SO Bored with diet...need help

[PegasusStar]

Hey guys,

Well, here is an update.
I just started training, finished my 3rd week.

I started off strong...ate 5-6 meals a day, lots of fruit and veggies, high protein.

This last week, Ive been so bored with the same things over and over, that tonight I gave in (after only eating 2 meals today b/c I was busy working in the ER and didnt have a break)...at ate a bean burrito from Taco Bell on my way home..

And I was getting 1500 calories per Spark People, now over the last week, Im back down to 1,000-1300 cals, way too low from what everyone tells me.

My typical day

Breakfast- Egg whites
Snack- Fruit with cream cheese
Lunch- Turkey Sand on wheat, no cheese, no may
Snack- Chicken salad, no dressing
Dinner- Ahi tuna, or chicken

Im going CRAZY..how much chicken and Tuna can I eat...

I often dont have time to cook...I work 12 hour shifts in the ER!!

So, this last week, Ive been HORRIBLE and added:

-Subway turkey with veggies, on wheat, no cheese
-"Homemade" pizza with whole wheat tortilla, pizza sauce and Low fat pepperoni
-1 slice of Cheese to my plain turkey on wheat

.....and of course my horrible bean burrito
.....and I ate 2 Lean Cuisines this week (better than the 3x a day I was eating, but still want to cut it out!)
.....and Turkey Hot dog
.....and a Garden burger on a bun

The above have SO much sodium, but my calories are still too low, my sodium too high. I feel like the above are not THAT bad, but compaired to what I have learned here..they are all big NO NOs

Im worried that if I continue to keep so bored, IM going to go back to my OLD habbits....easy dinner tray meals...and meals like above

I really need some advice...Im feeling great, feel the muscle, havent lost much as far as clothes are concerned but Im ok with that b/c I know it takes time.

Please help!!

 

[Thandie]

Hey guys,

Well, here is an update.
I just started training, finished my 3rd week.

I started off strong...ate 5-6 meals a day, lots of fruit and veggies, high protein.

This last week, Ive been so bored with the same things over and over, that tonight I gave in (after only eating 2 meals today b/c I was busy working in the ER and didnt have a break)...at ate a bean burrito from Taco Bell on my way home..

And I was getting 1500 calories per Spark People, now over the last week, Im back down to 1,000-1300 cals, way too low from what everyone tells me.

My typical day

Breakfast- Egg whites
Snack- Fruit with cream cheese
Lunch- Turkey Sand on wheat, no cheese, no may
Snack- Chicken salad, no dressing
Dinner- Ahi tuna, or chicken

Im going CRAZY..how much chicken and Tuna can I eat...

I often dont have time to cook...I work 12 hour shifts in the ER!!

So, this last week, Ive been HORRIBLE and added:

-Subway turkey with veggies, on wheat, no cheese
-"Homemade" pizza with whole wheat tortilla, pizza sauce and Low fat pepperoni
-1 slice of Cheese to my plain turkey on wheat

.....and of course my horrible bean burrito
.....and I ate 2 Lean Cuisines this week (better than the 3x a day I was eating, but still want to cut it out!)
.....and Turkey Hot dog
.....and a Garden burger on a bun

The above have SO much sodium, but my calories are still too low, my sodium too high. I feel like the above are not THAT bad, but compaired to what I have learned here..they are all big NO NOs

Im worried that if I continue to keep so bored, IM going to go back to my OLD habbits....easy dinner tray meals...and meals like above

I really need some advice...Im feeling great, feel the muscle, havent lost much as far as clothes are concerned but Im ok with that b/c I know it takes time.

Please help!!

It's really no big deal to slip once...twice, but if you fall completely off the wagon what will happen is, you'll go back to square one and then have to start all over again. A vicious cycle.

Your diet is ok, but not great.
You should stop eating so much bread.

Example of a diet:

1-Egg white & oatmeal (if you don't like oatmeal, then have cream of wheat or any other hot cereal. Is far better then fruit w/cheese)

2-Protein drink

3- Chicken or turkey, of beef or tuna with sweet potato or brown rice.

4-Oats pancake or sweet potato muffin.

5- Chicken or turkey or beef or tuna with a salad or vegetable.

6- Fish with begetables with salad or couscous.

7- Casein Protein drink before bed..

I keep the fish and vegetables for the evenings since is lighter, but if you don't like chicken that much, have fish.

I usually don't have too many protein drinks, but if you don't have the time is far better then a sandwich.

I can go on forever. Unfortunately, eating healthy one must be committed.
You can cook at night or cook for a couple of days, etc.

Make your food interesting to you. Whatever your taste bud requires.
I like grilled or roasted vegetables with added olive oil & garlic. It would be very difficult for me to eat boiled or steamed veggies. If you don't eat things you like, you'll eventually get bored.

BTW, use dressing in your salads. it must be really hard to eat lettuce without dressing. However, just use one tablespoon. One tablespoon goes a long way.

 

[bw1]

Don't be to hard on yourself, diet can be challenging sometimes. You don't have to eat the same things over and over again, and there is alot of different healthy recipies you can use to make it easier for you. Needto has a great cookbook out that can help you, hit him up. Don't be afraid to throw a "cheat" meal in there once in a while to help break things up. Though dieting can be tough the results are worth it.

 

[Bikini Mod]

How long have you been eating clean? (Take Thandie's suggestions by the way for a bit of change)

How did you feel PHYSICALLY after you ate that burrito? Did it sit in your stomach like a ton of bricks? Did you feel like you had less energy and just *icky*. Pay attention to what your body is telling you. You should have felt a change in your energy levels and just overall sense of wellbeing bout 4 days or so after beginning to eat clean/whole/unprocessed foods.

Get Needto's book... I promise you it will help teach you about what better food choices are and VARIETY. He also talks about prep and convenience. The book is geard towards the type of total lifestyle change that you want for yourself.

And Like BW1 said, not only is a cheat meal (I prefer cheat DAY) suggested but I am going to say MANDATORY. I used to tell my clients that one day a week they could eat whatever they wanted. If they wanted snickers bar and ice cream for breakfast, I told them, "Have at it." Sometimes they did. For the ones who did they told me that after the 3rd bite or so they felt so sick to thier stomach that they couldn't finish not to mention they physically felt like crap and opted for more healthy food choices anyway... LOL

Once you start to detox you realize that your body will rebel BIGTIME if you go back to your old ways. But you have to get your diet in order first... once you get there though, there is usually no going back. If you fall off the wagon, the misery that junk brings to your body is more than enough to get you back on the right path.

^^ not mystical - but FACT.

 

[velvett]

Random question... do you like to cook?
You may just need a few recipes to rotate so you don't feel like you're eating a dry dead animal everyday.

 

[GUARDIAN]

check out NEED2's book lots of good recipes and varieties in there. click on the link in my signature.

u think u dont have time to cook? i work 60+ hours a week, lift weights 6 of those days and do 2-60 min cardio sessions everyday. i have to find time to shop, cook, and pack my meals. if u want results bad enough u can find a way. even if it means sacrificing a little free time on an off night or weekend to do all the cooking and preparing and packaging.

 

[needtogetaas]

check out NEED2's book lots of good recipes and varieties in there. click on the link in my signature.

u think u dont have time to cook? i work 60+ hours a week, lift weights 6 of those days and do 2-60 min cardio sessions everyday. i have to find time to shop, cook, and pack my meals. if u want results bad enough u can find a way. even if it means sacrificing a little free time on an off night or weekend to do all the cooking and preparing and packaging.

All this and more covered in the book to.

 

[localgirl]

check out NEED2's book lots of good recipes and varieties in there. click on the link in my signature.

u think u dont have time to cook? i work 60+ hours a week, lift weights 6 of those days and do 2-60 min cardio sessions everyday. i have to find time to shop, cook, and pack my meals. if u want results bad enough u can find a way. even if it means sacrificing a little free time on an off night or weekend to do all the cooking and preparing and packaging.

^ what he said ^

Results are made with dedication.
Just mix it up if it gets too boring. There are SOOO many healthy
options, you just need to find the time to prep for em. I spend most of sunday in the kitchen, prep'in for the week.
You can do it girl. Stay strong

 

[cindylou]

what is a sweet potato muffin?

ill trasfer k for recipe

 

[needtogetaas]

Ingredients:

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup splenda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup mashed baked sweet potato, cooled
1/2 cup fat-free milk, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup to 1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat twelve 2-5/8 by 1-1/8-inch (about 3-ounce) muffin cups with nonstick vegetable cooking spray(ff or healthy kind)

In a large bowl, stir together flour, splenda, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ground ginger.

In another bowl, stir together sweet potato, milk, eggs, oil, and vanilla, until blended. Make a well in center of dry ingredients; add milk mixture and stir just to combine. Stir in crystallized ginger.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of one muffin comes out clean. Remove muffin pans to wire rack. Cool for 5 minutes before removing muffins from cups; finish cooling on rack.



Yield: about 12 muffins

Nutrition information per muffin: 168 calories, 28 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams protein, 4 grams fat, 35 milligrams cholesterol, 173 milligrams sodium.


Want to really spice it up top muffins with.


Ingredients:
2 cups Sugar Free Light Whipped Cream
1/2 cup Splenda
1 scoop protein powder (use any flavor you like depending on
the flavor you want your frosting)
Directions:
Mix by hand or in a blender till desired thickness.
You will have to work with this one for awhile. Getting frosting
just right is always frustrating for most people.. It’s just something you will only learn through personal experience.

 

[needtogetaas]

Buy my book!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[GUARDIAN]

Buy my book!!!!!!!!!!!

LMAO

 

[cindylou]

that sounds awesome

i was hoping there was no flour in it.

needto, does your recipe book come with the stats on the recipes? the nutritional info?

 

[Bikini Mod]

Maybe whole wheat flour or some other can be substituted without giving up flavor/texture?

 

[nikkita]

Yummy!! I'll try it this weekend

Ingredients:

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup splenda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup mashed baked sweet potato, cooled
1/2 cup fat-free milk, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup to 1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat twelve 2-5/8 by 1-1/8-inch (about 3-ounce) muffin cups with nonstick vegetable cooking spray(ff or healthy kind)

In a large bowl, stir together flour, splenda, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ground ginger.

In another bowl, stir together sweet potato, milk, eggs, oil, and vanilla, until blended. Make a well in center of dry ingredients; add milk mixture and stir just to combine. Stir in crystallized ginger.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of one muffin comes out clean. Remove muffin pans to wire rack. Cool for 5 minutes before removing muffins from cups; finish cooling on rack.



Yield: about 12 muffins

Nutrition information per muffin: 168 calories, 28 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams protein, 4 grams fat, 35 milligrams cholesterol, 173 milligrams sodium.


Want to really spice it up top muffins with.


Ingredients:
2 cups Sugar Free Light Whipped Cream
1/2 cup Splenda
1 scoop protein powder (use any flavor you like depending on
the flavor you want your frosting)
Directions:
Mix by hand or in a blender till desired thickness.
You will have to work with this one for awhile. Getting frosting
just right is always frustrating for most people.. It’s just something you will only learn through personal experience.

 

[Thandie]

Here is one with no flour.
I meant to post this here, but went to another thread inadvertently.

These are oats pancakes and Sweet potato muffins I make:

PANCAKE-1 oz old fashioned oats
½ cup egg whites
2 tbls fat free cottage cheese
Cinnamon and vanilla In blender –
makes two pancakes which is one low carb serving.Pro-18g, carb-7g, fat-0.5g (Pam olive oil spray)Top with fat free/sugar free syrup


Sweet potato Muffins

In a bowl mix

8 oz sweet potato I first bake them in the oven the mash them into like mash potatoes.
2 cups dry oat meal
1 cup egg whites
1 whole egg
1 tbsp of vanilla
Cinnamon
1/4 cup splenda

Get a muffin pan with 12 and spray with pam
Cook at 350 for 30 minutes

Comes out to 18 carbs per muffin.

 

[cindylou]

AWESOME THANDIE! Cant wait to try those!!

 

[needtogetaas]

Maybe whole wheat flour or some other can be substituted without giving up flavor/texture?

Yes it can. It would change the taste a bit but still be good.

cindylou some of the meals yes but not all of them. This seems to be a huge requast though and maybe I may go back and do it for all of them. Thing is it would take me months to do it.

How ever finding the mics for each meal is very easy if don meal by meal. There are hundreds of sites that can do this for you.

fitwatch.com
nutritiondata.com
Calorie-Count at About.com has a free recipe analyzer
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp
calorieking.com


^^^^^ all these are free sites. You just type in every ingredient then the servings amount and bam it gives you all the info you need. Some of them give you everything right down to vitamins,ameno,sugar,salt everything.

So feel free to book mark these sites girls. I will deff be adding the sites to my book in my first up date, and maybe get a hair across my ass and do it for all the meals.

 

[localgirl]

Here is one with no flour.
I meant to post this here, but went to another thread inadvertently.

These are oats pancakes and Sweet potato muffins I make:

PANCAKE-1 oz old fashioned oats
½ cup egg whites
2 tbls fat free cottage cheese
Cinnamon and vanilla In blender –
makes two pancakes which is one low carb serving.Pro-18g, carb-7g, fat-0.5g (Pam olive oil spray)Top with fat free/sugar free syrup


Sweet potato Muffins

In a bowl mix

8 oz sweet potato I first bake them in the oven the mash them into like mash potatoes.
2 cups dry oat meal
1 cup egg whites
1 whole egg
1 tbsp of vanilla
Cinnamon
1/4 cup splenda

Get a muffin pan with 12 and spray with pam
Cook at 350 for 30 minutes

Comes out to 18 carbs per muffin.

YUM! I'll be trying these out this week! Thnx!

 

[needtogetaas]

Here is one with no flour.
I meant to post this here, but went to another thread inadvertently.

These are oats pancakes and Sweet potato muffins I make:

PANCAKE-1 oz old fashioned oats
½ cup egg whites
2 tbls fat free cottage cheese
Cinnamon and vanilla In blender –
makes two pancakes which is one low carb serving.Pro-18g, carb-7g, fat-0.5g (Pam olive oil spray)Top with fat free/sugar free syrup


Sweet potato Muffins

In a bowl mix

8 oz sweet potato I first bake them in the oven the mash them into like mash potatoes.
2 cups dry oat meal
1 cup egg whites
1 whole egg
1 tbsp of vanilla
Cinnamon
1/4 cup splenda

Get a muffin pan with 12 and spray with pam
Cook at 350 for 30 minutes

Comes out to 18 carbs per muffin.

Trying to our do the chef=banned. just messing good recipe I will be steeling btw

 

[Tatyana]

We so need a recipe stickie, those look AWESOME.

I can relate to the hours thing, but it is possible to cook healthy for yourself in advance.

My latest trick is doing a roast turkey breast and roast beef once a week, which does last most of the week.

I also do tuna patties which last about three days, I am thinking about trying and freezing some to see how they are after so I can have all of them ready for a week.

I find that my diet is far better when I am at work and on-call. I only have the food I bring available to me, we don't have anything open overnight, and even if we did, I wouldn't have time to go and get anything.

So your 12 hour shifts (same as mine as I am doing all your blood samples), may be a blessing in disguise.

Prepping food in advance is a bit challenging at first, but it does get SO easy after awhile, you do learn how to find fast recipes, how to get most of your food done for a week in an afternoon etc.

 

[needtogetaas]

Yes it can. It would change the taste a bit but still be good.

cindylou some of the meals yes but not all of them. This seems to be a huge requast though and maybe I may go back and do it for all of them. Thing is it would take me months to do it.

How ever finding the mics for each meal is very easy if don meal by meal. There are hundreds of sites that can do this for you.

fitwatch.com
nutritiondata.com
Calorie-Count at About.com has a free recipe analyzer
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp
calorieking.com


^^^^^ all these are free sites. You just type in every ingredient then the servings amount and bam it gives you all the info you need. Some of them give you everything right down to vitamins,ameno,sugar,salt everything.

So feel free to book mark these sites girls. I will deff be adding the sites to my book in my first up date, and maybe get a hair across my ass and do it for all the meals.

nice

 

[princesa]

Here is one with no flour.
I meant to post this here, but went to another thread inadvertently.

These are oats pancakes and Sweet potato muffins I make:

PANCAKE-1 oz old fashioned oats
½ cup egg whites
2 tbls fat free cottage cheese
Cinnamon and vanilla In blender –
makes two pancakes which is one low carb serving.Pro-18g, carb-7g, fat-0.5g (Pam olive oil spray)Top with fat free/sugar free syrup


Sweet potato Muffins

In a bowl mix

8 oz sweet potato I first bake them in the oven the mash them into like mash potatoes.
2 cups dry oat meal
1 cup egg whites
1 whole egg
1 tbsp of vanilla
Cinnamon
1/4 cup splenda

Get a muffin pan with 12 and spray with pam
Cook at 350 for 30 minutes

Comes out to 18 carbs per muffin.

Sounds delicious! Im gonna give this a try this weekend.
Thanx Thandie

 

[Thandie]

Trying to our do the chef=banned. just messing good recipe I will be steeling btw

No worries, Needto!
I'm here to help others get in fab shape..

 

[needtogetaas]

No worries, Needto!
I'm here to help others get in fab shape..

O I was playing around. I am here for the same reason. Its all bout the people. They have given me so much I can't help but give back. Ef rocks.

 

[blueta2]

If you're feeling overwhelmed by a boring diet so quickly, my suggestion would be to not do both exercise and diet all at once. It's too much of a change too quickly.
I would eat what I want, but clean for the first few months of training, then add a cleaner diet.
I never followed a super strict diet and I still was in awesome shape.

Do it slowly. I see nothing wrong with subways. Stay away from anything white (rice, flour. pot. etc), too much sugar, anything fried and high sodium foods and you'll do fine

 

[vixensghost]

I'm not sure if anyone suggested this...But, why not cook ahead on your days off? I cook on the weekends since my work schedy is so crazy 99.9% of the time ( 100% as of late). Take a few hours on your days off and plan your dinners so you do not have THAT stress durinmg the week.

Variety is the key to healthy eating and KEEPING it clean!

 

[cindylou]

I have a husband to cook for, he's not too cool with cooked in advance, and nuked dinners.

the rest of the meals can be that way, but i like having recipes and eat something different every night for dinner. no more just 4 oz chicken and 2 cups green veggie every night for 6 months.

 

[GUARDIAN]

I'm not sure if anyone suggested this...But, why not cook ahead on your days off? I cook on the weekends since my work schedy is so crazy 99.9% of the time ( 100% as of late). Take a few hours on your days off and plan your dinners so you do not have THAT stress durinmg the week.

Variety is the key to healthy eating and KEEPING it clean!

this is what i do. my dinner at home is the only fresh cooked meal for the day. i will take 8-10lbs of chicken breats out to the grill and knock it out of the way.

fish kind of sucks warmed up though. i save my fish for fresh cooked meals.

 

[vixensghost]

this is what i do. my dinner at home is the only fresh cooked meal for the day. i will take 8-10lbs of chicken breats out to the grill and knock it out of the way.

fish kind of sucks warmed up though. i save my fish for fresh cooked meals.

Fish takes only a few minutes to cook so I never pre-cook it.

I love NOT having to cook up chicky(etc) when we get home from work. It's so easy to take it out of the freezer and nuke it and BE DONE! God, the thought of having to cook after a long hard work day would make me skip meals. I'd rather take that extra time with my hubby and Bri than be cooking after work!

 

[cindylou]

this is what i do. my dinner at home is the only fresh cooked meal for the day. i will take 8-10lbs of chicken breats out to the grill and knock it out of the way.

fish kind of sucks warmed up though. i save my fish for fresh cooked meals.

me too, dinner at home must be cooked.

the rest of the meals are nuked chicken, canned tuna, or oats.

lol even sometimes eggwhites.

 

[GUARDIAN]

me too, dinner at home must be cooked.

the rest of the meals are nuked chicken, canned tuna, or oats.

lol even sometimes eggwhites.

i do the egg white thing to. i leave them just a tad runny so they dont get overcooked in the microwave. i will also add a tablespoon of queso sauce for flavoring. yum!

 

[Thandie]

I pre-cook for two days. However, breakfast must be fresh. I also warm up meals in a mini oven.

The only time I use the microwave is to warm up rice. I cook enough rice for a week, then warm it up daily on the micro.

 

[tbuzzell]

I cook for myself and my husband. I have an in-home daycare and have to cook for the children too. The hardest thing is avoiding what I feed the children, but I am pretty good at it. My biggest downfall is weekends. I am so sick of eating clean through the week that I make really bad choices. I have lost fat eating this way, but I know that I could do so much better if I just ate clean for just one more day.

What keeps you all motivated to eat clean most of the time?

Needto, where can I buy your book?

 

[Thandie]

I cook for myself and my husband. I have an in-home daycare and have to cook for the children too. The hardest thing is avoiding what I feed the children, but I am pretty good at it. My biggest downfall is weekends. I am so sick of eating clean through the week that I make really bad choices. I have lost fat eating this way, but I know that I could do so much better if I just ate clean for just one more day.

What keeps you all motivated to eat clean most of the time?

Needto, where can I buy your book?

You just need to hang in there.
Once you get use to eating 'clean' you wont want to go back. You will hate your old food. However, if you keep going back to the old food, you'll never get used to the clean food, enough to hate the other food. Does that make sense?
Think of it like an alcoholic. Does an alcoholic have a drink(s) on the weekends? he/she will never kick the habit that way..

 

[GUARDIAN]

I cook for myself and my husband. I have an in-home daycare and have to cook for the children too. The hardest thing is avoiding what I feed the children, but I am pretty good at it. My biggest downfall is weekends. I am so sick of eating clean through the week that I make really bad choices. I have lost fat eating this way, but I know that I could do so much better if I just ate clean for just one more day.

What keeps you all motivated to eat clean most of the time?

Needto, where can I buy your book?

the mirror.

click on the "needtochef" in my signature to purchase the book.

 

[tbuzzell]

I love that answer

the mirror.

 

[needtogetaas]

I cook for myself and my husband. I have an in-home daycare and have to cook for the children too. The hardest thing is avoiding what I feed the children, but I am pretty good at it. My biggest downfall is weekends. I am so sick of eating clean through the week that I make really bad choices. I have lost fat eating this way, but I know that I could do so much better if I just ate clean for just one more day.

What keeps you all motivated to eat clean most of the time?

Needto, where can I buy your book?

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/s...-fastest-selling-ef-book-all-time-595668.html

Here is something to read about the book. There is a few links in the thread to a place to buy the book.

I always tell people to pm ef frank and buy the book threw him. He will give you 3 free months plat when you get the book threw him.