Getting ready to start LDL!!!

[spchmom]

Good morning!!!

i have been lurking for quite some time and finally feel that I am ready to get started with this new way of eating!!! I have over 150 lbs to lose and that is a very overwhelming thought for me!! I have the red book and I am trying to process it all. Hoping to start on Monday am - I have three children who will be at our church's day camp next week so I will perhaps have less distractions. I need to be really focused. I am trying to plan my menus now and would love any input on what worked best for any of you!! I feel like if I keep it simple for at least the first couple of weeks and limit my choices that I can perhaps stay more focused!!! Thanks for any help and support --- seems like a really caring group here.

[LINDA RN]

Welcome spchmom,
Your plan sounds perfect. If you have time to cook ahead, pizza and taco soups are a good staple to freeze in smaller containers. Then there is the chicken corn chowder and roasted butternut squash soup. In this heat my appetite is down so eating veggies, fresh canned or frozen works for me. Lately I had several cans of green beans ans some small potatoes  that was given to me so I took them to work with me. Some days I ate potatoes and green beans and other days I had beans and chicken breast. Not sure but thinking that eating more green beans helped break the stall. Fill up on the soups when you have those days where you feel famished. And when I say fill up, I mean litterally eat until you can't eat anothr bite. That is the way the plan works best. Think of it s an unprocessed food diet. Nearly all fruits and veggies in their unprocessed state are legal. The book explains the few that are the exception and why.

Many of us had/have 100lbs or more to loose so you are in great company and you will see dramatic changes in the first month.
Do keep us posted on how you are doing. Ask lots of questions, we love to chat.

[niki]

i strongly recommend eating just fruit for breakfast and eating it until you're STUFFED.........i strongly recommend eating a BIG meal sometime during the day...a BIG salad with loads of raw vegetables...some protein......bean soup...eat a lavish meal until you're STUFFED....then, after you've eaten that big meal, when you get hungry again, eat fruit until STUFFED.......

that's what i recommend.......step up and receive your blessing......niki 

[Joyful Friend]

The way Niki ate was the way I did it.  It was not unusual for me to eat half of a watermelon when I first started.  I still do if I'm hungry.  It's a wonderful way to eat.  I've kept my weight off for a while, and it is the first time ever this long, because this is a way of eating, not a diet.  Good luck to you, and welcome to the boards. JF 

[MsHeirloom]

Welcome to LDL and congratulations on making the decision to be healthy.  You have gotten great advice.  Avoid added sugar like the plague.  It will make you very hungry for more sugar.  Eat only whole, unprocessed foods.  Pam

[crickadoodle]

I agree with Niki too!  That's how it worked so well for me.  I was not side tracked by cravings and I was successful in losing the weight I wanted and more.  God bless you in your new life!!!

[spchmom]

Thanks so much for all the support.... The plan is I will grocery shop tomorrow and then begin my new way of eating Monday a.m. I also plan to document my food journal to add some extra accountability. I'm sure I will have lots of questions and needs lots of help .... thanks in advance!!!

[Megara7]

Hi!  I just started yesterday, so just finishing day 2.  We can support each other through this initial phase.  I ate SOOO much today.  I made the taco soup and we had roasted vegetables and lots of fruits.  I stayed with the plan very well today, but like I said, I ate so much!  I am very hopeful, but nervous because of eating so much food, even if it was really healthy stuff.

[jsprik]

you have already gotten some great advice here, but i am going to say hello myself and welcome!! we are here for you!!

we feel like a big family around here....we are all in this together, helping each other with recipes and what's allowed and what's not, pushing each other toward our goals, picking each other up after we've fallen, sometimes pointing out things people are messing up on, encouraging one another...all in the effort to help one another reach our goal to become healthier, fitter, happier people.  :inlove:

i would say the most important advice to give is always EAT UNTIL FULL of ALL THE ALLOWABLE foods, never go hungry.....that way you won't feel deprived and there will be no reason to go off plan.  you can eat so many yummy foods on this, you won't miss all the junk and you'll be so full , you won't wanna eat anything else, LOL and as linda said, the pizza soup and taco soup are FABULOUS !!!!!  :drool: (well, she said good staples, but she meant FABULOUS!!!  ;D )  
so, welcome aboard the train to skinny town, enjoy the ride and don't be afraid to ask questions and have some fun!!! you can find me at Jo's Journal in the Food Journal's section, but I'll be checking in here, too!! see ya around!!!!  :thumbsup:

blessings
jo

[barrypaxton]

Welcome to LDL!! It has been a life saver for me. I had tried many diets over the years and none allowed me to lose the weight and keep it off. I started LDL in October 2009 and had 86 lbs to lose. I hit my goal in Jan 2011 (15 months), and actually lost a couple of extra lbs below my goal. I am now on maintenance and my weight fluctuates from 2 lbs below goal to 2 lbs above goal. I have to say that this is the easiest plan I've ever tried that lets you lose weight and maintain that loss. I thank God everyday for LDL and the friend that shared it with me.

Best of luck to you. YOU CAN DO THIS!!! And we are all here for you. Got questions?? Just ask!!!

Many blessings,
Ollie

[witheraway1]

Everybody has given you great advice. Jo left nothing unsaid  So all I have to say is WELCOME, WELCOME....and no matter what hang in there it takes a while....this is not fast. Good luck and happy eating!  Wither

[crickadoodle]

I think Wither will agree that LDL is different for different people.  Although it is not a "crash diet," for me I lost the weight at a very good rate.  Others seem to hit a plateau for a while, but I honestly can't say I ever hit a plateau, as long as I was doing what worked for me.  Now, I would walk every morning to jump start my metabolism.  Then I also built some lean muscle with a dumb bell routine, which I think also revved my metabolism, since muscle burns more calories than fat.  I stuck to eating fruit for breakfast and dinner, for the most part -- with a big lunch of bean soup, veggies and lean meat.  I'd steadily lose 2-3 lbs. a week.  I might have slowed down a little toward the end to about 1 lb. a week (maybe), but I still was losing.  If I ate popcorn, I wouldn't lose and would gain most times.  That's what I mean by "as long as I was doing what worked for me."

I hope you find what works best for you and you find great success.  Having someone on the boards to encourage you is such a help.  I had Julie from New Jersey on the boards at the time.  We'd compare notes and share what exercises we were doing and compare results and stuff.  That was a big help, so I think if you and Megara7 were sort of partners, that might work for you too. 

[witheraway1]

Yes, I agree LDL is different for all of us. I had to play around with the foods. Example if I ate corn, pop corn,and corn thins I would not loose. But others have no problem eating those foods. So you do have to see what works good for you. Hopefully you will have no problems with any of the foods....that would be wonderful. Either way you will find success eating this way fast or slow. Just stay the course.

[spchmom]

Good morning All,

Did OK yesterday - but will need lots of prayers today!! Seems like Satan is sending lots of wrenches into my new plan. Today my best friend is having emergency surgery today so I will be at the hospital and cooking for her family tonight!! I did really well yesterday - had all fruit for breakfast, grilled chicken and black beans for lunch and then it fell apart as my friend was at the doctor and I ended up with leftover spaghetti at 10:00 last night!!!

Please pray for my friend today and that I will somewhat be able to maintain some sort of control!!  So glad I have yall to keep me accountable!!