Chat room - what's on your mind?
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SparkSpringtime69 wrote: »@henridw2095 Thanks for the kind words, and I hear you about eating your feelings. I was actually surprised that I was able to lose about 1/2 lb while at BIL's for two weeks. I did bring a bunch of food to stay on track, but we ended up eating out often and I tend to not make the best choices when eating out
I think that we really need to take a lesson from those older than us and do our best to stay healthy and make good decisions about our lifestyle habits.
@Curvykinkycurls thank you for the words of encouragement. I'm sorry to hear your FIL is in the hospital, I hope he's able to return home soon. It's definitely a lot for one person to deal with. I wish my SIL had let us know what was going on sooner. We would have been happy to go down there and help them out for a while (we're both retired [for now]). Fortunately my BIL can afford to pay for the addition to our home since we wouldn't have been able to swing it. We can change the screened porch to an enclosed sun room so he has a bit of living room space to himself, but the extra bed and bath would be more than we could absorb - the plumbing will probably be the biggest cost.
@mtaratoot That storm you went through was pretty devastating. Sorry to hear your community suffered so.
@maya440 thanks for keeping things on topic. I'm reading through the diosscussion here about protein with interest, and I'd really like to hear what others do about some of the other nutrients that vegans (and some vegetarians) might have trouble getting - zinc, iron, vit. D and calcium especially.
I ask for blood tests periodically for nutritional values that can be tested that way, like B-6, B-12, iron, D.
You didn't mention B-12, which surprises me - maybe you assumed we supplement it? I supplement B-12 even though occasional tests have suggested my levels are OK, because it's pretty cheap & safe . . . and it's essential nutritionally, but not present naturally in plant foods at all. (The B-12 in nutritional yeast is supplemental, not natural.)
I supplement calcium even though my intake is quite high (ovo-lacto veg). That's because I have osteoporosis and my specialist wants me to supplement that. (I suspect the osteoporosis is in part from anti-estrogen drugs I took as part of cancer treatment.) I supplement vitamin D because I live in the North, and also because the osteoporosis specialist said I should. My blood levels have been fine.
My blood levels of iron have been fine, and over-supplementing that is risky. (I'm in menopause, put there by chemotherapy 23 years ago. I need less iron than pre-menopause.) Iron can interfere with zinc absorption.
There have been times when I supplemented zinc, but spot-checking my intake suggested it's OK, so I stopped. Excess supplemental zinc can also have side effects.
Other supplements I take, some for questionable idiosyncratic reasons:
Turmeric
Vitamin K-2 (MK 7)
Magnesium citrate
Algae Omega-3
Creatine
I'm also experimenting with THC/CBN for sleep problems.
With respect to Vitamin D, my osteoporosis specialist was very strong that D-3 was preferred. I was not able to find a fully vegan/vegetarian D-3. I will use non-vegetarian supplements or medications when absolutely necessary, so am now using a D-3 liquid derived from lanolin . . . in theory, at least, the animal didn't die. If others have a better D-3 solution, I'm open to suggestions.
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Sorry, I've been a bit checked out. Things are busy!
I get annual blood tests, including lipids and B12. Due to thyroidectomy, I have also frequently tested calcium and Vitamin D in the last year. I have complete lipid records since 2010 and am able to trace the effects of my diet in how my lipids look. I'm already excited for this year's results in the summer!
Supplements:
I take vit D3 (2x/week only) from Garden of Life, daily B12, calcium (but only started after my thyroidectomy, which screwed up my calcium/Vitamin D metabolism), and magnesium (also started after thyroidectomy). I find it hard to know if a supplement is "high quality".
Thank you for the sources on protein @AnnPT77 - I will take a look when I have time. I'm familiar with the recommendations but have not read any studies on it (and I'm not sure I will go that far, as long as my intake is well within what's safe and recommended for relatively healthy, active people).
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@mtaratoot do you know the Happy Scale app ? it is really great, it does the weight trend for you and indeed you don't need to believe daily weights.0
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@Maya440
I am familiar with it, but I don't use it. I have an Excel spreadsheet that I use. Two actually. One I use to track my weight, body fat, body water composition, and bone density. From fat percentage, I calculate total pounds of fat. On that sheet, I have a running ten-day average column, and once a week I do a seven-day average for a couple challenges here on MFP. My other spreadsheet is just for weight tracking. It uses a weighted moving average. It does that by looking at yesterday's calculation and making one change based on today's weight. Yesterday's number relied on the day before. There's a "Scale Factor" that I can change if I want to tweak how many days it "looks back." I have a Google Sheet version that I'm happy to share with anyone. I actually made a second one for people who only weigh once a week and still want the smoothing. I think the daily works best.
I have graphing features for these spreadsheets. This is what my data looks like since September 2020. I call that time "The Big Oops." It's when my weight went back up after successfully maintaining for a few years. It's bounced around since then, and even when it was up it was still in healthy range. Like the rest of us, I am a work in progress and always will be. I have a version of this graph that labels a few things like the two times I had COVID and lost weight, the time I went on a month long rafting trip and gained weight, and another time something happened that ended up in an unexpected rapid loss. That's the very low dip a year ago. The good news, for now at least, is I'm back in my ideal maintenance range. I guess I got serious again. We'll see if I can keep it up.
I also use an online tool called TrendWeight. If you look at 2 weeks, 4 weeks, or 3 months, it also gives a projected weight in the future. You can also look at 6 months, 1 year, all data, or you can look at custom dates. Here's my chart for the past three months:
So yeah, I probably am not going to use another app, especially since my spreadsheet has data going back years.0 -
@Curvykinkycurls regarding testing - I'm in the US and I ask for tests about once a year when going to doctor for annual wellness exam.
@AnnPT77 you're right, I did just assume every vegan knows they should supplement B12 - I probably shouldn't do that since there are sometimes people new to this group that are just starting out and may not know that
How do you spot-check zinc?? I looked up the D2/D3 difference and read that 2 comes from plants and 3 from animals. The article also said the D3 is a little more potent, probably why your doc wants you to use it.
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/vitamin-d2-vs-d3-which-should-i-take-for-bone-health
Last test I had (11/22) showed normal range for B-12 and Folate; high end of normal range for calcium; normal range for iron; and great lipid panel. My doctor said that I should just keep doing whatever it was that I was doing because she had not seen many patients my age (early 60s) with such great bloodwork! I did not get a magnesium, zinc or D test that time, so I definitely will be asking for those this year. I was also not 100% vegan then, so I want to go this year after 100% for a few months to see what differs.
@henridw2095 good for you for keeping past records. It's great to see how things change over the years so you can judge what's working well for you and what might not be.
I currently take B-12 a couple times a week and a calcium, magnesium, D supplement once a week (from late spring to early fall I take just a calcium/magnesium one since I get tons of sun then). I stopped taking the iron supplement since that last blood test was good and I don't want to overdo the iron. Since I'm working hard to avoid cheese now, I'll probably up my B-12 to every other day until my next test.0 -
@SparkSpringtime69, when I said "spot check zinc", what I did was take a couple of typical days of my eating, and look up the zinc content. That suggested I was doing OK on zinc. (I've done it for other nutrients at times, too.) As a second more rough check, sometimes I'll do a web search for "foods high in zinc" (or whatever nutrient I'm concerned about) to see whether I have some good sources in regular rotation.
A very mainstream but IMO helpful source for nutrient information is this, from US National Institutes of Health:
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/list-all/
When they're available there, I particularly like the "Health Professional" versions of the fact sheets. I don't find them too technical to understand, and they have more info/links to supporting research. One component of those (or the "Consumers" ones) is information about which foods are high in the nutrient.0 -
Good morning friends !
Last day of the week. I hope you're doing OK. I don't have much planned for this week-end except a run with friends on Saturday
I'm nowhere near where I'd like to be in terms of my diet and weight, but I'm quite happy with my sporting performance. I'm starting to get a good feel for swimming again. My first outing on the bike was satisfactory. There's still the running to do, but I'm confident!
So my objective for the next days is to eat better.1 -
@Maya440 eating (even) better sounds like a great plan, although I doubt you actually eat poorly.
I have Saturday completely off, it feels like a vacation 😂. On Sunday I will be working a few hours. Most likely I‘ll head to the gym on Saturday, but otherwise do very little (aside from cleaning the piggies). I might meal prep a bit. The temps are warm, so I might walk run (wun) outside this weekend. I could probably run 5k in one go, but might not do that yet to give my body a chance to adapt to running. I started walk/runs one month ago, after several years of not running at all. So it will be 3x10 min at slow pace, with 2-3 min walking in between.
My husband started started running again too, he didn’t get inspired by my weight loss or the weight training, but couldn’t resist the running. It’s possible we’ll do a big Chicago 8k race in March (likely with some walks in between, since I don’t want to run further than 5k this year). I think one of the biggest mistakes new runners make is to go too fast or too far, too soon. I have done that before, not this time around.1 -
I love the fact that you go slowly with the running and respect your body.
Most people are unable to do so.
You're right. I don't eat poorly. My meals are correct. I just eat too much treats (and a bit too much calories as well). I know I can do better but I need to have a "why" and now in the middle of winter my "why" is not that obvious
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@Maya440
It's kind of funny - now that I'm retired, I like to stay home on weekends and do chores. I "get out" on weekdays when many people are stuck at work. For hiking, the trails are less crowded. For grocery shopping - the aisles are generally less crowded. One exception is paddling. I have to do that when others are available. I'm looking forward to getting back on the water. I had 69 days on the water last year, which was well short of my overly ambitious goal of 100 days.
Tomorrow though, I have to get up shortly after 05:00 and drive through the dark over the Coast Range to go to the hands-on portion for a big first aid class. I have to re-certify every two years. It's a requirement for one of my volunteer "jobs."
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We all make mistakes, don't we? But if you can't forgive yourself, you'll always be an exile in your own life. -Curtis Sittenfeld (American writer)1
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I should also do that kind of class again. I am trained as a pharmacist but I work in a pharma company so I never practice and in the meantime, I have forgotten most of it.
What is your goal for 2024 then, 80 days on the water ?
I would like to swim 200km this year (in addition to completing an half ironman but both goals go hand in hand)0 -
I haven't set an on-water goal for this year. I may or may not. I do want to get back out.
The class we take is a much higher level than what most people take, but it's far less intensive than the Wilderness First Aid class I have taken in the distant past, and even that is way less intensive than Wilderness First Responder. One of these days I'd like to take that class. I get really stressed in these classes. In the few times I've needed to call on my training though, I seem to get past that and do what I've been trained. I find it's very interesting that after doing it enough times, it just clicks. When we do rescue scenarios, I get all shaky. If we talk about shoulder injuries, I sometimes have to put my head between my knees to keep from passing out. Yeah. That bad. I hope I never have to use my skills again.1 -
Oh I get it. I have trouble with blood too.
Another topic, back to my never-ending reflection on eating
Since the beginning of January, I've been rather indecisive about the way I eat. I don't want to go on a restriction that would take me back to my old binge habits, but at the same time I want to lose 2-3kg.
For a long time I fasted in the morning and I really liked the feeling, I was used to it. But I stopped in order to be "off restriction".
At the beginning of the year, I first thought of "kitchen closed" at 7.30pm (and keeping a breakfast), but I have to admit that I have a lot of trouble respecting this rule.
Last night I had an epiphany: since I find it hard not to snack in the evening, I'm going to plan ahead and allow myself to do so. 4 meals a day: 12:30, 15:30, 18:30 and 21:00.
I will only keep a breakfast on Sundays (family time) and on Mondays (bike in the morning).
My evening snack will be one of my recurring cravings, 40g of cereals / 20g nuts and 20g chocolate... I eat healthily the rest of the day (and these foods always end up in my stomach anyway, so I might as well plan ahead).
Trial for 30 days, then conclusions!
Does anyone else also plan a snack time in the evening?1 -
I eat in the evening if I want. I have never thought it's a problem, although lately I've tried to minimize going to bed with a full belly. For sleep though, not for eating management. Sometimes, if I'm hungry and have room in my allowance, I'll make a batch of popcorn with nutritional yeast. Snacky, crunchy, salty, and with fiber and a little protein. More of both from the yeast.
I have six "meals" named, but only some are time-based. They are labeled:- Coffee Time
- Daytime Foods
- Good Evening
- How to Categorize
- Intentionally Left Blank
- Mine Goes to Eleven
These names only mean something to me, but it works for me. I am almost never hungry first thing in the morning. I eat a first "meal" later in the morning. Lately it's been raw oats that "soak" for an hour in plain yogurt with something added. Today it's just cinnamon. It's often cacao nibs or apples.2 -
I was eating a lot of overnight oats when I started being vegan but I don’t anymore.
I am often frustrated because it is high in calories for a small bowl.
I love the category “good evening” 🥰1 -
@AnnPT77 thanks for the link to the NIH data. I used to use a site other than MFP to track my food/exercise, but they shut down so I moved to this one. The old one would let you track a whole bunch of things with your food diary, here you have to pay a premium to track more than a few
.
I had a great yoga class today and felt energized when I got home. Straightened up my desk and put all the Christmas decorations back into the attic (the boxes and tree have been sitting in my hallway for about 2 weeks now, but dragging them up the pull-down stairs is a pain so we've been procrastinating ) 2 -
I don't tend to snack after dinner too often. The only time I find I want to munch is if I'm drinking wine. Yet another reason to give up the wine!!1
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@SparkSpringtime69, I don't think premium (which I have) tracks any more nutrients than free MFP (which I used during all of weight loss and early maintenance).
Premium does let you dig a little more into details (like more details of which foods gave you most of a specific nutrients recently); and you can set macro goals to the gram instead of 5% increments: Stuff like that.
But it doesn't track any micronutrients that free MFP doesn't (extra vitamins or minerals), in terms of what one can see on the logging page or on reports.0 -
I also have premium, mainly because it eliminates ads and allows me to use time stamps (Helpful when I was timing meds and supplements, now I use them to pre track). For actual weight loss and nutrition tracking, I also don’t think it makes a difference0
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Thanks for the info on premium ladies, I guess I'll stick with the free version.2
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Same here I have the premium version but it is mainly to get rid of the ads.
I like to have different calorie goals depending on the days of the week as well. And the weekly summary.
Happy Sunday dear herbivores friends !0 -
@Maya440 ah yes, I also
sometimes change my calorie goals for the day and think it’s useful, but the ads was what made me renew it. I tried a few days without in November and they really got on my nerves. I don’t think the additional insights are really worth it (they tell me that I really like coffee 😉, for example). Although it is nice to know where most of my protein for the week came from, it’s usually from the foods I eat consistently (oats) rather than varied foods that have lots of protein.
Happy Sunday, herbivores :-)1 -
I forget how much disdain I have for the ads until/unless I go off premium and they come back. But yeah - that's a big deal.
For me one of the really great advantages to premium is the bar-code scanner. Until a year ago or so, it was available for all. It has quirks, and you still have to make sure the data that gets pulled up is accurate (apparently Trader Joe's likes to reuse bar-codes when they discontinue products and add new ones), but it really helps me scads.1 -
Hello dear friends !
How are you doing ?
It is already the last day of January. Time flies.
This week started great with a long ride on Monday and a very nice evening with friends yesterday.
I thought I managed the food quite well but the scale is up (both yesterday morning and confirmed this morning). Having long rides is always tricky. I eat more and I almost always put on weight...
There is nothing to do then continue eating healthy and see what that brings me.
Let's go for a healthy great day.0 -
Hello there,
Didn't post anything for a while.
Starting from a discussion on another forum on processed food that I wanted to decrease I am now reading "bad sugar" from Allen Carr. I am at the middle of the book and he has me almost convinced to stop bad sugar altogether (well except rice, potatoes and pasta). I still think it is going to be difficult tough.
Now that I am almost ready to give it a try, my brain wonders about snacks. I have always eaten a consequent snack in the afternoon. It is always sugary... Be it healthy (oats or raw protein bar) or less healthy (ice cream and cookies). I am wondering what I could have. Savory oats are fine from time to time (in winter especially) and I like nuts, fruits and avocado but it seems the options are limited. I don't see myself cooking for 3 meals a day. I like snacking to be easy and quick.
Any idea ?0 -
Hello there,
Didn't post anything for a while.
Starting from a discussion on another forum on processed food that I wanted to decrease I am now reading "bad sugar" from Allen Carr. I am at the middle of the book and he has me almost convinced to stop bad sugar altogether (well except rice, potatoes and pasta). I still think it is going to be difficult tough.
Now that I am almost ready to give it a try, my brain wonders about snacks. I have always eaten a consequent snack in the afternoon. It is always sugary... Be it healthy (oats or raw protein bar) or less healthy (ice cream and cookies). I am wondering what I could have. Savory oats are fine from time to time (in winter especially) and I like nuts, fruits and avocado but it seems the options are limited. I don't see myself cooking for 3 meals a day. I like snacking to be easy and quick.
Any idea ?- Cheese and sourdough bread
- hummus and vegetables - https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/classic-hummus/. I usually make a double batch and freeze half of it.
- seed crackers (gluten-free) - https://minimalistbaker.com/easy-seed-crackers-with-everything-bagel-seasoning/. This sat in my recipe box for a long time before trying it. Once I tried it, I now can't stop making it. Super simple and tasty.
- frozen yogurt bark - https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2022/09/01/frozen-yogurt-bark-recipe/. Hmmm, perhaps leave out the honey and just rely on the fruit for sweetness. I think I may have done it that way. I ended up making them in silicone mini muffin liners so they were a easy size to pop into my mouth. Lasted a long time in the freezer.
- popcorn
- hard boiled egg - I make 7 of these at one time so I have one for every day of the week for my salad
- egg bites - https://www.acedarspoon.com/breakfast-egg-muffins/. There are so many variations out there of these. Also put these into silicone mini muffin liners - freezes well after baking
- crispy chickpeas - https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/crispy-spiced-roasted-chickpeas/. Lots of recipes out there
- crostinis - lots of variety out there and can be made out of anything (see the first item of cheese and sourdough). https://vanillaandbean.com/seared-mushroom-crostini-herb-whipped-goat-cheese/
- energy bites - https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-tahini-energy-balls-256186. These don't have added sugar, but the dates are very sweet
I'll stop here. Can you tell I like to cook (and eat)? :-)
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Thank you so much.
I will print the recipes and look into adapting my snacks.0 -
How is everyone doing? I’ve been pushing very hard at work and have been cooking very simply (sheetpans, oats…)…so I’ve been a bit quiet.
My weight is now at a point I can be ok with, although I plan to lose up to 9-11 more lbs eventually. I probably mentioned before that I struggle with PMS (it started either after my thyroidectomy last spring or due to eating at a deficit). My symptoms aren’t terrible, but I’m hungry and irritable in the second (luteal) phase of my cycle. I learned to not schedule meetings at work right around when my period starts, because I might regret how they go.
Anyhow, since my weight is more under control, I decided to try alternating between cutting calories for 20 days and eating near maintenance during some or much of the luteal phase of my cycle. I also cut down on coffee, since my PMS feels a bit like I had too much coffee (which I probably did in the past). I’m curious to see how it goes!
The other thing I noticed is that I feel weirdest (irritable, like over caffeinated) right after lunch, whether I had coffee after lunch or not. I love the awareness consistent tracking builds and will have a look at the nutritional breakdown of my lunch.
It’s almost March, and I can’t wait to start running outside (probably in the mornings after Spring forward)!2 -
Hey there everyone! @henridw2095 i struggle with pms too! Though I have a very regular cycle, the pms is awful. Though I’m curious to see if my switch from less processed foods help with any of my symptoms. I’m in my ovulation week now.
I have about 50-60 lbs to lose. I am at almost my heaviest I’ve been in 7 years. But I feel confident I will be back on track for good. It’s amazing what getting out of a depression, stressful time can do for your motivation.
I’ve been going for walks in my neighborhood daily now for 2 weeks, and walks at my favorite park 3 times a week. I live in the Pacific Northwest but I go for walks rain or shine.
I hope to start running soon but I have a foot injury from a year ago I’m still healing from.
Anyway as far as emotionally goes I’m in a really great place. My schedule is super busy but I was able to step away from my full time job into a part-time job I feel great about. I’m also a full time college student and a mom so I think I was just in full burn out mode trying to work full time and that’s why the weight came on.2
