I have no problem with dairy but other than nonfat milk and nonfat yogurt, there's not much else I will eat enough of to get protein. My main reason for cutting out the meat is to lower my fat intake and see if it will help me reduce bodyfat % so ice cream and cheese are not things I want to have on a regular basis.

After doing more reading, I'm thinking this probably won't work for me anyway. I was reading some stuff on the vegetarian times website and the only recipes I found that sounded good were very high fat with a lot of butter so I don't see how that would make them better than a low fat diet. I'll try to reduce my chicken/pork meals to a couple times a week and have more tuna instead and see what that does. If nothing else, I think I'll be able to increase the amount of veggies I eat without cutting out the meat completely.

Thanks Ariann. I think that's what I'll do. I made the turkey chili tonight and had 2 bowls and didn't really notice the white beans so I think next time I'll use the 2 cans in the recipe. I think I'll just need to try some different ways of cooking and the lentils might be more to my liking since they are smaller. I definitely like the black beans in a taco salad so I'll try to increase that amount and since it's winter I'll be eating a lot of veggie chili and that has plenty of beans in it.

My exercise level did decrease in Oct when I broke a finger and couldn't do any weights. It had to be rebroken 2 weeks later and was pretty painful for a while so I did cut back on running a little. Then it got cold and it's been hard for me to get back out there consistently. But, I don't think that's really my problem.

I find that if I don't eat enough during the day, especially protein, I am too hungry in the evening. I also have a problem with sugar in that if I have any sugar other than a small amount in my coffee, I crave it for days and can't stop it. I seem to have the same problem if I eat excess fat. I'll just keep piling it on. For example, when my mother was a kid sometimes she'd get butter and sugar sandwiches. As gross as it sounds, I can eat a slice of bread covered in butter and then sugar loaded on top. Or I'll have a spoonful of butter with a spoonful of peanut butter. And then I can't stop and just keep eating more until a whole stick of butter is gone. This was a while ago but now I don't buy butter anymore because I don't think I can even have it in the house. So, I only use the spray butter or Pam and don't have that problem. If I'm grilling veggies I'll use a tbsp of olive oil but for the most part I use the steamer for my veggies. It's possible that I don't have enough fat to keep me full during the day and then crave it at night. I even use sparkpeople and record what I eat during the day at work but then at night I eat whatever and then don't bother recording it.

I was having nuts with my breakfast most of the time. I usually have yogurt with a piece of fruit, flaxseed, and a small amount of granola mixed in. I make my own granola but sometimes when I didn't have time I'd pick up some from the natural section at the store. Unfortunately I like granola so much, I'd end up eating it with a spoon from the box. So yesterday I had none left and just had the yogurt, apple and flaxseed meal and it was good. I'm not going to make the granola anymore for a while but I was planning to start adding a tbsp of nuts today. So good timing with that suggestion.

With switching meals around, I could do that on the weekends but I usually have my breakfast at work so that probably wouldn't work well during the week. But the other thing I think I need to do is eat something quick when I first get up on the days I don't run, otherwise I'm ravenous while driving to work. Even a banana and glass of chocolate Silk would be enough to satisfy me and I can eat that while I'm getting ready.

The butter has always been a problem for me, peanut butter too. I've gotten to the point where I can have peanut butter in the house and not overeat it because I allow a small amount every day if I want it. I don't want it every day but this helps me. I grew up with a grandmother who used the bacon fat to cook in and kept it in a jar in the fridge. She used to leave the butter out so it would always be spreadable and when eating a piece of italian bread, she'd put on a glob of butter, take a bite, add another glob, take a bite, on and on. She'd also eat cool whip by the spoon from the container. Luckily I've broken most of my really bad eating habits.