- This topic has 1,012 replies, 19 voices, and was last updated 2 years, 8 months ago by
.
- Posts
I take my breakfast to work and eat it about 8:30, so that’s when my day starts with food. So, in 3 hours it’s about lunch time and it’s hard to get 6 meals in. I leave work and go the gym for 5:30 or 6:30 classes weekdays. Ant suggestions?
Hi, ldsidberry. Don’t worry too much about it. As long as you fit any fruits, vegetables, and/or dairy/substitutes into other meals, and you get more than 2 meals per day, you’ll be fine. If you find that you get the urge to binge in the evenings, please do repost, and I would be happy to work with you.
In addition, the following are some quick snacks – note that the liquid ones can also be “eaten” on the go:
• Fresh and dried fruit
• Cut raw vegetables
• Oven-baked vegetable chips
• Nuts and seeds
• Trail mix combinations of nuts, seeds, and dried fruit
• Sandwiches – good breads with nut butters, hummus and similar spreads, tahini, canned or smoked fish, cheese, homemade “cold cuts” from fresh meats, egg salad, etc.
• Whole grain or Paleo crackers plus any of the above
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Sliced or string cheese
• Cottage cheese
• Yogurt
• Milk (dairy or vegetal), plain or flavored with cocoa powder and a recommended sweetener
• Hearty soup in a thermos (2-3 food groups, i.e. meat or legume, vegetable, whole grain)
• Hearty smoothie/shake in a thermos (2-3 food groups, i.e. fruit/vegetable, dairy/vegan, seeds)
• Edamame or other legume/pulse snacks
• Whole grain or Paleo cereal or granola (cold in small sealable bag, cooked in thermos)
• Canned beans
• Prepared healthy foods in containers – from leftovers or prepared the night or weekend before.
• Homemade whole-food muffins or bars
• Popped grains, i.e. organic popcorn, sorghum, quinoaHi, little_j1998. A score of 80 or higher indicates a good menu – but don’t stress out about reaching this right away.
Hi, Juliet57. Much of the point of you eating in the morning and every few hours is to prevent the urge to binge at night. Other methods include planning for evening activities that divert your attention from food ad are as soothing as eating. Make rules for yourself – for example, no eating in front of the TV, progress “x” amount in a project every night, and even plan for exercise at night, etc. It won’t necessarily get fixed overnight, but little by little, it will get better. Even if you promise to binge just a little less each night, it will add up. Note that you can also arrange for all the food in your home to require preparation (except for vegetables, of course), so that you’re not tempted.
Just joined a week ago & am loving this! Couple questions….I was looking through the recipes and found some that I would like to try. Is there a way to “select” a recipe to show up in your menu or are the recipes put in your menu randomly? If I have a recipe that is one of my family’s favorites and want to modify it to be healthier, is there a way to do that? Thanks!
Hi, chodgins. Many of the recipes are in the Menu Planner lists, but if you want to use a recipe that has not yet been added, you can just choose a similar food or recipe as a placesaver to build your menu, and then make the swap at meal time.
Help I can’t get the menu’s I create to stay created. It seems to be always returning to what it was before I made the exchanges.
Hi lkw4711,
Thanks for posting.
To view your personalized menu plans, follow these steps:
1. Go to http://www.trimdownclub.com
2. On the top right corner of the homepage click on Login
3. Enter your Username and Password (You can also use your email address connected to your purchase as your username. If you lost or forgot your password, click on “Lost your password?”)
4. Once you are logged in, go to “Apps,” then scroll down and click on “My Menus”
5. Choose the menu you want to review by clicking on the menu icon under “View”
6. Click on “Print Menu” to print out your weekly menu plan
Please note, if you find foods that are not appearing in your final meal plans, please send us the missing foods and menu number (can be found in the menu history) we will be happy to help.
Best 🙂New member here. Couple of concerns in week #1. First, it still feels like a lot of the foods we’re consuming contain preservatives and msg’s hidden in words on labels I don’t understand. We’re trying to stay clear of a lot of the mainstream foods in boxes, cans and jars…but it seems like some of the menu items that come up on our list are things like canned baked beans, apple sauce, gram crackers, etc. Aren’t these things packed full of bad stuff?? Even the cold cuts and chicken we buy seems to have laced with bad stuff used in the way they are raised, packaged, etc. How do we know what’s okay and what’s not and where to get it without taking out a loan from the bank?! Feels overwhelming! Concern #2 – There are only two of us and recipes often serve 4-8 people. Is there a way to get the menu to automate the same dishes over a few days during the week so we can use the leftovers?
Hi, thogan14. I’m happy to help clear things us. First, it’s important to understand that the main aim of the program is for you to avoid foods with artificial additives, including preservatives and MSG. That’s why we encourage whole and organic-type foods that you prepare yourself, and why we encourage you to read labels to avoid hidden undesirables. Second, the ready-to-go menus are intended to ease you into the program without too much shock in terms of the types of food and need to cook and bake instead of buy readymade. These items are also found in the Menu Planner lists when you select your own foods for your menus, again, to make things easier. However, every food in the list has a health score associated with it for guidance, and anything that includes unfavorable ingredients or preparation methods is associated with a low score.
For items such as baked beans, apple sauce, and graham crackers (we hae recipes for these on the site) you are encouraged to make your own, but if you can’t, then there are definitely options that fit within the program – again, check the label.
As for knowing what’s OK in terms of animal foods, you can see our articles here – http://www.trimdownclub.com/when-to-go-organic-2/, http://www.trimdownclub.com/pasture-raised-a-better-way-to-eat-meat/.
It can feel overwhelming at the beginning, but we do encourage you to ease into it all gradually, and take the time you need. Remember that however long it takes, it will take less time than it did to get to a point where you wanted to make a change. As for budget issues, you may find this article helpful – http://www.trimdownclub.com/budget-friendly-ways-to-manage-your-weight/.
With regard to extra portions from menus, you can repeat meals as often as you like throughout the week, or even cut down on portions during cooking. See our guide here – http://www.trimdownclub.com/right-sizing-food-preparation/.Ok today is my very first day I planned my menu for tomorrow—- I find the choices very “doable”–It appears its definitely gonna take some planning to get in those 6 meals. But I am motiviated and committed. A few questions though….I am considered “pre-diabetic”–definitely runs in the family– I have been trying to monitor CARB intake. It looks like a lot of the food options are CARB heavy–I intend to modify along the way- for example- I never eat rice–I always subsitute with vegetables- either leafy or brocholi, or zuchinni or some vegetable dish I have come up with. I dont eat bread for every meal- only 1 meal per day if I have bread. I like using “The laughing cow” creamy swiss cheese spreadable cheese wedge…would that be an ok free-spread? I totally get the 6 meal for metabolism and insulin regulation. I really think I can actually, follow thru- because there is so much helpful and realistic useful information. I usually try to follow this rule (for myself that is) protein, carb and vegetables–my dinner will usually be a lean meat of some kind and veggies, veggies, veggies.
I have not been eating a lot but have not lost a lot of weight in the past–pretty sure, lack of excersise and not eating consistanly are sabotoging my stategies. I am really gonna take the 6 meal menu plans and try them out–but with my modifications– (I know- NO processed foods) I was doing instant low sugar oatmeal but I saw the recipe suggestion and I will try it- doesnt look that hard to make–If my menu choices are very close to the ones posted in the menu plan- do you think I can still get good results?
So glad you have this forum for these questions–I was looking everywhere to get your feedback.
Thanks so much 🙂Ossie-sharon-
go ahead and disregard the “laughing cow cheese wedge” question– I have just read your answer from about 3 others–LOL– I guess we are all thinking the same thing. Valuable Lesson–did not realize that is partially processed……wow …..interesting…can you tell me what it is that is not good for my body? **Im really trying to understand whole food healthy eating–labels can be very misleading!
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.