Fat free and low calorie evening meals?

[Rameses]

Looking for inspiration for fat free, or low fat & low cal dinner ideas, I'm not a massive eater so its only for small simple ideas for one. Any suggestions? Google just floods me with many impractical ideas, recipes that are too intricate to make especially just for one person, any great wesbites I might be missing out on?

Thanks for any info!

 

[Rameses]

Well truth be told I only eat 3 meals a day,

11am-12pm: Bowl of Super Berries Muesli, Orange Juice, Cuppa.
6pm: SlimFast Milkshake & Alpine Choc Bar (Low Cal), Cranberry Juice.
9pm: Bowl of cornflakes (9pm), Cuppa.

I only have skimmed milk in my tea (4/5 a day), and I at least drink 4 pints of water a day.

I don't do this all week, Friday for instance I have fish & chips for dinner (breaded & handful of oven chips), Saturday I'll have a fry up for breakfast and steak & chips for dinner with peppers/mushrooms, but continue the above Sunday.

Parents are not impressed with me and say I should be eating vegetables & fruit, is it too extreme?

 

[Rameses]

Well its a good job I asked on here then lol.

I can't do exercise other than light stretches that I do anyway in the morning (R. Arthritis, Wheelchair). I'm currently 130lb and according to my BMI I should be around 120lb.

I'm due at the doctors soon anyway so I'm going to ask to see a dietician because food/diet is the only way I'm going to continue to lose weight since I can't just get up and go for a run etc.

I have been told by my doctor years ago I need to have high fibre due to my tablets etc, so thats the reason for Muesli, Orange Juice and I even take Benefibre supplement too in my tea in morning. I'd probably like to keep the morning routine as is unless porridge is better?

The silly thing is I've never been a big eater its just that I cannot burn off what I eat and over the years I've slowly added pounds. I bet I've been trying on/off for 3 years now to control my weight but clearly I have no idea what I'm doing so will see what a dietician has to say.

 

[Rameses]

I don't know what tablets you might be on for your rheumatoid arthritis but from my knowledge (and second hand experience - my Dad suffered from it) of a lot of the more commonly used ones, you should be really sticking with a healthier diet than what you've been eating of late. Fruit and veg becomes all the more important given the problems the arthritis and the pills you have to take can cause! Amazing what a difference it can make also.

Definitely have a word with your GP and a dietician about it all to make sure you get the right nutrients.

You can't mess about with your diet at the best of times, let alone with those factors thrown in.

I agree & I know that I need a varying diet of veg & fruit but for me it was more frustration at not being able to lose it quickly, I've only been doing that diet for 4/5 weeks, before that I had various soups with brown bread or I'd have chicken/tomato pasta, and I'd usually have a fruit salad after. I was trying that on/off since last November with varying success, the SlimFast diet was me trying to push the weight down further quickly. Obviously not taking note of whether it was sensible or not. :/

If you genuinely cannot exercise then I sympathise because that is going to make losing weight a lot harder for you (providing that you would have had the motivation to exercise hard, of course). Still, the same rules will apply - your calories in have to be less than your calories out, but nothing extreme. Over time, you will notice a difference.

There is a pretty simply rule that can be applied to avoiding dubious carb sources - if it is sweet, lose it, or at least minimise it (expecially with cereals, 'weight loss shakes' - rubbish anyway, and chocolate). Also, try swapping all of your current cereals to wholegrain, so brown bread, rice and pasta instead of white. Of course, the most ideal way to get your carbs is entirely through a source such as green vegetables and beans, but this isn't practical for most people - I certainly don't do this, but I'm not a ripped adonis either.

Well I'm going to see the practice nurse next week after talking to my doctor on the phone, as you mention with my inability to do any meaningful exercise he said its down to calories in/out, so he said the nurse will take my measurements and discuss what my calorie count is and what I should be doing. After that if I still want to see a dietician he'll refer me (he said they're pretty technical in their approach, but thats what I need, ideas & instructions, not only for me but to help my dad who ultimately will help cook foods for me).

doubled up tonfoil in a square.. lay some green beans in the middle in a line, place a skinless salmon fillet on top, spread some pesto on top, bit of olive oil, lemon juice, s+p. make a parcel, bake for 15 mins or so. serve with potatoes

Sounds lovely, will try it!

 

[Rameses]

Well I had a sit down with the practice nurse, took my weight which was lower than my scales so chuffed about that, being 8st 13lb, now due to my inability to do meaningful exercise I need to intake around 1100-1200 calories

She gave me some advice since muesli is high in calories, can keep the orange juice & water intake and to control my evening meals (calorie controlled portions, added with some steamed vegetables to bulk.), but ultimately she said I should probably aim for 53kg and go no less than that, so I only need to lose 9lb, but the point is to control it after that!