Very very Frustrated!!

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Very very Frustrated!!

Postby FeyGirl7 » Sat Sep 02, 2017 4:04 pm

Hello all...I'm new here with about 20 lbs to lose. I've been doing the starch solution for two months now and have maybe MAYBE lost a couple of pounds. I rotate the same meals. This is a typical day...
B: cooked pinto beans (water), spices and water sauteed onion and garlic = refried beans with brown rice heated in brown rice wrap. Salsa on top
L: high carb Hannah's corn chowder over brown rice
D: lentil loaf (fat sugar and salt free) w baked potato "fries"

Other meals i eat are rice vermicelli noodles in fat free homemade broth a veggjes, rice cakes w a little bit of low fat hummus, refried beans over rice, homemade marinara over pasta. I rotate these meals

One this is i take one supplement that amounts to about a TEASPOON of oil a day. I'm hoping to change this to a more concentrated pill corm . I use no sugar, oil or added salt. For snacks i eat rice cakes if I'm an hungry but I'm rarely by hungry after meals.

Exercise it limited but we just moved House and that was full on for months, I garden a lot and chase after a three year old all day long. I've never struggled to lose weight so much in my life and I'm really feeling quite defeated at this point.

Would love some help please!
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Re: Very very Frustrated!!

Postby sirdle » Sat Sep 02, 2017 5:03 pm

Hey Fey!

The fact that you have not gained any weight (and may have lost some) over the past few months... (while moving house!)... is a good sign. It means that you are very, very close to turning the corner. :-P

Check out Jeff Novick's 'Calorie Density' resources.

Calorie Density - The 80-min blockbuster video
Calorie Density: How To Eat More, Weigh Less & Live Longer!
The Ultimate Guide To Free Calorie Density Resources

If you have any questions, please post them!

Good luck!
"Before Enlightenment chop wood, carry water. After Enlightenment chop wood, carry water." -- Zen proverb
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Re: Very very Frustrated!!

Postby Riva » Sat Sep 02, 2017 7:30 pm

Replace some of your starch with leafy greens and salads!
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Re: Very very Frustrated!!

Postby viv » Sun Sep 03, 2017 7:18 pm

Riva wrote:Replace some of your starch with leafy greens and salads!


I agree. I suggest one starch per meal plus veggies. e.g., Now you are eating starch plus starch plus starch. The veggies are needed to keep the calorie density low enough to encourage weight loss.

b: rice and beans (delete the wrap)

l: corn chowder with veggies or brown rice with veggies

d: lentil loaf with veggies or baked potato fries with veggies (or salad)

These delicious meals will still fill you up and the extra veggies will add extra nutrients.
5'8", Started March 2013
Starting weight: 217
Current weight: 157
60lbs gone--for good!
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Re: Very very Frustrated!!

Postby Bougainvillea » Sun Sep 10, 2017 8:01 pm

I also was losing weight slowly at first. I started out eating lots of beans and legumes. But, they are actually higher in calories than other starches. I really love my corn tortilla tacos (heated without oil), but what I did was I started making up a mixture to put into my tacos that included more veggies and rice with the beans and/or lentils. So, tomatoes and cooked squash (whatever I happened to have a lot of in the freezer), and I add lettuce at the last minute if I have any. So, I put a lot less of actual beans/lentils in each taco.

I have 4 tortillas (just 50 calories each) with a little of the mixture that is now about 1/2 veggies in with the beans and rice - and my brain doesn't know the difference in the fact that I'm actually eating about 1/2 the calories now.

I also had to stop taking my Omega 3 fish oil supplement - it's oil, and it's animal oil. Fattening, etc. I'm trusting that the diet will heal all of my problems.

Also, instead of having lentils/beans at every meal now, I make a soup for lunch every day. What I really like, is I pureed some lentils in the lentil water, and I use that as a base for my soup most days. I add veggie broth, and a bunch of cooked veggies to the soup, including cut up potatoes, carrots, corn, spinach, just whatever I have on hand in the freezer or in cans (I can my own veggies a lot, too).

But, basically, I make a hearty soup - but it's way less calories than eating a bowl of straight lentil soup.

This is working for me, and I don't feel deprived, and I still get the taste and satisfaction of the beans/lentils.

And, the cool thing about doing it this way, is if I'm still hungry later, I might eat another 4 tacos - and since they're half the calories they used to be, I'm not actually eating twice the calories when I "cheat."

I cook up a batch of my lentil/bean/veggie/rice mixture about once a week and freeze up a bunch of bags. I can use it for my corn soft tacos or I can add broth to it and make a soup out of it, or just eat it plain. My dog actually really likes it, too LOL.

I'm also eating more potatoes, which has been a challenge for me. I love my pasta and beans and rice. But, potatoes have lower calories. When I started buying the sweeter, creamier potatoes like the gold ones, red new potatoes, etc., that are great with the skins on, it's been getting easier to replace the other foods with more potatoes. They're really filling and less calories.

Anyway, I could relate to your dilemma, as I had the same exact one.
Off meds/animal products 8/13/17, oil-free since 8/29/17
BP WAY down right away. In 3 months: Cholesterol down 26pts, Triglycerides down 27pts. Next 3 mos way back up ???
61 yrs, 5'5" tall
Starting weight 8/13/17 : 204 lbs As of 2/14/18: 186 lbs
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Re: Very very Frustrated!!

Postby Michele613 » Wed Oct 25, 2017 4:09 pm

Hey Boogie, do you make your own taco shells? All I can find here (outside US) is Ortega taco shells but they are obviously with oil....I could eat tacos for a meal every day. Trying to learn how to make my own corn tortillas because I can only get flour ones with lard or other oil substance. I miss the crunch of the taco :nod:
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Re: Very very Frustrated!!

Postby Bougainvillea » Thu Oct 26, 2017 8:30 pm

Michele613 wrote:Hey Boogie, do you make your own taco shells? All I can find here (outside US) is Ortega taco shells but they are obviously with oil....I could eat tacos for a meal every day. Trying to learn how to make my own corn tortillas because I can only get flour ones with lard or other oil substance. I miss the crunch of the taco :nod:


I don't make crunchy ones. But, yes, I'm learning to make my own. Do you have access to any hispanic foods? You just need some masa harina flour. If you have a Mexican or latino ethnic section in the grocers, they should have the masa harina flour for making tortillas.

It takes a little bit of practice. I'm new at it, and I'd say it took me a good 6 batches before my tortillas were consistent as far as size and thickness.

You can get a tortilla press from Walmart, or Amazon. This is the one I have. There are better, but this one was cheap and it works:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Norpro-Torti ... s/23624926

This is the kind of flour you need:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Maseca-Insta ... B/10291185

To make the tortillas, you just mix a little salt and water with the flour. Knead it, let it sit for a while according to the directions, then roll it into balls a little bigger than a golf ball.

You need a piece or two of plastic to put down on the tortilla press, and to cover the ball of flour mixture. I used a coffee filter plastic bag. But, it basically needs to be plastic the thickness of a normal plastic garbage bag. Thicker than plastic wrap, which is too thin.

I tried parchment paper and it didn't work. So, it needs to be plastic, like I described.

Then, you press it out into a tortilla form, then put it onto a hot griddle.

You can find a ton of videos on how to do this on YouTube. It will take some practice. But, I'm pretty good at it now.

I will say, that I had terrible luck with Bob's Red Mill organic masa flour. They were super nice and are going to refund my money. It was too coarse and heavy. I've decided I don't care about GMOs anymore, if using organic flour won't work for good tortillas. I'm sure the reason didn't have anything to do with it being organic, but that the mill was too coarse - but there wasn't any other organic masa harina flour available. So, I give up on that idea.

Anyway, if you're willing to put in the effort, it does end up being really easy - once you know what you're doing. And then, you have great tortillas that have no oil - just corn flour with lime stone, salt and water.
Off meds/animal products 8/13/17, oil-free since 8/29/17
BP WAY down right away. In 3 months: Cholesterol down 26pts, Triglycerides down 27pts. Next 3 mos way back up ???
61 yrs, 5'5" tall
Starting weight 8/13/17 : 204 lbs As of 2/14/18: 186 lbs
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Re: Very very Frustrated!!

Postby PJK » Fri Jan 05, 2018 10:50 am

Refried beans for breakfast? I would check the ingredients before eating again. Traditionally, they're very fatty -- typically made with lard. That could slow you down big time.
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Re: Very very Frustrated!!

Postby Willijan » Mon Jan 08, 2018 10:56 am

Michele613 wrote:Hey Boogie, do you make your own taco shells? All I can find here (outside US) is Ortega taco shells but they are obviously with oil....I could eat tacos for a meal every day. Trying to learn how to make my own corn tortillas because I can only get flour ones with lard or other oil substance. I miss the crunch of the taco :nod:


You can make crunchy corn tortilla chips using a microwave bacon rack. I just cut the tortillas into 6 pieces and microwave them. For two tortillas in my microwave it takes two minutes. Remove them immediately from the rack as they continue cooking and get too browned. It works for whole corn tortillas also. Maybe you can find a way to get them into a taco shell shape before they get too crisp. This is good for getting some crunch!
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Re: Very very Frustrated!!

Postby Michele613 » Thu Jan 25, 2018 6:49 pm

Thanks Willijan for trying to help :) but you overlooked the fact that I CANNOT get anything other than Ortega Taco Shells where I live......no such animal as a corn tortilla or flour ones without lard/oil.....sooooo I cannot follow your recipe. I am going to US soon on a trip and I plan on coming home with dozens of corn tortillas but they'll only last so long....miss the availability but love home.
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Re: Very very Frustrated!!

Postby Michele613 » Thu Jan 25, 2018 6:58 pm

Thank you Boogie for your detailed DIY corn tortillas. I also watched NUMEROUS youtubes on the subject. To start with I don't have masa harina available....I tried to grind some corn meal into more of a flour in my food processor but it still wasn't fine enough. My attempts to DIY tortillas was a DISASTER....not sure I should bother with buying a cheapy press if I don't have the right flour. I am going to US and may pick up a press and a package or two of the flour but if I can't do you have any other 'substitute' flours that you've tried and can recommend? Would 'corn flour' work? No lime in it :)
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