Meal Plan
 

I was just responding to a question regarding individual meal plans.
I belonged to OA for years and could never find a meal plan that I could stick to. Then I discovered OA HOW which has a regimented meal plan combined with working closely (daily) with a sponsor. I now realize that I needed someone to tell me what to eat and how much because I was an addict and couldn't do it for myself.

Meal plan is no flour of any kind, no sugar, no alcohol.. Amounts of what is eaten is weighed and measured.

It is absolutely amazing! It sounds difficult and is hard the first couple of weeks. But the result has been like coming out of a drug coma. The mental clarity is amazing. It is not the answer in and of itself of course. But it gives you the mental clarity to continue doing the work of the 12 step program to remove the mental blocks to God. Hope that helps. Thanks.

I guess I'm with the poster who does the 1200 calories a day, spread out in smaller meals and snacks though I do the range of 1200 - 1498 calories. This range is based on my resting metabolic rate test results. After 13 weeks I've lost 40 pounds and it hasn't been that difficult. If I make good food choices (there are no restrictions), I get plenty of food and don't get hungry. It's amazing how much more fresh real food you can eat compared to processed, pre-packaged and generally unhealthy food of the same caloric content.

I should mention I do exercise almost daily which has surely contributed to my loss, and I'm sure this might be harder for some than others, but its working for me and is very doable.

I have three meals and one snack (the snack is around 3:30 or 4 p.m. and it's an egg and a string cheese, or greek yogurt with blueberries. I don't have any sugar or flour of any kind and no diet soda. I don't measure but I do know that I only eat a certain amount of scoops of things...I use a large serving spoon for this. So if I'm having a quinioa salad, I'll allow 3 scoops and then another scoop or two of salad. I used to count calories but my sponsor thought that was too diety. The only thing I measure is my oatmeal in the morning and I have oatmeal every single morning and I love it (btw, I sweeten it with stevia).

I have been kind of sliding off my meal plan and program in general.
I have overeaten/binged for the last 3 days and am worried I will go back to eating full time :(

I would like to get back to my plan which in the beginning was no flour or wheat.
reduced sugar but not eliminated as it doesnt bother me too much. And avoiding preferred binge foods that I know I can't stop(fries,cheesy/carby things,etc)
3 meals a day & sometimes a snack of yogurt/blueberries/walnuts in evenings after dinner before bed. mostly eat meat proteins,eggs, beans,veggies,fats,rice,tuna, sometimes canned soups.
I dont really weigh and measure except for rice which is usually a1/2 cup.

Sponsor/Buddy
 

There aren't any meetings near me and I am not that computer literate so I am looking for a sponsor, someone I can check with once a day for guidance and support. This is so hard...

I eat 3 balanced meals per day and nothing in between except water and tea. I'm a vegetarian but I avoid almost all dairy,eggs,white flour and sugar. I've lost 30 pounds since I've followed this plan

Hi db. Did you find anyone to help you? Just checking in.:wave:

Here is a bit of wisdom from people who have faced rough patches and got through them.

I now know…

I can control my eating if I plan in advance what I need to do and if I practice what I need to say over and over to myself.
(Make a List) When I’m tempted to eat something I shouldn’t, I need to pull out my list that contains all the reasons I want to lose weight.
Just because I’m hungry doesn’t necessarily mean I should eat.
Cravings always go away, and there are things I can do to make them go away faster. I don’t have to give in to them.
Eating a reasonable breakfast and lunch is important so I won’t overeat at night.
If I don’t follow a nutritious diet, I’m more likely to cheat.
I have to make time for dieting and exercise.
I have to prepare in advance for sabotaging thinking.
I need to sit down and eat slowly and notice every bite-every time I eat.
If I eat something I shouldn’t, it’s just a mistake, it doesn’t mean I’m hopeless or bad. I don’t have to make it a bigger mistake by continuing to eat whatever I want for the rest of the day.
I have to put my needs first sometimes.
It’s OK to say “no” to people who offer me food.
I have to watch out for fooling myself. Every single time I put food in my mouth, it matters.
Eventually my thinking shifted from “I hate depriving myself” to “I feel better that I didn’t overeat.”
I need to give myself credit every time I do what I’m supposed to do.
If I regain weight, I can go back to using the skills I learned to lose it-every time.
I can do it! I have the skills now. I know how to do it, and I’ll have these skills forever.

I'm on a VLCD with 3 shakes/bars, min 2 cups of non-starchy veg a day. It's not as bad as it sounds...

Back when I was really depressed I ended up doing cognitive behavioural therapy and that really helped me. So when I found, again, a book that I purchased several years ago on cognitive behavioural therapy for dieting I decided it was well worth a shot. It focuses on changing the way you eat and how you look at food and giving you the skills to deal with cravings.

I have a little case full of organized cue cards with an advantages deck, response cards for when I feel like arguing with my diet, resistance techniques, etc. I'm a little bit overly organized so I have more than what the book suggests but it's called Beck Diet for life.

Back a few years ago when I lost a lot of weight and was hovering around 115 - 117 all I was doing was running and using myfitnesspal (iphone app) to track what I was eating. I found that being accountable for every single thing I put in my mouth kept me from binging.

I do myfitnesspal 1560cal,

I'm in CEA-HOW... 3 meals daily, weighed & measured.... Nothing in between. (except black coffee, water & lemon water) No flour & no sugar.

Today I am officially overweight... No longer obese. A first in 31 years!
YAY ME!!:carrot: :carrot: :carrot: :carrot: :carrot: :carrot: