Breaking away from planned meals.

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12/8/12 9:10 P

use the site to look up the numbers (calories, fat, carb, protein) in some of the main ingredients you've been eating in the planned meals or in some of the whole foods you like - and start piecing together healthful meals that way. i have a bunch of scratch paper by my computer that i use to make sure my numbers add up the way they should before i make a meal. if the meal works out (is healthy and tastes good), i write out the recipe clearly, write down the numbers, and save it for future use (and add it to my tracker by "enter food not listed" button under search bar so that i don't have to enter each individual ingredient every time.)

current weight: 127.4

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125

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12/8/12 3:35 P

My advice would be to start slow. It can get overwhelming! I would try a week just trying to eat the right amount of calories. Then you can analyse the week and see where you were too high/low, and adjust your meals as needed.

current weight: 146.0

191 179.75 168.5 157.25

146

Posts: 2,084
12/8/12 8:04 A

evaluate the ingredients of the menus you've been using thus far, and see if there are recipes that you can choose that use the same ones.

Plus, the advice of the other posters is very good, as well.

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12/8/12 3:19 A

I agree with the previous poster - balance is important. However, sometimes you will find that you are a bit heavier in one area - maybe fat - maybe carbs. Don't worry too much - so long as it is healthy food, you enjoy it, and it fills you without being over the top in calories. If you use the Nutrition Tracker throughout they day, you can see where you are going and tweak accordingly.

Enjoy :-)
Kris

current weight: 151.0

211 196 181 166

151

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12/7/12 10:01 P

Look at everything - balance is important. Every meal doesn't have to be perfectly balanced in terms of carbs/fat/protein, but at the end of the day, you should be within your ranges for your macronutrients and calories of course.

current weight: 110.0

160 147.5 135 122.5

110

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12/7/12 9:57 P

I've been using the Meal Planner for about 2 weeks now religiously. I'm at the point where I want to start breaking away and making meals on my own. Any tips for what to stick by? Do I look at calories, protein/carbs/fat intake?

current weight: 163.5

175 167.5 160 152.5

145