Critique my food choices please

[Anonymous]

I am a 49-year old woman who is trying to eat healthier and get fit and strong. I am 5’2” and weigh 150. I would like to drop at least 20 pounds (which would take me out of overweight category) but maybe more like 25 pounds would be good.

I recently started taking brisk walks of about 60 minutes (which get me to 10,000 steps daily as I have a sedentary desk job) and weight lifting (alternating arms and legs). I do this 5 days a week.

My constraints are that due to an autoimmune condition I have to watch sodium intake (no more than 1,200 mg per day) and protein intake ( no more than 45 g per day). I am also a terribly picky eater which can make things hard but at the same time, I don’t mind eating the same things all the time.

I did some online quizzes and my basal metabolic rate is 1,364 (what I naturally burn without exercise). I aim to eat about 1,200 calories a day.

Breakfast is a bowl of blackberries, red raspberries, and blueberries with a tiny bit of raw, unfiltered honey drizzled (about a teaspoon). On weekends I will instead mix some berries with nonfat Greek yogurt to change it up.

Lunch is 2 scrambled eggs with pepper and little olive oil, 2 strips of all natural turkey bacon, and a bowl of raw veggies (baby carrots, cucumber, peppers).

Mid afternoon snack is typically an apple and some green tea. I could also do celery with hummus or almond butter.

Dinner is a salad with chicken from Gardencup. I get about 5 different salads from them. Instead of using their dressing I buy primal which are healthier.

Nothing after dinner. I drink about 70 oz of water each day.

I eat like this Sunday through Friday and on Saturdays I let up for dinner when we have take out or go out to dinner.

What could I do better? I have considered having some albacore tuna in water on harvest grain toast in place of the eggs for lunch.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

You need to 1) Stop eating lunch. 2 eggs plus the turkey bacon and the veg is huge. Especially at your age. Unless you are insanely physically active (which I doubt since you are trying to drop 20), you need to cut that out. If you MUST eat some days (not every day) opt for the veg and hummus.

2) Stop eating Gardencup. It's loaded with calories and not healthy. You don't need all that animal protein anyway. Pick up a variety of washed and bagged salads. Toss the dressing if you want and use your own, but make sure you are only using a tablespoon. Add cooked garbanzo, navy, or black beans instead of chicken. Or add Tofu. You can roast it in an airfryer to give it a little color and texture.

You could add half a can of tuna to your salads for dinner too. Do not eat bread.

[Anonymous]

And in today's exhibit of disordered eating: Stop eating lunch. "2 eggs plus the turkey bacon and the veg is huge. Especially at your age"

Your lunch has max of 300 calories and .most of your protein for the day. The pp is so so so wrong.

Considering you only eat berries and apples most of the day, plus a light lunch, you can afford a higher calorie gardencup. The benefit there is that it is premeasured so you know what you're getting.

Honestly, I would add in exercise and try to get to 1400 calories a day to lose.

I am 48 and eat about 1800-2000 a day to maintain because I am very active.

[Anonymous]

is it kidney disease? I try to go vegan most of the time, oatmeal seems to curb the cravings though i know a lot of people say it gives them sugar skies and hunger

[Anonymous]

OP here - yes, kidney disease. I want to like beans but I just don’t no matter how hard I try (chickpeas are ok). So I compromise with eggs and chicken (some tuna) but rarely red meat or pork.

My lunch has about 300 cal. The garden cup salads are about 400-500. They are pretty filling. Breakfast is about 100 and snack is about 100-200. If I cut out lunch I would barely be eating anything. That doesn’t make sense to me and really does seem disordered. I am trying to eat less, strike nutritional balance, and lose weight but not give myself an ED.

I hate cooking so convenience is huge for me. I also have really tried to like oatmeal but I can’t get past the texture. Like I said - picky eater.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And in today's exhibit of disordered eating: Stop eating lunch. "2 eggs plus the turkey bacon and the veg is huge. Especially at your age"

Your lunch has max of 300 calories and .most of your protein for the day. The pp is so so so wrong.

Considering you only eat berries and apples most of the day, plus a light lunch, you can afford a higher calorie gardencup. The benefit there is that it is premeasured so you know what you're getting.

Honestly, I would add in exercise and try to get to 1400 calories a day to lose.

I am 48 and eat about 1800-2000 a day to maintain because I am very active.

Are you saying exercise more than 60
minute fast walks (about 3.5 miles covered) and weight lifting (both 5x per week)? Would that not be considered active? I calculate that burns about 250 per day so I could increase my calories slightly and I do if I add some cottage cheese or humus or almond butter to snacks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to 1) Stop eating lunch. 2 eggs plus the turkey bacon and the veg is huge. Especially at your age. Unless you are insanely physically active (which I doubt since you are trying to drop 20), you need to cut that out. If you MUST eat some days (not every day) opt for the veg and hummus.

2) Stop eating Gardencup. It's loaded with calories and not healthy. You don't need all that animal protein anyway. Pick up a variety of washed and bagged salads. Toss the dressing if you want and use your own, but make sure you are only using a tablespoon. Add cooked garbanzo, navy, or black beans instead of chicken. Or add Tofu. You can roast it in an airfryer to give it a little color and texture.

You could add half a can of tuna to your salads for dinner too. Do not eat bread.

Honest question - how is the garden cup unhealthy? It is all veggies, some plant protein (chickpeas, edamame, and nuts) plus lean chicken. Since I use a different dressing the total calories is 400-500 and feels like a complete meal to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to 1) Stop eating lunch. 2 eggs plus the turkey bacon and the veg is huge. Especially at your age. Unless you are insanely physically active (which I doubt since you are trying to drop 20), you need to cut that out. If you MUST eat some days (not every day) opt for the veg and hummus.

2) Stop eating Gardencup. It's loaded with calories and not healthy. You don't need all that animal protein anyway. Pick up a variety of washed and bagged salads. Toss the dressing if you want and use your own, but make sure you are only using a tablespoon. Add cooked garbanzo, navy, or black beans instead of chicken. Or add Tofu. You can roast it in an airfryer to give it a little color and texture.

You could add half a can of tuna to your salads for dinner too. Do not eat bread.

OP, please ignore this poster.

Do not skip lunch. Bread is not poison.

I'm not sure why you need to add honey to the berries. And with the caveat that I'm your age but not trying to lose weight, I personally do full fat whole milk yogurt. It fills me up and personally, I think it tastes much better than the nonfat stuff.

Good for you for making healthy changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to 1) Stop eating lunch. 2 eggs plus the turkey bacon and the veg is huge. Especially at your age. Unless you are insanely physically active (which I doubt since you are trying to drop 20), you need to cut that out. If you MUST eat some days (not every day) opt for the veg and hummus.

2) Stop eating Gardencup. It's loaded with calories and not healthy. You don't need all that animal protein anyway. Pick up a variety of washed and bagged salads. Toss the dressing if you want and use your own, but make sure you are only using a tablespoon. Add cooked garbanzo, navy, or black beans instead of chicken. Or add Tofu. You can roast it in an airfryer to give it a little color and texture.

You could add half a can of tuna to your salads for dinner too. Do not eat bread.

This is officially the worst advice ever given on this forum. I wish there was a feature to block certain posters

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to 1) Stop eating lunch. 2 eggs plus the turkey bacon and the veg is huge. Especially at your age. Unless you are insanely physically active (which I doubt since you are trying to drop 20), you need to cut that out. If you MUST eat some days (not every day) opt for the veg and hummus.

2) Stop eating Gardencup. It's loaded with calories and not healthy. You don't need all that animal protein anyway. Pick up a variety of washed and bagged salads. Toss the dressing if you want and use your own, but make sure you are only using a tablespoon. Add cooked garbanzo, navy, or black beans instead of chicken. Or add Tofu. You can roast it in an airfryer to give it a little color and texture.

You could add half a can of tuna to your salads for dinner too. Do not eat bread.

OP, please ignore this poster.

Do not skip lunch. Bread is not poison.

I'm not sure why you need to add honey to the berries. And with the caveat that I'm your age but not trying to lose weight, I personally do full fat whole milk yogurt. It fills me up and personally, I think it tastes much better than the nonfat stuff.

Good for you for making healthy changes.

Agree with all of this. The poster you quoted is a lunatic.

Totally agree re the additional sugar in the honey. Totally not needed. I would take in those calories through more of the berries instead, or not at all, or split the difference.

I prefer the non-fat version of the yogurt myself. But, in my case, I am trying to use it for supplemental protein intake and I am eating a ton of it. I made the joke about turning into Zorba the greek in the other thread about dairy (though I borrowed that joke from Reddit).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to 1) Stop eating lunch. 2 eggs plus the turkey bacon and the veg is huge. Especially at your age. Unless you are insanely physically active (which I doubt since you are trying to drop 20), you need to cut that out. If you MUST eat some days (not every day) opt for the veg and hummus.

2) Stop eating Gardencup. It's loaded with calories and not healthy. You don't need all that animal protein anyway. Pick up a variety of washed and bagged salads. Toss the dressing if you want and use your own, but make sure you are only using a tablespoon. Add cooked garbanzo, navy, or black beans instead of chicken. Or add Tofu. You can roast it in an airfryer to give it a little color and texture.

You could add half a can of tuna to your salads for dinner too. Do not eat bread.

Better yet stop eating entirely🙄. Ignore this nutjob

[Anonymous]

I think your diet sounds really healthy and like it should get you to your goals. How long have you been eating this way? Is it possible you’re blowing all your progress on Sunday?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And in today's exhibit of disordered eating: Stop eating lunch. "2 eggs plus the turkey bacon and the veg is huge. Especially at your age"

Your lunch has max of 300 calories and .most of your protein for the day. The pp is so so so wrong.

Considering you only eat berries and apples most of the day, plus a light lunch, you can afford a higher calorie gardencup. The benefit there is that it is premeasured so you know what you're getting.

Honestly, I would add in exercise and try to get to 1400 calories a day to lose.

I am 48 and eat about 1800-2000 a day to maintain because I am very active.

Are you saying exercise more than 60
minute fast walks (about 3.5 miles covered) and weight lifting (both 5x per week)? Would that not be considered active? I calculate that burns about 250 per day so I could increase my calories slightly and I do if I add some cottage cheese or humus or almond butter to snacks.

NP. The walking and weight lifting are super important for your health, and you need to keep doing them to be healthy. But they aren't really going to help you lose weight; not in any noticeable way, and not if you start thinking this "so I could increase my calories slightly..." stuff. I would ignore exercise (at least at the rate you are doing it now) for the purposes of figuring out what you want your caloric intake to be in order to lose weight.

I think your menu is fine. I probably wouldn't add the honey, but I find fruit sweet enough on its own. I also think you could use some variety on different days -- but if you are happy with your menu as is, you could stick with it for now.

I would caution you about those online metabolic rate calculators; they can be worse than useless. I burn a lot less than those things tell me I burn in a day (but I have a medication-destroyed metabolism).

[Anonymous]

You need some protein with breakfast, no honey. Berries with Greek yogurt should be your daily breakfast.

Lunch, skip the bacon. It is bad for you to eat processed meat daily. Have 2 scrambled eggs with some cheese, and your vegetables. Better yet, put it into a spouted whole grain wrap.

Dinner: are you eating Gardencup every day? You should start preparing your own salads
And dinners. Much less sodium. Even if it might not seem like a lot, their precooked chicken will be loaded with sodium, much more than is you were to season and grill your own.

You are eating no grains, at all. You should find a way to incorporate some whole grains, aim for 2-3 servings per day. Oatmeal, quinoa, farro..lots of good options

[Anonymous]

I think you should by eating more protein and fat. Try to find a legume recipe that you actually like. I eat a lot of chickpeas (made with lemon and dill and lots of olive oil) and lentils (Dahl, lots of butter). Full fat yogurt is also great. Far fewer additives -- it's more of a "whole food" product.

You'll find you are more full and can eat less often.

I would get rid of the daily bacon and "garden cup" and instead build your own salad fixings at home.