Lose 30 pounds by your next appointment with me....

[Monde Luna]

bummer

[Werefrog]

Yeah, it can be hard to find. Personally, my favorite salad green is spinach which is readily available just about everywhere.

The only time I had kale was in a vegetarian Shepherd's Pie. It was pretty good. My mom has a recipe for a kale quesadilla that I should try sometime. Are there any farmers' markets around? They'd probably have some kale.

[Vyse of Arcadia]

Kale is one of my favorite vegetables of all time. I like it even more than spinach. It's delicious just wilted in a pan with butter (or a butteroid) even.

[chiiruchan]

Butteroid? O_O Is that something like Smart Balance or I can't Believe it's not Butter?

[DragonmasterDan]

So... my doctor said I have to lose weight because my poor liver. And he demanded I lose 30 pounds in 3 months. O_O; I can't move around too much cause I only have 30% lung capacity. It's gonna all be a matter of diet. I'm too scared to eat... I have been vegetarian for 6 years. And I found out 3 years ago I was 170 lbs. I wish I was still that small. Even worse... the insurance won't cover a nutritionist because it isn't diabetic related. $250 a month for insurance and I can't even see a nutritionist!! ARG!!

o-o; I also have only a microwave to cook. The stove has been broke forever. There has to be something healthy to microwave...

I'm not sure how good of advice this is, but I've lost 30 lbs in roughly the past 90 days though this was largely for different reasons. The big thing is to watch your caloric intake and work within a budget. If only calories and sugars are your limitation you can find a lot of good things to eat and keep your calorie budget under 1500 or so calories.

I wasn't even that lucky, I was on an extremely low sodium diet with a restriction on fluids as well. With that said, a good amount of the weight I lost was due to water retention.

What are you limited by, are you just instructed to lose weight, or are there specific guidelines to follow?

[Solana]

I agree with the smaller meals a day and drinking lots of water. (You could add Crystal Light or other flavorings to help increase the water intake.) The best advice I can give is to read food labels and watch your sugar. It's quite scary how much sugar is in things you'd never expect, and simply switching to another brand can make a big difference without eating any less.

Cutting down on the saturated fat is a good idea, but you still need healthy fat. Those can be supplied by nuts and canned tuna and peanut butter in moderation. If you like steamed vegetables, try seasoning them with seasoned salt or Mrs. Dash instead of just plain salt or unhealthy cheese for an extra kick. Maybe you could try a rice cooker or even one of those George Foreman grills to expand your cooking options? Also make sure you have some healthy munchies around ahead of time, and never go grocery shopping when you're hungry. Nuts, nut crackers, air popped popcorn, fresh veggies and fruit in moderation all make healthier snacks than junk food.

Good luck!

[chiiruchan]

The only guide line I got was cut my portions in half and don't snack. I was going to go to a dietician but my insurance didn't cover it. T_T

[Monde Luna]

Don't snack? He didn't say you can have healthy snacks like veggies and fruits?

[DragonmasterDan]

The only guide line I got was cut my portions in half and don't snack. I was going to go to a dietician but my insurance didn't cover it. T_T

The big thing to do is watch the calories in everything you eat and keep a running total. Set a goal for yourself, depending on your height, weight and metabolism how much weight you lose dieting varies greatly. If you can find a group of core foods that you can have for an acceptable meal you can build a pretty reliable system.

One other note is if you put your daily caloric intake at a limit, say 1500 calories, you can eat something you want that's 800 and have two very low calorie meals the other two. It all depends how you choose to budget it.

[Alunissage]

Cutting down on the saturated fat is a good idea, but you still need healthy fat. Those can be supplied by nuts and canned tuna and peanut butter in moderation. If you like steamed vegetables, try seasoning them with seasoned salt or Mrs. Dash instead of just plain salt or unhealthy cheese for an extra kick. Maybe you could try a rice cooker or even one of those George Foreman grills to expand your cooking options? Also make sure you have some healthy munchies around ahead of time, and never go grocery shopping when you're hungry. Nuts, nut crackers, air popped popcorn, fresh veggies and fruit in moderation all make healthier snacks than junk food.

I can't proffer any specific dieting advice, but I will say that I became more receptive to eating veggies (which, aside from asparagus, I've never cared for much) when my husband started steaming them with garlic. A touch of sesame oil for flavor and perhaps soy sauce makes them actually tasty. I realize the latter isn't much help for people who are trying to cut down on sodium, though. Still, if you like garlic and sesame, those can make a lot of things more palatable. That's a standard approach to lower-fat meals and preparations: adding more flavor in some other way. Usually it seems to be spice including pepper, as Solana mentions with the Mrs. Dash, but I'm super-sensitive to pepper and have to find other approaches.

For times when my mouth wants to eat but my stomach doesn't need to, I try to find tangy things that give my taste buds the stimulation they crave. I like sliced dill pickles for this purpose. My reasoning is that I'm eating a vegetable that way. ^_^ (Yes, I'm sure there's a counterargument in there, like the amount of sodium I'm taking in instead, but sodium intake is one thing that's never been an issue for me. YMMV.) If you also like tart flavors, consider lemon or vinegar added to the veggies; I think it's rice wine vinegar that I've sometimes used.

Also, one snack I like is almonds, cashews, and dried sweetened cranberries mixed together in roughly equal quantities. There are probably healthier versions of that kind of trail-mix-type snack; that's just what I zeroed in on. And I'd guess that finding something low-cal to graze on during the day, like sliced carrots, is probably more likely to be helpful than not. The problem I have is that some of my ADD medication suppresses my appetite, so I don't realize I need food until suddenly I'm falling over from low blood sugar -- and then my body thinks it's starving and hangs on to every calorie I eat, it seems.

What else... olive oil in place of butter for cooking (still fatty, but unsaturated, I think -- someone correct me?), or even cooking spray. I don't know if pasta is still in the picture for you, but if so and you like tomato sauce, try making your own if you haven't been already. Once I started making my own sauce (under duress, longish story), I found the jarred sauces unbelievably sweet, and for that reason suspect that making it from scratch is healthier.

[chiiruchan]

@Monde Luna
Nope. He just said no snacks. o-o

@DragonmasterDan
I have been doing the calories thing. I noticed that some things I eat were high calories and low fat... but others were lower calories and higher fat. ._. I'm wondering if any of the calorie cutting evens that fat out...

@Alunissage
Thanks for the info. I got some dried cranberries. Plus we have some spices I'd like to try.

[Monde Luna]

I would think healthy snacks consisting of fruits/veggies would be fine. I buy yogurt raisins to snack on when I am on the go.

And ya Alun you are right Olive Oil is better than butter because it is high in monosaturated fats (the good fat).

[chiiruchan]

Olive oil... I think some salad dressings have that.

Has anyone had craisins? The cranberry raisins?! They make them in cherry flavor too!

[DragonmasterDan]

@DragonmasterDan
I have been doing the calories thing. I noticed that some things I eat were high calories and low fat... but others were lower calories and higher fat. ._. I'm wondering if any of the calorie cutting evens that fat out...

Unless you've been given specific instructions to cut down in fat, then just aim for calories, your body will burn the fat if you stay within your caloric limit.

[Werefrog]

What else... olive oil in place of butter for cooking (still fatty, but unsaturated, I think -- someone correct me?), or even cooking spray. I don't know if pasta is still in the picture for you, but if so and you like tomato sauce, try making your own if you haven't been already. Once I started making my own sauce (under duress, longish story), I found the jarred sauces unbelievably sweet, and for that reason suspect that making it from scratch is healthier.

Olive oil is great for salad dressings and pasta sauces. I've been told before that olive oil isn't very healthy for cooking with, but I'm suspicious of the nutritional mumbo jumbo that circulates around the Internet (raw veganism, caveman diet). Try to find some salad dressings that use extra virgin olive oil. It supposedly has the most health benefits and also packs the strongest flavor making it perfect for tomato sauce and salad dressings (not quite as good for foods that you don't want to have that flavor).

And yes, I agree with Alunissage's advice to make your own pasta sauce. I make mine with canned tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, basil, oregano, and parsley. It's a very simple recipe. I can get you the whole recipe if you need it. I'm a lit embarrassed to admit that it comes from Rachael Ray. My thought is about the same as Alunissage. It's probably healthier because it's not as sweet. Granted, canned tomatoes have a decent deal of sodium, but I imagine jar pasta sauce does as well. I can eat that pasta sauce anymore. Way too sweet.

[Monde Luna]

Don't you mean evoo werefrog?

Homemade marinara is the best though, nothing compares. Although it would be a little more difficult to make in a microwave wouldn't it?

[Werefrog]

Blargh, I can't stand Rachael Ray. My mom adores her though, and I learned the recipe from her.

And yeah, I forgot that we were limited to microwaves. I really think that if you have no access to a stove (can someone explain the difference between a stove and an oven to me? My mom has tried in the past, but it hasn't worked yet.) you should definitely look into that burner thing that I posted (or something similar). A stove top will open a ton of possibilities for cooking.

[chiiruchan]

Perhaps you could make microwave sauce by stopping and stirring a lot. I love tomato and basil sauce!!

For breakfast I had my carbs and for lunch I'll cut carbs. :3 I figured it would be better to eat my carbs in the morning...

[Undine]

Ellie Krieger is a nutritionist that has a show on the food network, and her recipes are pretty good. Plus she's super nice.

http://www.elliekrieger.com/

Good luck, and don't be discouraged if it's goin slow.

[chiiruchan]

I ate 5 slices of watermelon and 2 slices of cantalope for dinner last night... I guess that was eating lite. I also walked a bunch today and ate some tofu, broccoli, carrots, and noodles tonight. ._. I had to skip meals cause I need to go grocery shopping again. Anyone got any good vegetarian ideas?

P.S. Undine, I'll check out that link!