I shop for groceries about once a week. I go to the Piggly Wiggly (no, I didn’t make that up) near my house — the grocery store that Morgan Freeman drove Daisy to in Driving Miss Daisy.
A typical shopping cart looks like this:
I think this snapshot represents my diet fairly well (minus sushi). It contains a variety of lean meats (and not so lean), fruits, and vegetables.
Many natural foods, but a few processed.
I’ve neglected talking about food for so long on this blog. I don’t know a whole lot of fancy recipes and I don’t have my own cookbook (here’s looking at you, Joy Manning), so I haven’t felt qualified to talk about food. And while I still don’t feel qualified (to do anything, really), I do know how to make simple, quick low calorie meals. Meals for college students and people in a hurry. Meals for bachelors. Meals for people who aren’t culinary masters in the kitchen. Meals for people trying to lose weight.
I’ll start sharing some of my meals with directions and pictures starting on Saturday. These meals will be filling, low in calories, and easy to make.
Ya’ll come back now, ya hear?
{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s funny. Your shopping cart doesn’t look like the shopping cart of someone who’s dieting. It looks like the cart of someone who’s eating right.
Have you tried low or reduced fat cheese? I wouldn’t recommend fat free cheese though; it tastes terrible.
Wegman’s sells fat free cheese that doesn’t taste bad at all to me. I got the swiss variety and throw it on my post-workout sandwich to get some more protein and calcium. Check it out!
Sometimes I grab reduced fat cheese. That’s typically the kind of bacon I get as well, as well as the reduced sodium.
I feel that you are extremely qualified to motivate others by what you have done and are still doing :) And the Piggly Wiggly really I need to travel farther south than New Jersey.
Thanks! Yes, no Piggly Wiggly’s up in Jersey :)
You are doing great boy.
Thanks, Uncle Sammy.
The last time I was in Louisiana I tried so hard to find a piggly wiggly t-shirt . . . if you can bribe one of the cashiers to give you one I’ll send you a prize . . . seriously . . . i have wanted one for years . . . YEARS . . . and yes I realize that makes me sound like a crazy person. I live in Pittsburgh so I could send you some crazy yinzer stuff or something!
I have a Piggly Wiggly T-Shirt, I could definitely send you one.
I have a piggly wiggly shirt…It’s my favorite AND the one I’m wearing in my blog picture. I’m from FL but I got one on a trip to SC.
The cart looks like the foods I buy but I buy frozen vegetable but otherwise pretty much the same, and like you minus the sushi.
This is a fun picture. So, you’re not into fresh veggies yet?
I am. I was just fully stocked :)
Looking forward to your recipes.
And I love that you live near a piggly wiggly. That is a sign of the south if nothing else is. :)
I love the south. I’ve been everywhere in the United States and just love the beaches, weather, and hospitality.
I’m really looking forward to seeing your recipes! It’ll be nice to see.
Not so much recipes as meal ideas — there won’t be a whole lot of preparation or skills involved. :)
That’s all the better! Besides, recipes are just suggestions anyways, right? And with how busy you are, getting good food is important–and if we saw how you make it work, perhaps it would give the rest of us one less excuse–and that’s a great thing!
I like seeing the more dietary focused (and personal focused) posts. I look forward to seeing that series :)
I definitely need more personal focused posts, I agree. By the way, why’d you leave for 5 months? :)
I lost my job, my home, my boyfriend…but I did also lose 40 pounds. So theres a plus!
Sorry to hear all of that… still in Columbia?
For the time being :) Trying to find another job…which is hard in this town. I heard you recently on the radio and I laughed and thought ‘I knew that guy…before he was famous!’
I’m on there every day actually at around 5:45… because of you.
I can’t wait to see some of your recipes! I have no idea how to cook healthy, diet-friendly food. I grew up on down-home, simple, cheap food which I love, but most of it is far from low-cal.
And BTW, I’m super excited to see some recipes from a non-cookbook-writing regular person.
Tyler,
I am getting about 1400 calories per day and burning 250 on the treadmill daily – I am 5 feet 2” and weigh 140 pounds right now. I have brought it down by about 17 pounds but need to be about 130 for my height approx.
It is just a very slow metabolism with a combination of bad genes. But, believe it or not, I have been stuck and yo-yoing for about a year now and there is no respite in sight! I am exhausted mentally but the Math simply isin’t working. I started reading about you and felt so inspired once again and you just came across as being somebody people could relate to across cultures and continents!
Your commitment and grittiness is what I love to read about. But, sadly, the needle is just not moving in my case – despite a lot of slogging here.
“In my food world, there is no fear or guilt, only joy and balance. So no ingredient is ever off limits.”
— Ellie Krieger
I ran across this quote by accident. I immediately thought of all of weight loss journeys. Could it be this simple? Joy and balance. I am going to remind myself of this on those “bad” days, but more so on the “good” days, too! Have a great weekend and find not only your balance, but your joy, too!
I miss going to the Pig!
Looks like good stuff to me!!!!!
Have you tried chicken sausage??? It’s really good. You can grill it with peppers and onions in 10 mins flat. How easy is that?
Ooo this will be fun! I am an avid cook, but anything fast & easy is always tops on my list. Looking forward to your ideas!
Steamers work great, put the food in and forget about it. Does your meat and veggies at once.
Hey Tyler, I’m a Dietitian working on building a course for healthy eating. Its going to be awesome, maybe I could let you in free and you could write a little about it. Click on my name and check it out if you want.
Trade up those canned corn and green beans for frozen, they have more nutrients and less sodium. But, geez – where are all the vegetables my friend?? :) I want to see more GREEN stuff!!
Yeah, I was wondering where the veggies are?
Hey Tyler, you said you buy a lot of natural foods. Where are they? Everything I see is in a box or can besides those bananas!!
The chilli inspired me for lunch today! Look forward to seeing those receipes…
Tom
Come see my weigh in…
http://www.ihategreenapples.com
I’m really excited to see some of you’re recipe’s! Its amazing at the low calorie stuff that can be made that tastes really good. A few weeks ago I followed a chicken Dijon recipe that came in around 300cal. Omg, it was awesome!
I find your blog inspirational! I’m about your height and a little lighter than you when you started. Losing weight is about food and exercise — I can manage the exercise but the food part is so seductive. Quitting drugs and alcohol would have to be easier — you don’t have to have a regular daily intake of them to live!
You’re treading the path I plan to follow. Glad to see someone proving it’s possible.
Can’t wait to see your meal ideas! I would def take ideas from someone that has lost as much weight as you have. Send em on!!
Hi Tyler,
I am brand new to your blog site, and just want to tell you that I thank you for it everyday.
I have just started (again) on a new way of eating. But because of you, for the first time in my life, I am not on a diet. I am changing my lifestyle. This was my first week. In years past, this first week would have been torture. I would have obsessed about food and felt like I was starving all day long. Not this time! Reading your blog really clicked with me. It’s like the lightbulb finally turned on and I realized it doesn’t have to be difficult or painful to lose the weight, but it will take committment. So I will keep reading to help keep that focus.
I am really looking forward to your meal ideas and also continuing to follow your journey.
And again, I must say, Thank You!
Fantastic! That pretty much sums up what my shopping cart looks like. Save for a few added low-cal bread items and 60 calorie jello pudding snacks!! :)
~Kellie
Really looking forward to seeing your recipes. While I’m nowhere near your level of exercise, you have at least inspired me to exercise more regularly this year. I’m slowly focusing on the food now.
Great Job on the food! I love finding low sodium items at the store. Do you cook with Ground turkey ever? It’s taste great for so much. Can’t wait to see your posts on meals.
I used to have a piggly wiggly here in Tacoma (WA state) when I was a kid. Oh the memories. A great place to find recipes is over at calorieking.com on the public site. It has a great search engine (type of food, calorie intake, sodium level blah blah blah) and it will spit out something delicious (for the most part). You can even change the serving size for just yourself if needed. Gives you the break down of pretty much anything you need to know about the food you’re making. I love it. There were a few times I needed to make a 500 calorie meal and couldn’t come up with one single idea and that site really helped me not feel so stagnent in my cooking.
BTW Tyler down another pound for me!
Dec 29th 263!
Feb 6th 247!
Do I see a cookbook in your future?????
Thanks for all you to keep us motivated!
~Tara
poopville I lost my comment (I think)…It was so nicely written too. But maybe I’m just senile and it will pop up later.
Long story short : http://www.calorieking.com has some great recipes on it’s public site. Can search my food type, calories desired blah blah blah.
Down another pound for me!
Dec 29th = 263
Feb 6th = 247
Cookbook in your future Tyler? Sign me up!
Thanks for all you do for us!
~Tara
and if this is a repeat post feel free to delete!
hi–is there any reason you don’t have an Archives feature on your page?
I would love to be able to read about your experiences from the beginning, but hitting previous entries for a year’s worth is a little much!
thanks! :)
elza
Not bad, that reminds me I need to go food shopping pretty soon.
Start posting more about different meals you eat.. that would be interesting to read. Diet is about 80% of losing weight. :)
I like your blog so much because you keep it real. Thank you, so much!
Tyler – any ideas when in the office as what to eat. I do alot of the 100 calorie snacks. Problem is I think too many of the 100 calorie snacks.
Oh — I wanted to mention one product you might be interested in. No, I do not work for the company and by no means will I profit from sharing this. =P
In changing my shopping habits to help support my husband’s commitment to lose weight, I’ve run across a canned corn that we really like. It’s Green Giant brand, Whole Kernel Sweet Corn. However, you can find it WITHOUT the added sugar that is typically found in the cans. It runs 60 calories for 1/2 c serving (3.5 servings per can) and has the sweet taste naturally in the corn as opposed to a sweetener. Do read the labels though, cause the cans that look identical and just promote “50% less sodium” add in the sugar to replace the salt.
Just a recommendation! It’s working for us!
I didn’t see you mention much about foods that are very fibrous, most of what I see on your cart looks processed. maybe the whole cart is not there but how much fresh food / greens/ fruits make up your intake now compared to what it used to
keep up the good work!!
My ideal weight is around 195 pounds, though I weigh about 208. I used to weigh 230 pounds a couple years ago, and I did pretty much what you did. I stopped eating as much, I just cut back.
Seriously, I am 32 and eat a lot of food, I honestly don’t know how I am not 300 pounds. I just must be more active than I think.
One thing that really does help, is to drink a small glass of water before you eat a meal. I would say around 8 ounces of water at least. The body really needs to be hydrated, and this also keeps you from eating as much as you normally would. If you normally eat 18 wings, it could cut you down to a dozen with the extra liquid in your belly.
Just a tip.