Frustrated by Diet

OK, so I've never believed in dieting. It's hard to make a total committment to losing the 50+ lbs I really need to drop if I want to live a healthy life. I find myself sabotaging the diet, either by snacking or over-eating. Also, the food preparation that goes along with this No-Fad diet is easy to make, but so many parts to it that it ends up taking an hour an a half or longer to prepare each meal. Lunch has to be started the night before, as do some of the breakfasts. Now I can make it easier for myself if I take the time to make my own menu plans and include some more 'inclusive' meals that cover more than one food group, and choose fast prep recipes. Meat loaf on a night that I get home closer to 7 than to 6 isn't happening. We like to eat as a family, and if I'm cooking that late the kids are being fed snacks at the table to calm them down, and then they are too full to eat dinner.

I'm also contemplating moving down to the 1200 calorie day meal plans, because I've lost one lb in two weeks, and that was in the first two days, so not necessarily due to the diet. Oh, and I've already gained it back. I'm stuck on 200 lbs again, and it's frustrating. I was actually being really good and following this diet, and according to the book, my calorie needs for my desired weight is 2100, and I thought that if I put my diet at 500 calories below that, I'd lose about a lb/week. That should have been about 900 calories below my 'normal' intake to maintain my current weight. I hate counting calories, but I don't want to join weight watchers and do the point thing either. I'm smart, I can make this darned book work for me. The American Heart Association came up with some fantastic real-food recipes, wrote up the portions to eat, and even gave me 2-week menus!

My over-eating isn't usually at meal time anyway, it's my boredom eating that gets me. I eat when I read, I eat at the computer, I eat in front of the TV. I'm not hungry, I'm snacky. I like to constantly be eating something good. I hate chewing gum, so that isn't an option, besides, I'm tired of losing fillings and I don't think there truly is a gum on the market that doesn't stick. I thought about tic-tacs, but I know I'd eat several containers a day. Not good. I don't like drinking diet soda for two reasons: it tastes bad, and carbonation is bad for you even if it has no calories. I've had enough digestive issues without adding that one to it.