Need help redoing my diet!

Okay guys, I need your help!!! Weighed in at Complete Nutrition today just to be told I'm dieting all wrong, and need to seriously change up my routine. Here's what I'm supposed to have:

1,500 calories per day just to maintain muscle mass
100g of Carbs
40g of Fat
185g of Protein

Breakfast: Protein + Carbs
Snack 1: Protein + 1/2 Serving of Carbs
Lunch: Protein + Carb
Snack 2: Protein
Dinner: Protein

For the protein, he suggested meats n fish, for carbs he suggested oats, whole grain, n rice, and for fats he only put down nuts and peanut butter.

I just need help planning a "set" menu, like even just little meal suggestions and whatnot. I'm having a really hard time reaching my calorie level, too. At most, I'm at halfway to 1,500 calories.

Any help would be much appreciated!!

Some of the advice you were given was poor. For starters, the frequency and macronutrient partitioning are unnecessary - your weight and body composition won't be affected by the number of meals, or grouping of macros within meals. Feel free to eat as many or as few meals in a day as you prefer, and don't worry about the macro composition of those meals. Focus on total calories, protein, and fats over the course of the day.

On those points, you may or may not have been given good advice. The fat intake you were recommended seems low, and the protein intake seems high. Total calories might be low too, but they all depend on your body weight/body fat percentage. You may wish to read this thread for how to calculate your macro and calorie needs.

Finally, bear in mind that a "set" menu is likely to reduce the diversity of your diet, which may result in deficiencies in essential micronutrients. In the diet that was suggested to you, you're also missing essential fatty acids - you don't need to limit yourself to just nuts as just sources of fat. Saturated fats don't need exclusion from your diet, and omega-3s should be included.

You can enjoy much more flexibility and diversity in your diet than what was recommended to you, without interfering with your progress in any way. And a lot of the additional flexibility and diversity is up to your preference - arbitrary food avoidance tends to lower dietary adherence and nutrient diversity, while increasing the likelihood of cravings and bingings.

Well, I'm just more confused now than ever, then, on what to do. That thread you suggested I read confused the sh*t outta me, went riiiiight over my head.

*SIGH* I am getting so frustrated with what to do! It seems like everyone just keeps telling me one thing and then someone else says, "Nope, wrong again!" It's so frustrating it makes me want to cry. I just want to lose weight, how friggin' hard is it?!?

I am 5'6, and weigh 167 lbs. I currently take my very yummy One-A-Day sour gummy vitamins, plus 4-6 teaspoons of Benefiber throughout the day, plus a diet pill called Tri-Adalean. I want to get to 130 pounds. I exercise for 25-45 minutes a day, partly treadmill and partly "Biggest Loser" on XBOX360.

If THAT guy was wrong about what I need to be eating, then I am just completely at a loss, then, on what to do.

Anyone ever feel like crying over this sh*t? Yes it's that time of month so I'm a little emotional, but just FRUSTRATED!!!!!!!

Maybe this will help. Here is my whole read-out from weighing in:

Weight: 167.8 lb
BMI: 27.1
Body Fat %: 34.7%
Body Fat Mass: 58.2 lb
Fat Free Mass: 109.6 lb
Body Water %: 48.9%
Body Water Mass: 82 lb
Muscle Mass: 104 lb (This went down from last time...blah!)
Bone Mass: 5.6 lb
Basal Metabolic Rate: 1548 kcal (This is the amt of calories I burn naturally on a daily basis)
Daily Calorie Intake: 2415 (This is what I need to eat to stay my same weight)

It's really quite simple...figure out your calorie intake that will allow you to lose 1 or 2 pounds a week. You could start with what this web site receommends but you might have to tweak it. Then eat...avoid fast food, prepackaged foods, anything that is heat and serve. Buy some lean protein, chicken is very popular but pork loin is also very lean and here is also eggs, greek yogurt, cottage cheese etc. Check out some of the forum posts for protein suggestions. And veggies, lots of veggies. Find some you like and have them everyday. Some fruit is good too. Most of your excessive calories come from sugar, carbs and fats so watch them, have some but not to much. Log all of your food in the diet calender, check out the recipe section for some meal ideas. Stay in you calorie range, work out and you will lose weight.

At 167 pounds, the recommendation you got for macros wasn't too far off.

185g of protein is probably unnecessarily high. 165g per day should be more than enough.
40g of fat is a little low. 65g would be a better minimum.

165g of protein is 660 calories. 65g of fat is 585 calories. That is 1245 total. How you reach your daily calorie goal beyond that (with more protein, fats, or carbohydrates) should be up to your personal preference.

With respect to your daily calorie goal, any formula you get will simply be a rough estimate that may or may not need adjusting, as your activity level introduces a large variable that can't be perfectly predicted.
If you're having trouble working through the formulas in that thread, a quick and dirty rule of thumb is to multiply your bodyweight by 10 to 12 for a daily calorie goal, for weight loss.

In your case, that would be 1670 to 2000. The 1500 recommended to you may ultimately be necessary, but could be too few calories. Some trial and error will be needed.

The recommendation you received wasn't terrible - it could use a few small tweaks on the numbers, and you don't need to follow such a rigid meal frequency.

It really does not have to be difficult. The number one thing you need to consider is what will work for you.
Basically, if it is too complicated or challenging then you will not be able to do it long term. You need to find a healthy lifestyle that you can deal with for the rest of your life. You need to learn how to eat to manage your weight forever. You don't want a quick fix to get the weight off only to gain it back 6 months later.

Some suggestions, if you can actually afford to sit down with a dietitian, that would probably be helpful. But if you don't have insurance or for whatever reason don't want to or can't do that, then you can learn here. I just suggest that b/c it would be one on one individual treatment from a professional. You would be able to ask questions.

Other than that, I would suggest 1500 calories as a maximum. It does not appear that you are over exercising, so I doubt you would need much more than that. However, if you are pretty active most days and find that you are hungry, then you could bump it up to 1600-1800.

As far as the breakdown of your foods, it really depends on what you are comfortable with. If you feel like you want to eat more protein foods, then that would work. For me, that would not work as I am almost a vegetarian and only eat chicken and fish once a week. I prefer to fill up on veggies with lunch and dinner. I start with a large salad and a couple cooked veggies. (I used to hate veggies, but have taken the time to learn how to cook them the way I like). After finishing the veggies, then I start on my main entree. If I am too full, then I'm done there.

The other thing I do is plan. I start by planning breakfast for the week - usually baked oatmeal on the weekend and pumpkin pancakes during the week - I make everything ahead of time and freeze. That means I just have to pick what I am eating and microwave. I eat lunch at work - I start w/ a large spinach salad and then whatever veggies are being served in the cafe. Dinner is planned as well - I have tons of recipes and cook on the weekends. Then freeze the leftovers. I again start with a salad - but different from the one I ate for lunch. Then move on to veggies and then my main entree. I leave room for a 7pm snack.

I do not eat dairy. I only eat about 1-2 servings of fruit, but should probably eat more.

Some other tips. Cheese, while high in protein, can hold you back. It's easy to underestimate a serving, many are high in sodium, most are processed, and they tend to be higher in fat. It's easy to overindulge on cheese.
Know your trigger foods - which foods will make you overeat. Ice cream, cookies, chocolate? Avoid them for at least a week or two. Then allow them only when you feel you have control and can limit the serving size.
If you don't like veggies - learn to. They are low calorie and will help fill you up. It really does make a difference. You can learn to like them in just a few weeks - just keep forcing yourself to eat them. Green Giant has some small packages of steamed veggies - usually 2-3 servings per box. These are great when you don't have time to cook fresh veggies. I usually eat the entire box at a time.
If you don't like water - learn.

This does not have to be too difficult. No food should be off limits, unless you can't control your portion.
Just avoid fast food, processed foods. Try to eat whole foods as much as possible - basically foods closest to the natural source and not made in a factory.

You will get all kinds of advice. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone things they know how to be successful, but what works for me may not work for you. What works for one person can work for someone else, but only if it fits with your lifestyle and the foods you like.

Just give it time. If you stick to counting calories and exercising the weight will come off. I would suggest only weighing in weekly as day to day fluctuations can be frustrating.

good luck and don't give up. You will master this in time.

Okay, thank you everyone...I really truly appreciate your help and your advice--ALL of it, even if it might confuse me sometimes. I'm just in a bratty mood today for some reason. But I vented on my journal so now I feel better and can listen to your suggestions with a more level head. You're right--I think I'm just making this harder than it has to be. It's just that this is the FIRST time I've ever tried to diet and actually ENJOYING it. I've never really been taught the "healthy" way to do things, how certain nutrients affect my body, etc, and I'm really trying to learn.

So again, thank you for all your help! I will try and find recipes and snacky foods that will help me stay in line with what my body needs. Wish me luck!

hi-
You are welcome to look at my food entries, I've been keeping good track. I eat anywhere from 1200 to 1500 a day. Mostly I cut out dairy, starches and sugar, I eat lots of veggies. I deep fried cauliflower last night and had it with olive oil balsamic, and was still in my calorie range. I'm doing a modified Atkins, I have to count my calories too or I don't lose. So I eat veggies and lean meat mostly. Starches don't agree with me anyway. But I eat well and I'm not hungry. My son is a chef too and that's how he lost 40 lbs, it's still off after a couple years. Also- get some exercise, it's been the thing, I think, of what has really gotten my metabolism going. Good Luck.

Now at 78 soon, I am hoping that I can get back to my mall walking..much trouble the last year with pain in hip and back and had to start using a walker..must start again slowly and work up.

I just looked at your diet calendar. My recommendations would be this:

- Eat around 1500 calories per day, roughly.
- Eat lots of fresh vegetables and fruits! I see very little that resembles a vegetable in your diet calendar on the days that I looked at.
- Make sure you get enough protein. 185g is pretty high... about half of that should be more than enough. Beyond that, don't obsess about macronutrients too much.
- Eat foods, rather than food products.

You should be eating several servings of vegetables every day. By vegetables I mean carrots, leafy greens of all sorts, brussels sprouts, squash, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, peas, etc. Buy them fresh and cook them yourself. These should be the foundation of your diet.

On top of that add eggs, seafood, meats, dairy, legumes. Nuts don't show up on my radar because I don't like them very much, but they're also good for you in moderation.

Grains, potatoes, and other high-starch low-nutrition food should only be eaten moderation and not be at the core of your diet. I would try to avoid refined sugar, white rice, and flour as much as possible.

If you're taking a fiber supplement then you probably aren't eating enough fruits and vegetables. Add berries, apples, pears, legumes, broccoli, artichokes, peas, etc.