 jrgn 9 years ago | Hi Domreebro1-
I am new to this program also. It sounds like you have the right ideas on substitutions but the portions need to stay small not doubled hence the 6 snacks a day. Scroll down in this topic and I think you may find some of your questions already answered. Ossie explained the menu options to one of my questions 1 month ago. Hope this helps. |
 Ossie-Sharon 9 years ago | Hi, domree1bro and welcome!
You absolutely can switch meals between days and even weeks. The combinations are at each meal, primarily to prevent blood sugar from rising too high, but if you don’t have sugar issues and it keeps you from enjoying life, just focus on the whole day.
Yes to the fruit question, but note that some fruits are richer than others – 1/2 banana or 1/2 cup of grapes equals a peach.Tuna vs. salmon and avocado vs. guacamole are more direct swaps, and are just fine.
If you skip a snack once in a while, no problem of course. If you need to skip it on a regular basis, just make sure that you redistribute the included fruit, vegetable, and calcium-rich food portions to other meals so you don’t miss out – the daily goal is 5 total fruit/vegetable servings and 3 total calcium-rich foods/beverages.
Your salad substitute is excellent, and no, you don’t have to use both olive and coconut. Our preference is olive, but you can make that choice.
The serving of “Vegetables of your Choice” refers to the “limited” (non-starchy) list, meaning you can add free vegetables on top of that.
Doubling of portions at meals is only recommended if you are about to have a harder/longer-than-usual workout or if you plan on skipping a meal during that day. If you are a diabetic/prediabetic or have high triglycerides, try to not get more than 3 or 4 exchanges of carbs/fruits for that meal – if doubling up would lead to that, you can swap protein exchanges for the excess.
The point of the program is to do your best without being miserable and improve a little at a time. If you have additional questions, please do repost. |
 domree1bro 9 years ago | I am just beginning your program but have questions:
-can I substitute one fruit for another, for example I could not find peaches so I have substituted one cup of strawberries or grapes for the peaches
-what if you skip a snack
-I work out of town one day a week – can I eat a salad instead of trying to do what’s on the menu- today I was actually with someone else who chose Chick Filet so I ate a salad with chicken & oranges & chose the lite Italian dressing but only used very little
-to save money can I use only olive oil or only coconut oil or do you need both during the week
-when it calls for servings of the vegetable of your choice does that mean any veggie I want or do I choose from the free list
-can I eat tuna in water instead of salmon
-can the portions be doubled at any meal or snack
-instead of buying an avocado & guacamole can I choose one or the other
-is it the foods eaten in he combinations for each meal or snack that counts or is the combination of foods that you eat throughout the day as a whole
-can I switch days around & eat Sunday’s menu on Wednesday
-what kind of weight loss can I expect in what length of time Please help me understand the program better because I want this to work Thank You! |
 Support 9 years ago | Yes, the link was cut in half. I have fixed it, so now all should be good. |
 EDemedash 9 years ago | The link sent to me goes to a dead web page 404 – Page not found
The page you’ve requested could not be found or it was already removed in the database. Another thing, probably caused by an outdated link in search engines. If you believe that this is an error, please kindly contact us. Thank you! |
| Support 9 years ago | Hi EDemedash,
Thanks for posting and welcome!
During the menu building process there are many recipes that you can select from. To include the ingredients of these recipes and/or foods into a grocery list, see below:
https://www.trimdownclub.com/wp-content/uploads/mfiles/Menu%20Planner%20Tutorial.pdf
Regarding your question about physical activity, I will leave that for Ossie Sharon, our Chief Nutritionist.
To your success 🙂 |
| EDemedash 9 years ago | I am new to TDC and am trying to understand how it is supposed to work. Then menu appears to be nothing more then a shopping list. And unless I am missing something there is no way to add recipes ( the ingredients) to my weekly menu with out manually doing it one at a time which it wont always allow you to do if there are more ingredients then slots in my menu. Also does this program not take into account my level of physicality daily? I would think that a heavy construction worker would need different nutritional requirements then an office worker who is at a desk all day. |
| Ossie-Sharon 9 years ago | Hi, jrgm, and welcome. Each exchange represents a certain amount of major nutrients, and you use them like building blocks to build your menu and meet your nutritional needs. To see how many exchanges you have each day, click on “Exchange view” in the toolbar above your menu. This is the link to the list of exchanges -https://www.trimdownclub.com/exchanges-lists – that you can fit into your menu pattern.
The Menu Planner application does this for you automatically. |
| jrgn 9 years ago | Hi I am new here to TDC but have spent at least 6 hours cruising the website. I am confused about the exchange portion of the menu. I have never worked with this type of system so if someone could point me in the right direction for an explanation of how it works I would appreciate it. I have seen posts about exercise but have not found a way to the videos mentioned |
| Ossie-Sharon 9 years ago | Hi, Coralcornish, and welcome! Meat/poultry/fish and vegetables are in the before-cooking (raw) weight, while grain products are after cooking. You can see the portion sizes here: https://www.trimdownclub.com/exchanges-lists. |
 Coralcornish 9 years ago | Hello there, I am very new to TDC. Could someone please advise me on the measuring system.
Where a selection says 1 cup of sweet potato, for example would that be raw or cooked.
Also how do you measure portions of a cup I.e ….. 2/3 of a cup of rice.
Many thanks for any help |
| Ossie-Sharon 9 years ago | Hi, Thearnon. Store-bought vegan cheesy slices are usually processed, but once in a while are fine. Raw vegan nut cheese is something like this: https://www.trimdownclub.com/recipe/basic-dairy-free-feta/. |
 Thearnon 9 years ago | Hi, I was trying to find out exactly what Vegan Cheese(raw, nuts, seeds) is versus just Vegan Cheese. I think I asked this earlier but now I can’t remember where I posted it and I can’t find the post. I’ve been getting something that says Go Veggie! that looks like a regular cheese package with the celophane slices but I have no idea if this is good or not. Is vegan cheese processed or is it a natural food? |
| Ossie-Sharon 9 years ago | Hi, wantowin1 (Trud). Gammon is just another word for ham it can be cured or uncured, though we recommend uncured. If the ads don’t suit you, no worries – they are for people interested in supplements to get an extra edge. With regard to your weight, what is your physical activity level? |
 wantowin1 9 years ago | okay questions from me here in Australia (pardon my dumbness here…) What is gammon? Is it uncured ham?? I don’t suppose that it is bacon (which is certainly cured as is the ham..).Also I seem to receive an awful lot of emails from Biotrim suggesting pills called CLA to speed up the process. I keep binning them and unsubscribing but it raises the question is it a useful thing to do or just a money spinner? I actually have not lost any weight yet (7 weeks (groan…) despite being good am getting really good at substituting but maybe am I eating too much or not enough. I am pleased that this group actually seems to be alive.. love it regards Trud |
