[MeganHope]

Hello all. I recently joined this website after purchasing the "3 fat chicks on a diet" book.

I've always had problems sticking to a certain diet. I've also found that eating dinners with my family, while on a diet, has been hard. They are supportive, but they always cook those meals that you just want to give up everything and get a huge helping of! Aha.

I find myself being a very picker eater, which is why I don't understand how I am as big today. I've been reading recipes on this website and see that most consist of seafood, which personally I can not eat. I'm more of a pasta and bread, chicken and potato's, & dumplings and stuffing girl.

I was just wondering if anyone else has any kind of support or maybe something that has worked for you that you could share. Thanks so much! Best wishes to all.

Sincerely,
Megan

[Nola Celeste]

I'm right there with you on the love of carbolicious stuff like pasta, bread, and stuffing. Unfortunately, neither medical science nor culinary art has come up with foods that taste exactly like mac and cheese, yet have the nutritional profile of brussels sprouts.

Do you like many vegetables and fruits? While eating them isn't 100% essential to losing weight, they are a big part of having an easier time with weight loss because they add so much volume with so few calories. They're also vital for good overall health--and that's even more important than weight loss.

I've always enjoyed vegetables, but since I've been eating to lose, I've really been piling them on. If there are some you don't mind, add them everywhere. Add spinach and onions to your two-egg omelet for breakfast and a stack of mixed greens and tomatoes to your sandwich at lunch; you'll be less hungry and therefore less likely to eat extra helpings of the more calorie-dense foods served at dinner.

There's no getting around portion control. I originally dug my heels in on this because I love food (and lots of it) and just hated the idea of parsimonious little dollops of food sitting like lonely islands on the vast empty expanse of my dinner plate. Non-starchy vegetables take up a lot of that space. Lightening up old favorites also allows me bigger portions. And while it may be an illusion, I find it also helps to use a smaller plate; I really DO feel fuller eating from a salad plate than from an oversized dinner plate.

If you like to cook, here's an outstanding site for lean, but delicious recipes to try: Gina's Skinny Recipes.

[MeganHope]

Thank you for replying. (:

I do enjoy fruits, veggie's not so much. I was never grown up eating vegetables so of course as an adult I'm not eating what I should.

I've seen some vegetables around the local grocery store that I wouldn't mind trying, so I think I'm going to load up on everything and give it a go. (I might catch myself feeding some to the dog every now and then. :P)

Thanks so much for the recipes and the link, some of them really look interesting and something that both my boyfriend and I could enjoy eating.