You said you can't eat yogurt--have you tried one of the Yoplait creamy yogurts? Regular yogurt grosses me out too, but the Yoplait Thick and Creamy and Yoplait Parfaits are SO yummy! It's almost like eating a pudding cup. You get the benefit of the live cultures, calcium, and a nice shot of protein for about 100 calories. That plus a small piece of fruit might be a great substitute for your smoothie.

kraft seven seas dressing 180

Have you tried the (I think they are wish bone) spray dressings? They come in about 6" tall bottles, include all kinds of regular flavors, we have at our house: ranch, caesar, raspberry vinaigrette (because those are the ones we like). I think they only have a few calories per spray, and really do taste like "the real thing."

If you absolutely feel that "life isn't worth living" without the full-fat dressing, try lowering the amount that you use. If I remember correctly, the serving amount is 2 TBS. That's a lot of dressing. if you use 1/2 TBS, that's 45 calories. You can either dip the tines of your fork in a 1/2 TBS dab of dressing, or you can take 1/2 TBS of dressing and water it down (or add a TBS of milk if it's a creamy one or a TBS of vinegar, etc). I'd suggest mixing your "new" dressing well, and coating the inside of a large mixing bowl, then tossing your salad in the mixing bowl.

Either way, you will find that your entire salad is flavored with the dressing, but you have 135 calories left over. I'd suggest using that for an afternoon snack, either a quick snack between classes or maybe right after school is out. It sounds like you have a too-long time between lunch and dinner.

I second the "dip your fork in the dressing!" whenever I'm out and don't know dressing counts (bc let's face it - fat free is not calorie free!) I dip my fork in dressing on the side. Gives you the flavor for a tiny percent of the calories. It's a life saver!

I agree with those who said that if you're worried about calcium you should take a supplement. But don't fogret that you're getting a whole lot of it from the broccoli and your other salad greens.

Thanks again to everyone for all the input.

I have to say that when I made my post, I honestly expected to read that there just wasn't much more I could do with the number of calories for which I was aiming. I'm just stunned because every single person who posted gave me something to think about. There are just so many great bits of wisdom here and I am truly grateful.

I feel hopeful again. There is still more to learn. I'm not out of hope yet.

Thank you, ladies.

Very much.

You're so very welcome.

This IS a learning experience. Be prepared to become an expert in good nutrition and eating "right". You will learn through trial and error what doesn't work for you and therefore you'll have to seek out what DOES. It's quite the adventure! Without a doubt your food choices will evolve.

Losing weight IS a doable thing. For any one and every one. Yourself included. So yes, there's more than hope. Take confidence in the fact that you CAN do this. Get excited about it, because there are wonderful changes in store for you. It's a wonderful time of self growth and self discovery. You're about to transform your life. What could possibly be more exciting?!?!?!?

Do you have to have salad at all? With all the dressing debate, why not just have other veggies? I don't count calories so I can't recommend something off hand, but with 280 calories going into salad, there is a lot you could do with that. You could make a 100 calorie swap for another veggie and use the remaining 180 calories for an evening snack

I got to a point that I was just salad'd out and have been eating 15 baby carrots (35 cal) with 2 TBSPs of hummus (50 cal). Hummus is good fats, carbs and protien all in one. Paul Newmans lighten up salad dressings are amazing and they are only about 45 cals for 2 TBSPs and 1 is more than enough. This would free you up for some more veggies or other protiens.

I am prediabetic, so my brain just flips things that way. I'm used to thinking of exchanges.

My first reactions was that your breakfast is too light. It sets the tone for the day.

My second reaction is that you don't have times down in your food log. You need to eat every 4 hours or so.

My third reaction is that while I see veggies here, I'm not getting the vibe that you are hitting 25 - 30 g fiber per day.

My 4th reaction is that you may want to look at the plans at

http://diabeticgourmet.com/Food_and_...Meal_Planning/

for ideas of how to round out your menu so there's more volume. You have to scroll down a bit to the red links on the side.

Esp the 1400

http://www.xenical.com/pdf/1400_7col_pad.pdf

and 1600

http://www.xenical.com/pdf/1600_7col_pad.pdf

The 1400 and the 1600 would both get you close to the 1500 you seem to be at.

I suspect with the exercise you can afford to crank up to 1600 to improve the satiety and stick-to-it-ive-ness. Because if you are struggling with hunger you risk derailing. Where if you bump it up a tad, you might lose a little slower, but not much slower and the journey will be easier to bear.

HTH!
A.

Oh, I like ncuneo's suggestion, here's something I like...

Take a low-carb whole-wheat wrap (90 cals, I think)
spread with hummus (50 cals)
Add great veggies - romaine, tomatoes, sliced cukes, green peppers, green onions, whatever you like. If you're really clever, you can do the wrap in a big romaine leaf (use the leaf like a tortilla).

Wrap like a burrito, enjoy!
(you can add some lunchmeat turkey if you have to but you can go without and have a great "veggie wrap sandwich")

Love weebleswobble veggie wrap suggestion! You can also add mushrooms to the wrap to add volume and nutrition with very few calories.