Posts by g0dzilli

Not that you need more advice, but...

In terms of fruits and veggies that keep a long time (other than frozen, obviously those keep), root vegetables tend to keep the longest.  These include carrots, potatoes, rutabagas, turnips, parsnips, sweet potatoes and the like.  All are delicious and versatile, in my opinion.  And, if they are starting to go south, that is the perfect time to throw them in a soup or stew, which they are great in.  I also find that celery and cabbage keep pretty long (and same deal, when the celery loses its crisp, it is still delicious cooked or in a soup).

 Apples easily keep for 3 weeks or more.  Tomatoes and cucumbers last pretty long, if not super ripe to start with.  Oranges keep pretty well, but probably not more than 2 weeks.  Fresh berries, bananas, stone fruits - really most fruit - need to be eaten in less than a week.  This just means you need to plan.  If I buy a crate of peaches in season, I know I'm going to have the pleasure of eating two a day so they won't go bad before I scarf them down!

Oh, if you like salads, buy the hydroponic butter lettuce.  That's the only variety of lettuce I've seen with the roots still attached and if you keep them damp the lettuce will stay alive for weeks.  Seriously, I know I've kept one for at least a month with no problem.

Spinach goes bad pretty fast once you open the bag, but I find it easy to eat quick.  Put it in salads, sandwiches, soups, smoothies, or cook it down -- pretty much any meal will do, so you can eat it quick even if you are just one person.

Hope that helps!

To the OP, Donndoh, I feel like I could have written your words myself a year ago.  In fact, for a lot fo the past 10 years, I felt like you have described.  However, over the past year things have gotten a lot better, so I hope my thoughts can be of some help for you.  For me, this issue wasn't just about weight loss, so I'm not going to go out of my way to make my explanations related to that - you can imagine similar health-related examples easily.

10 years is a long time, and, if I hadn't found some understanding for why I had felt that way, I would be embarrassed that it lasted so long.  I tried to think logically about the issues I was struggling with (a good idea in general), but logic only works if the facts you are basing it on are correct.  For example, I thought a lot about my capabilities - I'm a very smart and capable person (if I do say so myself), and I'm sure you are too.  As a result, I had an idea of what to expect from myself - how much progress I could make in my work each day, how many hours I should work, exercise, you get the idea.  I also had an idea of what other people around me were actively achieving.  It seemed like they were reliable, successful, and diligent.  Put those two things together and I had really high expectations for myself and, for me, that turned out to be a styfling amount of pressure rather than an encouraging goal.  

Over time and continuing to fall short of my expectations, I learned that I was a disappointment.  For example, I used to know that no matter what I would get my college homework done, staying up all night if I had to, but that stopped happening.  I never really thought of myself as an organized or reliable person, but there were several similar things that I thought I could count on about myself.  After continuing to fall short of my own expectations in a lot of areas, I learned that I could not trust myself anymore.  In reality, I failed to make adjustments given that my classes were getting more difficult.  In general, I was slow to notice AND adjust to changes in my life.  I also wasn't observant about my own characteristics in general (that's just me).

I definitely questioned myself and looked for a solution many times, tried to start over without success many times.  I never ever realized how unrealistic my expectations were - in fact, I still struggle with them a bit.  To me, they seem innately reasonable -- but that is an illusion.  I wasn't accounting for my being human, though I thought I was.  In fact, I thought my standards were low, because I noticed how little success if took to improve my mood or make me feel good about myself for a day.

 I also wasn't accounting for what 'real life' is actually like.  I was including comparisons between myself and how other people represent themselves.  I even thought I was accounting for the tendency for people to brag and exagerate (and leave out the bad stuff) --but I wasn't really.  Over time the comparisons got to me.  

As a contrast, and what I consider healthy thinking, I like to remember something my advisor once told me:  "However long you estimate it will take to finish a task, you are off by a factor of Pi.  Even if you have accounted for the Pi."  (You can tell I'm a scientist, since we sneak in factors of Pi even in our mantras)!

I also learned that I have the tendency to avoid things that are stressing me out, rather than deal with them - something that is pretty common and doesn't make you a failure!  Simply recognizing that this is a habit of mine has really helped me feel better and feel more successful.  I'm still not perfect, but I don't expect to be!

I also tended not to ask for help because personal problems can only be fixed by one person - you.  But, that too, was flawed logic, because people can help you figure things out even if they can't do the legwork for you.  I did feel like asking for help was hopeless, but I was definitely desperate enough to do it at times, saying "I feel like a failure," or "I know that I'm capable of more."   Without sharing the reasons explaining those conclusions it was hard for anyone to see a way to help. 

One other thing that may or may not have helped me to get over the hump was admitting how bad things were.  I don't mean for a day, or just to myself, before trying to get optimistic and make a new plan to fix things.  I mean for a couple of weeks or months.  I admitted to myself that things sucked at the moment, no whitewashing or saying they could be worse.  If someone asked my how things were going I would say "they suck" or "I feel depressed."  You don't have to get into any explanation if you don't feel like it.  Most people get that life can be challenging at times.  After a couple of months and figuring more things out, I eventually felt ready to give a somewhat different response.

There is probably more I could say, but I have no idea if this is helpful to you or not and I don't like sounding like I have a bunch of strange 'mantras' to live by.  Plus, I've said a lot already!  For me, it came down to learning to think differently (a challenging task) and understand my human tendencies.  Feel free to friend me or message me directly, if you wish.

kmeineke you are totally inspiring me to push harder.  You've lost more weight than I have total (so I might expect you to be having a harder time with plateaus than I am) and also during this challenge.  I'm proud of my total 30 pounds lost, but your progress tells me not to be discouraged or be too afraid of failing to really try.  Plus, you're so upbeat!

Thanks everyone, I'm finding doing this challenge really fun, and a good way to keep me from just letting the weeks flow by (I hope!).  

AshleySkinny what!  No, no no.  You are doing great girl!  Down over 3 pounds in 2 weeks?  That is amazing progress.  Your 0.8 lb gain this week might not even be real, just a fluctuation.  Keep up the hard work and don't get down on yourself.  You must be doing a lot of things right to be showing progress already!

Week 1 -   Oct 3:  225.6      Oct 5: ----      Change: ----
Week 2 -   Oct 8: ----      Oct 12: ----    Change: ----
Week 3 -   Oct 15: ----    Oct 19: ----    Change: ----
Week 4 -   Oct 22: ----    Oct 26: ----    Change: ----
Week 5 -   Oct 29: ----    Nov 2: ----      Change: ----
Week 6 -   Nov 5: ----     Nov 9: ----    Change: ----
Week 7 -   Nov 12: ----   Nov 16: ----    Change: ----
Week 8 -   Nov 19: ----   Nov 23: ----    Change: ----
Week 9 -   Nov 26: ----   Nov 30: ----    Change: ----
Week 10 - Dec 3: ----     Dec 7: ----       Change: ----
Week 11 - Dec 10: ----   Dec 14: ----     Change: ----
Week 12 - Dec 17: ----   Dec 21: ----     Change: ----

Week 13 - Dec 24: ----  Dec 28: -----    Change: ----

Start Weight for challenge:     225.6

Today's Weight for challenge: ----

Overall change for challenge:  ----

Hey All!  Call me Zilli.  Here is just a quick intro to me and my dealio:

A couple years ago I lost 30 pounds and, amazingly, I have kept it off!  My preliminary goal is to lose 50 more pounds, but in the remainder of this year I'm going for a loss of 15 pounds (reach 210).  I have lots of my own reasons to lose weight, but right now I have my best friend's wedding in March in mind.  Hoping to rock it as maid of honor - and I will with a bit of focus and the right attitude between now and then.  It is my first time doing one of these challenges, and I'm excited for the group dynamic!  Let's get going!

 

170 g  dried cranberries
142 g  dried cherries
544 g  almonds, natural
566 g  GHIRADELLI 60% CACAO


Read more: http://caloriecount.about.com/sweet-antioxida nt-blend-cherries-recipe-r774344#ixzz1bQDttqQ y

This recipe used a big container of almonds and two bags of chocolate chips...plus 1 bag each of dried cherries and cranberries (5 oz and 6 oz, respectively).  I love it and it lasts me two weeks. 

One 1/2 C scoop is equal to about 2.5-3 g, according to my scale at home and that gives me about 11 calories/baggie.

I think you made a mistake somewhere in your measurements - there is no way 1/2 cup of this is only 3 grams or 11 calories.  An aspirin tablet is about 5g and 1/2 cup of this would be around 200+ calories.  I'm not saying it isn't healthy, and it sounds delicious, but in case it is messing up your calorie counting I thought you should know.  I love eating trail mixes like these too.

You're diet sounds pretty healthy - maybe it is too much fruit, but if it were me I wouldn't care.  I mean, how close to perfection do you need to be?  If you are gaining weight, check that you are estimating your calories burned and eaten well enough.  If you are aiming for a 500 cal deficit per day it is easy to accidentally be off by half that (and not even be able to tell you are losing 1/2 pound a week).

Sounds like you have been eating a lot of fruit for a while - if gaining weight is new, then what has changed?  Is your exercise dropping off?  Or, if your diet has altered, perhaps you are just eating food that literally weighs more?  Say what you will, fruit and veggies have a lot of mass - if you've increased your amounts of these foods recently, you might just be carrying around an extra pound or 2 of 'food weight' - similar to 'water weight' - which means you haven't gained any meaningful body weight/fat.  

But, you expressed interest in eating less fruit.  My idea would just be to start with one of the times you usually eat fruit and replace it with a veggie.  You might choose a sweet veggie, like a baked sweet potato, carrots or red bell pepper, to make the change easier for you.

I can't believe the difference 35 pounds made!  I also like your snazzy new outfit! :-)

You look great and never forget what an accomplishment this is.  Getting below 200 is nothing by comparison.  You can do it!

I think I must need to step things up - it took me a year to lose less than that (30 pounds).  Don't get me wrong, I'm still very proud, but if I can be healthy and lose a bit quicker then...

Good luck to all of us!

Original Post by scalebeater:

Try the bodyglide stick on those thighs!  Its for runners to prevent blisters on the feet when running, and it works well for that, but also good to prevent chafing between thighs when wearing skirts w bare legs in the summer.  Sport goods store.

Not ashamed to say that I will need this!  Thanks for the tip!

I make 100% whole wheat bread.  I have  bread maker which is great, but lately I've also been learning how to make really expert things....like baguettes and boules.  While the carbs in flour make bread semi-calorie dense, whole grains are incredibly good for you.  Plus, many bread recipes are naturally fat free (or very low fat).  Here is the recipe I use for the boule (minus most of the salt, which is way too high for my tastes), which is made for beginners.  I recommend white whole wheat flour, as the (perhaps) more common red whole wheat has an aftertaste that is too strong for many.  They have it many places, including Trader Joes:

http://www.azcentral.com/style/hfe/recipes/ar ticles/0319bread0319rec01.html

I keep the dough in my fridge so I can cook a fresh loaf whenever.  It will keep for a few weeks.  When I make the bread, it is a smallish loaf - one that can be eaten in a day or two, so that the crusty deliciousness is at its best.