Nawchem,

You will need to try to remember what calorie level you were maintaining on and work it from there. As to carb content, Lyle believes one needs a high dose to correct thyroid issues..but to do that, you would need to reduce one of the other macros. If you are very carb sensitive and inclined to binge, this might not be a good idea for you, so that is really a matter of choice. But don't freak out by gaining back 4-5 lbs when you go to maintenance...that is normal and probably a good thing as your metabolism will come back up a bit it seems.

LCookys, I just did a fun chile with very lean ground beef, bell peppers, onions and lots of Mexican spices...put that in lettuce leaf cups, sprinkled with lf cheese, chopped tomatoes and green salsa. Was able to stretch this to make 3 cups, so that was a satisfying meal. Another thing to do is make big crockpots of soups, and then add stuff like ff sour cream, curry etc for flavorings.

I had years of low fat dieting that taught me how to cook for it-for example you simmer chicken breasts in stock and garlic, add some ff sour cream and pour over steamed veg. I discovered some ff and low carb gravy thickener the other day, and that worked well in this recipe.

I would use the casein protein- low fat cottage cheese is an example and I find it sticks to my ribs fairly well when I have run out of eggs for breakfast.

Val

You guys are all so darn creative with cooking. I guess I have not patience when it comes to experimenting.

Valewis, thanks for the receipe!

I am with Nancy that the secret really is using lots of spices and herbs...you can stir fry using a nonstick pan and a spray of something (we can't get Pam here..just canola oil in a spray can) and coat the chicken with some tasty spices...then add a bit of stock to keep it moist, then cover and keep on low heat until cooked..then 'finish' the dish by adding something yummy like yogurt or ff cream. This is very quick and easy. While doing this you steam or m/w your veg. You can get a number of different tastes depending on how you spice things- you can do 'stroganoff' which is basically garlic plus sour cream; or 'curry'..use curry powders or pastes plus yogurt; or mediterranean/Italian using basil and oregano, garlic and tomato paste; or Thai, using Thai spices and low fat coconut milk.

I am finding this a kind of fun challenge.

Val

What does FF cheese means?

fat free whatever (cheese, sour cream, yogurt)

Val

good I could not believe that it was Full Fat,now it make sense.

Yeah! That's why I cut it up, saute the chunked chicken for a bit with garlic and onions (garlic powder and dehydrated onions if you're short on time) and then pour a nice sauce over it and add in lots of frozen veggies. Do you have a Trader Joe's in your area? I'd suggest some of their bottled sauces and frozen veggies.

Another thought is NF Cottage Cheese. Its a staple for me. Get some SF syrup like Torani or Da Vinci. Buy some unsweetened frozen raspberries. You can have a few everyday, just not tons. Anyway, pour some syrup like Mango over the cottage cheese and dot it with a few frozen raspberries. Its utterly delicious!

Another thing I do is by NF Greek yogurt. Its sour as heck, but only 80 calories per cup! I mix in a generous amount of SF syrup with it... coffee flavored syrup is my favorite in NF Yogurt... or caramel.

You might want to start watching some cooking TV shows. Its amazing what you can pick up from them. My favorites are Good Eats and Calorie Commando. Good Eats is good entertainment too, if you're a nerdy science loving sort of person.

For breakfast I take two raw eggs to work and a wee container with NF sour cream and salsa (verde is my favorite). I mix a bit of water with the eggs and whip 'em with a plastic fork. Then I microwave 30 seconds, stir, microwave 30 more, stir. Do this until they're almost but not quite done.. if they looked cooked, they're overcooked. Whip them out and plop some sour cream and salsa on top and enjoy. Spicey!

Lunch is prewashed, baby green. Low fat salad dressing (on the side). In another container I carry frozen chicken strips and frozen artichoke hearts (or whatever I have easily on hand -- these are all terrific products from Trader Joe's). Anyway, at work I assemble the salad by nuking the frozen goodies and mixing in the dressing. I eat the same damn salad every day and I still love it.

I saw on calorie commando (tv show) they made a snack that was honey mustard dipped chicken wrapped in prosciutto. I bet you could mix the mustard with splenda. Not sure about the prosciutto though. Its so thin and strong tasting you don't need much. Looked VERY tasty! I bet its on the Foodtv.com web site.

Just a quick report in. I went off dieting of any sort last week. Total carb frenzy. My Dad passed away on Aug 1st and with all the things that ensued, it was just really, really hard to diet.

I gained 7 pounds in one week! However, I kept my cool and realized that all, if not most of it, was water. In fact, 2 days after resuming PSMF 5 pounds are gone.

Also, I started getting achy joints and problems with my bowels on high carb, so its great to get back to PSMF!

And I was also pleased to see how easy it was for me to get back onto plan, once my life settled down again. Although the first couple of days have been HARD, what with cravings and additional hunger. But I know once I get a few PSMF days under my belt it gets a lot easier.

Nancy, your Asian pot roast recipe got an interesting use today. I cut the meat into fine strips, added some lime juice to the juices with chili, heated it, and poured over salad greens.
Fantastic.

Val

Wow! That sounds great, Val! I've had Thai salads that I bet tasted like that. Lime was definitely one of the flavors and they had wonderful strips of beef on it.

yes, it was similar to Thai salad. Tonight I just thickened the juice and poured it over steamed veg. I decided today to increase calories a tick..so have added back full fat milk in coffee and tea, plus full fat yogurt for a treat. Also may use a small bit of real salad dressing..otherwise the same. Fitday put it at about 840 calories for today. I am still keen to keep losing. I am astounded that I have lost 2 inches on waist and on tum since I measured on July 29...amazing.

Val

That's fantastic, Val! I haven't measured in awhile, I really should.

There was another Thai salad I've had that had ground chicken or pork. Cilantro, of course, lime, some sort of chiles and I think maybe ginger. Was super tasty, I've been thinking of grinding some chicken breast up and trying it myself.

I've got a lot of herbs going now too: cilantro, basil, mint, dill, majoram (never have used that before) so I could be doing some good cooking here! And I've fallen in love with savoy cabbage. Wow, that stuff is so nice tasting compared to regular cabbage.

But I made myself another vat of chili last night. This time I used the ENTIRE can of chipotle in Adobo sauce. OMG... its hot!

Here's my latest recipe (minus beans):

29 oz can of diced tomatoes (with juice)
14 oz can of diced tomatoes (with juice)
1 pound of cooked turkey sausage, cut into bite-sized chunks
1-2 cups of some frozen veggies (I use frozen artichoke hearts or brocolli)
2-3 T of chili powder

Optional
Chicken broth or boullion to intensify the flavor a bit
1-2T of unsweetened cocoa powder (great taste)
Onions and/or garlic
red pepper flakes (for heat) or chipotles in adobo sauce (great flavor and heat)
Cumin (1-2t)
Tumeric (because it is good for you!)

I mix all together and let it come to a simmer. Then I turn the heat down and let it simmer gently for about 30 minutes. It always tastes best a day or two later when the flavors have partied together for awhile.

I serve it with cool NF sour cream on top and sometimes... if I can take more heat, some good fresh salsa!

Calories are around 150-200 depending what you put in it, sometimes less, for a 9 oz bowl.

Hi- yes, as your recipe has ginger and garlic anyway, I just added chili, lime juice and fresh cilantro to turn it into salad. I can't get turkey sausage here for your chile- so could only use ground chicken or beef. Otherwise your recipe is much the same as what I do..I hadn't thought of adding a molé touch with chocolate but will do that next time.

Yes, the inches loss is dramatic...the scales don't reflect this at all which just shows how unreliable they are as a measure of progress..but we are still addicted are we not...argh...as was back up to 159 this morning after glimpsing 157.5 2 days ago and you can't help but freak a bit.

I took a break from exercise yesterday after The Big Cramp and will go to Curves today and do weights Saturday and will have another break Sunday. I have increased calories by about 100 or so as well.

Because the food we eat is so good and nutritious and pretty filling with the hi protein it is hard for me to 'get' that this is a modified fast...do you feel like that Nancy? Think of the amounts most of the undeveloped world get to eat.

Val

No way, Val. Doesn't feel like a fast at all. When I get hungry, I eat. I was curious today how many calories I really take in. I'm going to have to try tracking for a few days again and see.

I also seem to be more content when I have sugar-free popsicles on hand. They satisfy my sweet tooth and cravings. However, they do have a little SA in them and they make me fart massively!

I think I'm going to make my pot roast with:

tomato juice
garlic
onion
crushed olives

Yeah, the olives aren't really good for PSMF but it'll only add about 100 calories to the entire thing with the little package I have. This time I'm going to make my Pot roast in foil wrappings like Alton Brown does on Good Eats. We'll see how it turns out!