Posts by particle_woman

I log everything.  I know it won't be exact but having to write it down means I can't sneak tastes of things and say it doesn't count.

You hear the horror stories because the other ones are boring, like my wisdom teeth story.  I got mine out at 17.  I remember them starting to give me anethesia and the surgeon introducing himself.  The next thing I remember is waking up groggy on a couch in another room, everything all done.  My mom took me home and I took a painkiller they prescribed and took a nap.  Woke up and had soft food for dinner.  I had no bruising or swelling to speak of and other than avoiding drinking through a straw I was back to eating normally within a day or two.

Your wife is about my size (started at 242 in August, now 232) 5'6" and I'm 27 and sedentary.

I find I'm getting much better results and less desire to "cheat" on 1800 calories than my previous attempt that was at 1400-1500.  3 lbs a week is probably not realistic past the first week or 2.  I'm losing about .5 - 1 lb a week, but I feel like I could keep at 1800 calories forever if I need to unlike my previous attempts at 1200 and 1500 cals that have failed because I couldn't stick to them long-term.  Calorie Count gave me calorie goals that were too low for me, and I've had better results using a calculator I saw others here recommend on the forums: http://www.phord.com/cc/

To make your meals more filling, add vegetables.  Add cucumber, shredded carrot, spinach, onions, red and green pepper to your salads.  Add some cooked vegetables to your dinner.  It helps to add fiber and avoid too much sodium in your foods.

I put it in my crystal light I drink at work (because the plain water tastes a little funky here).  I tried adding it to my oatmeal but the benefiber tended to be kind of gloppy.  I don't know that it really makes them more filling but it does help keep things moving.

If she's 10 she's old enough to make herself a sandwich if she doesn't like what you made for dinner.

Eat more earlier in the day, so that you don't have such a large deficit to make up at the end of the day.  If you're trying to maintain your weight you shouldn't be aiming for a deficit, and your body is encouraging you to eat so much at night because you've been depriving it throughout the day.

It's normal.  Happened to me all the time before I went on BC.

No, because the 230 is for if you're weighing 4 oz of meat after cooking.  It would have started out at 7 or 8 oz raw.

No, cooking meat the way you described does not increase the calories.  The meat will weigh less because of water loss when it is done cooking.  That means that 4 oz of raw chicken might be only 2 or 3 oz cooked chicken.

The 110-120 calories per 4 oz looks like it's correct, if you're weighing it raw.  230 calories is probably if you are weighing the chicken after it's cooked.

You need to check with your doctor, but generally, the answer I've seen is that no, you should not try to lose weight while you're pregnant.  Your current BMI is 22.5, so you are right in the middle of a healthy weight range if you were not pregnant.  Cutting out junk food and eating healthier is good for the baby, restricting calories to diet right now is not.

Almond Joy.  I had a mini sized one left over from Halloween and it was way too sweet.

Pizza rolls were not as good as I remembered.  They were ok but a little disappointing

Original Post by toridl:

I have poor circulation anyway (Reynaud's syndrome) so no matter how large I could be, I think I will always be cold :(

I have Reynaud's too, and I'm cold all the time even though I'm obese.  I had to make fingerless gloves to wear at work in the winter so my hands wouldn't freeze up and go all white and blue.  If you knit, crochet, or sew you can make your own, or get a cheap pair of thin stretchy gloves and cut the fingers off.  People didn't give me any crap about wearing gloves all the time after I would touch them with my corpse fingers.

I've also done wool socks on top of tights to help my feet.  Part of the reason I learned to knit socks was so I could make my own toasty socks.  If you have an office job and your workplace allows it, get a tiny space heater for under your desk.

I also have one of those instant heat packs - you snap a thing inside the pack and it heats up and stays hot for an hour or so.  Mine is reusable, so I just have to boil it in water to "reset" it and can use it again.  This is what they look like, but I think the one I have is a different brand.

It won't be as good as on the stovetop, but here's what you can do:

Steam veggies in microwave (don't completely cook them, they'll cook more when you heat everything up at the end)

Cook some rice if you want (instant can be made in the micro) using low-sodium broth

Add more broth to rice and veggies if needed

Add a little milk, cream, or tomato paste if desired

Add cooked meat, cheese, or whatever else you want

Stir it all up and microwave until everything is hot.

Here's what I would do:

1 bag of frozen mixed veggies, cooked until almost done

Instant rice, cooked with a can of low-sodium chicken broth

Mix together and add a small dab of tomato paste plus more broth if needed

Add canned chicken breast (so it's already cooked) or cook and cut up chicken to add

Mix everything and micro in a large bowl (you may want to cover the top of the bowl with paper towel so if it the soup splatters it won't get all over the microwave)

You can refrigerate or freeze the extra to microwave again later.

You are not going to be able to avoid gaining some weight at first when you increase your calories because your body is going to hold on to everything until it knows you'll keep feeding it enough.  But, eventually your metabolism will recover.  At 14, you need to be eating at least 1500 calories a day and probably a lot more.  Someone can probably give you a maintenance number.

Some of the initial weight you'll gain back will be water retention, so avoid weighing yourself for a couple of weeks after you start eating more.  Raise your calories to your maintenance level until your weight stabilizes, then you can reduce calories a little to lose weight.

You need to be on them for at least one full month before you do not need backup protection.  If I were you, I'd start taking them this month instead of waiting until November.