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| Fri, 10-03-2003 - 10:55am |
I did 3 weeks of Phase I and then kind of completely fell off the wagon. I did really good on Phase 1 except the weekends. I had some special events going on, and dessert & wine kind of did me in. I tend to eat when I'm bored so I probably ate too much. I lost a couple of pounds after 23 weeks and my clothes felt looser. Today I'm feeling totally bloated, fat and sluggish. Most of the time I do not have hormonal fluctuations (on a monophasic pill) and never really had bad weight gain at that TOM.
I need to start over on Phase I and really closely follow the menu. It's hard because I'm busy, often eat on the run and don't cook much.
Does anyone have any words of wisdom for sticking with it?
I gained the weight (about 15 lbs) eating junk and being totalyy sedentary when I was studying for the bar. I'm trying to get back to working out a couple of days a week. The weight is making me depressed because my clothes don't fit. If I can lose about 8 pounds, I can get back into them and then work on the rest. HELP!!!

Cooking is comething you really can't get around on this program. I'm not one to cook a lot in general and I truly understand the convenience and pitfalls of eating on the run. That's how I got to the weight I am - lots of dining out, and never bringing home a doggy bag. How things have changed!
But this WOE will work if you can find make time to shop from a list, and cook the things you need to cook that use what you shopped for. If you can do it, shop early on the weekends. Like before 8 am! Fewer crowds and you can concentrate better.
I've been able to get around the weekday time crunch by cooking a big frittata on Saturday or Sunday and just taking a slice for breakfast in the morning (nuke it at home or at work), or roasting a turkey-pan sized heap of veggies and digging into that most days. If you don't have a George Foreman grill, I'd recommend getting one if budget allows (or putting it on a gift wish list); you can grill chicken breasts or quantities of high-omega 3 fish and slice or crumble the leftovers in salads or whatever. Get pre-cut lettuces and veggies for your salads; prep them the night before and add dressing later so things don't get all wilted. I'm grateful for frozen veggies, also. If you have a Costco nearby and a big freezer, look into buying the restaurant-sized bags of frozen veggies; they are big and they take up space, but preparation is quick because there's no slicing or seeding.
Don't forget doggy bags from restaurants. My husband and I have started taking them home regularly now - we manage two or three meals from the typical restaurant portions. And I'm honestly surprised at how little food we waste - kind of a point of pride. I'm amazed by the people who say "we don't do leftovers"; there are worse things.
Anyway, I hope this encourages you to cook for yourself and don't leave things to chance. It's really healthier to know what goes into your food that to trust restaurants or delis or prepared-food makers to feed you the right stuff.
Good luck!
Donna
Ph II 10-3-03
177/168.5/143 or so...
Dr. A warns about staying on phase 1 longer than 2 weeks. He says that people are very likely to fall off the wagon because of the boredom with the food they are eating. Just start over and be sure to go to phase 2 after 2 weeks. Or even just do phase 2 for now if you just don't feel like you could do phase 1.
The hard part isn't the lack of variety. It's the lack of time to cook. I'm just going to have to make time, which includes actually making it to the grocery store. I'm a city dweller and it's kind of a production. I do have a george foreman grill, and when I'm actually cooking I use it a lot.
I really don't eat breakfast for lack of time, and it's very hard eating egg cups standing up on the el in the morning. I need a single city dweller friendly meal plan!
Edited 10/3/2003 2:23:42 PM ET by scarlett127