Posts by gadzooks

Could it be a texture thing maybe? I know that sometimes mushy food can make me gag and give me a sort-of nauseous feeling.

I do think that the more society becomes concerned with health and being the appropriate weight, the more children and teens become obsessed as well. The main issue at hand, I think, is education. People simply aren't properly educated about health and nutrition. The diet industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that fills people's heads with a bunch of non-sense and promises of quick fixes that don't do anything to improve one's health. Real education is lacking and health lessons taught in schools is quite worthless. It's really shocking and sad to see that my health teachers know less than I do about nutrition. Doctors, too, are even misinformed. Many are the ones actually perpetuating the silly notion that the less you eat the better and that fruits and vegetables are really all you need. It's really all very disheartening.

I do have to disagree with you on one point though. I believe that Asian cultures actually put more of an emphasis on thinness than Western ones do. As an overweight child/adolescent I was constantly berated because of my weight even when I was just a bit chubby. Additionally, Asian people tend to be much more blunt about making comments about others' appearance/weight which adds to the pressure to be thin.

A healthy deficit is usually between 500-1000 calories (weekly). It's best to avoid going over a 1000-calorie deficit though.

In addition to the above advice, definitely check out the accreditation the on-line schools have and verify that they are legitimate and actually worth something.

Original Post by umneydurak:

Original Post by oddfunk:

Salmon sashimi hands down.  I buy sushi-grade salmon and slice it myself and will eat it straight off the cutting board.  If you add a bowl of rice doused in ground sesame seeds and a few sheets of nori, all the better.

Where do you get sushi-grade salmon?

UD

I've seen sushi-grade salmon at King's. I've also bought raw salmon from Costco, sliced it up, and eaten it as sashimi, but I'm not sure it's actually sushi-grade.

I love rainbow rolls and oyako rolls (fresh salmon, salmon caviar, and avocado wrapped inside out with tobiko). Dragon rolls are really yummy too.

I also love salmon, mackerel, and yellowtail sashimi. Sea urchin tastes surprisingly good as well.

I'm so glad that a Japanese buffet just opened up five minutes or so away from me recently. You can't beat $11.99 all-you-can-eat sushi lunch time on weekdays!

I think it mostly depends on the type of food. For example, a lot of the lowest-calorie options for breads are simply filled with air and don't really do anything for you nutritionally; on the other hand, whole grain breads are full of complex carbohydrates that actually do fill you up.

Like thermal said, many low-calorie options tend to be chock full of chemicals and air, so eating higher-calorie foods may help you feel fuller (and also get more nutrition).

If you're using a regular scale for those measurements, those are notoriously inaccurate. I'd suggest using calipers as well.

Well, vitamins are pretty much essential for life, so yeah, they're pretty vital for health :P

It's best to get vitamins from food sources rather than supplement forms but that can be difficult to keep track of. I'm not really sure if getting adequate vitamins would really have any extra benefit towards weight-loss though except to make sure you're getting enough and perhaps to avoid deficiency-related cravings.

In a way, I actually think that everyone is bisexual and few people are truly (100%) homosexual or heterosexual. Basically, I believe that people all lie somewhere along a sexuality spectrum with 100% homosexual on one end and 100% heterosexual on the other. Where one lies on the specturm would depend on how attracted he/she is to someone of the same gender as opposed to someone of the opposite gender.

Oh wow, your prom is late; ours was this Tuesday. But luckily that gives you plenty of time to buy a dress! You might even be able to get some discounts if you buy it now (or in a week or two) since prom season is winding down. Make sure you buy something with a bit of extra room since it's easier to take in than out (I think?).

Also, maybe bring the dress you have to a tailor/seamstress to see if there's anything they can do as greenbeans suggested.

Don't fret over a dress. Your health is way more important and you should be really proud of yourself for making a move in the right direction!

Best of luck to you and let us know how things go?

Awesome! :D

Shorter people do usually tend to need less calories than those who are taller but since you're under 21 and also quite active, I'd suggest using http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/bodycomp/bmiz2.html and going by the moderately active or very active guides for maintaining.

The reason you seem to be maintaining on less is probably because your metabolism has slowed down from a reduced calorie intake. It'd be to your benefit to increase your calories to the recommended amount by that site. Even though you may be done physically growing, your body is still growing even if you can't see it (for example, your brain still develops well into your twenties). Plus, who doesn't want to eat a bit more :p

Usually losing weight improves my libido by increasing my confidence. Gi-jane is right though - you could just be experiencing a low sex-drive due to over-exercising and/or not eating enough.

The 1200-calorie minimum is basically a bare minimum to simply provide your body with the nourishment it needs to survive. It's the minimum to allow your organs to have enough fuel to adequately maintain proper function. So really, it's the amount you shouldn't dip below regardless of activity (or lack thereof).

Going below it once in a while isn't really going to be detrimental, but feeling like you need to always have a deficit and wanting to go under the recommended minimum in order to do so can be really detrimental to weight-loss in the long term. Eating too little slows down your metabolism and causes your body to not burn calories as efficiently. It can also lead to malnourishment and cause you to binge.

Original Post by sheherizaad:

Latina/Middle Eastern women for instance are more susceptible to higher body fat percentages than let's say African American women (they have high muscle ratios) and/or Asian/Caucasian women (lower fat ratios).

Huh? I'm not really sure about the other races, but I'm pretty sure that Asians generally have a higher body fat percentage.

As for you finding that Caucasian/Asian women at their ideal weights to be a lot lighter than your Black/Latina friends, I think that might be more of a societal thing (ie, Caucasians and Asians are usually expected to be thinner while it's more "acceptable" for Blacks/Latinas to be "curvier").

All in all, I think BMI isn't really a good indicator of health as it doesn't take the different factors of individuals into account (body composition, frame/build). It's good for a general scale, but shouldn't be taken too seriously.