Posts by samgraves

I'm not a professional, strictly a dabbler, but I find any time I am tired or run down I have this problem.  Probably a dumb question with the toddlers, but are you getting enough sleep?  Also, have you tried upping your B -12 intake (or taking a sublingual supplement)?

One more point on the Tofu shirataki - after I rinse them I find I  need to pat them dry with a paper towel.  Also, they are definitely better (less rubbery) if you cook them a little...I got turned on to them by Hungry Girl, and I think I've become addicted!  :)

I swear - are we talking about my sister?!

But seriously, as much as she drove me crazy wanting me to be her coach and "diet police", keeping her inspired over the last year has benefitted me too.  I just have to make sure that when she makes excuses I call her on it; I also put the responsibility in her lap if she tries to cancel - I tell her fine, but I'm going anyway.

As far as calling her every time I'm doing something - no freakin' way.  I have a pretty set schedule, and she can either come along or not.  I only call if I'm changing that set schedule.  Same way with eating.  If she asks a question, I'll answer it, but I'm dieting my way.  If she eats at my house she eats healthy...but what she does in the interim is her responsibility.

Just by the way, I have lost 45 - 50 pounds in the last year and gone from a size 12 to a size 4, more than meeting my goal.  She has gone from a size 18 to a 12 - so we have bote benefitted!

You can do it!  I turned 40 last July, and over the last year and 1/2 I lost almost 50 pounds...I started at 175ish in August of 2006 with WW,  and lost about 10 pounds.  In March of 2007 I found out I had to have a total hysterectomy, and the doctor put me on a really strict diet.  that, this site, and exercise helped me drop the rest.

I would love to be your "buddy", if you want...just let me know!  :)

Wow...that is a tough one.  I truly don't think I could have recovered from my ED struggles if I didn't  confide in my husband.  I think everyone needs at least one person in their life that they can be totally honest with, and I strongly feel that one person would have to be my spouse.  We have been married over 21 years now, and I don't feel I could have ever made it without honesty.

Do you really think he would care about how much you weigh?  I would think that would be the lowest-priority concern he would have about your pregnancy.  You have enough stress during this time without trying to conceal such a trivial matter; sharing the pregnancy experience is an opportunity to enrich your relationship on all levels.  Don't you think getting it off your chest to your one special support person would be a relief?

I am not sure what the name of the muscle is...it is in my upper front thigh, and seems to cross from near my hip flexor to my inner upper thigh - but about two inches down from my groin.  It definitely has something to do with lifting and bending my leg - putting pressure/supporting my weight is not a problem, but getting into bed, my car, a chair, etc. is difficult since I have to use my hands to lift my leg up.  I am surprised at how heavy my leg is!  :)

Two questions - when you say compression, do you mean like an ACE bandage?  And how light of exercise? Just slow walking, or is the normal brisk 45 minute trek okay?  It actually hurts just sitting at my desk, so I am not sure I will be able to tell if I overdo it.

tangerines/oranges, bananas, apples, pria or fiber one bars, light and fit yogurt, baby carrots, celery, grape tomatoes, laughing cow wedges...during the day

night time: I thaw frozen strawberries, blueberries, or blackberries and top them with a little light and fit yogurt, some sugar free syrup (either chocolate or maple), and some Cool Whip free for a psuedo-sundae.  Or I "splurge" with a pack of 100 calorie Orville Redenbacher 94% fat-free popcorn.  sometimes, if I'm still hungry at bed time, I indulge in a handful of mixed dried fruit, and I always have a cup of warm caffeine free fruit tea before bed.  If my calcium is low for the day I may substitute with a warm cup of milk sweetened with some sugar-free flavored syrup, like they use in the coffee bars...my favorites are raspberry and gingerbread flavored, but chocolate is always good too!

I, like ukeness217, have a family history of high blood pressure but also a personal history of low blood pressure; I think the trend over time is more important than the actual number.

If yours appears to be getting lower than your norm (as a trend), it may indicate a problem.  They also worry about it if you are recovering from surgery as it could indicate internal bleeding.  If it is your norm though, and your doc isn't worried, I wouldn't be either.  My norm is the 90/50 range.  If I ever get up in the "normal" range it means I am ill, stressed out, or having some sort of serious problem.

Things that tend to plague those with low blood pressure, according to my doc, are headaches, spots and lightheadedness if you stand up too suddenly, cold extremities, and a higher tendency for strokes since your blood can tend to sit still and pool longer.  Exercising on a regular basis really helps all of these things.

In the recipes I put one for "sam's whole wheat pizza"; 1/8 of a 16 inch pizza is around 300 calories...

I'd love to be your "healthy cooking" buddy.  If you look in the analyzer, all my recipe's start with "sam's"...

I'm also looking forward to trying the other things people have posted here in your reply!

Do you enter your exercise every day?  If so, you don't include it when picking your level.  For example, My work is pretty sedentary, so that is what I picked even though I exercise more than 30 minutes every other day.  Then I just enter my exercise on the days I do it.

If you don't want to do that, I guess you could take the minutes you exercise all week and average it over the week, then pick the level that fits.  Using that example, I would figure 160 minutes a week (40 minutes 4x per week) and then divide by 7 days, so I figure about 23 minutes per day.