Diet Meal Ideas?

ThereseR

November 12, 20130 found this helpful

Julie, from what you are describing, it almost sounds like a starvation diet: no breakfast, a Slim-fast for dinner (lunch), and only one "proper" (full?) meal per day? Not only will you probably go around being hungry most of the time, you might get discouraged very quickly, abandon your "diet" altogether and go back to your former eating habits, whatever they may have been.

Dieticians and nutritionists use the term "meal plan" instead of "diet" because it indicates that the person is learning new eating habits, not just severely depriving themselves of food in an effort to lose weight.

Try having some protein (eggs, peanut butter, low-fat turkey sausage) along with your tea for breakfast, and add a piece of fruit (banana, sliced apple, cup of sliced strawberries,) and a small amount of starchy food such as a piece of toast or a serving of cereal with nonfat milk or rice milk. This will help you to stay satisfied until you have your Slim-fast at lunch (dinner.) For tea-time, how about a green salad with low-fat salad dressing.

For supper, have a serving of low-fat protein (lean meat, chicken or fish), a serving of cooked vegetables, and a serving of starchy food (baked potato topped with low-fat margarine or plain low-fat yogurt and chopped chives,) for example. If you are trying to lose weight, get a mild amount of exercise, such as walking briskly, for 20-30 minutes per day to start.

When we are changing our eating and exercise habits, we need to be gentle with ourselves, and to make small, gradual changes. If we try to make radical changes all at once, we are setting ourselves up for discouragement and might even harm our physical well-being.