Totally Unreasonable Request-PLEASE???!!!!

[eternamariposa]

I need to loose a lot of weight like, pretty much right now, while continuing to feed my family of a 4 yo, 18mo, and picky husband.  We can't eat dairy and try to keep grains to a minimum other than rice.  How can this fantasy become a reality?  I know somebody out there has some magic words for me....

 

[bandgeek]

Make and eat lots of fruits and veggies.  Whether your husband and kids touch them....eh, if they don't, more for you!  Keep these things easily accessible in the fridge and on the counter.  When I go to the store I buy a little of everything and then ASAP when I get home I wash, chop and store ALL of it (except berries, you gotta wait till you are gonna eat them!).  Then when I'm hungry I can just grab it.  There's nothing more tempting than having easy "junk" food (even if it's not that junky) right next to unwashed, not-ready-to-eat veggies.  When you are hungry you want to eat NOW.  So I aim for 8-12 servings of fruits and veggies a day.  It seems like a lot, but it's really not.  You can easily get 3-4 servings per meal.  I make green smoothies from breakfast and that's like 4 servings right there.

[LianneM]

My #1 tip: Salad every day.  Add protein (hardboiled eggs or grilled chicken), lots of veggies, whatever you like.  For me, eating a salad every day has helped me keep on the healthy-eating train after I did HCG to lose a bunch quickly.  For lots of low-carb recipes you might want to check out my blog.

[HollyBearsMom]

I am doing the 17 day diet.  I lost 22 lbs in the first 3 cycles.  Dairy is limited to probiotics but you can take a supplement instead.  Sugar is limited to low sugar fruits. Carbs are limited to complex/whole grain/legumes/etc but not until cycle two. The focus is on whole food/clean eating, lean proteins and lots of veggies.

I did not make separate meals for my family but did offer additional complex carbs for my son.

You can see my journal here and you can pick up the book at the library.

First 17 day cycle: http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/1308169/the-17-day-diet-a-journal

Second/Third cycles: http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/1310912/the-17-day-diet-continued-activate-and-now-achieve-post-82

[SweetSilver]

I didn't get dramatic results right away, but I really loved "French Women Don't Get Fat", and I've lost just shy of 40 pounds.  My goal was one pound per week but often it was 2 or even 3.  I've held steady at 148ish (I'm 5-2) so while I have a few more pounds to go, I'm hanging steady.

     The first 3 weeks you do a food diary--just like Weight Watchers--to determine where the problem areas are.  I knew mine: bread and butter, cream, and chocolate!  Then you slowly adjust what needs adjusting, just by a little.  If cream in coffee is preferred, measure, find out the calories, and see if you can reduce it just a wee bit.  Slow and steady, and no sudden moves!

     I found i could drop the diary after a bit, though I go back to weighing and figuring calories to see what I've been giving myself, if I've gained more than a pound or two.

     Just like what others posted, lots of fruit and veggies, salads and soups, but not actually eliminating anything.  I did make some rules, though:

No seconds (usually lunch I was pretty hungry.  I could add something else, say a salad, but no

   second helpings of anything.) 

Small portions, weigh at first, just to have an idea of what your eating.  (i have a sweet tooth.  

     I've learned to skip dessert after dinner, but I want some at lunch.  Just a wee bit!  Coffee 

     with half-n-half and sugar is after breakfast.)

No finishing off the kids' leftovers, including juice!  (That was hard because some was wasted.)

No juice, or just 4 oz per day.

     I can't give advice on making what you eat fit into what the family eats, as we have many competing allergies in our house and every meal is short-order.  But i found that it really wasn't WHAT I ate, but how much and in the proper proportion.  (Assuming the food is fairly healthy to begin with.)

I've fallen off the wagon with walks and yoga, for some reason, but I've started adding walks back in.  Forty pounds took about one year, but I've KEPT IT OFF!  I've been at my current weight about 3 months.  Hopefully I'll see that budge soon.  I weigh once a week, at work.

[annettemarie]

I have been following the DASH diet because of my heart issues, and a great side effect has been weight loss. My kids are eating it alongside with me and they haven't been complaining too much. Lots of fruits and veggies!
http://dashdiet.org/default.asp

[june'smom]

I didn't do a "diet" either.  I just ate less of everything and skipped the really bad stuff.  My husband was crazy picky too.  At that time, he wouldn't eat any veggies and almost no fruit.  No brown rice, no water, even.  Thank god he has changed since then.  I just didn't really cook for him.  If he wanted to eat, he had to help me cook and shop because I couldn't deal with his diet.  Hopefully, yours isn't as bad.

I was also trying to battle that along side two kids about the same age as yours.  We didn't eat a lot of dairy, but I did find that kefir and yogurt helped me and the kids.  But there are non-dairy alternatives to yogurt.  I also didn't eat a lot of carbs.  Does your whole family skip dairy and non-rice carbs? 

I couldn't do a drastic diet.  It wouldn't have worked for me.  I watched my portions carefully and drank a TON of water.  I also added in walking/running at least 4 times per week.  I also wrestled with the kids and did squats while holding the baby, that kind of stuff.  I usually lost 2-3 lbs per week, but occasionally it was more.

I need to get back to this because after weaning my youngest, about 15 lbs have crept back on.  Good luck.  It feels so good once you start!

[eternamariposa]

I really appreciate all of the input, thanks!  I have been sort of picking and choosing and so far I am:

Going for a long walk with steadily increasing sprints to build up my cardio and doing some tone up stuff like lunges and squats.  (I still can't quite figure out how to strengthen my core safely.  I don't seem to have a diastasis.  The muscles don't feel separated but it feels like everything bulges.)  My goal is to be able to be a runner for exercise eventually, and to be able to do all of my muscle work outside:  push ups, lunges, crunches, etc.

I am keeping better track of what I eat and how it makes me feel.  So far I realized that carbs, dairy, sugar, and excess protein all make me drag big time.  Green tea is a great energy booster, more produce, less fat, smaller portions, etc.  Packaged foods cause terrible IBS issues so cutting them out too.  No more eating out at restuarants for a while, it is too easy to go off the deep end without even realizing it.

I started drinking Nettle Leaf infusions today to help give me a healthy energy boost since I feel so tired most of the time.

Lots of water.  I am trying to remember what I heard one girl say that I worked with before:  "I don't drink calories, I save those for my meals"  It seems like an easy way to cut calories without loosing any nutrients or satisfaction really.

Oh, and the last piece of my "diet" so far is the comittment that every time I start to get down on myself-which is pretty often-I am going to stop thinking negative thoughts and do something active, clean something up, chase the kids around, hop on the elliptical, do some yoga, whatever.  

So far I haven't weighed myself again yet, my starting weight is 188 and on my 5'4" frame that is too much, but I am starting to have more energy, sleep better at night, and I am moving into a healthier state of mind.  I want salads and fruit over the other things because when you eat a bag of doritos at the computer before a run you feel pretty sluggish out there.  

I am finding that I have a lot more weakness than I realized which is sort of frustrating.  I am trying to remember that the worse my diet is now the more dramatic the changes will be when I improve but it is a hard road to walk.  I have wicked sugar cravings, workouts make me really hungry, and I add WAY too much fat to my meals.  I realized that almost everything I cook is sauteed or fried on the stove in olive oil or ghee/butter.  I am thinking of trying to find ways to bake/grill more often.

It is funny how easy it is to think because you include fresh produce in your diet regularly and try to concentrate on whole foods in general that you are eating "healthy".  I also think that I have been stuck in the pregnancy and early post partum frame of mind where I behave as though my cravings are justified and purposeful.  

So lots of perspective shifts around here lately.  I hope it works!

 

[pacificbliss]

5'4", 188 lbs and in a pregnant/postpartum stage of mind. Wow! That was me! I am down to 171 right now and still working on it. I joined weight watchers but what it really amounts too is portion control with some swap outs.For example,  once I realized how many points (or fat and calories) a piece of cheese once I would reconsider. If I really want it, it adds a lot to the meal, is a really good cheese, I go for it. Otherwise I pass.  Another good one, I like salads but I really love creamy dressing. I know I should eat salads but spritzing some balsamic on there just isn't going to do it for me. So, I make ranch like dressings out of Greek yogurt. By the way, the kids have started eating better and my husband was so inspired he joined WW too. Good luck!

[eternamariposa]

So it looks like I am going with a modified version of the HCG diet... because apparently I am pregnant!!!  I don't think that I have to say that physically the timing could be better considering my OP but sheesh.  I am trying really hard to remove all junk from my diet like sugar, eating out, etc. and I am trying to actually keep the foods I am allergic to out of my diet as well since they cause me so much stomach upset and bloating and I have read that eating things that your body cannot readily digest also packs on weight.  And I am trying to exercise as much as possible but I am still feeling pretty freaked out.  For the first time in my life I feel like I am overweight to a point where it can impact my health so I feel like I really need to get a handle on things to make sure I don't end up having complications in pregnancy or delivery.