I’m trying to lose weight and was told that hwo I eat about 800-1000 calories a day is too low and lowers my metobolism which will prevent weight loss. I’ve looked up some meal plans and can’t really afford stuff like chicken breast, steak, or salmon every week. So that is why I’m wondering how I can eat 1500 calories a day. Are there some alternatives that I can do?
Man, I gotta be real with you. You aren’t going to be able to crowd source this. There’s just too much outdated information, well meaning but flawed advice, and outright bullshit online. Finding the up to date, good answers among the junk would only be possible if you already knew it.
The only reliable way to get good answers about bariatrics is going to specialists. Seriously, you can’t even totally rely on a general practitioner to be caught up, though you might get lucky with an internist. You can make do with nutritionists if they’re either fairly newly graduated, or you know they keep up on their subject.
Hell, there’s some specialists that lag behind in terms of proper, evidence driven best practices.
And the thing nobody online will likely admit is that there isn’t a single, complete answer because part of how fat loss and gain works is governed by individual circumstances regarding hormones, metabolism, and capabilities, which still ignores external factors in making a prescribed weight loss plan work. If your broke ass lives in a food desert, and you’re limited to the corner store for the majority of your supplies, the task gets much harder, just as one example of what I mean by that.
Any medications you’re on, that’s got to be factored in to an overall plan, even OTC meds, supplements, etc.
Now, there are strategies that are fairly reliable in helping manage calorie intake, like going predominantly plant based. You’ll have to study up and make sure that whatever plan you set up has the whole gamut of nutrients you’ll need, but as long as a food desert isn’t in play, that’s usually easy enough. The good news about that is that the core foods tend to be very affordable, and easy to buy in bulk as long as you have storage space.
Another piece of good news is that if you’re using exercise as part of your overall plan, not only will you give yourself a wider space for intake, but it improves your health no matter what weight you’re at along the way. I mean, losing excess fat is great, but it isn’t going to magically make your cardiovascular system work at its best.
And, again, you can only take this comment with a grain of salt because you have no way of knowing that I’m up to date on the interrelated subjects to a degree high enough to be useful. For all you know, I’m thirty years behind on things. And, truth is that the general subject matter isn’t a high priority for my reading time. I do put a bit of time every week into digging through journals and publications with a focus on medical shit, but bariatrics isn’t something I’m into for my own curiosity. So I have to be at least a little behind as default because I’m always behind even on my favorite subjects because I can’t devote enough time to it all.
Weight management is something you have to take on as a long term project where you adapt along the way. You can’t look at it as weight loss either, because just losing excess fat is only part of the project. You have to keep it off and improve your overall health.
NeoNachtwaechter@lemmy.world 2 months ago
If you do it for real for a while, nothing can prevent weight loss.
Eat real vegetables and fruits. Fresh, where ever possible. You wouldn’t believe how cheap you can feed yourself.
Avoid all processed food. Avoid all sugar.
etchinghillside@reddthat.com 2 months ago
Frozen fruits and vegetables are also fine. Canned fruits in heavy syrups – not fine.
If Chicken breasts are out of budget then Eggs, Egg Whites, or Beans are probably going to be needed to hit some kind of protein macros.
chrischryse@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Yeah I usually go for frozen fruits and veggies since they are “fresher” lol
chrischryse@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Yeah I usually do my best to eat vegetables and fruits whenever I can at least. And I’m trying my best to cut back on sugar it’s hard lol but I’m getting there.
masterofn001@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
Liquid sugar is the worst, IMHO.
Things like soda, fruit juices, energy drinks,etc are way too easy to consume without realising just how much.
It’s very easy to consume ¼ of a pound of sugar a day in just a few drinks.
Drink water.
Rolando@lemmy.world 2 months ago
One type of snack/dessert I do: get a slice of high-fiber bread (toasted, or not), and put a bit of honey or jam on it. Much better than a pastry, bc I can control exactly how much sugar is there.
angrystego@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I feel you, sugar is hard. I find it easier to eat a tiny bit of something sweet like once a week than to cut it altogether. My cravings are too strong when there’s no vision of fulfilling them at least a bit :)
Kaboom@reddthat.com 2 months ago
If he’s undereating, maybe some sugar in moderation. Humans need calories, maybe a granola bar or something
NeoNachtwaechter@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Yes maybe, but strictly only the kind that you can see before you eat it.
TehWorld@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I’ve long said that the best place to loose weight is at the grocery store. You pretty much only ever go to the outside edge. Buy potatoes, onions, peppers, mushrooms, squash and zucchini, radishes, carrots and any other vegetables you like. Bulk is what works here. Then go buy what protein you can afford. Skip anything that has been processed beyond meat and milk.
ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 2 months ago
“Avoid all sugar”
Right. Avoid fruits.
But seriously. Fruits have very little benefit for health. They have health benefits vegetables have, but with sugars also in them. Fruits are sugared veggies.
Croquette@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
That’s such a dumb take. Fruits are like the second best thing after vegetables in their ration of satiation per calorie.
Added sugar is completely different beast from the sugar in fruits and vegetables.
You would need to eat an ungodly amount of fruits for it to be bad for your health.
angrystego@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Sugared veggies is good. As you say, fruits do have the health benefits vegetables have, which is not “very little”. They’re full of minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, and above all, fiber. Sugar is not all bad either. Evolutionalrily, we probably like sugar exactly because it is present in fruits and eating fruits is beneficial for us. If you ate only fruits all day, then it would be bad for you, but I’m pretty sure in reasonable amounts fruits are an important part of a healthy diet.
Alienmonkey@lemm.ee 2 months ago
Measuring and establishing some boundaries by plant, rather than type, could be useful to op.
Peppers and carrots can be higher in sugar than expected. Relative to their positive flavor impact on a salad, a cutup strawberry or two adds only a small amount.
Grouping plants into fruit or veg might not be effective for calorie monitoring. Would need to know what they want to eat, and search for nutrition info. Thus a plan.
cactusupyourbutt@lemmy.world 2 months ago
be carefull with rapid weight loss though, my ex got gout because of it
angrystego@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Also gal bladder problems are a real threat when loosing weight quickly.