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| Foods | Pickly Pears! | Sep 01 2009 18:32 (UTC) |
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Although do please make sure they are prickly pears! Most cactuses are not poisonous, but they can really upset your stomach. |
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| Foods | Pickly Pears! | Sep 01 2009 18:19 (UTC) |
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When I first moved to Tucson, I used to steal them from all over the place (neighbors yards, ranches, *cough* parks...) You can totally eat them! Be sure to get good rubber glove to pick them with (that the spines can't penetrate). Be brave...you will probably get stuck a few times anyway as the spines are tiny and hard to completely avoid.
You can eat them more or less raw. Best way to peel them that I know of is to blanch them in boiling water for 20-30 seconds to soften the spines then take a sharp knife and peel them quickly again using rubber gloves. Make sure you get off all the outside as the spines will reharden in 30-60 sec. There is nothing bad about the seeds, they are just very hard, so watch your teeth.
Experiment with different ripenesses too! Bright red are more apple-like. Dark red are much sweeter. Both kinds have juice that stains a lot (think dark pomegrantes) the riper the fruit, the more vibrant the juice so watch your clothes...I guarantee you will end up with stained fingers if you eat them with your hands, but that's okay :)
You can also cook the fruit (again removing the spiny outside as described) and use it as you would any other fruit in baking or jelly.
Also, the nopalitos (the green pads of the cactus) are edible. Remove the spines (easier on the pads than on the fruit since they are larger and more spaced out). If eating raw, I recommend peeling and slivering into a salad...it's a taste I don't personally care for and they can be slimy, but worth trying.
But you can also cook the nopalitos! (I much prefer them cooked) If you slice them up, they go great in stir fry or mixed with peppers and onions in fajitas.
Look online for recipes also. |
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| Motivation | Uh oh...[rant] | Aug 08 2009 02:49 (UTC) |
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I lost 60 lbs and have kept most of it off for the past 2 years. But it is always a struggle...even now I'm back to logging because I'm up 10 lb. again. But there are three things that helped me: 1. Fear. Serioiusly, it's uncomfortable, but it's the fear of being fat and unhealthy, and going back to what I was at or worse that keeps me constantly thinking about it. Even when I'm not dieting, I still try to make better decisions (though when I do fail it's usually at restuarants or when I try to cook something special) But fear of failure is a fantastic motivator. Much better than the guilt after failing anyway. 2. Happiness. I really like the way I look. I am at a good point in my life healthwise and appearancewise and I can't help but thing that's helped other aspects as well...not just because I look better, but because I feel better about myself. Even when I was at my heaviest I looked forward to that and now that I have it I'm really glad I went through the pain. (I was on a 1200-1350 cal very strict diet for 9 months and have occassionally gone back to that anytime I slip a little). Looking forward to a good, healthy, happy time helped me a lot and the closer I got to it the better I felt (less tired, more energetic, better self-impression, compliments from others) the more I knew it was worth it. Keep that shiny hope alive and embrace the happiness and good feelings as they grow! 3. Prizes for yourself. In my case - clothes and tattoos. Maybe not for everyone, but I mostly had pretty old dumpy clothes at my heaviest and didn't feel much motivation to do much about it. As I got thinner I got rid of more and more of my old clothes and started getting much nicer ones to replace them. That felt good too, and gives me motivation to stay smaller since if I go back, none of my nice new stuff will fit! As for the tattoo...I'd always wanted to get this one big one of a phoenix (bird), but was scared to because tattoos change as your body does. I got one when I lost weight as a prize for myself and now it is also a motivator not to go back! Wouldn't want my bird to stop being pretty :)
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| Weight Loss | Is anyone successfully losing while eating lean cuisine/smartones for lunch? | Jul 26 2007 05:57 (UTC) |
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| I've been eating about 75% frozen meals since I started my diet in April and I'm down almost 40 lb from then. I even occassionally eat fast food. The trick is just to keep the calories where they should be in total. Of course...that's not the most nutritious diet plan, and it's REALLY high in sodium. But for me, I figure being a good weight and eating reasonably well prepared lean cuisines is better than being obese and eating junk all day long. |
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| Weight Loss | My trainer told me to eat more | Jun 20 2007 21:17 (UTC) |
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| If you want to build muscles you need to make sure your body is getting what it needs to do that. It may be that your trainer is right. It's her job to help you, so I'd say at least give it a try. If it doesn't work after a month or two, then maybe go back to your way. |
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| Weight Loss | anyone else who stays up late? | Jun 20 2007 21:15 (UTC) |
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| I do the same thing and log calories according to sleep cycle. So 3 am calories would be logged on the day before for me. But my whole eating cycle is shifted accordingly. My general rule for what day it is (not just for calories but for everything) is that it's not the next day until I've gone to sleep and woken up or until I see the next sunrise, whichever comes first :) |
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| Weight Loss | UPDATE: So distressed - losing all hope, despite doing it all 'right'!?? | Jun 20 2007 21:13 (UTC) |
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| What are your stats and calorie intake? | |||
| Weight Loss | SAUNAS FOR WEIGHT LOSS? | Jun 20 2007 21:12 (UTC) |
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| I've heard the whole idea that they make you burn calories, but i can't see how that's true, other than your body trying to regulate it's temperature maybe. But go into the cold and shiver and I bet that'll be even more effective if you really want to do that to yourself. As far as I know it's mostly just water weight. That's why the whole shrink wrap idea works too. But that'll come back pretty quickly if you don't keep it up. And frankly, depriving your cells of the water they need isn't a great idea anyway. |
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| Weight Loss | Need Less Calories in Summer? | Jun 20 2007 21:09 (UTC) |
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| You may just be hitting a plateau and need to shock your body out of it. The number one way I know is to up the exercise. It sucks, but it works. |
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| Weight Loss | Extreme thirst | Jun 20 2007 21:07 (UTC) |
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| I say listen to your body for today. As long as all else is normal (you're peeing it back out and that whole process is normal other than having to do it a lot) and you feel okay, don't worry about it too much. If it continues or if other symptoms develop, then I'd worry. The other thing is...do you eat much salt/sodium? Most people don't need to worry about it because the American diet is SO unbelievably high in sodium, it's not an issue, but having too little in your body can be a problem. Electrolytes (salts) are needed for the water to be properly dispersed to and used in the the body. So if that's what's going on, your body IS thirsty and wanting water, but it can't use what you're giving it. Maybe try eating something a little salty (saltine crackers or a bit of salt mixed in hot water or something) and see if that helps? |
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| Weight Loss | Should I allow myself to "give in" to cravings during that time of the month? | Jun 20 2007 20:58 (UTC) |
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I think the idea that your body burns more calories at that time is false. It's been building up that inner lining all month and is just now getting rid of it. But the actual energy using part is the building of the tissue in the first place. So that would mean your body is burning less now that it's given up on reproducing this month. Though it may seem as though you're losing more because (1) you're bleeding out all that tissue (2) your body is letting go of the water and whatnot it had stored to get ready to make a baby and (3) it's more willing to let go of its fat for the same reason - it's realized you aren't going to need it to nurture a kid. But don't think that if you eat more calories it's not going to store them because it still will. I'd vote for trying to be good during that time. I think it's okay to do a little in moderation, but be careful or you'll just be trying to burn off those extra calories the rest of the month. For chocolate try to find low calorie things. Lo-cal jellow pudding cups are good. Vitamuffins are too. Even the mini-oreos aren't bad if you don't overindulge. They're 15 calories per mini cookie or 45 cal for a regular one. Less if you scrap out the filling :) -- This always surprises me because the cardboardy south beach diet chocolate chip cookies are actually HIGHER calorie at 50 each. I also like dark chocolate. It gives me more of the taste and satisfies me longer and most of the time You can buy bars where you can just break off a 30-50 calorie segment. You just need to look at the nutritional info and do the math. For the anemia, iron tablets really are best, because red meat has iron, but you have to eat A TON to get your requirement, but if you can't overcome the beef craving try to do healthier things. Rather than a big greasy burger, try some lean ground sirloin instead (about half the calories of regular hamburger). i grill mine in water so as not to have the calories from oil. (DO NOT get the sirloin burger at Jack in the Box though...that's over 1000 calories because of what else they put on it!) |
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| Weight Loss | What is 1 thing that you believe really helps with your weight loss? | Jun 20 2007 20:47 (UTC) |
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| Fiber One cereal and VitaMuffins. Both great and great for you! |
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| Weight Loss | Trying to help someone else | Jun 20 2007 20:45 (UTC) |
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| really it's a very personal thing. You can't force someone to do something they aren't ready for. it usually takes some type of wake-up call, at least it did for me. doesn't have to be a serious health issue like a heart attack...just a moment of clarity. but that's not something you can cause just because you want to. nagging might just make him resentful. my mom used to nag me about it and i hated it. And while I don't know that it hurt, it never helped, just made me feel more stressed. |
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| Weight Loss | is it true that water... | Jun 14 2007 23:10 (UTC) |
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| I don't know why exactly, but I remember a friend whose mother went to an herbalist and became obsessed with whether or not her poops were floaters or sinkers. I know the floaters were supposed to be the good ones. |
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| Foods | Boiling foods instead of frying them. | Jun 14 2007 23:08 (UTC) |
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| Here's a thought: I cook everything in water. hamburgers, stir fry's etc, basically just replacing the oil. The trick is not to use a ton, but also to make sure it never all evaporates (or you'll burn whatever you're cooking) If it's fatty meat, yes, the fat will come out and can be strained off. It doesn't just disappear by itself though - you have to remove it. But the taste is left in the water, so don't drain off too much :) |
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| Foods | Baking cookies question for all the bakers out there | May 23 2007 05:33 (UTC) |
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| I always underbake to make them softer :) You can also add applesauce to the dough to soften it up. Works for cakes too in place of oil! |
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| Foods | Have you ever made a "breakfast mistake"? | May 23 2007 05:25 (UTC) |
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| Cheerios mashed up + corn flour + water and skim milk made into pancakes. Yes, it's as bad as it sounds. And it burns like it sounds it would too. |
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| Games & Challenges | Change 1 letter Only Game | May 22 2007 19:28 (UTC) |
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| plot (moving it back to 4 letters and changing one...slightly illegal I know) |
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| Foods | VitaMuffins! - Healthy Chocolately goodness | May 22 2007 18:37 (UTC) |
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Right...nothing too gross or unnatural here for the deep chocolate variety, red_herring: Water, whole wheat flour, organic evaporated cane juice, egg whites, chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, butterfat, soy lecithin added as an emulsifier, vanilla), cocoa (processed with alkali), soy fiber, inulin, dried honey, wheat gluten, leavening (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate), natural flavors, lecithin, sea salt, xanthan gum, vitamin C, vitamin E, iron, biotin, vitamin A, zinc, vitamin B12, vitamin, D3, folic acid, vitamin, B5, vitamin B6. The only semi-unrecognizable thing to me there is inulin, which as it turns out is chicory root fiber. And they are 98% fat free 1.5 grams for the 100 cal 2 oz (55 gram). (compare to GNU brownie bar if you're interested (40 g, 140 cal, 3 grams of fat: Gnu High Fiber Blend ? (organic whole wheat flour, oats, wheat bran, psyllium, flax, millet, soy flour), fruit juice, natural grain dextrins (a natural & unmodified starch), canola oil, dark chocolate chips (chocolate, cane sugar, lecithin, vanilla), cocoa powder, plums, rice, natural flavors, aluminum-free baking powder.) And THANK YOU for the free shipping code! I really want to try the pom tops...maybe now I will! |
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| Foods | Alternatives to olive oil? | May 22 2007 12:20 (UTC) |
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After watching how they do it at the mongolian grill, I started cooking everything in water. You can do it...you just really need to watch it because water disappears faster than oil so you need to keep adding. but yep...everything ends up nicely steamed minus the extra calories! The taste might be a little different, but I actually prefer it w/o the oil flavor. |
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| Foods | Fast Food Fiction | May 22 2007 10:44 (UTC) |
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| Actually by law they are supposed to use the real food in the ads, and products have to contain exactly what they would if you bought them, BUT that doesn't mean they can't dress it up. I've seen specials on TV about how they do it. They'll literally chose like the best one out of 200 buns, not cook half the food (the cheese for instance so it doesn't look soggy) and the burgers are barely flamed either...just enough to get the brown color and then they're painted with edible dyes (so the tv people can eat them). |
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| Foods | healthiest pasta sauce? | May 22 2007 10:29 (UTC) |
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| Hunts for me too. My mom started eating it on the Prism diet, but it's good and low in sugars and whatnot...low cal too and comes in multiple varieties, all around 40-50 cal. |
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| Foods | Sweet craving... | May 22 2007 10:18 (UTC) |
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| I buy the dried fruit like strawberries, bananas, apples, etc (without sugar...the natural markets often sell them that way or if you have a food dehydrator you can make your own) and then eat them like candy. they still have calories to count, but not a huge number for a decent amount. your cracker/pb/pudding combo sounds good :) |
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| Weight Loss | Women: Weight during certain time of month | May 22 2007 09:54 (UTC) |
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| I actually gain right before my period (a couple pounds) but then tend to lose it again pretty fast as soon as I start. | |||
| Weight Loss | Wow! Calorie expenditure difference from HRM to my elliptical... | May 22 2007 09:50 (UTC) |
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| my guess would be to go with your hrm. It's actually monitoring YOU. This site's activity things are just plain screwed up. If you compare them against each other they don't even make sense half the time and they come from all sorts of random sources. Your elliptical is based on statistical averages and even if it takes in some of your info it tends to be calibrated for the average 170 lb man and completely does not account for how fit you are, how much effort you have to put in, oxygen intake (how caloric expenditure is usually determined), or anything else like that. Just my thoughts. |
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| Weight Loss | eating protein? | May 22 2007 09:40 (UTC) |
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| If you're working out you really need protien to rebuild muscles, ESPECIALLY at your age where you're still growing. I can't tell you how much, but look it up to make sure you're getting enough. If you don't, your body doesn't rebuild the muscles properly and sometimes steals from other sources...such as your vital organs. Stupid self-canabalising bodies... : / As far as before or after, back when I did weight training the physical trainer at the gym always told me to drink the protien shake (she was a huge advocate of that) after the workout. I'm not entirely sure about the theory as to why. No clue if whey is better than other forms. |
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| Weight Loss | weight gain | May 22 2007 09:30 (UTC) |
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| it's quite possible. but stay with it! weight loss will come and be healthier than before. Here's an article that a lot of people find helpful. |
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| Weight Loss | Very Confused! | May 22 2007 09:28 (UTC) |
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| This doesn't help, but do you carry a lot of muscle? Muscle weighs way more than fat (not that it's a bad thing to have :) Sucks that it could jeopardize your career though. |
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| Weight Loss | Difficulty keeping track of the calories? | May 22 2007 09:27 (UTC) |
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| *L* this is why i try to only buy foods that have easy to measure calories. like frozen dinners or things that say 1 cup = ___. but that's not for everybody... |
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| Foods | weetabix | May 22 2007 09:23 (UTC) |
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| *giggle* Oh no... Whenever I hear weetabix all I can think of is Spike the vampire from Buffy. he liked to crumble weetabix in his blood to give it texture :) yes...apparently there ARE a lot of ways to eat it! |
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Where can I see 1/8th or 1/6th of a pie or angel food cake?
This is the best way to picture a portion of pie or cake: Draw a circle to represent the circumference of the cake or pie (9" pie? 10" cake?... Read more