I'm Tired of Looking like I Do!

Having been married to a body build, and being exmilitary:

- tuna
- peanut butter
- protein powder shakes

All cheap, protein rich, and all the cooking involved is opening a drawer for a spoon.

Similarly... Frozen food. Zap. Done.

Are you toning? I know many people in your situation who spend hours on the treadmill... but that doesn't actually tone. You need to be weight lifting... and you need to eat healthier.

It's more filling and less expensive to eat fresh fruits and veggies than it is to eat crackers any day. You just have to be creative! I'm a major carbaholic too, can't live without my pastas and breads, but make some wiser choices (like avoiding the delicious cream based sauces) and that can also help.

Also, feel free to snack and eat chocolate, dark chocolate is actually good for you, so keep some dark chocolate on hand, maybe even in a yummy trail mix for when you want to snack.

Join sparkpeople.com It's a free community for other's to support each other in their healthy lifestyles, lots of great recipes and such too.

Are you lifting weights at the gym? You HAVE to if you are not. If you are just doing cardio or seriously light weights, you will only shrink. In other words, your body will look the same, only smaller if you lose more weight without putting on muscle.

Eating clean is harder and more expensive than what you are currently doing, for sure. Eggs are pretty cheap--keep some hard-boiled ones in the fridge to grab during the week when you need something quick. If I know I'm going to be busy during the week, I grill up a bunch of chicken breasts (individually frozen breasts--3 pound bag for $6 at Wal-Mart) on Sunday to have available during the week. Beans are cheap and full of protein and low-glycemic carbs. A fun snack I just discovered is roasted chickpeas. I think a can is about 65 cents or so. That's about all I've got on the food front. I'm sure more responders can help.

Please start lifting weights if you aren't already. Don't be afraid that you will bulk up--I promise, you won't.

Good luck to you! I know how hard it is. I have been every size from 0 to 14 and back again several times. Boooo!

YOU CAN DO IT!!!

As a nutritional consultant, I have to say you are craving carbs partly out of habit and partly because your body is lacking essential nutrients and so it's driving you to the cabinets where you just aren't finding the balance you need. First of all, you can take comfort in the fact that no one (according to nutritionists, food scientists and the AMA) can meet their nutritional needs through the food supply alone. There just isn't enough substance to our food anymore. Eating organic is great, but not when the food has been shipped 1000 miles! Eating local is great, but you can only do that in certain seasons. So those aren't enough.

You need a lot more protein, healthy fats (olive oil, nuts, seeds, peanut butter) and fruits/veggies to balance out the carbs. But don't cut the carbs out. I assume you are using whole wheat pasta, bread etc. Switch up your "white carbs" for dark carbs - sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes, brown rice instead of white, etc. If you slice up sweet potatoes and onions, drizzle them in olive oil and some salt, pepper, herbs (whatever you have) and oven-bake them, they are delicious and you can eat them for a few days. Less cooking, more meals. When you are craving pasta, while it's heating, make up a low fat sauce (even if it's store-bought) and put in some chopped kale or a fistful of frozen spinach and some white beans. That gives you protein and fiber on top of the pasta. Add a little Parmesan cheese rather than going for a grilled cheese sandwich, you know? Keep tuna made up for a quick sandwich or even just a couple of spoonfuls. Use a healthy mayo (like Smart Balance) with omega 3s. Keep some hummus (store-bought or make your own) in the fridge, and have cucumber slices/spears, cherry tomatoes, green beans, and pepper strips on hand. Dip those for crunch and a quick snack with fiber as well as protein. A tablespoon of peanut butter spread into a celery stalk will give you protein and fiber.

Email me for more info. This will help your kids going forward, by the way, by getting them into healthy eating habits. Try to get them to help you a little with the cooking. The 4 year old can help measure a cup of brown rice.

You definitely need to supplement but don't take pills to do that. You want a balanced, powdered, fully-balanced supplement - not single ingredients. I can help you find that money by eliminating some things in your budget now and substituting nutrition. My family no longer needs any OTC medications ( no allergy pills, no cough syrup, no cold meds, no tylenol, no tissues) and we've cut out prescription meds because we are literally NEVER sick. You'd be surprised how much of the budget is eaten up by those things.

If you're drinking diet soda, stop. That's a whole 'bother topic.

I'm at the gym 5 days a week and I'm a lot older than you are. I can tell you that anything you do for prevention now, to strengthen your immune system and your body, will save you 20 times as much later in life.

Happy to help more!

Like trying to conceive, the more you stress about it, the more difficult it is to do so. Same with dieting, the more you make weight an issue, the harder it is for you to lose it.

Change your mindset, clean out your fridge of all the temptations and start eating in portions everything...don't overdo on any one thing..too much of one thing is never good for you, so have some balance and enjoy your food.

It takes time. Nothing happens overnight, but with determination you can do it.

When do you eat? Are you a late snacker? Like after dinner sitting on couch? Cause that was my trouble. I finally stopped eating after dinner (I also do lots of carbs and exercise regularly) and I found this is the easiest way to lose weight.

You might also want to add some strength training to your time at the gym. I used to be fanatical about my time at the gym (like at least 5 times a week without fail) but then I started consistently adding weight training classes every week - and I find that even if I put on weight it doesn't show the same since my muscle mass is so lean and strong.

So - lss - stop eating after dinner (and you will be hungry - i'm always hungry at that time of day) and add in some strength training while you are at the gym - that should help. Also planks and push ups are your friend - you get the biggest bang for your buck - and great results.

I would seek advice from your gym's trainer on how to tone specifically. In addition, I would check out the ethnic markets (esp Mexican) many many times the produce is just as good and much cheaper.

Give up the gym membership and buy some better food. When your sick and tired of being sick and tired, you will make a change. You don't have to be a gourmet cook, to prepare better meals for you and your children. Take your children on walks and play at the park. I think you might be over doing it in the exercise and weight training.

How's your relationship with your husband?

Hi! We discovered the key to affordable fruits and veggies is to go to Haymarket. You can't beat $3 for 4 lbs of baby spinach or blueberries for 50 cents. It really isn't far for you, it is just the commitment to going. Once your fridge is full you will feel the need to not let them go to waste! We drive in ($1 to park) but you can take the T. Make it a family adventure! Or send hubby really, really early Saturday morning, that's what we do.