I love this place because it's so easy to get lots of good advice. I only want to add one quick suggestion.

You are in for a long, interesting, uplifting, and sometimes frustrating journey. 80 or 90 pounds is a lot to lose, and it will take a while to do. So, don't think you have to be perfect all at once. Try one suggestion, see if it works for you, then try another. All of us have to figure out what works for us, so enjoy trying new foods, learning new skills, and watching the scale drop without being miserable doing it!

Thanks guys! I am going shopping today and I will pick up some tilapia and chicken,lots of fresh veggies and fruit ,yogurt and bagged salads.

I just checked my weight after one week on LC and I only lost 1 lb..thats insane considering it's my first week and I was STARVING all week.

I just have to fight getting discouraged. A lady at my church this week walked up to me and put her hand on my belly and said "Wow your ready to go huh??!!". OMG. and it's not the first time lately this has happened (not her fault entirely as I wear maternity tops since they fit me better in th gut") And knowing this will take at least a year to do..when I'm always hearing stories about how people dropped 100 lbs in 7-8 months..or did anyone see the lady on the Joy-fit club the other day who dropped 240lbs in one year...ughh..and her sample diet was only like 600-800 calories *maybe*.

Maybe I should join WW online. I just had peer on one of my professional boards say she lost 100 lbs between jan-august of last year on it.

Not that I'm looking for a quick fix,because I'm not..but one year just seems sooo far away.

oh well..I didn't out this weight on over-night ..so..

One day at a time, don't look at the big picture. And - it's for life, so one year is a drop in the bucket, right?

Thank you Lori!

And to the girl you sent me a PM, I tried to reply but because I'm new here it won't let me send PM's yet. But wanted to tell you thank you for taking time out of your day to encourage me!

Heather, please listen....the next year is going to pass, whether you are losing weigh, or gaining it!
Think about how long it took you to get to this weight in the first place, and then you'll see that a year is a nano-second in the grand scheme of things!

Generally, you will find that people who lose very quickly also gain it back very quickly too, just as soon as they go off whatever extreme diet they are following.

Please consider following a sensible plan that is healthy and you can stick with for life. Also, aiming for 1-2 pounds a week is considered a healthy rate of loss. You don't need to be starving, or even "dieting" to lose weight.

Please think of your health, and look at your loss maybe 5-10 pounds at a time. Don't focus on the entire thing...it's enough to intimidate ANYONE!


Linda

Love that quote! I find myself repeating that as a mantra quite often. I think that puts it all into perspective for me. Time is passing - how we choose to spend it is up to us - but it's passing regardless.

I love omelets. I didn't start eating eggs until I was 23. Weird, huh? They used to just gross me out. Well, I got over it when I found out how perfect they were. I love having one whole egg, two or three egg white omelets. Spinach is also filled with protein. Those two foods together happen to taste not to bad together. I throw in some green bell peppers or green chile instead of spinach. Yum. Eggs were the only reason I lasted on Atkins as long as I did. I also am not big on cooking, but omelets or veggie scrambles are pretty easy. I am on Weight Watchers and am finding slower, but much success. Also, an english muffing topped with cheese and tons of shredded turkey is tasty too. I would just use one half of the muffin.

great posts already - i don't know how you'd survive on cereal & lean cuisine and 100 cal packs for long Cooking can be hard/tedious/time consuming, sure, but if you do it ONCE and make a boat-load of stuff and package & freeze it, you're laughing! It would be as convenient as a lean cuisine but good! yay! My trick is to cook up a ton of chicken breast at once and freeze little baggies of it diced/strips ~ nothing worse than getting home and thinking "oh i'd love a big salad...oh wait i have to COOK some chicken now!" much handier to have little convenience pre-portioned bags available! yay!

and i think someone already said that's an awful lot of cereal, maybe some cottage cheese? i love that stuff, it's so good!! and the 2% stuff is only 10 calories more than the 1% and it tastes like it's soooooooooooo bad for you but it's good for you yay!

i say YAY a lot