WHAT'S WORKING FOR YOU?

Good morning, friends. I had an idea and I invite anyone who would like to join in with me in sharing what's working for you these days. We're at a different place with any level of success we're enjoying. The honeymoon period is nearly over and we have become solely responsible for continuing on our path to goal -- some of us have already reached that milestone, but it's become increasingly difficult to continue losing. Here's my idea: let's share with each other what's working for us! I'd like to start out each week with a different theme -- for instance, this week, let's share some ideas about food -- what we're eating, how we're preparing it, recipes, etc., specifically relating to how we're managing food in our lives in a healthy way. Then we can shift the focus each week, for instance, next week perhaps we may want to share ideas about exercise. We can all pull together and come up with a list of subjects we'd like to continue exchanging ideas on a weekly basis. Are you game? So I'll get this started -- this week, the subject is FOOD. If you have discovered any ways to manage food in your new life that is helping you continue you your path of success, please share! I'll go first -- also, in your post, send along any subjects that you'd like to be a weekly theme and I'll keep a running list. Ok, here goes: I continue to lose albeit very slowly now. What's working for me is this: Monday through Friday, I do the same thing -- a protein shake (Atkins) for breakfast, and a low carb frozen meal (WW or Lean Cousine) for lunch. If I get hungry on my way home, I will have a piece of citrus fruit or a handful of nuts before dinner. Then, for dinner it's a vegetable and a protein source in small portions. On the weekends, I relax a little with food choices and if I feel like having something, I have it, in very limited portions or quantities. That's my tip for the week -- how 'bout you! Maureen

Well as you could read my weight loss came to a stop and moving along at a snails pace. I am now trying tuna....cheese ......crackers a few......and my water....... low on money so thats all I have right now......and a few nuts.....but going to stop the nuts.....they have a lot of calories.....just trying to get the protien in this way to I can buy a few protien drinks to help..... I eat small about 2-3oz a meal.......about 5 times a day......I try.... will see if I can get the scales moving...... Donna

Hi Reenie: This is a very nice idea and your eating sounds so healthy and well thought out. My tip is to keep the calories to under 1000 daily until you reach goal. That is what I did and I reached my goal of 150 in about 6 months. I am 5'7", and now weigh 135 and do not have an ounce of fat on me. I have increased my calories now to maintenance and eat pretty much what I want from a lot of healthy choices. I also enjoy a few treats here and there. Basically I think I now eat like a naturally thin person. Keep up the good work. Louise

Maureen, Great idea! I am NOT a good example right now BUT I have changed a few things the past couple of days. I cut out my sugar! I am really trying to get it out of my system. I baked some sugar free cookies over the weekend and decided that I am going to bake some more in case I get the "bakery" craving as I call it So that will take care of my "sweet" craving and keep sugar free hard candies on hand in case I want something like that. I am going to stock up on my beef jerky (even though the salt is not good for us) but its better than any other alternative right now if I want something salty. (I have pumpkin seed issues!). For my milk cravings...I am going to go back to the carb countdown milk because I have been drinking too much milk lately. For my all around, "constantly hungry all the time" cravings I am going to keep chili on hand at all times. Because its full of protein and it will fill the pouch and I can gobble it fairly fast for that quick craving relief. DRINK MORE WATER! I need to drink more water PERIOD. Get in ALL my protein... You know the basics. OH and I need to cut out ALL bread and pasta. I dont eat alot of that but I dont need ANY of it and survived just fine without it SO I will cut that out as well. WELP those are my little changes that I have been working on. I think thats a great idea to keep the calories at 1,000 and under. Don't know if I can accomplish that but I am going to give it a shot! Elizabeth M

Hi everyone, What Elizabeth said about keeping chili on hand made me think about making some of my taco soup which has ground beef in it (or you could use turkey.) I am trying this from memory, but these are the basic ingredients: Can of Rotel tomatoes, can of regular tomatoes, one onion, package of taco seasoning, package of Ranch dressing mix, and one pound of the ground meat which of course you brown first with the onion. Add enough water to make the consistency you like. The original recipe calls for one can of red beans and one can of corn, but I may leave those out to save carbs. I may add chopped cabbage and mushrooms instead. A nice hot cup of that should help with any between meal cravings and also provide a bit of protein. Great idea! I haven't visited this board very often, but I will be back. Hugs, Dorothy

I like this idea. I need to watch my grazing and start to count everything that goes into my mouth again. My nutrtionist also wants me to keep my calories under 1000 per day and closer to the 800 calories if I can until I reach goal. I have been very bad about loging my food so honestly I have no idea how much protien, and calories that I am taking in per day. So I basicly need to get back to the basics. I have not been very good about getting in all my fluids. Sugar I think I am ok on because If eat more than one piece of candy etc. I start to get sick. So my goals: Get in more fluids begin counting my food again. Better monitor my calorie intake and my protein intake. Don't drin****il one hour after my meal Leslie

I generally try to keep my calories below 1000 but sometimes have closer to 1200. Some days it's as low as 350. Regardless of this effort, my loss has been quite slow. My loss almost came to a halt while on a new med for ADD (Strattera) and I realized it was making me sleep wayyyy too much. So I dropped down a notch on dosage and actually forgot a couple days and lost a few more lbs. It could be just a coincidence, but I'm thinking it's not really. Other than that, I find that eating apples during the day helps keep me from eating more. They are low in calories and oftentimes will serve as a meal for me. I've done as many as 3 in one day. Last night I went to work and for my whole 10 hour shift all I had was a large apple. These tend to satisfy me when other things don't. Dina

Dina, do you eat the apple with the skins or do you peel? I'm still so afraid to eat the skins...Maureen

I almost always eat the skin. Only time I don't is when I'm peeling them for my son, or my husband cuts one up for me. I haven't had a problem with the peel before...but then I don't generally have a problem with food getting stuck. Just happened a couple of times to me since surgery. Dina

Reenie, I wish that I could say that something is working for me, but I continue to be stalled. I have gone weeks with eating about 800 calories a day and have gone a week with bumping it up to 1500 a day. Carbs, no carbs. Fat, no fat. I've hit the gym 7 days a week and cut back to 3 at other times. My body steadfastly hangs on to these last 30 pounds. For the last couple of weeks I've been eating 2 ounces of turkey and an ounce of cheese for breakfast. Lunch is usually one of the low carb lean cuisines. Dinner tends to be a shredded beef taco on the way home from the gym or more turkey and cheese. I usually have a snack of 15 almonds or 10 grapes sometime in the day. In the last couple of days, I decided to start packing a thermos of iced herbal tea to take to work. I thought that I would add that to my water. I also bought a George Foreman grill thinking that I might be more prone to throw on a piece of meat or fish because often I don't feel like starting the grill and food will spoil waiting for me to do something with it. There are days that I can eat like nobody's business and other days like today that I just can't get much in. Last week I was meeting with a customer and we decided to walk down to the sub shop next to our building for lunch. I got a 6 inch sub and threw away one of the pieces of bread. Normally I can only eat half of one of these and save the rest for another meal. Before I knew it, I had eaten the whole thing minus the one piece of bread and could have eaten more. On the other hand, today I couldn't even eat half of the lean cuisine mystery meat for lunch. At dinner I had 1/2 a hot dog without the bun and was stuffed. Connie - who is still looking for answers