Menu

[Swenden]

I am new to all of this. I do not understand some of the menu items – such as tahini – I looked it – looks like a sesame paste of some sort to spread on a bread or roll. Then cheese is grass fed, hard? I am lost when it comes to a lot of this – I am eating a lot of fruits and vegetables – but am not sure if the combinations are doing me any good. This is day 2 for me (8/19/14).

[Ossie-Sharon]

Hi, Swenden, and welcome. Great news that you are eating a lot of produce – that is already doing you good for sure. The foods in the Menu Planner were selected from all over the world to suit a variety of tastes – if you are unfamiliar with something, there is no pressure to use it. The goal here is to get you to eat relatively unprocessed and unrefined foods, even if those are just upgrades to what you eat now – i.e., brown rice instead of white. Perhaps as you ease into the program, you can try new things, and we have articles that speak to many of the “superfoods”. Tahini is a sesame paste or dressing from the Middle East that contains protein, vitamin E and other antioxidants, as well as calcium and fiber – it makes a great dip for crackers or substitute for mayonnaise. As for combinations, we recommend having a protein source with anything starchy or sugary, to help your body process it better, and our recipes feature combinations that may provide synergistic benefits for overall health. In general, if you use herbs and spices, you are again doing yourself a favor! 🙂

[Ardeen]

I am new to this too, and I’ve never eaten so much in my life. Can we really lode weight by eating so much?

[LWimmer]

I just started yesterday and am feeling good about myself for sticking with day one. I must admit, I had cravings for junk food yesterday but I did not give in to them. The TBSP of cocoa and milk was a life saver! The meal plan is easy to follow, but there are foods on there I have never prepared or cooked, such as an artichoke. What do I do with that and do I eat the whole thing?

[ilovecollies1691]

You don’t have to eat the food the menu tells you to. Just “click” on the food, and an window will open up and show you an alternative you can enjoy. It took me a while to understand the menu and how this web site works, but go back to the beginning and look at EVERY link and listen to all the info they tell you there. It will tell you how to substitute the foods and how to build your own menus. Good luck!!

[Ossie-Sharon]

Hi, Ardeen, and welcome. It looks like a lot of food, but it is a lot less calorie-dense. The goal is to get your metabolism up while preventing hunger. If you have been on restrictive diets in the past, it may take your body a little while to adjust, but then the loss is likely to last much longer.

[Billiejean]

I joined this over a week ago and cant seem to get the hang of the menu selections. For example, on the weekly menu that was compiled for me by the website, I am allowed a ‘1/2 cup of Chicken Quinoa Pie’. Looking at the recipe for this, the smallest pie you can make is for four, and according to the recipe, a serving size is 1 cup. So a 4 serving pie will actually provide me with 8 servings, which is far too much. Also, how do I measure 1/2 a cup of pie?
Combined with the pie, this dinner menu included 4 ounces of Quorn. I find this an unusual combination with the pie, and looking through the substitutes, I cannot find anything that I would like to substitute it with. Also, I have specified that I like potatoes, but there are no potatoes included in my menu.

I always like to have a dessert at dinner, and although I selected many of the deserts available, none have been allocated for my meals.
Like another member, I am spending a lot of time on the computer and not much time dieting!

[srmahler72]

I am in the same boat as billiejean. Now that I have gotten the menu to run I am finding it ridiculous. I get a dinner that is 4 oz cheese pizza & 1oz pork loin roast. I’m supposed to mix those two? More likely to add the Canadian bacon I selected or some pork sausage. Getting really tired of all the fruit. Don’t want fruit @ every meal. Why doesn’t it ever pull up a carrot – especially since the next snack is fruit. I buy seasonally, which means that although I have strawberries available they are frozen solid & I am not going to pull them out to eat straight. Combine with oatmeal, which isn’t showing up on the menu plans, yes, eat a cup full of mush, no. This is all computer work so far & nothing that is going to work for me. Although I appreciate the beer in the evenings you tell me 7 oz. a bottle holds 12. Would rather skip a day & finish it. These portions are so minute they are almost uncookable but if I was to roast a pork loin (which was not one of my selections because it is so big & I am learning to only select things I can cook in tiny portions) what do I do with it after I take my 1oz off? It doesn’t show up again until the next week. The only thing that consistently comes through doable is breakfast & that is just fruit & milk, but I get to fry an egg for a morning snack, if I have a place to cook it. Those 2 are totally reversed. If I’m cooking it is breakfast not a snack. I am just getting frustrated with it & not really seeing how this is supposed to fit into a regular life. Especially with all the computer time it is requiring.

[Swenden]

Thank you for all the messages! They are helpful! I will keep looking at different things and trying them.

[Ossie-Sharon]

Hi, srmahler. Some people do find it overwhelming at first, but it does get easier. It is just a small “investment,” and ultimately will take less time than it did to gain the weight – with lots of benefits on the other side. As I mentioned in another post, feel free to switch things around to make it comfortable, and swap out whatever you like from the same food group in your menu. The following are the exchanges: http://www.trimdownclub.com/exchanges-lists.

[Ossie-Sharon]

Hi, BillieJean. We recently upgraded the application, and the issues you raised were specifically targeted. Try generating another menu (you don’t have to change your food selections).

[fatfreebaby]

How do I get a menu item added to TDC to my personal menu with the breakdown of calories, fat, carbs, etc. so I can use it as part of my diet plan?

[LGScarito]

I am having the opposite I want to delete thing from my food selections, and I have no idea how to this, to much of what I don’t like so I want to change it a bit

[LGScarito]

I am having the opposite I want to delete thing from my food selections, and I have no idea how to this, to much of what I don\’t like so I want to change it a bit

[ilovecollies1691]

Ffatfreebaby…if you go to the Menu Planner and on the first page of where you start checking off foods that you like, scroll down to the bottom of the page, and under where it says “save” “Save and make menu” you will see the place to ask for a food item to be added. I hope this is what you are asking!

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