Newbie - Needs Advice

Hi everyone,
My name is Jen, a 19-year-old from Ohio. I was on Atkins from April 28 to
September 1, and lost 40 pounds. Unfortunately, though, I noticed my hair was
shedding at an alarming rate, and my hairdresser even commented yesterday on
how thin it's gotten... which is when I went off Atkins. I began eating
sensibly at dinner, having a bagel w/ low-fat cream cheese, yogurt, and a cup
of hot green tea. I also took a Centrum Complete Multi-Vitamin.

So, I'm looking for something new where I can eat fruits, and get vitamins and
nutrients. I currently weigh 188 lbs. (originally 228 lbs.). I'm thinking of
doing low-calorie, with a 45-minute workout 5 times a day... how does an 800
calorie diet sound, eating balanced meals, and trying to get foods from each
food group?

I'm going back to college on Saturday, and the meal choices are limited - they
love serving greasy french fries, pizza dripping in saturated fat, and TONS of
pasta. Hot dogs, hamburgers, tacos... yuck. They do have fresh fruits
(bananas, apples, and oranges, oh my!) and a soup / salad bar... plus an online
site where they list calories for each food item.

The only things I'm packing are a box of cereal for the morning (any
suggestions for something healthy and low-calorie? I'm thinking Special K, or
Mini-Wheats... NOT frosted), green tea (I'm going to have two cups a day, for
the antioxidants), and Campbell's Instant Soup At Hand (tomato - prevents oral
cancer, and I believe is good for the heart?).

Let me know what you guys think of an 800-calorie diet... and what foods I
should choose at college.

Thanks so much!
Jen

P.S. I'm 5'6" and 3/4 of an inch... close to 5'7"

Jen
Get a free iPod, any color - and help my friend out!

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P.S. I'm 5'6" and 3/4 of an inch... close to 5'7"

Jen
Get a free iPod, any color - and help my friend out!

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with a 45-minute workout 5 times a day

I also meant 5 times a week, not 5 times a day, lol.

with a 45-minute workout 5 times a day

I also meant 5 times a week, not 5 times a day, lol.

Cinnamn112 wrote:

Let me know what you guys think of an 800-calorie diet... and what foods I
should choose at college.

I hated everything about your plan. How's that for succinct! :-)

I'd really appreciate it if you'd go read my post from yesterday (?) in
the thread "Here I go again" or from a few days ago in the thread "Just
Starting Out - Again - and need some support."

Read here for a while - Chris Braun is amazing and so are many others.
Oh, and go read http://www.stumptuous.com/weights.html and especially
read the "eating" section.

Dally, sick of typing.

Cinnamn112 wrote:

Let me know what you guys think of an 800-calorie diet... and what foods I
should choose at college.

I hated everything about your plan. How's that for succinct! :-)

I'd really appreciate it if you'd go read my post from yesterday (?) in
the thread "Here I go again" or from a few days ago in the thread "Just
Starting Out - Again - and need some support."

Read here for a while - Chris Braun is amazing and so are many others.
Oh, and go read http://www.stumptuous.com/weights.html and especially
read the "eating" section.

Dally, sick of typing.

Thanks for the posts!! I did read some of the backlogged posts, and was
surprised to see how many calories I should be eating.

I got some Special K cereal today (3 boxes, and I get a free pedometer! w00t
w00t - free stuff rocks!), tomato soup, and those Lean Cuisine meals are
filling and low in calories.

I read the webpage you provided - and loved it. It mentioned flaxseed oil -
how does it taste? I grew nauseous trying to spoon down olive oil on low-carb,
which was supposed to boost your metabolism.

Also, I don't have "clean" sources of protein at my college. We don't get
skinless meats - we get fried bacon, burgers, and hot dogs. What to do there?
I can't cook in my dorm: we only get a fridge/freezer/microwave - George
Foreman and the likes aren't allowed.

Jen

Thanks for the posts!! I did read some of the backlogged posts, and was
surprised to see how many calories I should be eating.

I got some Special K cereal today (3 boxes, and I get a free pedometer! w00t
w00t - free stuff rocks!), tomato soup, and those Lean Cuisine meals are
filling and low in calories.

I read the webpage you provided - and loved it. It mentioned flaxseed oil -
how does it taste? I grew nauseous trying to spoon down olive oil on low-carb,
which was supposed to boost your metabolism.

Also, I don't have "clean" sources of protein at my college. We don't get
skinless meats - we get fried bacon, burgers, and hot dogs. What to do there?
I can't cook in my dorm: we only get a fridge/freezer/microwave - George
Foreman and the likes aren't allowed.

Jen

Cinnamn112 wrote:

Thanks for the posts!! I did read some of the backlogged posts, and was
surprised to see how many calories I should be eating.

I got some Special K cereal today (3 boxes, and I get a free pedometer! w00t
w00t - free stuff rocks!), tomato soup, and those Lean Cuisine meals are
filling and low in calories.

I read the webpage you provided - and loved it. It mentioned flaxseed oil -
how does it taste? I grew nauseous trying to spoon down olive oil on low-carb,
which was supposed to boost your metabolism.

Also, I don't have "clean" sources of protein at my college. We don't get
skinless meats - we get fried bacon, burgers, and hot dogs. What to do there?
I can't cook in my dorm: we only get a fridge/freezer/microwave - George
Foreman and the likes aren't allowed.

Jen

Will there be a kitchenette? Don't they still allow popcorn makers? We
used to have hot pots for heating water in there, too. (I'm showing my
age, I suppose everyone microwaves everything now.) If so, you might be
able to keep a George Foreman in there. When we were remodelling our
kitchen I absolutely lived on grilled meat and salad bar food.

I've found that you can get grilled chicken breast nearly everywhere.
Well, maybe not at breakfast, but at breakfast you can get eggs many
different ways. Chances are they'll even have eggbeaters. Go easy on
cheese and you can have a veggie omelot nearly every morning. (My guess
is anyplace making bacon would be willing to make you an omelot.)
Otherwise you could just boil up some eggs for yourself.

A really good lunch or dinner is a plate full of mixed greens, a little
bit of drizzled oil, a tablespoon of your favorite cheese, some veggie
pieces (whatever is avail: broccoli or tomato slices or cucumber, etc.)
and top it will some meat or hard-boiled egg whites. Any grilled or
boiled meat will do. Ham chunks are sometimes found at salad bars, and
low-fat cottage cheese is a good source of protein, too. I like smoked
salmon (especially on my bagel), but there's nothing wrong with plain
old tuna. When I'm stuck for something to put on my salad I just open a
can and dump it on. (But stay away from tuna salad made with mayo.)
Tuna comes in ready-to-tear packets now that might make good dorm food.

I like ground flaxseed, but it spoils if you don't keep it refrigerated.
I put it on cereal, salads, really on anything. It's slightly nutty.
I don't bother with the flaxseed oil, I just grind up flaxseeds myself
in an ex-coffee grinder.

I was just talking with someone the other day about how I really got fat
in college because sitting around eating was a valid excuse to be
sitting around talking with friends. There was always something that
needed to be done! I'd caution you about using food as a procrastinator
or for medicinal use (I recall hot fudge sundaes playing a prominant
role on dateless week-ends) and pay more attention to how food can fuel
your body. It's a good lesson to learn since you're going to eat for
the rest of your life!

Good luck,

Dally