Posts by kemccl

I like to make mine with skim milk for extra creaminess, calcium, and protein.

I usually make it with .75c oatmeal, 1c milk (I like mine thick otherwise you may want  bit more milk). I cook in the microwave for 2-3 min (watch for boil over) then I let it sit and absorb the milk, otherwise you could set the microwave for a really low setting and microwave for a longer period of time. The boil over stinks though if it happens.

I usually "nuke" it in a bowl, then transfer to a container and eat it at work. By then it has absorbed. To re-heat, just add a tiny amount of water, mix and microwave to get to the right temp - creamy once more (as opposed to spackle texture)

I realize this is months after the original post, but I was searching on pet loss just now and found it.

Today, after a lot of thought this week, I called the vet about my cat of 17 yrs. Tofu-Kea was part veloceraptor, part Curious Cat, part lovely cat. She developed kidney disease two falls ago(in 2007). After so many sub-q injections of fluids, as well as antibiotics, anti-nausea, and iron developing medications, and bouncing back twice to better health, she has taken a major downturn and I struggle to come to cope with my decision and on how to tell my children of 5 & 3.

I'm so upset, so relieved too as the disease has been long and my worry has been long too. I am a mess. I am trying to eat right, getting back on the loss journey again and the healthy eating path, but it is hard with so much loss and impending loss.

I'll miss her crawling onto my chest as I try to sleep, her waking me up after the second alarm by sticking her whiskers into my nostrils, the way she used to wiggle her butt in the air right before pouncing on a toy.

I plan on individual cremation - We'd have a wooden box with an engraving of her name and I plan on making a marker of some sort - wood and router? that the kids can set up in the yard. The purge of cat stuff may happen in the house, but I will not be able to get rid of all of it - too many memories for now.

Having had the cat I grew up with from my age of 1 to the age of 20 pass away with the assistance of a vet, I know the pain does go away, but it seems different with my having small children - I am worried about what they will think, how they will react, how I will react. I do not think I will be ready soon for any other pet to get so close to my heart any time soon.

Tof and I used to live with a roommate and two other feline roommates after college for 5 years. She tolerated Yukio and both avoided and plotted to randomly attach Petronius. I still have dreams for Pete and Yuki and I am comforted by that - perhaps now Kea/Tof will visit me in my dreams as well and purr in my lap.

What about eating just prior to exercise?

My nutritionist had said to make sure I eat a snack/mini meal within 30 minutes after exercise to avoid a glycogen low, but what if I eat just prior to exercise. Would that cover avoiding a crash afterwards?

Have you tried having him make some of the foods in a "healthy" way?

Chips - you can make pita chips that are pretty easy and healthy. I usually get the high fiber/protein pitas & cut them up into wedges (the adult does this), then the child can "brush" with a bit of olive (substitute with whatever "healthy" oil you like) or spray lightly with a pump spray of oil, sprinkle with seasoning (salt or non-salt flavors), bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes.

My kids loved them and I refuse to purchase chips and bring them into the house, so this works out for parties for me.

Another thing we do is "build it yourself" meals. For tacos - they get some high fiber/protein tortillas, a small pile of taco fish, avocado, crunchy lettuce, anything I can see them eating, and the obligatory pile of shredded 75% reduced cheddar. They make a mess on the table and floor, but they eat something and have fun. For Indian food - same concept - rice, curry, & naan (bread) for "make it yourself". They love the hands on thing.

My mom tells me all I would eat was mac and cheese when I was that age, the doctor told her I would get sick of it one day and to do a multi vitamin. I did eat bologna, cheese, & mustard sandwiches all of 4th grade. For 5th grade - just cheese and mustard. I can tell you honestly I cannot stand either combo now, so he will grow out of it eventually! If he doesn't, he'll get mighty used to vitamins!

I realize it is a bit on the processed side, but I am a fan of the Thomas's light multi grain english muffins (8g fiber) with a veggie burger, cheese (low/no fat), avocado (for flavor and vitamins), a side of broc or your fav veggie.

Or if looking for something uncooked - Greek yogurt with your fav high fiber cereal and some almond slice

What I did not see mentioned was a support group.

I had a lot of issues with BF'ing my two (now 4 and 2). Issues with getting them to latch. And boy those hormones raging around just after birth were hell. With the BF issue, it was even worse, but a local hospital had a BF /mommy/baby group and that quite seriously was my anchor. It was hard to go initially for me (see next sentence), but just being there with other moms with small newborns/babies was SO HELPFUL! Those who know me would not say I am a shy person as I am fairly friendly and love to talk, but I am not so good with large groups of people I do not know, especially when I am not feeling well/ feeling down. The mom/baby group gave me a place to voice my worries and concerns.

It stinks that you have to go back, but you may find being at work is not so hard. I remember going to work and functioning on 2-5 hours of interrupted sleep and thinking "wow I have not functioned on this little sleep since college!" I am amazed now how well I functioned. If you get a decent break for lunch at work, put on sunscreen and with an alarm clock/alarm on your phone or watch, take a cat nap in your car. It could help to refresh you mid-day and give you enough energy for the rest of the day and coming home, plus you get the vitamin D that is the natural antidepressant.

I usually used my lunch broken up into smaller breaks for pumping at work as I continued to BF until they were both 18 months, so if you are BF'ing and planning to continue, you may not get as much cat nap time, but every little bit of down time away from the computer screen will "rest" you. If you are not BF'ing, you can do the nap thing or use that time to take a walk alone - works to get out and about moving away from the computer screen and give you a mental alone break.

I concur about the sleep when the baby sleeps. I said " the heck with housecleaning more nap to the people (well,... me)!" LOL I still do. I nap when my youngest does - totally refreshing!

Good luck!

I have friends with Celiac's. It can be a bit of a pain with the limitations, but your sister will feel SO much better once she eliminates the gluten.

However, she may also find out she is unable to eat other items. One of my friends is in this process now. She thinks she is unable to have dairy and possibly soy. Just keep in mind all the other food options and possiblities. Better health is worth it, especially discovering this at an early age. (My friend suffered for 30 years or so before the doctors finally figured it out.)

I think oatmeal helps. Why avoid it though? Sure it's ~150kcal per cup, but so worth it.

I tend to eat heavier for breakfast than lunch, so the oatmeal holds me over very well. I find when I have other items for breakfast, my hunger hits earlier. Of course I don't quite hit that calorie range either.

Usually I eat .75c oatmeal, 1c milk & 2T almonds, but recently I have been experimenting with oatmeal, applesauce & egg whites to make a pseudo-pancake in the microwave. Yum!

not sure on other items that provide regularity - dried prunes in moderation? LOL - Actually I like them for a dried fruit anyway. :-)

Original Post by bigbrett22:

p.s. - If I could change the screenname, I would. But I like keeping it. It's a reminder of what I was and what I never will be again.

You could think of it as Brett who made a BIG change/accomplishment! That's how I'll think of your name now! Congrats!

I forgot to mention, that if you have space, you may want to add comments to explain unusually high or low intake days so you have a better grasp for analysis/check-in later.

Other factors may be something you like to track as well, like Cholesterol or Sodium. I know for a fact that I bloat a bit every weekend and my low tends to be on Wednesday/Thursday/Friday due to higher sodium on the weekend, but if you are just starting, tracking other items may help track down flucuations you don't otherwise understand.

I second that request!!!

I am tired of dividing and multiplying in my head for different protion sizes! At least make it so when we change the amount, it will auto change the cal/nutrients!

For snacks, I'm a fan of:

• 1/2 c Fage 0% (Greek style yogurt 0% fat) with a tablespoon of sliced almonds (no sugar/salt/fat added). I realize some people avoid it, but I also add some Splenda in to "sweeten it". The nutritionist I saw is having me mix in a high fiber carb, so it is a blend of carb/protein. I usually use Fiber one Honey clusters - about a 1/2 ounce (roughly a 1/4 c).
• mini carrots
• a 1/2 c of low cal fruit like strawberries

Another suggestion she (the nutritionist) mentioned was crackers and a small portion of reduced cheese - like the low fat Laughing Cow triangles. I have not done that one yet. The yogurt tastes so much like a yummy treat that I am still a major fan of that one. If you have not tried Greek yogurt - it can be expensive, but the 0% tastes like whole yogurt - thick, creamy, mmmm

The nutritionist I saw recommended eating every 3 hours or so, like adding a small snack to the mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Since I do not eat dinner until 7 or so, I have two afternoon snacks.

She recommended making them a carb/protein mix (preferably with low fat and high fiber) to help keep your blood sugar more even to lessen the hungriness.

I seems to be working out for me, but I have found it easier to pre-measure a bunch of snacks to pick and choose from. Planning ahead makes it easier to stay within calories for the day.

Although I find if I have my oatmeal (3/4 dry rolled oats, 1c skim milk, 2 splenda, 2T almonds, sometimes fruit) which comes out around 400 cal, I am not hungry until noon as long as I have water and coffee to drink between times. I tend to be more hungry/munchy in the afternoon and around 5-6.

If I have a lighter breakfast, I usually need that mid-morning snack.

I weigh in almost everyday, but consider my Wednesday's to be my official mark. Whenever is fine for me here though.

SW:216.1

CW(today): 200.5!!!! Woohoo! almost ready to flip into the 190's! (loss of 15.6)

GW:130ish

gpm55 - I too have found my exercise to be getting better as time goes by, but I have to still watch out for my knees - I was doing too much impact and had to immobilize one for two weeks - talk about a setback!

Hi there!

There is an 80 # or so to lose forum at: http://caloriecount.about.com/forums/post/pag e/1/98583.html that got started May 19th. You could connect up there with folks if no one responds to you here.

I started with 86 to lose and have lost almost 16 # since the beginning of March. I think I'll be done next fall (2009).

As for ideas on fun exercise - I only get a chance to walk at lunch when I am working, but having a buddy there to talk to makes it go by really quickly. Is there anyone you can walk with?

Also, if you have a bike, taking long bike rides can be a lot of fun if they are in a nice area - not sure if you are in the city or out in the country...

How about exercise videos and free weights at your place? A variety of videos would help make it not so repetitious. I should think you could get some fairly cheaply if they were an older version.

Lastly, try to log what you would typically eat and compare to what you are eating now. The tools available on-line are great, but take them with a grain of salt (sodium free of course). Find out your RMR (resting metabolism rate) and try to not go too far below as it might slow down your metabolism if you dip below too often/for too long. Exercise can bring the rate up, but you have to make sure your eating enough also. A good place to start for the RMR # is: http://www.phord.com/cc/  It is a pretty good calculator.

Also, see what kind of balance you are eating. Carb's metabolize within 1-2 hours and give you a lot of quick energy (blood sugar levels are highest). Protein metabolizes/digests in 6-8 hours, but only give you half the "energy" of carbs. Fat take a long time +12 hrs or more, and give you minimal "energy", although you still get nutrients from some of the fat sources. The Analysis page can show you your breakdown for any particular day or range of days.

When you eat, try to space your meals so your blood sugar does not dip too much or you can get the ravenous hungries/ get dizzy. Eating in combo - carb/protein can lengthen the time until you reach the hungries. As the dip from the carbs starts, the protein kicks in and extends you further.

There are all sorts of eating plans/strategies out there. Mine may or may not work for you, but it's what is working for me and jives with what my nutritionist tells me as well. I'm aiming for 20-30% fat, 20-30% protein, 40-60% carb. Others like a higher protein mix, others a higher carb mix.

A really good thing to read through is in the Forum Weight Loss: "Welcome to the Weightloss Forum! Read this for Info & Resources". It is a great jumping point.

Welcome to CC!