Construct a diet for my gf

[tryin2gain]

Heres the deal, my girlfriend doesnt eat enough. She eats roughly a meal a day, if that. I told her its unhealthy, and too few calories and nutrients can actually prohibit fitness goals. Shes not overweight, but like most women, constantly says she needs to lose weight. Regardless of her weight, i think we can all agree that just eating lunch is not good for anyone. So i told her i would help her with a diet/meal plan. But as some of you know, coming up with diets is certainly not my strong point, so i have come here asking for your help.

Here is a brief rundown of her schedule:

5am - wake up
6am - eat breakfast (well, she usually doesnt, but thats the planned time for once the ball gets rolling on this diet plan)
6:30am - leave for school
11am - lunch (again, sometimes she eats, other times she does not, but will be eating once theres a plan)
3pm - home from school
4-8pm - dinner with family (the time varies)

Now for possible foods, heres some more info:
She does not eat poultry, doesnt really like eggs
Likes pasta, rice, potatoes, tuna

Im not really looking for a 6 meal a day diet, 3 meals would be fine, baby steps. At this point, pretty much anything would be better than her current situation.

If you need any more info, let me know, otherwise thanks in advance.

[kenseth17cd]

Hey bro, I am not that great at the diet thing either, but I am always wanting to try to help someone. Here it goes.

6 a.m. breakfast Hashbrowns, since she likes potatoes, glass of milk, and some instant oatmeal. This may be to much depending on her size and her goals. She could always go with some milk and a breakfast bar.
11a.m. Juice, milk, or gatorade, tuna sandwhich on wheat bread with her fav. cheese, bananna, and ramen noodles or some other easy pasta.
4-8p.m. I would try some fish since she likes tuna, probably bake it with some herbs and spices, baked potato or mashed potatoes, and some penne pasta or whatever pasta she likes in tomato sauce. I would also recommend drinking something other than soft drinks. That really helps to keep the pounds off.
I know this is not much, but it is better than what she is doing right now.

[MaggioMuscle]

I would suggest dealing with the self image problem first. As for diet, she may be more willing to drink rather than eat her calories. Suggest juices as carb sources, smoothies (maybe with added protien powder), V8 to meet her veggie needs, Soy milk to meet legume and protein needs, fruit and veggies raw (salads) and whole to get some fiber. As her bf you have a lot of influence on her self image. You can discourage her from reading Vogue and Teen magazines that worship the underweight. You can complement her on days she feels fat and encourage her to eat meals with you. Be sensitive and be aware of the little signals you give her that may affirm her low self image or support her bad habits and stop doing those things. Also, maybe you can get the support of her closest friends in this process. This has worked for me in my experience with my partner. Best of luck to you and her.

[wweforme]

Originally Posted by MaggioMuscle

I would suggest dealing with the self image problem first. As for diet, she may be more willing to drink rather than eat her calories. Suggest juices as carb sources, smoothies (maybe with added protien powder), V8 to meet her veggie needs, Soy milk to meet legume and protein needs, fruit and veggies raw (salads) and whole to get some fiber. As her bf you have a lot of influence on her self image. You can discourage her from reading Vogue and Teen magazines that worship the underweight. You can complement her on days she feels fat and encourage her to eat meals with you. Be sensitive and be aware of the little signals you give her that may affirm her low self image or support her bad habits and stop doing those things. Also, maybe you can get the support of her closest friends in this process. Best of luck to you and her.

Sorry man, but it won't matter what he says. If his girl has a self image problem only she can deal with it.

[USMC102703]

Originally Posted by kenseth17cd

Hey bro, I am not that great at the diet thing either, but I am always wanting to try to help someone. Here it goes.

6 a.m. breakfast Hashbrowns, since she likes potatoes, glass of milk, and some instant oatmeal. This may be to much depending on her size and her goals. She could always go with some milk and a breakfast bar.
11a.m. Juice, milk, or gatorade, tuna sandwhich on wheat bread with her fav. cheese, bananna, and ramen noodles or some other easy pasta.
4-8p.m. I would try some fish since she likes tuna, probably bake it with some herbs and spices, baked potato or mashed potatoes, and some penne pasta or whatever pasta she likes in tomato sauce. I would also recommend drinking something other than soft drinks. That really helps to keep the pounds off.
I know this is not much, but it is better than what she is doing right now.

wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy to many carbs, and carbs from the wrong sources

have her eat:

protein:
egg whites
lean meats
tuna
steak (occasionaly)
anything lean and protein packed

carbs:
fibrous carbs (green veggies, cucumbers...yadda)
very little oatmeal and rice, potatoes, (everyday but the weekends, then her carb source can be whatever as long as it's not a surplus in calories)

fat
"incidental" from meats
nuts
fish/fish oils

plan and simple..."nothin to it but to do it" this is what im following

drink plenty of diet sodas to keep sanity, and coffee (stunts appetite)

[kenseth17cd]

Carbs are great bro, I don't think that was too many and she doesn't like eggs, so that screws up breakfast. But, like I said I am stupid and everyone else is always right.

[phat chick]

aaie. I hate reading these posts.....It gets me worked up that there is so much misconception girls have about proper dieting techniques not to mention society's ideals of what a woman should look like in order to be attractive to the opposite sex. Plus it always amazes me how, for instance, we have teenagers doing advanced math skills in high school but don't even know the basics of healthy eating!! At least that's how it is around here. Such a dissapointment.

Anyway, i sound like i'm a biatch, i don't mean it to be directed towards you.... I fell into that trap a long time ago myself. I wish i was more interested in learning about proper nutrition when i was a bit younger, i'm sure it would have saved me a lot of 'damage'.

SO. It's so nice to hear that she has a genuinely concerned boyfriend such as yourself. I agree that the issue runs deeper than "just" not eating enough. The eating (or lack thereof) part of the situation is just a symptom. So it would be wise to dig a little deeper... a councellor may be a great idea or even some Dr. Phil books (i know, i'm a cheezeball!). However that is something she has to come to on her own terms.

As for the actual eating bit, don't convince her to suddenly shovel in the calories. I'm sure her metabolism is at a snail's pace. If you bump her up to a "normal" caloric range after long-term starvation mode, I can assure you she will blow up like a whale. And that will surely send her into a downward spiral mentally.

Slowly increase her calories. If she adds more food and suddenly gains a significant amount of weight, it's not going to convince her to eat more. It will send her RIGHT back to square one. She will eat even LESS. THen you're stuck in the whole cycle again.

You'll have to coax her mentally, show her it's "okay" to eat...that really, eating is the key to losing weight and really tightening up. But it will be a long and slow process. You are right on the money with the "baby steps" attitude. Be patient. You will want to try and avoid any yo-yo or rebound situations at all costs.

Good luck i hope it works out well.

[USMC102703]

Originally Posted by kenseth17cd

Carbs are great bro, I don't think that was too many and she doesn't like eggs, so that screws up breakfast. But, like I said I am stupid and everyone else is always right.

your not stupid, and you weren't wrong at all...nor was I right or wrong.

but science and many trial and error have proven carb cycling works really well for shedding bodyfat as long as calories are in check

[kenseth17cd]

Sorry bro, everyone has really been giving me hell lately. I guess carbs are not that great for a girl that is trying to lose, more for someone who is wanting to bulk.

[krenalor]

Actually kenseth17cd you hit lunch pretty well.

5am - wake up

6am - breakfast- No fat milk, whole wheat waffles/pancakes with low cal syrup-or Total or some decent cereal not loaded with sugar and no fat milk-get some breakfast in, heck if she wants to lose weight you know this is the worst meal to skip. Not liking eggs makes this harder.

6:30am - leave for school

11am - lunch tuna sandwich on wheat, a little lettuce on it, low fat mayo if she must have it or half of one if thats all she can manage, no more then 1-2 cans of tuna a week because of possible mercury. Diet soda if she has to, no fat milk is a whole lot better then diet soda. Or salad with chicken breast and low cal dressing. Chicken salad sandwich on wheat, lettuce, low fat mayo.

3pm - home from school an orange or apple, some kind of fruit she likes

4-8pm - dinner with family, well she may be stuck eating whatever they eat, try to move to whole wheat for carbs, lean meats, etc, etc. You know what we should be eating.

Snack-my new favorite is a 3 berry mix, blueberry/strawberry/rassberry with some oats and no fat milk, its summer soon get fresh fruit at a stand and eat up! I can't wait for watermelon, man I want some now.

[USMC102703]

honestly me...with all of those high sugary and processed carbs would be a fatty....fruits have there place; not not in a strict diet (unless post workout or to get out of a flat state)

[krenalor]

She isn't fat, she thinks she is. Besides which she is starving herself and just getting her to eat 6 tiny meals a day will restart her metabolism. Eating one meal a day gets me fat, and I have a rocket fast metabolism. Its crazy how hard that is on your system.
You can leave the fruit out, but I wouldn't. She won't eat half of whats good for you, just keep her away from sweets though if possible. Most women love sweets, I don't eat deserts mostly, I just don't like the processed sugar much and rather eat sugar in fruits.

[tryin2gain]

Thanks to all who replied. Im glad to see a wide variety of answers and suggestions. This is perfect because there are always minute details left out here and there, and possibly some circumstances i myself am unaware of.

A lot of people brought up some good points, i will collect my thoughts based on these posts and hash it out with her. Im sure with the variety posted here, one way or another a certain combination will end up working out.

I would just like to clarify though, I dont think she eats so little because she thinks shes thinks it will help her lose weight, i think its just because she has no desire to eat. She blames her ex-step father because he would always make her family eat at certain times and they would always eat the same things over and over again. She once listed a bunch of foods she refused to eat now because of him.

Thanks again for all your help. I will try to keep you all updated.