[TempleBody]

This is part-venting, part-ranting, part-asking-for-advice.

I'm down 65lbs since October 2008.

I'm having trouble to loose more weight for a few reasons... going out alot, enjoying social life, drinking redbull, humm... hanging out with GUYS who like to eat.

I hate carrying around food in my bag.. I'm carrying enough books as it is. I will do it though but now that it is summer I need to carry foods that will last all day and won't go bad. And when I say ALL DAY....I mean all day. Sometimes I leave my house around 9 am and get home around 8 or sometimes I leave earlier and get home a bit earlier. What makes things more complicated is I have to eat dairy-free, gluten-free. Basically, I'm looking at eating post-workout snack, lunch, and snack outside of my house.

Before I woudl take things like okra stew and fish fillets, brown rice and spinach with tofu. I'm kind of bored of my healthy clean-eating foods so I'm looking for suggestions there. Snack wise, I'm okay (Fresh fruit, apple sauce, lara bars,etc).

And any suggestions for eating out with friends? I have trouble planning my meals because either my boyfriend or friends want to go out or I'm out late, blah.

Whatever tips/tricks u guys have, please let me know thanks.

[smisen]

First of all, a huge congrats on the 65 pounds - that's great!!

There were a couple of things that helped me back in college - I was actually down in the 160s back then.

1) Energy bars can be really great, as long as you consider them to be meal replacements and maybe supplement them with a piece of fruit or something. Some of them are pretty high in calories and nutrients, so they can almost stand on their own.

2) Other things that travel well - apples and oranges, almonds (or any kinds of nuts you prefer), dried fruits (I like apricots), pretzels, granola bars - can be really helpful for the times when it's so tempting to grab a candy bar instead.

3) I got an insulated lunch box that looked exactly like a purse, so I was able to put my wallet and stuff in my backpack and carry cold foods around with me most of the day. String cheese, yogurts, peanut butter sandwiches and pita with a small tub of hummus always did well in there.

4) I don't know what your situation is like, but my program had it's own building with a small kitchen and refrigerators, so I could bring leftovers or frozen Lean Cuisine meals and store them there. If your program doesn't have something like that, some professors have mini-fridges in their offices - if there's one you get along with really well, he or she might be willing to let you stash something in it.

And I'm sorry - I don't know much about eating gluten or dairy free, but hopefully you can figure something out that works!

Good luck