Posts by amila030

Thanks for the link sugarsweet!

I used to get this all the time about five years ago for a few months and then it went away. About two years ago it started happening again and lasted for much longer--upwards of three minutes, and I started to get really concerned about it (I never have a "pop" feeling though).

I went to see my doctor and he didn't know exactly what it was (he didn't do any tests) but said that it could be a type of growing pain due to my ribs or chest growing, and told me to come back if it got worse... of course after that it went away again.

My personal trainer told me that it happens to her sometimes and the way you can fix it is if it's painful when you breathe in then you have to breathe out really hard, and vice versa if it hurts when you breathe out. I haven't had an opportunity to try this so I can't tell you if it works.

You may feel like you've passed your goal weight, but your body may see things differently. Maybe your body will just be happier at a higher weight than you've decided it should be. I mean, choosing the weight you want to weigh is pretty arbitrary in any case, even if it is at a specific BMI or whatever for you height. It's like deciding that you want to weigh the same as you did five years ago or when you were a teenager...you aren't the same person anymore, and your body isn't the same (size, shape, health) as it was back then either. You may just have to accept that your body is happiest at a different weight than you think it should be.

Wish I could help... I sort of stopped counting for about a week, but I was logging all of my food at the very end of the day after I was full and didn't intend to eat anything else (like right before bed). I've just been eating like I normally would, but I've been losing weight (and I think my count is around 1800-1900). I never had this problem before losing the weight (after surgery).

Maybe you should try not counting, but if you find you're gaining change what snacks you're eating... instead of eating a handful of nuts, have a fruit...that way you keep your eating habits the same and consistent, but you can change your daily calories down by a few hundred just by switching to lower cal but equally nutritious snacks(and vice versa if you're losing weight).

You can make scrambled eggs pretty easily in a microwave, but it's tedious. I usually do it in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds, stir, microwave 30 more seconds, stir, etc until there is only a tiny bit of liquidy egg left. That way the egg doesn't get completely stuck to the bowl, the eggs stay nice and moist (and any uncooked portions will shortly become cooked from the heat of the surrounding egg), and it doesn't start to explode in the microwave. You can also buy plastic containers to poach eggs in the microwave--a lot less messy since the eggs are covered and won't explode.

Exact same thing happened to me in December! I don't know your stats but I'll tell you what I've been doing...

I lost weight in the hospital because I was so nauseous all the time, and basically lost most of the musle mass from my butt and legs, and ended up with nothing but skin and jiggle (eww...). I'm a swimmer and lifeguard so I can totally relate to how important strong legs are. Your doctor probably told you that your need to wait 6 weeks before you can lift anything; make sure you get the OK from your doctor before you start seriously working out/running again. Your abs are completely torn apart right now and you need to focus on letting your body heal.

Eating: I don't know if you're trying to lose, maintain or gain... I would suggest definitly don't try to lose right now. Your body is healing from the surgery and needs extra calories to do that, and since it was an emergency appendectomy I'm assuming that you had some kind of an infection (and are possibly on antibiotics). If you deprive your body of nutrients/calories you are just asking for the infection to come back or get worse, and you could become much more suseptible to other infections (viruses etc.) that will only slow down your healing. So, make sure you are always making at least maintenence calories.

I was put on a low res diet after my surgery so that my intestines wouldn't be irritated...if you haven't been told to do this, I highly recommend it (just google it or PM me). If you are on antibiotics then you should also make sure that you eat yogurt (if you can't have dairy they make soy yogurt). The antibiotics kill the bacteria in your intestines and this imbalance will likely lead to stomach upset, so replenishing your natural supply will help some.

Excersise: I started out 5 1/2 weeks after surgery doing light swimming (about 1 hour, but really really slowly and with an aid) and did light elliptical workouts at the gym (after getting the OK from my surgeon). I also highly recommend swimming or water aerobics as a first form of excersise. Both are great for after surgery since water supports your body (low impact) while also providing resistance and you can control the intesity level of the activity. Swimming is also great for your legs, and excersising in water actually keeps you heart rate lower than it would be out of water because of the pressure.

After the 6 weeks I signed up with a personal trainer so that she could show me exactly what to do to reach my fitness goals (getting my legs strong enough to go back to work) and also so that I could make sure that I wouldn't be hurting myself. If you are trying to regain muscle mass (or maintain it) you might actually need to increase you calories (I had to, but I'm also underweight :(...). The best excersises for me (for my legs and butt) were lunges and squats, which made my leg strength and appearance (goodbye jiggly!) dramatically.

It took me about 2 1/2 months to get back to my pre-surgery weight and fitness level, but it may be different for you depending on how much damage has been done to your body (mine was a lot). Yes, it was extremely hard, but the more I ate, the easier it was for me. After my first session with my personal trainer I couldn't walk for three days (not even joking) because my legs were so atrophied, and I had to work out consistently, mostly weights and strength training, at least 4-5 days a week otherwise my body regressed.

So to answer your questions, don't be scared to gain weight, as long as you aren't excessivly overeating I doubt you will/can. Start with really light excersise when you are allowed to and don't take it too fast or you will just hurt yourself and be set back even more. I hope this was helpful, even though it's a short novel, and PM me if you have any other questions! It's always nice to know you aren't alone.

One of the guys I work with yelled out to our supervisor last week, "Ahh, there's a skeleton in the pool!" (I'm a lifeguard/swimming instructor). It took me a second to realize that he was referring to me... (I thought maybe there was some nasty bug floating around or something...but no, just me).

Oh, they also instituted a new policy at work (I think) largely because of me. We wear fanny packs with first aid equipment in them and we used to pass them off to whoever was rotating us. Anyways, I have a really tiny waist so I always had to tighten it so that it wouldn't fall off my hips, and everyone who had to wear it after me always commented on how small it was, how annoying it was to have to adjust it, how they could barely fit it around their neck, blah blah blah. At the training where they told us that instead of trading off fanny packs we would all just get our own before we started guarding because it "takes too long to adjust them when the person passing it off to you is this big *holds up fingers an inch apart from each other*". Someone yelled out "Amber!" and EVERYONE stared at me. Ya, thanks guys.

Another joke I heard before that was mildly offensive was: What is a size 2 even for? People on life support? And I guess a 0 is for the ones who didn't make it... Guess what, I'm a 0 and I'm still alive jerks.

Original Post by simwaves1:

I think one of the main debates about MSG has to do with neurological effects. Glutamate in the brain will activate a lot of neurons and overstimulate them, which will eventually lead to death of the neuron (this is also called excitotoxicity). After eating food that contains MSG, your blood content of glutamate increases significantly.

Although, as far as I know, glutamate doesn't cross the blood brain barrier without specifically being transported, so consuming MSG may not have an effect on the nervous system at all.

 Also, glutamate naturally occurs in many foods, and the "umami" taste receptors on our tongues detect it (I think it's mostly in meats and protein rich food). So, I'm pretty sure that glutamate itself is not harmful in naturally occurring amounts (unless you have a sensitivity/allergy...). However, MSG is probably found in unnatural amounts in food since it is added which is why there may be concern over its effects.

I'm pretty sure the high amount of fiber you're eating is contributing to the bloating--not that you are eating too much, but after not eating enough for a while your body won't be as used to all that fiber. I didn't really have that problem because I wasn't allowed to eat fibre when I started gaining, so I can't really tell you when it will go away. I suggest drinking more water, spreading your meals out over longer periods of time (eat smaller portions at once) and maybe try eating more calorie dense foods so that your stomach isn't as full of food.

My favorite is the President's Choice brand "Ultrashake".

I think it depends on your age too...and on your body. Did you lose weight first and that's why you're trying to gain? How much were you before?

The heaviest I've been is 118lbs (extremely bloated and full) at 5'6'', and I lost weight because of surgery. that being said, for me to have a minimum healthy BMI I would have to be 125lbs. There is no way I'm going to be able to gain that much weight--my body just can't (at least at this point). Even my dad who is 6' weights probably 140lbs...we just aren't large people.

I think you should either gain weight  closer to where you started (assuming that's within a healthy BMI) or gain until your body feels comfortable. If you aren't sure where that is, maybe stop trying to gain after you get to 110-115 and just eat when you're hungry. Your body should balance itself out.

Hmm... I think I actually gained mostly off of fats. At the beginning of gaining I wasn't allowed to eat a lot of foods (like nuts, whole grains, veggies, fruits, fried things...) so I was stuck with foods like mashed potatos, peanut butter, dairy and hummus. I also find that carbs fill me up a lot without giving me all that mmany calories--so if I did eat lots of carbs, I wouldn't be able to make my calories for the day. I think my best gaining foods were milk, yogurt and juice.

If you're weight training it's a good idea to increase protein intake, but if you aren't I don't think it will really make a difference. The extra protein you eat will just be used for energy like all of the other foods you eat (carbs or fats or whatever), but if you are training to try and build muscle it's a good idea to have extra protein available for your body to use.

If you really do have 70% carbs a day you really need to include more fats--especially since you're probably eating less than 20% and fats are 9 cals/gram, so even a small amount of increase of fats makes a huge inpact on your daily percentages. It's also much easier to increase fats in you diet than to increase protein (especially without using supplements) and if you add in things like dairy and nuts, you can add both fats and protein and they have almost no carbs at all. I think probably the worst thing about having such a high carb diet is that your blood sugar has to be regulated much more and you might get highs and lows in your energy levels during the day.

A niche is the specific place/position in the ecosystem that an organism falls. Like the niche of a fly is to live on decaying matter in a terrestrial environment and are eaten by things like frogs. Frogs live in a semi-aquatic environment--can live on land but require a high degree of moisture to keep their skin moist so that they can breathe. They also can only reproduce in an aquatic environment. They feed on insects and provide food for some mammels and birds.

Hope you can figure out the other ones from that example.

I think since you don't seem to be having a problem eating lots of calories, you should focus your efforts on eating lots of healthy foods. Eat the same amount of food you've been eating but make sure you're getting enough fruits and veggies and whole grains etc, and you will feel full when your body is supposed to--eating chips or whatever is great for packing in the calories, but it's not going to actually make you feel full or give you many vitamins etc. Eating more healthy and filling foods might help you keep from "binging" and won't make you feel sick or guilty after eating.

If you are actually eating that many calories, I see no reason why you couldn't start weight training now. I would only hold off if you were having a hard time meeting your calorie goals.

Original Post by mf3rg:

Actually, once you are thirsty your body is already dehydrated.

 This is so true. I heard in one of my classes that humans are especially bad for this; we are usually about 75% dehydrated before we feel thirsty. So try to drink enough water so that you don't ever feel thirsty!

I don't really like the idea of adding extra sugar to things, so if I do, I'll usually add honey instead, or even maple syrup. I really hate artificial sweeteners though, they taste really bad to me. So if I'm getting flavoured yogurt or juice, I always get the stuff that's either naturally sweetened (with honey) or just sweetened with sugar.