Posts by patriciaj102

Cooking these tonight!! Any suggestions?

Well, I'm not particularly trying to fry the food, it's just the easiest and fastest way I know of to cook chicken in a frying pan. I eat chicken most nights and I always cook it in a frying pan, and I make stir fries fairly often as well which I also cook in a pan.

Thanks everyone for the tips. I'm really just starting to learn the basics of cooking my own food - I'm a college student and I recently moved to my own apartment, and I've realized I can't exactly eat healty by simply toasting, microwaving and boiling.

@umneydurak - I think I may have been overestimating - I cooked some chicken tonight and measured out one teaspoon and it was about what I've been using all along. Still, that's more calories than I'd like to add, even if it's a relatively small amount. As for the chicken stock, can you use that when cooking pretty much anything instead of oil?

@nieto - Thanks for the spray bottle idea, I'm definitely going to try it!

Wow... I can't even imagine how many calories I've added on just from cooking in vegetable oil. What is the purpose of it, anyway - so it doesn't stick to the pan? Flonklar, do you mean water would be an acceptable substitute? Not sure if I have any non-stick spray on hand...

I chose these because I am a pesto JUNKIE (which is unfortunate because it's insanely caloric). I actually don't often eat burgers at all, but the pesto really caught my eye. If I'm going to eat anything in a bun, it's almost always going to be chicken breast, and even then I prefer to cut it into strips and stuff it in a wrap with a ton of lettuce. Still, these sounded yummy, so I decided to give them a try. And you're right, they are loaded with sodium and fat, so it certainly won't be the healthiest meal... but at least they have tons of protein! The buns that I got to go along aren't too bad. In any case, I don't expect to make this a habit, but I do allow myself to indulge from time to time. Thanks for the salad tip, though -- that's a great idea.

Amy -- thanks for the tomato sauce idea! I might try it, sounds yummy.

Original Post by amayou82:

Just curious, why do you need a spreadsheet, when CC adds up the calories (not to mention other nutritional information) for you?

It's actually really really helpful because it helps you see the big picture. CC is good for dieting day to day, but a spreadsheet is good to illustrate how each day adds up. You can calculate exactly how many pounds you've lost based on your overall defecits, you can calculate your average defecit to see how well you're doing on average, how much you've been eating per day on average, etc. Before I started using a spreadsheet I found myself getting off track a lot because I'd have a cheat day and I'd think "oh, it's no big deal," but I actually didn't realize how much they were adding up and reversing the overall progress I was making. Once I started using a spreadsheet I was better able to see my overall progress and how cheat days were affecting me, thus I was better able to stay on track! I would highly recommend making a spreadsheet, it's really easy and helpful!

I read the description for hypoglycemia, and I agree that it seems like that's what it was. Is it only a one time thing? As in, do I not have to worry about it again as long as I fix my diet? I am definitely not going to restrict my diet like that again, even if it was only for two days. I see now how stupid it was.

@sealion: I couldn't avoid carbs if I tried. On Sunday when I began the diet I had a blueberry bagel with cream cheese, an english muffin with peanut butter, a clementine, a pretty big chicken salad, a piece of garlic bread, a 100 calorie bag of popcorn, and a cup of unsweetened applesauce. Yesterday I had a cup of plain nonfat yogurt with high protein granola and cantaloupe, two scrambled eggs on a wheat bulkie roll, japanese noodles with stir fry and chicken, baby carrots with peanut butter, and a cup of unsweetened applesauce. I drank lots of tea and water in between meals and snacks to keep my belly full.

To me, that doesn't seem like I'm limiting nutrients, but I could be wrong. I think I was simply eating too few calories, especially because my body was used to having a lot more. Does that sound right?

@lala - I figured it was very low, and I was only asking to see if it was worth counting. It's obviously not! I don't know why more people don't use this as a diet aid - it's so filling!

Thanks everyone! I went with the no carb Rockstar for 20 cals... well worth it! I haven't had caffeine in god knows how long (I don't drink coffee or soda) so I wasn't used to the effects (felt quite jittery and a little light-headed) but it certainly got the job done. Didn't taste too bad either.

Okay, that makes sense. Thank you! Yeah, measuring by weight always really confuses me - it's so complicated!

So basically -- one cup = 200 calories. Right?

Yeah, it only says 1/8 of a box and I have no idea how much that is - it's that or measure in grams. So I'm really not sure...

If I were to make cinnamon pancakes, how much cinnamon should I put in 1/2 cup of dry mix?

I tried them, and they were really delicious!!! I'm beginning to think that you can't go wrong with fruit in pancakes. Maybe I'll be ambitious and try the pears tomorrow.

I tried it, and it's just as delicious as everyone has said! It tastes like banana ice cream. Tonight I'm planning on chopping one up and mixing it in with my vanilla frozen yogurt for dessert. Yum!

The problem with this cereal (for me, at least) is that one cup is never enough, as it is with, say, Total Raisin Bran. I need at least a cup and a half to be satisfied. I'm not sure why. On the plus side, it always makes the milk super delicious to drink after you've eaten all of the cereal.