Need some low carb ideas

[sparks19]

I am overweight... ok I'm obese. lets face the facts. It's starting to affect my health and I'm not even 30 yet (almost... but not yet lol). Today I had a coffee (nothing else to eat at that point)

a bit later I started feeling light headed and my extremities were starting to tingle. my heart rate was normal (well normal for me but my resting heart rate is too high). After I ate something it started to get a bit better. I know this can be a sign of diabetes and while I may not HAVE diabetes now it's definitely possible that I could end up with it.

so this has scared me enough to really try to take a diet and exercise regiment seriously.

the problem is... I don't know how to diet. seriously. My husband and I talked a bit online (since he's at work) about it and for starters we are going to cut out potatoes, pasta etc . those carb things that we don't need to have every night for dinner. thinking two veggies with a protien instead of a veggie, protein and a carb.

So I'd love some advice. If you have recipes you'd like to share I would love that too I don't like fruit but I love vegetables. I make my DD3 fruit and veggie smoothies everyday because she's in a picky phase about eating her veggies as is. so I'm thinking while I don't really like fruit that I could choke down a smoothie each day LOL.

HELP lol Thanks in advanced

 

[Christine]

First, don't EVER try to not eat again!!! I have restricted my calories and I often get lightheaded (I'm not obese nor do I have any risk factors for diabetes).

I feel like I type this a lot on the weight loss threads but can I suggest that you either start with www.sparkpeople.com or www.myfitnesspal.com. Don't do ANYTHING today with your food. Just start a free account on one of these and spend the next week or two being *mindful* of what you eat and LOG IN EVERYTHING YOU PUT IN YOUR MOUTH. I mean EVERYTHING.

This will give you a real feel for how much you are eating, if your carbs are out of whack, if your protein is low, if you eat too much sugar, etc. Once you've looked at that for a week or two, start looking at areas to cut.

Each site will give you guidelines in the beginning anyway. For instance, sparkpeople told me I needed to eat 1250-1550 calories per day in order to lose weight. I tracked my food for 2 weeks and I was eating about 2300 calories per day. Based on that, I could go back and look at what food were big calorie/carb offenders.

This tactic has probably helped me more than any other thing I've tried in 20 years.

After 2 weeks of tracking, I finally got mentally prepared and motivated enough to change my eating. I have lost 10 lbs in about 6 weeks and I only really needed to lose 10 lbs (I thought it would take much longer).

So, despite everyone throwing you a bunch of tips and recipes, please get familiar with your own habits as they are today and start using one of these sites to educate yourself on how you should be eating.

It's tough but it can be fun and challenging.

 

[kirstenb1]

I'm currently doing Nutrisystem. Basically their diet is lower carb/more fruits veggies/some protein.

So with lunch and dinner, you eat a salad with low fat or non-fat dressing.

You get 2-3 dairy or proteins per day, depending on what you had for breakfast. I use the dairy/proteins as my snacks. It has to be 3 grams of fat or less, and less than 120 calories. So my snack might be a piece of low fat string cheese, or a veggie burger (you need to read the label to find one that meets the criteria, not all do), no bread.

I'm not shilling for Nutrisystem, just offering my observations if you wanted to try to do something like that yourself. You could probably just swap in Lean Cuisines for lunch and dinner, and for breakfast, a small bowl of healthy cereal.

I've never been a protein fan, but this diet is working, and the keeping me full.

 

[Magpie]

Buy a copy of "The South Beach Diet", or pick it up from your local library. It's easy to start, easy to stay on, and there's lots of cookbooks, if you get bored with the first one.

There's several phases, but on the strictest you'll be avoiding white bread, white sugar, white rice, and all sweets (including fruit, but just for a little while). You'll be eating a lot of green veggies and lean meat.

During the second phase, you add in a little bit of fruit and some whole grains.

My husband lost over 60lbs on the South Beach diet. And it works nicely to keep my hypoglycemic son's blood sugar level.

The only drawback? The recipes in the first Diet book are time consuming and a wee bit on the expensive side. And not all the ingredients are easily found in our local grocery store. But there's other books called, "The South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook" and "The South Beach Diet Superquick Cookbook", that have more time friendly options.

Plus, once you get the hang of what you're supposed to be eating, you develop shortcuts.

Typical (strict) South Beach day for us:

Breakfast:

1 beaten egg and one slice of ham, chopped - cook it into an omelet and fold it over a little shredded cheese to make an ham-and-cheese omelet. Serve with either salsa or a little hummus.

Snack:

Celery sticks stuffed with cheese.


Lunch:

Chopped turkey and cheese and hard-boiled egg on Romaine lettuce (salad).
Low-fat dressing.


Snack:

Sliced radishes with salt.


Dinner:

Chicken breasts oven-baked in Salsa with a little cheese sprinkled on top.
Steamed green beans.
Green salad (bagged, from the store).
Low-fat dressing.


Dessert:

Chocolate pudding.


It takes about 40 minutes to cook the chicken breasts, and about 15 minutes to steam the green beans, but other than that there's almost no prep time required.


Of course, there's many variations and options, if, for example, you hate radishes.

 

[sparks19]

First, don't EVER try to not eat again!!! I have restricted my calories and I often get lightheaded (I'm not obese nor do I have any risk factors for diabetes).

I feel like I type this a lot on the weight loss threads but can I suggest that you either start with www.sparkpeople.com or www.myfitnesspal.com. Don't do ANYTHING today with your food. Just start a free account on one of these and spend the next week or two being *mindful* of what you eat and LOG IN EVERYTHING YOU PUT IN YOUR MOUTH. I mean EVERYTHING.

This will give you a real feel for how much you are eating, if your carbs are out of whack, if your protein is low, if you eat too much sugar, etc. Once you've looked at that for a week or two, start looking at areas to cut.

Each site will give you guidelines in the beginning anyway. For instance, sparkpeople told me I needed to eat 1250-1550 calories per day in order to lose weight. I tracked my food for 2 weeks and I was eating about 2300 calories per day. Based on that, I could go back and look at what food were big calorie/carb offenders.

This tactic has probably helped me more than any other thing I've tried in 20 years.

After 2 weeks of tracking, I finally got mentally prepared and motivated enough to change my eating. I have lost 10 lbs in about 6 weeks and I only really needed to lose 10 lbs (I thought it would take much longer).

So, despite everyone throwing you a bunch of tips and recipes, please get familiar with your own habits as they are today and start using one of these sites to educate yourself on how you should be eating.

It's tough but it can be fun and challenging.

Oh dont' worry. it wasn't that I was trying not to eat. I just hadn't eaten yet lol. it's a bad habit but I normally don't eat my first meal until well after noon. I know I should eat sooner I just don't feel hungry before then. but I should be eating a little something. it's a bad habit

Thank you for recommending those sites. I told my hubby I wanted to look into something like weight watchers online but I like the idea of entering all the food you've eaten and looking at my eating habits.

I'm going to go check those sites out right now. This is also something hubby and I are going to do together because he also needs to lose weight (his words not mine) so I think it will be easier if we are both on the same page and he's not eating all this junk and I'm eating carrots lol.

Thank you

 

[lovetoscrap]

I am overweight... ok I'm obese. lets face the facts. It's starting to affect my health and I'm not even 30 yet (almost... but not yet lol). Today I had a coffee (nothing else to eat at that point)

a bit later I started feeling light headed and my extremities were starting to tingle. my heart rate was normal (well normal for me but my resting heart rate is too high). After I ate something it started to get a bit better. I know this can be a sign of diabetes and while I may not HAVE diabetes now it's definitely possible that I could end up with it.

so this has scared me enough to really try to take a diet and exercise regiment seriously.

the problem is... I don't know how to diet. seriously. My husband and I talked a bit online (since he's at work) about it and for starters we are going to cut out potatoes, pasta etc . those carb things that we don't need to have every night for dinner. thinking two veggies with a protien instead of a veggie, protein and a carb.

So I'd love some advice. If you have recipes you'd like to share I would love that too I don't like fruit but I love vegetables. I make my DD3 fruit and veggie smoothies everyday because she's in a picky phase about eating her veggies as is. so I'm thinking while I don't really like fruit that I could choke down a smoothie each day LOL.

HELP lol Thanks in advanced

Absolutely get a copy of the South Beach Diet if you want to go low carb. You should be able to get it at the library, along with the cookbooks. During the 1st phase you may not feel great but if you eat beans as recommended that gives you the carbs you need to keep going, and it is only for 2 weeks.

There are a ton of great sights with South Beach/low carb information and advice. Here are some I really like and use often:

Discussion Forum with tons of information on the basics and lots of recipes:
http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/forum/index.php

The official South Beach site--costs money to join
http://www.southbeachdiet.com//sbd/members/account/login.aspx?returnUrl=/getstarted.asp

Awesome REcipes blog
http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/

More Recipes:
http://www.southbeachfriends.net/wiki/index.php?title=Recipes

There are more but this is a good base to start with. Read the FAQ's at the first link and you can learn about South Beach.

And hop over to the WISH boards here and join us for the Biggest Loser challenge for support and encouragement. There is also a South Beach support thread. PM me if you need the links.

 

[sparks19]

Buy a copy of "The South Beach Diet", or pick it up from your local library. It's easy to start, easy to stay on, and there's lots of cookbooks, if you get bored with the first one.

There's several phases, but on the strictest you'll be avoiding white bread, white sugar, white rice, and all sweets (including fruit, but just for a little while). You'll be eating a lot of green veggies and lean meat.

During the second phase, you add in a little bit of fruit and some whole grains.

My husband lost over 60lbs on the South Beach diet. And it works nicely to keep my hypoglycemic son's blood sugar level.

The only drawback? The recipes in the first Diet book are time consuming and a wee bit on the expensive side. And not all the ingredients are easily found in our local grocery store. But there's other books called, "The South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook" and "The South Beach Diet Superquick Cookbook", that have more time friendly options.

Plus, once you get the hang of what you're supposed to be eating, you develop shortcuts.

Typical (strict) South Beach day for us:

Breakfast:

1 beaten egg and one slice of ham, chopped - cook it into an omelet and fold it over a little shredded cheese to make an ham-and-cheese omelet. Serve with either salsa or a little hummus.

Snack:

Celery sticks stuffed with cheese.


Lunch:

Chopped turkey and cheese and hard-boiled egg on Romaine lettuce (salad).
Low-fat dressing.


Snack:

Sliced radishes with salt.


Dinner:

Chicken breasts oven-baked in Salsa with a little cheese sprinkled on top.
Steamed green beans.
Green salad (bagged, from the store).
Low-fat dressing.


Dessert:

Chocolate pudding.


It takes about 40 minutes to cook the chicken breasts, and about 15 minutes to steam the green beans, but other than that there's almost no prep time required.


Of course, there's many variations and options, if, for example, you hate radishes.

might not hurt to look into this too. at the very least for food ideas

I don't know if it's laziness or just so much information out there I don't know what to follow but the more clear cut the BETTER for me lol. I like having suggested daily meal plans. that would help me a lot and that dinner sounds delicious while being healthy.

I think my biggest problem is I don't eat lots of smaller meals. I only eat twice a day and I usually have toast with PB and a glass of milk and then I way over eat at dinner because I only ate one thing during the day and we often don't eat dinner until 7 or so (whenever hubby gets home) so over eating is especially bad because it's so late.

I'm excited for spring so we can get our garden planted and then we will have lots of veggies right outside the back door so they will be readily available.

 

[Conservative Hippie]

I'd most certainly lose weight if I ever tried "no carb," I'd have nothing left to eat! I never considered that low carb/no carb would work for me. Then one day I decided to just track what I normally eat for a few days using caloriecount.com, and I realized that I eat pitifully little protein. I knew I didn't eat a lot of protein, but I didn't know it was that bad. So instead of "low carb," instead I have changed my diet to "high protein," which actually isn't "high," it's just the amount I should be getting, a lot higher than I used to eat. So now instead of eating a bowl of fettucini alfredo, I eat half as much fettucini and add chicken. And skip the bread! I drink protein shakes and eat protein bars as snacks.

 

[sparks19]

Absolutely get a copy of the South Beach Diet if you want to go low carb. You should be able to get it at the library, along with the cookbooks. During the 1st phase you may not feel great but if you eat beans as recommended that gives you the carbs you need to keep going, and it is only for 2 weeks.

There are a ton of great sights with South Beach/low carb information and advice. Here are some I really like and use often:

Discussion Forum with tons of information on the basics and lots of recipes:
http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/forum/index.php

The official South Beach site--costs money to join
http://www.southbeachdiet.com//sbd/members/account/login.aspx?returnUrl=/getstarted.asp

Awesome REcipes blog
http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/

More Recipes:
http://www.southbeachfriends.net/wiki/index.php?title=Recipes

There are more but this is a good base to start with. Read the FAQ's at the first link and you can learn about South Beach.

And hop over to the WISH boards here and join us for the Biggest Loser challenge for support and encouragement. There is also a South Beach support thread. PM me if you need the links.

This is great Thanks everyone so far for the advice and tips. I will definitely hop over to the WISH boards

Thanks for the links

 

[Jeafl]

I am not on a diet per se, but I eat low carb almost all the time. Breakfast is toughest for me since the options are pretty much eggs, eggs or eggs. However, once you get past the first 3 or 4 days you are not really hungry anymore. Here is a GREAT website with lots of information, support and recipes

www.lowcarbfriends.com

 

[PatsMom]

If you are to the point where your weight is a real health issue, you might want to start by talking with your doctor. He or she can refer you to a dietitian who can help you with making good food choices. Your insurance should cover the consultation. I am diabetic so I've had several consults - sometimes its good to go back for a refresher!

I have eliminated white bread from my life. Also, I strictly limit pasta, rise and potato. I have some since I love them, but try to keep to very small portions or an occasional treat.

Fruits tend to have a fair amount of sugar so liking vegetables instead of fruit is a good thing! I have the problem of not liking either. But I have learned that a snack of carrot sticks will satisfy me as much as a cookie - or at least I can convince myself it did.

I know several who have done weight watchers on line and found it good. I know that they don't eliminate foods entirely which I think is a good thing. I even have dessert sometimes when I save my carbs from my meal. Usually have to split with my daughter or husband but I'm not totally deprived so I don't miss them so much.

 

[Christine]

I'd most certainly lose weight if I ever tried "no carb," I'd have nothing left to eat! I never considered that low carb/no carb would work for me. Then one day I decided to just track what I normally eat for a few days using caloriecount.com, and I realized that I eat pitifully little protein. I knew I didn't eat a lot of protein, but I didn't know it was that bad. So instead of "low carb," instead I have changed my diet to "high protein," which actually isn't "high," it's just the amount I should be getting, a lot higher than I used to eat. So now instead of eating a bowl of fettucini alfredo, I eat half as much fettucini and add chicken. And skip the bread! I drink protein shakes and eat protein bars as snacks.

I found the same thing happening to me when I logged in at sparkpeople. I was shocked at how hard it was for me to get my protein grams UP and my carbs DOWN. I don't do low-carb/no-carb either but I have successfully gotten both my carbs and protein in the desired ranges and it works!

What am struggling now with is fat grams. Most days, my fat grams are below what they should be but I find that if I increase them, I exceed my caloric limitations.

 

[sparks19]

I'm sort of at the point where it's not a real health issue YET but it could become one very soon if I don't do something.

I had a physical about 4 months ago and he said my blood pressure wasn't bad but it was higher than it should be and it's showing that my weight is going to start affecting my health if I don't do something.

I'd like to do something before it really does become a serious health problem and my little episode today was enough lol. Plus I want to be able to run around and play with my daughter more without getting winded so easily and having to rest.

unfortunately I don't have insurance right now (immigration BS) but a dietician isn't a bad idea. It might have to wait until I do have insurance but it wouldn't hurt to call around and see what the pricing is for such a think.


I was thinking about weight watchers online too. I need to lose about 100 pounds. at least 100 pounds. I'm about 250 right now and I'm short.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Classic mistake!!!! (trying to limit - backfires....)
It is not diabetes...
What you are playing with here are a host of other very bad things like hypoglycemiea, insulin resistance, etc...

I have learned a lot about nutrition and diet.
Actually, it is my husband, who is the younger and healthier of the two of us, who took the initiative when it comes to eating.... He did a lot of work and research, going by what professional athletes and bodybuilders do. The results in his health, his weight, ALL his numbers, has been dramatic.

When he went for his physical for our new insurance, the DR. said "I don't know what in the heck you are doing... but KEEP IT UP!!!"

YES... you DO need to eat....
It is not how much you eat....
It is WHAT you are putting into your body.....
Processed carbs (and all over-processed foods) have to go!!!
Add in a ton of protein....

The toast and PB are great...
Just watch out that it is not processed white bread....
And. limit any bread.... I would say any additional bread, like with supper, is a complete no-no... But a healthy bread, toast with Peanut butter... add in fruit, juice, yogurt... FILL YOURSELF UP WITH THE HEALTHY STUFF!!! Protein, Fiber, Vitamins and Nutrients.

Lunch, again.... just completely omit the processed carbs... substitute with protein, fruit, healthier carbs.... My husband is big on a nice sliced Mesquite Turkey for his lunch meat. He buys healthy wraps, made with olive oil... For the protein, he also eats eggs.... He just limits the yolks when possible... But I wouldn't worry about that at all, unless you were eating eggs every day....

You mentioned potatoes, etc....
These are good natural healthy foods, when eaten in balance and moderation!!!! Again, do not make the same mistake (assumptions and limiting)
My husband eats natural rice, potatoes and sweet potatoes (within reason) and even some pasta with us for supper very occasionally.... but ALL, and yes I mean ALL, processed carbs are completely and totally gone.... the key word here being 'processed'..... NO soft drinks... NO fries or chips - and I mean NONE. NO processed sweets...(except for very, very limited treats, of course....) His chocolate high protein shake in the evening is his substitute for that...

Again - it is not how much you eat... IT IS WHAT YOU PUT INTO YOUR BODY.

Eating habits are just so strongly ingrained, both physically and psychologically, that these kinds of changes can be so, so, hard, at first...

If you don't think you can do it on your own....
You really should look into a managed plan...

Don't keep making the same mistakes, and going with fads, mis-information, confusion.....

Give your body good high quality fuel - without all the carbs (NO HFCS at all!!) And watch what happens!

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

I LOVE these low carb cookbooks by George Stella. As a matter of fact, I've got my favorite chicken recipe from one of the cookbooks in the oven now; it freezes well, so I'll have a couple of pieces today and freeze the rest. He often mentions in his recipes if something freezes well. I think that's a real key...having food on hand to fall back on "just in case".

He used to have a TV show "Low Carb and Loving It"...wish it was still on!

http://www.amazon.com/George-Stella...9977/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299005759&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Eating-Stella...5212/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1299005759&sr=8-4

Good luck!

 

[bas71873]

My MIL and Aunt have both had great success with Nutrisystem, although once they both went off of it, they had a difficult time eating the "right" regular food.

I am a carb junkie. I LOVE breads, cereal, pasta...if it's a carb, I'm all over it. Now, I will qualify this by telling you that I am not at all over weight, so I don't do this for weight loss reasons, I do it because I want stay at my current weight and to control my cholesterol. I found out I was off the charts last year when I went to the doctor for some shortness of breath issues I was experiencing. Anyway, getting off track here. I just bought The Carb Lovers Diet and have been reading that and making my grocery list. I think it's something I can get behind to be able to maintain the weight I'm at, which I'm happy with, but also be able to eat the carbs I like. I'm a pretty picky eater and don't eat red meat nor do I eat seafood (only because I just don't like the taste of either), so when something calls for fish or beef, I use chicken

Good luck to you and I hope you find something that works for you.

 

[sparks19]

Classic mistake!!!! (trying to limit - backfires....)
It is not diabetes...
What you are playing with here are a host of other very bad things like hypoglycemiea, insulin resistance, etc...

I have learned a lot about nutrition and diet.
Actually, it is my husband, who is the younger and healthier of the two of us, who took the initiative when it comes to eating.... He did a lot of work and research, going by what professional athletes and bodybuilders do. The results in his health, his weight, ALL his numbers, has been dramatic.

When he went for his physical for our new insurance, the DR. said "I don't know what in the heck you are doing... but KEEP IT UP!!!"

YES... you DO need to eat....
It is not how much you eat....
It is WHAT you are putting into your body.....
Processed carbs (and all over-processed foods) have to go!!!
Add in a ton of protein....

The toast and PB are great...
Just watch out that it is not processed white bread....
And. limit any bread.... I would say any additional bread, like with supper, is a complete no-no... But a healthy bread, toast with Peanut butter... add in fruit, juice, yogurt... FILL YOURSELF UP WITH THE HEALTHY STUFF!!! Protein, Fiber, Vitamins and Nutrients.

Lunch, again.... just completely omit the processed carbs... substitute with protein, fruit, healthier carbs.... My husband is big on a nice sliced Mesquite Turkey for his lunch meat. He buys healthy wraps, made with olive oil... For the protein, he also eats eggs.... He just limits the yolks when possible... But I wouldn't worry about that at all, unless you were eating eggs every day....

You mentioned potatoes, etc....
These are good natural healthy foods, when eaten in balance and moderation!!!! Again, do not make the same mistake (assumptions and limiting)
My husband eats natural rice, potatoes and sweet potatoes (within reason) and even some pasta with us for supper very occasionally.... but ALL, and yes I mean ALL, processed carbs are completely and totally gone.... the key word here being 'processed'..... NO soft drinks... NO fries or chips - and I mean NONE. NO processed sweets...(except for very, very limited treats, of course....) His chocolate high protein shake in the evening is his substitute for that...

Again - it is not how much you eat... IT IS WHAT YOU PUT INTO YOUR BODY.

Eating habits are just so strongly ingrained, both physically and psychologically, that these kinds of changes can be so, so, hard, at first...

If you don't think you can do it on your own....
You really should look into a managed plan...

Don't keep making the same mistakes, and going with fads, mis-information, confusion.....

Give your body good high quality fuel - without all the carbs (NO HFCS at all!!) And watch what happens!

Yeah that's kind of my problem. I don't really know what is ok and what is not. so I need something that will guide me on the good things to put in and the bad things to keep out.

yeah I don't mean never having a potato or rice or pasta again... just not a heaping plate of rice every night lol For some reason we've become ingrained that we must have potato, rice or pasta with every dinner when we don't REALLY need to do that. we can have two veggies instead sometimes.

my biggest problem will be the rationalizing things with myself. I do that and can't seem to tell myself no. like I'll look at a box of cookies and think oh one won't hurt... then I end up eating 5 lol because one MORE won't hurt. that's how I get into the trouble I'm in now.

you're right... it is really hard to break old habits especially the bad ones lol. I like the idea of keeping a food log on sparkpeople so I can see right in front of me what I am putting into my body.

so whole wheat bread and PB are ok? good cause I don't know if I could quit PB LOL. I usually have that for my first meal (it just happens that my first meal is too late in the day and should be earlier so I don't end up starving and eat bigger portions than I should) I usually have it with a cup of milk. After that I don't eat anything until dinner and then I over eat... and then I snack after that in the evening. BAD habits lol

 

[sparks19]

Thanks for all the support so far. I really do appreciate it. I need to make this change and I know it's not going to be easy but I have to do it.

 

[LilyWDW]

My mom and I did GREAT on South Beach a few years ago. She lost a ton of weight (I forget how much exactly, but more then 30lbs) and I lost over 20 lbs. Then we went off of it (totally) and it went down hill from there. Now I am 20+ lbs OVER what I was before I started South Beach. So, we are going back on it... to an extent.

What our plan this time is to do a modified diet with South Beach as the base of it (a lot of the recipes are also very low cal/fat) and will be watching our calories and fat MORE then the carbs. A friend of mine is a registered dietitian and is helping us with this modified diet. It is more about finding a way to change our lives overall and finding something we are more likely to stick to and enjoy eating on. Some of the aspects that we have decided on:

-We will not be cutting out fruit at all.
-We will be limiting our intake of white potatoes as a starch to one serving per week.
-We will be limiting our intake of pasta and rice to two servings a week.
-All bread for sandwiches, rolls, ect are to be Whole Wheat or must meet a specific amount of fiber compared to sugar.
-Portion control is very important. Too much of even a "healthy" food can end up being bad.
-3 meals and 2 snacks are allowed every day.

We will be drawing inspiration for meals from South Beach, Eat This Not That, Weight Watchers, and so much more. I don't have the exact numbers we are supposed to be following with me at this time, but it's about 1500 calories.

Now if I can find a workout that I actually enjoy and stick with...

 

[Conservative Hippie]

Yeah that's kind of my problem. I don't really know what is ok and what is not. so I need something that will guide me on the good things to put in and the bad things to keep out.

yeah I don't mean never having a potato or rice or pasta again... just not a heaping plate of rice every night lol For some reason we've become ingrained that we must have potato, rice or pasta with every dinner when we don't REALLY need to do that. we can have two veggies instead sometimes.

my biggest problem will be the rationalizing things with myself. I do that and can't seem to tell myself no. like I'll look at a box of cookies and think oh one won't hurt... then I end up eating 5 lol because one MORE won't hurt. that's how I get into the trouble I'm in now.

you're right... it is really hard to break old habits especially the bad ones lol. I like the idea of keeping a food log on sparkpeople so I can see right in front of me what I am putting into my body.

so whole wheat bread and PB are ok? good cause I don't know if I could quit PB LOL. I usually have that for my first meal (it just happens that my first meal is too late in the day and should be earlier so I don't end up starving and eat bigger portions than I should) I usually have it with a cup of milk. After that I don't eat anything until dinner and then I over eat... and then I snack after that in the evening. BAD habits lol

What worked for me was logging my food for a few days to see what my typical diet really looked like (as opposed to what it looked like in my head). I use http://caloriecount.about.com/ . DON'T CHEAT! Log every bite you put in your mouth, and measure out your portions. I realized I typically ate about 20% of my daily protein, and I was consuming over 600 calories a day in creamer! I like calorie count as well because it assigns a grade to most of the foods - you can see what is an A choice, what is a B+, what is a C, etc. and try to get a "good grade" for your daily average. Whole wheat bread with peanut butter and a glass of skim milk sounds like a good breakfast to me!