Dilemma

I also work full time (sedentary desk job), am a student, mother, wife and don't have much time for working out. I swore I would never keep a food diary because there was no way I could possibly log every little scrap that passed my lips. But let me tell you - the diary is the thing that finally did it for me! I always thought that my eating habits weren't *too* bad, but when I started paying attention to portion sizes, the weight started coming off. I now try to measure *everything* because that's the only way I can be accountable to myself.

As for your knee - that's a tough one, but not impossible. Until it heals, you can work on weight training or calisthenics. Water aerobics is another possibility. The main thing is that you have to decide what you are willing to do to reach your weight loss goals. The choice is all yours.

My mother in law has a similar issue with her knees...no matter what shes doing shes in pain. So she finally saw a specialist and is going in for knee surgery..problem is..shes more then 100 lbs overweight...so she has to loose weight in order to get the sugery..how is she supposed to do that when her knees hurt to much to even walk into the bathroom easily?!? So she saw a nutritionist whos key advice was DO NOT EAT ANY CARBS AT NIGHT..if you must have carbs..have them with breakfast and lunch..at dinner have your protein and as much veggies as you can stomach to replace the carbs..no rice..no pasta..no bread..no potatoes etcetc. Its working so far shes down 8 pounds in almost 2 weeks!

First of all, I bet you are more active than you think with 4 kids...you also probably go grocery shopping each week, trips to target or walmart, etc. Every bit helps. But I hear you saying you aren't losing any weight. Perhaps drop your calories just by 100 a day and see what happens. Maybe because you are so sedentary your calories are set too high?? Small, frequent meals may accelerate your metabolism. You mentioned depression. Are you on medication? Some anti-depressants actually can cause weight gain. I also suffer from depression and my doctor put me on Buproprion. It doesn't cause weight gain. In fact, it actually has weight loss effects in many people. I drink tons of water and tea. Never drink regular soda's and minimize diet soda's as they tend to bloat. I very rarely drink alcohol because then I would have to skip part of a meal, and that's not healthy. I know how frustrating it is to be overweight and have a difficult time losing weight. I have had eating disorders in the past, and still struggle with restricting my food intake at times. It is a daily struggle. I have lost almost 80 lbs in the past two years, 60 since 5 months ago. I can tell you the calories in almost anything lol. Some of my favorite foods and snacks are sugar free jello with light whip cream, 100 calorie popcorn packs (I like the kettle corn), carb master yogurt at Kroger (I dont know if you have this grocery store), i like to mix the jello with the yogurt (yoplait has good light yogurts). I also enjoy chicken and don't eat any other meat. I eat a salad every single night. I put a few craisins and a little blue cheese or feta (just a little) with cucumbers, onions and celery, which gives a good crunch. lettuce is almost a free food...you can eat tons. I mix the spring mix with regular bib lettuce. Weight Watchers cheese sticks are good too and only 50 calories. Egg whites only 17 calories an egg. My treat is low fat wheat thins, or pepperidge farm baked parmeson crackers. I love mini rice cakes...the spicy chili ones are great!! If you check out the frozen aisle you can find brocoli and cauliflower in low fat cheese sauce...also the brocoli cheese and rice is not bad. I use spray butter, and never use oils, but baking spray instead. if a rice a roni calls for butter, I skip it and just use water to steam it...you can't tell the difference. I stay away from pasta and bread, chips and pretzels. If i am at a party and their is cake, I take a very small bite. like the size of a baby spoon...deserts aren't too triggering for me, so that may not work for you. I go online whenever I go to restaurants I look at the nutrition content of the menu before leaving the house..so no guess work. Most seasonings are calorie free and you can change things up with your meats. I miss bbq sauce, but it is mostly sugar, so I skip it. oh! and those veggie straws in the health food section are to die for!! Lots of crunch and you get 37 for 130 calories!! My hard time is at night after the kids have gone to bed, but I usually just grab a small amount of what I am craving and just go to bed. I hope you can use some of this...good luck!

Yeah, you shouldn't have to adjust to feeling hungry...that's not fair, YET, that is how I feel as well. I actually don't really get hungry much anymore unless I am getting ready to start. My problem comes into play when I get bored and don't stay busy (which rarely happens in my life). I save most of my calories for dinner, because I stay so busy at work, I don't have much time to eat anyway. Yeah I didn't have much fun with salads before, but now I have learned how to dress them up so they are good...plus knowing its almost a free food, i know I can fill up on them. In the produce section you can find the toasted almonds near where the lettuce is. They are 40 calories for a tablespoon. They have different flavors and so much taste and PROTEIN...i need to eat more...i have not hit my calorie goal since starting this program. I know that I have hit a major goal and can now shop for clothes in any store...not just the "fat" stores...so that keeps me motivated. Thanksgiving is already making me panic
I plan not to go off my diet that day, like so many years before...it will be a hit to my confidence if I fall of the wagon...I think I will feel soooo good if I keep within my calorie goal for the day. I am already thinking of what I can eat, so I don't get to the dinner and just lose it. How are doing thanksgving? It's great talking to you ! Later