Posts by clairelaine

Diuretics don't take off any weight except water.  It's not a good idea to use them unless you have a medical condition such as congestive heart failure or high blood pressure. 

I think it's ok to eat and drink things that naturally keep the urine flowing such as green tea, cranberry juice and asparagus.  That would be gentle and harmless.

I would be so happy if everyone would stop responding to ED posts and just ignore them so they drop off the first page quickly.  You can also block people who consistantly make you angry.  Don't hesitate to hit the Report Violation if you see anything that violates the posting guidelines.

Part of the kind of posting that you're talking about is attention seeking and seeking validation for unhealthy eating.  Don't pay attention and the behavior will be discouraged. 

When I first put on weight I tried everything in the book.  It was not until I underwent 2 years of twice a week therapy with a psychologist that I got my eating under control.  I was going because of great stress in my life and the eating for comfort issue came up.  I began to see that the reason I was overeating was emotional.  It was 6 months after therapy ended that I got that sudden light bulb moment and realized that I had to do something about my weight right away.  I found calorie count and all my wonderful friends and changed my life. 

You are doing the right thing for yourself.  Never be sucked in by a catch phrase that offers "good advice" because there's a lot more to it than that.

I've been at this for nearly 4 years now, losing 50 pounds and keeping it off.  I found that it doesn't matter what time I eat, only how much, and that the quality of my diet is directly related to my emotional wellbeing.

Good Luck.  You'll find your path, grasshopper.

Hey, that's the recipe for one of my favorite smoothies!  Except I don't use Almond Breeze, I just use milk or sometimes fruit juice.  I freeze banana slices to make it like a thick milkshake.

Yes Vanilla Swirl, they do sell chocolate flavor yogurt and also coffee, but I don't like those.

grilled chicken fajitas and eat only half the tortillas.  Ask them to bring you a bowl of shredded lettuce and tomato to go with it.  toss it with salsa instead of salad dressing.

I've lost 50 pounds over the course of a few years and kept it off by trying for 1/3 of each calories from carbs, protein & fats, with the fats a little lower than that and limiting saturated fats. Also I like to keep my fiber above 25 grams. I like balance.

You need to be honest with your doctor and with yourself.  How are doctors and nutritionists supposed to help you if they don't see the true picture because you try to deliberately manipulate your weight?  You will have to trust them to give you the best advice possible and you owe them the most accurate picture of you as possible.

Braised Fennel

two fennel bulbs, white part only, cut in quarters to they are still attached at the root end.

Toss in a large bowl with 1 TBS of olive oil until coated and glossy all over.  You need this bit of fat to conduct heat.

Place the fennel quarters in a roasting pan which you have sprayed with non stick spray.  Scatter a handful of peeled shallots cut in half.  Season well with salt and pepper.

Roast at 350 F for 15 minutes.  Add 1 cup of hot chicken broth or any good low salt stock and roast for another 15 minutes until well done.

You can also surround a roasting chicken with the raw fennel and shallots and roast them right along with the bird. 

Do a forum search in the Recipes forum.  There are a few long threads about oatmeal

Soft Tofu Breakfast Scramble

Break a block of soft, silken tofu into pieces. 
In a saute pan, melt a teaspoon of butter or olive oil and saute chopped green peppers, onions and mushrooms until lightly browned and dry.  Add a half a teaspoon of turmerick for yellow color (also good for the digestion).  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the crumbled tofu and cook as you would scrambled eggs, over medium low heat until most of the moisture evaporates.  Season to taste and serve with toast. 

I like it!  I only record my weight twice a month and I've found the trend line to be the most effective way of actually seeing my long term progress.  Even when the scale jumps around day to day, I can go to the trend line and see that it is angleing down telling me I'm doing fine. 

Having the ability to look at food logs for the date is great!  I formerly had an elaborate system to correlate times when I did the best with my food log.  Now I can do it just by clicking!

Love it!

edited to add:  I'm using Vista and Windows Live Explorer

Try cod or halibut (or any firm white fish) poached with tomatoes and peppers.  I use a can of stewed tomatoes chopped up, with the juices and a whole green and a whole red pepper chopped.  First saute a lot of onion in a little olive oil, then add the peppers and some garlic to the pan.  Saute until the vegetables are softened and then add the tomatoes.  Bring this up to a simmer and place the fish on top. If it's not juicey enough add some tomato or V-8 juice, or chicken broth.  Cover and let it poach on low heat for about 20 minutes.  It's very low in calories and high in vitamins. 

You can cook them like you would baby turnips by braising.  Brown them in a saute pan until golden.  Add broth, cover and cook until just tender but still a little crisp.  Let the liquid reduce to make a sauce.  I've had them this French way with the well washed radish tops added right at the end and cooked just to wilt.  It's very good.

I like them best raw as a munchy snack.

I know frozen fruits don't taste as good as fresh, nor do they have the nice texture.  But If you buy fruits in season and freeze them yourself it's a real money saver. 

It really depends on how much freezer space you have.  Mine is small, but I did manage to freeze a lot of strawberries which I use in frozen smoothies.  I cleaned and halved them before freezing.  Once when bananas were .29 a pound I bought a lot and froze them slice and used them in smoothies.  The frozen fruit makes the smoothie very thick like a milkshake.

Mangos and peaches are also good frozen. 

Good luck in seeking out inexpensive produce.