[Last time dieter]

Hi everyone! I recently met with a dietitian to get some reasonable weight loss help. I am 34, @187 and want to be @150. I have 4 kids ages 9,7,4&2 and after my second I couldn't get below 180. I chose my name because I decided this is the last time I'm going to start a new diet. I'm basically following the diabetes diet and so far it feels very reasonable to me. I like that I'm not cutting out any food group but working in the portions. Anyways I'm excited to find this site and hope I can figure out the threads and find good ideas and motivation! Some of my beginning questions- how do i find an exercise that I love, how to make meal prep easier especially with veggies, finding ways to season food without a lot of fat (I love sauces and dressings) and good treats. I've done a few light and fit yogurt but would like more ideas.

Anyways I'm excited to see what I find out on here and I wish everyone the best of luck in their endeavors and lots of kindness and love towards ourselves!!!!!!

[Treasa]

Welcome Last time dieter!

I'll give you my perspective on some of your questions and you should definitely jump in the the daily accountability thread to get more perspectives. I have come to believe that we all need to find our own way of losing weight and keeping it off.

How to find an exercise? I don't really like to exercise and one thing I've noticed is that exercise does not effect my weight loss nearly as much as what I put in my mouth. Anyway, I bought a fitbit and try to get 10k steps in 5 days a week. We have an elliptical in our basement and while I can't say I love it, my back starts to tighten up if I don't do it so it does get me back on. Also, I feel better after I've sweat. So if I'm feeling crummy and I do some intervals on the elliptical I know I'll feel better. But that doesn't always help me with motivation...

Meal prep w/veggies. I don't really like veggies but I have found I can tolerate them. I can eat the microwavable Green Giant Steamers with the sauce. I have also found some quick easy meals with veggies that I enjoy. I precook my chicken and leave it in the fridge. Then I'll slice it up and microwave some frozen broccoli and carrots just to the point of being not frozen. I'll throw the chicken and veggies into a frying pan with a little olive oil and soy sauce and Voila! a chicken veggie stir fry in under 10 minutes! All my kids eat that one although the 8 year old only eats the chicken and carrots. Or, I'll make chicken and broccoli in a white sauce using the same precooking idea. The kids will add pasta to theirs to stretch it but I just eat the chicken and broccoli smothered in the white sauce, which brings me to the next thing

Fat content - I don't worry about it. I find fat helps me feel full. I try to eat healthier fats (avocados, olive oil, grass fed butter, aged mozzarella, etc.) and just watch my refined carbs. Carbs are what make me fat and hungry. The more refined carbs I eat, the more refined carbs I want. It can be a physical addiction for me. For the last 4 months I've been in maintenance mode and I allowed myself refined carbs (anything with a lot of sugar) 3 or 4 times a week. Now that I'm back in full blown weight loss mode, I won't have anything overtly sweet until Christmas and will keep breads to a minimum.

You have to find your own triggers. For me, no question I needed to get my blood sugars under control. That meant saying goodbye to Diet Coke (and all nutrasweet) forever and minimizing my sugary foods. You may find that's not the case for you and nutrasweet doesn't affect you like it does me. That's the case for my husband. As I said earlier, check out the daily accountability thread for the different ways people are having success. One of them probably matches your physiology.