How long and often should I exercise to lose weight..breakfast ideas..Help! I'm bored with Oatmeal

[Anonymous]

My favorite breakfast: light and lively strawberry yogurt, served on top on fresh strawberries (when affordable) with yogurt and raisins on top. awesome!

I run Tues, Thurs and Sat. Have a treadmill in my home. I just started swimming and try to go 3 nights a week. Oh...try Wendy's mandarin orange chicken salad...leave off the noodles...use less than half the dressing...nice!

[Anonymous]

WW is great. Lost 40 lbs on it.

Lose the flavored yogurts, eat plain organic and sweeten it with honey and natural sweeteners.

Eggs. Eggs. Eggs.

I do oatmeal with walnuts, honey and blueberries. Every AM.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

OP, best of luck to you...sounds like you are ready to take control of your health! Here are my favorite healthy meals:

kashi go lean crunch cereal for breakfast with handful of blueberries or rasperries. 2 cups of coffee with whole milk, no sugar

snack, apple or orange

lunch, large salad with tofu, cheese, or beans..tomato and cheese salad, 3 bean salad,

snack, apple or orange, handful of nuts

dinner
baked potato with salsa, cheese, salad or spinach

dessert, gummy bears, dots, peanut butter cups )200 calorie max on dessert- but i have one every night

cup of tea before bed

drink water, crystal light or decaf tea all day long so i'm very well hydrated....if i eat well 85% of the time i dont mind indulging now and then at restaurants, friends, etc..
best of luck

[Anonymous]

Go with a low-carb diet - like the South Beach diet. I have been on one since about Halloween and have lost 10 pounds. I would have lost more if I hadn't cheated over Thanksgiving and Christmas.

It's hard to get used to, but once you're on it, it becomes second nature, and since you're cutting out sugars and carbohydrates, there is less opportunity to snack on bad things.

My typical day is like this -
Breakfast - egg with spinach
Snack - handful of nuts
Lunch - salad with dressing and some kind of protein
Snack - an apple
Dinner - another salad

I limit dairy, but do occassionally have some plain yogurt with berries or a slice of cheese. I have never dieted before, and am pretty impressed with losing a pound a week pretty effortlessly.

[Anonymous]

I have had a huge success on WW. I am down 60 and still going. I will say I do get in a food rut and become bored but I am trying.

Breakfast:
Oatmeal and berries
Jimmy Dean D'lights Sandwich
Egg beaters cooked with 1tbsp of 2% cheese,turkey bacon and 100 calorie bagel

Snack:
FF yogurt with a tbsp of Kashi GoLean crunch cereal
banana
slice of deli meat wrapped around lf cheese stick
apple with tsp of pb
jello sf pudding or jello
soup
baked tostitos with salsa
carrots with salsa

Lunchi am not home much)
subway ww bread with roasted chix breast , no cheese, loaded with veggies,ff honey mustard,baked lays or a salad with roasted chix breast
wendy's small chili with garden salad
sushi
soup with salad

Dinner:
I always make a huge salad and eat before I anything else.
Grilled chicken, shrimp, tilapia,veggies, brown rice
Make use whole wheat tortillas and make fajitas with the chicken.
I will make a low fat version of lasagna or chicken parm

Dessert:
Skinny Cow <--thank god for these

I drink a ton of water. I have one skinny grand latte a day. I walk 3 miles 5 times a week. I hope this helps!!

Good luck! Do not give up!

[Anonymous]

PP, please post your recipe for low-fat chicken parm. Thx!

[Anonymous]

I highly recommend the FREE site www.livestrong.com

The Daily Plate section allows you to track your calories, has all the brand name foods, restaurant foods, etc. You enter your goal weight and it tells you how many cals a day to eat to get there. It really keeps you honest once you are tracking your calories!

For breakfast I have a grande skim latte and a powerbar or a bowl of oatmeal or Smart Start cereal.

I do not eat a lot....that's the trick. Calories in, calories out is a simple science. When you use one of these calculators plug in that you are sedentary rather than moderately active. I have read that most of us (and I exercise a LOT) would not qualify as moderately active. Changing your status to sedentary reduces the number of calories recommended, but will yield faster more realistic results.

I liked WW, but I found that it was expensive for basically being an online calorie counter! Daily Plate works just as well.

[Anonymous]

Bored of oatmeal...........
My advice and this is what I have been doing and have already lost 12lbs....and have 20 more to go.
I have cut out, potatoes, bread, white rice, sugar, candy, pasta, no soda
I only eat meats, fish ,salad, soups, some cheese and lots of veggies and fruit.
drink lots of water, herbal teas
I DON'T SNACK!!!!!!
My portions are smaller and I use a salad plate to place my food on....which helps with the portion control.
I exercise a few times a week, fast walking, yoga, bike riding, eliptical........nothing fancy.

I feel great and have more energy and can fit into my clothes better.

I hope that helps you, because if you stick to a regime it will work
good luck

[Anonymous]

My DH and I are having some success with a two pronged approach (we already have a physical fitness routine).

Diet: Low Carb (not NO Carb). Cut out the white foods (bread, pasta, rice, potatoes) and sugar (pop, candy, icecream, pastries), Fill up on lean meats, fish and green, orange and red vegetables. I am prepping two veggies for dinner, instead of a veggie and starch.

Psychology: Our normal dinner plates are about 10.5 inches across. I stopped in Home Goods and found 6 plate I would call Luncheon plates ) about 9" across. Amazing how you can sit down to what looks like a full plate and still cut portion size!

We have been dropping 1 - 2 pounds a week. It isn't magic, it is persistence and self honesty.

[Anonymous]

A breakfast I liked a lot when I was doing South Beach was a scrambled egg with refried beans, a little grated cheese, and Trader Joe's salsa. Filling and tasty!

[Anonymous]

I am currently doing WW and breakfast is always my toughest time. Trader Joes has giant bran muffins with blueberries or mango, that are wonderful! Especially cut in half and toasted with a tiny bit of butter! Without the butter, they are only 2 points. I try to eat as much fruit as possible in the mornings. It tends to stretch the meal out so that I can put off lunch til a bit later. WW also has a very yummy breakfast quesadilla in the freezer section of the grocery store. 31 pounds lighter....20 more to go!!

[Anonymous]

Research suggests that eating 5-6 small meals per day vs. the typical 3 meals is better for weight loss as it keeps your metabolism revving all day long.

There are tons of great ideas above. One other thing I'd like to add is that my personal trainer suggested I keep sugar intake to less than 30g per day (this is not always easy), but I did lose 7 pounds pretty quickly.

Another idea for breakfast:

- light multi-grain english muffin with better 'n' peanut butter spread (less fat, sugar and calories than regular PB)
- serving of fruit
- coffee or tea

- eggwhite omelet with smoked salmon and fat free cream cheese stirred in.
- serving of fruit
- coffee or tea

Also, low glycemic index fruits are supposed to help decrease your bodies absorption of fat in the intestines. Try melon and berries. And they keep you full longer.

[Anonymous]

After years and years of eating a very low-fat diet and being anti-breakfast, I have found that I can lose weight by focusing on eating for energy - which for me means a good solid breakfast with fat, protein, and complex carbohydrates. I also cut artificial sweetners out completely. For me, I think they made me hungrier. I am amazed after years of struggling with keeping my weight down, starving myself, trying to trick myself with "fake foods" that this works. I'm also a little pissed I spent years being hungry!

Moderation of course is the key, but I will eat eggs, bacon, and a small bagel for breakfast. On the mornings we have bacon, I eat egg whites. On the mornings we don't have bacon, I add egg yolks or cheese to the eggs to up the fat content. And I eat "toddler" portions (hey, I am eating with a toddler). I eat often, and try to get a little of everything in my diet - fruits, veggies, carbs, proteins.

And I focus more on getting some sort of exercise, than worrying if it is enough. I found to be key is finding something you can keep up. Sure, working out an hour every day will work wonders, but only if is something you can truly keep up. I could do it pre-mommy years, but not now. Now, I do what I can, and knowing I don't have to be a super athlete, gives me more motivation to exercise.

[Anonymous]

My favorite post work out breakfast is a toasted slice of whole wheat bread topped with egg whites (an egg is fine too, I don't like yolk), sliced grape tomoatoes, and salt and pepper. You get good carbs, protein and veggies/fruit. It keeps me full until lunch.

[Anonymous]

OP here....Thanks so very much for the inspiration and ideas...I have enough breakfast ideas to last for quite a while. THanks