Posts by margaret5

Forum	Topic	Date	Replies

Foods	I don't eat vegetables or fruits	Feb 23 2007 04:05 (UTC)	52
Oh, and steaming your vegetables is actually one of the most nutritious ways to eat your vegetables (besides eating them raw). Have you tried daucing them in your favourite spices or shredding them in home-made whole-wheat bread? You can get a serving of vegetables in a slice of bread if you do it right! And even my boyfriend would eat it (as much as he hated whole-wheat bread). There's a guy who hated vegetables. I still can't eat cucumber around him. And he picks the lettus out of his hamburgar (which works for me because I add it to my salad)
Foods	I don't eat vegetables or fruits	Feb 23 2007 04:01 (UTC)	53
I completely adore vegetables (and fruit to a point where I've actually limited myself to three servings of fruit a day and ten servings of vegetables a day - tops) and even when I was overweight I enjoyed vegetables. I always had more trouble with red meat. I hated red meat. I hated the texture and refused to eat it as a child. But I loved shrimp, lobster, crab, salmon, escargot and skinless, white chicken as long as there was absolutely no fat. I was also raised on whole-wheat bread and skim milk and refused to eat anything with cream. I didn't even care for chocolate and, much to my dismay, chips and cheesies were never kept in my house and only eaten at birthday parties. Yeah, I don't know how I got overweight, either. My metabolism is just that slow. I'm always hungry... But at least taste was never comprimised. My favourite vegetable is cabbage and spinach but when I was a kid I like cauliflower with cheese (though now I no longer eat it with cheese and am able to enjoy it on its own). I guess you've already tried cabbage rolls and spinach in your lasanga? (I refused to eat lasanga as a child unless it was made with cottage cheese and spinach so I wouldn't be able to taste the beef).
Foods	Protein and Beef Jerky...	Feb 23 2007 03:52 (UTC)	3
Turkey and Salmon and Beef Jerky are completely delicious. You would never believe that they are low in calories, high in protein, and usually saturated and trans fat free (if you buy a good kind). I've always wanted to learn how to make it on my own (because the sodium content is usually extremely high and it's also very expensive) so thanks!
Foods	Sandwhiches/ Other lunch items to eat b/n classes	Feb 23 2007 03:50 (UTC)	1
Yeah, I used to have that problem with bananas, too! They actually sell little banana holders now! They're in the shape of bananas and are hard cases that sell for $1.00. I got mine at my local grocery store but they're sort of hard to find. I use it every day. 40 calories per slice is really good. That's the lowest I've seen (I eat Hollywood Dark Rye with Flax which also has 40 calories, but was looking for a 40 calorie bread of the whole-wheat variety). I totally bring baggies of cereal for lunch! I especially like very small cereal, like puffed wheat or bran flakes or rice krispies (usually a blend of all three for low-calories and fibre) because it takes me longer to eat it so I get full faster.
Foods	What are some Very VERY VERY Low Calorie Snacks???	Feb 23 2007 03:40 (UTC)	152
I don't believe anything over 20 calories to be a "very very low calorie snack." I mean, you wouldn't have a 35 calorie pudding with almonds (probably about 50 calories even if you just add five or six) and count it as "free." ...but these are definitely great ideas for treats...
Foods	Cooking spray blues...	Feb 23 2007 03:36 (UTC)	5
No way - don't use cooking spray! Use Becel Spray Butter or I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray Butter. They have 0 calories, 0 carbs, 0 fat, and 0 sugar. They're made with water, soybean oil, salt and preservatives. Much healthier than PAM and much more diet-friendly than straight oil. Though extra virgin olive oil and canola oil are okay in moderation!
Foods	Sandwhiches/ Other lunch items to eat b/n classes	Feb 22 2007 02:45 (UTC)	3
No, lunch meat sucks. It's got so much sodium. ....but If you don't care about sodium, go for the fat-free stuff. I know, I know, it's got chemicals. But...it's still fat free and has the protein. Lunchmeat is always going to have chemicals. Might as well save on a lot of calories and a lot of saturated fat. Ultra Low Fat cream cheese is great (it's 20 calories and has no saturated fat, I believe?) Banana hot dogs are great. Get a whole-wheat hot dog bun, spread some organic peanut butter (or almond butter or even twice the fruit/half the sugar jam) and put the banana in place of the wiener. Tuna salad sandwitches are awesome, too. You can use fat-free sour cream (which doesn't have anything bad for you in it) instead of mayo - just add paprika and parsley and garlic. Oh! And egg white salad sandwitches. Amazing with canned salmon and veggies... Also, bread can kind of add up calories quickly. I suggest buying Weight Watchers bread because they are skinnier slices. If you can't afford Weight Watchers bread, you can use one piece of bread and have half a sandwitch. But I hate that because it doesn't last as long. There's also Pita Bread and Pita Pockets. Those are usually higher in fibre, anyway.
Foods	What to have from a Japanese restaurant?	Feb 22 2007 02:39 (UTC)
You're worried about a Japanese restaurant? Haha, sheesh. That's one of the healthiest places to eat! You should order green tea and water and drink as much of it as you want. You can also get Miso Soup with tofu (a good protein source, filler, and low in calories) Then I'd go with a small portion of Sushi. Sushi can be extremely filling, so seriously, get about six. That's about one serving of rice (which, unfortunately, is white - but some Japanese restaurants are starting to offer brown!!! OH EM GEE!), seaweed, and some more protein from the fish. Try to go for salmon, tuna, cucumber (especially cucumber), and maybe a tiny bit of avocado. ASK FOR NO MAYO OR EXTRA OIL some Japanese restuarants "Americanized" their sushi. Yes, they made sushi unhealthy. By the way, if for some reason you're worried about carbs late at night, you can always order just the fish. I forget what that's called. I usually do that. (It's too late to catch you but just so you know for next time)
Fitness	Need some at home cardio ideas..	Feb 22 2007 02:32 (UTC)	5
Dance Dance Revolution and Dance Factory are games for Playstation 2. I didn't have any of the equipment (including a television) and this is about how much it costed me (Completely. Worth. Every. Cent.) Television ($80, 13") Used Playstation 2 ($80) SuperNova Box set (DDR game with one soft pad) ($60) Hopefully you already have a Playstation 2 and hopefully you have a television! If you love to dance...you can't even consider this exercise. I absolutely hate sports. DDR is my life. I know several people who didn't change their diets and have lost over $50 by getting into this game. DDR is also available for Playstation 1 (but you'd have a harder time finding that DDR version), XBox (very easy to find the latest box set), and GameCube (sort of hard-to-find versions of the game that are sort of childish and easy) One note: I couldn't afford a metal pad ($200) and you can't wear running shoes on the soft mat or else it will rip. What I do is put my soft mat over an actual soft mat (like my bed comfortor or that big thick blanket that drapes over my couch). It's a lot easier on your joints that way. DDR might not be for anyone with really bad knee problems. However, they do give you the option to take away jumping, but then you burn far fewer calories. (PS I'm in Canada too so I know how you feel about not being able to run outside! I can't afford a tredmeil and I can't afford to go to a gym! But I manage. I actually got some good ideas from you guys, too!)
Fitness	Q? about my body's scary response to exercise (long) please help	Feb 22 2007 02:21 (UTC)	8
There's no way moderate exercise will ever kill you - but it can save your life. However, what you described does sound kind of scary. Remember on all those exercise programs in the small print where it says, "consult a doctor before starting new exercise habits"? I guess in your case there's actually a point. I would continue walking at a light pace and do a lot of stretching (yoga or tai-chi) and see my doctor asap. I'm sure it's something simple like water-retention or nerves.
Weight Loss	70 g of fiber	Feb 20 2007 04:21 (UTC)	9
I have a huge problem with fibre. I eat way too much broccoli and whole wheat bread and bran flakes and various other fibre-rich food. You can tell you're eating too much fibre when you start getting horrible gas all the time. I wish there were healthy foods that fill you up but don't have as much fibre in them...
Foods	Definition of "binge"	Feb 20 2007 04:18 (UTC)	3
It's not preachy to express how religion personally helps you. God is definately a helpful way to lose weight. I only wish I was spiritual enough to find God. But since religion is such a touchy subject, binging is sort of personal. If your stomach hurts and you feel extremely guilty for eating so much - that's your binge. It's not going to be in the medical journals, but you should find out why you binge and how to avoid binges. Everyone binges once in a while. But everyone really should always avoid binges, even on special occasions. How can you enjoy food if your binging and you feel miserable afterwards?
Foods	three square meals per day vs. multiple smaller meals throughout the day	Feb 20 2007 04:11 (UTC)	6
If you're stuffed after 950 calories your metabolism is extremely low. Or else you're just a very small person. Being stuffed after 950 calories is actually a cause for concern, in my opinion. Do you excersize enough?
Foods	What are some Very VERY VERY Low Calorie Snacks???	Feb 20 2007 04:09 (UTC)	160
If you're not afraid of artificial sweetener (use Stevia or even Splenda, if you can afford it) make green tea pops! Frozen pops take forever to eat. Anything frozen is good. It will take you longer to finish them. I always freeze fat-free yoghurt as I find they are gone in two spoonfulls. They last so much longer frozen. Mr. Freezes are actually only 10 calories each. But alas, they do give you sort of a sugar rush. Best to have one if you know you won't have another (on your way out the door or something to tide you over before your next meal or right before bed). Pickles are great. They are high in sodium, so they make you thirsty enough to drink an extra glass of water (I think that evens it out..) Chicken broth is also good as it takes a long time to eat and is surprisingly filling. Stir-fry made only with soy sauce and veggies also fills you up nicely. The pickled ginger that comes with sushi (also availble in bulk form) has no calories. Flavoured toothpicks. You can get a whole pack of them at Dollarama for a dollar. They are calorie free. Crickets and other random bugs. Yes, I know. It's crazy. If you ever have a chance to pick up flavoured crickets - do it. They're extremely fun to eat and creep out everyone. Usually they curb your appetite. They are low in calories and high in protein. Lollypops - as long as your not a biter. Usually they go about 10-25 calories and last a while. Plain popcorn, only because you can eat a lot of it before the calorie consumption goes up. Great for when you want to snack but aren't actually hungry. Puffed wheat cereal. Just eat it like popcorn if you're too lazy to make plain popcorn. The grocery store (No Frills in particular) sells big bags of them for 2.99 (in Canada, anyway). Put some Becel Spray Butter on them. *BECEL SPRAY BUTTER* - zero calories. Completely awesome. Changed my life.
Foods	Does this save calories & sodium??	Feb 20 2007 03:55 (UTC)
You would save on 10-20 calories and definately save on sodium. That being said - I actually drain my soup and only eat the broth! It's a terrible habit I got into when I really felt like snacking and had already consumed my calorie limit.
Foods	Need More Fibre?	Feb 20 2007 03:52 (UTC)	1
I read that, too. I heard that you should buy ground flax-seed and keep it in an air-tight container. That being said, who really knows? Flax is a lot more delicious in seed-form, anyway. Another note: I think I'm eating waaaay too much fibre. I have terrible, terrible gas all the time. Does anyone know how to fix that?
Fitness	Do you work out every day?	Feb 20 2007 03:49 (UTC)	6
I would imagine doing a good, clean, 75%-85% half-hour to forty-five minutes every single day to be ideal. If you do a really long, tough, work-out once every two days or only four days a week, if you miss one it's really going to throw you off. If you miss a day of working out and you work out every day, it doesn't have nearly as much impact. Usually there's no difference in weight but there might be a bit of difference in performance (you might notice more energy).
Fitness	is half an hour enough?	Feb 20 2007 03:45 (UTC)	9
You don't have to life weights to tone. I hate lifting weights and simply don't do them. I get my strength from my body's own natural resistance by doing pull-ups, sit-ups, push-ups, squats, lunges, and various "core" (ab) work.
Fitness	is half an hour enough?	Feb 20 2007 03:43 (UTC)	10
I was in relatively good shape and when I started working out I just did aerobics every morning before breakfast (best time to work out - burns the most calories) for only twenty minutes and I got excellent results. Now I'm up to about thirty minutes and if I ran for any longer I'd be dead bored. If you enjoy running and don't get bored easily, you might not mind doing 45 - 60 minutes of running. But I think doing that much running seven days a week is pretty excessive and you'll get sick of it pretty fast (unless you're training for a marathon). (Even 10 minutes of running is amazing excersize for anyone out of shape. But I would incorporate speed walking for five minutes before and for five minutes after in order to get at least 20 minutes of exercise.)
Fitness	Need some at home cardio ideas..	Feb 20 2007 03:37 (UTC)	27
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/sirDea thstrike/mommyexercises.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a> (I wish you could edit your posts)
Fitness	Need some at home cardio ideas..	Feb 20 2007 03:27 (UTC)	28
Oh, sorry. I see that you have already tried dancing. To get yourself in the mood, you can always try dancing with your daughter to some of her television shows. You can use her like a weight! When I was little, my mom used to dance with me in her arms up until I was about 60 ibs. She also used to go on her back, balance me on her feet, hold my hands (so I wouldn't fall and for extra balance), and do leg-raises. I was always very encouraging because I wanted her to do it forever (I have home videos of me being rather amused with this exercise).
Fitness	Need some at home cardio ideas..	Feb 20 2007 03:23 (UTC)	29
If you're pretty fit and also want to build some inner/outer thigh and bun muscle (though many other muscles are used), try watching a half-hour to hour television series and doing jumping jacks for the entire half-hour to hour. I only do half-hour sessions and I always feel it in my outer thigh and buns espeically. But if you run marathons you might need to do it for longer. You'd be surprised how much more intense jumping jacks are. If you're not up to jumping jacks (you need lower-impact), you can try running on the spot. This is an activity you can do with your daughter (until she gets bored). Jumping rope is also a great way to burn calories and build muscles extremely quickly and cheaply. Plus you can cool down and warm up with your daughter! Also, if you like dancing, you can just turn on the radio, computer, television, ect. and dance for 45 minutes. All of these excersizes are completely free (unless you don't own a television, music player, or skipping rope) but you should probably get a good pair of indoor running shoes with nice shocks (at least $65 on sale) as jumping jacks are even harder on your joints than running. As a runner, I'm sure you have a pair (or more). Have fun!
Foods	Pasta!	Feb 19 2007 01:02 (UTC)	3
Actually, half a cup of pasta is usually the same as a serving. I know, it's ridiculous. Make sure you never eat anything but whole wheat pasta. If you hate whole wheat, suck it up for about a month at the most. You'll eventually like the taste and forget about enriched wheat flour all together. Before the pasta, drink a full, restaurant-sized portion of water. Also order tea (green is usually the best) to drink with the meal. You should always aim for half of whatever meal you eat to be veggies. Sometimes this means filling half your plate with veggies and 1/4 with meat and 1/4 with pasta. It could also mean adding a whole lot of veggies to your sauce. Eating out is always tricky. You never know exactly how much oil they are cooking with or what brands they use or if they mixed up low-calorie with extra creamy. Pasta doesn't fill you up well without being high in calories unless it's whole wheat. Even then, I find that it doesn't really do the trick. I would just eat it once a week and try eating two cups of it instead of one. You can also put speghetti sauce on your salad. It's delicious - but not socially acceptable. Speghetti sauces are usually stupid-high in calories, so if you take out the noodles and replace it with ice burg lettus, the speghetti sauce makes a yummy meal without the noodles. You can also warm up salsa and put that on your speghetti. It's a lot lower in calories than speghetti sauce.
Foods	Help! Did I make healthy food choices today?	Feb 19 2007 00:51 (UTC)
Wait - where do you guys get off thinking that six pieces of cajun chicken is less than 1200 calories? And have you seen the calorie content in the yoghurt and berries Special K? It's ridiculous! I say, if you're still hungry and wondering if you ate too many calories today, eat a salad. You can eat a lot of salad which will fool your metabolism (regardless of whether or not you ate enough calories) and you'll be fine. A note: Any cereal with any of that dried yoghurt crap is, yes, very delicious if I do say so myself, but should only be used as a huge treat. Usually they contain alot of saturated and/or trans fats and should generally be avoided. I find Special K (any variety besides plain) a bad cereal choice if you tend to overeat or get bad cravings. It's really addictive and I know I could personally eat an entire box without difficulty. Filling cereals that are low in calories and high in fibre are: bran flakes puffed wheat (if you're a big eater, puffed wheat is great because you can have two bowls of it and only take in 100 calories) shredded wheat Ways to make your cereal more filling: adding 5-7 blackberries, or 9-12 blueberries, 2-4 strawberries (chopped), or 1/2-3/4 banana (cut it really thin for even distribution and give the remaining piece to someone else). Using low-calorie non-fat stirred yoghurt instead of milk not only reduces calories, but it somehow makes the whole thing a lot more filling. Probably because liquids don't fill you as well as solids. Brown rice is sort of useless unless you love it. Half a cup never fills me up and any more is high in calories and carbs. 2 or 3 wasa crackers or 2 slices of weight watchers bread has fewer calories, just as much fibre, and fills you up more. This one is probably more psychological than anything. Lastly, I find you can never go wrong with a salad for dinner. It's low in calories, temporarily filling (you're about to go to sleep), delicious, and mine gives me my 5-10 veggie servings (yeah...they're pretty big salads). Oh, and for the record, you don't need salad dressing on your salad. Mandarin oranges are great dressing replacers. Other healthy dressing replacers: tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, organic mustard, and random assortments of various herbs and spices. Cajun chicken - how do we know how healthy it is? It could be six drumsticks fried in cajun dip for all we know. If it's slices (which I believe is what everyone has been imagining) with cajun spices, you need to eat a better lunch with more calories. Have a banana. Your fruit consumption seems to be minimal. Not bad though. You did really well omitting sugars, alcohol and sodium. Drink more tea and water.
Maintaining	How do I maintain?	Feb 19 2007 00:29 (UTC)	5
As scary as this sounds, you might want to stop counting calories. Try following the American or Canadian food guide instead. Don't worry - no matter what your metabolism a small increase of calories (like 1200-1400) is not going to make you gain all your weight back (unless you lost three pounds or something). You don't want to count calories for the rest of your life. Unless you really like math. Then you might not mind counting. I never count my calories and I've been maintaining my weight for five years (though sometimes I go up or down 5-7 pounds due to loss of appetite from sickness or lack of exercise). It'll be okay, sweetie, go out to the mall or ski hill or pool and enjoy your new weight!
Maintaining	What's going on with my metabolism?	Feb 19 2007 00:21 (UTC)	2
Since you already increased your intake to 1200, I would suggest just staying there. You've gained two pounds (probably, yes, you guessed it, water weight). And since you're running that long everyday it could also be muscle in your legs. Next time you shave, see if you notice any increases of muscle in your legs. You can also feel how well your clothes fit. You already went up to 1200, you're not going to gain more than five pounds at the most. If five pounds is too much, try something else besides cutting calories or exercise to help you lose weight (ex. drinking more water).
Foods	Subway Brownies	Feb 19 2007 00:09 (UTC)	6
The brownies are actually quite low in saturated fats (less than 0.5 grams per serving) and not high in calories (though 140 is kind of high). But, wow, I didn't know that the nutritional information was only for part of the brownie. 140 calories for part of a "healthy" brownie is useless. But seriously...skip the Subway cookie... Eating a Subway cookie instead of the brownie because "you don't know what's in them" is completely ridiculous. I'm sure there's nothing even close to as bad in the brownie as there is in the Cookie.
Fitness	Do you work out every day?	Feb 18 2007 23:57 (UTC)	11
Usually the days you don't feel like going are the days you need to exercise the most. I exercise with my mom and if she didn't go every time she didn't feel like it she'd probably miss a workout every week (well, she never feels like it so she probably wouldn't ever go). Once you're there, you probably will feel a lot better and will feel amazing after working-out because you know that you pushed yourself. The only time you shouldn't go to the gym is if you have the flu (or some other dangerous condition). One way you can tell if you have the flu or a head cold is if it's your neck and above that's affected or your entire body. If it's your entire body (like the chills and really achy muscles that shouldn't be) rest. If it's above your neck (runny nose, cough, ect.) moderate exercise will actually help. You don't always have to do your full work-out, but you should always go.
Weight Loss	Caffeine and weightloss?	Feb 18 2007 22:56 (UTC)	1
The only way coffee would ever stimulate you appetite is if you drank it black on an empty stomach. If you have a weak stomach (like I do) I find I start craving dairy and bread to absorb some of the stomach acid. This effect may be particularly true in people suffering from acid reflux. I drink my coffee black (if I run out of tea) and simply add water rather than milk to save on calories. It seems to help my stomach. But usually I have coffee with breakfast so I don't have an empty stomach, anyway.
Weight Loss	Last ten pounds, help!	Feb 18 2007 22:50 (UTC)
Cutting out salt will probably help you lose weight because salt retains water. And doctor will advice you to drink eight glasses of water a day and less than 2500 mg of sodium (in general) daily. Never add table salt or excess salt to your food - instead, use a variety of healthy herbs/spices such as oregano (which many people swear fights the flu and common cold), garlic (great for your heart - as long as it's not garlic salt), or a bit of dried chili pepper (believed to speed up your metabolism and control cravings).

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