Am I doing this right?

[Andy]

Ok this is the end of day 2 for me.

The good things:

I don't really feel hungry and that's ALWAYS been a problem for me before.

All this fruit makes me feel great.

I managed to find some things I thought would be hard to find like : Willow run margarine, Walden Farms, dressings, and WASA crispbread.

The bad thing:

I crave MEAT!!! I was a carnivore. I ate lots of meat. I knew it was bad for me...BUT what do I do to counter this craving? It only comes at night. I'm used to eating grilled meats almost every night for dinner and now with fruit and salad on my plate the cravings for meat are really strong.

My questions:

Only protein at lunch? But beans are protein and so are soynuts. I see lots of people eating them later than lunch, what gives?

The fat...particularly in Willow Run margarine 11 grams of fat the same as butter. How can I be eating this and it be good for me? I'm all for soy, but this blows my mind.

Beans. I like chili beans and ranch style beans. Can I eat them in the sauce or do I have to rinse them?

Thanks!

~~Andy

[niki]

hi andy...eat all the meat you want as long as it's lean and as often as you feel you want it.....once your blood sugars stabilize from the absence of sugar/grains/nuts/seeds,you won't want to eat as much and you'll be able to fine tune the program so that you're only eating lean protein once a day..........i REALLY encourage you to experiment with some of these bean soup recipes so that you can have a BIG bowl or two of a completely allowable bean soup....you know,you can make any of these pureed soups and add grilled vegetables or grilled chicken to them to make a hearty meal...you can make my greek bean soup(it's so easy) and if you like the consistency of baked beans,you can make it without adding water and you can even eat it cold........it's great ....
   and make sure you continue to snack....i'm so glad we can eat bean soups and soynuts whenever we want....so often,just a handful of soynuts does the trick......and i really believe that eating LOADS OF BEANS just really clinches this whole program......you can't eat too many beans...not as far as i'm concerned........
   and you know what else you could do....have you tried cooking soybeans yet?......because if you haven't, it would be a wonderful thing to add to your meat....this way you would be eating this along with the meat..and you would be satisfying your body's craving for protein partly with the soybeans..........and actually,i think i'm going to take my own advice once it cools off a little...i'll make a stew with cubed beef and crushed tomatoes and add some soybeans...i'm going to soak the soybeans i bought a long time ago tonight and i'll cook them tomorrow....i'll put them in the freezer in a freezer bag for easy use at any time(rhea's great idea)............ 
   you're doing great andy........love the questions...niki   

[Andy]

Thanks for the help.

I think I can deal with the meat cravings. I just had some more beans and hot sauce. I used to eat tons of that in college and I still love it.

My wife also reminded this morning how much I like refried beans and eggs. With egg beaters this stuff is still great. I think it helps to be from Texas and to have eaten loads of beans my whole life due to the Mexican influences on my diet.

Thanks Again,

~~Andy

[niki]

hi andy..i agree with you completely....my peasant blood has served me well here..i really grew up on bean and lentil soups(hey everyone,DON'T IGNORE THE LITTLE LENTIL)....and it helps SO MUCH in this program of eating to eat bean soups....did you ever look for those 2 posts on beans?.......................niki 

[Andy]

Roger Troy,
                Its hard to forget the fat grams and such. I'm working on it. My mom lost 160 lbs with Weight Watchers shortly after I was born. Consequently I was raised with the "counting" system, pretty much.  My mom gained all that weight back and more because she didn't permanently change her eating habits. I'm hoping that she will see how successful let's do lunch is for me and use it for herself. I think a lot of her health problems would be lessened or solved if she could change her eating habits permanently.
Thanks,

~~Andy

[niki]

hi andy...and this just demonstrates what i always say....ONLY with let's do lunch do people LOSE WEIGHT and KEEP IT OFF.....all those other "diets" work initially for some,but fail in the long run for most people.....LET'S DO LUNCH is the only way to take it off AND keep it off FOREVER...................niki

[rhernan216]

Tell ya what Andy...last week i was out of town on business...stayed at a Hotel Casino...the food was out of this world. I ate the buffets all week. I ate only LDL foods that were available. I lost 6 pounds last week, The only reason i weighed myself this past weekend because I was sure i had gained weight after eating all of that food. I didn't gain an ounce. Like Roger says eat all the LDL foods you want when it is time to eat and eat until you are full. I did just that and did not feel cheated out of anything. The folks I was with ate all the bad stuff even right in front of me. Didn't phase me one bit. I had my soups, salad, beef, chicken, veggies and corn on the cob...breakfast i had my fruit. That is the real key right there each morning for me. without my fruit or smoothies life would not be bearable for me now.

rh

[niki]

i agree with you,richard....that morning fruit is SO important to me....it's often the only fruit i eat....but,i eat a lot..........
  that's great that you managed to eat so well and lost even more weight........keep up the good work........niki

[joecaracappa]

Hi Andy:

Joe here (fellow newbee). My first problem was to locate the produce section in my local market, I never realized they had one! Apples, melons, grapes, bananas and cherries later I emerged. I also bought two roasted chickens in the deli (no directions needed here).

I started my first day by reaching out the kitchen window and plucking two grapefruit off of my tree ( I also have Valencias and navel oranges). I downed both of them with an apple chaser.

lunch was a whole chicken and about 3 cups of 3 bean.

Dinner, a smoothie, grapes, cherries and two ears of corn on the cob.

Whenever I get urges, I eat more fruit. But he hardest urge so far is the one to step up on the scale. My date to do so will be 08/20/06.

So I have the same question you do. Am I doing this right????

Joe

[niki]

hey joe..you're doing great...you could try to add some more vegetables(by that,i mean salad vegetables and vegetables other than corn or peas)....but,you're eating the beans and you had some corn on the cob....and i had to look back at your posts to see that you are the guy who's 6'7"so your nutritional needs are higher than someone a foot shorter..and you're the one who loves beans....so if you ate a whole chicken AFTER you ate 3 cups of beans,that's perfectly fine....make sure you eat popcorn and soynuts and all the other allowable snacks and don't let yourself be hungry......
    i would say that what you ate today was perfect............sincerely,niki   
ps..between your picking grapefruit off of a tree outside your kitchen window and mary walking down the street and picking bananas,i don't know who makes me want to move out of new york more.....       

[joecaracappa]

I'd move back east in a New York minute (born in the Bronx, grew up in Jersey).

Today went well, more grapefruit and apples for breakfast, more 3 bean salad and another (whole) chicken for lunch. Apples and bananas for dinner and a snack of popcorn (from scratch, in olive oil) and grapes. (burp).

Speaking of the Bronx, when I was a kid there was an Italian fruit and vegetable vendor who came into the neighborhood everyday. He would pull up in front of my grandmother's house and yell out his bargains of the day and the last thing was always................"bananas, ten cents a pound", I have been thinking about him a lot these past few days!

Joe

[niki]

let me tell you joe,there are people moving off long island in droves...and one of the main places they seem to be going is florida....new york is definitely not what it once was............
  if your mother doesn't want to give up pasta,i guess that won't work.............but,you keep up the good work...you're doing great...niki