I live on Reese's Cups & Espresso...

9 years ago

Ok, and maybe a glass of wine in the evenings with another package of Peanut Butter Lover's Reese's Cups. You know, the big fat kind? Oh, and a steak maybe once or twice a week. Really, that's the extent of my dietary staples. And unsweetened iced tea, too.

So I realize it's not terribly active around here anymore, but I thought I'd give this forum a shot. :)
I have decided that 800 calories of Reese's cups a day isn't going to keep this passable, 57 year old body in any kind of shape.
In my life I've probably lost over a million pounds. I'd like to stop doing that.

I've returned and think I've committed to a combination of diets or dietary plans I really, actually enjoy. Don't choke or spit your coffee when I say this:
The Cabbage Soup Diet, (love the veggies) and
The Rice Diet Solution (balanced structure without salt).
Yeah, elements of both. I've always, absolutely love the cabbage soup. I love and can easily live on different grains. It's the cooking part I have trouble with. Gotta make myself do it.

That said, for the first time in about 3 years I actually went to the grocery store and shopped. $150 later, I have veggies coming out my ears. Kamut, Quinoa, Brown rice, Millet, Amaranth, Barley, Wheatberries. Fruit. Apples and pineapple. Whole grain pastas. Soy milk for my espresso. Now just to cook them, rather than having them rot in my fridge.

I'm into my 4th day of no Reese's cups. So far, no sugar withdrawl, believe it or not. I am absolutely recognizing the moments of habit when I'd head for the fridge and get my morning/evening Reese's cups.

I've cooked some grain combinations I love, but without the salt (Rice diet) they're pretty bland. I'm going to cook some dishes and freeze them for default meals. I work in a restaurant, so I've not had to. I'm also entering everything into Mastercook for easier tracking. (Love that program!)

So... anyone out there making any radical dietary changes? Not-so radical? Successful? When you live alone, it's easier to make changes. But encouragement is slim. The cats don't give a darn what I eat as long as they get some. One of mine even eats Kamut.

So, if there are lurkers out there, what are your stories?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

Bluebell66
9 years ago
Hello CEFReeman, I came. Here looking for inspiration. I am pushing 50 and am having a terrible time losing a few pounds. It used to be that I could simply cut the junk and drop weight (about 15 pounds), but it's not that easy anymore. So, I'm trying to cut the sugar, and unlike you, I'm trying to be grain free. But I also don't love to eat meat, so I'm finding relatively little I can eat besides veggies. You're right that it's easier when one lives alone. I live with my husband who definitely needs to lose weight, but we have different ideas about how that should be done. Good luck!
CEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you, Bluebell66!
Since I wrote, which was WOW, almost a month ago, I still haven't had any of my Reese's cups. I gave up my espresso because calorie-wise, 100 calories of skim milk for coffee are calories I'd rather enjoy elsewhere. Gone to straight tea. When I'm out, sometimes I'll Starbuck's, but try to remember to get decaf, small, not THE LARGEST YOU HAVE, PLEASE!

No withdrawal yet. I'm down 5 pounds and seem to be hanging out there. That in itself is a big deal, give those 800 fewer calories a day.

I'm still choosing brown rice for my starch and loving my cabbage soup and apples. I did make a lentil soup. I hate beans, but tried the Carrabba's spicy sausage and lentil soup and was hooked. So a little protein there. A friend says to throw lentils in anything you'd make as soup, or into even the rice, since the cooking time is the same. Ideas.

Just gotta keep at it and not forget 1) that I'm trying to do this, and 2) that I'd like to weigh less!

Best of luck to you, Bluebell66!
Related Discussions
Warning! Don't surf GW while eating Reese's Cups
Q
Comments (12)
Sue, I have a rule not to eat at the computer anymore, just can't seem to control myself. Sharon aka Scotty hmmm...maybe my unexplained weight gain this winter because most all of my eating is done in front of the computer, or else the TV. Even when BF is down on the weekends, we always sit in the living room and the TV is usually on though sometimes muted. My GW seed 'stuff' is all over the dining table and I have been putting off attending to it all. I lost/misplaces a prized pack of seeds I had told some I would share, and I fear going through the rubble on the table for fear I won't find them there....sigh Sue...eating as she types
...See More
Espresso Maker
Q
Comments (18)
ESPRESSO TRUTH #1: The espresso made by a trained barista on a well-maintained, high quality (and unavoidably expensive) machine, using high-quality recently roasted beans ground with a quality burr grinder, can't really be duplicated any other way. ESPRESSO TRUTH #2: 99% of the espresso sold in this country at coffeeshops, caffes and restaurants comes no where near meeting this standard. It is (usually) not bad, but it certainly isn't the best possible...at best a B+, rather than an A+. The vast majority of it is produced (a) on a superautomatic machine, (b) using pre-ground beans from a can, (c) on a machine that hasn't been properly cleaned or maintained, and/or (d) by someone who really doesn't know what they are doing. ESPRESSO TRUTH #3: The huge majority of the people in the world don't even notice the difference. If this wasn't true, every Starbucks (and most other coffeeshops) in the country would shut down tomorrow for lack of business. I am a heretic about this. I love coffee, including espresso, but if I want a really, really great espresso I go to one of the few places around I really trust and pay an expert to make it. At home, I use a Nespresso capsule machine. Super-easy and quick to use, affordable (machines starting at around $250, pods at 55 cents a shot), no mess cleanup and no messy grinding, better quality result than any cheap "real" espresso maker I have ever used, and at least equal to the espresso served at any chain coffee place. If you live near a Sur La Table or Williams Sonoma, I encourage you to go try a sample - I suggest the "Arpeggio" pods (purple) in particular. As a bonus, you can also use the same machine with "Lungo" pods to make a very decent cup of "regular" coffee, and you can also easily make single servings of decaf when the need arises.
...See More
Okay, so how about deep brown/black espresso cabinet color?
Q
Comments (77)
I am glad to hear the feedback that the procedure worked. It has been over a year and everything is holding up great. I went down to Home depot and bought thin aluminum angle iron and sanded it to make it look like brushed nickel 1 inch X inch ï¿½ mitered the edges and trimmed the bottom of the cabinets. Ill post pictures ï¿½ it looks awesome. I even had my house appraised and the appraiser added the value of the cabinets as brand new as all of the other models in the neighborhood have oak cabinets. Anyways to answer your question, and I am not a wood expert I just posted my procedure because it worked for my application and saved a lot of money and steps that the "pros" would suggest What I found is that the pores in the wood will absorb paint in my naked/unfinished cabinets thus requiring primer. Originally I premiered one of my bathroom cabinets and the primer seemed to create a rough surface and fill in the wood grain. It turned out just okay. I finally took oak door in my kitchen and tested it without the primer but sand down the glaze on the door. I didnï¿½t get crazy with it I just hit it with the rotary sander, sanded the detail with the sanding sponge, cleaned and painted. I then compared the door primed and not primed and found that the not primed looked significant better and more wood like, meaning it was hard to tell it was painted. And a year in a half later the paint has held up to usually kitchen ware and tear. So to answer your question what I would do is take a door and prime the back and not the front then paint both and compare ï¿½ whichever one turns out better go with it. But in my opinion if you knock off the glaze and paint following my procedure you will find that this will be more wood like with fewer steps involved with great results. Tom
...See More
Espresso Powder
Q
Comments (18)
Last Christmas my wife was making a yule log cake that called for instant expresso powder, and mistakenly bought expresso-grind coffee. She discovered it too late to return to the store, and since the recipe didn't call for liquid substituting a cup of expresso for a cup of the liquid wouldn't have worked. Our solution was to take the expresso-grind coffee, and use a morter and pestle to grind it really fine, and use that in the recipe. It worked fairly well, although there was a bit of a grit to the texture. In the end it turned out that recipe did call for a cup of water, it just didn't list it in the ingredients at the top. So we could have just made a cup of expresso and used that.
...See More
Lily Spider
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
So... Are you still off the Reese cups? I remember your posting about your obsession once in the kitchen forum. I spent one semester in college living on nothing but Reese Cups, the small ones. Those things are like crack to me. I try to never ever buy them except at Easter.

I came to this forum hoping to find a new accurate bathroom scale. Not very active here. I posted in Bathrooms too.
CEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
Original Author
9 years ago
Bathrooms is probably a better bet. I bought one recently and had to take it back. I didn't think about the fact I couldn't see the tiny writing way down there at my feet. had to go with something that lit up.

I think I'm off the Reese's. I was afraid to even have one, in case the flood gates would open again. I've had maybe 2 packs (2 in a pack) in the months since Thanksgiving. Initially I was eating better, but that's kinda back to normal/crappy.

I haven't replaced them with anything, which should have resulted in a little weight loss, but again, back to my starting point somehow.

I'm not drinking my espressos unless I'm out and a Starbucks or Pannera is nearby. I haven't bought any to make at home, which is 100 skim milk calories I've reduced. (That's a total of 900 a day. You'd think...)

Interestingly enough, I've also pretty much replaced my 1ce or 2ce a week steaks with a steak salad every couple weeks. Again, you'd think...

Ah well.
Lily Spider
9 years ago
With a 900 calorie reduction you would think you'd lose some weight.

How about adding more cardio and/or weights?

I find cutting carbs out completely helps stubborn pounds really budge. If I can't manage cutting the carbs out then I count calories. I hate it but it works. I have always struggled with keeping weight off. I weigh myself everyday to avoid gaining weight because getting it off is so hard for me. Slow metabolism I guess because I am very active.

I live on Reese's Cups & Espresso...

Comments (5)

Bluebell66

CEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
Original Author

Related Discussions

Lily Spider

CEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
Original Author

Lily Spider

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

I live on Reese's Cups & Espresso...

Comments (5)

Bluebell66

CEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8aOriginal Author

Related Discussions

Lily Spider

CEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8aOriginal Author

Lily Spider

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

CEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
Original Author

CEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
Original Author