Posts by benpen

I've lost 50lbs since April of this year. it wasn't so bad at first, but i have hit a couple of plateaus, at least one for sure. the other times i was stuck was more of an issue with me not being as careful, overindulging, emotional eating, being lazy, etc. I think the first 30 lbs were a breeze. but that was about 10% of my body wgt and they say after that it gets tough.

but the other posters are right on, it's a lifestyle change issue, not a diet. you can't rush it, your body will do what it will do. i'll follow everything perfectly, have good deficits, and then gain 4 lbs overnight, but then a few days later will have lost 5lbs. it's crazy!! I just have to continue to commit to logging my calories, exercising and making good choices everyday.

i have a lot more to lose and right now i've been stuck for several weeks. it's frustrating, and i fluctuate, but i haven't gained, just haven't lost anything lately. but i remind myself "I lost 50! that's awesome! how about 50 more!!"

so, i just advise you to count calories, get moving, be honest and be patient!!

It turned out pretty good. It's more of a dark brown now. I forgot about the bay leaves so i added them later on. I added a bit of red pepper and a little grey poupon.

so it turned out well. the color at first was crazy though!! the lentils were from walmart and i couldn't really tell what kind of lentils they were, if they were red, or whatever. so i blame the lentils. i think next time i make this i will reduce the sausage by half. it's a lot of meat. i'm used to eating bean soup with the meat being just for seasoning and not such a prominent part of the soup.

I would like to try oysters on the half shell, sushi, kimchi, truffles (not the chocolate kind).

I think all of the above might be kind of gross, but i'm curious.

I'm a former smoker, with 11 years of chronic (ha) use. I only quit last year due to random drug screening at my job. But.....the munchies is what did me in. I gained 100 lbs in 11 years, whether i blame it on the weed, or the depression issues i had....I don't know how you'd want to categorize the whole thing. But nonetheless...I was not the type of person who could enjoy pot like i may enjoy a cocktail or happy hour on occassion. it was an addiction and i ruined my life. did i smoke excessively due to depression? did i binge eat because of depression? or was it the marijuana? i don't know. it all bleeds together. but since april i've been trying to lose wgt and have lost 45 lbs so far...sometimes i wonder if i could have done that if i was still smoking pot. i don't know.

sorry, not really giving you any advice here! but i agree it should be legalized. though i had no control of it, i know a lot of people who do. I think alcohol abuse is so much more destructive. i can't imagine dieting with smoking regularly. i guess i would advise you to just not have bad stuff around the house, keep healthy choices on hand, like veggies, portion control type stuff. but i remember getting pretty dang creative when high.....I remember eating a whole box of those fiber one chocolate oat bars when stoned. omg. the pain!!! i was soooo sick. way too much fiber at once. i thought i was gonna die!!!!

meisha, i once lost 1 1/2 lbs after i peed. Water weighs like 5 lbs per gallon...something like that, I'm not exactly sure...As far as the "other", I've not lost more than .5 lb at a time. It's crazy. Now I don't worry about if my hair is wet, but i do try to have on minimal clothing. weighing 2x a week would be better, but there's the gratification thing. And the torture thing...

Do you like the Wii Fit? Is it worth it?

And the whole not eating enough thing makes me nervous. I'm usually right at my goal intake if not a bit more. I keep my burn meter set on sedentary and enter my activites manually, so I'm hoping that i'm burning more that I think. But I don't want to screw myself and go into starvation mode. But.....I've never been "that" low on my intake. ha!

weight and see! funny. gotta luv puns!

funny.

i'm not the typo police but i've been noticing that a lot lately!!!! and not just on this site.

I really like the oats and choc fiber one bars but sorry for the tmi.....I have some major ehmmm....side effects. I don't get the same side effects when i eat thomas english muffins with a bunch of fiber or a bunch of veggies, or even beans! so i don't know what fiber one has going on there. i like the taste and i like the fiber, but the consequences are too dyer!!!

basically i'm afraid of all things fiber one. my colon is very afraid!!

Definately wait until the doctor checks her out for an official diagnosis. It sounds like she has some paranoia, along with depressive symptoms and the best way to put a name to it is to be thoroughly examined by a mental health professional. It may depend on a lot of different factors, she may have Major Depression with psychotic features or perhaps a form of bipolar disorder, which can have symptoms of paranoia. Of course people think of schizophrenia when paranoia is mentioned, but there are many other disorders out there that have psychosis or paranoia as a symptom.

She will need her family's support and she is very lucky to have such a concerned cousin in you! I'm so glad to hear that she's willing to see a doctor. Medication these days are so wonderful and can help so much. As far as a cure goes, your family should definately talk to the doctor. I had depression issues, pretty severe, about 4 years ago and took several medications. I'm doing much better now and have been off medication for 2 years. But it wasn't easy and I'm very willing to talk to someone if my symptoms return.

Good luck! :)

i like to mix in a pack of diet hot chocolate mix and a couple of tsps of sugar free french vanilla creamer.

thomas light english muffins, baby carrots, hummus, laughing cow cheese, eggs, pitas, turkey, sugar free rice pudding, low sodium progresso soups, healthy choice tv dinners, skim milk, ovaltine

don't get discouraged! unfortunately, like the posts above stated, weight isn't always a factor with high bp. my whole family has issues and i had issues before i gained all this weight. i have been on meds for 10 years now and it's just a part of my life. i'm down 45 and have another...gulp....100 to go. maybe once i get closer to my goal i'll see a difference, but if i don't, i've just accepted that this is a part of my life.

good luck though with all your research. keep up the good work!

i really like kashi go crunch bars in chocolate almond. all of them are really good though. they are less than 150 cal and taste like candy...but not super sweet. i can't stand any other protein or granola type bar after getting started with kashi. i tend to drink a lot of water when i eat one...usually as a late afternoon snack at my desk and it really fills me up. i love them.

It will just take time. It's a cliche, but it's true. I'm sending happy thoughts your way. just hang in there. Try to eat things you would normally eat when you have the flu, like soup, crackers...bland things. You're body is reacting to all the stress.

It will get better!

Original Post by dalmalama:

that messed w/ my head, too. i wasn't dillusional. at my highest, i weighed 320 lbs. i knew there were women who weighed that who were in relationships, but i didn't like what i was, and didn't wanna be coupled feeling the way i did about myself. plus, being honest with myself, i knew my options were limited. so my main motivation when i started trying to lose weight was the increasing options i'd have in guys the smaller i got.

i'm not gonna lie and say my weight doesn't play a significant part in the number and types of guys attracted to me. i know it does. and i accept that. which means that once i'm at my goal weight, if i start to get like a crazy huge surge in guys who are interested in me, i'm not gonna be resentful that they're just then noticing me; i'll enjoy the attention and have even more fun dating.

 Dalma- you are exactly right!! Thank you so much!!  I know this stuff, but to hear it from someone who was in my shoes...it's awesome. I don't like myself much at all and i know that shines through. Sometimes i think i do, but i have some issues i really need to work on.

All of my friends are much smaller than me and i really lose perspective on things. It's like i forget that i'm much larger...but yet i don't really forget....then you go out and are totally ignored....it hurts and it infuriates me. But....I do not love myself like i should, i have so many issues that are in play. It's all about self confidence and self love. I am so totally brutal with myself on the inside....it's something that i have to stop.

I started at 314 (I think at my highest i was at 330, I can't remember, it was at the doctor and i was in some hardcore denial) and am now at 280,,,,but i've been stuck there for a few weeks...I was pretty ill for over a week, so it sort of stayed still. But I see that i can have sucess with wgt loss for the first time ever....and I really hope that I can get smaller and smaller and smaller....I'd love to get to a size 18!

Good job on all your success! Rock on dalma!