ExRx.net

Hello, I started an Extrema Fitness Challenge Class at my gym 8 weeks ago and I've been doing great at the fitness part but I just can't seem to get myself to eat right. I don't really eat junk food I just don't eat enough good foods (I have stuff like Grape Nuts for breakfast, Lunch is hit or miss I'm on the run a lot, and I always have a good size dinner with a mean, veggie, and sometime potato (my fitness instructor told me I should not be eating potatoes but I think she is crazy). Anyways, I can't seem to come up with quick and healthy lunch ideas. I could really use some advice from you guys. I eat a lot of Chicken for dinner, i try to limit my red meat.

I don't drink pop (or soda as many of you call it) nor do I drink alcohol that often. I normally only drink water (sometime with lipton to go packs) and unsweetened iced tea.

I love Ice Cream. I don't buy it to have it in the house, but I will go out for it about once or twice a month. And when I do I like to go all out with the two scoop sundae.

I have a really heard time coming up with a meal plan so if anyone could help me that would be GREAT! But I know that that is asking a lot. So if you could just give me some good meals I can put them all togeather and make a meal plan for myself.

I'm a bit of a picky eater but I've been getting a lot better. I can't do tomatoes, olives or mushrooms. I'm pretty much open to everything else. I live over seas in Japan (Air Force Base) so although I can get most food that is available in the states, I can't get it all so please keep that in mind.

I'll assume you have read this:
http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nut ... habits.htm
Go back and read it again. and if there is anything that he recommends that you do not do now, change what you are doing.

Eating this way requires planning. Plan your meals on the weekend before you go grocery shopping. Cook in bulk and take leftovers for lunch. Get some protein powder or cases of tuna to eat as snacks. Meals don't have to be complicated. Salads are good. Spinach is one of the best foods you can eat. Shrimp is almost pure protein. Add a little olive oil and basalmic vinegar, you have a meal. Raw veggies and hard boiled eggs make a good snack. Eat the whole egg, the nutrition is in the yolk.

Plan your snacks so you don't feel tempted to go to the vending machines.

Don't get too upset over potatoes. If you have a lot of weight to lose you should avoid them but a small potatoe with a balanced meal will not mess you up.

How do you prepare your chicken? The difference in how a meal is prepared will have a huge difference on it's nutrition.

Stu

I'm going to trust that you've already read the nutritional information on this site,as well as the stickies we have posted. Those should clear up any questions on what to or what not to it. Red meat isn't going to kill you. Potatoes bad, no, just limit the quantities of ANY starch, they're limited nutritionally and calorie/carb dense. Read the Berardi articles, especially the 7 habits. Having been military myself for many years, (last time I was in Kadena was 78, when we were dropping off Marines at White's beach, your gym was fantastic) before I go into meal panning, are you eating in the mess hall or do you live on/off base with an available kitchen, refridg/freezer? Would be a big difference o what I might recommend.
Tim

My husband is military, i'm a home daycare provider/housewife. So I'm home all day long and I love to cook...

BTW: I am 23 years old, 5'4 and 145lbs. I want to lost about 20lbs.

OK, then you do have some time and storage capabilties. I also know they have a good commissary out there. Here's what I do so that I don't have to put salads together every time I want to eat. Pick the veg you like, mix up enough to last 2-3 days. Mix it up. Just as an example, I'll use about 1/3 16 oz bag of frozen snow Peas , thaw them out, same out of sliced carrots, thawed (if fresh for either, steam them up abit), mix it up w/ 1 16 oz can Italian gr beans, 1 16 z can reg green beans, 1 8 oz can of either Lima or Garbanzo's, and 1 8 oz can of slicd green salad or black olives. Slice up some red onion, mix all togetherand throw an olive oil/lemon juice all over. Another favorite I like is similar, 1 med zuchinni, cut lengthwise, then sliced into half moons, 1 2 lb bag california veg (brocolli, cauliflower, carrot) thawed and sliced onions. Same thing, mix up and use a dressing, preferably olive oil based. I think you get the idea. Run a couple simultaneously and all you have to do is go to the fridge and spoon it out. Take some time for yourself, probably on a Sat or Sun when yournot busy w/daycare and make a couple up. Another tick I use is to buy stuff frozen and already individually portioned, but I shop at Sams or Costco where it is readily avail, cheap. I haven't been in the commissary recently, but you should be able to do the same things. No reason for defrosting, they'll cook up great on one of those Foreman type of grills. Also, it sounds like I might be down on grains, I actually am not, I just use a lot of quantity control. I make a fairly large pot up of quinoa, barley, rice or bulgar wheat up fairly regularly. Pull or portion for family use, then put the rest in the tupperware type of containers with enough to last a day or two or three. Keeps very well in the freezer, and reconstitues very nicely and quickly in freezer, and holds in the fridge for up to a week. Bulgar and cousous are even easier, no cooking required. Same goes for legumes. My favorite are lentils, and I usually mix them w/ quinoa, save a portion of the mix in the fridge, the rest in the freezer. The only thing is portions w/ thee mixe. I use 1/4-1/3 cup as a serving for breakfast, or take a spoon or two over the top of veg salads. Potatoes are simple, but the little red or wasx new or fingerlings. They microwave up eaily. Just remember portions. Use one or two every now and then. Just a few tips on how to have stuff readily avail so that you don't have to make a big production out of every meal. I brown bag to work, just stuff the things in ziplocks and tupperware. When I get home, I go to the freezer, pull out a piece of frozen fish, throw it on Foreman, or pull out a ziplock that I've had something marinated in since morning and throw it on the Foreman,then go into preprepared salads. Done in ten minutes w/ no "fast food".
Hope this gives you a few ideas.
Tim

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but how do you mean how you prepare.

I tend to eat wok fried food a lot because it's easy. I will normally dice some chicken and fry it in a wok in olive oil or sesame oil until it's cooked. Add some herbs/spices then maybe add some vegetables and cook until it's ready to eat. Is this bad?

Any suggestions as to how to prepare the food healtier?

I normally just bake it in the over, or its part of a meal and I cook it on the stove top.

That seems OK. Many people bread their chicken and then deep fry it. Ideally it should be cooked so the fat drains off or it should be pan fried in olive oil after the skin has been removed.

A certain amount of fat is good for you but you don't want to add unhealthy fats in the cooking process.

Stu

Make yourself an omelette with meat & veggies fried up and mixed into it. I would post a great omelette recipe on here from the PN book, but I don't think that's a good idea....

Natural P-nut Butter, Nuts, Power Bars, Whole wheat sandwich with lean turkey and mustard cheese (dont go crazy with these!), salad with vinegar or olive oil dressing with dense veggies mixed in, 6-10 oz steak with veggies. If I canthink of more I willedit this post.

(Sorry if you already stated some of these guys)

That sounds like a very Western NY thing. Thats what everybody calls it around here.

I was born in Indiana, I moved to Mississippi when I got married and started working in a fast food place. It was crazy cuz I would say "What kind of pop would you like with that?" and they would look at me funny. Now I'm in Jpan and I just gave up on saying pop I have to say soda now...lol

I grew up in Cal, and maybe it's an era thing, but back in the 50's-60's it was always soda pop.
Tim

It's a regional thing. My relatives in Wisconsin call it pop.

A slang for term for beer is barely pop.