300 ish calories: 1 whole wheat english muffin with 1 tablespoon peanut butter, 1 tablespoon jam. I prefer Food For Life brand Sprouted Grain for the muffins.
+100-150 calories: 1 cup lowfat yogurt. I do not eat non-fat varieties because of taste and texture.
+100 calories: 1 piece of fruit- example: grapefruit
OR
150 calories: 2 eggs cooked over easy
150-200 calories: 2 slices of 100% whole grain toast
100 calories: 2 teaspoons butter (50) and 1 tablespoon jam (50)
80-100 calories: 1-2 cups fruit
Breakfast: 500 calories
200 calories: 6 oz (ish) grilled chicken breast
+100 calories: 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
+100 calories: 2 tablespoons Caesar salad dressing
+50 calories: unlimited, massive quantity of fresh vegetables in salad
+100 calories: super sweet apple/any deliciously ripe fruit, eaten after the salad
OR
OR
See this post to learn more about my salad-centricity.
Lunch: 500 calories
150 calories: Fage 2% greek yogurt (7 ounces)- my absolute favorite brand
+100 calories: 2 cups assorted berries/fresh fruit
Snack: 250 calories
200 calories: 6 ounces chicken breast
+100 calories: a boatload of stir fried vegetables (bell pepper, onion, carrot, red cabbage, broccoli)
+100 calories: 1/4 cup or so- sweet teriyaki sauce (my favorite stir fry recipe here)
+200 calories: 1 cup brown rice
OR
Honey Barbecue Meatloaf with Parmesan Mashed Cauliflower and Salad
OR
Lemon Garlic Tuna Burger with a baked sweet potato and roasted asparagus
Dinner: 500 calories
100 calories: 1 cup lowfat milk or yogurt
+200 calories: 2-3 homemade Dark Chocolate Almond Joy cookies
OR
any sweet delight that falls a hair under 300 calories, often including a side of pineapple and/or strawberries
Dessert: 300 calories
Total Calories for the Day: 2000ish
What does your ideal day look like?
I just made the switch from nonfat greek to 2% – SO much better! That stuff is addicting! I’m eating around 1400 right now, but still in weight loss mode. I love your break down..I guess the calorie counting never ends haha. As usual..all the food looks delicious!
Pretty much just like that. Except with fro yo as dessert :)
Looks wonderful! Thanks for the ideas!
You’re the best.
That looks soooo yummy :P
I am trying to eat more raw foods. Breakfast is usually a green smoothie or oatmeal with fruit. A huge salad for lunch. Fruit, Clif bar, or smoothie for a snack. For dinner, anything goes. Sometimes I feel lazy and fix myself a bowl of cereal, yogurt, and fruit. Otherwise, I’ll make myself another salad.
Let me tell you how helpful this was to a recovering anorexic. As small as this may seem to you, it was invaluable to me.
Amen! Andie’s helped me a lot of “normal eating” along the way. And just so you know Tess – I’ve been eating like this for a while now! It feels amazing. You CAN get there, I know it!
THANK YOU for your encouraging words.
Thank you for this post! I have a really hard time eating breakfast and really appreciate your ideas!
My very favorite breakfast is 3/4 c. Uncle Sam cereal adorned with sliced banana and 1 tbsp. TJ’s dried wild blueberries, topped off with 3/4 c. vanilla almond milk.
So delicious, I’m fully satiated all morning – and it’s under 400 calories!
Love this! I’m curious to know what your thoughts are on the quality of the calories versus pure quantity. I’ve been reading a bit about this and have mixed thoughts.
That is interesting. I was reading something the other day from Dr. Dukan (a big-time Doctor/author in the U.K) where he talked about how low-calorie diets have been the cause of all the overweight/yo-yo cycling, etc. issues in the world. He believes we aren’t made for low-calorie diets and it’s not healthy and actually makes us fat (or puts us in the binge/diet mode over and over). He advocates eating healthy foods of course – but in the amounts till we are satisfied (unlimited lean proteins, vegetables, fruits and fibrous whole-grains like oat bran). Just one opinion but interesting!
I have no idea how many calories I should be eating. Online calculators tell me anything from 1200-2000 for how tall I am and how much weight I’d like to lose (ideally 10 pounds, and I am 5’4 132 lbs). So I try to stick to under 1500 to be safe.
Can you do more posts like this? I’m pretty calorie illiterate and it’d be good to have a structure to follow when I craft my own diet plan!
Hi, Bee! I’m 5’4 and I eat anywhere from 1800-2300 a day and maintain 125 lb.
Thanks for sharing this! I loved it! I’d love to see more!
Oh it all looks so lovely and balanced and tasty! I’m a fellow Fage 2% fan here. That extra 2% ups the pleasure by at least 107%! (scientifically proven, I’m sure) I visited a friend in Greece and discovered they have a 5% version which was just that little bit more swoony… hehe! :)
That does sound pretty ideal to me! I’m not very good at counting calories but I’m trying to be more conscious so this is really helpful.
Well, since I’m dieting…down about 20 lbs whooo hoo….my ideal day looks a lot different than it used to. Breakfast: Wheat toast or english muffin with hard boiled egg on top and a coffee with flavored creamer Lunch: (Hopefully with a friend!) A great teriyaki place serves bowls with steamed veggies, brown rice and salmon–I skip the sauce OR a Mediterranean place makes amazing chicken salads Dinner: Chicken, some roasted broccoli (Ina Garten style) and then maybe a Skinny Cow Chocolate Truffle ice cream bar for dessert. I have been documenting my food on an app, which helps. I have to say….2000 calories sounds like a LOT of food to me, even though its all healthy. I think I will tap into your archives when I get into maintnance mode. :)
Loved this post! Thank you for the insight. You are an inspiration! :)
Well, the last few days have not been nearly this good. But fresh start tomorrow – though my photos would probably not turn out nearly as pretty!
This looks truly amazing – is there any chance of a higher cal version on the horizon? Something around 3000-3500 calories for guys trying to bulk on good, healthy food?
Yes! I’m not a guy but I know many guys who would appreciate this!
All of these foods look so great! I especially love all the fiber-rich options you’ve included – so important for overall health! My ideal day would also include many of these same foods – Greek yogurt, berries, a hearty salad – foods that are filling yet light.
I, too, eat around 2000 cals per day…it’s very similar to your diet, except that I prettymuch have two breakfasts. One of around 400 cals at 6:30 a.m., and another of around 300 cals at 9:30. I don’t usually have the snack between lunch and dinner though.
For anyone who is struggling with an E.D., please know you can eat “this much” and still be at a “happy” weight. I’ll just put it out there…I’m 5 ft 7 and 130 lbs…have been this weight for about 10 years now. Life is much better than when I was trying to only eat 1200 calories/day. Better mentally, socially, emotionally, and physically.
Thanks for posting this…I have recently discovered this blog and while I find the whole blog pretty encouraging, I also really appreciate comments like yours, especially as someone who has struggled with an ED and is trying to lose some weight in a healthy way.
My first time visiting your blog was yesterday when someone linked me to your Creamy Chicken and Cornbread Casserole recipe. I read that post and was struck by how many times you could type the word Fluff in one story. I thought ‘surely she is a New Englander!’ In my search to find out if you truly were, I came across your story and loved it. Love the blog too. I’m sure I will stop in again from time to time.Wicked good. Thank you!
This all looks so delicious! What gorgeous food :)
That all looks amazing and healthy but what were you eating while losing weight? My starting weight and stats are the same as yours and my goal is … Well you are living at my goal. 35 pounds lost to date. Unfortunately I don’t have any trips to Italy planned to allow me to walk everywhere and eat gelato (darn my bad luck).
The cookies are quite possibly the best ever… I made a batch last night, and they are disappearing a little quicker than I would like them to considering that I live alone… Must make more.
This post is beautiful…I love it. The variety of meals you give to choose from really makes this meal plan great for anyone. And you present it in such a simple, clean way that it’s easy to follow and it all looks So. Very. Delicious. I’m making that meatloaf and those tuna burgers as soon as I can! : )
Out of curiosity- sincere question- on an ideal day, would you really eat yogurt 2 or 3 times? I eat it a few times a week, usually have to kind of “force it down” because it helps me lose weight but it’s not my absolute favorite thing to eat. Long story short, just curious if you really eat yogurt three times a day.
Have a great week :D hope you made your book deadline ok!
Hey Megly! Yes, I eat yogurt like an absolute addict. Multiple times per day :) I’m in love with the taste and texture
Thanks for writing me!
Andie
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