Posts by kamileon

Depends on the gnocchi.  Pasta is pretty constant at 200 cal a serving, but gnocchi is all over the map, depending on how it's made.  Read the package, or if you're making it from scratch, use the recipe tool.

it's also worth noting that this is a UK article, and that both bacon and sausage as served in the UK are much lower fat foods than in the US (Bacon, for instance, doesn't even come from the same part of the pig.  Canadian bacon is the closest thing we have here in the US.)

And you left out "Get some sun, because it reduces your chances of depression and every other type of cancer besides skin cancer".  I just ignore anything that looks like sensationalism designed to sell papers, and stick with the ones that have been tried and true for 50 or 100 years.  Eat some vegetables, get some exercise, but don't try to live like a monk.

I take it all with a grain of salt, and whenever I need a sanity check, I ask myself what a primate 100,000 years ago would do.  Would he eat Nutrasweet?  Probably not.  Would he eat sugar?  Sure, if he could get it, but he couldn't get it very often.  Ditto for the meat and the grains.  Lots of leafy greens and fruit, a little bit of meat and grains, and lay around in the shade and relax when you can, but get some sun, and don't forget the running from predators on a regular basis.  :) 

Now, in practice, your world isn't optimized for living like a primate, and we'd all starve to death if we did, but it's at least a quick guideline when you're asking yourself things like "Do I *actually* believe that sugar and meat is bad for me?"

Not sure how much this will help, but...

I'm a three time college dropout.  I was bored, I skipped classes a lot, I wasn't that into it, and I could get a good job without a degree.  But, at the age of 30, I'm walking this Sunday for my B.S., I'm graduating with honors, and I've worked full time through the last 5 years of school.  What changed?  1.  I'm a lot older now.  Whereas before I didn't understand why I had to do the busy work, now I do.  Sometimes it's not enough to know something in theory, you have to be able to whip it out quickly, and that's what the practice is for.  2.  I got out into the real world, got a job in my chosen field (computer science), and realized just what I had to learn to be good at it, so I was a lot more motivated when I went back.  I knew what I wanted to learn, and what it was good for.

It's really important to find your passion and then stick with it.  It sounds to me like you've found a bunch of things you like, but nothing you love, and sometime a while before you graduate, you're going to have to find that.  You have to find something that's going to get you motivated through the sucky parts.  There will be sucky parts.  Every school program has sucky parts.  Every job has sucky parts.  You're going to have to figure out how to live with the sucky courses, and the boring parts of the job, otherwise you're never going to get through it.  But remember, it's better to be bored 25% of the time, and highly paid and stoked about 75% of your job, than bored 100% of the time, and broke and up to your elbows in dog doo.  ;)

However, I second the princess.  If you start college, you can begin with a bunch of electives and general education classes, and that'll give you a chance to find something you're *really* stoked about.  Declare a major in something you think you *might* like, and go from there.  You might also ask yourself what you *really* want out of this change.  More money?  More time with animals?  More respect?  The ability to feel like you're helping someone? Do you just really hate working for other people?  The answers to those questions can help you figure out what will make you happy, what your expectations really are, and if they're realistic.  (for instance, if you hate working for other people, odds are good that you're not going to like most jobs, and the few that remain mostly don't pay well unless you're rock star good at them.)

If you've damaged your heart, then your doctor is the best person to ask those sorts of questions...  Since weight loss is stressful on your body (and potentially heart, if you're not careful and overly restrict), he can tell you what's safe and what's not.  And you should also ask him if he meant absolutely no exercise, or just nothing strenuous that gets your hear going.  Maybe he will tell you that it's still OK to go for walks, or to do very gentle weight lifting.  But a damaged heart is a pretty serious matter, and most of the people on this forum aren't really qualified to advise you what's safe and what's not under those circumstances, we're not doctors.  :)

I know what you mean, and it makes life harder than it ought to be, because you have to do everything a normal person would do, but you have to do it while your body is freaking out and dumping adrenaline and you feel like you have a gorilla standing on your chest.  It is hard, and no, you can't just "cheer up" magically.  I got a lot of that when I was depressed, and in retrospect, I'm pretty damned offended at how clueless and insensitive people were.  :)

I second everyone else who says consider medication.  Yes, there may be some side effects, but would you rather have a little headache once a day, or feel crappy all day, every day?  I hear a lot of people who want a natural solution, and I think it's healthy to explore those avenues too, as complements to whatever medication you use, but depression is a bit of an un-natural problem. Think of it like having diabetes.  Your body is normally a well tuned engine, capable of maintaining itself just fine, but there are those unlucky people whose bodies, for whatever reason, don't give them the hormones they need.  Some people can cure themselves through diet and exercise, but some people just need insulin.  Or serotonin.  :) 

In the mean time, until you can find a doctor...  When you're starting to get blue, even if you don't have time to exercise, do a couple of stretches to release some endorphins.  It's just a quickie fix, but it can stave things off.  I find when I'm having a panic attack that breathing exercises or yes, even singing (because it forces you to breathe deeply and evenly) can help reduce the feelings a bit.

And (and I say this with *every* caveat), you might want to consider looking into 5-HTP (5 hydroxytryptophan, available at your local hippie store and in better pharmacies everywhere.  I like the MRM or NOW brands best if you can find them).  it's a serotonin pre-cursor which shows some promise at moderating depression in limited studies.  I do NOT recommend this as a substitute for a doctor, the doctor is a key part of your recovery, and can help you find something that is exactly right for you, (and has way more research behind it) but if you're having trouble sleeping, 100 mg at night before you go to bed might help.  You'll have funky dreams the first few nights, but you'll sleep deeper and rest better.  Do NOT continue taking it once you are on medication, you can make yourself very sick that way.

And, most importantly, hang on.  :)  Remember that you're viewing the world through blue tinted glasses, and that it's not as bad as it feels.  Your loved ones love you, even when they seem insensitive.  I will never forget the look on my baby sister's face when she came to visit me in the hospital after my suicide attempt.  I hurt her horribly, and I was an idiot to think that I wouldn't, or that she wouldn't care.  It's not worth it, there are better ways to reach people.

I am sooo with you.  If I could live on baguette and butter for the rest of my life and not die of malnutrition and diabetes, I think I would.  :)  But yes, it is pretty much pure carbs, and that doesn't kick off your body's satiation reflexes.  Eat it with something that provides a bunch of protein or fiber...  If I'm going to treat myself to something like bread for breakfast (I eat a lot of oatmeal too, and save bread for a treat), I like to eat it with some really lean dry cured ham and a fruit preserve, or a low fat cheese.  I also find that I have better luck with some of the artisan breads, especially something like a whole wheat cranberry and walnut bread, that's got lots of fiber and protein in it.  I'm pretty sure that artisan breads are more likely to use a high protein flour, where the big commercial bakeries will use cheaper low protein flour and then add dough conditioners to it, which don't fill you up as much.  Artisan breads are often higher in calories per slice, but usually better for you.

Brown Cow has fat free yogurt which is sweetened with sugar, and Wallaby has fat-free with evaporated cane juice.  I personally really like Fage, which is fat free greek yogurt (super creamy and good for you too!) and completely unsweetened, then I add in some fruit and honey, or if you prefer the sugar alternatives (I think they're all nasty myself), you can throw on some Splenda or stevia.

One foodie here!  And yes, I know what you mean about having to try everything while you're on vacation.  (Or worse yet, not on vacation.)  I'm a fiend for trying newly opened restaurants, and of course I want to try whatever they do best, which is never the low cal option.  I try to make up for it by doing a lot of scratch cooking at home, where I can make gourmet dishes without being tempted by big portions and unhealthy ingredients.

Ethiopian is glorious.  Really.  Go with a big group if you can, so you can get a variety of things.  Ethiopian is really big on family style serving, it'll come out on a huge platter, and that way if you're conscientious, you can try everything and not overeat.  Let your friends take the bullet.  ;)  If you're trying to keep the calories down, go for the (amazing) vegetarian fare, and try to be restrained with the injera (flat bread), it's very calorie dense. I'd also recommend the kifto with ayib (spiced chopped half-raw beef with home made cheese).  Ask for it leb-leb, which is medium rare.

My current culinary passion is learning to cook Lebanese food.  Lebanon's been called the Paris of the Middle East, and they've raised cooking to just as high of an art form as the French have.  It's subtle and spicy and filling, but it's also heavy on vegetables and fiber.  See if you can find a restaurant that makes labaniyya (dishes cooked in aged yogurt).  Roasted cauliflower and slow cooked lamb in aged yogurt, mmmm. 

The people who said classes have a pretty good idea...  I know where you're coming from, I have a terrible time doing cardio at a gym.  It's boring, repetitive, and I can't stay focused, so I just never do it, even though I've got 24 hour access to a gym at work, and have no freaking excuse.

So I did something totally different, and joined a rock climbing gym.  Now, rock climbing isn't for everyone by a long shot (not a good fit with your back problems, I think), but there are lots of things like it that are fun, challenging, and keep your mind on having fun and doing well instead of "Oh god, I have to go another 10 minutes, this is sooooo lame."    I like rock climbing because I'm so focused on not falling off the wall I totally forget about the time.  :)  Find something that's actually fun, instead of just healthy, and it gets a lot easier.  Maybe that's rock climbing, maybe it's jazzercise, or swing dancing (works up a sweat, I assure you), or kick boxing.

Losing weight is hard enough as it is. If you're trying to do something you hate *and* overcome a short attention span, you're fighting an uphill battle.  :)  And one of these things is way easier to fix than the other, unless you're going on Ritalin sometime soon.

You're not fat, but you're wearing size 18 skin on a size 2 body, it's *going* to look loose.

I have  a number of friends who have done the same sort of huge weight loss quickly (I'm on the slow plan, myself, 6-8 sizes smaller in two years), and they all say it takes a while for the skin to catch up with the weight loss, but it DOES catch up in a few months.  You just need to be patient with it, just like you had to be patient to lose the weight in the first place.  Get enough exercise to tone the muscles underneath the skin, and try and eat healthy so your skin stays supple, and can shrink.  

Congratulations on your loss!

That 1200 calories a day isn't just about calories, as much as it is about basic nutrition.  Your body needs a bare minimum of calcium, iron, protein, yadda yadda yadda.  If you don't eat a certain amount of food, it's just not possible to get those things. Even if you take a vitamin supplement, your body needs energy and nutrients to break down those vitamins into something it can use. 

That 1700 calories is probably the optimal amount to keep you calorie negative, without slowing down your metabolism.  Exercise speeds your metabolism up, even on the days you don't do it, by increasing lean body mass, raising body temperature, all that good stuff.  (Assuming you don't do other things to slow your metabolism down, like massively under-eating.)  So I'd say you should shoot for the target you're given, even on the days you don't exercise, as long as you're exercising several times a week.

However, I am not a registered dietitian, just some engineer chick who reads a lot about weight loss, so take me with a grain of salt.  :)