Quoted: Quoted: For dinner tonight I had the following: Rice with Zucinni (spelling?) Good, but make sure the rice is the brown kind, not the refined white rice. Mashed Taters Go easy on the taters. I only eat them every week or two A Slice of Roast Beef Good A Pear for desert Good. If you buy the canned fruit though, make sure it's not in super-heavy syrup. That makes it just like eating a candy bar. Am I on the right track y'all think? I'm just trying to get an idea of if this is these are the proper foods to be going for. I'd say you're on the right track Roboman.

Thanks. I'm confident I can do this. Today I had eggs and ham for breakfast, with a bagel and juice. Lunch was light with a tuna fish sandwich with lettuce and tomato. Dinner was chicken breast, salad, and brocolli. I just had a snack a couple hours ago of a small bowl of captain crunch.

Only problem I've noticed is ever since I've been eating structured meals and watching what I eat (the last 3-4 days) I've been getting wicked heartburn. Mostly in the middle of the night but it's hitting me right now. What's going on?

Dieting is kinda like quitting smoking, the first few days are the toughest. As long as you keep that 'can do' attitude, you'll do it.

I have no idea about the heartburn though.

Keep hanging in there. Keep some antacids next to your bed if you have to but stay the course. I'd recommend going for a walk in the evenings before dinner if you can fit the time in. A mile will take you only 20 min or so at a reasonable pace and really do wonders long term.

Quoted: I think it's a bad idea - because (1) you will be miserable (2) as soon as you stop, you'll gain all the weight back. Instead (and I know it sounds cheesy) COUNT CALORIES. If you consume about 1600 a day, and do some regular exercise, you'll lose weight - and it might be something that is sustainable long-term. (Obviously, if you work out a lot, or burn a lot of calories in a particular day, maybe 1600 is a little low).

This is the way to do it.  I lost 30 pounds by writing down every damn thing I ate every day for 9months, including the calories.  Plus 45-60 minutes of high intensity work on the stairmaster.  Days Ididn't work out....1600 calories max....with the workout I needed about 400 more.

WRITE IT DOWN.  It's quite an eye opener.