Hello everyone. I have been reading nonstop for 2 days now and have learned alot but now have even more questions. I am not new to LC. Did Heller's plan for 8 months and lost 10 lbs total. got way too discouraged and this woe sounds MUCH healthier. Here are my questions:

1. How do you set up your meals, cooking, shopping, planning etc. so that it does not take so much time. I am spending all my time with this and getting frustrated. And I am the first to admit I struggle with organizing things. If anyone has any helpful hints for this I would REALLY appreicate your advice.

2. I have read about flaxseed here on the board and have been a user of it for quite some time and would like to continue, but I don't see anything about it in her book???

3. Do you all use organic meats, veggies, etc. because I am having a hard time finding these things and they are very expensive too. Do you think it makes a great difference with the weight loss? I agree it is much healthier and would love to do this but I think I need to start slow. What do you all think?

4. And finally, do you think one cup of coffee in the am (with cream of course) is going to make a big difference? I would LOVE to keep it, but don't want to get discouraged here too.

5. oh one more, how long did it take you to adjust to eating so much fat. I am really struggling emotionally with this. And I am afraid of all the hormones etc. in the cream, butter, etc. Anyone else concerned about this?

okay, thanks so much for any advice you all can give me. I am glad I found this site as I know I cannot do this without LOTS of support! Thank you!!!

Whew! That's lots of questions...I'll answer them to the best of my ability and leave others to fill in the blanks...

1. Everyone deals with this differently. I tend to plan out dinners a week in advance and buy enough to make sure I have leftovers for my lunch the next day. Early on in the WOE I bought tons of veggies and spent an hour washing and cutting to make sure I had them on hand. There's no way around having to take extra time but it'll get easier as time goes on. Eventually it becomes second nature because you'll be in a routine of eating certain foods. The learning curve is pretty steep for you right now...it does get better! I promise!

2. There is nothing wrong with flax! Don't stop...she doesn't mention a lot of "unusual" foods in her book...Just eat the flax within your carb count and you'll be fine.

3. Organic stuff...nope, don't use it. Too expensive! Wish I could though.

4. Coffee...I would suggest maybe a gradual switch over to decaf? I still drink it all the time (decaf that is)...I still have the occasional regular coffee. BUT if you aren't losing weight then coffee can be a culprit. Give it a try!

5. I was already eating high fat when I started so it wasn't a big adjustment for me. I'll let the others dive in here. Perhaps you could gradually increase your fat consumption? As for hormones...I sometimes feel that I need to move to an isolated farm in Greenland and raise all my own meat and grow my own veggies to escape what "they've" done to our food supply. You aren't going to be able to avoid it and the stress of worrying about it is conceivably more dangerous to you ?

Good luck

for your thorough answers to my questions. Yes I do feel rather overwhelmed by all the info and I do not want to be discouraged by it not working. I had actually seriously considered doing the Fat Flush until I realized how stringent it was and how EXPENSIVE with all the supplements and cranberry juice.

So now I have a couple more questions Hope you don't mind.

1. But about flax seed. What is the carb count? I can't seem to find it.

2. And do you ever use protein powder and have shakes?

3. finally, one of the things I remember about the CAD is that I got VERY tired of food in general. Everything felt tasteless after awhile which was another reason why I stopped. Have you ever experienced this?

4. oh one more do you use any supplements?

Thank you sooo much for your help and encouragement. I see we have about the same weight start and to go. Although I am 53 and on HRT and dealing with severe stress issues, I am hoping this will help.

HUGS,

I wanted to jump in and welcome you. You have great questions, but I'll leave most of them to lisaf (our real TSP pro, here!) to answer.

On getting tired of food--I did on LCing at about month 3-4 or so. I made a commitment to:

A) try a new veggie every week

B) try a new recipe every week

and that did the trick. I also discovered some new favorite chicken recipes that way!

If you're going to use a lot of butter, because of your hormone concerns, you might make that the one organic food you splurge on. (around here, it's about $4.50 per pound, or about 150% of regular butter price). However, personally I think if you're only going to buy one organic food, it should be eggs--the free range ones taste better, have better Omega 3:6 fatty acid ratios, and extra vitamins and minerals, too (and that's according to the USDA, hardly your biggest organic farming proponent!). the free-range eggs are also only about 150% the cost of regular eggs.

I did some research on hormone levels in mass-ranced meat, and they were miniscule. Still, I eat only free-range grass fed, locally ranched beef. I bought 1/2 a cow from an organic farmer last fall when they slaughtered, have it in the freezer, and it wasn't too awfully priced that way. I think they charged me $1.89 hanging weight (included butchering), so maybe twice that price per actual edible pound of meat. And my dog got plenty of organic bones, too!

Enjoy your journey and keep up that reading!

1. Flax seeds (not ground) are 53.1 g carb per cup.

2. I use a lot of protein powder but I should warn you that I don't follow SP to the letter though I did when I started. Using a protein powder is up to you - just make sure you are aware of the number of carbs and some are artificially sweetened which you may or may not be able to handle. Can't hurt to try!

3. I do get tired of the same old menu - like raz I go in search of new recipes and try new foods. The fact that I like to cook is a big help. By the way, the SP cookbook is excellent!

4. I go back and forth on supplements - generally nothing more than cal/mag, a good multi-vitamin and, lately, green tea extract.

Lisa

Lisaf - wow!!!! I had no idea flax seeds had so many carbs in them! Thank you for the info Lisa Now I have to decide when and how much to use them. any ideas? Also do you ever use psyllium flakes? in your shakes?

I usually take quite a few supplements but am hoping to cut back. And I just started drinking green tea (decaf of course) and I really like it iced. And it is supposed to be very good for antioxidants, which is really important in my life right now as my husband has cancer.

Razzle, thank you for the excellent advice on making changes in the menus along the way. I will TRY to remember this

And for the advice on butter and eggs. I will try that too. I just bought some eggs last night that said *cage free all natural brown eggs*?????? It also says contains omega 3 (250 mg per egg) and lutein (300 ug per egg). Does it sound like I may be on the right track? I couldn't tell but they were alot more than reg. eggs price wise.

thank you again both for your input!! I appreciate it VERY much.

HUGS,