Something is Wrong...

I really don't know what to do with myself. Yesterday was totally out of control... I was able to eat and eat and eat and EAT!!! I am ready to lose my mind. Today - so far it's 4pm and I am really watching it. I have only had 679 calories so far today. Please help me! Breakfast 1 container Cottage Doubles - Peach 1 grande 2% sugar free vanilla latte Lunch 1 6 oz yoplait light apricot mango 1 serving (8 7/8 oz.) LEAN CUISINE Roasted Garlic Chicken Snack 3/4 grande 2% sugar free vanilla latte 1 cookie coffee ginger cookie 1 bar quaker chewy choc chip granola bar Dinner 1/2 cup Spaghetti, whole-wheat, cooked 3/4 serving creamy sauce 5 pieces Chicken Nuggets Snack 1 6 oz yoplait light apricot mango 3-1/2 girl scout samoa cookies Total Nutrition Facts for 3/12/08 Calories: 2129.1 Total Fat 75.5g Saturated Fat 36.3g Cholesterol 231.8mg Sodium 2859mg Total Carbohydrate 268.2g Dietary Fiber 13.1g Sugars 143.1g Protein 91.9g

well first of all I would cut out the type of snacks u r having and use fresh fruit to cut the calories and add more fiber .. I am gonna do some changes here 1 container Cottage Doubles - Peach instead try 1/2 pkg oatmeal peaches and cream 1 grande 2% sugar free vanilla latte try NF vanilla steamer latte Lunch 1 6 oz yoplait light apricot mango try 10 grapes or apples 1 serving (8 7/8 oz.) LEAN CUISINE Roasted Garlic Chicken try only eating 1/2 this serving Snack 3/4 grande 2% sugar free vanilla latte try a cup of soup 1 oz of cheese on a wasco cracker 1 cookie coffee ginger cookie not bad 1 bar quaker chewy choc chip granola bar to many calories here Dinner 1/2 cup Spaghetti, whole-wheat, cooked 3/4 serving creamy sauce 5 pieces Chicken Nuggets I would try baked 3 oz chicken served over spagetti and creamy sause would add a veggie here for dinner Snack 1 6 oz yoplait light apricot mango try for nf milk OR juice try pop corn 100 calories one some time 3-1/2 girl scout samoa cookies be so glad when girl scott cookies r gone LOL My menu for today is water in am Milk nf 8 oz noon I had 1/2 baked potato with 1 tsp butter 2 oz of wendy's chili snack 1/2 oz of peanuts 2 girl scout cookies thin mints Dinner will be corn beef brisket 2 oz 1/2 potato 1/2 cup of cooked cabbage snack 1 cup of popcorn if i can be so lucky Big eating day for me .. hope this helps Lisa

Lisa I really appreciate all of the time you took to respond to me. Last night I went to BJ's and bought a lot of healthy food. I have decided to stop doing the light yogurt etc... Too much sugar in it. I also bought atkins bars to replace the unhealthy snacks I have been choosing lately. I am not a huge fan of fruit but will try to get more from time to time. Not every day is like my sample menu above (thank god). Since I have been tracking my meals at leancuisine.com, I have been HIGHLY conscious of my food choices.

Hi Lisa, yesterday I did a bit better... I went to leancuisine.com and used their meal tracker tool - I even wrote down how many packets of splenda I put in my decaf coffee! And no lattes etc yesterday. I really need to work on more dietary fiber and lowering the salt... I had my gallbladder out a few weeks ago so I really need to watch the fat intake bigtime. Sugar I also need to watch out for. I only had ONE cookie yesterday. Calories: 1148.4 Total Fat 35.6g Saturated Fat 18.4g Cholesterol 141.7mg Sodium 1978mg Total Carbohydrate 141.2g Dietary Fiber 7.2g Sugars 76.4g Protein 73.4g

Actually, your menu just needs a little tweaking and it would be fine. I like all Lisa's suggestions. I think eating healthier snacks would help you cut back on calories and fat. Like Lisa said try some fresh fruit or cut up some veggies and dip them in low-fat/low-cal ranch dressing. I will slice a bunch of fresh fruit up in a cup and then add some lite whip cream to the top and it's oh so yummy! If you need crunch.... try eating lightly salted almonds or garlic flavored melba chips with cheese. I think your lunch and dinner choices are pretty healthy... just need to choose healthier snacks.... and get those girl scout cookies out of the house....lol! My hubby ordered 15 boxes of GS cookies...they haven't arrived yet....yikes! I'm hoping my children inhale them before I do. Hang in there hun... we all have our days.

Thanks Lisa. The girl scout cookies are evil! Last night I bought peanuts at BJ's and some protein bars... I am ready to give the girl scout cookies to my neighbors - my boyfriend will probably cry and protest!

Hi Susan, I too struggle with eating too much now, and a few weeks ago I quit coffee and started drinking black tea instead, because I drink my coffee with lots of milk and it was adding up to a few hundred calories a day. I notice that I'm much less hungry now-for me, coffee stimulates my appetite. It's sad, because I love coffee! But I feel so much better now that it's worth it. Also, in the scheme of things your calories aren't bad-I used to easily eat 6,000 calories on a "bad" day, so 2,000 now and then isn't awful. The best thing you can do is plan ahead-bring tasty heatlhy things to work with you so you won't get tempted. I have to do this, otherwise I head straight to the bakery. I bring breakfast, lunch, and snacks to work every day. It's a pain packing at night, but I must do it. A filling breakfast or snack is weight control oatmeal with a half banana-it really helps when you're feeling munchy. Also, those 100-calorie popcorn packs are great, because it's a big volume of food. Another thing I do is make a pot of soup once a week, which I microwave at work either for snacks or lunch. I also like, some Laughing Cow light cheese on a whole grain cracker or two (like Ak-Mak). Have you tried roasted edamame beans? They're salty and crunchy and high protein. I have to measure out a 1/4 c. serving though, or I'll eat the whole bag. Good luck-it's not easy but we can do it!

Thank you so much for your response. I am going to take everything you said into consideration. My greatest downfall is a lack of preparation and discipline at home. I really need to get my act together and stop vegging out at night - I need to prepare for the day(s) ahead. You are very right - by comparison - two years ago, I would have been right there with you at the 6,000+ calorie mark. Who even knows - I wouldn't have cared whatsoever. What a BIG difference in our lives.

That's the spirit! And, there are lots of snacks and things that you can leave in your desk at work so you're not constantly having to pack them, like the popcorn packs, oatmeal packets, nuts, edamame beans, soy crisps, etc. I try to bring soup or egg casseroles for breakfast or cooked hot cereal and things like that in big containers on Mondays and keep it in the fridge and just portion out servings as I need them. The idea is to get a stock of regular stuff that just needs to be supplemented, instead of packing everything every day. You can do it! It's hard to start a new routine when you're exhausted at night, but eventually it gets easier-believe me, I was very resistant and resentful of having to do this, but after a month or so it got easy.

Hi Susan, I am so happy to read that you took the bull by the horns and got healthier choices for yourself and are doing better. The important thing is to realize it and make the changes. That pouch is there for you! I think all the suggestions are terrific ones, but I will add the only thing that works for me with trigger foods are that I cannot have them in the house. No matter what. I can't have any form of trail mix or any nibbly foods. I do keep soy crisps and roasted soy nuts, and measure them out into ziploc bags for easy take-along snacks. Fruit is great, and so are those atkins bars. I like Luna bars too but they are high in sugars so be careful. Using a food tracking system is critical to my success. Even though I've been stuck at 203.5 to 205 now for over three weeks, I know that sticking to my food plan and see it on sparkpeople helps me stay focused and not get as frustrated when the scale didn't move. and even though i didn't lose a pound so far this month, I did lose inches. Go figure. Silly bodies. Good luck, Susan, hang in there, you've done the right thing to move forward and it's never too late to succeed!! Inky