I have a large salad with one hardboiled egg, no cheese, and a few croutons. I hate dressing, so that's not a problem.  If you must do dressing, go low-cal.

The rest of the day, I enjoy beef, chicken, fish or whatever in small quantities. (A reasonable serving is about the size of a deck of cards or what will fit in the palm of your hand.)  Include fresh or frozen (steamed) veggies like carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and green beans but avoid corn, peas, and potatoes. You can have them later but while you're on the losing trail, avoid them.

Include one piece of whole wheat or nutty bread. Forget the white bread. And definitely avoid butter while you're losing. You can start eating a little after you lose all you want to lose. Each tablespoon of butter/oleo has 100 calories!!!!! If you don't want bread, you can have a small bowl of cereal like Frosted Mini-Wheats or something with some substance. I would avoid Cap'n Crunch and Cocoa Puffs -- ha!

If you eat out, take the top bun off the hamburger and forget the cheese. Split desserts. Eat half a meal and take the rest home for later.

If you want Italian dishes, put the Ragu and meat sauce/meatballs over cauliflower instead of pasta.

If you want Mexican, eat the goodies inside but lose the shell.

Snack on baby carrots or carrot wedges, hard-boiled eggs, Hormel turkey pepperoni, or Butterball turkey bacon. (The latter two are high in salt but LOW in calories and HIGH in taste.)

Even though it's not healthy, diet pop will NOT prevent you from losing weight. I drank a lot of Diet Pepsi throughout my weight loss program. It was my only treat. Yes, I know it's not very healthy but I'm a regular human, not a super-woman.

If your doctor says it's okay to include soy (breast cancer patients should avoid soy), you can supplement a meal or snack with one or two protein bars as long as they have 18 or more grams of protein. Avoid them if they're more candy bar than protein bar/meal supplement.

Take a vitamin/mineral supplement and any other supplement your doctor suggests. I use chromium picolinate because it's a metabolism booster and will curb your cravings for sugar after about three days.  (Has something to do with balancing your insulin levels.) The shake has a lot of calcium, so you may not need an additional calcium supplement. Remember, whey protein is a milk by-product, so it's high in calcium. Interestingly, too, it rarely causes upset in people who are lactose intolerant -- like me!

This is not a low-carb diet but it is a healthy carb diet. I ate about six times a day but in small quantities.

So, there you have it. This is what worked for me. I lost weight, and it stayed off! At first I didn't think it was working -- but one pound at a time I did lose weight. Of course, I also walked 30-40 minutes every day 5-7 days a week. If the weather is stinky, go to a mall. You can lose weight without exercise, but it will take you twice as long. (I lost 10 pounds when I was in the wheelchair for 8 weeks, so I know it can be done. When I was in the wheelchair, I was unable to get to goodies. Hence, the weight loss. Unfortunately, I gained it back because I hadn't changed my eating habits then.)

If this plan doesn't work for you, find one that does. I have a friend who lost 40 pounds on NutriSystem. Another lost 35 pounds on Weight Watchers. Another lost over 100 pounds with gastric bypass, but I DO NOT recommend anything that drastic unless it's a last resort and you've discussed it thoroughly with your doctor!

Try to adopt a new way of eating. Don't look at your changing eating habits as a punishment. Look at them as a way to be healthier -- more like the woman God wants you to be!

Blessings!!!!      Donna