Posts by montanann

I don't know of anything with the stringy part, except separating and roasting the seeds.  And the seeds don't have to be completely clean to roast - see this link:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/10/ma ke-your-own-pumpkin-puree/ 

That link is to a "PioneerWoman" Blog post on making pumpkin puree and then roasting the seeds - great photos and step by step.  I always kind of knew and wanted to try it and now have.  Fun and good - although for pie, not sure I can tell the difference between Libby's puree and homemade....

BTW, I am not affiliated with P.W. - just a fan. 

Ditto the "trend" comment.  I'm 53 and going through times of being regular and times of 40-60-90 days without a cycle.  I "lost" 6 pounds the first 2 weeks on CC, up one the next week - had a period after 53 days of not so I did suspect that the initial 6 pounds was at least partially due to water and all that goes with pre-menopause.  Overall, I am down 5 in 3 weeks which is in keeping with 1 to 1.5 pound loss per week.  Still too early to tell and I've been gradually reducing calories - I did not go from what I was eating to CC limit in one fell swoop.  My mantra is "baby steps", eat healthy, eat when I'm hungry and have the occasional decadent treat.  I think it is important to relax and not get too hyped about the scale. 

Although I have increased fiber intake in my diet, I'm a much happier (regular :) !) girl since adding a bit of metamucil (psyllium husk) to my smoothies. 

With any addition of fiber you also need to be getting plenty of fluids. 

Metamucil also makes a kind of graham cracker cookie if you don't do smoothies and don't want to drink a water mix.  With the cookie you have to drink plenty along with also.

Metamucil is not a laxative - it is psyllium husk fiber which draws water into the intestine and helps things move along. 

I think one of the easiest things to do is stick to whole foods and as few packaged/processed foods as possible. 

Example: dinner of grilled or broiled meat, 2 veg like broccoli and carrots - steamed with a spritz of olive oil and a sprinkle of fresh grated parmesan, a bit of whole grain something...rice, bread, other grain you like - experiment! 

Above is not very time consuming...watch portion sizes especially of the rice-bread-grain.

Split a fruit for dessert.

Soups and stews are good ways to incorporate whole foods and leftovers into a filling meal.  If you start with a good broth and add a bit of meat, beans, corn, peas, whatever leftover veg...whatever sounds good! - light on noodles and milk/cream.  I puree beans and a bit of red potato to add to the broth to make it "creamy".

Eat breakfast! - there are lots of breakfast ideas in posts on this site and breakfast doesn't have to be breakfast food.

The idea is to eat healthy-balanced meals and snacks regularly through the day. 

Keep a food journal - here or just write it down - helps you be aware of what you are eating and for me, makes me think twice about whether I'm really hungry or just craving something.  I did not cut out anything I loved - just moderated quantity.  It has got to be a lifestyle change to stick... and a slow transition i.e. baby steps works better for me than trying to change everything drastically at once.

As the above poster says - you also need to up activity a bit if you are not regularly active.

You can do quite a lot at home for not much money...

Start with pushups against a wall or sturdy railing.  When those get too easy, try from hands and knees.

Check the paper or a local "trader" type sale paper - you might be able to find some dumbbells.  Try for 5, 8 and 10 pounders to start.  You can walk with the 2 and 3 pounders if you aren't already - as in keep them in your hands and move your arms - under control!!! - don't just be throwing them around.

Another small investment is a book that shows exercises and the muscles that the exercises work.  You can probably find a lot of info for free online if you don't want to buy a book.  I really like Strength Training Anatomy by Frederic Delavier - not the Women's as it doesn't have all muscle groups.  If you have never lifted before, you do need someone to help you get the form - incorrect form and you can hurt yourself or spend a lot of effort getting nothing accomplished.

A fitness ball can be had for less than $20 (Amazon) as can fitness bands (kind of very large rubber bands - different resistance levels).  The ball can be used as a bench, for stretching and a whole range of exercises.  I originally bought the Gunnar Peterson pkg but it is now pretty pricey at $190!!

The beauty of working on the ball as it recruits the core muscles to keep your balance as you do the other exercises.  You can adapt dumbbell exercises with bands on the ball - again - there are DVD's or you might be able to find things online for free.   I like G.Peterson's DVD's and he starts slow, explains form and he has one person who does a modified version for beginners.

You have to do some sort of resistance work to tone and strengthen - it just doesn't have to be at the cost of a gym membership. 

Good luck!

Happy Anniversary and Congratulations on the loss and better health!

Dry your tears, forgive yourself and start fresh right this minute.  We've ALL been there and the only thing to do, is start again.

Plan the rest of your day - some light snacks or meals when you get hungry - real hunger, not craving.  You might not want to go until tomorrow morning or you will be ravenous and tomorrow even harder. 

You just had a very early "cheat" day  - and it is not like you ate 6 Big Macs with supersized fries :) ! - it wasn't "bad" food...

I love my work - I am self employed as a computer consultant.  My work is custom software development - 23 years in December.

I started in Accounting which I did not enjoy.  I started software development because we (a friend and I) needed a program for a small side business we had.  I had an discovered that it fit me - challenging, fun, interesting. 

I made a choice to stay an independent and work from a home office which means I'm a "hired gun" as opposed to having a firm, with employees or being in firm of consultants. 

My advice to people starting is always the same - find something you love to do and do it.  You work too much of your life to be doing something you don't enjoy.  If you choose to get a job to "pay the bills" so that you can do something you love in your "off" time - that works also as long as you understand and accept the consequence of your choices.

Key is make it YOUR choice and don't be afraid to try a few different things.

I have a free trial of capsules which I don't typically do anything "capsule", but it was easy to get.  I am going to try the juice.  And I believe, just like pure cranberry, you dilute the pure acai with some water.  I have read that it is $45 per bottle and that 1 or 2 ounces a day is the "dose".

I am interested in the health benefits...I am 53 and my rosecea has kicked up with pre-menopause - I believe that is the reason since it gets worse before my periods which are fluctuating from 14 to 93 days - it is a lot of fun :( !

There are some other annoying things that go with this age circulation and capillary-wise and I'm hoping for some improvement there as well.

If it kicks up metabolism - GREAT! - but I will be happy if some of the other stuff responds.

I have been taking the capsules for 3 days so too soon to tell about those, I believe.  It seems like food cravings are less, but I've also been on CC about 10 days so perhaps just getting used to 'less'.

re the weight/strength training

You might also consider shaking that up...less weight, supersets and a pace that keeps you breathing hard but not so hard that you can't speak, i.e. a fat-burning pace.  You have to be very vigilant with form still - no throwing "light" weights around, just pick up the pace and not much rest between sets.  As you said, some variety in the exercises would be good also. 

I do  more of this kind of training and lift "heavy" and slow once every second or third week. 

It seems like our bodies get used to stuff and we need to shake them up with variety...not unlike our brains :)!

Good luck!

Enjoying the simple circumstances of NOW - even difficult circumstances because at the lofty age of 53 :) ! - one of the things I've learned is that there is so much I learn "to the good" even and maybe especiallin in the most difficult circumstances...and all of that "stuff" adds up to wondering what is to be learned from the tough stuff and being content with the simple things of "now" and somewhat delerious when circumstances and very good.

What makes me happy - the little things...a walk with my dog, the look of sunlight through the trees, blue sky, a good and healthy meal or snack, a cup of tea on my front porch, sitting with a friend...

I am happy and also content, notwithstanding that I also have dreams and a vision of things I'd like to do and ways I'd like to improve.

For me, the key is to appreciate what I have right now while also keeping dreams and hopes alive.

My 2 cents....Be true to yourself as in following your heart.  Take some time and discover what it is that you love to do, what kind of person you want to be, down to visualizing what you would like your days to be like.

For myself, I have found that visualizing how I would like things to be is a powerful tool in making the choices that help me get there and weeding out the energy and time suck stuff that is not part of getting there.

NOW, we all have certain obligations to family, friends, work - but sometimes we over-commit or do some things out of other motivation.  It can be a hard decision sometimes - but I have found that I constantly need to revisit the "should" things I'm doing.

Ultimately, I believe, when we live true to ourselves, we are then the best us and in turn can be the best friend, spouse, family member.

And I have to agree with optomism - we can't control all circumstances - we CAN control our attitude towards them.  Sometimes just a slight shift in perspective helps us see the silver lining instead of the black cloud.

I'm just full of cliches this morning :) !!

Smoothies - drink your breakfast:

I use an herbal tea base as I add yogurt, you can use milk

fruit of your choice, yogurt, peanut butter

milk, hershey's chocolate (not with added sugar), peanut butter

I add protein powder also.

If you like the idea of a smoothy and your budget allows...I have a Vita-mix blender, it liquifies anything - I throw in all manner of veg and whole fruit with the yogurt and protein powder.  It is very filling.