Thank you, Mischa, DarB, and Jean, for the lovely welcome.

Mischa, I've looked at Atkins. My only major concern about it is the fact that I truly only like about five of the vegetables on induction and fear I would burn out very fast on them all the time since I have so much to lose. At the beginning of next month I am going to get a couple of cans of high fiber beans and see if eating them ups my cravings. If not then I will be a lot better off-more fiber and more variety in my foods.

I don't know how to swim(smiles). I've been told all my life that fat floats but it never did for me. Plus I have issues with my feet and legs after a very intense round of lymph edema and I am ashamed for anyone to see them. Maybe by the end of the year I will feel well enough that I will be able to start walking a little bit. I live just off the high way but can walk around the apartment building then hopefully.

I started my own journal three days ago but as you've already seen I am long-winded and don't expect too many people to pour over it. Will put them right to sleep lol

Hi, DarB. I was reading a journal last night and you were being a new person's mother hen .. smiles .. I saw you saying many of the things I was thinking as I read over the menus the person had (haha).

You wrote here that you strayed from Atkins and are now back. May I ask you please(if you don't mind answering) what you think the biggest factor was that lead you to stray? Was it the food or was it stress or something else?

Hello, Jean. Thank you for the meal suggestions. I have a small freezer so cannot really freeze anything ahead but will try reducing the recipes to a couple of servings next month when I am able to buy the ingredients.
I actually got pretty much everything I would need for the deep dish pizza quiche yesterday but I've run into two snags. One is that I am not sure I could limit myself to just a couple of slices a day right now so I'm going to hold off on it a bit. The second is the fact that I had forgotten I had baked nothing since I moved here and I have no oven pans(lol) so couldn't have made it yesterday anyway. Most of my possessions were destroyed in 1999 and I've only gotten absolute essentials since then so .. no pans .. I'll have to see if my mother has one I can borrow.

Thanks again, everyone for welcoming me.

Sincerely,
Carla