Posts by erinw43

I work from home, too, and I get bored and eat also. IT's almost like a companion sometimes. Working at home is a real challenge when you are trying to limit the calorie intake. I wish I had some specific strategies, but the only thing that works for me is keeping anything easy to munch on out of my cupboards. That way the only time I'll eat is if I actually take the time to prepare it.

In my opinion, only time will tell. Yesterday morning I got on the scale and it said 195 which i was EXTREMELY pleased with. Then last night I checked again (I hadn't weighed myself for a couple weeks, so I don't know why I did two in one day) and it said 199.8. WTF?

So I don't know which is right. My plan is to just see what the scale says over the course of a couple days and even a week. My guess is it's somewhere in between.

I just saw this post as I was logging my dinner: spinach salad with a favorite of mine--sherry shallot vinaigrette. It's super easy to make:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons finely chopped shallot
1/4 teaspoons finely minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1. In small bowl, whisk all ingredients together.

Makes about 3/8 cup.

I put it over a couple cups of raw spinach with chopped up egg white, toasted almonds, sautteed mushroom and sweet onion and one piece of crumbled low fat, low sodiium (23 cals a slice) bacon. On the top: Shredded parmesan cheese.

It's a favorite of mine--the salad and the dressing!

It works for me--I don't try and suggest my way works for anyone else. I'm also 6-1 and work out intensely 5-6 times a week so I need that.

shrug.

I made dal and it came out really mushy...I didn't even soak the lentils for an hour. I will try again--I also felt like it lacked flavor. The recipe I used needed some...i don't know...oomph in the spice department.

It can't hurt, right? Although you are right--it's too bad we have to waste all this paper wiping off the oil! Why can't they just cook without oil to save us the cals and our eart the unneccesary trash??

Okay!

CW: 197.0 on the button.

I'm pretty happy with that as I thought last week's reading (196.8) was a little low and expected water weight. So to stay right around there is fine with me. Im getting close to a second major milestone (getting out of the 200s was the first): double digit loss. In two pounds I'll be at 10 pounds lost. I can do this in two weeks, the time I have before I leave for Madrid.

Hope everyone is plugging along. And that's what this really is, no? Plugging along. It certainly isn't anything that happens fast (although I wish it would!)

Jessica--ignore the folks who are emitting negativity. You've clearly got nothing but love for your parents and although I can't relate to this specific example, it must be so hard. :(  I have seen people I love do some self-destructive things and it's heartbreaking. These are not people you just "know" or even your friends. They are your parents. I don't blame you in the least for feeling the way you do.

Just be the "adult" with the food and set the example. My boyfriend needs to lose weight (and admittedly, I'd like him to, although I'd never tell him that). Anyhow, he is literally astounded at my success...only about 8 pounds depending on the day. But he seems to notice big changes in my body. Anyhow, he recently told me that he is sick of looking at his belly and asked me for food suggestions. (he eats yogurt everyday for breakfast because he thinks it's "healthy." Each yogurt has 15 grams of sugar and he eats two. Other than calcium, there's no nutritional value, really.) So I talked to him about working on eliminating some of the processed foods from his diet. If he loves yogurt--why not get plain and add in fresh fruit, for example? He hasn't...yet, but he's working out more and added this pushup workout to his regimen. He hasnt' told me this, but I do think it's because he sees what I'm doing. So, although not as serious as your story, perhaps the same can happen with your situation,....

There are no calories in fish sauce--it takes a whole ounce to get 10 calories and normally a lot less is used...

I don't get bloated from food...I guess I'm lucky. I only get bloated if I drink a lot of beer.

I use fish sauce a lot when I cook--yes it contains sodium, if that's what you are referring to. Fish sauce is an essential ingredient in thai cooking. I make a wonderful chicken coconut curry soup that I found on cookinglight.com and it calls for fish sauce. It's hard to get away from it, especially if you are trying to build in asian flavors.

Hey--I actually have this ongoing chronic toe problem that has gotten so bad I am in physical therapy for it!! It kind of goes numb, (this is my fourth toe), but it also gets really painful when I work out or do any kind of repetitive movement like walking/hiking, etc.. I've had this issue for years and one of my new year's resolutions was to figure out how to fix it! Anyhow.. One thing the PT noticed was I really rotate my left leg in when I walk (pigeon-toed), and so I bear a lot of weight on the outside of my foot--more than normal people. So he has me consciously thinking about the way I walk and having me think of landing straight. So when you said your outside (pinky) toes were going numb, it made me think of this--how are they placed when you are on the eliptical? Try just changing the way you have them planted on the pedals--rotate them slightly outwards and see if that helps. One thing I've learned from PT is very small changes make a big difference.

Man, I wish!! Running is my primary activity and my thighs more than touch. I easily run 4-5 miles every other day and walk a good 30-60 minutes  day. The general consensus is that you can't control where you lose fat from. I lose it from my thighs LAST and maybe you are the same way. However, running is very very good for your heart and in building endurance, so I reccomend it regardless...

I've lost about 8 pounds since the first of the year and I get an A- about a third of the time and a B or B+ the rest of the time. I ignore the overall grade--you have to find a food combination that works for you. I get tons of veggies and fruit, but I also eat eggs and cheese and meat, which CC generally hates and gives bad grades to. Also, random things like jello get a bad grade, and to me, that is fine to eat. So bottom line, I completely ignore the overall grade and look more at particulars like fiber, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, etc.

I HATE the eliptical and treadmill but they are a necessary evil. However, I LOVE running outside and even more than that, playing basketball. So I try to do the latter two as much as I can. So my advice is to find something fun. Can you and your daughter play racketball at the gym, for instance? Everyone is different, but I like the games/fun much more than running like a hamster on a machine. Two of my friends do hip-hop aerobics (we are all in our 30s, mind you!) I have another friend who bought belly dancing DVDs. Those last two things would not interest me too much, but when you find something you enjoy doing--for me it's hoops--you dont' even think of it as exercise, you think of it as fun and stress relief and end up enjoying it. Oh--the Wii fit is pretty fun, too. My boyfriend's mother who is in her 60s, and her daughter (31) bought it to work out on together. I did it once and it was pretty fun!

On the partner front...my live-in boyfriend is not the greatest eater. He loves to go out to really nice restaurants intead of cooking and I'm always trying to resist, but I don't have will power made out of steel.  I think a lot of folks can empathize with the idea of a partner who seems to impede our efforts. However, the asthma thing doesn't seem fair to your son--why won't he budge on that??

Just eat normal meals/snacks as you would on any other "good day"