[Laur3878]

Hi all! I'm brand new here, and I'm wrapping up day 1 of phase 1! So far so good, just a mild headache. I aim to lose 20 lbs or so, and to have more energy.

This forum is excellent and I've been reading it for a week--I've Googled my questions every which way and for the most part, got every answer I was looking for right here. So, thank you.

I do have some issues, though, and if anybody has some advice I'd appreciate it.

I'm not going to go crazy with recipes on Phase 1 because it's just me and my 4 yo son in the house, a.k.a. Mr. Picky. I don't want to bother making big meals for myself, since I'm not a huge fan of leftovers--dinner every night for me will be a simple protein with tons of veggies (and beans!). So any ideas for very simply prepared foods would be welcome, if any of you went that route. I intend to get my beans in. But I'm not a huge bean eater so what can I do, easily, with canned beans to make them tasty enough?

Additionally, I've had the bad habit--forever--of not really eating much before 4 p.m. Coffee and water all day long, then I'd eat anything I wanted, all night long--unhealthy dinner (or two!), all types of sweets and snacks, right up til bedtime. I'd get all my eating in between 4 p.m. and midnight.

I have a very hard time forcing myself to eat earlier in the day. I choked down eggs and veggies for breakfast and it took me like an hour. Then I wasn't hungry for lunch but forced down a small chicken salad anyway. Every bite I ate up until dinnertime was really a struggle. Will this get better? Through habit, can I become a person who eats "normally"? Truly, I think it's my biggest stumbling block and if anything will derail me, it's this.

Lastly, silly question. I feel/am overweight, but not significantly so. Generally, do people lose less in Phase 1 when they don't have so much to lose? I see a lot of people talking about really big losses in Phase 1 but I don't know if that would apply to me, and I don't want to get my hopes up too much. (Although I've measured myself and I'll be giving those numbers more attention than the numbers on the scale.)

Thanks for reading my novel here, if you've made it this far! I hope to be around here with you all for a long time!

[RiverGirl]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Glad you have already found it so useful.

There are a ton of recipes on the forum *found here*
I particularly love the Salsa Chicken recipe, quick and delish.
As for beans I am a fan of chili in these cold winter months or adding them to a cold taco salad topped with salsa is always tasty.

It is important to have a small meal/snack every 3 hours to keep your blood sugar level, while it may be difficult at first since you've 'trained' your body to do otherwise, it will eventually readjust to the 'normal' meal times.

Generally the less weight you have to lose the less dramatic loss you see in phase 1, however it is mostly 'water weight' and the main point of phase 1 is more of a 'detox' to rid yourself of cravings... phase 2 is where the 'important' weight loss happen.

The best piece of advice I can give is to check in here at the forum often, it is full of wonderful, helpful & supportive people. Good luck on your journey & welcome to the beach!

[WaistingTime]

Welcome.

There is a recipe here (and many other version online if you search) for crockpot refried beans. It makes a lot but you can freeze individual portions. Also, I love recipes with beans incorporated. I actually found leftovers to be very helpful but I'm not a fan of cooking. I sometimes froze them, often had them in the next day (or two or three), sometimes even for breakfast. My boys were also picky eaters (but much older) so they either got something entirely different or an added carb, like rice or bread or pasta. The didn't touch the veggies!!

As to your last question, yes, often having less to lose translates to less loss in PH1 and slower loss overall. I have done PH1 more than once (as a yo-yo-dieter) and the most I ever loss was 5 pounds. But that's more than 2 pounds a week so for me that was a lot.

[cottagebythesea]

to The Beach, Laur3878!

[ArmyAng]

Welcome!!!!

[pearlygirly]

Hi

I think having leftovers would be a bonus if you don't like to cook or if you have to cook "kid food" each night in addition to your meal.

I like to sometimes roast a chicken & eat it w/o the skin. Then another night you can use the leftovers in cesar salad or any manner of casserole or for tacos w/o the tortilla

Also if you have some frozen fish fillets you can place 1 fillet on foil, squeeze lemon on top and sprinkle with seasonings such as dill, lemon pepper, paprika then bake til fish flakes easily with a fork.

I made regular Mexican style pinto beans the other day in the crockpot and I had too much filling from the stuffed peppers I had made so I combined stuffed peppers filling with beans...very tasty & filling.

FF refried beans are great in the taco bake

I also like black beans underneath poached eggs with some salsa as a mock Huevos Rancheros.

[Laur3878]

Thank you all for the advice, the suggestions, and the welcome!

The crockpot refried beans are cooking up now (thanks WaistingTime! ), and I roasted a big batch of chickpeas today (they're much tastier than I imagined, maybe dangerously so).

Oh, pearlygirly, I looooove to cook and bake. But I'm not super excited about many Phase 1 recipes so I figure I'll take a break from "serious" cooking for a few weeks. I should rephrase myself--I don't like eating the same exact meal again and again, but I do like re-purposing leftovers, like you suggested. So thank you!

Today's not bad, overall, besides the headache that comes and goes--just feeling a little lightheaded and "blah." No cravings, not missing any of the foods I have to avoid. A lot of that's because I'm too preoccupied with eating the necessary foods every 3 hours. Otherwise I feel...nothing! Which is okay!