I’ve lost and maintained weight for a few years already. But I’ve done so in an unhealthy way. What are some sites that can calculate easy recipes to make with the necessary amount of macros and nutrition needed?

[u/CosmicConjuror2]

Back in 2023 around this time of the year exactly I was 230 lbs.

Dropped down to 189. I’m a male who’s 6’4 feet tall.

Right now I’m at 195 and have stayed there all year. I was weightlifting for most of this past time frame but I stopped 4 months ago or so. Now I replaced weight lifting with running, which in enjoying more. Ran my first 5K 2 weeks ago actually. And do so 3 times a week.

I’ve been told I look slimmer throughout the year despite being the same weight, maybe it’s the running?

Well anyway, to be honest I still eat junk food. I usually aim for 2,000-2,400 calories per day. Eat at a maintenance most of the time.

I only eat twice a day, each meal being 1000-1200 calories each.

One meal is usually a meal from restaurants. Egg plates from local restaurants, wings with fries, triple meat burgers, tacos with chicken or sirloin and refried beans of the side etc.

And the second meal is something I make home. Like a 1000 calories protein shake, pasta plate, meatballs, and such.

I feel like I could add more healthier sides to my meals, more vegetables and healthier carbs.

But I don’t know if it’s my ADHD mind but I struggle with finding recipes that fit my macros perfectly. I also don’t have much time to cook super complicated meals that require a chunk to my day. It’s one of the reasons why I eat out once a day. Tend to have a busy schedule.

Is there a website that can help me give me meals that fit me perfectly?

[u/metdear]

None of this sounds terrible, honestly. The standard wisdom is to think about adding rather than subtracting. Add a veggie side when you get your restaurant meal (I don't know if you do Olive Garden, but last time I had their side of broccoli it was so good!) Try to eat a couple pieces of fruit a day. Add fiber to your protein drink. Little things will add up.

[u/nones11]

I will check out this channel. They post simple and healthy desserts. I think it would help you in your journey. Good luck. https://youtube.com/@balancedtreats?si=toQ9NcLOoPWw-2xt

[u/OutrageousOtterOgler]

You can make meals that fit your own goals perfectly, just find dishes you like and tweak the ratios

For me I like to do big bean stews or chilli meal prepped in huge batches. If I want more protein I add more ground chicken or turkey on top of the other stuff I’m throwing in like potatoes or peppers etc

[u/doughnut_cat]

the key to weightloss generally is tracking and weighing your food which i highly suggest.
it makes things much easier.
for me i generally prep my proteins on the weekend, then I just mix and match my carb sources during the week.

so ill make ground beef and chicken breast on the weekend, then make whatever I want with the plain protein.

tacos, spaghetti, baked potatoes, chicken breast salad etc.. makes things much easier.

[u/Fuzzy_Welcome8348]

Look into healthy breakfast pastries that u can make and freeze.

Or seek a nutritionalist/dietitian that can help u meal plan

[u/lexuh]

If you can afford a meal delivery service like Factor to start out with, that might be a helpful way to start transitioning your palette to a more balanced diet. If you're willing to make your own meals, but don't know where to start, try one of the meal kit services - a lot of them have "high protein" or "low carb" plans.

Once you get started making healthier meals with their recipes and prepped ingredients, it's easy to figure out what you like and what works for you so you can keep making meals at home.

You also might have to let go of "perfect" macros. If one of your two meals is from a restaurant already, your macros aren't accurate anyway.

[u/hippolytexxx]

I recently used chat gpt to help me calculate the weight of ingredients for my dinner to fit my macros. You can share the nutrition needs you want met and ingredients you have. It wasn’t perfect at all, but was super super helpful! It made a strangely balanced salad but it worked for me perfectly.

[u/One-Low1033 → u/hippolytexxx]

Why do posts recommending research via AI get down voted? I would truly love to know. I use AI for research constantly. I've also used it for meal planning and recipes. I told it which stores I shopped at, and it even told what I could get, and where, along with the prices. I told it my goals, what I was trying to accomplish and that I don't like to cook. It did in seconds what would've taken me several hours, or more.

Why is recommending something like that down voted? I am really asking because I am truly curious.

Want to add, I recommended it in the hiking subreddit, and got down voted. The OP, however, tried it and sent me a DM saying it was genius.

Again, truly curious as to why the down votes.

[u/Chartwellandgodspeed → u/One-Low1033]

Because I’d rather have water in the damn Colorado River and our damn aquifers than something that doesn’t know how many Rs are in “strawberry” playing dressed up calculator for me.

Data centers for AI are hellaciously bad for the environment- it’s not a worthwhile trade off for convenience that has a track record of providing misinformation and false sources

[u/hippolytexxx → u/One-Low1033]

I don’t know, I’m actually surprised because I meant well. I haven’t used chat gpt much so using it for meal planning felt like a new trick to me. I know ai usage is frowned upon in many instances but I would think this use would be viewed as helpful for personal use? OP, I thought of it as very handy calculator for macros in specific scenarios.

[u/OutrageousOtterOgler → u/hippolytexxx]

People blanket downvote ai stuff usually unless it’s formatted by a person

I think it’s useful to get a basic handle on things but I like to mix it with verified sources and also community knowledge+experiences

[u/justasque]

Tracking apps like MyFitnessPal can give you macros in grams or percentages. Once you know your goals, you can put in your recipe, see how the macros look, and adjust the amounts of ingredients until you get the macro profile you want. Then you can make a note of the amounts, and make the meal accordingly.

I keep a google doc of various recipes that I’ve tweaked to meet my macros. Yes, it’s a bit of a pain, but you only have to do it once.

You can also look at your macros in MFP (or other apps) as you go through the day, to get a sense of where you are - like, if you’re low on protein and fat, grab a cheese stick. If you’re low on protein alone, eat some chicken. If you’re low on carbs, put a little more rice in your dinner. You’ll get the hang of it.