Posts by grenflowers

Original Post by faieriesunshine:

just a thought but have you ever had your thyroid checked? you can do a search online and see if you have any of the other symptoms. I know when my thyroid was off just a tad, i didnt lose anything at all, then when i started taking my meds, i lost what i should have been losing all along plus some!

Also, if you are averaging 1000 calories a day, you should probably consider upping that to 1200, your body may be holding on to your calories. I upped my cals and it DID make a difference.

Remember, it doesn't matter how slowly you lose the weight, as long as you lose it!

Hope this helps a little and most importantly keep at it, try not to be discouraged, and good luck!!!!

Thanks for the advice. I thought about that since thyroid issues run in my family, but i had mine tested last year and I was fine. I tend to be slightly anemic if I forget to take my multivitamins with iron, but I doubt that will affect my weight this way. I probably should be eating more, but I honestly don't feel hunrgy enough to eat more. I would feel like I was stuffing myself if I ate more than what I did already.

The nutrionist on this site said that if you eat a completely balanced diet you can eat as little as 1000 calories. I know I'm not a proffesional, but I eat the recommended amounts of fruit, veggies, and protein..the only thing I don't eat much of are the grains, but that's only recent because I haven't wanted to eat any.

I don't know. I weighed myself today, and I am the same weight, but myarms my stomach and my face appear thinner. Whatever, at least I am still looking slimmer, right?

Original Post by stewmama:

I'm 5'6", 33 yrs. old and mom to 3 kids.  Currently I'm at 154 down from 183 after having my third bundle of joy.  It's taken me since August to get this far.  I plateau ALL THE TIME.  It totally stinks.  And I have weeks where I am 80% vegan, weeks where I go raw -- my body just really hates to lose weight! LOL

Two things I have noticed that can jump start a weight loss for me is to cut out coffee and alcohol (which is limited to a glass -- or two - of red wine in the evenings).  Even if I am consuming these items within my 1300-1500 calories a day, for some reason eliminating them and replacing those calories with extra fruits and veggies, will jump start my losing.

I also have to eat every 2-3 hours and make sure I eat breakfast.  If I consistently (more than a day) leave big gaps in my eating schedule, I will gain weight mysteriously.

See if you can cut back on the sodium (I'm a salt and vinegar chips kinda girl myself, so I know the level of agony this can bring on!) and stick to water only for a few days.  You might notice a difference -- worth a try!

I've cut out alcohoal almost completely. I think I had a couple drinks maybe 3 weeks ago, but nothing since. I know alcohol makes me gain weight, and I love wine! Coffee though :( I love coffee, it's my one real vice. I guess I could try it. It sounds like your diet is similar to mine. Mine is about 80% Vegan as well, after really reviewing my log, my cals and exercise is great, but I eat sometimes almost double the sodium I should have in a day. 

I need to really watch that. Thank you everyone for trying to help me figure this out.

Thanks for your advice, at the risk of sounding like I'm hopeless, my normal diet has always been between 1500 and 1700 cals.

 I'm wondering if PMS could be causing me to have some additional water weight and it only appears that I am not losing when I may have in fact have lost a couple pounds.

My calculations are not wrong. Figuring averages and addition and subtraction are pretty damn easy, but thatnk for your rudeness I'm sure it will bring you lots of karma:)

Almost every morning I cook this:

In a small saute pan I 

grease with a few sprays of pan

1/2 cup chopped broccoli

1/4 cup frozen corn

1 med tomato deseeded and chopped

 and whatever else I think will taste good

I cook this until the broccoli is a little soft then I lower the heat and pour in 

1/3 cup egg white

I cover and wait until it's solid on top. I eat this with some hot suace and or ketchup

It's a little over 100 cals, but it fills me up!

Also, it may sound like a lot of work but since everything is chopped it cooks fast. It takes less than 10 minutes.

I get an A too, once in awhile a B for my sodium intake. Eat more fruit and veggies, it's hard not to get an A everyday if you eat the recommended amount of both!

Your body naturally burns calories just functioning. Use the tools on this site. It will tell you how much you burn a day. Then if you add exercise you will burn additional calories. So, say you burn 2,000 cal a day just being alive, and then you walk for an hour and burn another 200. you'll have burned 2200 cals. So, to maintain your weight you can not consume more calories than this, and to lose weight you have to eat less, about 500 less a day.

Speaking of chocolate, I barely eat the stuff, but just indulged in a craving:) You can eat chocolate, really you can eat anything you want and lose weight as long as you keep the cals down, but for the sake of your health try dark chocolate that is lower in sugar. I prefer the bitterness and I think the rich quality is much more filling.

Also, you could try the Jello Sugar Free pudding. It's super sweet and only has 60 cals a serving.

Original Post by themeofpaganini:

I LOVE milk and tried skim milk for the first time the other day. Needless to say, one sip and I regretted buying it. Blehhhhh!

I'll stick to low-fat milk.

I read in one of my health books that you can gradually make the switch andthat you will not be able to tell the difference. You mix your low fat or whatever you are drinking with the skim, maybe start with 1/4 cup skim to 3/4 cup low fat and and gradually increase  the amount. If you are actually interested in this I can look up the exact details for you, just let me know.

Okay one more mixture, I liked this the best.

Spray non stick with a little Pam

1/3 cup chopped broccoli

1/4 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup chopped spinach

1 small tomato- de-seeded

Saute in nonstick pan in order written, start with broccoli for a minute or so before adding other stuff. Just cook til corn is not frozen.

Then turn the heat down low and pour in 1/3 cup egg whites, then cover for a couple minutes and remove once the top looks a little solid. You can carefully tip the ppan over and it's like a perfect little pie. I love this with hot sauce and ketchup!!!

Oh, and it's about 102 calories!!!!

From my experience, when I'm skinny and toned, my cellulite is much less noticeable, so losing fat does help, but it never goes away completely. Using self tanner also makes it less noticeable.

I'm surprised you are having problems since you eat fish. I mean you are really not a vegetarian... I think the term would be pescatarian.

I don't see how you wouldn't be getting sufficient nutrients.

Maybe those vitamins he gave you will help.

I looked it up on this site under tools. I've also researched this on other sites as well, and they say the same thing.

Just because she goes to the gym doesn't mean she's doing rigorous exercise, and she's sitting 8 hours a day 5 days a week. Her nutritionist probably knows more facts than we do.

I'm 5'6 142, and to maintain my weight I should eat about 1800 calories, I'm 3 inches taller and 36 pounds heavier, and I get 1 hour of exercise every day of the week.

Her 1300 makes sense to me, unless she's a serious athlete, I'm not talking about an hour at the gym 4 times a week.

She sounds stubborn and a bit ignorant. She'll probably end up gaining weight in the end.

Most people I come across that claim to eat such low cal diets are usually eating tons of hidden calories, and if that really is all she's consuming with vigorous exercise, she'll be in the hospital soon , or start having fainting spells. Not that that is something to look forward to, but maybe she'll see that there isn't a short cut.

You could try mentioning the fact that her hair could fall out starving herself. Who wants to be thin and bald?.... I actually knew someone that happened to. She was about 5 feet tall and only ate 800 calories a week for a couple months. Literally her hair started coming out in small handfuls, and she had a lot of hair. That was scary...but she learned her lesson.

I have several friends that are personal trainers and they do not teach what you are saying, when it comes to strength training. They always tell me to lift, not super heavy weights but weights that I can do about 12 to 15 reps at a time before I'm exhausted, to do about 3 sets for each muscle group for 30 minutes, three times a week, and gradually lift heavier as I build strength. Maybe what people are telling you is not referring to strength training, but some other sort of exercise.

How many calories are you consuming? Cardio will help you lose fat faster, but strength training 3 times a week is essential.