Newbies

Hi, Gingerware. The intention is for you to eat everything on the menu, but if you can’t, then don’t fight it. Focus on the protein and produce, then the rest – just try not to eat too little!

Hi jude0504,
Thanks for posting.
Here is a great group that most likely has others that have similar dietary needs – http://www.trimdownclub.com/groups/talking-cooking-nanas/
Hope this helps!

Hi, blondemgzs. If you’ve been on restrictive diets in the past, this can indeed seem like a lot of food. The intention is to prevent hunger and upgrade your metabolism, while supporting at least a mild level of physical activity (which is important for health regardless of weight goals). However, it’s great that you are in tune with your satiety cues, and we wouldn’t want you to fight that or be uncomfortable. We would encourage you to focus on the protein and produce (at least 5 total fruit/vegetable servings per day) and calcium sources (at least 3 total food/beverage servings per day).
Regarding recipes, many are in the personal Menu Planner food lists. For the newer ones that have not yet been added, you can just swap them in for whatever similar food is on your menu (for example, if you like a vegetable dish, just make that your Vegetable of Choice; a meat/tofu dish, just make that fill the corresponding slot in your menu – that’s why we keep the foods in the finished menus generic most of the time).
As for sprouted, you can read about it here – http://www.trimdownclub.com/what-is-swg-bread.

Hi Danisse,
Restaurants are a part of life, and are definitely not off-limits I any long-term weight management plan. With these tips, you can have your health and enjoy yourself, too!
• If you can, get online to search for the ideal place ahead of time, filtering the options by features. Look for restaurants with an emphasis on whole foods, including vegetables and even ‘slow’ cooking – or at least a de-emphasis on junk food, deep-fat frying, heavy sauces, and rich sweets.
• If you know in advance where you’re going, peruse the menu ahead of time and prepare yourself with the right choices. The usual wisdom applies here: salads, cooked or ‘hidden’ vegetables (i.e. red sauce and salsa), baked or sautéed entrees, light sauces, and fruit for dessert. Or if nothing else, “prepared how you like it”.
• Avoid the bread or chip basket, or any other ‘empty calorie’ filler that a restaurant may offer before a meal. This will add a whole new course that you hadn’t anticipated, usually made up of refined carbohydrates an undesirable oils. This can be diet sabotage, so kindly ask the server in advance to leave the breadbasket or chips and salsa off your table, so you are not tempted. If you order unsweetened tea or water with lemon in advance for sipping, you may not miss it. When it comes to the real food, eat bulky, low energy-density (a.k.a. ‘low-calorie’) foods first, generally high in water and fiber – order a salad or clear soup as your first course, and when dinner arrives, start with the lightest foods on your plate, usually the vegetables.
• Don’t be shy about asking how your food is prepared. They are there to serve customers, of which you are one. Even if your server doesn’t know, the cook does, and if you do, you can take it or leave it – or improve it. Find out if butter, margarine, or oil is used, and what is available for substitution. Ask about the sauce that comes with an entrée, and if it has “cream”, “butter”, or “cheese” at the core – then go with a healthier alternative.
• Look for foods on the menu that are broiled or grilled (but not charred or blackened), poached, steamed, roasted, or baked; avoid foods that are fried, crispy, creamy, creamed, au gratin, escalloped, or breaded – all of which are synonyms for high amounts of added fat prepared in an unhealthy way.
• Balance is key. If you really want a high-calorie item, balance it out with lighter choices for the rest of the meal.
• Every food has a healthier version. Order the leaner type or cut of meat, and exercise portion control (take advantage of the doggie bag, and only eat half if the portion is too large). If you love fish and chips, then try grilled fish and oven-fried potatoes, etc. Substitutions can usually be made.
Hope this information helps 🙂

Someone mentioned shopping list. How do I find them?

I am new to this new program (started today) my BIGGEST challenge is night time eating from like 9-11:00 am. I think i’d probably lose weight if I could just stop eating after 7:00…any suggestions.

Jacob, I can really identify with that. I too worked night shifts and got home around midnight. After my high tension job, it was so good to grab something to eat.

Hi, Jacob and MamaBerg. The menus generate by our Menu Planner application suggest something before bed, labeled “Snack #3.” We encourage it to have some sort of protein, in order to tide you over until the morning.