Here comes the roller coaster...or not.

Well...I'm to my lowest once AGAIN!  This morning I weighed in at 291.  Since I started this little journey once again in November I haven't seem to be able to make it below 290.  Sort of scares me, we are going on a little mini vacation next Thursday, just until Sunday or Monday.  But that right there can sabotage it.  I'm trying so hard to keep on track! I bought some rice crackers last night.  I love the heck out of those things.  My husband stared at me like if I was eating a mountain of cake or something.  I just stared back at him and told him this has been my only grain of the day, and it's a SERVING.  Compared to his...the rest of the pack! I'm not on any plan, I'm trying not too.  I think I binge when I'm on a plan, I'm just realizing this.  I've lost on my own before, I don't know why I never really thought about that before!  Plus I am a rebel, you tell me I can't do something and I'll do it.ha  Think thats why I crave foods so bad on plans. I also have not eaten any meats this past week or so.  I want to see if that actually helps me lose weight or not.  Some doctors I have talked to about this swears it doesn't matter.  But this doctor I have now swears it does, and he's the one who has lost 100 pounds.  I still think it doesn't matter, you just will replace it in some way shape or form.  But I'm an "investigator" at heart, so I"m playing around with it.  I did lose 50 pounds on my own once before and I didn't eat red meat.  But anyways, lol I'm rambling, I made tofu for my family last night!   I LOVE tofu, and I wanted to see who else would eat it with me.  My two little ones liked it!!!  I'm so excited about this discovery.  My dh even said it was so...so...he wasn't quite sure about it.  But yayyyyy!  That's one more night at least a week I won't have to cook two different proteins!  Plus it's cheaper!  I have a feeling that my dh will end up not liking it, and he will end up finding more food after dinner just to please himself.  But hey, that's okay with me, that's his own thing, I'm just thrilled my two kids liked it !  My youngest especially just LOVED it.

Hi Holly Tofu has some pretty good recipes, too. I used to drain it all night and then bake it with good herbs - it is savory and good that way. Even good on sandwiches. Hey, it is worth a try to eat no meat.  I did it once for about 5 years.  I felt hungry and gained weight overall. I went back to eating some meat and feel better - feel like I eat less. My DD eats only chicken and fish and she has lost weight. She eats one or the other once a day - has cereal or pastas/veggies for lunches. Watches portions, exercises.  She lost her baby weight very well doing that. I eat it all, just try to watch portions.  However, i feel that as DH and I age, we will eat far less meat. DH has Parkinsons, and meat can interfere with his meds. We both love beans and whole grains, so it is not hard to get in enough protein. 

You just hit the target.  If my dh liked beans and whole grains it would be easier for me.  But he thinks I'm a whole wheat freak, he sticks to his minute rice which I call fake rice, and chips, etc.  Maybe it's cause I was married to an Asian for 15 years??  Not sure, but I can't stand the stuff now.  And as for beans, I LOVE the heck out of beans.  Which he again..will NOT touch at all.  He is the MOST pickiest eater I have ever seen before.  But like I said before, I'm tired of not eating foods I like so tonight I went and bought more tofu,seitan (I've never tried this one before), lentils, and mung beans.  I do have to say I'm still considering protein shakes.  My chest is hurting again, dust just kills it.  I have some terrible allergy to it.  I can't even walk in Walmart and now some book stores without my chest hurting for hours afterward, sometimes a few days. I keep thinking in the back of my head that if I lose a bunch of weight fast then maybe I'll be able to breathe again.  I REALLY think that is what it is, then I can even get off my inhaler.  Well the doc even said I have trouble breathing so there ya have it!  I'm just sooooo scared I will gain it all back like I did before.  I'm at loss on who to talk too about this.  There's so many pros and cons on it.  I just don't know if I can get it all off fast enough this way on how I'm doing it.  15 pounds in six months isn't that great!  I just keep thinking about my odds on gaining it all back if I do all shakes again.  But then again I keep thinking that I've done it before, maybe now that I know how I'll feel afterward if I'll be ahead of the game.  Oh decisions!hehe  I'm still waiting for that little miracle drug.  Why haven't they invented it yet, what's up with that?!?! :) 

Holly....can you do the shakes for breakfast and lunch and eat a well balanced dinner?  That way you're incorporating healthy eating habits daily as well as the advantage of the quick weight loss with the shakes.  I think it's really hard to do just the shakes and not gain when you go back to regular food....did that once myself. Just a suggestion, but then what do I know?  If I had the answers I wouldn't be struggling here along with everyone else...LOL Good luck whatever you decide!!

yeah, like Sherrie says...protein shakes and fruits/veggies int he day with one balanced meal.  It really works for me.  I'll do anything all day long when my hunger is not usually bad...mine picks up in the evening no matter what, so I may as well make hay while the sun shines during the times of day when I do not feel hungry!  I know straving all day did not work! So, we have to eat soemthing from dawn to dark..... And Holly, okay 15# in 6 months...not earth shaking, but your pattern is on decreasing weight, which is never wasted. You have to admit  that it has not been real difficult - you actually seem to enjoy the small changes that have been conquered! So that has to be extra valuable???????  Just think how far you will come once you get physical/allergiy things out of your path! You will go crazy dropping pounds. I was the exact opposite - putting on a couple pounds a year, not much right, but consider over a 5 years period? i was getting fatter reaaaallllll slow.  awful!

Holy, I agree with not following a plan. Following a plan, I think, can and does set you up for failure because 1) You feel restricted 2) If you go off it for any reason at anytime you feel like you  might as well quit or you punish yourself for doing so 3) Plans do not take your lifestyle into account.  Leave the plans alone. You are a smart woman and have figured out the foods you love. Go with it! Your children are young and as long as they see you eating new foods they will too and they will actually encourage you. Mine totally have. They LOVE making healthy meals. Thing is when we were eating junk, they never wanted to cook. Now, they can't wait because they take pride in being able to cook healthy meals. Weird, eh?  Hubbies are a different story. Mine wants to eat healthy but truly has no clue what a portion even looks like and when you give him actual serving sizes, he looks at it like, "Is this all?" and he ALWAYS adds something to his plate. Let your hubby be is all I can suggest. If you are not feeding him what he wants or as much as he wants, he will find a way to satisfy himself. With any luck over time he will start following you closer and closer and closer but he will definitely take time. Don't let it get the best of you. Just know he is a big boy and he will satisfy himself in the end. Keep at it, Chickie. You can do this! Follow your heart and what you know works then someday, you can write a book about and get rich from YOUR plan.  You can definitely do this, Holly. It's all about you now!

Thanks.  Yea, you've lucked out with your teenagers, I've failed at mine horribly.  They both have no desire to eat right.  So this is why it is exciting fo me to see with my little ones.  One of my littler two (eleven years old)  has food issues so it is very important I win this! Funny how you talked about your hubby, mine does the same thing.  Mine also tries, but it never seems to work for him.  He just told me yesterday that he hasn't lost any weight yet.  I told him, "well, that is because you haven't been trying"!ha  He thought I have been packing his lunches accordingly to some kind of plan or in portions.  I told him why bother, I'm not going to take time out to measure everything if you don't actually follow through with it the rest of the time!  I don't think he liked that.  Here he thought he was on a diet eating about two cups of pasta! ha