In response to "Yes, Eat meat. ", all I can say is religions come in all shapes and sizes, and vegetarian bashing is just one type of religious fervour IMHO, and is done as a reflex of people who feel their carniverous religion being threatened. It is not relevant to this board anymore than me coming on here and bashing ketogenic/high meat diets as "unhealthy" or "environmentally selfish" or whatever. I can just as well (and have many times) design a meat-based diet for an Atkin'ser/CKD as I can a vego even though I don't eat meat. Is it asking too much of the other members of this board to be tolerant??
On another current thread you guys (Crum et al) are flaming some nutritionist for being closed-minded and not open to other ideas than the ones she's set her mind on. Looks like the kettle calling the coal black.
vestax03a, my advice is to eat more calories, but fewer carbs. Increase your protein intake. You're on the right track by substituting weights for some of your cardio. As for the excess skin, there's not a lot I know of that can help that. With time (if you keep the weight off), it will tighten some, but obese people's skin sometimes never returns to normal tightness after they lose a lot of weight. It's a small price to pay for the general improvement in your health and well being. It can be surgically removed, but you shouldn't consider this until your weight has been stable for at least a year. The meals/recipes is a personal thing. I like a lot of ethnic spices (mexican/indian/asian etc...) in my meals, and these can be low fat AND low sodium but still taste good. In general, if you look at the meal plans on some of those links I posted, you'll see that the dieting foods are kept simple, basic and not highly seasoned. This is a good idea from several perspectives, including appetite control (if the food tastes too good it's tempting to eat too much for instance).
It might help if you posted what you're currently eating.
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