[fireflynova]

I neglected to do this when I first signed up yesterday.

I'm a newbie to the Beach, 21 years old living in Central Massachusetts. I work as a 911 Dispatcher for Police/Fire/EMS.

I've been heavy all my life.. but at 21 I've hit my peak (230 lbs); I tried Atkins, which made me sick. I tried weight watchers, which just didn't work for me. So now, I'm following the trend of a few girls at work and starting SBD. The physical benefits of me getting smaller will be great, but my biggest concern is my Health. I'm too young to weigh so much and be in danger of developing diabetes, or heart disease. My goal is 130 lbs, which is the healthy weight for my height and age. I spent $171 this week stocking up on food and other ingredients but there's nothing I wouldn't pay for my health.

I've lost 6 lbs so far, and I've been on it for 6 days. The toughest part is that I work overnights. When I get out of work at 7am, I just want to go to bed, not have to worry about finding something to eat.. (i've never been a breakfast person anyway. However, If I don't eat something, I wake up in the afternoon famished; which is when I jump for sugary cereal, or a sandwich.

My family is the typical one, carbs for every meal; and even for snacks. My brother is 6'1 and weighs 140 lbs soaking wet.. He has my dad's metabolism; My mother is a little taller than me, and maybe 20 lbs lighter, but most of that is muscle. I got all of the bad jeans lol

This is getting too lengthy.. I only have a few questions for anyone that has any insight..

*The sugar free fudgsicles and popsicles I bought have sugar alcohol; is that splenda? or an acceptable sweetener for Phase I, or any phase?

*What do you do when it's one of those days, that you'd kill for something you can't have .. what gets you over that hump?

[sweet tooth]

Welcome to the SBD.

I understand your predicament with food. I have a son who works nights and finishes at 7:00 am. When he arrives home from work, he feels like he is in the mind set to eat supper, not breakfast. We are generally up on weekends when he gets home. He laughs and tells us it is supper time, not breakfast.

He will generally eat leftovers out of the fridge when he gets home, then goes to bed and gets up and eats breakfast. Perhaps you could try making 'suppers' for yourself to store in the fridge and heat up quickly in the microwave oven when you get home after a night shift. That would tie you over to the afternoon when you can get up and have your breakfast.

[beachgal]

Hi, Firefly!

Welcome to the Beach!

I eat the Popsicle brand of No Sugar Added Fudgsicles. You can see them here: http://www.goodhumor.com/products/pr...ed&pageCount=1 (hopefully...if not, try http://www.goodhumor.com and click on the Popsicle logo, then on the "No Sugar Added link" on the left). They do have some sugar alcohols, but don't seem to affect as many of us as the other products with sugar alcohols do. You can have basically any sugar free treat that is low in saturated fat and does not contain any ingredients with the word "hydrogenated" in it. In addition, you can only have 75 cals. worth of these treats each day.

I found that as time went on, I had less and less of those cravings that you described. When I do have them, they are mostly mental. I deal with them by closing my eyes, imagining the way the item tastes, and then I open my eyes and think about how I feel when I eat that item. That seems to curb the craving. Other times, I need to pray and think about why I am having the craving and work my way through it. Over the years, I have developed a bad coping strategy of eating whenever I am mad, upset, scared, etc., and I am working on breaking it.

Since you know why you eat when you wake up, why not make some food before you leave for work and have it in the fridge, or eat some string cheese on your way home? Eating protein will help your body deal with its hunger without inducing major cravings when you wake up. Sugary things will help wake you up quickly, so perhaps you crave them, not only because you are hungry, but also because you don't get enough rest and are trying to wake yourself up quickly?

I wish you lots of luck and hope you enjoy this forum! :

[fireflynova]

Thanks Laurie, those are the sugarless ice cream treats I have And I already love this forum, it's going to be a great method of support.

And thankyou Peggy, I'll make sure to start having something ready to heat & serve for when I get home

[Ruthxxx]

Welcome, fireflynova. I know you will enjoy it here.

[Barb0522]

If you are craving something sweet, try red pepper strips dipped in 2TBSP of hummus. I'd heard others recommend it and I tried it and it is so good. It really seems to satisfy my cravings for sweets.

Welcome to the Beach!

[Bunnababy]

Welcome fireflynova! You are in a good place to get help when you need it and encouragement when you need it.

[little chick]

Welcome fireflynova. You will get lots of great advice and support here. These chicks are a great flock.

[ellis]

Welcome to the Beach, Fireflynova!!

Originally Posted by fireflynova

What do you do when it's one of those days, that you'd kill for something you can't have .. what gets you over that hump?

I go straight to bed.