It's my pleasure, lizard.
I usually just cook whatever comes to mind with a combination of the ingredients I listed before. It's a good idea to always have a stocked fridge/ freezer so you're not tempted to go out or to make something from a box! A variety of sugar free seasonings and sugar free salsa are also good to have.--- I hate counting calories, so I only look at nutrition labels to make sure the product doesn't have any added sugar, any kind of starch, corn syrup, and the least amount of artificial ingredients possible--- I just made salmon with a lemon pepper seasoning, black beans, and broccoli with a mix of bell peppers. I buy my most of my veggies frozen because I don't have to worry about chopping them; my favs are frozen cauliflower, broccoli, bell peppers, and spinach. I'll cook my own beans if I have extra time, but with school, I'm usually eating them out of a can.-- If you're buying canned items, also make sure they don't have added sugar-- For breakfast I had 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites scrambled with fresh mushrooms, broccoli, and onions, 2 bacon slices (which should only be eaten occasionally), and some black beans. Oh, and WATER!!! Drink as much of this as you can!!! Seriously, carry around a water bottle; yes you'll pee more, but your body will love you for it! It's kind of weird to eat beans in the morning, but it's an easy way of getting protein. Oh yeah, try to eat at least 30 grams of protein within a 1/2 hour-1 hour of waking up- this will help with weight loss because it helps jump-start your metabolism. (before I forget, don't be alarmed by nutrition labels when they have sugar content-- 0 sugar is best, but also keep in mind that vegetables naturally have sugar in them, and this is ok. Try to not eat super sugary veggies though, like carrots) Sorry... you're probably thinking I'm crazy by the way I write! I'm a little disorganized in that sense, but I try to write things down as I remember them so I don't leave them out!! Salt is ok for added flavor, but not too much because this can lead to high blood pressure and can also mess up your hormones. Fresh herbs are good, salsas are great... although tomatoes are fruits so try not to add tomatoes to your meals too often. Avocado is also ok occasionally. Other than that, no fruit! No juice of any kind, unless you're having a moment of weakness and NEED to have some ice cream
, have a glass of grapefruit juice (or an actual grapefruit) before your meal so that your insulin doesn't spike (which leads to fat build up). Coffee is ok, no milk products except for a little cream (I know, cream over milk?! yep, it has less lactose (sugar)) and you can add some artificial sweetener if you must. Oil, canola, and butter are all ok too since you're trying to make your body use fat as energy instead of sugar... but like you've always heard, don't over-indulge! So, what you can have at every meal: fish, chicken, beef, pork, beans, vegetables, water, coffee, a little bit of nuts here and there, natural peanut butter/ cashew butter, etc., greek yogurt occasionally for some probiotics, a little cream (like 2 teaspoons), fresh/natural seasonings without sugar, oil, butter... everything else is a no-no
If this seems totally boring- that's good!-- you're supposed to train your brain to look at food as fuel for survival, not delicious yumminess at every meal! You probably noticed above that I mentioned you can have ice cream--- this is for the days when you really can't take the cravings! But I think you'll see with time that treats don't satisfy you the way they used to, and the disappearance of AN will be treat enough
Again, feel free to let me know if I can help with anything else!!! GOOD LUCK!!! oh! and a daily multi-vitamin is good too!!