Posts by lynnmm1961

Aquafit classes are great and don't stress my bad knee.  Also if you google chair exercises you can find lots of exercises you can do while sitting.

Original Post by shapeshifter:

yup, I was about to say the same thing, cucumber and lemon are natural dirutetics and gingers and spearment help relieve bloating ... i'm definitely gonna make some just to drink not as a diet

 I have the book and did find that the water was refreshing and I didn't feel as bloated.  Now I just like the water because it does taste good (my kids didn't like it though).

I've suffered this for years off and on.  In my case it is pinched nerves that start in my shoulders/neck (bad posture and long hours at a desk).  At one point it was diagnosed as thoracic outlet syndrome.  I've had good luck with massage.  They also gave me stretching and posture exercises to do which really help.

Just change the date when you are adding the entry.  This happens to me when I've been looking at yesterday's log and go to add something to today.

Here's a new stress management technique that really works!

Stress management technique recommended in all the latest psychological journals.  The funny thing is that it really does work and will make you smile.

1.      Picture yourself lying on your belly on a warm rock that hangs out over a crystal clear stream.

2.    Picture yourself with both your hands dangling in the cool running water. 3.    Birds are sweetly singing in the cool mountain air.

4.    No one knows your secret place.

5.    You are in total seclusion from that hectic place called the world.

6.    The soothing sound of a gentle water fall fills the air with a cascade of serenity.

7.    The water is so crystal clear that you can easily make out the face of the person you are holding underwater.

There!! See? It really does work. You're smiling already.

Not sure where you are in Ontario but on Danforth in Toronto - the Greek section you'll be able to find it there.

You can also make your own.

Homemade Greek Yogurt

4 litres of homogenized milk
1/2 cup of plain yogurt (containing active live cultures)


In a large pot, bring your milk to a boil. Reduce the milk to a simmer and place a ramekin into the pot to prevent overboiling. Simmer for 15 minutes and take off the heat (do not cover with a lid).
Allow the milk to cool until you've reached a temperature between 110 - 115F (you may use a candy thermometer for this. Your milk should be warm enough to hold your finger in it for 12 seconds.
Take some warm milk and mix it with your starter yogurt. Now add it to the rest of your milk and mix well.
Set your oven to "warm" or about 200F. Your ideal "incubation" temperature is 110F. Start ladling your milk into plastic containers with lids. You may place the containers of yogurt in the oven (oven turned off) OR place a blanket on the counter and lay your closed tubs of yogurt on it and cover with another good blanket. Your yogurt should set in 8-12 hours.

Refrigerate your yogurt for at least 4 hours. Your yogurt will be good for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy!

You could put it into an RSP if you have contribution room and you will get a tax deduction savings for this year.  However when you go to withdraw it you will be taxed.  So that's the difference between the RSP and the TFSA - you don't get the tax deduction on a TFSA when you deposit but you also don't get taxed on the withdrawal.

Now if you're planning on saving the money to buy a house you could use your RSP savings as a down payment which you then have to repay to your RSP over a period of time (I think its 11 years).  There's no tax penalty for doing this for first time home buyers.  So while you're RSP won't be earning interest on the amount you've taken out, you won't pay any tax on the withdrawal and you can spread out repaying "yourself" basically.  I did this the first time I bought a house when I was married.  And then I requalified as a first time home buyer when I was divorced and buying my first house on my own.

Check out financial advisors in your area - you want to look for some who aren't affiliated with any single company.  And make sure that you ask for their education/professional certification as there are some shady ones out there.  Ask friends and family if they deal with someone knowledgeable and certified.  There are quite a few good books available as well just make sure they are written for Canada.  There's some good info online as well for instance http://www.blogher.com/canadian-women-talk-pe rsonal-finance.  She mentions Gail Vaz-Oxlade and I have her book and found it quite good.  The Wealthy Barber is another one that is quite good.

The way I look at is that I can safely lose .5 to 2 lbs a week by having a 500 to 1000 calorie deficit.  Some days I'm just under my target (hardly ever happens!), other days I go over by 100  or even 200 calories but I know that I'm still in that 500-1000 deficit range which means I'll lose.  If I'm really concerned (maybe once since I started) I just add in some exercise to burn off the extra calories.

If you search the forums you'll find lots of people who swear by zig-zagging their calories.  They never eat the same amount each day but go up and down from their target to their maintenance but at the end of the week it all averages out to the same thing.

Whenever the numbers on the scale or calories start to feel overwhelming just remind yourself that it takes 3500 calories ABOVE your maintenance calories to make a pound of fat.  That 10 calories is not going even matter.  I use the same thought process when the scale goes up for whatever reason.  Do the math and you realize that its not fat but water or undigested food working its way through your system and eventually the results will show on the scale.  I prefer to go by how my clothes fit and how I feel healthwise and don't stress about the numbers.

Good luck!

Did you use the food log to look them up - all those items are in the database.  Go under My Account - Food log and input for instance egg.  You can select the serving size and it gives you the nutritional values and you can add directly to your log.

Original Post by vicereine:

So I could put $5000 into the TFSA and the rest of the money into a CD (GIC is the Canadian version I believe)? Since CDs have a higher rate than savings accounts, and if I need to I can take money out of the TFSA.

ING has 3% rate for the TFSA, which is a lot more than the other places, is there a catch I'm not seeing?

 My parents use ING and they always get rates that are above the others so that's probably correct.  You could 5k in this year and the rest in CD then next year put another 5k in if you wanted to.

It does as long as you're logged in.  Otherwise it shows for a 150lb person.

You can add in foods using the #2 option on the food log page.  There's a form you can fill in (like the nutrition label).

And then you can also tag items that you have frequently so that you don't have to search for them in previous days logs or re-enter them. 

Yup for sure and I've had days where my weight has gone up - after the first initial loss that's what made me listen to the folks on here and start experimenting with the numbers and changing my activity level.   The last 2 week "stall" I had I actually got the trainer at the gym to setup a new routine as I found that I wasn't feeling like I was exerting myself as much (like it had gotten too easy).  After a couple of days on the new routine the weight started coming off again.

As some of the long timers on here have pointed out - a couple weeks is more like a "stall" where your body is adjusting to the new weight and lifestyle.  Real plateaus last months or longer.  So even though its frustrating to not see the scale move I tend to look at those periods as a time to take a look at the patterns of what I'm eating, how much and how much exercise.  I try not to focus on the numbers but more on how I'm feeling and the fact that my clothes are falling off me (literally one day when I put my blackberry on my pants!).

I've got alot to go too, like you, so anytime you want to talk just ping me!

If you are talking about a temporary diet for an upset stomach/flu then the BRAT diet is what lots of doctors recommend.  Bananas, rice, applesauce and toast with plenty of clear fluids.  But that is only til you're over the bug then you slowly add in other foods to get back to your healthy diet.  Stay away from spices, milk products as they can upset your stomach more.

Why do you want to shock your metabolism?  How many calories were you eating before?  I've upped my calories but from 1300 to 1600 (and I'm close to your stats although I don't know about height).  The odd day I might eat my maintenance amount (my treat days).