Good informative 'light' article, any chance of including a vegetarian recipe in the future though? Thx

Happy New Year everyone   

Thanks for the great article and ideas.  I just found this website yesterday and I am loving it so far.  Thanks!

Chicken and bow ties recipe good, but who is going to eat 4.5 oz.? That could not possibly feal you up. I woul still be hungry if if I had a sald with it.

I assume that you would eat something else with that meal, such as a large salad or steamed vegetables.  Or you could plan for twice the calories and have two servings.

As requested:

Vegetarian Loaf

White Beans & Greens

Mollybud,

A hard part of this journey is learning correct portions and control over those portions.  Use the 2 servings suggestion, but eventually you will need to reduce that to continue to lose.

thanks Claire for the vegetarian recipes!

oh and definitely add lots of salad and veggies to your plate.....  I am a volume eater and would not survive without my veggies!

Eating two portions would defeat the purpose, as I said, even with a salad, I would still be hungry. I have a hard time getting enough food in my stomach. I have a gnawing empty feeling and the strange thing it takes carbs to stay filled. If not, I need to start refueling very soon after I eat. I  am only suppose to have 35 carbs at one meal. No one has been able to solve this, not even the nutritionist that I see. So I finally stopped going.

Hi Mollybud,

I've been on my current journey for six months, after many failures in the past. This is the first time I've posted because your post hit a nerve. First, I think you are feeling sorry for yourself, today is a great day to get over it!

But mostly I'm responding to suggest to you that it is no doubt what you are eating. Try not eating anything white for awhile, no sugar, flour, rice, potato, etc that is white. It sounds daunting, but really it isn't. After about three days you will stop the carb cravings and you can fill up on as many veggies as you like.

Try roasting a bunch of winter veggies with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar at 375 for 35-40 minutes.... I guarantee you'll gat past the carb cravings... have faith in yourself!!!

Add lean protein and you're off to the races! The only white thing I eat is air-popped popcorn. It is amazingly easy to stick to and it so works! I don't eat a ton of fruit, but at least two servings a day.

Trust yourself.... you're worth the effort!

For all you vegetarians out there, we made a meal for New Year's Eve that I *think* you might like:

*I don't know if vegetarians eat feta cheese...

Lemon Linguini

16 oz linguini

pine nuts

7 oz feta cheese

1 lemon, including all its juice and its zested flesh

1/3 cup grated parmesan

fresh basil leaves, shredded

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Cook the pasta in salted water, then strain in a collander, leaving 2 Tbsp of the salted water in the pot.  Return pasta to the pot.  Toss with lemon juice, lemon zest, basil, salt, pepper, 1/3 cup pine nuts, 4 oz feta cheese (crumbled) and parmesan.  Then garnish with more pine nuts and 3oz feta cheese.  Serves four. 

They also neglected to mention that you can roast vegetables (and it turns out way better than steaming, which makes them mushy, or sauteeing, which often cooks them unevenly). 

Last night we had:

Roast Winter Vegetables

1 turnip, peeled and sliced into 3/4'' pieces

1 rutabaga, peeled and sliced similarly

2 carrots, sliced lengthwise and then quartered

2 parsnips, sliced similarly

1/4 cup olive oil

fresh rosemary

fresh thyme

salt

pepper

Chop vegetables accordingly and toss in a bowl with salt, pepper, olive oil, and rosemary/thyme leaves.  Arrange on a roasting pan, and bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. 

This is a great way to fix veggies for the holidays.  The roasting brings out more flavor in root-type veggies.  This recipe's also good for potatoes cut into fingers. 

try eating every two hours

Hi Mollybud,

This is my first time posting as well.  

I know exactly how you feel because I have come off my healthy eating more times than I can say for the same feeling of not being satisfied!  It still has me stumped at times, but I have learned that there are things that can really ramp your appetite through the roof.  Aspartame in any food, be it gum or pop has the effect that the more you consume, the more your appetite increases.  Also, many medications can increase your appetite so if you are on any, like I am, ask your doctor about possible side effects.

The suggestions that halesmom gave you are also worth trying.  Oven roasted crunchy veggies are delicious.  I still have yet to give up 'white' foods but I believe this is the next step to jump start me again back on my weight loss goal!  I have lost 85 pounds already through healthier eating and LOTS of exercise.

You can do it Mollybud, just don't stop trying!

What's wrong with a green salad and a chicken breast? Add a small baked potato with a half-tablespoon of butter or 3 ounces of plain pasta tossed with a couple teaspoons of parmesan cheese and a piece of fruit for dessert, and you have a delicious, healthy meal.

Thanks for all the kind encouragement and sound advise, but I have tried all the above. I have always been a healthy eater. I do not eat white stuff. Have never liked fast food, even as a teenager. My carbs are good carbs (fiber) I eat 2 fruit's a day. No bread. I roast my veggies, which I love. (Be sure to spread them out when roasting, if placed too close together they will be more steamed than roasted) I would become a vegetarian, if my husband would agree to also, but I hate (or to lazy) to fix two different diets. Seafood is my thing. I can eat anything that swims. I keep a food diary. I am 74 years old. I have been going to the same gym for 12 years,  three times a week. I weigh 135. I want to loose 6 pounds, but it will not come off. I am sorry for myself. I feel like I have been on this trip way too long. The doctor has given me medication for under active thyroid and that has not helped. Any more suggestions would be helpful.

yum, yamisui , the roasted winter veggies sound delicious, and was just what I needed to find for dinner tonight.  I'm new to this site, and new to counting calories, so this is a good place to start.  Thanks so much.

Mollybud- may I ask how tall you are? 135 lbs seems like a pretty average weight if you are atleast 5'4, and anything taller weighing 129lbs seems unhealthy. I'm amazed that you still have that determination though, I only hope I have that much in my future years.

I was just going to say that if your steamed veggies are mushy then you have cooked them too long.  You still want a bite to them and their bright green color, when they have reached that olive green state they're overcooked.  Just a little fyi. 

Original Post by: yamisui

For all you vegetarians out there, we made a meal for New Year's Eve that I *think* you might like:

*I don't know if vegetarians eat feta cheese...

Lemon Linguini

16 oz linguini

pine nuts

7 oz feta cheese

1 lemon, including all its juice and its zested flesh

1/3 cup grated parmesan

fresh basil leaves, shredded

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Cook the pasta in salted water, then strain in a collander, leaving 2 Tbsp of the salted water in the pot.  Return pasta to the pot.  Toss with lemon juice, lemon zest, basil, salt, pepper, 1/3 cup pine nuts, 4 oz feta cheese (crumbled) and parmesan.  Then garnish with more pine nuts and 3oz feta cheese.  Serves four. 

They also neglected to mention that you can roast vegetables (and it turns out way better than steaming, which makes them mushy, or sauteeing, which often cooks them unevenly). 

Last night we had:

Roast Winter Vegetables

1 turnip, peeled and sliced into 3/4'' pieces

1 rutabaga, peeled and sliced similarly

2 carrots, sliced lengthwise and then quartered

2 parsnips, sliced similarly

1/4 cup olive oil

fresh rosemary

fresh thyme

salt

pepper

Chop vegetables accordingly and toss in a bowl with salt, pepper, olive oil, and rosemary/thyme leaves.  Arrange on a roasting pan, and bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. 

This is a great way to fix veggies for the holidays.  The roasting brings out more flavor in root-type veggies.  This recipe's also good for potatoes cut into fingers. 

The linguini sounds excellent. I was wondering what to cook this evening. I'll try this!

Original Post by: nicolechris

Mollybud- may I ask how tall you are? 135 lbs seems like a pretty average weight if you are atleast 5'4, and anything taller weighing 129lbs seems unhealthy. I'm amazed that you still have that determination though, I only hope I have that much in my future years.

Yes, I am 5` 7" . My problem with the fat is in my stomach, which is dangerous. Could lead to heart problems. I am told the white stuff goes strait to belly fat. Which is what I am trying to over come. Thanks for your comment.

I have personally experience having to diet for about 10 years now. It's not funny at all and it makes me feel like I'm in a cage away from the rest of the world. So, what I do now is the following:

1- SMALL PORTIONS...I'm conscious of how much quantity of food I eat, but I don't say no when I (once in a while) feel like eating a hamburger, or any of the "bad foods" out there. Otherwise, I would be craving them and it may turn into an obsession...lol. We can eat bad foods, but if we are conscious of how bad they are, we will not eat them as often, or we can even end up disliking them for good.

2- FOOD VARIETY...Instead of "sacrificing" myself everyday, I try to be smart and try not to eat the same thing everyday. Our body needs the different nutrients that different foods have. It's boring to eat the same thing everyday!

3- DRINK LIQUIDS...Water is the best thing we can drink, but keeping in mind that some of us don't really like to drink water, some foods also can give us the liquids that our body needs such as fruits, vegetables, soups, milk, juice, coffee, etc.

4- EXERCISE...Some of us don't like to exercise at all, am I right? Well, in my case, I kind of dislike exercise with machines at the gym or in front of an instructor...So, instead of having a boring exercise routine, I go to the store during my lunch break and walk for about 40 minutes, while I distract myself. I am burning 250-300 calories everyday, plus whatever exercise I do in the afternoon if I am outside with the dogs, or doing some gardening.

5- SLEEP! I try not to eat the last 3 hours before going to bed. This helps me a bit with my snoring problem. Also, I heard that if we sleep enough, our body creates collagen that also helps us lose weight while we sleep. I lost about 6 lbs during my Christmas break because I slept a lot during those days. Well, it also helps that I would wake up late (so I would skip breakfast) and that means less calorie intake, too.

I'm no expert, I'm just presenting my personal experience and it works! I'm losing weight!

I am just starting. My intention is to eat 6 times a day in 2 hour intervals. I am trying to hit 1200 calories a day. I am 5'9, a woman and weigh 190 now. So 1200 is about as low as I can go, health wise. I am eating more veggies and fruit than I ever have, yeah me. But my question is this. Is there anything I can do to keep me metabolism from slowing right away. I have never dieted before because I dont want the yo yo effect I see on so many friends but I had to now, I have officially hit "over weight". How can I avoid losing my metabolism and if I do can I get it back?

Jamie,

You are so smart! DO NOT start the yo-yo thing... take it from one who knows. 5'9" 190 is what I weighed in high school, only I'm 5'11". I thought I was a house and started down the slippery slope: liquid diets, pregnant women's urine diet, whatever diet dujour that all seemed to limit calories to 500 to 800... that is the issue. When you starve your body as soon as you eat a "normal" amount of food (and you know it has to happen sometime) your body grabs it and holds on for dear life... literally. Then you end up each crazy diet weighing more than your original weight; after a few diets, you suddenly weigh 300 pounds... okay, not so suddenly!

Enter your information on this site and it will tell you a calorie range to be healthy. Be realistic, if you've never dieted, you had a long time to become 190... give yoursel time to get if off. 1200 calories may be too few if you are active. you have to stoke the fire to keep it burning!

My advice always is to cut sugar and refined flour, stick with whole grain carbs and fruit and veggies and lean protein... then walk. It's such an easy plan! You can really learn to enjoy the lifestyle... and that is what it has to be, a lifestyle, not a diet. So, you've never dieted, and now tell yourself you never will... you can do it!!!

...and to Mollybud... God bless you! I think I weighed 135 in second grade and never have again... you go girl!!! 

I would say to

Thank you Halesmom for your coment. I am working on it. Very discouraged when I  do not see results. Hopefully they will come down the road. I seem to have won more confidence.

Check the portion size of the quick tuna recipe...  It says get a huge serving of eight ounces of tuna but on the recipe.....It says purchase 20 ounces of tuna and get 4 servings,  portions would be 5 ounces each IF the recipe is correct.

I agree with many of postings listed here and these are points that have been given to me through nutionalists:

(1)  PRIORITIZE SLEEP - to lose weight, you need to turn off that tv and get more hours.  I have found that not only do I not lose as much weight when I lack sleep, my late night munchies are notorious times for raiding fridge and cupboard for food for more energy

(2) eat more frequently - I once skipped meals to "lose" weight, which translated into just delaying weight for one big gouge myself meal.  Now I eat small but frequently - planning healthy snacks within reach so that when hunger hits, I hit back.

(3) diversify - I was taught that a "snack" covers 2-3 food categories, while a meal covers 4-5 categories.  So even a carrots only snack that never seemed to help becomes much more satisfying when I added a couple pretzel sticks.  The combination fills me up while hitting the bullseye on what was making me hungry. Try different combinations if your hunger is persistant .. you'll find a little bit of the right combo works like a charm.

(4) Optional - As I worry that I may miss a key nutrient, I supplement my food with a daily vitamin.  that way I know I'm "grounded" with getting the right nutrients, and the meals/snack take less "brain power" to assemble.

Good luck to all!