AlleyCat~congrats on the loss! I was originally going to say that when I started losing weight 15 months ago, I lost about 8 pounds and then stopped. I was very frustrated. That's when I found this place. I got a lot of good advice and within a few days, I started losing again. Weight loss is not necessarily steady--ask anyone. You will go for days without a loss. You may even gain once in a while. Just keep at it and ignore the little plateaus and gains. Eventually your body will let go of the unwanted weight.

I, too like to snack on nuts and cheese. I try to limit my cheese to the Laughing Cow light (35 cals a wedge) with a couple Triscuits. Nuts are always a problem, if I can limit myself to just a couple times a week, I consider that a triumph. I so crave a whole egg, but can't justify the extra calories from the yolk, so I buy cartons of egg whites.

Have you tried the Dannon Light & Fit yogurt? The regular is only 60 calories and the ones with cereal are only 70 calories.

Nuts? They're very healthy for you. But portion those carefully, as they're high in calories.

Eggs, have you considered just eating only the whites? I love hard-boiled eggs and I always pick out the yolk. I also sometimes buy Egg Beaters or the liquid all-whites for scrambled.

Cheese, I buy the Sargento Light string cheese and I also like the Veggie Slices soy cheese.

Congrats on your loss. It'll happen. Just don't stress yourself out over it, hon, it's really not worth it and being under stress (especially the unnecessary kind!) does crazy things to your body.

Do you know I have NEVER found that stuff? I've looked for Laughing Cow (since so many of you here speak of it) and I can't find it anywhere :dunno:

LLV!! You have done so well! Congratulations!

alinell, we must have almost the same program... ;)

AllyCat30, good for you! Keep on going!

The trick with eggs and cheese is that you absolutely must limit and weigh. For example, have only one egg instead of two. Weigh out your cheese--1 ounce of cheddar is 100 cals. So if you had 1 egg, an ounce of cheese, and, say, 1 slice of whole wheat toast without butter, it would be 75 + 100 + 80 = 255 calories total. With two eggs, 330. Depending on what else you planned to eat during the day, either one is a perfectly good breakfast. In the first case, you could add some fruit like strawberries or half a banana if you wanted. But you must weigh or measure portions--don't guess until you get used to it.

And you all know how I feel about egg whites now... :lol:

Jay

Thank you, and so have you! ;)

If you go here and plug in your zip code, you'll find a store that carries it:

http://www.thelaughingcow.com/lc/lc....earch?OpenPage

This is what it looks like:

Attachment 25308

I am one who likes egg whites only, never have been much for the yolk. When I was little, I used to pick out all the yolk and just eat the white part, whether it be boiled or fried eggs. The only way I would eat yolk was in scrambled eggs. Now, I will eat the yolk, but it has to be all the way cooked, or scrambled. But, I still prefer the whites over the yolk. I will not touch a runny yolk, yuk... Sometimes, I will make eggs with one whole egg and like 2 or 3 egg whites, whether it be scrambled or fried. The yolk is nutritious, but high in fat and calories, so I don't eat much of it.

I work in a restaurant, and serve up eggs all morning long, and watch people consume 3 or 4 eggs at a time, not to mention bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, and pancakes, or one of our big monster omelettes. And it kinda disgusts me to watch this now, since I know one of those meals equals like over 1,000 calories.... OMG!!!

Re: cheese. I don't like the low-fat stuff (with the exception of part-skim mozzarella, which is a different matter) and I think cheese is one of life's true pleasures. I will allow myself an ounce of really high quality rocquefort at work (I work in a restuarant) once a week or so (and I try to eat it with a fork, instead of baguette), but a regular snack of mine is a ryvita cracker (30 calories) with 1/8 ounce of extra sharp cheddar. I peel the cheese with a potato peeler, and 1/8 of an ounce provides perfect coverage for one ryvita cracker. My preferred brand of cheddar is only 15 cals for 1/8 ounce, so for 90 calories I can have 2 crackers with 1/4 ounce of cheese. It's very tasty and quite satisfying for such a light snack.

Thank you!

Eggs--I hated them growing up. I could only eat them scrambled. Slowly I learned that deviled eggs are really good (but that's a bad thing!!). Now I will eat any egg presented to me. My favorite is a sunny side up (still runny) over a piece of dry ww toast. That is to die for, but I only do that once in a blue moon.

Cheese--I agree I don't like the low fat or fat free cheeses. The Laughing Cow cheese is processed and you really can't tell it's lower in fat. I use low fat mozzarella sometimes, but usually opt for the full fat versions. Life is too short to eat yucky food!

Thanks for all the advice everyone! This thread has been so helpful to me! :hug:

I know it is going to be a slow haul, I just need to keep going. The scale is moving (albeit not as fast as I would like) so something is happening. I will try to relax on the goals but it is hard because I am a major goal-oriented person! :p

LLV- Congrats on the loss! I am so jealous! :D