry at, like, 3 pm and scarf whatever is on hand. And while walking on the streets of Manhattan, that is sometimes a banana and a street vendor hotdog.

michrocc

triple_sevens:

*butting in*

Your diet is so, so, so good compared to mine, michrocc. My biggest problem is my erratic  schedule and weird concentration habits-- I'll be unable  or forget to eat for most of the day and then become desperately hungry at, like, 3 pm and scarf whatever is on hand. And while walking on the streets of Manhattan, that is sometimes a banana and a street vendor hotdog.

Me, too!  What I've written above is my attempt at eating better over the last couple of weeks.  Before that my day would go a little something like this:

Breakfast:

Nothing...sometimes a donut.

Lunch:

Sometimes nothing, sometimes whatever I could grab at the museum's cafe (chips and queso, anyone?)

Dinner:

7 billion pounds of pasta with pesto and a huge glass of milk

Evening Snack:

Chips and dip

 

I'm so guilty of back-loading all the wrong kinds of things.  Colinda's posts have given me ideas of what to do better but I know I still need some work. 

ColindaP

Ok, breakfast needs some protein. And the reason people tell you to be careful w/ nuts it's that it's easy to overdo it on them and eat like 1000 calories of nuts. But if cutting carbs means you cut your calories too much, then it sounds like this wouldn't be a problem for you if  you were eating low carb. FWIW, I can - and have - lost weight while eating 3-4 servings of nuts per day on a regular basis.

Lunch, get rid of the crackers (empty calories) and the frozen meal. Instead of buying frozen meal, I do a bunch of food prep on the weekends and have stuff ready to go for my own pre-made meals. Cheaper and healthier.

Dinner sounds pretty good to me. 

michrocc

ColindaP:

Ok, breakfast needs some protein. And the reason people tell you to be careful w/ nuts it's that it's easy to overdo it on them and eat like 1000 calories of nuts. But if cutting carbs means you cut your calories too much, then it sounds like this wouldn't be a problem for you if  you were eating low carb. FWIW, I can - and have - lost weight while eating 3-4 servings of nuts per day on a regular basis.

Lunch, get rid of the crackers (empty calories) and the frozen meal. Instead of buying frozen meal, I do a bunch of food prep on the weekends and have stuff ready to go for my own pre-made meals. Cheaper and healthier.

Dinner sounds pretty good to me. 

Thank you!  So maybe a hard-boiled egg for breakfast?  What other kinds of protein options would work for breakfast?