Beverly, you will be surprised how fast your tastes change....what once was good and tasty will soon taste overly salty and worse of all..way to fat. You might even get to the point where an occasional baked potato loaded down with butter will send you immediately to the Ladies room.....

welcome to the world of eating lite......I grew up in the south and didn't know for many years that all vegetables didn't have a slight taste of bacon to them......

Haha.I had big trouble going to the low-fat diet...it was the hardest thing I ever had to do.......and what I did was do the cutting back thing that some recommend.I just slowly cut out all the bad stuff until one day I realized how good everything tasted...and how it was so exciting to learn that greenbeans cooked in a little defatted stock and sauted with garlic was so great tasting....If I eat anything fried or that was prepared with a lot of butter or fat, I get this horrible feeling of it sticking to the inside of my mouth.the roof of my mouth and tongue are coated......Yuk..I could never go back now...

PS. just wanted to say that I understand the grieving thing too..I have been doing exactly the same thing but for my cigarettes......I gave up smoking just a month ago and all of a sudden I find myself a bit on the "down" side....I don't want to say depressed and even feeling the angry bit too..I hope it passes soon. I have been on a real high until just the last couple of days and I just can't seem to shake this depressed feeling....even though I know what it is........It doesn't help that I am so worried about gaining a lot of weight ......

BigMama, thank you for the words of encouragement! It is sorely needed right now as you know. I love bacon grease in everything especially in cabbage, kale, green beans, collard and turnip greens. I love all those rich sauces made with whipping cream and half and half. I've never fried much food but I will miss fried potatoes. I'm going to try my green beans your way!

I'm facing possibly having a stent put in at a very bad place where the artery comes into a Y. This is very scary and could wind up even being bypass surgery. It was a big wake-up call for me because I realize it could have been or still could be my heart if I don't keep the clean arteries unclogged.

I quit smoking about 8 or 9 years ago after smoking about 32 years. I know it must really be difficult for you to diet and give up smoking at the same time. Please hang in there because I know you can do it! I had tried to quit many times and couldn't. This time I used the drug Zyban and it really worked for me and didn't make me hungry either. I don't think they use Zyban any more but use the drug Wellbutrin. Did you just quit cold turkey?

Beverly - WELCOME

You can do this! It will be okay. You and DH will be okay - hang in there!

My father was a heart patient for most of his life (hereditary along with loving food/drink)...in our house, with growing teenagers we had skim/2% milk, wholewheat/white bread, butter/margarine....lo salt/salt....

Bake, broil, boil

I don't stir fry - I fast boil. I do stir frys using water and broth cubes, in almost the same amount of time - you can still add all the spices you want to the liquid. AT the last moment, push everything to the sides, toss a tablespoon of cornstarch and you have a light gravy.

Broil using the grill trays that lift the food and let any fats drip.

There is an exciting and VERY TASTY low fat world of food available in this age in your supermarket...you have probably just over looked them.

You don't have to deny yourself taste and textures at all.
I realize you are probably being inundated with information right now. Hang in there.

Talk to us any time. We are here for you. I understand your fright having lived it with my family all of my life. At least you are still here and have choices.

(((((((((Beverly)))))))))

Welcome!

McPeg

Hi Beverly,
I know exactly what you're going thru about changing your lifestyle----I've got several pounds to lose and just recently gave up my Pepsis. I'm also trying to quit eating out as much. I'm trying to cut back on everything---sugar---greasy foods, etc., but DH is an obstacle, yet he also needs to lose and actually has diabetes. But, I can't MAKE him do anything, I can only do the best for myself.

There's a lot of recipes that will accomodate you on lighter eating--------also a bunch of good food at your local grocery. Check one of the threads about snacks and you'll get a lot of good info.

Welcome aboard!
sue

You can also make it just a fun new challenge to dig out new recipes and websites....

To answer your question.I am using Wellbutrin..I used the patch also for the first 14 days but I read at one of the non smoking sites where the doctor said, you gotta get rid of that patch at some point so go ahead and bite the bullet so I did..Because I was so determined to quit..it hasn't been as hard as I expected it to be...I am actually doing pretty good.still sometimes have a real triggered desire but getting less and less every day...

I have a heart problem too..my arteries are open...I have had two of the angiograms in the last few years so I know that to be a fact..but I have a muscle that doesn't act or is it react the way it should.....There is a history of wolfe-Parkinson-white in my family and it's kinda scary......so far my episodes haven't lasted very long...

I would appreciate mention of any low cholesterol items in the grocery that are good. Most of what I have found are totally inedible. People on the cooking forums have directed to Kraft Lite Done Right Salad Dressings and they are pretty good. The also directed me to Melissa's Soy Slices for cheese replacement and they aren't bad either. I am using WOW potato chips which are good but other than that I haven't found much.

I had an arteriorgram and don't understand the difference in it and an angiogram.

What is the difference in wolfe-Parkinson-White disease and regular Parkinson's Disease. My Dad and his sister both have Parkinson's Disease so I'm probably a prime candidate too.

Sue, I emphathise with you on the husband problem. I am very fortunate that mine is supportive and will eat whatever I prepare even the low cholesterol stuff and doesn't complain. I know where you are coming from because my ex was like that.

(((((McPeg))))) ((((((Sue))))) (((((Big Mama))))))

Beverly, try Benecol. It's like margarine, but supposedly it contains something to also help cholesterol. My father is uses it and his is greatly improved. I think it's cheapest at Walmart.

Do you like to make things like alfredo sauces? If you want to continue making cream sauces that taste great - try carnation evaporated LIGHT canned milk. It's wonderful for making creamy, low fat, pasta sauces. I also love using it to make cinnamon muffins ( I make a basic biscuit dough, spray water on the rolled dough - just enough for making the cinnamon stick to dough ) and I use splenda to sweeten mix in with the cinnamon. This will not taste as sweet as using sugar and butter but if you warm the buns for a couple of seconds in the microwave, you can use a light fat (benecol is good) on the warmed muffin.

I also mix cinnamon and splenda into a shaker bottle to make cinnamon toast. Tastes not too bad.

Just a few thoughts. Also, invest in a GOOD, heavy weight teflon deep cooking pan for making food with little or no fats. The money spent on a thicker pan will pay off with more even cooking. I find using a simmer ring under my pans and cooking things a little slower helps when using teflon for more even baking.

You can also still enjoy things like pancakes and french toast. If you want a healthier, tastier fruit topping - you can stew up some lovely berries with a little water and a teaspoon of cornstarch and once stewed on medium heat, turn off the heat, remove from stove and THEN stir in splenda to sweeten to taste. This is lovely poured over the pancakes/french toast without the sugars and added fat. Depending upon the berries, you can make all sorts of flavours.

A favorite salad dressing I like is orange juice, a little honey and mustard, whipped up and poured over things like chicken salads.

Don't forget there is cool whip light available and I am not sure if they have gone one further to a non fat version, but you may want to check your freezer section.

Give yourself more time when shopping for groceries, try to go when its quiet - so you can take your time surveying new items.

If there are any recipes you would like help with or find, please let us know.

Possibilities are endless!

LOL

McPeg

Benecol, I had heard of it but didn't see it in the grocery. I'll definitely look for it.

Alfredo Sauce is one of my many downfalls, but there is also the little problem of the cheese in it.

The salad dressing sounds pretty good McPeg. I made two raspberry salad dressings yesterday but they were just fair.
I would like a really good raspberry dressing recipe. I pulled several off the web but they aren't much.

Also, since I can have some WOW potato chips I really would like a good no cholesterol dip but haven't found one yet. I tried making one with some low-fat yogurt but it was awful. I've never liked yogurt anyway so that didn't help.

Hi Beverly! I don't have much to add, as I don't like to cook any more! I'm a grazer, and I love to snack, but like BigMama said, your tastes will change quickly! I used to snack on lots of chips and then something sweet to counteract the taste. Then I would want something salty again. Now I don't have the craving for chips and sweets like I used to.

I'm halfway doing the Weight Watchers program and it's very easy for me. Something else you might want to add (with your doctors okay) is an exercise program.

Mainly I wanted to welcome you here!

Here's some of the goodies that I try to snack on:

Skinny Cow Ice Cream
Snackwells cookies---2-3 kinds
raisins
cut-up fruit (I add a small amount of cheese sometimes)
pretzels
low-fat cottage cheese
lowfat popcorn--Act II
Hunts Snack Pack fat free pudding
Jello---sugarfree
Smuckers Simply 100% Fruit---40 cal.--1 TBSP--0 fat

I also buy deli meats, get them "shaved" or very thin slices, and sprinkle a little on salads. I've been buying 1/2 lb at a time---but, I'm cutting that back to 1/4 lb. since I don't eat it all and don't like to keep deli stuff in the fridge that long, like over a week or so. It sure perks up a plain salad and it's like 97% fat free---the turkey, that is. Or, you can find fat-free lunch meats, like ham.

Hope this helps!

Beverly, please be careful of the low-fat salad dressings. They contain a ton of sugar. My cardiologist recommends that I use olive oil and vinegar in moderation. It's more satisfying!

Welcome Aboard to the Diet Chat!
Good Luck!
D

Hi Beverly!!
Welcome!!

I don't know if you like hot stuff but we drizzle hot sauce on chips. Kids and Frank have the regular and I have the "wow's".

Good luck!!

Cheers!
Susie

Found this searching the web. A variety of recipes. Parmesean cheese packs a lot of flavour without needing a lot of it. I also do not saute onion or garlic. I just add to sauce raw.

Hope you are doing okay today...you are in my thoughts!

Cheers,
McPeg

Here is a link that might be useful: Alfredo sauces

Often, if I use a jar alfredo sauce I measure out the amount so I can figure my Weight Watchers points then add skim milk to make the sauce go a bit farther. You get the flavor but you're not using so much. I like the sun dried tomato alfredo sauce and I carmelize onions and red peppers to mix with it. It is very yummy!

Beverly, honestly, you're lucky you found out about your condition before it did irreparable harm. To encourage you, I want to tell you about my father. In his forties, his arteries were in such bad shape that he couldn't walk up a gentle subway ramp without taking nitroglycerine. Back then they didn't have angioplasty and bypass surgery. They didn't even know about saturated fat and cholesterol...but one doctor was ahead of his time. Fortunately, my dad went to him.

My father turned his life around with diet. He gave up so many of the things he lovedÂcheese of all kinds, sausage, ice cream, whipped cream, etc.Âand learned to love other things. I was about seven at the time, and was raised after that eating chicken (no skin!), vegetables, fruits, salads, and very lean meats. I never considered it a problem.

We also ate lots of homemade cakes and other sweets. Although my dad could handle them just fine, I discovered in adulthood that I can't. The wrong kinds of carbs make my blood sugar fluctuate wildly and put my triglycerides at dangerously high levels. So I eat a diet low in both saturated fats and carbs. I've been doing it for eight years now. I really don't miss most of the things I can't eat. I did at first, but now I never think about them. I agree with BigMama about the weird coated feeling in my mouth that grease produces.

As for substitutes, I'm not a good one to give you recommendations because I like to eat whole foods in as close to their natural state as possible. I do drink soymilk, and my new favorite is Silk Enhanced, which just came out. It tastes a lot like the old VitaSoy, before they changed the formula. I also like Veggie Slices, which are a nice treat after no cheese for so many years. And I can strongly recommend tofu to you. It's the most versatile food, excellent in everything from a ricotta substitute in Italian food to pie filling.

My favorite snackÂwhich I don't do very often because of the carbsÂis air-popped popcorn sprayed with olive oil cooking spray (or grapeseed oil cooking spray) and sprinkled with Cajun seasoning. It probably sounds quite spartan, but I like it so much better than anything I get at the movies.

That reminds me....grapeseed oil is wonderful for changing the balance of your blood cholesterol. It contains lots of linoleic acid, which rasies the level of good cholesterol.

And by the way, not only was my dad able to walk up subway ramps after changing his diet, but he took up bicycle riding and went back to playing tennis. And he lived to be 90.

Best of luck to you and your husband!

Susan

Thank you all so much for your kind words of encouragment and tips. Susan, your father's story is absolutely amazing. I feel that I am doing well with not eating cholesterol with the exception of the one day a week DH and I had been used to going to a certain place to eat because both of us loved it so much. I always have their chicken soup and a salad with ranch dressing. They have the best of both that I have ever eaten and I know full well they don't use any of the good oils in those. I confess today is the day we go and I can't pass it up.

Believe it or not I have been used to going to the gym and working out due to having other medical problems. I am still going, but can't go very long on the treadmill. I had quit going as often though because of the hours we work. We work 10 hours a day, 4 days a week and cummute 1 hour a day.

McPeg, thank you for the link but for some reason I can't get to it. Could you please try it again?

Hi Beverly,

http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blbbindex.htm

That is another link into the site I put below. Once on the page, look to your left - there is a choice/list of recipe options. You can search the Low fat link or go to Search at the top of the page and type in 'low fat alfredo sauce' and check the links that appear.

I also went to www.google.com and typed the same into their search engine. That is how I originally found the site.

If you keep surfing through the About Com you can search on a variety of topics. I wind up all over the place because there are always so many interesting places linked on everypage.

I hope this helps.

Hang in there - you will pull through this. We are all with ya and hoping for the best. If you have a moment of any mood, even if you need to blow off steam - talk to us any time - we understand!

LOL

McPeg

Here is a link that might be useful: About Com Recipe site

LOSING YOUR LIFESTYLE, but GAINING A NEW YOU! All change has some pain if it's going to be successful! You sound like you are on your way!

I have learned to eat carrot stick (those small ones) when I want something crunchy instead of chips. Radishes too. Celry too. Celry and peanut butter. After awhile, you don't want the COST (mentally) of chips...

I get a huge bag of almonds, lay some out in a brownie pan, freeze the rest, and bake them until done. I have some in a jar at my desk at work RIGHT NOW! No salt, no sugar...plain, baked almonds.

I do eat DOVE DARK CHOCOLATE and sometimes I throw in some almonds. DARK Chocolate has good ingredients for you vs. milk chocolate. Sometimes I splurge and make chocolate mousse. It's worth all the sugary candy in the world! It has improved my palate so that I only want the good stuff now. Less costly in the long run, for my budget, and my diet.

I EAT VEGGIES with some Velvetta cheese. Yup, I cheat a little, but it get's me eatin' steamed brocolli, caulifower and brussel sprouts. Do you know a handfull of baby carrots will keep angina away!! I eat NO SALT whole tomato's...I eat those first during a meal or have a cup of tomato juice to fill me up a little first.

I make raw veggies and blend the Italian season w. olive oil. Somes I add some cooked whole wheat pasta with hot pepper flakes.

I eat more apples now. Never liked them, but now I do. They are filling!

I still love fudgesicles and try to fine ones with the least sugar. I do have some indulgences. I have to!

But I always EAT CERTAIN FOODS FIRST. Before I can have a fudgesickle, I must eat something of protein or some veggie.

I love a good hamburger and buy only lean meat. In another email I told you how I eat more fish.

For superbowl weekend, I'll probably be watching LIFETIME or something else, but I'll have my good munchies and crunchies. Ooowww, shrimp sounds good!

If anything, the next day, you can ask, WHAT DID I DO TO BETTER MY LIFESTYLE OF EATING BETTER...and you feel soooo good! That has kept me going. Knowing that I CAN do this and I can do this with a new attitude about eating.

You will be gaining so much! You need to think of all this junk food in they way your heart would look at it....
"potato chips...Oh, MY, all that FAT and empty calories",
"Candy bars...gee all that WAX and hydrogenated oils"...
"Store bought cookies...sugar, empty calories, and hydrogenated oils"....
"Greasy hambuger...oh, please get the LEAN beef next time....you're cloggin' my arteries!"

TAKE YOUR HEART WITH YOU IN YOUR HEAD EVERYTIME YOU BUY OR EAT SOMETHING! Ask her, "WHAT do you prefer?"

You are on the road to a new and happier life!

Good Luck,
June Lynn

Beverly.. I love fried onions & potatoes & still have them just done different.
Take a cookie sheet & spray it in PAN or that type of spray. cut the potatoes as U would if U fried them..spay again & bake in the oven on 425° for ABOUT (ovens are different) 20 minutes
..Enjoy. I roast all kinds of Veggies that way even greenbeans & Okra mixed with other veggies. I have just thrown on all kinds of veggies at once in the pan.

I use the 98% fat free creamed soup for sauces or the country gravy mix (white)

Fry chicken & fish like the veggies above with no coating.
Get a Foreman type grill for hamburger & some meats.
I use the 4% EXTRA lean Hamburger from WalMart.

A crazy but delicous recipe is to take skinned chicken theighs .. 1 cup of catchup.. 1 can of diet cola.. cooked covered till chicken is almost done & remove the cover & let it thicken. A very good BBQ sauce.

A good desert is is a can of PURE pumpkin..a pack of sugar free vanilla pudding.. 1 cup of fatfree milk. spices of your choice. We like fat free coolwhip on top.

Another good dessert is take a pack of sugar free COOKED vannila pudding.. after it comes to a boil add a pack of sugar free jello. Stir till jello desolves & add fruit. We like peach jello & a can of juice packed peaches. Also use a fruit jello like strawberry & fruit cocktail.. sure strawberries would be good to.

I make omelets with scramblers, Onion & red peppers cooked with pam.. even put a little of the LITE Velveto cheese in it. In weight watchers that is 1 point an ounce. Well worth the point. We are loosly doing weight watchers on our own at home..

We have been doing low fat..low sugar almost a year & 1/2 now. We have lost 70 & 72 lbs. Sure we could have lost more but like to eat *LOL* (in no big hurry) We go out & have anything we want at least once a week.

Beverly U too can do it (((Beverly)))

My dear friends, you have all been so supportive and helpful and I want you to know that I have printed out this thread to keep because there is no way I can remember all the helpful things you have told me.

I have definitely noticed that all almost all fat is replaced with either salt or sugar to give food some flavor so this is why fresh is best. In some cases, you just don't have time to do it from scratch though.

The scales tell me I have lost 5 pounds but I don't see it missing from anywhere. LOL

Susieque, thank you so much for telling me about the diet forum because I had not noticed it before.

((((((((((((to all my diet friends))))))))))))) you are the best!

Beverly wait for a few more lbs & U will be pulling your britches up LOL.. About 10 lbs is where I really started noticing it & U are 1/2 way there. 20 lbs & U are either altering or looking for something new. I had to get DH new jeans 3 times. Needless to say he only got a couple & took the size larger for around the house with the belt tightened up & extra material folded around his waist.
Salt is a problem & we eat too much but I told the DR & she said it wasn't too bad as long as our BP stayed down. We both take meds but BP is staying down with them. With DH's knee & leg problems I think it is a good trade off for him (as long as BP stays down.)
We have been married not quite 4 years & now he can walk around with me a lot more. We have even started enjoying the Sat. flea market which a year ago would have been out of the question. We are 72 & 67 so no young chickens :)
Keep up the good work.
Sugar

Angiogram: invasive test by catheter under flouroscopy and iodine

Angioplasty: invasive fix for findings by the angiogram using balloons. Stents are related but different.

Hey Beverly you can run but you can't hide from your Cooking Forum friends!!!! Bwahahahahahahaha