I HATE TO F---ING DIET!!!

Introductions are in order!
It has been strongly suggested, by friends and family, that I start writing a blog about the process I am going through in trying to lose a hell of a lot of weight. At one point my doctor told me that my only option was bypass surgery or that band thing... Bullshit!!! I started my diet one year ago and have lost weight very quickly! I have created this menu/cookbook/shopping list tool that I hope to market someday. That day being when I have finally, FINALLY lost all of the weight that I need to lose. That puts me into... about a year from now time frame. Whew! I would like to start right out by stating that this is not a diet plan! It is not a cook book!I am not a doctor, or a nutritionist. Hell, I’m not even a chef! I’m just a fat chick who has lost a fair amount of weight (140 pounds so far) by changing the way I eat. I have a lot more weight to lose. Once I lose 150 pounds I will no longer tell people how much I’ve lost because I do not want to see their eyes roll back in their heads while they try to figure out what I topped out at! (Hell no, I’m not telling you, either!)
Why the hostile title, “ I HATE TO FU*#ING DIET!” you might ask? Well, I’ll tell you… because it is true! I have been on so many diets, so many times, only to lose weight then gain even more back as soon as I quit being hyper vigilant! I am sick of it! If you have a lot to lose, then losing 2 or even 5 pounds a month is demoralizing before you even start.I found that you eat food that is tasteless, feel hungry all of the time, dream of eating the good stuff… and for all of the suffering you do, the results are far less than satisfying.
I wrote this menu, shopping list and recipe collection because I wanted to create a tool for the average person that is simple, easy and fun to follow and offers food that I think is really tasty. There are certain foods that I have just cut out of my life. I thought I would miss them, in fact maybe sometimes I do, but the truth is… I don’t miss them much, or often. For me, just axing them out of my diet is a more simple alternative to trying to eat tiny portions of them. I’m telling you, if I have access to an open bag of chips, I will eat them till they are gone! So… no more chips in my life! (That is not entirely true, there is a recipe in my menu plan for homemade chips that are better than any you can buy, and you can eat them often!) So, what have I cut out? Sugar, wheat, beef, egg yolks, salt (as much as possible) and almost all fats. I have learned that some fats are necessary, so I use flax seed oil and occasionally an avocado sneaks into the menu. I eat potatoes, rice and I even eat pasta. The secret is… I only eat rice based pasta. It costs a little more, but it is well worth it!
The other really important habit I have developed is that I drink A LOT of water. I try to drink 90 to 100 ounces of water a day. There are nights when I have to get up and pee every two hours! You know what I tell myself? “I’ll be down in the morning!” and it’s true! I do not count diet teas or drinks as a water substitute, although I drink a lot of plain hot tea, and I do sort of count that in.
Just losing the first 140 pounds has created so many changes in me that I am often just... almost befuddled. Some are great, some not so much. After years of dreaming of "shopping off the rack" instead of ordering specialty fat clothes, I am doing so! Yes, I am still buying clothes in sizes that would send a skinny bitch screaming, but by God they are normal clothes and that is very cool! On the non ego front, yes cholesterol levels and blood sugar levels are way down and completely within the normal range. Also, and this is weird... I came out of menopause after the first 50 pounds. That doesn't seem like a great thing but comparing menstrual cycle to hot flashes and... oh my God bitchiness, I'll take the monthly! (Unfortunately I will have to face menopause again someday, but I will leave that concern for my husband to worry about!)
What has been sort of funky is my body changes, believe it or not. I am smaller, and look better (although still seriously a fat chick) but criminy... the underarm wings and soggy gut are too disgusting. The nurse in my doctors office growled at me, when I had the temerity to whine,
"IT'S A SMALL PRICE!" But in all honesty... Eww!
So, once I get going on this blog thing (too old to pretend technical savvy) I will write down the daily trials and victories... let you in on some more of the experience up to now and maybe share a recipe or two.