Posts by momma3biker

My favorite backpacking foods are: Oatmeal/dried fruit mixed with reconstituted dried soymilk; bagel/peanut butter/honey; energy bars; tortilla/hard cheese/onion/dried black beans cooked over an open fire for dinner.  Apples pack well and are great for a snack.  Everything tastes better when you are backpacking!

When you reintroduce food a "reaction" can be anything from stomach problems, to  acne,  to foggy thinking.  It can take a day or a week.  It really depends on the individual, your level of sensitivity and the way your body reacts to it.  I have noticed sugar and wheat will make me break out.  Wheat also hurts my stomach.  I usually notice the next day on the stomach problems and the break outs can take 2-3 days.  After about 2-3 weeks of following the diet very closely I noticed an improvement in my memory.  Especially remembering phone numbers and word finding.  It was a relief for me, as I thought I was losing my mind at an early age.  Good luck on your journey.

One other thing you may want to consider, you mentioned that you do not salt anything.  You could be low in iodine, which supports healthy thyroid function.  Thyroid problems can also interfere with your cells ability to absorb sodium.  If you have a hard time getting your urine diluted (if it is bright yellow) you may not have enough sodium in your system, which can contribute to dehydration.  I was drinking over a gallon a day and still not hydrating.  Now I salt all the water I drink and take an iodine supplement and finally my urine is diluted, my sex drive is back and I am not constantly feeling like I need to eat! 

Just one more thing for you to think about!

No offense to your dietitian, but if eating within your calorie target and eating "healthy" foods is not working for you, than why would she recommend you just keep plugging away at it?  If something isn't working you need to change it up-whether that is trying a raw diet, elimination diet, or other cleansing diet, you will shake things up and get off that plateau!  If you have thyroid problems the caffeine in your tea may be one of many culprits that are contributing to your weight loss problems.  You may need to switch dietitians, or at least get a second opinion.  Ask for info on diets for hidden food intolerances as well as raw food diets, etc.  See a ND if you can.  Try an alternative diet for 6 weeks, see how you feel, weigh yourself and decide if it helped or not.  Try a different one if it did not.  Give it time and evaluateit again.  Trust me, if you are truly "willing to try anything to jig your system" eating an alternative diet is not going to hurt!  You may think you are eating all the right foods, but if you have a hidden gluten or wheat sensitivity, that 50 calories of bread that you think shouldn't affect anything is going to cause inflammation in your gut, prevent you from absorbing nutrients from your other foods, get stored as fat, as well as the other food your gut can't properly digest due to the inflammation.  Then you throw some caffeine on it which messes with your thyroid and adrenal system causing your blood sugar to become unbalanced, so nearly everything you eat gets stored as fat!  I'm not saying you have a wheat/gluten intolerance or sensitivity, but it is worth investigating if what you are doing is not working. 

I was having terrible cravings like you clairelaine and I could not figure out what was missing.  It turns out because I was not eating any processed food and rarely went out to eat my sodium level was really low.  I started salting all the water I drink and taking an iodine supplement.  I read most of the population (except those that live near the ocean) are low in iodine.  After just a day or two I noticed I had much better control over what I was eating. 

In frustration I started doing massive amounts of research about weight loss and healthy eating, even though I thought I knew it all.  My conclusions were that I do much better on a higher fat/higher protein diet.   I have almost completely eliminated grains and sugar for a little over a month, cut down on cardio and finally lost the weight I had been trying to lose for almost 2 years.  There is a website that has a program I followed called the elimination diet.  It is a way to test your body to see if you may have some hidden food sensitivities.  If you do have food sensitivities your body could be storing toxins in fat around your midsection.  Once the offending food or foods are eliminated that fat will just melt away.  One thing you need to realize is that there are only 3 food categories-protein, fat and carbohydrates.  We actually need far less carbs than we eat, which makes us very suseptible to all kinds of diseases.  Try increasing fats and protein and getting your carbs from vegetables, and small amounts of fruits beans and legumes.  If you want to learn more about the elimination diet go to my profile.  It also sounds like you may have a little adrenal fatigue going on.  Google natural cures for adrenal fatigue to get some more info about this.  I found an excellent article this way that has helped me.  Good luck!

One other thing I discovered, ALL CALORIES ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL!!!!!  Protein and fat are not metabolized in the same way as carbs are.  That is why Atkins/low carb diets work.  One important thing to consider is the quality of the protein and fat you consume.  I eat only grass fed beef/bison or elk and free range chicken.  I also eat plenty of ghee (clarified butter).  I never, ever eat food with added oil (sunflower seed oil, safflower seed oil, canola oil).  The oil added to processed food is rancid and not fit for human consumption.  It is stored in your body as cellulite.  I could go on all day about this, but I won't.  Do the research yourself and be your own judge!

Sorry to hear you're suffering too mummy2liam.  It is tough being a mommy!  I keep telling myself, this too shall pass! 

My son's cancer changed my life.

Yes, swearimn.  I did get it off figureathlete.com.  I am interested in it in part for the fat loss aspect, but also for over all well being.  I have been on the diet a few days now and have not had any trouble sticking to it or feeling deprived.  I have lost 3 pounds already, which is more then I have been able to do with just calorie counting alone.  Thank you for your advice and input .

Thanks littlemalynda.  Great advice!

Great information Bubbles.  That was my line of thought as well, as I have had some food intolerance testing done by a Naturopathic doctor and found it very helpful.  Thank you for your input.

Hi Jennifer,

Congratulations on taking the first step to lose that 100 lbs.  You will find a lot of support and guidance from everyone here. 

What works for me is 20/20/60 (protein/fat/carbs).  I think you can most easily achieve this by making sure you have a good quality protein source with every meal (the size of your fist is a good gauge).  Add a quality carb, again use the palm of your hand, or fist as a guide and a little bit of healthy fat, and lots and lots of veggies!  A good meal could be  a bowl full of romaine lettuce, with shredded chicken on top, 1/4 of an avocado, add any other veggies and 1/4 cup of black beans or brown rice. 

By checking the analysis after logging your food you will have a good idea what your percentages are.

Throw in some intervals when you jog.  I don't know what Zumba is so can't help you there, but doing hard efforts for a minute at a time during my training always helps me.  Also during the strength training make sure you are challenging yourself and not just going through the motions. 

Here are some additional tips that helped me:

1. Be a calorie detective. While calories are not the whole story- far from it- they are still an important component of weight loss, and they have a way of creeping up while we're not paying attention. Be brutally honest with yourself- what are you eating and how much? Using a food diary for a while is a great way to monitor this. And yes, sodas and alcoholic beverages count! Good rule of thumb: for weight loss, aim for calories close to your target weight times 10.

2. Change it up: The classic advice when you're not making gains in an exercise program is to change your routine. Same holds true here. Low carbers might try a higher carb diet for a few days, high carbers might switch to Atkins or South Beach. At the very least, vary your ratio of protein to fat to carbs. Even varying calorie intake may have a positive effect: if you're average intake is 1500 calories try dropping to 1200 for a day, going up to 2000 and then dropping back to 1500. You get the idea- your body has gotten comfortable. It is time to shake things up.

3. Exercise a temporary ban: Food sensitivities can cause us to hold on to weight and bloat, and the frustrating thing is that most of us don't always know which foods cause us to do this. So play the odds: highest on the list of "usual suspects" are grains (wheat in particular), dairy and sugar. Put a temporary ban on all three and see what happens.

4. Kick it up a notch. Or three. There's been a lot of rumble in the exercise community over the best way to work out for fat loss and the consensus is moving towards high intensity intervals. Forget the "fat burning zone" and go for broke. High intensity intervals- 30 to 60 seconds- are the wave of the future. If you're used to going at level three, ramp it up to level 6 for a minute then slow back down, catch your breath and do it again. Ever see a sprinter with love handles? Training like a sprinter will lower your body fat faster than any technique I know of, plus it will boost your metabolism and lower your weight. Bye bye plateau.

5. Revisit strength training. Ramp it up a notch. Muscle is your greatest ally in breaking a plateau. Unfortunately many women train with weights too light to produce the metabolic boost we're looking for. Don't be afraid of heavier weights- you should reach the point where you can't do another rep sometime between reps 8-12.

6. Up your protein: Study after study shows that a higher ratio of protein to carbs makes losing bodyfat easier. Protein boosts the metabolism (in one study as much as 100 percent for 24 hours), and it also increases satiety, making it more likely that you won't overeat. A higher protein diet could be just what you need to break that plateau.

7. Try a gentle detox. While fasting for weight loss unsupervised is a really bad idea, the idea of giving your system a rest makes sense. One way to do it is with a "smart fast" of nothing but fruits and vegetables for a couple of days. The added fiber is always helpful, and the massive amount of nutrients and phytochemicals is like "spring cleaning" for your metabolism.

8. Do a personal inventory. Believe it or not, other things besides diet and exercise could be stalling your weight loss. Stress, for example. Or lack of sleep. Or medications. Take a look and see what else is going on in your life that might need attention. Sometimes when you clean up the problems in one area of your life, problems in other areas just naturally take care of themselves.

So maybe this is not the most popular response, but you only live once and I believe in finding your bliss.   If someday I lose my libido I would totally understand it if my husband chose to have an affair; and if he ever decides to no longer have sex with me I think he would understand if I were to have an affair.  I do believe for every action there is a consequence and that may come in the form of negative feelings from your kids, when they find out, or community members, etc.  In my opinion, it's a small price to pay.