Introduction
 

Hi! I am here because my doctor desperately wants me at a healthier weight, and I want a healthier weight as well. I have been on this forum in the past under a different username, but now I'm back!

I'm here for accountability, and also for inspiration and helpful tips! My biggest obstacle right now is that I need to eat extremely low sodium (under 2,000mg per day) so I basically cannot eat out. Any low sodium tips are very welcome. I try and stick to using LOTS of fresh herbs in my proteins and veggies for flavor. But man I miss salt!

My downfall is that a lot of very high calorie sweets tend to be low in sodium... and I have been overdoing it on that.

EES, hello! I am so glad to see someone posting today. I used to be part of this site a long time ago, and it looks like it has lost its popularity. There aren't as many posts as there were years ago. :(

Anyway, maybe we can help each other! Unfortunately, I cannot help you with the low sodium...haha! I should probably not eat as much myself. I would like to start eating less carbs and incorporating more colorful veggies in my meals. I need some easy lunch ideas. I am a teacher and only get 20 minutes for lunch and it's usually with my students.

Hi! Do you have access to a microwave for lunch? Or do you have to bring cold lunch only? If you can microwave, I find it's super easy to just make an extra portion of dinner (usually chicken and some steamed veggies) and then heat it up for a few minutes the next day. Not the most exciting thing in the world, but easy! I also can't tell you have envious I am of people that can eat lean cuisines and smart ones! The sodium is too high for me, but I'd definitely put those into rotation if I could.

Do you like spicy at all? My old go-to snack used to be celery with spreadable babybel blue cheese spread in the crease and then I would dip it in franks red hot sauce. I called them buffafaux wings! I find that spicy helps me feel more full.


Salads are also super easy of course... and boring! One thing I learned is that I hated salad partly because I wasn't too interested in the lettuce! So now I try to make 80% of the salad broccoli, green beans, carrots, onion, beets etc. and then add a bit of lettuce - sometimes no lettuce at all.

Yes, we usually have one microwave we get to share among several other teachers and sometimes students. Making extra dinner is something that I am going to have to start doing. I usually make just enough and we never have leftovers, but I could easily start making me a lunch plate before we eat. Thanks for the idea!

As for the celery....bleh! Hahahah! I just have never been able to eat raw celery. I keep trying it every so often to see if my taste buds will change, but they haven't. And I don't care for blue cheese either, but maybe I could incorporate some other idea. Have you ever tried those little sweet peppers that you can get out of produce area? My students think they are hot because they are yellow, orange, and red, but they are sweet and so good. I usually dip them in some kind of salad dressing. But, may could incorporate some cream cheese and hot sauce...haha!

I agree...salads are boring. I got burned out on them last school year. They really did help me shed a few pounds though. I should get back on them.

Yes! I LOVE the sweet peppers! I always forget to pick those up as a snack option, but they are really, really good. Do you have a go-to dressing for dips and salads? DO you ever make your own at home?

EES, I like avocado ranch or something like that. I don't eat just plain ranch. And no, I do not make my own dressing. I am going to the store today to see what I can find...