Hang in there girlie...we all know what its like. You have loads of support here and we all understand. I cook very basic meals which take me about 10 minutes tops cooking and 5 mins preparing. Very boring and not too tasty but my results are making it well worth it. That might not be for you though. Plus the strain of other pressures in your life dont make it easy. Keep on trying. You WILL get results. BIG HUG

I am prayin'! I am goin' to post some more before pics and hang my size 5 rockies on the wall next to my equipment demo poster! That will keep my motivated and hopefully less whiny! then when everyone else is glued to the tube i could write me a weekly food plan-man my head feels better since this am!!!!

Schelle, another thing I notice is that you're not that overweight to begin with (probably YOU think you're overweight) so it might take a little longer to kick into overdrive for you. But it WILL come off.

I fully agree that life was easier before LC as far as shopping & cooking go. I was in a rut -- like many of us probably were -- concerning food. I bought the same stuff every time I went to the store -- bananas, bread, milk, cereals, corn, potatos, orange juice, boxed rice/pasta dishes, pasta & sauces...same stuff all the time. It was all quick and easy to prepare and I didn't have to think about it. Unfortunately I think all that "ease" greatly contributed to my girth over the years!

So it's a big change when you aren't used to planning ahead for meals, shopping for meats and fresh veggies, trying new foods or new combinations, etc. You're going to try some recipes that will go straight into the trash -- I know I did -- and you'll try others that will become a staple of your diet. It's a process and it's change and we're normally opposed to change.

Try and think of it less like a grind and more like an adventure! Try something new. Find out the best places in town to get fresh meats at a good price. Talk to your butcher and see how to prepare certain cuts you've not made before. Do some skiving around in the recipes sections here on the site -- you'll be surprised at the variety there.

Most of all remember that you're worth all the trouble! You're worth spending time shopping for food, reading recipes, preparing great meals that are nutritious and delicious. Your health is worth everything...just think where you'd be without it!!

Schelle, do you have one of these? If not..buy one quick!

I have a story to go with it too. My mom bought one of these Oster Egg Cookers when I was a little kid and she still has it and it still works (the cooker is 30 years old now). When she said she was going to move out of state she started giving things to me and my brother and sister. I shouted, "I want the egg cooker!! Well...we ALL wanted the egg cooker but my mom said, "Hell no! I am getting buried with that!" So, before she moved we each got a gift. One of these new Oster Egg Cookers. They weren't even available widely on the market at the time, she had to order them directly from Oster and I think she bought a dozen and gave them as gifts.

Anyways, the great thing about this egg cooker is that it works SO fast and is so convenient. Hard-boiled eggs are great for everyone at my house. Hubby loves them in his lunch or in a salad, the kid will snack on them, and for a LC-er this is a must-have. The convenience is really key. The poacher function works okay, but I have only used it a couple times (like I have time to make hubby eggs Benedict!).

A big part of this WOE is having food ready to go when you just don't feel like cooking or don't have the time. I think I have made at least 3 dozen HB eggs in the past week and a half. Everyone loves them!

thanks but take a look at my photos!

alicat-that is too cool and i know what you mean about hb eggs sometimes they don't even get a chance to make it to my salad!!!

Eggs are the cheapest part about the plan for the quantity!!!!! =)

I've been eating this way for more than a year now. It is very hard to change the lifestyle you are accustomed to. This has been one of the hardest things for me. Now, when I feel like cooking, I make lots, and I might experiment with different things. Make lc chili, soup, stew, etc and freeze extra porions for nights you are too bored or lazy to cook. Search the recipe forum for recipes that appeal to you or mimic foods you used to eat.

I was never a hot cereal kind of person, but I now make flax meal, like oatmeal, regularly. Takes about five minutes. I make bowl muffins, too. Delicious.

For lunches, I often eat leftovers. In their leftover form, or as a chef salad, or however I feel like having them. Cold deep dish pizza quiche is one of my faves.

Eggs in various forms, of course, are part of my daily eating. I love them hard boiled, deviled, fried with lots of steamed spinach and butter, made into omelettes of many kinds.

It takes work to find the new easy fallback meals, but once you have some new favorites it gets much much easier.

Search that recipe forum and use your imagination to find things you like.

Not to put a damper on things because all of this advice has been very good... Sometimes though there are some people, some of us, myself included who got extremely depressed on Atkins because of the lack of carbs...according to my doctor...so I had to up them considerably and started feeling much better...now I cycle somewhat between 40 and 80 but when I try to push the 20...I immediately get depressed... Everyone's hormones are different.... I, however, am prone to depression...

hmm that is interesting! i haven't truely "traked" my carbs...i only bought what was on the induction list and just eat-except the atkins morning start bars....i haven't eaten much i don't think but after that whole mood thing yest. i took 2 threelac packets and then was fine w/in the hour.... and not feelin' down today just tiered-baby up at 2:30 am...

I haven't been in for the longhaul so can't say anything from experience but here are some ideas...

When you cook put on some nice music( your favorite stuff) that will lift you up.

If you don't want to cook treat yourself to a lowcarb meal at a restaurant. take a ride and find a new restaurant offering something diferent.

Treat yourself with some of the low carb 'sweets' that the members have posted.

Relax with a nice low carb cocktail.

man i feel like crap again! slugish-shoulders are tiered, ache etc. stiff neck etc. but I have to do dishes today, don't i wish i could twinkle my nose and it worked for something more than making my family giggle!

Schelle -- I also hate to wait for cooking to get done. I do my meals on a "basics & add-ins" principle. Once a week I make a huge salad: romaine, endive, escarole, radicchio, boston, dried oregano, basil & thyme, plus a few thin rings of onions. Then I bag the salads in ziplocks, pressing out all the air as I zip. I can add different toppings in a jiffy -- hb eggs, olives, crabmeat, cold cuts, etc. The salad lasts the entire week, and as long as you keep pressing the air out as you re-zip the bag, it tastes just the same on the last day as it did the first -- no wilting!

I do the same with chicken: lots of breasts or legs at the same time, then I top them individually as I go along during the week. I often have them with the different Marie's dressings, eg blue cheese, creamy italian, creamy caesar. Pull out the pre-made salad, & it takes no time at all.

Salmon is the other thing I cook in bulk & sauce individually as I go through the week. Hollandaise, aolii, 'honey' mustard, etc.: they take two seconds, w/ frozen veggies popped into the m'wave for 3 mins.

Hang in!! You can do this!!!

thanks joanne! i just get frustrated when i need to be cooking, etc, but the baby is hungry the 4 & 9 yr old are running a fighting throught the house just as i get her back to sleep to cook, and do dishes, etc. plus as i have said before i use to be skinny and i never had to eat like this so haveing to add an extra load on and stand at the stove just a little longer on one day to not have to the rest of the week takes some MENTAL ADJUSTING as well as HOME SUPPORT. I am going to try it! last night i made extra chicken breast but it seems i only ended up with one "left over" for today!