I need some diet advice

[byu71]

Don't let TripleDad scare you away from fast food salads altogether. He's right, the dressing is terrible, and they usually give you enough for 2 portions. And some of the salads are bad becasue they include fried food and bacon. Only then is it even close to eating 2-3 slices of pizza (unless you're talking mini pizza), especially if you make sure you know what you're eating.

3 slices of Little Caesar's Large pepperoni pizza (very average-sized slices, IMO) will run you 840 calories. If you eat the very worst salad at McD's (Premium Southwest Salad with Crispy Chicken - 430 calories) and add two servings of the worst dressing they offer (Newman's Creamy Caeser - 190 per serving) you still come slightly out ahead (30 calories) of where you'd be if you'd eaten 3 small slices of Pizza. So DDD is right int hat if you eat the very worst salad and the very worst dressing, you're nearly eating the equivalent of 3 average sized slices of pepperoni pizza.

However, a couple tweaks, and your fast food salad is weight-loss gold. Consider:

Order the same salad with Grilled Chicken instead of crispy (fried), and you can subtract 110 calories. Substitute 2 servings of Newman's Low Fat Family Recipe Italian Dressing in place of the creamy caeser, and you just cut another 260 calories. Suddenly your salad, which is just as filling, is 440 calories--very reasonable for a dinner meal.

So TripleDad is right that some of the fast food salads are bad for you. But if you know your info (grilled chicken over fried; low fat dressing over fully-leaded) you can feel good about eating a fast food salad for lunch or dinner.

Great I now have Tuesday worked out.

2 tangerines and a Orange for breakfast

one of my leftover Nutrisystem lunches, yuk

Salad a McDonalds, but toned down from what I usually get.


Fish for dinner Weds. night, so if I want to eat that Nutri crap for lunch again, Weds is done.

Anyone have an opinion on Lean Cuisine dinners?

[Sea Chicken]

Great I now have Tuesday worked out.

2 tangerines and a Orange for breakfast

one of my leftover Nutrisystem lunches, yuk

Salad a McDonalds, but toned down from what I usually get.


Fish for dinner Weds. night, so if I want to eat that Nutri crap for lunch again, Weds is done.

Anyone have an opinion on Lean Cuisine dinners?

Two tangerines and an orange isn't a very good breakfast. It is really just sugar (natural sugar, but still) and will leave you very unsatisfied. I'd go with something like oatmeal (just don't go overboard with the brown sugar) or one egg + an egg white and a slice of toast.

[Pheidippides]

Don't let TripleDad scare you away from fast food salads altogether. He's right, the dressing is terrible, and they usually give you enough for 2 portions. And some of the salads are bad becasue they include fried food and bacon. Only then is it even close to eating 2-3 slices of pizza (unless you're talking mini pizza), especially if you make sure you know what you're eating.

3 slices of Little Caesar's Large pepperoni pizza (very average-sized slices, IMO) will run you 840 calories. If you eat the very worst salad at McD's (Premium Southwest Salad with Crispy Chicken - 430 calories) and add two servings of the worst dressing they offer (Newman's Creamy Caeser - 190 per serving) you still come slightly out ahead (30 calories) of where you'd be if you'd eaten 3 small slices of Pizza. So DDD is right int hat if you eat the very worst salad and the very worst dressing, you're nearly eating the equivalent of 3 average sized slices of pepperoni pizza.

However, a couple tweaks, and your fast food salad is weight-loss gold. Consider:

Order the same salad with Grilled Chicken instead of crispy (fried), and you can subtract 110 calories. Substitute 2 servings of Newman's Low Fat Family Recipe Italian Dressing in place of the creamy caeser, and you just cut another 260 calories. Suddenly your salad, which is just as filling, is 440 calories--very reasonable for a dinner meal.

So TripleDad is right that some of the fast food salads are bad for you. But if you know your info (grilled chicken over fried; low fat dressing over fully-leaded) you can feel good about eating a fast food salad for lunch or dinner.

Weight loss gold but nutritionally defective.

[Mrs. Funk]

Anyone have an opinion on Lean Cuisine dinners?

Calorically, not a terrible choice. Taste-wise, I prefer some definitely more than others, but it's hard to say which ones you would prefer. Any of the stuffed pasta dishes I don't like so much. Their basic chicken/pasta/veggie combos are usually pretty solid. They do have a ton of sodium, so that's something to be aware of.

[Donuthole]

Weight loss gold but nutritionally defective.

Agreed to an extent (grilled chicken breast is not nutritionally defective, though it's not super-human food, either). He's wanting to shed some lbs and cut the crap out of his diet, which such a salad will help him do. He's not training for a marathon.

[happyone]

This isn't specifically about what you eat, but I need to write everything I eat down. If I don't, I tend to snitch and don't realize how much I am eating.

As for what I eat, I follow the food pyramid except for carbs and there I eat about 1/2 the recommended daily allowance.

[byu71]

Two tangerines and an orange isn't a very good breakfast. It is really just sugar (natural sugar, but still) and will leave you very unsatisfied. I'd go with something like oatmeal (just don't go overboard with the brown sugar) or one egg + an egg white and a slice of toast.

Might be good for the weekend, but I know I would be disciplined enough to do the egg thing on weekdays, well maybe I could boil some.

I read where I should eat 9 helpings of fruit or vegatable a day. I actually am not the hungry in the mornings. Night time is the problem.

[ERCougar]

if you're really serious about this, get a calorie tracker on your phone. I use myfitnesspal but there are others. They're free, super easy to use, and you'll figure out pretty quickly what kinds of foods are good uses of your calories. You don't have to be hungry if you're smart about your choices.

The biggest problem I see with your plan is the nutrisystem component. It's easy, but you eant to restructure your eating habits and lifestyle longterm, and I'm guessing that your lifelong plan doesnt involve nutrisystem for the rest of your life. Take your nutrisystem money and go buy an ipod touch and a calorie counter.

[byu71]

if you're really serious about this, get a calorie tracker on your phone. I use myfitnesspal but there are others. They're free, super easy to use, and you'll figure out pretty quickly what kinds of foods are good uses of your calories. You don't have to be hungry if you're smart about your choices.

The biggest problem I see with your plan is the nutrisystem component. It's easy, but you eant to restructure your eating habits and lifestyle longterm, and I'm guessing that your lifelong plan doesnt involve nutrisystem for the rest of your life. Take your nutrisystem money and go buy an ipod touch and a calorie counter.

The nutrisystem piece is just left over stuff from when I went on the program. I just couldn't keep eathing that stuff. I figure it is just a stop gap until thanks to this board, I finally establish my "true" eating lifestyle.

[mUUser]

I'm a disciple of a low-carb lifestyle + weightlifting.

If you're interested in going that route, I have some ideas.

[byu71]

I'm a disciple of a low-carb lifestyle + weightlifting.

If you're interested in going that route, I have some ideas.

I pulled something in my shoulder lifting a couple of weeks ago. It still hurts.

If I stick to what I am doing for a while, then maybe I will step it up.

Today, orange two tangerines breakfast. Grilled chicken lunch. Lean cuisine dinner. Need to go to store tomorrow and get vegetables.

[taekwondave]

What I like that you're doing is the fruit thing. I love raw food and fruit is the one thing that people don't seem to have any problem eating raw. That and salad. I don't know why people cook vegetables. I think it's because they were raised on them that way. I love the crunchiness of raw veggies and the slight hint of sweet they contain. You don't get that when you cook them. I've heard that you lose nutrients when you cook anything. I don't know if it's true or not but man do I feel good when I up my raw intake. (My colon doesn't like it the first few days but once the raw has worked its magic it forgives me.)

[byu71]

I have taken advice given and have really watched what I eat. I am pretty darn happy as I have lost 9 lbs. Just by eating a lot better. I feel a lot better now too.

I am afraid though to continue losing I am going to have to do some serious excercising. After my second cortison shot yesterday, the pain in both my back and leg has subsided greatly. No excuse to not exercise now.

I would like to lose another 10 by the end of the month.