Hey everyone!

Hey everyone! How is everyone doing? Decided to stay away for awhile, as I've not been even close to attempting to eat healthy... My birthday was last Friday, and it was a 4 day stretch of eating extemely poor and to be honest, it had started before my birthday, it's just once the birthday approached, it was more of a free for all.  Now I'm ready to do better and would like to drop a little bit before my trip to Europe in mid June. I'm stuck though as to what type of lifestyle I want to try..I refuse to call it diet.  #1 is the Maximum Weight Loss plan by Dr. John McDougall... I've been looking into this for years, but it is extremely restrictive. Basically, it would be turning Vegan. I don't know if I can do it, although everything in his book makes sense. #2  is the Lindora program. I bought the book 2 years ago and it has been sitting in my closet.  Has anyone tried either one of these and if yes, how did you do? Janina, I hope you are feeling better after  your lap band surgery. Best of luck to you! Hope everyone else is doing well Sandra   

Happy (belated)Birthday !! May I suggest Atkins?  After the first month, it's a very easy program with great results and you don't feel deprived.  I lost 30lbs on that in less than three months and I felt great.   Thanks for the mention - I feel okay.  Just still in a lot of pain but that can only get better with time. 

Janina, any tricks to make it through that difficult first month of Atkins?  I bought the book about 2 years ago and tried over and over to stick to it, but couldn't make it past  10 days on the diet...did you start off less restrictive, or just jump right into the low carb thing?

Protein shakes - definitely.  They were sweet enough and satisfying.  I'd have those for breakfast, something like sausage and peppers for lunch, or beef tips and gravy, and hambergers for dinner with a salad.  Just stick to the food you like and you'll be fine.  It's frustrating but once you get into the swing of things you'll be okay.  Make your goal two weeks on the diet and after two weeks, it gets easier that you won't want to get off the diet. Macadamia nuts were a great snack, extra heavy whipped cream was a good one too (I ate it like ice cream).  The more and more you shop, the more you'll find options to eat and get less bored.  I'd eat hambergers a lot because they were quick and easy to make.  I'd make sausage and peppers once a week (a vat of it) and eat it throughout the week.  Hormel makes these pre-made meat meals like roast beef, or roast pork that are sooo good.  Hot dogs of course were a big one, kielbasa and saurkraut - lots of stuff.  You just have to think.  You'll do it girl - I trust that diet like crazy.

Yup, Janina, Atkins is the shizzy for hunger satiation.  I loved the eggs and bacon for breakfast, meat and salad for lunch, and meats for suppers.  Protein drinks did help take the sweet tooth place! Read labels and make sure they are no sugar, no carbs.

Thanks for the ideas! I never thought of a shake for breakfast (dont' know why! ) can you recomend a good brand thats low in sugars and carbs?  That'd be great! I'm at my parents house through the weekend, and impossible to get them to change/accomidate my healthy eating plan, I've just been trying to eat small portions and stay away from extra sugar. I'm going to start Atkins this monday when I get home. I'll let y'all know how i'm doing, I'll probably need lots of support and encouragement!

Best brand is Atkin's.  You can get them off line from vitaminshoppe.com or some other places.  GNC still sells them in their stores.  So does Target. They only have between 1-3 grams of carbs (depending on the flavor) and they're obviously Atkin's approved.  High fiber, high protein, and good tasting.

Didn't try either.  I went semi-veg for about five years, and i'll tell you now if you're not organized and on top of preparing your own food, carrying your own food, etc., it's near to impossible to stick to.  For me, after all was said and done, I learned that eating animal protein at least once daily helps me stay satisfied longer. Eating vegetarian foods just did not stay with me. It did help me with my love for big portions - you can eat more as far as bulk. But it was like that old saying about chinese food...half hour later...i felt hungry.

My brother in law and brother are Vegans.  My brother claims that eating animal meat and dairy products are bad for your health.  Me, I feel that if you cook the animal meat (in moderation) in a healthy way, and if you have low fat dairy products, you will be OK.  I couldn't give up meat entirely, although I have made a couple of delicious recipes which are vegetarian.

Denise Phares