Low-calorie recipes needed
Hi all, this is my first post though I've been "stealing" recipes for ages (thank you all!).
I hope someone can help me...
I need to find recipes for my meals, but I currently can't eat most foods.
Apart from all of my allergies, I'm on a low-calorie diet... and by low I mean it's almost starvation (650-750 cals/day)... and this prevents me from eating all fats (oil, margarine, etc), sugars (sugar, syrups, etc), and rice/pasta/bread/etc, spices... My doctor wants me to lose 38 pounds (I'm halfway there) by mid-January (not a day later), and he's the one that told me to do this in first place.
No need to say I'm going crazy... Does anyone have any ideas? I have been reading recipes on here as my usual, but can't eat half of the stuff that's in them at the moment (plus, of course, 650 calories are so little food per day).
Please please please help me.
Ky
P.S. Where I live I can only find tofu and pre-packaged seitan (no tempeh or anything else :'( ).
OMG that's a dangerously low amount of calories...hope your doc knows what they're doing because that can really hurt your body, are you taking supplements or vitamins?
As far as recipes, fruits and veggies prepared in most ways. Did he tell you not to have oil, etc or did you decide that because of the calories? Because if you can have it, you can prepare a decent stir fry for low cals. When I make them I use 1 tbsp oil for 4 servings so it only adds about 30 calories. I'd do a lot of veggies, some garlic, some ginger, and something high in protein like tofu or edamame. You can have a decent size portion for about 150 calories. It would be less if you just used vegetables but you really should add a protein to help keep you full. Plus I hate to mention anything about protein since we all hear so much about it due to not eating meat, but getting a decent amount on 650 cals whether you eat meat or not if tough, I know personally :(
Also look for fruits/veg that are especially high in fiber like raspberries, apples, etc. It might be a good idea to pair the high fiber stuff w/ high protein stuff to keep you full. Maybe finish off the stir fry with a bowl of raspberries. Luckily fiber won't be too hard to get.
Ummm you could probably do some low cal sandwiches, especially veggie sandwiches. Only thing you'd need to watch is the bread. There are a lot of "diet" breads at the supermarket you'd just have to see if one was vegan. Or you could take a higher cal bread and just use one slice.
Another option is soup. Veggie soup is super low calorie. If you can add grains that would be a good idea. The broth and veggies will have hardly any cals so you could get away with adding something like pasta, barley, etc. Miso soup wold be a good idea too.
Hope that helps, and good luck!
i also am wondering whhhhy at your doctor. i assume you must lose the weight for health reasons, but the problem is you are going to get no nutrients in the process and it is going to be completely unsustainable to keep going with that diet, so chances are your weight will just come back on.
so, you have a month to lose 19 lbs? i don't really know what you are starting at, but if i were you i wouldn't really eat anything that is processed in any way, including cooked.
definitely eliminate salt (both added by you or in anything)! if you do and you have been eating it you will lose water weight.. probably a decent amount.
i would suggest eating at least a pound of spinach or other green leafy veg. everyday (about 100 or less calories) and then eat the rest of your calories in whole fruit. honestly, i would also eat more than 650-750 calories each day, too, because that isn't a semi-starvation diet, your body is in full-on starvation mode with that few calories.
You know, I was just thinking, depending on your weight now you could probably get away with eating the minimum 1200 cals and still lose. Just look at contestants on the biggest loser, many of them lose in the double digits on their first week. They do a lot of exercise, but still I'm 5'5 and 130 pound and I can lose 2-3 pounds a week on 1200 cals, and the more you weight the more you can lose quickly. I didn't want to say to eat more if it was your doc that told you to eat that little in the first place, but you might want to mention that to him. I've mentioned somewhere else that I'm a nutrition major and I'm really wondering about this. If it was for 1-2 weeks it wouldn't be quite as bad, but such a low calorie intake will reduce your muscle mass, and possibly increase your body fat %. Do you mind if I ask why you have to lose so much so fast? If you don't want to say it's fine, just curious
any veggie recipe that calls for roasting i drench the veggies in pam instead of using oil which makes it a low fat, low cal meal... just a tip
i'm just going to say eating only raw produce will make you lose weight, even over 2000 calories (which is how much i eat.. usually well over) and barely exercising. and i am only 5'2" and petite.
I have a super slow metabolism and usually eat about 1,200 calories a day. But because it's slow, I also like to keep my digestive juices flowing by eating a lot. To do that, I eat whole foods instead of making recipes. I have plain oatmeal for breakfast, a tangerine and a small apple for AM snacks, lettuce mix and beans for lunch, and a banana and a veggie for PM snacks.
I track my food on SparkPeople, and this day was 753 calories:
Breakfast: 0.66 dry cup rolled oats
AM Snacks: tangerine, small apple, barley coffee
Lunch: salad mix, 0.66 cup kidney beans, large banana
PM Snack: banana
If I remember, I was kind of hungry that day. If I did it again, I'd trade in the barley coffee for tea, not eat one of the bananas or the apple, and eat more beans in the afternoon.
I've never been a calorie counter and my weight has pretty much stayed the same for many years. (I'm 5' 0" and have been weighing around 108 until recently when I went on an organic gummy bear binge a few times lately and am now regretting it.) My weight has recently skyrocketed to around 115 last I looked and I just feel heavier and not right)
I have been watching Dr.Oz recently and seen him come up with some fantastic suggestions as far as weight-loss, calorie intake, recipes and different exercises one might find really useful. I know he doesn't do strictly vegan on his show but there was a guy who was morbidly obese who agreed to try a month long vegan program and he lost quite a bit and had decided to stick with being vegan. (His name is Rocco and if you went to: doctoroz.com and looked up Rocco you might find it pretty uplifting and inspirational. There are many many helpful ideas and resources there along with many videos showing various folks who have lost LOTS of weight.
My last suggestion is maybe you might want to get a second opinion. From what I have read from you and from the others here it sounds like your doctor is suggesting something very unhealthy for you.
Wishing you all the best. Peace, love and understanding.
I'll try going totally raw (am almost there anyway :) ), drinking more and generally trying to follow the things you said.
I don't have any salt or really low intake, no oils. Being good with this :-)
I know my doc's not a dietician or nutritionist so he probably just said that to actually have me lose weight... he's the surgeon who will operate me in one month (mid-Jan is the date for the op, and I can't move it further on). He said I have to lose weight if I want a laparoscopy (key-hole) done, and not a big wide cut... and there is no way I'm getting the cut, for a zillion reasons.
So this really has to be done.
ok, yeah, well eat more calories, but like i said.. produce! eat tons of fruit and greens!
Is air-popped popcorn a good snack? No salt or anything added... except for some nutritional yeast...
Definitely! You might have some trouble getting the ntn yeast to stick to it if it's dry though...
The thing about restriction is you don't lose fat, you lose muscle.
Once you start eating normally after you have reached your goal weight, it will pile back on. Regardless of your prior weight, starvation doesn't work.
It is not a healthy.
The only way the human body can funtionally work as well as lose weight (fat) you need to ease up on how many calories you eat, excersize more than the amount you eat. It's a slow, gradual process, but in the long run your body will remain healthy, and it will be MUCH easier to maintain that weight, and control your body, you wont be malnourished.
I've restricted before, and I immediatly stopped when I started craving meat. It's such a horrible thing to venture into, and it's really difficult to pull your body (and your mind) away from it, all you will think about is food, because your brain needs a substantual amount of food to function properly.
I don't think any doctor would suggest starving yourself, and if they do well then they must have got their PhD from a cereal box, because it is NOT healthy, regardless of how much you way.
You have to make the effort, physically, it's not a simple proccess but it is a hell of a lot easier than depriving yourself of the second most important thing to keep yourself healthy.
I also exercise... but it's really not enough.
I have to work and study, and work keeps most of my time occupied (many times it means going home in the middle of the night).
I walk a lot (mine is a city with hills and slopes, so it is quite some exercise), I climb lots of stairs (I live six floors up and never take the lift), etc...
I don't have enough time to go to the gym at the moment... I might in January, if we don't have to perform in other theaters (less work but more time to do this "diet" properly).