Well, pitfall hasn't posted again since October. Usually not a good sign, though there were very good ideas in this thread. Weezerchic...do you have a BG meter and record what happens after eating certain meals? That info helps some keep on track.

Yeah, it is about focusing on the positive. When I gave up wheat/gluten my mind tended to dwell on what I couldn't have, but I shifted focus to what I can have and it didn't seem so awful.

The first time I read DANDR, I was running a spreadsheet in my head, calculating carbs and "deciding" I would be one of those "higher carb" people he talked about.

As we say in New York: yeah, right.

Now, my local deli knows I'm "no bread, no tomato" when I stop by for lunch. I've given up lemonade and fruit juices to become an herbal tea aficionado. I've learned to cook and can make things like creamed spinach with carmelized onion, mock mac 'n' cheese with real cheese sauce over cauliflower, pizza omelettes, and pot roast with kale instead of potatoes.

I don't miss what I used to eat. What I eat now is so much better.

Now that the weather is getting colder, it's time for a Reuben frittata.

I can have any taste I want. We just need a little creativity and a lot of eggs and vegetables

I can have Mexican, Italian, German - all sorts of flavors! I just discovered a recipe from Dana Carpender (actually discovered it a long time back, just made it the other day) that is absolutely delicious. Ground Beef Florentine from 500 Low-Carb Recipes by Dana Carpender.

The only thing I changed was mixing everything in a cast iron skillet so I didn't also dirty a mixing bowl and casserole dish.

When I really miss my pancakes I make crepes - egg, cream cheese, almond flavoring.

I think it was Janet who said we sometimes need a health crisis to make up our minds to live low carb. That has helped me a lot. I still take small detours, but don't go completely off the tracks.

Speaking of recipes: I just made a meatloaf substituting almond flour for bread crumbs. The texture from the almond flour was good, but there was no binding agent. I used egg. Is there a low carb binding agent I've missed? I usually prepare things plain so I've not had the need to learn this part.

I don't do much that needs more than an egg, but I've used nutritional yeast for binding in homemade sausage - about 1 tablespoon for every pound of ground meat. And egg.

I've always used an egg or two in meatloaf. I still am searching for an approximation of my mom's recipe, which became mine.

It's the "fluffy" meatloaf in her old Betty Crocker cookbook, which used fresh bread cubes. Not as dense as the normal kind.

You might try peanut or lupin flour instead of bread crumbs. They both have sticky texture that'll help weld it together.

All the meatloaf recipes I use have almond flour and egg. To keep them "fluffy" don't overwork the mix but just bring it together, nor pack it down but gently pat it into a loaf shape on an open pan.

This Mexican Meatloaf is light but maybe because it had a pound of beef and chorizo sausage! and salsa mixed in. Juli has about six other versions of meatloaf on her website. Including a chicken one. (The Betty Crocker has 1/2 pound pork to the 1pound beef and lots of milk, so maybe the salsa or tomatoes add that liquid needed)

http://paleomg.com/sneak-peek-recip...xican-meatloaf/

And this was one of the first Paleo recipes made when I started Atkins/Primal in 2010 and still make it as a basic beef meatloaf, 2 eggs, cup almond flour, can of tomato paste.

http://everydaypaleo.com/meatloaf-a...russel-sprouts/

Thanks for the tip, Janet.

And speaking of Janet...there is a pork roast with a jar of salsa poured over it in my crockpot as I type. It'll be done for dinner tonight, be good for left overs tomorrow and frozen leftovers next week.

Must remember that. It has the simplicity of my own "corned beef with a jar of sauerkraut poured over it" recipe

The recipe is from Janet, and I'm eating it right now. VERY good.

RECIPE??? that's stretching the definition
Glad you like it! The corned beef and sauerkraut "recipe" is also good, but hard to find a corned beef except March. Any sauce you like...try beef, chicken or Italian sausages in a LC marinara.

Well, pitfall hasn't posted again since October. Usually not a good sign,

Hi JEY100. You're right, I haven't posted and that's because I went off LC again. I went 8 days with the best effort I have ever given in all my attempts. I was super positive and extra extra careful on the carbs. Even through Thanksgiving with all the mashed potatoes,beer and desserts, I ate turkey and picked bacon from the green beans in front of family members who had curious faces. Nothing broke my resolve, until I hoped on the scale and had added 5 pounds. So I am currently trying to figure out my next move. Thanks...

We can try to help and you have already had good advice from many members. Eight days is not a fair trial for someone who has had long-standing obesity and insulin resistence. Sometimes your body just needs to heal, I've heard more than one personal story that weight loss did not start right away. First the insulin resistance had to be resolved, and sometimes medications removed etc before there was much movement in the scale.

And speaking of Heal, are you located near any of the (now many) Low Carb doctors? I understand you have to have one in- person doctor appointment and medical tests, but distance programs can then be arranged. Dr. Fung also has a distance program, very inexpensive by US standards. There are others around, would doctor appointments help you stay on track?