Hello Shalizbet,
I know cutting back on the fruit will be hard, but it's only temporary. Down the road, you may even realize you don't need/want that much. It can be a challenge to figure out what to replace it with. You'll manage. This is not "standard" advice, nor would I give it to just anyone. Fruit has alot of sugar, albiet good sugar, it's sugar nontheless. Try to stick with the lower gycemic ones and keep them earlier in the day. If you really want to get tough, no fruit after noon.
That is true, esp. when applied towards carbs. Overall, higher monounsaturated fats are the best choice. I'll see if I can find a chart I have with numbers, and post. I am absolutely addicted to toasted slivered almonds! They go great on a salad. Based on what you've said, I think you're right. Is there any way you could begin to incorporate resistance/weight training? The more muscle you have, the more you burn. It would not be a temporary endevour though. That is not a bad idea. Remember, drop one carb per meal (9grams = 39.6 calories). Replace with 4.5grams fat = 40.5 calories) Do not adjust your snacks. That's good, and should help. Perhaps get your heart rate up there during one of your walks (220-age X .75), which means you're really going to have to pick up the pace. I've seen some ladies walking in my neighborhood with hand weights, doing bicep curls as they go. Can't hurt, and would get the heart rate going more. We'll get you past this stall yet!

As far as meat goes.... Well the rule is pre-cooked weight and I think that equates to approx 1/2 ounce. Personally, I'm not that precise, and I've not had a problem, but I do a lot of weight training, so I can get away with extra protein. Maybe, just for now, weigh out the precooked weight, see what it comes out to, cook it, and then weigh it. Then you'll know for sure.

Thanks, Zonecoach, for your advice. Have switched to almonds, dropped one carb and added one fat, given up fruit after noon, and limited it elsewhere. Will try to increase walking speed, though it's hard to get my heartrate up high enough without stressing the injured foot on which I'm having the surgery in a few weeks (I'm lucky to be able to do any fitness walking on it at all). Will see if I can get heartrate up on exercise bike though I'll have to build some new leg muscles to do it. Because I am relatively fit, my heart rate doesn't rise without my having to do quite a bit. And I will try to get to the weight training, but I anticipate a lot of difficulty fitting it into the schedule. I'm going to do my best because it was one of my goals for the summer. I just got derailed by the foot injury and a back injury.

I feel that HulaHula's thread has been taken over by my concerns. Hula, I'm sorry----if you're still with us. How are you doing? Really didn't mean to drive you away!