Day 4 Sample Menu for 1200 Calories

I’ve come across many weekly diet menus online. It never ceases to amaze me how often the menus are designed to include entirely unique meals for each and every meal of the week. No repetitions. What on earth does someone do with the leftovers? I plan leftovers into my menus to save me both time and money In today’s menu, I suggest purchasing a meal at Qdoba Mexican Grill for lunch. The portions tend to be quite big and therefore high calorie in my experience! However, there is a simple secret to making it work for you when you are on a low calorie diet. First, know what you will order BEFORE you arrive at the restaurant by going online. Second, divide your meal in half BEFORE you start to eat. Qdoba has a very handy nutrition calculator on their company website to assist you in choosing a healthy low calorie selection. Just for fun, I selected different ingredients to make a variety of custom-made vegetarian burritos. I wanted to see how the calorie totals might differ. This is an enlightening experience! If you don’t have a Qdoba restaurant where you live you could choose Chipotle Mexican Grill instead. But unlike Qdoba, you won’t find the nutrition information on the main Chipotle website. For this you will need to go to their chipotlefan.com site. Why they don’t make this easier for customers, I have no idea. Dinner with today’s menu calls for repeating the Hummus Tomato Sandwich from Day 1 of the weekly menu. Breakfast is a repeat of the grab and go Trail Mix from Day 2. That’s the way to keep things both easy and simple. I hope you enjoy this menu selection! As you may have learned from my other menus, I am a strong advocate of getting plenty of plant foods in your diet. Although it is not essential to be a complete vegetarian, I encourage you to consume only small amounts of meat and milk products. Fresh or minimally processed foods of plant origin can contribute lots of dietary fiber and water along with a full range of nutrients to keep you feeling satisfied with fewer calories. I eat quite a bit of vegetarian fare because it can be nutritious, low calorie, and tasty (depending on how it is prepared!). But I still eat a small amount of meat, mostly chicken and turkey, along with some fish and seafood. In addition I eat small amounts of low fat dairy products and eggs. I call myself a semi-vegetarian or flexitarian. It works well for me and I hope you give it a try if you have not already. To modify today’s menu for a 1300, 1400, or 1500 calorie diet, look for my comments below. 1200 Calorie Menu (Day 4) Breakfast ½ cup Trail Mix (Make your own in minutes. Approximately 188 calories)* 1 stick Mozzarella String Cheese (Horizon, 80 calories) 1?2 cup Orange Juice (Light ‘N Healthy Orange Juice with Calcium- Tropicana - 25 calories)** Snack ½ cup fresh blueberries 1 kiwi Lunch 1/2 Grilled Veggie Burrito (Qdoba Mexican Grill – about 330 calories for half, save the other half for tomorrow’s lunch) Water, unsweetened tea, or coffee Snack 1 cup Soy Dream Soy Milk, enriched vanilla (1 cup = 120 calories) Supper 1 Hummus and Tomato Sandwich (Start with 1 Whole Wheat Tortilla and spread one side with 2 Tbsp. hummus. Top with ½ cup spinach leaves, 1/2 cup tomato slices, ¼ cup feta cheese. Roll up and enjoy. Quick, easy, and ready in minutes.) Water, unsweetened tea, or coffee (Always remember to get plenty of water throughout the day. Read Water, Weight, and Women to learn more about your water needs.) Total Calories = 1212 Total Fiber = 28.4 g Fat = 27% Carbs = 59% Protein = 15% (U.S. Dietary Guidelines Recommended percentages: Fat 20-35%, Carbohydrates 45-65%, Protein 10-35%) Calcium = 1044 mg (Women between 19 and 50 years need approximately 1,000 mg a day, 51+ need 1,200 + mg a day) Iron = 20 mg (Women 19 to 50 years need 18 mg of iron, 51+ need 8 mg) 1300, 1400, or 1500 Calorie Diet Menu This menu has a fairly good balance of nutrients. However, it is a little short on calcium for postmenopausal women. If this describes you, you may want to supplement this menu with another serving of a low fat milk product. Or be sure to take a calcium supplement (with vitamin D). Otherwise, for women of all ages, simply add an additional serving or two of one of the menu items or other food of your choice to bring the total calories up to the level you need. (I encourage you to read my article on how to determine the minimum SAFE caloric intake for you: 1200 Calorie Diet: How to Get Started!) *Trail Mix – Make up enough for several mini-meals or snacks. Combine 1.5 Cups of Multigrain Chex Cereal, ½ cup raisins, ½ cup craisins original, and ½ cup dry-roasted pistachio nuts. Mix, and then add ½ cup servings to mini zip lock bags. Store in a cool, dry place. This makes about 3 cups total for six ½ cup servings or about 188 calories per serving. Note: Multigrain Chex Cereal is fortified with iron. If you are post-menopausal you may want to choose a different whole grain cereal with less iron. **Light N’ Healthy Calcium Orange Juice by Tropicana. I included this juice because it is a source of a little extra calcium and it helped the numbers to add up right for a total of approximately 1200 calories. However, I believe a regular orange juice product (with or without added calcium) would be a better choice for not too many more calories. Why would it be better? Adding water to plain orange juice is what makes light juice. That dilutes the available nutrients, which may or may not be added back. In my opinion, the original mix of nutrients as nature intended is always best. If you’ve read this far, good for you! Here are the links for day one, two, and three of this latest weekly plan: Healthy Low Calorie Sample Menu 1200 Calorie Menu: Day 2 1200 Calorie Menu Day 3 Till next time, watch those calories and eat healthy food. calories weight loss calories, weight losssample menu weekly menu diet sample diet 1200 1300 1400 1500 calorie diet diet plan weight loss diet

8 Reasons to Buy a Kindle Reading Device for Weight Loss Support, Better Health, and Fun!

I love my Kindle!!! Absolutely positively love it. However, having said that, I must tell you it is the original Kindle. The newest version (6″ Display, U.S. Wireless, Latest Generation) sounds like it is even better! Better than awesome? Wow! Image by Getty Images via Daylife The newest version often referred to as Kindle 2 weighs only 10.2 ounces, less than most paperbacks. It measures just over 1/3 inch thick. The battery life is 25% greater than the original and I’ve found the original to be good. I only need to charge it maybe once or twice a week. Amazon claims Kindle 2holds up to 1500 books of average size! You can read it just like real paper. There is no glare even in bright sunlight. At night you will need light but you can easily clip on a book light. Kindle 2, like the original, offers different type (font) sizes and you can choose what size works best for you. Unlike the original, Kindle 2 can also read to you! You have wireless access to the Internet from almost anywhere in the United States and there are no monthly fees! (I understand there is now a Kindle U.S. and International Wireless Reading Device but I am not sure what kind of access is available.) Almost any time, anywhere, you can purchase a book, magazine, or newspaper and receive it wirelessly in less than 60 seconds. Now how awesome is that? Buying a Kindle version of a book from Amazon will rarely set you back more than $10.00! That’s less than the cost for most print books. That’s just the basics. Why own a Kindle? I think a Kindle Reading Device can provide you with weight loss support, better health, and enjoyment. In the interest of full disclosure I will tell you that I am affiliate for Amazon. But I can honestly say I only promote products I sincerely like. Kindles are fun! 8 reasons to consider a Kindle 2 purchase: 1. The Kindle reading device provides the most convenient way to organize and store your books and documents that I have ever come across! With this slim lightweight reader you can access your favorite books anywhere including diet books, cookbooks, and recipes. You may even be able to subscribe to your favorite newspaper or health magazine (not all are available yet but that will change soon enough)! Check out the top diet and weight loss books available for a Kindle reader as rated by people who own a Kindle. Kindle owners can be voracious readers! I have found the recommendations/ratings of this group of people to be an excellent indication of a worthwhile book. Amazon updates the list every hour so you can instantly know what’s hot and what’s not! Check out some of the groundbreaking new books that have been published recently to help you understand why it is such a challenge to achieve and maintain a healthy weight and just exactly what you can do about it: The Instinct Diet: Use Your Five Food Instincts to Lose Weight and Keep it Off by Dr. Susan B. Roberts The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite by Dr. David Kessler The Body Fat Solution: Five Principles for Burning Fat, Building Lean Muscles, Ending Emotional Eating, and Maintaining Your Perfect Weight by Tom Venuto If in doubt about which books are best, look for a rating of at least 4 out of 5 with lots of customer reviews. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend all of the books with high ratings but then I haven’t had an opportunity to read all of them. There are, for example, quite a number of books listed by Jillian Michaels of the Biggest Loser Program that might be good. I just have not read the books yet. 2. Great for travel. Nothing better. Can’t decide what books to bring with you when you head out for business travel or fun? No problem, just bring your Kindle with you and get caught up with your diet and fitness books. If you tire of that just switch to something else with a few clicks. Make use of all the time spent waiting when you travel…waiting in a long line at the check-in counter, waiting to board a plane, waiting after landing till it is time to de-plane, waiting on your luggage… Sure you could have a paperback, but maybe the book you choose to read when you leave the East Coast is not what you want to read by the time you reach L.A. 3. You can exercise while reading with the Kindle. Reading while on an exercise bike or treadmill is nothing new but you may find it to be easier than holding and advancing the pages of a paperback. I’ve also discovered I can go to a local outdoor track and do my walking exercise while reading. It’s not hard at all to walk the circular paths and read at the same time. With the Kindle 2if you’d rather not read, you can actually opt to have the device read to you! Sounds like a great new feature! Just get yourself a quality pair of audio plugs and you’re good to go. (I understand this service is available for most but not all books.) 4. Find encouragement and company to stick with your diet. How about subscribing to your favorite blogs? There are lots of diet, fitness, motivational, and healthy food blogs available for the Kindle and more are being added all the time. (I hope to have my blogs available very soon!) There’s only a small fee to subscribe. 5. Use your Kindle in your kitchen. In the kitchen??? Yes, I said that right. If you have some of your best cookbooks and recipes on your Kindle all you need to do is protect it with a plastic bag and prop it up. You can still read it easily and advance the pages. No need to worry about spilling anything on it. Works much better than a laptop. After all, a laptop won’t fit easily or work well in a plastic bag and who wants to risk spilling food on a laptop? Choose to store and easily access all of the great low calorie and healthy recipes you find online. Be sure to include one or more reference cookbooks on your Kindle. Then when you discover you need to make an ingredient substitution you can look up suggestions. Need low fat buttermilk for a recipe but don’t have any? No problem. Look up how to make a substitute with nonfat milk and lemon juice or some plain low fat yogurt. 6. You can access the Internet for information. Look up a recipe on Google. No it is not as good as a computer but it does work. I understand the Kindle 2 works better than my original Kindle version. 7. You can email DOC, TXT, and PDF files to your own address for Kindle owners. I believe it is only 10 cents for Amazon to convert the files to a form that can be read on a Kindle. With this feature the sky is the limit!!! Keep lists of snack ideas, quick meals, or best food sources of dietary fiber and other nutrients at your fingertips. Include suggestions on the healthiest menu items at ethnic and fast food restaurants. I sometimes call my Kindle my back up brain. I may be a Nutritionist but I am not a walking encyclopedia. You can do what I do. Create a document with the information you need from a web article or otherwise and email it to your email.Kindle.com. You will have that information for easy access on your Kindle when you need it most. 8. The price has dropped substantially in the past month or two! I paid $369.00 for my Kindle. But Amazon lowered the price to $299 and more recently it has been dropped another $40.00. Wow! Only $259.00! Sound like a lot? Keep in mind all that you get with the Kindle. And remember that you don’t pay any monthly fees for wireless service! That means you can save your hard earned cash to buy healthy low calorie food. O.K. I must admit there are a few drawbacks [Big Grin!]: 1. Given that you can set the Kindle for the font size you are comfortable with reading, you will be taking fewer steps each day. You won’t need to search the house for your reading glasses. Hmm…Fewer steps logged on your pedometer and calories burned! 2. You’ll miss the work out you get lugging around books, magazines, and newspapers. Again, fewer calories burned. 3. You may not spend as much time frequenting book stores because you can have a new title to read on your Kindle in minutes from just about anywhere in the United States. Again, less walking and fewer steps. Seriously, there are a few things that might be an issue. The new Kindle does not provide a slot for a SD data card to increase the storage capacity. However, given that it can hold up to the equivalent of 1500 average length books, I would imagine it has plenty of storage. Owning a Kindle may not be a good choice if you are prone to making snap decisions. It’s just too easy to get carried away buying cool books! I’m sure that’s the kind of buyer Amazon loves to have. To keep this under control, I draw the line at having 5 unfinished books. If I want another I need to finish reading one or more that I’ve already purchased. The Kindle reader DOES need to be taken care of. It is not for anyone who is careless or prone to dropping things (not for kids!). I would encourage you to consider buying the slim leather case accessory to protect your investment. Why Buy One Now? It’s fun! For at least a while longer the Kindle Reader will be a shiny new toy. As such you will be amazed at the number of people who will approach you, when traveling, reading in a park, and elsewhere to ask about your reader. I’ve met all kinds of fascinating people. It’s a real conversation piece. Honestly, if you are reader and would love to have lots of books and other documents and resources available at your fingertips to read and consult just about anywhere, then consider purchasing a Kindle 2. You get a LOT for the purchase price. I wish I could have bought the product at the current price but I didn’t. I paid $100.00 dollars more and it was worth it. I have no regrets. Consider buying a Kindle for yourself or buy one for someone special for Christmas. I can’t imagine any reader not liking the gift! Go now to Amazon.com and check out the Kindle 2 for yourself. It may be just what you need for weight loss support, better health, and just plain fun! Maintenance Reviews weight loss Maintenance, Reviews, weight losskindle kindle 2 weight loss support cooking books reading device diet fitness

Healthy Lunch Ideas for Low Calorie Brown Bag Meals!

Enjoying healthy low calorie brown bag lunches needn’t take a lot of time or effort. It does take a little bit of planning and organization but once you get a system in place you’ll find it becomes easy. Then you can get creative and have fun. There’s no limit to the number of unique and healthy lunch ideas you can come up with! Speaking of fun, why limit yourself to a brown bag? You can get creative with this aspect of your lunch also. It might just make you more enthused about the whole venture. There’s an interesting article at Lifehacker titled Make Your Brown Bag Lunch More Appealing for lots of creative tips. (CAUTION: Do go easy on the cheese and nut butters recommended in this article. IF you are keeping tabs on your calorie count, read on HERE for other suggestions.) Beyond creativity, preparing your own lunch can save you a considerable amount of money. The cost of eating out can add up quickly! And you may gain the benefit of having a little more time for yourself over your lunch hour if you eat at or near your place of work. Here are three basic yet different strategies to get you started: Strategy One: Make “Planned-Over Meals” Plan your brown bag lunch meals around leftovers from meals prepared at home. If you have taken the time to prepare healthy low calorie meals for supper why not prepare a little extra? It won’t require much if any additional work. Anything from soup, to salads, casseroles, stir-fry dishes, burritos, pizza, and more provide great possibilities for lunch. Just decide how much you will need to prepare to have enough for your first meal, a second meal (if desired), plus extra for a serving or two for lunch during the week. After enjoying your supper meal simply refrigerate pre-portioned leftovers in separate containers so that it is ready to go. In the morning you can easily add the extras needed to balance and round out your meal. It might be a piece of fruit or some bite size pre-cut veggies and a drink and you’ve got your lunch. Easy. When you do eat out, choose to divide your entree in half before you start to eat. Bring home one portion for lunch the next day. You’ll save on BOTH time and calories! Many restaurant entrees are enough for at least two and maybe three meals if you are paying attention to your calorie intake. (Check out the calorie count of many restaurant menu items before eating out at CalorieLab.com.) Strategy Two: Plan Quick and Easy Lunches around a Protein Base Create a basic plan for a weeks worth of brown bag lunches with one or two lean protein foods. Why protein? Protein is important to meet your nutritional needs but it will also go a long way to satisfy you and keep you from feeling hungry before your next meal or snack! (Read Protein Matters for Weight Loss) In addition to protein, select good sources of dietary fiber from whole grains, beans, nuts, fruit, and/or vegetables to round out your meals. This nutritious combination of foods will provide a pleasing balance to keep you feeling satisfied till your next meal or healthy low calorie snack. (To learn more about the importance of dietary fiber read Dietary Fiber: Can it Help You with Weight Loss?) Be sure to include a variety of tastes and textures. Get creative with your combinations! If it is healthy, low calorie, and you like it, what could be better? Who cares if anyone else agrees with your selection! Think beyond just sandwiches. Tortilla roll-ups, pitas, salads, and frittatas are just a few of the many possibilities. Here’s a list of basic nutritious, low calorie foods to get you started: Lean Protein Chicken or turkey slices Canned tuna fish or salmon Lean Roast Beef or Ham slices (plus other lean cuts of beef or pork) Eggs (hard-boiled eggs, deviled eggs, egg salad, etc.) Egg substitutes Fish Seafood (shrimp is a good choice) Legumes (beans) Dairy and Nondairy (also good sources of protein) Nonfat milk Low fat yogurt Low fat cheese Low fat cottage cheese String cheese Babybel Light cheese Laughing Cow Cheese wedges Soymilk Tofu Breads and Cereals Whole grain loaf bread (Look to see that a whole grain is listed first on ingredient labels.) Whole grain pita bread Whole Wheat English Muffins Whole grain pasta Whole Grain Dry Cereals (Cereal for lunch? Sure why not? Or make up your own trail mix with a small amount of dried fruit and nuts.) Low Fat Whole Grain Crackers (Why the emphasis on whole grains? Read Whole Grains are a Weight Loss Winner!) Fruit (This list includes some of the best high fiber, nutritious, and low calorie fruit loosely grouped by season. Be adventuresome and try something new! There are many more fruit choices than what I have listed here.) (Fall) Pears Apples Oranges Bananas Kiwis (Winter) Clementines Tangerines Mandarin Oranges Ugli fruit (Spring) Strawberries Figs Papaya Apricots Cherries (Summer) Blackberries Raspberries Blueberries Peaches Nectarines Vegetables (Some delightful veggie selections to make up a salad with green leafy vegetables, a whole grain, or whole wheat pasta. Or bring along as a side dish.) (Fall) Spinach (and other green leafy vegetables) Beets (cooked, chilled beets make a delightful addition to any lunch) Cauliflower (raw pieces or lightly steamed) Cabbage (make homemade coleslaw for great taste and fewer calories than store bought) Potatoes (microwave a baked potato and top with canned chili) (Winter) Bok Choy Kale (I understand kale can be made into delightful and very low calorie chipsquite easily!) The poster of the recipe shares how you can cut the calorie count even more by spraying the kale with a mister or PAM (TM). You can also decrease the salt and add other seasonings instead. (Spring) Green Peas Spinach Asparagus Swiss chard (Summer) Broccoli Carrots Sweet Corn Snap Green Beans Edible Podded Peas More Veggies Cucumbers Jicama Sweet Peppers Tomatoes Avocado (Try adding a LITTLE mashed avocado to sandwiches and wraps instead of high fat mayonnaise for great flavor and nutrition.) Other Hummus Healthy Low Cal Muffins Low Fat or Air Popped Popcorn Unsweetened tea (You might add a little lemon flavor with True Lemon packets – 100% crystallized lemon with 0 calories.) Plain Unsweetened Coffee or coffee made with nonfat milk or low fat soymilk Juice (Choose 100% juice. Just 4 ounces a day is plenty of juice if you are on a low calorie diet. So if you’ve had juice for breakfast, you would be better off having a whole piece of fresh fruit for lunch.) Condiments - Get creative with the condiments you choose for your meals. There are so many possibilities beyond mayonnaise, butter, margarine, jams, jellies, sour cream, and ketchup! (See Nutritious, Low Calorie Spreads, Condiments, and Dips for some creative ideas.) Pack your condiments and salad dressings separately from your sandwich or salad fixings to keep things from getting soggy before lunchtime! Pickles Gingersnaps Vanilla Wafers Graham Crackers Strategy Three: Essential Food for Busy Times There are a few food items I recommend always having on hand so you have some back up lunch possibilities when the other strategies fall through. With these foods you will have some quick and easy low cal lunch choices. Canned Soup Canned Tuna, Chicken, or Salmon 2-3 frozen skinless, boneless chicken or turkey breasts (Simply cook up in the microwave or stovetop for chicken pieces or slices to include in canned soups, sandwiches, or salads to boost the nutritional value.) Peanut Butter or other Nut butter such as Almond Butter Frozen whole wheat loaf of bread or rolls (If properly wrapped, bread will keep in the freezer for 2-3 months. With frozen bread you will always have something on hand to make a sandwich even if you didn’t have time to get to the grocery store.) Canned fruits and vegetables (peaches, applesauce, beans, etc.) Frozen Veggies (corn, edamame beans, broccoli, etc.) Feta and/or Parmesan Cheese (Both will keep refrigerated for quite a while. You only need a little of one or the other to add flavor to your soups, sandwiches, frittatas, quiche, and more without adding lots of calories or saturated fat and cholesterol.) Whole wheat pasta, brown rice, or quinoa (Cook up a bunch and you have the basis for making a variety of salads for a week’s worth of lunches. Toss the pasta or grain with a little olive oil and add cut up veggies of your choice, either fresh or lightly steamed. Choose quinoa if you prefer not to add a small amount of cheese or lean protein. Season to taste.) NOTE: Quinoa is an especially good source of protein. To learn more about it you may want to read Healthy Low Calorie Quinoa Recipes. A few healthy low calorie commercial frozen dinners Additional Tips: 1. Frozen ice packs will help you keep cold foods cold. Juice or Iced tea in cartons or small plastic bottles might also be frozen to keep foods cold till lunchtime. Get yourself a thermal lined lunch bag to reuse instead of brown bags! 2. With a wide mouth thermos you can keep foods cold or hot. This is especially nice if you don’t have access to a microwave oven. Bring soups, leftover casserole, pasta dishes, stir-fry meals, and more. 3. You can prepare and freeze sandwiches ahead of time for your own fast food meals! To learn what works and what doesn’t you will want to read a great article from the University of Nebraska on Freezing Sandwiches! Hope this information helps. I will be writing a follow up to this article on healthy lunch ideas to share a list of specific low calorie meals. So be sure to check back! Till next time, watch those calories and eat healthy food! Health Maintenance Health, Maintenancehealthy lunch ideas low calorie healthy lunch brown bag brown bag lunches diet

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