Posts by drwxpanda

First off, at 5'5" and 130 pounds you are at a quite healthy bmi, so the guys are probably right that you look thin.   I work with mostly guys and have a lot of guy friends.  I am only 5'1" so there is no way I should be eating what a 6'2" guy does!   Just watch your portion sizes....you don't need to eat the whole ham and brie sandwich, just have half.  If they say something, just reply with "hey, i'm a tiny girl with a tiny stomach, that's all I can eat."  I find guys don't mind my smaller portions as much as they mind a girl who wrinkles her nose and picks at the food and wants only a salad.  They seem to have respect for a girl that devours 1/2 a sandwich and loves every minute of it, it's about the attitude more than the amount you eat.

I really like the following games: Curses, Imagine If....., and Things.  They are all super fun and games I would play with my family as well as freinds. 

I am also 5'1" and 115 is my ultimate goal weight, and at a very healthy bmi for women our height.  If you are unhappy with your body I suggest on working on toning rather than losing weight.

As an American that has been living in Canada for the last 3 years, I have heard the term "Yankee" quite often.  In fact, when a friend died in a car crash, her boyfriend told me I had been listed in her cell phone as simply "Yankee".  I must say I hear "yankee" often,  but can't recall being called a "yank".  As a midwestern girl (grew up in Chicago) I am amused by the whole Yankee thing since to me a Yankee is from the North (north of Mason-Dixon line), but in Canada a Yankee is from the South (south of Canadian border).  I can't say I have ever been offended by being called a yankee.  It usually comes up when Canadians are trying to place my accent.....they will guess all corners of Canada before the U.S., so when I finally tell them I am from Chicago their response is usually  "You're a yankee?!?!?"  It is usually followed by "You don't seem like a typical American".  Not sure what Canadians think a typical American is, since I am about as typical as it gets.  But I would say 99.9% of the time Canadians use Yankee in a non-offensive way.  And I don't think twice about calling them  "Kanucks" in response.  Don't get me wrong, I have been in rooms where they talk about the "Vile Americans" and I shrink down in my chair, but Yankee seems to simply mean American with no negative connotation.  Maybe I don't get offended since I grew up in IL, but went to school in WI....so I have been called a FIB more times than I can count.  I have even been known to call myself a yankee up here, because it sometimes has less negative connotations than American.  I think it is hard sometimes to say "I am American" without it sounding prideful like I am about to burst into the Star Spangled Banner any second.  But if I say "I am a Yankee" it seems to come off to the Canadians (at least in Calgary) more as "I am an American, but I live in Canada and get Canadian culture, and I don't think I am any better because I am American".  I think most words can only offend me if I give the person the power to offend me......if I keep thinking, it is only a word, it is hard for me to get offended by any name.

I am a pescatarian, so I normally order vegetarian meals since fish is rarely the meat in premade meals.  My problem is I am allergic to mushrooms....finding a mushroom free vegetarian option is quite difficult in settings like airplanes and banquets.  I basically order meals but never expect to actually be able to eat them.

I had Geico when I lived in the States and was always very happy with them.  Infact, I was disappointed when I moved to Canada and couldn't use Geico anymore.  Even though I am now with an insurance company where I have an actual agent, I think I got better customer service with Geico.

Artichoke hearts (that come in a can) you can just eat.  But whole artichokes you do exactly what you did and pull the leaves off and then suck off the soft part.  But you don't eat the leaves except in the heart.  Or rather I should say, I have never eaten the leaves, or seen anyone else do it.

It has been rainy and cold here in Calgary too!  I don't have a gym membership so I have just been sucking it up and jogging outside when there are breaks in the rain, or it at least lightens up some.  I did go buy a rain repellent jogging jacket.  I did also consider running the stairs in my building ( I live on the 7th floor).  I did notice while poking around on-line that a lot of the gyms (especially city, university, and YMCA type places) have day passes for $5-10, so maybe you could do that on days it is just too yucky to venture outside.

I know, it seems so unfair doesn't it!  I guess that is why the last couple pounds get so difficult to lose.  I have upped the exercise I am doing so that I can continue to eat as much and keep losing weight at the same rate. 

Here are a few suggestions that have helped me:

I started getting pasta in frozen dinners like lean cuisine.  I love their cheese ravioli, and the portion is controlled for me.  I typically add some veggies or fruit to make it a meal that will fill me up.

I started buying spaghetti nests....3 nests is 270kcal...so 90kcal per nest.  That way it is easier for me to control how much pasta I have for dinner based on what I had earlier in the day.  Somehow counting nests seems less work than weighing or measuring pasta.  I usually saute a whole bunch of veggies and shrimp at the same time, and then add the pasta to that.  It looks like a lot more pasta when there are lost of veggies and lean protein mixed in.  I can usually get away with just 2 of the spaghetti nests in my dinner.

Read the labels of all the breads....not just the ones that have the super healthy looking labeling.  I am not a huge bread eater, but I did find that the generic store brand wheat had 90kcal per 2 slices......which seems totally reasonable to fit into 1400kcal per day.

I have never understood why people get so upset about what other people chose to eat and not eat. A few years ago I was shocked to be chewed out by a vegetarian (who no longer is) because I ate veggie burgers, veggie brats, fake chicken patties, etc. and offered her one of my veggie burgers at a bbq. She said that if I was so against eating meat I shouldn't eat meat wanna-be products.

I do eat seafood, but it has been over 13 years since I ate any animal not from the sea. I am not going to get into why I eat what I do, I have my reasons, and they work for me.

I don't really go around calling myself a "vegetarian", if anything I will say "mostly vegetarian" is someone asks. However I will request vegetarian meals, especially when traveling at conferences. But when I request a vegetarian meal I don't expect any fish, in fact most times I expect it to be Vegan if they didn't ask if I was ovo-lacto. My biggest concern is typically whether it has mushroom or not, since I am allergic to mushrooms! Why do I ask for vegetarian meals when I am not technically a vegetarian? It is easier than requesting a meal with no chicken, beef, pork, rabbit, etc. I know I will eat the vegetarian dish as long as it is mushroom free. If I thought of myself as a meat eater and didn't request a special meal, 95% of the time I would end up with a non-seafood meat dish which I won't eat.

At banquets when I ask for a vegetarian plate, people at the table will often ask if I am a vegetarian, and I have been known to say "yes". I find it more comfortable to just give a simple yes, than trying to explain to a table of strangers why I chose to eat some animals and not others. I can't speak for other pescotarians, but for me I am not trying to make fish part of the vegetarian diet, I am just trying to keep the focus at a business dinner on business not my diet.

There are lots of times in society where given the audience, a general statement that isn't completely accurate is just easier. I live in Canada, but I am American. When Canadians ask me where in the states I am from, I will often say Chicago. But when I meet people from Chicago, I will often clarify that I grew up in the suburbs. Most Canadians know where Chicago is, but would have no idea where Crystal Lake, IL is! At a conference when I run into a true vegetarian and they say "Oh, you are a vegetarian too?" I always clarify that I am not really a vegetarian because I do eat seafood.

Hope that helps explain some why fish eaters will occasionally claim to be vegetarian.