My husband and I eat out together often, for with our work we are away from home more than we are home, and have little time to cook. However, I am always looking for useful low-fat/low-cal recipes that I can use and/or pass along to others. Perhaps some of you have some suggestions for not only good sensible recipes but also tips on dining out and not blowing one's efforts to sensibly "cut back."

 

I am happy to share what seems to be working well for me. I began my "new lifestyle of eating" April 10th and now after 8 weeks, I have lost a total of 18 pounds, and my doctor is very pleased with my progress so far! My goal is to lose 50 more pounds to get to my ideal weight, and that is a long way from where I am now, but I know I can do it. 

My doctor has me on the medication Meridia to help me control my appetite urges, for I happen to LOVE FOOD! Thankfully, it's helping me, and I don't feel hyper or jittery, in fact I don't even realize I am taking it, and it helps me turn away from some of the foods that were so tempting to me before. 

My doctor checks me closely to make sure my body can tolerate the Meridia by keeping a close check on my blood-pressure and listening to my heart, etc. But I've done well, and my blood pressure, which was not exactly high but 'could have been' has even dropped with my weight-loss, which he had predicted it would.

He told me he didn't want me to lose more than two pounds a week, since that is the normal limit the body can burn in that length of time and after that it starts burning muscle instead, which is not good. At this time, he is very happy with my progress. 

I am a professional keyboard musician, and he was teasing me the other day about how I will need a new wardrobe to play music for all the holiday events where I entertain. I know he is trying to encourage me with those positive thoughts.

 

I am drinking more water and cutting way back on my processed sugar intake (practically zero!) and calories, and am attempting to eat low-fat (but not "no"-fat).  I love meats and vegetables and also fruits, I just love "foooood!"  

These days I can easily make a light meal on fruit and fresh vegetables, and I happen to enjoy grilled foods and have easy access to restaurants which offer delicious grilled fish, chicken, turkey meat, and lean pork chops. I also enjoy grilled chicken salads, and I even tried a grilled steak salad the other day, which was interesting and delicious too, but I only allow myself to have beef a couple times a month now, as recommended to me. And stir-fry is another food I can enjoy and not "blow" my efforts.

 

I am not a nutrition expert, but I know what is working for me, and with my doctor's blessings and suggestions.  So here are some thoughts I have for anyone who may be trying to lose weight but doesn't want to feel deprived.

 

Some things I do:

 

1)    I eat grilled fish over rice, brown rice is the best choice.  I do not butter the rice, but the well-seasoned fish makes it very flavorful! And it is very filling, of course. This with a salad or veggie is a wonderful meal.

2)    Sometimes I yearn for a baked potato, for I do allow myself "some" starches such as rice or potatoes, but not every major meal anymore, instead I try to skip a couple of days or more between times. One thing that works really well for me on my baked potatoes these days is to skip the butter and sour cream and instead use low-fat (or no-fat) "Ranch" salad-dressing.

3)    If I eat a salad and low-fat salad-dressing is not available (which regular is FULL of fat grams and calories) I have learned that if I simply put a very small portion of salad dressing onto the end of my fork before I take a bite of salad, I still get the flavor without getting too much of the fat/calories.  

4)    I drink water with lemon. (I simply prefer it with lemon, for otherwise I do not "like" water.)  And I drink as MUCH water as I can manage to do, which I know I still don't drink enough.  But I do not drink anything with caffeine or sugar anymore, which is a big change and step in the right direction for me. (Many of us "southerners" love our sweetened ice tea!) I have noticed that when I do drink a large amount of water, my weight drops faster.

5)    Speaking of water, I am told that the experts recommend iced water over tap water, saying that the body burns 10 extra calories by "warming" the iced water to be digested.

6)    Avoid bread.  Whole-wheat is acceptable, but only in moderation.

7)    If I get to yearning for something "sweet," a moderate amount of graham crackers and no-fat animal cookies work great, or perhaps low-fat cookies. For something salty, pretzels are low-fat. (Read the calories on all of the packages of the things I've mentioned here, though.) Something that I enjoy for a little treat now and then is a small helping of frozen sorbet from one of the Yogurt places (it's low-fat and low-cal and delicious!), or I allow myself to eat a stick of flavored hard-candy. (I like the banana-flavored ones.) These items are the main "sugar-foods" I allow myself, but they are enough for my sweet tooth, luckily. *wink*

8)     Walking/exercise is a very important suggestion, and I must admit to you, I am not getting enough exercise or walking! But even little things like taking a small flight of stairs instead of taking the elevator for one or two stories or more, and parking far away from the office or the mall will be small ways we can get more exercise. 

My doctor suggested to me that fasting to lose weight will only make one's body think it is in the 'starvation mode' and it does not work. Whatever weight we lose by doing so will soon return plus more when one resumes eating. He also told me that people who lose, say ten pounds from an illness, are losing MUSCLE, not fat!! So beware of fasting/skipping meals intentionally to lose weight, for remember, the HEART is a muscle! *wink*