Day 1 menu: only 1429 calories, 14g carbs??

[croker]

I'm using fitday to plan my menu for today (my first day of induction!), here's what I have:

Breakfast
2 eggs, scrambled with butter
1 cubic inch cheddar cheese, sliced thin & melted on top
4 pieces bacon

Meal 2:
2 4 oz. boneless skinless chicken breasts, baked
salad (2 cups romaine/head lettuce, + 1/3 cup sliced cucumber, no dressing)

Meal 3:
Tuna Salad in a bowl (2 small cans, 2 tbsp mayo)
salad (1 cup romaine/head lettuce, + 1/3 cup sliced cucumber, no dressing)

Meal 4:
2 eggs, scrambled with butter
1 cubic inch cheddar cheese, sliced thin & melted on top


Fitday gives me these totals:
Calories: 1429
Fat: 79g, 51%
Carbs: 14g, 3%
Protein: 158g, 46%

That still sounds like ALOT of food, especially meals 2&3. It's also ALOT of fat. Not that it's any more than a typical fast food meal, though. And I'm pretty sure I'll end up skipping one of meals 2/3/4 because I'm just not that hungry. I typically eat 2 meals a day because I have a desk job. I'm sure I'll need to eat more when I start exercising, but I'm starting with walking and push ups/home stuff for the first few weeks before I hit the gym.

Question 1:
Is having 3 cups of lettuce + my 2/3 cup sliced cucumber too much veggies? I could easily make it 2 cups of lettuce, but I'm curious.

Question 2:
Does this calorie count/menu seem balanced?

[PaulaMM]

Re: Day 1 menu: only 1429 calories, 14g carbs??

Maybe it's just me, but it seems as though your calorie intake is a bit low. You could try adding some dressing to your salads that will add fat and calories but not bulk, since you mentioned that you aren't hungry.

[croker]

Re: Day 1 menu: only 1429 calories, 14g carbs??

I do have some 'regular' Hidden Valley Ranch in my fridge, I haven't cleaned out *everything* that's not allowed as I'm planning to give it to a friend.

It's listed as 140 calories for 2 tbsp, with 2g of carbs. Is regular dressing like this allowed on induction? 1 tbsp per salad would be plent for me, so the 'one' serving size would cover both salads (I just like a little for taste). Sugar is listed as an ingredient.

If I add that, it would make my total 1572 calories/94g of fat, 55%. That seems like a dangerously high % of fat calories to me.

Thanks for the quick reply!

[sallyseachange]

Re: Day 1 menu: only 1429 calories, 14g carbs??

I'd be wary of adding anything that has sugar in the ingreds list. You don't want to mess up your induction... as, based on your clean induction losses, you will be able to calculate your probable CCLL and level of metabolic resistence.

It's good if you have two cups of salad and one cup of 'other acceptable veggies' to differentiate, and because, if your salads are heavy on lettuce, this is rather poor in vits (being little more than water). Or.. make your three cups of salad full of nutrient dense raw veggies like fennel, celery, spinach... etc.

[kylie]

Re: Day 1 menu: only 1429 calories, 14g carbs??

Hi there! Congrats on starting out on this WOE!

As for your menu - MORE FAT! Your ratios should be closer to 65% Fat, 30% Protein, 5% Carbs - Your protein percentage is too high - excess protein WILL be converted to glucose/glycogen and will be stored as fat by your body. You need fat for this WOE to work - a low/lower fat Atkins isn't Atkins. Besides priming your body to burn fat, the fat you eat will make you feel satisfied longer and less likely to have cravings for other things. Play around with the fitday adding some fat in (maybe in the form of salad dressing) you will see how a little more fat will change your ratios dramatically.

As for the salad dressing, there is no need to go without - just find ones with 2g carbs or less per tablespoon without added sugar...there are lots of them out there. Or you can use oil and vinegar (not balsamic, though) - absolutely NO reason to eat a salad without dressing unless you really want to.

Veggies - for induction - 2-3 cups of the salad veggie list and 1 cup of the other veggie list - and you've been given good advice about the lettuce - less of that and more of the more nutrient dense veggies is better!

Best wishes to you!