Just thought I would start a little list here. I was thinking last night, "What would I have done without..." and mentally listed some things that have helped in my weight loss. Thought if any of us had any things/foods/ideas/helpful hints that had really helped in their progress, we could list them here and then everyone could benefit from our experience.

The first one that popped into my head last night was...

"What would I do without.....BLEU CHEESE DRESSING!"

OK, let's hear some more.

Debbie,
Great Idea!!!

What would I do without...

...knowing that there is a reason for my problem other than a lack of willpower?

...OF COURSE, the support of people on this board.

and

...deli sliced ham - my easiest meal when I don't have much time.
(and gee I've saved a lot of money not going through the fast food drive thrus)

FITDAY!!!!

What would I do without it??? I know exactly: go insane.
I do my own plan and need it to make sure I am consuming enough calories and getting the correct percentages. It has made doing this SO EASY!
Before I went to the site I was constantly wondering about everything, kind of feeling around in the half-light. Now I put everything in: plan my meals, figure out my calorie input/output, monitor loss and improvements on exercise. Often, the cry is heard, "I have to put this into fitday! Let me on the computer!"

Which brings me to the second, but by no means less important, aspect to my weight loss: my sweet bf. He has supported me even before I began everything. As a matter of fact, I think I really started it all after a day of feeling extemely bad about myself (5'4" and 250 lbs) and him (6'3" and never varied 5 lbs. over or under his ideal weight for 20 years) hugging me saying, "But petal... you're tiny!" It gave me enough confidence to begin and he continues to be supportive. Couldn't do without him by any means!

AND rotisserie chickens! Thank you where ever you may be!

~The support of the people on these boards.

~The support of my beloved husband, who has finally given me the thing I've asked him for since we've been married...he's gone on this diet with me, to help me through this, even though he's a carb-hound.

~The support of family and friends who understand that this is something I want for my own well being.

~tuna fish and mayo.

~hardboiled eggs.

~heat and serve bacon.

~recipe ideas.

~Hansen's Natural Diet Sodas

Those are just the ones I can think of at the moment.

I have to agree with almost every post here about the husband/partner thing! I have been with mine since I was 14, he has seen me go from 150lbs to 250 lbs (in 4 years) without blinking an eye, he has been so supportive of this new WOE, especially when I told him that I have PCOS and that a Low Carb diet will help us have a baby (boy did he ever get supportive then!! HA ) He has gone on the plan with me and supports my strange new eating habits and enjoys the new stuff with me


Things I couldnt live without:

Sugar Free Jello Topped with Whipped Cream
Diet Pepsi Twist
Almonds (my "gotta get the calories up" snack)
Cheese (I am starting a cheeseoholics support group)

And of course:

The recipies, inspiration and encouragement that I get from this forum!

The califlower mock mashd potatoes was huge for me(Got a head boiling right now) I also enjoy BBQ sauce, pork rind breading (I put pork rind breading on string cheese mmmmm cheese sticks ) and messing around with the ice cream maker. I made some tomato soup yesterday that tasted and looked just like campbells. I'm very satisfied, the only thing I miss is bread and I will add a slice or two a week of 100% wheat... once I go on maintenance. If it wasn't for this forum I would have treated this program like a quick fix and would of gained the weight back. I see now that it is for the rest of my life.

Please tell me your mozza stick recipie, my husband loves food like that (who am I kidding, so do I!!!) Dipped in salsa are the best, tell me how you get the pork rinds to stick?? I bet the hot and spicy ones would be great on mozza sticks eh, have you every tried that??

Yeah Elora I use the hot spicey pork rinds. I cut the string cheese in 2 inch lengths then I freeze them so they can stay in oil longer. I just roll the frozen cheese in egg\ pork rind and I place a couple of them on my fry daddy spacula and let them rest there in oil for half a min. before i let them fall to the bottom. I get pretty good breading coverage this way. I keep wanting to try mushrooms this way, but haven't gotten around to it yet. PS I seen somewhere somebody used soy flour for breading, I just hate the taste of soy flour. I hope it works for you

Sorry to break the original intent of this thread...
...but I use the same egg/pork rind mixture to coat and fry shrimp. Yum!

Happy eating and losing!

Donald

Thanks guys, I'll give it a try, spicy battered mushrooms, shrimp, mozza sticks, I'm in heaven! (but I'll probably try to bake em 1st!)

WOW DW you are melting!! 46 pounds You are going to blow away that april 1st goal....I like using that pom pom smilie

Cluck, cluck cluck CLUCK, cluck cluck...

CHICKEN THIGHS

I buy a big package, fix them all, then put them in a ziploc in the frig. Instant breakfast, (yes I like them for breakfast especially with a boatload of hot sauce on them )lunch or snacks. They are a bit messy so traveling with them is not too practical, but you can wolf down a chicken leg pretty quick when you're trying to get out the door...


Great thread!

Mine is Sunflower seeds.. I buy them in the hull and suck and munch on them all day at work.....


Dee

For me it's Pork Fat. Okay, I wouldn't kick a Strip steak off my plate either.

And Cheese: Cheddar, Mozzerela, Jack, Cream, Blue, Gorgonzola, if it's got cheese on the label, I'll eat.... (Well, except for those fake american cheese slices... yech...)