Posts by ivyrose

I eat them and keep them on hand for all the same reasons other have mentioned, i.e. something quick to eat when I don't have much time, lunch at work, the portion control thing.  I also keep slimfast on hand for that very purpose.  I find that I can grab a can of slimfast for lunch when I'm busy on Saturdays instead of that pb&J sandwich I used to eat.  I never have slimfast for more than one meal a day. 

As I got the portion thing under control, I started using my cookbook to find recipes, mostly casseroles, with 500 and under calories per portion.  I made those and divided up the portions immediately and froze my own TV dinners. 

I would love to be a a part of this group.  I am 59 and have lost 15 with CC so far.  I want to lose another 55 lbs by my 60th birthday in August 09.  I need to add exercise to my routine too.

I am adding all three of you as a friend.

My favorite is very simple.  Sprinkle lemon pepper over and bake in 400 degrees for about 30 minutes.  I use a convection oven so it could take a little longer.  I like the edges crispy so I do bake it a little longer.  That's it.

It is good that you want to understand as this works.  The more information you have, the better you will be at making good decisions about your diet. 

Aside from the need for nutrients to grow and develop as spacelogic mentioned, My understanding is that the younger you are the more calories you burn naturally.(Maybe that's because of the growing.)  So, you need more calories because you burn more calories than a 30, 40, or 50 year old your same weight, height, and activity level. 

You need a deficit of only 500 calories to lose about 1.5 lbs. per week.  1.5 lb. loss a week is recommended because it is sustainable over the long hall.  People who cut way back as you are suggesting cannot sustain it and the yoyoing begins. 

Another reason to have no more than a 500 cal deficit to start is that after dieting for a while, as you probably know, people tend to plateau.  If your calories are already so low that you body thinks you are starving, you have no more calories to cut out.  Your body's response to lowering your calorie count even more will be to become more efficient and burn less calories. 

By the way, I can't imagine what a 300 calories dinner looks like.  It's good you had a nice breakfast and lunch. 

I agree that you are eating too few calories.  I used the CC tools and came up with no less than 1400 calories per day for you.  Of course, I didn't know your age which can factor in.  I used 25. 

The Sleeping Doll by Jeffrey Deaver, the Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, The Shack by William Young.

I love reading and like all kinds of books.  Here are a few I have enjoyed recently.

Sleeping Doll is a crime mystery with a female detective/psychologist who is adept at reading body language.

 The Historian is a thick book, an unusual vampire story that crosses generations of vampire hunters who are historians.

The Shack is an unusual but inspirational story.  Man whose 6 yr. old daughter was kidnapped and presumed murdered (never found)3 years ago goes back to the shack where her bloody dress was found.  There he has a meeting with God.

Please, listen to all of these smart people.  It works! It really works.  Follow what the tools tell you to do and you will reach your healthy weight.  Plus you won't need to wear down your body with two hours of exercise daily to be healthy and fit.   Exercise is wonderful and I love the way it makes me feel.  But, you can overdo.

Rather than use the calories for one piece I like to use the oz. and weigh the fruit.  I found that 1 cup of pureed avocado is 384 calories.  That is 8.1 oz.

You can also enter all of the incredients you used in the calculator tool on this website for your recipes.  It can give you a per serving calorie count.

Avocados are very high in calories.  That is why I changed from guacamole to fresh salsa when I want a snack with a Mexican flavor.

I'm from the south where the sweet tea is wonderful.  I had switched to unsweetened and for a long time it was fine.  Now, I have discovered ice water with a lemon wedge.  It is wonderful and I find a great substitute.  Of course, I love anything lemon. 

If you used this website to determine the number of calories you need per day to lose weight, you would have entered an activity level.  Any exercise that is not included in that activity level should be entered in the activity log.  The burn meter will show you how many calories you have burned throughout the day.  The eat meter shows the calories you have eaten, if you are logging in all that you eat and the calories are correct.  The difference in those two numbers(burn meter and eat meter) is your calorie deficit for the day.  You need to keep it at about 500 to lose .5 to 1.5 lbs per week.  This is a reasonable weight loss. 

You can eat more (something nutritious is best) as long as the daily deficit remains at 500.

Personally, I recorded a sedentary lifestyle when calculating calories needed.  I record any extra exercise and think of it as just extra help to meet my deficit for the day and do not consume a corresponding number of calories.  I am losing about 1.5 lbs. per week, so it is working.

I know this is going to be difficult to do.  You need to stop weighing yourself.  Your body will naturally have a few pounds fluctuation and it can be very discouraging watching the pounds go up when you are trying so hard to maintain or lose.  Please weigh no more than one time per week and always at the same time.  Rather than have weight loss as your goal, make being healthy your goal. 

1300 calories is a calorie count for losing weight.  You said your weight is around  126 - 129.  You may need a maintenance calorie count.  From the weight you mentioned, it sounds like you either are at a good weight or very near. 

Use the tools on this website to calculate the calories you burn daily.  If you have lost weight since calculating they may be inaccurate now.   Another thing might be that you are not being accurate in the number of calories you are consuming (estimating)and/or you are not logging the calories.  If you don't log the calories soon after eating, it is very easy to forget.

Try to spread your calories out over the day, so that you don't end up being starved.   If you wait till the end of the day to consume all or most of your calories, you are more likely to eat anything you can get your hands on and more likely to eat larger portions. 

Lastly, exercise.  Just a 20 min walk or 20 min of free weights each day will make you feel so good.  It takes away that bloated feeling, too.

Salmon - Heat oven to 375. Sprinkle lemon pepper over the salmon. Spray pam on a shallow pam and add the salmon.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Delicious

Chicken Breast - Set oven at 400.  If they are deboned.  Pound them until they are even thickness.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  In a shallow bowl, combine two egg whites, 2 teaspoon cornstarch and 1 teaspoon lemon juice.  In another bowl, you will have 2 cups seasoned bread crumbs.  Dip flattened chicken in first the egg white mixture and then the bread crumbs to coat.  In a skillet on top of the stove, spray with pam, and add 1 Tablespoon oil (med high heat).  Cook chicken for just 6 minutes on each side.  Then transfer the pan with chicken to the oven for another 8 min.  If you time it as suggested the chicken should come out just right.

I don't normally cook fresh tuna.  But the important thing is to not overcook it.  It is not tasty when cooked too long.

Lean Steaks - Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic and broil.  Check your cookbooks to see how long on each side.

BJben offers the best comment of all.  Very, very good.  The only thing not covered it that when I get in that obsessive mode I may obsess over a food that I may not normally really care about.  Doughnuts for instance.  I am not really a doughnut eater, but sometimes I get into what I can only call a rebellious mode and will go for the doughnut. 

Question:  At that point, should I just have a doughnut or a portion of and move on or should I substitute another healthier food?  I find sometimes stalling will allow the urge to pass but not always.  Eventually, I do get that doughnut.

You really don't need to cook the corn.  The only reason to cook corn on the cob is to make it hot.  Most people really do over cook it.  I make a salad similar to yours with orzo and do not cook the corn.