Useless at planning. Anyone willing to help me figure out a diet plan + shopping list, please?

[freenarative]

I have NO idea what I'm doing in regards to diet. I don't know why?!

I can figure out my BMR and my TDEE. I know how to plan exercise and roughly WHAT to eat and when etc. But diets and shopping lists? Nope.

I can't figure out macros and meal calories. And planning what meals to make... I'm a joke.

I know that processed foods are bad. I know that A coffee before exercise can help build muscle. I know tea is a good drink for you (I have over 100 types of tea in my collection so I should have an idea by now ) I even know that quinoa is a **** good superfood.

BUT, ask me to make a meal plan for a week and to plan the shopping list for those meals.... and I surrender.

So, helpful details:

* My BMR is 2810 cal
* My TDEE is on average 3700 cal although I expect this to rise to 4000 cal
* I will soon be starting a 5 X 5 strength training routine with cardio included on the off days at minimum... on workout days too if I can manage it.
* I would prefer to go to 4 or 5 "meals" a day as I'm a grazer and this is better if you're after loosing weight while strength training but I am flexible on this

So... anything else I need to disclose

 

[sally and james]

No wonder you are confused, at least from my way of thinking. I would never think, "what am I going to have for dinner, I need 475 calories of which 38.2% is protein etc". I begin by thinking about FOOD and having a tasty mixture of things over the course of a week. If I were planning a week's meals for someone else, i would need to know if they were on an extremely tight budget, cooking for a family, were able to cook in terms of basic skills as well as facilities and then, were we factoring in lunches to take to work, early starts, late finishes and did the person live/work somewhere with good food shops.
I plan for the week ahead, always have done, long before diabetes came on the scene. I spread red meat, poultry, fish, egg and vegetarian based meals across the week. List my proposed lunches and breakfasts, taking into account work commitments and what the main meals are. Then I make my shopping list, working from my meal plan. One main shop at the weekend and top ups of veg during the week.
My advice to you is to focus on varied, fresh and interesting food and forget the numbers, let them look after themselves, just avoid the carbs, starches and sugars and anything in a packet.
Sally

 

[L_J]

Complete newbie here, but I'll get the ball rolling here maybe.
Get yourself a good cookbook so you can get some ideas for meals, otherwise you'll end up with chicken breast and broccoli at every meal. I picked up The Big Book of Low Carb Recies by Nicola Graimes. Pretty basic, and gives some good ideas for starting off with, as well as carb content - not all low carb cookbooks do that.
MyFitnessPal app is very helpful to keep track of everything.
If you work out, you know how to put together a plan. Just transfer those skill to food. I do circuit training 5 days a week, mixing weights and cardio, with cardio on my off days. I'm managing my type 2 with diet (didn't have much weight to lose anyway), so I'm eating three meals and three snacks a day. Sample day would be
Breakfast: packet instant oatmeal with a spoonful of full fat greek yoghurt
Snack: nuts
Lunch: grilled chicken breast over lots of leafy greens
Snack: piece of cheese
Dinner: salmon and lots of veggies
Snack: tsp peanut butter

You can always google "diabetic meal plan", but you need to find out what works for you. Get a couple of days' meals, then just extrapolate the shopping list. Not rocket science, and if you can put together a work out plan, you can certainly do a shopping list!
Good luck!

 

[Jagman]

Eggs are a good way to start the day,I also eat lots of chicken and whole grain basmati rice and loads of fruit and veg

 

[Robbity]

@freenarative If you want structured menus for the week have a look for low carb menus on the web. I've seen some around but don't know if they give all the nutritional details you require.

You can also look at our low "What have you eaten today?" thread for ideas, and we have a current low carb shopping list thread on the go. Viv's modified Atkins diet, the low carbs recipes thread and the beginners guide are also a good source of information and can be found in the Sticky section currently just above your post.

You could also ask you diabetic team/doctor/nurse about seeing a dietician Some people get this offered automatically as part of their diabetic care - others don't. But you may not get the best low carb advice this way.

Robbity

 

[Celeriac]

My approach to shopping is that I always want to buy the best quality food for the least money. So just like French women searching out the good deals in markets, I use mysupermarket.co.uk to search out offers in supermarkets.

If you have to spend more on fuel and fares, to get to a supermarket and save 50p, it's not a bargain. On the other hand, if you can call in at ASDA on your way back from work, stop off at Spar when walking the dog, or get a family member to call into Sainsbury's on the way home from the gym, it widens your access to more offers than say your weekly plod round Tesco.

There are lots of recipe websites which can give you ideas about using those bargain salmon fillets you want and the kind of herbs and spices you'll need to buy, before you even get to the supermarket.

 

[Kingsland]

I take it you're type 2?
Google 'thedietdoctor' they give a lot of good advice on what to eat and what not to eat. Forget about calories. Start with the protein (meat/fish/eggs) and add low carb vegs. Get used to eating cream and fat. Snack on nuts and cheese. Just get to know the difference between protein and carbohydrates - you're not on a low fat slimming diet (although you'll lose weight even eating all that fat) just remember you're on a Low Carb High Fat diet.
Do you have a blood testing kit?