people who've lost 40lbs

It took me about 5 months to loose 40 lbs. My dinner is usually boneless skinless chicken breast with some veggies. I love sweet poatoes and brussel sprotus. You have to watdh out for sodium in the frozen dinners. Skinnytaste.com has so great low calorie dinner ideas.

I lost just over 70!!!! I eat high fiber cereal with Skim milk for Breakfast everyday..I eat a lean Cuisen (only the ones that are 300cals and under) at lunch, sometimes i eat Tuna with lettuce and cucumber in a whole wheat pita bread...then at supper most times i eat a small baked potatoe, grilled chicken burger on a whole wheat weight watchers bun and a big side of Garden salad.....or i eat very small portion of whatever i made for the family, Chili, stew, rice & chicken ect and i just always fill half my plate with a big garden salad, and then i never go over in portion size with anything else on my plate! For snacks i would have a pc of fruit and a 100cal snakc of some sort....hope that helps.

I have lost EXACTLY 40 lbs but have 10 to go - also I was down 16 of those 40 before joining MFP, but anyway. I don't do frozen dinners, but I do tend to eat the same stuff over and over...

99% lean ground turkey with Bertolli organic spaghetti sauce over 100% whole wheat penne - pairs nicely with a veggie salad of your choice - my favorite salad dressings are from Bolthouse Farms.

Egg White Omelette (1 whole egg - 2 egg whites) with veggies and mozzerella cheese or can stuff with mixture of cheese and Friendship Brand cottage cheese (no salt added cottage cheese). Top Omelette with Newman's Own Mild Salsa (only 60 mg of sodium per serving in this brand of salsa)

I do alot of grilled or baked chicken paired with steamed veggies. I like to steam sugar snaps. Or brocolli. Or sautee zucchini, green onions and squash in a little EVOO with just a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Can't go wrong with a mostly naked sweet baked potato - just add some ground cinnamon.

I like things simple. If I have to be in the kitchen more than 30 minutes before eating - that's too long!

These are pretty much my go to meals. Sometimes I will just have a homemade protein shake for dinner or a bowl of Kashi cereal if the mood suits me.

I know you said you don't like fish - but 2 of the most delish fish recipes I have are:

Tilapia - marinated with EVOO, lemon juice, fresh garlic, fresh parsley, dried basil, salt and pepper - bake it in oven at 425 for 15 min wrapped in foil

Salmon - marinate in Ken's Steakhouse Teriyaki marinade and add brown sugar to marinade - bake in oven at 350 for 25 min wrapped in foil.

Both my husband and my kids (4 and 1) LOVE both of these fish recipes - they are both very easy too!

As others have mentioned - sodium is tough to keep low. I monitor my sodium and sugar intake - my diary is public and I welcome friends. In addition to trying to eat clean and healthy (most of the time - though this weekend was somewhat of a bust), I strength train 3x/week with the heaviest weights I can lift, and do cardio 3-5x week ONLY for 20 minutes (I do interval training only).

This has worked great for me thus far! Good luck - you can do it!

I see ppl tell you not to eat frozen dinners even the low cal kind!! I know, they do have alot of sodium....But, it worked for me....You prob would be better off with Fresh veggies and salad ect...But i am hooked on the Lean cuisine Dinners...I have one for lunch like every second day, worked for me.

Hi, lean Cuisine's are good taste wise, but the sodium tends to be high in frozen meals. I hate to say it but honestly I ate a lot of fish. Soup is also a good choice. It took me 6 months. Good luck!

bump..

Well technically I did, but my target was only 35, it just felt right to keep going. I am actually at -38 today - lots of salt this weekend:) Myfitnesspal has been a great asset. I started Jan 6th, and did my own tracking of food and exercise in a spreadsheet through March. In March, a friend suggested MFP and I transitioned over. I actually lost most of the weight in the first two months, running at about a 1000 calorie deficit per day. ( I lost 30 pounds the first two months)

My exercise target is 45 minutes of hard aerobic exercise ( run, stationary bike , stair climber, elliptical, etc) 6 times a week, and calisthenics ( push ups, sit ups, weights ) 4 times a week.

I have since tapered off - or on as it might be - the calories intake to where i am "about even" with my -1lb a week BMR + exercise calories. 1760+400to800. I think my BMR is actually lower than the MFP calculator predicts, so -1lb a week target seems to keep me about even. I think this may be due to aerobic capacity with the exercise - low resting heart rate.

I now let myself go over once or twice on the weekend, and try to stay about on target the rest of the week. I have found it kind of addictive - the record keeping.

I had to get new pants, and some of my shirts don't really fit anymore, but it was worth it.

I am close to 40 lbs lost (lost some before MFP) and my wife is over 40 pounds lost. We've been at it for 60 days.

Less than 1600 cals a day of the following

Salad with every veggie you can think of, Romaine is better than iceberg for me, I’ve tried many light dressings, chik-fil-a berry balsamic and kraft light done right French in moderation works great. Spicy salsa makes a good dressing substitute

Fruit – I eat a pound a day

Laughing cow cheese on special K crackers (jalapeno on top for me) less than 100 cals and really good

Barbeque chicken breast (no skin)

Center cut boneless pork chop (really good)

lean small steaks

Season up everything you eat, it helps

Southwestern Egg beaters with potatoes o’brien (easy on the oil), we get the frozen potatoes from Kroger, you get a bunch for very few cals

Spray butter – no cals and it helps turn a toasted light English muffin into a nice treat

Animal crackers (I love them)

Little treats – I eat about 20 jelly belly jelly beans throughout the day – less than 90 cals for that

Klondike slim bear products – 100 cal ice cream treats and they are good

Baked chips (it’s an acquired taste but eventually they are not so bad)

Ronzoni smart pastas – they taste the same to me and they shed a few more cals

Eat anything you want in moderation – I like to do something decadent one time a week but I make sure it fits into my cal goals

Turkey

Brussel sprouts

Healthy choice steam bags (frozen) 300 cals and darn good (sodium is a bit high though)

Limit the regular soda , it is just not worth it.

Turkey sausage and bacon

Broccoli and/or Squash – spray butter and seasoning

Moderate amounts of emerald nuts (the cocoa almonds are great)

I started in january2011 and lost 45 so far

Since the beginning of this year I lost 45 lbs. As far as food I have definitely incorporated more fruits and veggies. Pretty much this is my diet:
breakfast: 1/2 cup granola with 4oz skim milk
lunch: v-8 low sodium, turkey sandwich
dinner: whatever I feel like in moderation.

I get up every morning and run at least 4 miles. I don't like to limit what I eat just how much of it I do eat. I still eat cookies, brownies, mac and cheese, ice cream, beer. I just make sure I have the calories to do it and I eat back most of my exercise calories.

I've lost 47lbs since mid Dec. My dinners consisted of baked chicken breast or talipia, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob and spinach salads. Breakfast was a tuna melt (low sodium/lite tuna, low skim mozzerella cheese on sandwich rounds with mrs. dash lime seasoning). Lunch left over dinner with broccolli or spinach sauteed with onions & bell peppers. AM snack/PM Snack was peanut butter with either apples, banana and celery or 0% greek yogurt with fresh fruit (strawberries or blueberries), stevia, vanilla flavoring and whipping cream.

I love cooking!

Recipe sites I use, a lot:

http://www.bigoven.com/Recipes
http://www.myrecipes.com
http://www.cooks.com
http://www.foodnetwork.com
http://www.kitchendaily.com/

They all offer healthy recipes and some have the calories and all that available. Some recipes that I might have never tried, have become family favorites!

I stopped buying the precut bags of lettuce and now buy smaller head of romaine. I shop for most groceries once a week but make mid-week dashes for more fresh veggies/fruits and milk.

I'm assuming since you didn't mention it as optional, shopping only every ten days is non-negotiable? If so, and you want more produce, I'd recommend frozen fruits and especially veggies. Most of them are flash frozen at their ripest point (as opposed to what we end up with in the supermarket in the middle of January, for example) which means in some cases they actually have more vitamins and minerals than the fresh stuff that's imported from far away, they don't have anything added, and they taste great. And of course, they keep for a long time.

I've lost 96.5 pounds and I started it by using my kid's plates for my plates. Smaller portions.