I have been a restaurant owner for 7 years.  My menu here is all down home cookin' and not very health conscience.  I have put on 33 lbs in 7 years.  I am 50 years young and have tried every avenue to loose weight.  I am now 3 weeks into the alli program.  I started cutting back calories one week to starting the pill.  In 4 weeks I have lost 10 lbs.  The first 2 weeks I thought I was going to waste away.  I constantly fought with myself, but the scales were my incentive.  I am very active.  I cook 1 day a week, I waitress 4 days a week.  I swim 2 days a week.  Every thing else I have tried has failed.  But with the alli program it taught me to eat right and even has eliminated my acid reflux.  For those of you who are frustrated, hang in there and be tough.  It is not easy, but life is too short not to be healthy.  I know I am only a newcomer, but I feel this is a great program and one of the few that does not make you believe it is something it is not. 

I also work in a restaurant and was wondering if you had any ideas to help me out. I do "long shifts" ALOT where I work from 10am to 10pm or more or less depending on the day...but I rarely get breaks and when I do I'm tempted to eat something at the restaurant...its all italian cuisine and is all really bad for me...the chefs try to make me "good for me meals" but they're always the same grilled chicken with rice. Any ideas for different meals or things I could take from home? Also getting home so late usually is a problem because I don't want to eat that late but at the same time I'm STARVING! Do you think its a good idea to eat then or should I just forget it? Any advice would be great. Thanks!

 Hi Chelsea,

Feeling "starving" is never a good thing.  Your tank is running on empty when you feel that way.  Your body knows that and then starts to hang on to your fat reserves to protect you.

I don't work at a restaurant, but do work long hours.  Those single serve fruit bowls are my go to snack.  Pretzels without salt on top are another.  I keep whole wheat bread, Dijon mustard, and Alpine Lace Swiss in the fridge at work if I have to eat and run. 

If the chefs want to help you, why not have a close look at the Alli dinner meal plan?  Maybe you could ask for a piece of pork tenderloin or fish and then complete the meal when you get home.

If you're working 10-10, you could have breakfast at home, and bring two cold lunches from the Alli menu, even if it's a simple sandwich.  You will still want something when you get home, so now you've got extra calories and fat grams to spend on a "mega snack" that will be lighter than trying to eat dinner at 11 PM when you're dog tired.

Your post is a couple of weeks old.  I hope you're still out there, checking in and looking for support friends here.  We're all in this together!

Success to you,

Mary

 I work in a restaurant too, and I always end up working ridiculous shifts w/ no breaks, so it's really hard to stay on track...  I always try to have the kitchen guys make me things that aren't so horrible, and I came up with some pretty good stuff, but for the most part I just bring my lunch with me.   I like to make up salads w/ fruit in them, then I bring them to work and have the kitchen grill a piece of chicken to cut up in it.  Thats my favorite.. also, I buy the slim-fast or atkins shakes for weekends when I'm going to be super busy because they tide me over and keep me from getting to the point where I break down and hoover a big plate of fettichini alfredo..  I have a really good smoothie recipe too, if your interested.. I've been drinking this every morning since I started the abs diet a year or so ago, and it's awesome.. Keeps me full for a REALLY long time.. 

Smoothie:

1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 cup dannon light and fit vanilla yogurt, 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (thats what does the trick), 1 banana, handful of frozen blueberries (super good for you), 4 or 5 frozen strawberries, sprinkle of cinnamon, 1tsp ground flaxseed (allergic to seafood so thats how I get my omega-3's), small spoonful of peanutbutter, and a few icecubes.. blend it all together, and you're good to go!  Most of the time I can barely finish it, but I make myself because I know that it'll tide me over all day..

Great ideas!  Thanks!  I use the Whey protein all the time, it's so good for you :)  Tampabayb