<p>Another thing that works for me is to start the day off with a good, filling, healthy but satisfying breakfast. If I start the day off right, I"m more likely to stay on target longer for the day (and feel better). If I popped a donut or roll, I’m more likely to slide all day.</p>
<p>Good breakfast options for me:
Steel cut oats w/ a good amount of dried fruit or fresh fruit and chopped nuts. </p>
<p>A bowl of a favorite cereal again adding dried, fresh and/or chopped almonds (I am addicted to almonds!0</p>
<p>An apple with crunchy PB and 1/2 whole grain bagel.</p>
<p>2 egg omelet with chopped veggies and some cheddar.<br>
(I bought this cute egg omelet gadget from Home Goods - plop the stuff in and put on the stove for 2 minutes each side and have a perfect round omelet!)</p>
<p>In the summer I often throw some fresh fruit, a container of yogurt, some ice cubes and some liquid (orange juice, milk - whatever I find in the refrig) and make a smoothie. Bought a large insulated clear cup from TJMaxx - dump in the smoothie and I sip on it for the first couple of hours of work -stays cold and is filling. Will eat that with a handful of almonds and dried cherries.</p>
<p>Another thing that works for me is to start the day off with a good, filling, healthy but satisfying breakfast. If I start the day off right, I"m more likely to stay on target longer for the day (and feel better). If I popped a donut or roll, I’m more likely to slide all day.</p>
<p>Good breakfast options for me:
Steel cut oats w/ a good amount of dried fruit or fresh fruit and chopped nuts. </p>
<p>A bowl of a favorite cereal again adding dried, fresh and/or chopped almonds (I am addicted to almonds!0</p>
<p>An apple with crunchy PB and 1/2 whole grain bagel.</p>
<p>2 egg omelet with chopped veggies and some cheddar.<br>
(I bought this cute egg omelet gadget from Home Goods - plop the stuff in and put on the stove for 2 minutes each side and have a perfect round omelet!)</p>
<p>In the summer I often throw some fresh fruit, a container of yogurt, some ice cubes and some liquid (orange juice, milk - whatever I find in the refrig) and make a smoothie. Bought a large insulated clear cup from TJMaxx - dump in the smoothie and I sip on it for the first couple of hours of work -stays cold and is filling. Will eat that with a handful of almonds and dried cherries.</p>
<p>I’m so excited that this thread has taken off. I feel doubly motivated as OP! I have to stay on track, right? Or what will all of the other posters do if the OP drops out! Every time I am tempting to indulge myself I think of the thread and exercise self restraint.</p>
<p>Went out to dinner last night but had grilled salmon and spinach and one very small roasted potato.</p>
<p>I made tuna today from an old WW recipe. I’ll pass it on. Even my mom liked it.</p>
<p>1 can of solid white tuna
2 tbsp light mayo (I used low fat)
1 or 2 (to taste) tbsp vidalia onion relish
chopped tomatoe
salt and pepper</p>
<p>I had it on a whole wheat flat bread. Yummy</p>
<p>And yes, to any posters who join! Of course you can start any time! We can all weigh ourselves on the first Friday after joining (actually any day is fine for the first one but then switch to Friday after that.)</p>
<p>This reminds me of a question, for those who are watching sodium–is this because of high blood pressure? That’s the only connection with sodium I am familiar with. I consume a lot of sodium but my blood pressure has always been on the low side, so I have not really tried to decrease the sodium. Are there other bad effects I should be aware of?</p>
<p>Amesie,
I’ve tried to live sodium free since 11th grade. My FA and I have same problem, that we retain fluids. Both of us were put on Aldactone-type meds. I’ve been off for years, but I cannot eat canned soups, pizza–1 slice only, NO potato chips, etc. Usually, people can balance there sodium/potassium balance by an extra banana, but i can’t (not one banana in 35 years). My dad would take a diuretic if he “strayed” (lox, Chinese food), but neither my endocrinologist or GYN will take the chance on me (their malpractice).</p>
<p>I have terrific soup recipes, like cabbage soup, if anyone is interested.</p>
<p>Carb junkie here who wants to lose some weight gained around the waist in the past year or so. I’ll give up the steaks and other foods, but I just love good breads and baked goods.</p>
<p>If you don’t want to give up carbs, at least try to eat healthier ones. Try subbing whole grains for refined flours. My husband and son complained the first few times that I made whole grain pasta; now they don’t notice any difference. Although carbs have a bad reputation, my nutritionist and the diabetes prevention counselors recommend the healthy, whole grain carbs. Prepackaged baked goods usually contain white flour and lots of other hidden things that are not especially good for you.</p>
<p>I also love my carbs. I add go lean crisp cereal to my nightly fruit and Greek yogurt. I have actually convinced myself that it is as good as a fancy dessert!</p>
<p>Amesie: I watch sodium intake because of high blood pressure. It’s hereditary; even my 24 yo S has been told that his blood pressure is elevated. Getting him to be concerned enough to watch his sodium isn’t easy, especially when his gf has low blood pressure & can eat all the salty food she likes.</p>
<p>I avoid sodium because of high BP. It’s funny (well not really funny) but my BP started to go up at the same age as my mom’s. I am also part of this genome project and a year or so ago they sent me an update telling me i am at risk for - guess what - high BP.</p>
<p>TIP ALert Carbs - I try to stick to complex carbs. Once a week I have pasta. I use Barilla Pasta Plus and like better than any whole wheat pasta I have tried.</p>
<p>I have a great blog for you guys. It’s not mine, but a woman I’ve gotten to know in the blogosphere writes a blog with low-carb, all-unprocessed foods recipes. She is a great cook. And she’s on her way down from very overweight. I have made one of her recipes, it was delicious. As an extra added benefit, she’s funny:). Since we can’t post blog links, just Google Jan’s Sushi Bar. </p>
<p>Fridays she talks about her research and the paleo diet theory. This Friday it was why even whole grains can be bad for you. You don’t need to take it to her extremes to like her food, and the rants do make the blog very entertaining.</p>
<p>I find that when I’m sugar-free, I can’t tolerate sushi with white rice - the trace of sugar they put in the rice bothers me. I can eat sushi with brown rice. I also can’t drink wine, unfortunately. The sugar in it bothers me.</p>
<p>I’d love the cabbage soup recipe, bookworm. Here is a great recipe for Tomato-Lentil soup:</p>
<p>I notice that when I eat high sodium foods, I get swelling in my fingers and my skin feels stretched and dry (I know, weird). I, too, tend to have BP on the low side, very much the opposite of the rest of my family but i just don’t like that swollen finger thing.</p>
<p>I like the Go Lean Cereal thing in the yogurt idea. Sounds good.</p>
<p>Good point, and I think this might be why my weight fluctuates day to day somtimes by as much as 3 or 4 pounds. On the other hand, adding low sodium to the dietary criteria would make things more complicated. Low carb and high fiber are already not the easiest combination. If the water retention is not a health threat, I am thinking I will not worry about sodium at least for a while.</p>