Hi Toe!

Overall, you're really not doing that badly, but I do have a couple of suggestions.
First...you may want to ditch those bars and low carb chocolates for a while...they seem to be triggering cravings in you and those are something that you really want to get rid of.
Second, how about cooking a lot of things at once when you do feel like cooking. Cooking ahead when you're in the mood for it and then putting it in the refrigerator or freezer for later is a great way to keep things on hand for those times that cooking is the last thing you want to do, but you still need something legal to eat. Cook a couple of roasts at a time and then package them up in serving sizes for later. Roast a whole chicken and do the same thing. Cook a dozen burger patties at a time on a cookie sheet in the oven (you can do the same thing with a pound of bacon) and pack it all up. With a couple of hours' work, you can have a whole week's worth of food cooked and put away for later. Then all you have to do when it's meal time is zap a veggie in the microwave, reheat the meat and dinner is on the table.
Crock pots are another great way to have a meal ready to go with minimal work. I don't know what I'd do without mine.

I think you are looking at this the wrong way. OK< you had a blah week, felt tired and crappy, but looking at what you eat I think you still did good! You went fast food, and didn't eat the bun! So you didn't cook, at least you didn't through the plan totally out the window!

You have a bad week, but for the most part you stayed to the plan! A BIG PAT ON THE BACK FOR YOU!!!

If you did any damange it will be mild. Sometimes I think you have to allow yourself to fell blah. I call them my down days. They do pass, and then you will feel your normal self again.

Also I was stalled on the scale for three weeks after introduction, I think this happens to a lot of people. I am finally starting to move. You know what they say is true, measure yourself, measure yourself, measure yourself.

You may not like what the scale says, but that tape measure can make you feel 100% better!!

Trust yourself, for goodness sakes! Not too many perfect people around these parts - especially not MsJinx. Get up, dust yourself off, and keep doing marvelously! Darn it!!

I'm sure someone (anyone?) more resourceful than myself can assist you with the more practical part of your post...

You ROCK!!

I work two jobs so I don't have much of a choice on when to cook and prepare my meals. I cook for a few hours on Sunday and hope that the food will last the week. I know what you mean about spending all that money and most of it is gone in a few days. Here is it Thursday night and I have 1 bacon cheeseburger, 2 mozzerella cheese sticks and some pepperoni left for tomorrow. I'll have to go to the grocery store to get some lunch meat before work tomorrow.

You're doing just fine. No one's perfect and who would want to be anyway?

Keep it up!!!!

Alright Toeie,

If you just needed to vent then stop here.

Otherwise, continue at your own peril if you're the sensitive sort...

I don't think you are doing great. I think you are headed for a big crash without a serious attitude adjustment quick. What's up with buying boxes of bars? Get that s*it out of your house. If it's there, you'll eat it. Anyone would. They contribute nothing to your body or your program except the very insidious and deleterious belief that you are eating healthily. If you need a sugar fix (yeah, yeah, they're not REAL sugar), make yourself have to go to the store to buy one. The inconvenience factor alone is a major deterrent.

Skipping the bun in a fast food joint saves you the carbs from the flour (and that's good), BUT what about the HIGH CARB, HIGH SUGAR kethup (1 tbs.=4 carbs)? Are you scraping that off? Are you checking the salad dressings to be sure they are not SUGAR filled as most are in fast food joints?

The bottom line is "Fail to plan, plan to fail" as Bill Phillips (BFL) says. This is so true. Getting lazy on this program guarantees a return to the "old ways."

Sit down, once a week, and work out every meal and every snack for the week. Buy the food, cook, like Lisa N says a ton on one day, and then eat it over the course of the week. You don't have to eat it on the schedule that you originally planned. You can substitute one meal for another. At the end of the week, you will have eaten healthily and on program and you won't be asking to get smacked. As an example, I cook 15 pork sirloins at once so I can get a protein meal quick. I cook 5 bags of spinach at once so I can get my vegs quick. I buy bagged lettuce so when I feel lazy I don't even have to wash and shred the stuff. I make 6 cups of salad dressing, often more than one kind, at the beginning of the week. Investing a few hours (mostly in terms of clean up), let's face it, pot roasts and the aforementioned cook themselves, is well worth it if you want to lose weight on this program. If that is not your goal and all you want to do is feel good (although those bars won't do anything in that regard) or are willing to wait 5 years to drop 20 pounds, then stay on the path you're on. Although, I suspect, since you called out, that is not what you are looking for.

These are all just my opinions. It is not my intention to hurt your feelings or attack you personally. I offer my thoughts with the sincerest best intentions for your success.

As the old saying goes, you get back what you put in.

Best of luck,

Jones

((((((((((toeie)))))))))))))

I DO think you are doing great!

Not perfect, but why would you expect that of yourself?

Looking at your stats, you clearly have a lifetime of bad habits to get over - it won't happen overnight.

Examine yourself to see whether you've made a commitment to change your lifestyle - I also agree that you should get rid of the candy bars. They are a way of holding onto past bad habits. Maybe when you've been on the plan for a much longer time, and are much closer to your goal...?

I'm a lot like you - I don't have the time or inclination to cook much. So I try to find frozen foods or other foods that are quick and easy to make - I buy cooked chicken, frozen meat patties, hot dogs, cheese, frozen broccoli/cauliflower/brussel sprouts, and I eat "easy meals". It works for me.

Yes, YMMV (your mileage may vary), but don't give up! You are well on your way.

Jones....lol...if I ever start to fool myself with this WOE, I'm coming to you so you can kick me in the shins!!!!

Toeie...in the sense that you didn't go for carby food (like eating the bun, etc.) is a good thing and means you didn't blow it altogether, but I'm with Jones on this one. You see what you are doing and now you need to get back down to business. You need those bars to go away...period! Do you have a friend who has a freezer and will dole them out one bar a month around TOM????

Don't beat yourself up, but get back on track. I don't personally think this little detour will hurt you any *if* you get right back down to it.

Congratulations on being able to see what is happening. Sometimes its easy to fool ourselves and convince ourselves that we are eating right when we are not.

L

girl, you are crazy! and I am doing the same thing..I mean I was about two weeks ago. I found a new chocolate whipped cream in the can , and every night I'd have a few blows.And then I realized what are you doing? Be strong,pick yourself up and brush yourself off and remember--Anything worth having is worth working for--COOK,COOK,COOK stay with it, you sound alot like me, and by g--, I'm in it for the long haul

I might of just missed it, but I did'nt see any cans of tuna or salmon on your shopping list?? These are great to have on hand, just dump one over lettuce or spinach, a few chopped onion, mayo or dressing, some avocado, I add other raw veggies as well. It literally takes just 2 mins to put together for lunch or dinner.

Godo luck, Kathy

You still ate with the idea of lo carbs in mind. So you could have really gone overboard but you didn't . You had a controlled way of going crazy!!! That way it is much easier to fall back onto the wagon and you probably lost weight!!

We all can learn from your experience. That is actually how I clean my house. There are days ( weeks ) when I don't feel like doing anything but I keep things picked up. So when I come back to my senses it is much easier to catch up.


Black57

We all know know who's gonna come out swinging when we ask for a smack or kick in the ass next time!!

typically i buy meat (burgers, chicken cutlets), some cheese, eggs, seltzer, water, some nuts (as of late =/). pork rinds, turkey breast, hot dogs, beef jerky, SF Jello, sausage, frozen veggies, salad, fresh veggies, cream, butter, creamcheese (when i am out), and thats pretty much it

but with the induction list of things to eat, i feel that I am kinda sick of it, and like munching on nuts, and bars sometimes

Toeie,

From your list, it looks like you are eating a lot of processed foods, i.e., turkey breast, hot dogs, beef jerky, SF jello, and some frozen veggies. These foods contain hidden ingredients and sugars that can make you crave carbs & sweets. For example, MSG is added to foods to make the flavor stronger and to make it linger on your tongue longer. You then actually crave more of the food. If you are used to eating this way, "real" food may not taste as good to you. Maybe this is why you are getting bored with Induction.

Also, it looks as though you are limiting yourself in the meat department. And it's hard to tell what variety you have of fresh veggies. I'm going to guess you buy mostly frozen, and buy your salad fixin's fresh. (I realize you couldn't list EVERY SINGLE THING you buy).

What about buying a shoulder roast (beef), cube steaks, flank steak, pork roast, and pork tenderloin. Hamburger meat and chicken breast can get old after a while. And DO NOT buy a package of boneless, skinless individually frozen chicken breasts. If you look on the label, it says that the package contains a 5% solution. What is that? I don't know. Could be something to keep its color or keep it separated. But I don't think it's a good idea to eat it.

If you are eating mostly frozen veggies, I can see why you are getting sick of the food choices. Frozen veggies are usually soggy. Buy fresh green beans, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, zucchini, squash, cabbage, etc., etc. Add butter or oil to them to give them a better flavor.

BTW-Why do you dislike cooking so much? (Don't get me wrong..I have a family of 5 and sometimes I feel like I will puke if I have to cook one more meal :Puke
Is it because you have a true disdain for it, or is it because your skills are limited? I had a college roomate who hated to cook, but later found out it was just because she didn't know how. And my mother hates to cook because she lives alone now. She says it's no fun cooking for one. If any of the latter two reasons sound like you, find a way to change things. Take a cooking class; have a friend teach you; check out cookbooks or videos from your library; invite a friend over once or twice a week for dinner and a movie; check out the recipe section in this forum...(this list can go on and on).

Whatever you do, don't give up. You can start again RIGHT NOW, and stay on track by making good decisions at each meal. Don't let the past haunt you.

Good Luck!
Amy Mc

Okay, first of all, quit dwelling on everything you did wrong and think about what you did right - you didn't eat the buns, you didn't order fries. This shows that you do want to succeed. Now look at what you've already identified about your bad habits. Are you really giving yourself permission to succeed and change your unhealthy eating habits to a healthy WOE? Identifying a problem is easy, learning a better way to do something is hard.

It looks like you eat a lot of processed foods, which not only contain hidden carbs, they contain a lot of salt. You may be retaining water because of it, which would explain why the clothes aren't looser. Also, the bars are notorius weight stallers.

There are places in this part of the country where you can go to a community kitchen and prepare a week's worth of meals at a time - anything like that where you live? People make one dish apiece, then everybody shares. It's ultimately a lot cheaper to cook your own than to buy prepackaged. The deli near my house is happy to cube turkey and ham for me, then I buy a container of crumbled bleu cheese and a couple of bags of salad, and boom - Cobb salads for a week go together in two minutes.

C'mon - you deserve better.