What I Eat
I’ve gotten a lot of requests for my eating plan I’m following.
I’ve decided to post it here. Keep in mind that this is a REGIMENTED eating plan. I DO NOT do cheat days, or cheat meals. I follow what I call the “bite” method. If there is something I really want, I will have a BITE of it, and go on about my business. That’s it.
Ice Cream? One bite and move on.
Brownie? One bite and move on.
This way I don’t have to wait until one certain day to have something I want. Now I will add that you cannot have a bite of anything every hour out of every day. I limit myself to 3 “bites” a day, and seldom even take a “bite” of something daily. Most of the time it’s only two to three “bites” a week of “cheat” foods.
This is what works for me. It may not work for you. Everyone is different.
This is one week’s worth of menus that I use EVERY WEEK. I eat the same thing most of the time because I am a busy mother of 3, and don’t really have time to be “creative”. I precook most of the chicken, and brown rice on Sundays and store it in tupperware in the fridge. Everything else is prepared at the time of eating.
Here is my menu:
Body For Life Eating Plan
|
|
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
Sunday |
|
7am |
3 egg whites scrambled Two slices of light wheat toast with spray butter |
EAS AdvantEdge Carb Control Ready To Drink Shake (Your choice of flavor) |
1 serving of plain oatmeal, with half of a fresh apple chopped up in it. Add 2 packets of splenda and cinnamon 3 egg whites scrambled |
EAS Shake |
EAS Shake |
3 egg whites Scrambled with two slices of light wheat toast with spray butter |
Oatmeal and apple with 3 slices of Turkey Bacon |
|
10am |
1 3oz can of Tuna with one medium tomato sliced with salt and pepper |
½ cup of 2% milkfat cottage cheese with ½ cup of fruit packed in either juice or splenda sweetened syrup |
½ cup of 2% milkfat cottage cheese mixed with half a cup of fat free sugar free yogurt of your choice |
3 egg whites scrambled with salsa made into a sandwich on 2 slices of light wheat bread with slices of Tomato. |
½ cup of Oatmeal with ½ an apple chopped in it with ½ cup of 2% milkfat cottage cheese |
Cottage Cheese and Yogurt Mixture from Wednesday meal |
Egg white sandwich(3) with a whole medium tomato sliced on the side (Same as Thursday) |
|
1pm |
3 oz grilled chicken breast with ½ cup cooked brown rice |
3 oz chicken breast with a serving of steamed broccoli topped with spray butter |
3 ounces of turkey breast with a green salad with fat free dressing |
3 ounce can of tuna with a green salad with fat free dressing |
Chicken (3 oz.)breast and broccoli(one serving steamed and topped with spray butter |
Tuna and salad (3 ounces of tuna with a green salad topped with fat free dressing) |
Chicken and salad (3 ounces of chicken with a green salad with fat free dressing) |
|
4pm |
Turkey breast and steamed broccoli |
EAS AdvantEdge Carb Control Meal Replacement Bar of your choice |
EAS Bar |
1 slice of light wheat bread with one serving of mostly fat free turkey lunch meat(fold over sandwich) with Carrot sticks |
3 ounce can of tuna with a sliced tomato |
EAS Shake |
Turkey fold over and carrot sticks |
|
7pm |
Chicken breast and small baked sweet potato and a green salad with fat free dressing |
3 ounce can of Tuna and a green salad with fat free dressing |
3 ounces of chicken breast with ½ cup of brown rice and a green salad with fat free dressing |
Jennie O Lean Turkey Burger on a 100% whole wheat bun with lettuce and tomato and a green salad with fat free dressing |
3 ounces of Turkey breast with ½ cup of brown rice and a serving of steamed veggies topped with spray butter |
3 ounces of grilled chicken breast with a small baked sweet potato topped with spray butter and cinnamon |
3 ounces of Turkey breast with a green salad with fat free dressing and ½ cup of brown rice |
|
9pm |
Cottage cheese and yogurt mixture |
3 egg whites scrambled in a whole wheat tortilla with salsa |
Turkey fold over sandwich |
Cottage cheese and yogurt mixture |
1 slice of light wheat bread with one tablespoon of natural peanut butter folded over |
Turkey fold over sandwich |
Cottage cheese and yogurt mixture |
[...] What I Eat [...]
Persistent Metamorphosis said this on July 29, 2008 at 4:48 pm
[...] eat exactly what’s on the What I Eat page. I follow the exercise program exactly as laid out in the book with the exception that my [...]
Day 30 of 84: I Am AMAZED… « Persistent Metamorphosis said this on July 29, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Thank you for sharing!
I hit a wall weight wise this week. But my workouts have been great. I have incresed the weightload I lift. So that is good. I will post pictures this weekend. End of week 4 for me. Good luck
Catherine,
I hope you don’t mind this long post…
How are you? I posted some questions about food to a private email to you, probably easier to answer there, but I thought readers might enjoy the post here…
Some questions for you:
FOOD:
Monday I want to begin 1 month of eating similar but not exact to what you have written (ie, I may want to substitute the bread for other carb, my protein shake and bar for yours, etc). I want to log your food into fitday.com to see the daily calories, carb, fat, protein. Can you tell me amounts of the following foods:
1. VEGIES:
a. carrots how many at one meal
b. broccoli how much at one meal: I could eat 1 cup here
c. green salad: how many cups, do you add celery, cuke, red or green, pepper, tomato, onion?
2. CHICKEN: is you 3oz of chicken 3oz cooked, or 3 oz measured raw
3. TURKEY:
a. 3 ounces: What kind of turkey are you eating: deli turkey or what kind? I love, but forget to eat, turkey
b. one serving of mostly fat free turkey lunch meat: how many oz? (I tend not to eat lunch meat)
4. BUTTER: Is spray butter, real butter or something “similar to real?”
5. EAS protein bar: I see from 250 – 350 cal: what bars are you eating? (I know you are doing the challenge and are eating EAS, but try MET-RX chocolate caramel peanut; great numbers and protein and taste!)
6. OATMEAL: How much is 1 serving of oatmeal: 1/3 cup dry? I see you then say 1/2 C oatmeal: is that cooked amount?
7. BREAD: What Brand light wheat toast are you buying (calories, etc per 2 slice?)
8. TUNA: 1 3oz can: I never see 3oz cans; I get the 6 oz cans packed in water… so you;d eat 1/2 can (I have been adding light mayo, which I’ll skip now)
9. FRUIT:1/2 cup of fruit packed in either juice or splenda sweetened syrup: THIS is CANNED fruit?
- I notice one difference is that you’re calling brocolli and tomato a carb portion. I’ll try that.
EXERCISE:
I can’t run due to bad foot, so I’m thinking you exercise longer stretches than I… I exercise 3 days per week 30 min weights and 20 minute interval PLUS 2 days of 1 hour aerobic Jazzercise cardio
What are your exercise types and totals for the week in terms of cardio hours? Do you do 1 hour of cardio at a time, or a 20 min interval? This wasnt’ clear from what I read
All the best perseverance to you persistent metamorphosis!
Body For LIFE!
Etana, age 62
Etana-
1. Carrots are about 10-12 raw baby carrots. Broccoli is one cup cooked. Green salad is two cups greens with red onions, fresh mushrooms, tomato, and cucumber. I always just estimate calories here because it’s veggies therefore pretty LOW calories.
2. Chicken is 3 ounce cooked. I have found already cooked cut up chicken breast strips in the frozen food section of the store and pre- measured it into 3 ounce servings in ziplocs in the freezer.
3. Turkey- I use the Oscar Mayer mostly fat free lunch meat. However much gets me as close as possible to 20 grams or more of protein. Some varieties are better than others but I’m not TERRIBLY picky.
4. Butter is always I can’t believe it’s not butter Spray butter.
5. EAS Protein Bar is the EAS Advantedge Carb Control. They are roughly 230 calories and have 17 grams of protein and only 2 Net carbs. Sometimes I do a South Beach Crispy Meal Bar that is 210 calories and 19 grams of protein and only 2 net carbs.
6. Oatmeal: I buy the organic plain instant packets. One serving is One packet. This is a change from what is written on the plan because I found it easier to use than the original longer cook variety.
7. Bread- I eat the Mrs. Bairds Fiber Plus- 2 slices is 120 calories 1.5 grams fat, 27 carbs, 7 protein and 12 grams of fiber.
8. Tuna- We have the 3 ounce cans at our store so I buy those if all I could find was 6 ounce cans I would just do half a can. No mayo. Salt and lemon pepper only.
Fruit- I found this packed in splenda fruit in jars actually. Plastic jars where the fruit cocktail is sold. It’s YUMMY with Cottage cheese.
My cardio is maximum 30 minutes at a time. I NEVER do more than that at a time because I have read that longer stretches of cardio burn more muscle than fat. Not conducive to BFL. My HIIT is 3 times a week for a maximum of 30 minutes. Only twenty of those minutes are HIIT the other ten are warm up and cool down.
My weight sessions are actually LONGER now that I have joined a gym. I’m doing weights for at least an hour now 3 times a week.
Hope this helps!!!
Catherine,
I’m replying here only, to enliven up the discussion on your terrific blog!
Your responses were just as detailed and specific as I had hoped for … thank you.
It’s encouraging to see the broccoli and salad portions larger than I had feared. When I put your food into fitday.com I only got 900-950 cal per day… I’ll adjust it from what you wrote, and send you a copy if you’d like, so you can see it.
1. 1T or 2 T fat free dressing? any kind or just Italian?
2. I just found a terrific cut cooked turkey breast in Trader Joe’s with very little sodium, and 1 pkg is 5, 3oz portions
3. thanks for the oatmeal tip, and the bread, and fruit. I haven’t decided yet whether to do your plan 100%, or to substitute 1/2 C of frozen peas or corn or beans for your bread, and 1/2 C fresh fruit for your canned fruit. I think I may do that, but would hate to feel I didn’t get results because I wasn’t exact ….
I wonder if dropping to 900-1000 cal (from 1200 cal) will make a big difference for me: that’s 2100 cal less per week.
Your snack portions are very simple and smaller than mine, and I think that is where I will cut my calories. I was rarely hungry. Do you get hungry, eating so light? What do you do then? I find the protein is a great blessing to my hunger.
Exercise:
1. I have been doing 20min of HIIT interval, which includes 5 min warm up and 5 min cool down, so only 10 minute interval. I think I may increase that interval time, though it’s not prescribed in TT or BFL.
thanks again for the details.
I start Monday.
Etana
Etana,
It’s weird that your calorie counts are so low. I’ve been keeping a food journal for the past 7 weeks and I NEVER Go below 1300 Calories a day and some days I’m over 1400. FitDay must have some things out of whack. I take my nutrition information right off the package of the foods I’m eating so I know it’s correct. I wonder where the discrepancy is??
That turkey does sound wonderful.
As far as the dressing goes I have started using Bountifuls by Wish Bone. It’s approximately 20 calories for two tablespoons and it tastes WONDERFUL. I use 4 tablespoons so the salads have LOTS of flavor and I don’t feel cheated.
Women should NEVER eat below 1200 calories a day as it triggers a starvation response and actually hinders weight loss. My food plan is actually very moderate calorie wise and if you find that you are hungry add more food. I’m certainly not afraid to eat more on the days I’m hungry.
I don’t find myself hungry too often though, which I’m thankful for. Only if I am terribly late with one of my meals or miss one altogether.
Good luck!! And remember I am not an expert, what works for me may not work for you. Everyone is different and requires different amounts of food to get through the day.
Turkey fold over sandwich: what is this?
It’s so interesting that I’m calculating your food lower; I was just gearing up to reduce my calories. I think I will definitely mirror your protein/fat/carb ratios: my fat was more in the 35% range, with healthy fats, like salmon and olives and occasional avocado…
thanks for the posts!
only Skwigg is an expert
eTana
Turkey fold over is one slice of bread, one slice of 2%milk cheese, some frenchs honey mustard and approximately 15-20G Protein worth of turkey lunch meat folded together.
[...] want a sample day from someone who has successfully lost weight, here is Catherine Click’s website. What I Eat « Persistent Metamorphosis she has just incredibly lost 20 pounds in 8 weeks. On that webpage, you will see, and can print, a [...]
What next? - JP Fitness Forums - Personal Training said this on August 23, 2008 at 2:45 pm