Lady-Friendly Recipes

[Ozkon]

In an effort to lose weight, I've been trying really hard to compile a collection of recipes that are beneficial to active women like myself. Generally, I eat around 1400 calories a day, having roughly six small meals.

A typical day looks like this:

7:00 am
1/4 cup rolled oats
1 scoop Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Casein Protein
(324 calories, 5.1g fat, 43.8g carbs, 31.6g protein)

10:30 am
2 medium stalks celery
2 tbsp natural peanut butter
(192 calories, 14.2g fat, 8.4g carbs, 8.6g protein)

1:30 pm
2 cups spinach
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
8 (approx.) grape tomatoes
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
(256 calories, 17.2g fat, 4.6g carbs, 25.4g protein)

4:00 pm
1 scoop RIVALUS PROMASIL™ Athletes Protein
(90 calories, 1.0g fat, 0.0g carbs, 20.0g protein)

Workout

6:30 pm
1 scoop RIVALUS PROMASIL™ Athletes Protein
1 medium banana
(195 calories, 1.4g fat, 27.0g carbs, 21.3g protein)

9:00 pm
1 can flaked light tuna, in water
1/4 cup egg whites
2 tbsp. rolled oats
1/4 red peppers
(241.7 calories, 1.65g fat, 16.5g carbs, 38.2g protein)



11:30 pm
1 scoop Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Casein Protein
(120 calories, 1.0g fat, 4.0g carbs, 24.0g protein)

TOTAL: 1418.7 calories, 44.55g fat, 104.3g carbs, 169.1g protein
(14.01% fat, 32.80% carbs, 53.19% protein)

*If you think my fat intake is of concern, I would like to point out that I supplement with omega-3 capsules at breakfast and right before bed, but did not account for this when providing this nutritional breakdown.

Now that you know what a typical day looks like, I am basically wondering if anyone has any recipes out there that would fit into a diet that is structured like this. I am generally aiming for my meals to be under 350 calories, low in carbohydrates (aside from breakfast and post-workout, within reason), and high in protein.

Of course, if anyone is looking at my diet and seeing glaring errors or room for improvement, suggestions in this regard are more than welcome. I just really wanted to provide an example of my diet when requesting recipes because I often find that a lot of the diet plans I see online are geared towards men who are eating twice the food that I am. I'm getting really tired of eating the same foods all the time; I have a few recipes that I throw into the mix (scrambled egg whites are a staple of my diet), but I don't have a large array of options.

If you can think of anything that may be helpful, feel free to reply!

[MightyMouse719]

I hate to mention it, but it's hard to make any suggestions without knowing what you weigh now, and what your goals are.

[IronCore]

we all know that "lady friendly" recipes usually involve reservations and a menu...


but yes... Stats and goals are a good start....

[acon83]

we all know that "lady friendly" recipes usually involve reservations and a menu...

True!!! I agree, stats please

[Ozkon]

Understandable! I'm 5'9" and 167 lbs, currently. Looking to reduce my bodyfat % - it was around 20% last time I checked, and I would like for it to be low enough for me to have visible abs (..is a 6 pack too ambitious?). I posted a progress picture in my photo album, yesterday, if you would like to see where I currently stand. I am training my abs very hard, but I know that diet plays a big role in exposing them, so I'm trying to adjust my diet accordingly.

[MightyMouse719]

Understandable! I'm 5'9" and 167 lbs, currently. Looking to reduce my bodyfat % - it was around 20% last time I checked, and I would like for it to be low enough for me to have visible abs (..is a 6 pack too ambitious?). I posted a progress picture in my photo album, yesterday, if you would like to see where I currently stand. I am training my abs very hard, but I know that diet plays a big role in exposing them, so I'm trying to adjust my diet accordingly.

Are you a hockey player? Get the F out of here! I played goalie for 7-8 years. That is cool as hell.
Back to your question, my humble opinion is your caloric intake may be a little low. You will lose weight, but you'll lose more lean mass that way, and no one wants that to happen. Keep your protein and carbs the same, maybe add 44-45 grams of healthy fats a day and see how you do. My experience has been more healthy fats, clean carbs, and high protein intake, good hydration, cardio 3-4 times a week, lift 3-4 days a week, good multivitamin, will be a sensible way to lose fat and keep/build muscle.
Your physique looks good, and your bodyfat percentage is pretty low, compared to the average American. Tweak a couple of things and keep at it, and you should see results. Other things you might consider include carb cycling and a cheat meal once a week to boost your metabolism, give you a mental break. Really, just thinking out loud here. Please let us know what you decide to do, and keep us updated on your progress. Best of luck!

[SHINE]

Understandable! I'm 5'9" and 167 lbs, currently. Looking to reduce my bodyfat % - it was around 20% last time I checked, and I would like for it to be low enough for me to have visible abs (..is a 6 pack too ambitious?). I posted a progress picture in my photo album, yesterday, if you would like to see where I currently stand. I am training my abs very hard, but I know that diet plays a big role in exposing them, so I'm trying to adjust my diet accordingly.

If your doing the caliper body test it's always off imo for women, i'd say your at 15% or even 12%.

[Ozkon]

Are you a hockey player? Get the F out of here! I played goalie for 7-8 years. That is cool as hell.
Back to your question, my humble opinion is your caloric intake may be a little low. You will lose weight, but you'll lose more lean mass that way, and no one wants that to happen. Keep your protein and carbs the same, maybe add 44-45 grams of healthy fats a day and see how you do. My experience has been more healthy fats, clean carbs, and high protein intake, good hydration, cardio 3-4 times a week, lift 3-4 days a week, good multivitamin, will be a sensible way to lose fat and keep/build muscle.
Your physique looks good, and your bodyfat percentage is pretty low, compared to the average American. Tweak a couple of things and keep at it, and you should see results. Other things you might consider include carb cycling and a cheat meal once a week to boost your metabolism, give you a mental break. Really, just thinking out loud here. Please let us know what you decide to do, and keep us updated on your progress. Best of luck!

I sure am a hockey player! I assume you saw my profile picture.. I love the sport - glad to know that someone else on here is also into it! Anyway, I can certainly appreciate and respect your opinion. When I first structured my diet, I planned to eat six ~350 calorie meals a day, meaning that my intake would be around 1800 calories, in total. I was surprised, when I first began calculating everything, to see that my caloric intake was so low, but I guess the low numbers excited me and I stayed on this plan. People have been commenting on my weight loss, lately, so I am sure that it is working, but I definitely do not want to lose any of the mass that I have worked so hard at developing! I like your recommendations and will certainly reconsider my diet plan in the coming weeks. I have tried carb cycling before, and found that it was very challenging on the dreaded "no carb" day which came twice a week, in the plan that I followed. I was a pretty grumpy girl, on those days! I have just ordered the bodyopus diet book and plan to follow that plan, after reading the book from cover to cover! I have reconsidered carb cycling, though, as my last attempt was during a different phase of my life when I was not mentally prepared to handle the program. I currently incorporate a cheat day into my diet plan - it's usually on the weekend and I always look forward to it. My only issue is that I struggle to keep my "cheating" within reasonable grounds (i.e., not binge eating). As a side note, I currently drink 5L of water a day (I aim to have roughly 1 oz. per lb. of body weight), so I can at least be content with that, right?

Regarding body fat percentages, what would you recommend as an accurate and efficient way of measurement? Preferably, the suggested method would be one that I could do on my own time, as I am not so strict about tracking my body fat percentage that I would feel the need to get professional assessments done on a regular basis.

[Lizard King]

You're tall so even losing a little body fat will have dramtic results. As Shine said, I don't think you look 20% at all. Your progress pics look great (I really need to look at more peoples albums, I'm missing all the good stuff!!)
I would be less concerned with the numbers and more concerns with the results that you are obviously seeing.

[Ozkon]

This is definitely a good point! I just need to lose a little bit more.. My lower abs are lagging a little bit! Thanks for the compliment though - I also didn't realize how much good stuff was in the albums section of this website!

[MightyMouse719]

I am by no means an expert or nutritionist, but I know what has worked for me, so I hope I can be of some help. You are definitely on the right track! I do not recommend no carb days, as you will hate life and everyone on earth, and I'm not totally convinced it's worth it. To each their own, though. I'm not familiar with the bodypus book, I will have to check that out.

[Rottenrogue]

Going to agree with what has been said above. If you are playing hockey and active in the least bit that calorie intake is way too low. One thing I found is that when you are forced to eat a minimum of 1g protien per pound it takes all the fun out of eating and actually makes you eat correctly.Not that you seem to have that problem lol. I too am not nutrition guru but what is working for me is lower(50g) carbs on non training days and 200 g carbs on training days 50 before training and 150 within an hour after training.The day before evnts I eat whatever I want and dont follow any rules with the exception of my minimum protien requirements. Now with all that being said 1) I am bigger than you are 2) My events on Sunday burn a ridiculous amount of calories which is why I think I am able to eat whatever I want before on saturday 3) All my carbs( with the exception of Sat) are veggies and potatoes .I dont do rice,pasta,or bread .
O also do endurance work on non training days but dont factor them in carb wise..............my head hurts now from trying to explain it all.I guess my point would be if your active make sure you are feeding your muscles

[Ozkon]

Your description of no carb day is SO accurate. My friends generally knew to stay from me on those days. I have seen a lot of different structures for carb cycling, so perhaps I was not using a very good one. I generally try to eat 1g of protein per lb. of body weight, but I have also been aiming to keep my carbs around 100g, so perhaps I could give myself a little more wiggle room, somewhere. It's been mentioned that I should increase my fat intake, so perhaps this is what I will do. In general, the only time I eat complex carbs is in the morning (rolled oats) and then I avoid them for the rest of the day. I eat a banana post-workout and the sugar in that fruit ends up accounting for about 1/4 of my daily carbs. Anyway! There's always lots to consider. My fear of losing muscle mass is very strong, so it is clear that I need to start getting a few more calories, somewhere!

[shan]

You should go right now and calculate yoru total energy needs, try this one....
BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) Calculator | Muscle & Strength

my guess is you are WAY under the calories you need and you will be stalling out, when you under consume on energy needs you will lose muscle and feel crappy too.

[AllTheWay]

as a woman who has gone from 32% fat to 15% fat i can tell you that it can be a real struggle. and i will also tell you not to listen to what the men say your bf % is because they are usually wrong i am 15% now and they are guess me at way lower than that. i looked at your pics and you really look about like i did around 18-20%. so now on to the rest. i am a very easy keeper, it is so hard to lose fat, damn it sucks. it looks like your caloric intake should be sufficiently low for you to lose fat. they told me i needed 1852 and i am the same height as you but from the looks a larger build. so at 1400+ you should dang sure be able to drop some fat. the biggest thing is that it takes time. it has taken me 2 years to lose and i was at 18-17% for almost a year and then really started tracking calories and did a few cycles of clen and was able to drop to 15% trying to get to 12% just because started taking ephedra and it is really seeming to help so im keeping my fingers crossed.