Hi. I'm Jessica. I'm 28, and I weigh 230 pounds. I'm 5'5.
I've had sleep apnea all of my life as long as I can remember, and I usually sleep 12 to 14 hours a night/day. Obviously, this results in a lot of weight gain. I'm too tired to excercize. However, I just got a CPAP, and I am told I should start to feel better. (I don't yet, and it's been a couple of months, but in any case...) I want to use this as motivation to lose weight.
Anyway, I also have PCOS, and carbohydrates are really bad for that. My blood pressure is high, so I don't think I need to eat a lot of salt. Almost all of the women in my family have diabetes. Every night I'm going to cook, I think that I want to make something that tastes good and will be healthy. Meaning it won't make me gain weight, it won't have a lot of salt, or sugar, and it won't have carbohydrates.. but that it also won't leave me hungry at 11:00, so I won't have to either get up and eat, or have my sleep disturbed. It also makes things more dificult that I don't want to use sugar replacements either. Some of them are bad for you, and they taste so nasty it's pointless to replace sugar with them.
My problem is that I have no idea what too cook. I have no idea what to buy. I've gone out and bought health food many times, spent all of my grocery for the month, and then it wouldn't make enough meals, or it went bad in the fridge cause I couldn't stand any more lettuce. I bought a Weight Watchers cookbook for 30 dollars, but there was a lot of salt and sugar and such in the recipies. It tended to lean toward small portions and low fat, and notI need very simple instructions. A list of what I can buy that has little sugar, little or no salt, no carbohydrates, and is still good. The ingredients, the shopping list, the recipes, the prices, and how to make a months budget last a month while doing this. Is there a book like that out there? Or a site? I need help with this. I'm a terribly limited cook so far. I'm willing to learn, if I could just find a place with all of that information...

Somehow, I forsee you eating a lot of lean chicken and fish - hope you like them! Veggies sound like they'd be great for you too, maybe steamed, some carbs but really not enough to do you any damage. You could think about Atkins, I suppose, it has worked well for a lot of people. I'd look around at the different diet areas of the site and see what looks good to you! Good luck and welcome!

one of my favorite things to make is chicken fajitas. I just slice up chicken breasts into strips, fry it in a pan with a little oil, then add a sliced up green pepper. Top that with some fajita seasoning. Its quick, cheap, and really good. I eat it with some cheese and lots of salsa and tomatos. I dont use a shell because the shells add a lot of carbs/calories. You should try it!

Yup on the chicken and veggies. Lean proteins and things that grow.

Hi Jessica, welcome to 3FC

All carbs are not bad for PCOS, but a lot of people with PCOS do better if they avoid or limit certain carbs such as sugar. All vegetables and fruits are also carbs, but are good for you and really necessary. Please check out our PCOS forum, I think you'll find some great advice there!

Good luck!

Welcome Jessica, I also have PCOS and take blood pressure med's as well as diabetic med's. My Dr. recommended low-carb for me to lose the weight. I did include fruits and green veggies besides the typical tons of meat, eggs and cheese and the weight came off just fine. I really didn't eat any type of flour or sugar at the time. I'm now doing calorie counting and have definitely increased the carbs with even more fruits and whole grains. I am not having any problem with regaining of weight. You might want to check out the Atkins or South Beach forums.

Thanks for all of the advice! I'm taking notes. I'll think I'll have to respond more when I'm more awake.
Thanks again!

Hey! I thought I set a counter... How do I make that work?

Hey JessicaBT,

If the counter didn't show up, maybe you didn't "Save Signature" when you were done. Try again. User CP-->Edit Signature, then follow the directions.

Jay

Hi Jessica!

Everyone has given you GREAT advice! I'd like to add that your local library is a WONDERFUL PLACE to get cookbooks and the latest books on healthy eating! I never add the salt to recipes. They turn out just fine. Try eating more fiber and more protein. Both take longer to digest which gives you a lot more bang for the buck and also helps keep hunger at bay!

Cheryl

Hey if you still look at this. I use a can of diced tomatoes, a can of green beens, a can of sliced mushrooms, obviously these can be adjusted but some paprika, oregeno, Pepper, Any other spices. All cooked together. It is fast easy and tasty and quite satisfying. Usually with white chicken meat or Turkey meat or something like that. Of course my Fiance likes to do stirfrys of turkey sausage (awesome and healthy), bell peppers, mushrooms, broccoli sometimes, or whatever. Sometimes White chicken tenders and a mustard sauce of some sort or another. Really quite cool.

Im still reading. Thanks! Keep those suggestions coming! If you have any.

Ok, the page with the trackers says I have to post a code in this box. I'm going to try it. There was no "Save Signature." Do I have to post the code every time?

I'll get this right eventually.

I've found that things cooked in a tomato base make for an excellent, healthy and lo-cal dinner. Think ratatouille or shrimp creole, eg. Saute some onions, garlic and other veggies in cooking spray, add tomatoes and simmer. You can add shrimp or chicken or whatever as well. Canned tomatoes only have 25 calories per 1/2 cup, so you can eat ALOT of the tomato/veggie mix. I vary up the seasonings to make the meal interesting--sometimes I'll use cajun spices, other times cumin and coriander, other times italian herbs and spices with the addition of chicken stock or a splash of white wine. I make these sorts of dinners quite alot, and I usually eat them over a 1/2 cup of cooked rice. It really can be quite tasty. A small portion of baked polenta can also be really good.