Any More Chubby Twenties?

Mandi, I am ALWAYS up for a vacay. Hahaha, I've lived on vacay for the past year--first in the rockies and now here :P As for seafood ideas, I like to chuck some shrimp into salads. A good way to cook them, though it is kind of high sugar, is to add a spoonful or two of orange juice concentrate, some balsamic vinegar and a little tiny bit of butter and cook! Popping that on a salad, the OJ/Balsamic/Butter mix cooks into a glaze that is great for a dressing substitute, and shrimp are lot in fat anyway so you don't need to feel guilty about the butter inclusion

Jenn, I guess it all dependson what you call a resort...I don't call it that, because I worked at a REAL resort in Lake Louise (I was at the Fairmont chateau, and we would always go party at the Banff Springs for super cheap becuase of our discounts too--now THAT is a friggin awesome resort hotel!) We're kind of a jungle retreat kind of thing. It used to be a coffee plantation before it was a hotel. You can take a look here: http://www.hotelcasagrande.com or look at some of the photos I've taken here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/11230553@N06/

How's your GI diet going? You've been at it for, what, a month now? Are you finding yourself well adjusted to it?


Keri, I'm a baby when it comes to cold weather too, that's why i fled south for the winter! (well, in actuality, it's more the 9 months of monumental snow I was looking at if I stayed in the rockies)

Chera325, if you're finding yourself ravenous, go to your tools and check your BMR. If you're well under, that might be why you're so hungry. I found that, while Iw asn't HUNGRY, I was SUPER CRANKY and really moody/depressed when I was aiming for only 1200cals. I've upped to 1400 and feel a lot better. If you're not eating your exercise calories, maybe try starting to do that, too. Don't beat yourself up for going over. Remeber that 1lb = 3500cal so going over by 200 isn't going to have your progress grinding to a halt. The advice my moms is always giving me when I'm feeling down and discouraged is this: Health, fitness and weight loss takes years, not days. Be patient and persistent, and you'll get there.

Greetings newbies! I'm wowed at how many fresh faces we keep getting, it's great!

Good Morning everyone!! Yay it's Friday!!! This morning didn't get off to the greatest start... my cousin had her baby this morning and he is very sick The delivery went great, but he came out blue, they couldn't get him to take a breath. They found out its not his lungs, its his heart. A team from Mary Bridge Childrend Hopsital is coming down to get him and bring him up to Tacoma close to where I live, my fam lives about 2 hours south. So... the whole family is completely terrified, I still don't know the whole story, I am just getting bits and pieces from my Mom. I guess his heartrate is WAY too high, and oxygen level bery low, I don't know what all that means.
Mandijo- An HRM is a heartrate monitor. Its monitors your heartrate and can give a more accurate estimate of the calories you are burning. The best kind come w/ a comfortable chest strap, and a stop watch that you can enter all of your info in and it wil record all the info... very cool if you are tired of guessing how many caloies you burned from exercise (most machines are very off, so is the MFP database I noticed) Also, I love cooking seafood, its my fave. Do you like salmon? A lot of people think they don't b/c in a lot of parts of the country 'farm raised' is the norm. Wild caught may be hard to come by in the midwest. I live in the Pacific Northwest, so there is an abundance year round! YAY!! Never ever buy farm raised!!! The taste is horrible and the fish are diseased and yucky swimming in those fish farms. BUT if you do come across wild caught salmon I live to mix some fat free sour cream w/ some fresh topped dil and few squeezes of fresh lemon, just spread it on the fish. Then bake in the oven. VERY yummy, or if you want a more simple approach squeeze lemon then season as you like. Most seafood counters have some spices on the counter that are special for whatever kind of dish you are preparing. Also, you can try this w/ halibut! Halibut is delicious, and has a more hearty less-fishy than most flavor. Here is a great shrimp recipe my husband and I made last week, it was really yummy, we added more shrimp though FYI I have heard shrimp and crab are pretty high in cholesterol so if that is something you are concerned about then you may not want to have it more than once a week...
Shrimp in Tomato Sauce over Pasta
*Prep time- 15 minutes Serves 4

1 tbls olive oil
1 small bunch scallions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
3/4 cup dry white wine ( I only had red wine and it turned out great, if you don't have any wine at all that’s fine too)
1 tbls sugar
3/4 cup chopped flat leaf pasta or basil
12 fresh or frozen shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used a lot more than this, I used a whole frozen bag from the store)
8 oz whole wheat pasta (your choice!)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Warm oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add scallions and garlic. Cook until scallions begin to turn golden
2. Add tomatoes, wine, sugar, and parsley or basil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20-25 minutes, or until sauce is slightly thickened.
3. Add shrimp and return to simmer. Cook until shrimp are cooked (and opaque in color)
4. Cook pasta according to instructions. When done drain and add sauce to pasta.
5. Sprinkle w/ parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Nutritional Information
1 Serving: Calories 380 (Calories from Fat 60); Total Fat 7g (Saturated Fat 2g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 65mg; Sodium 650mg; Total Carbohydrate 59g (Dietary Fiber 6g, Sugars 10g); Protein 19g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 30%; Vitamin C 30%; Calcium 20%; Iron 35% Exchanges: 2 1/2 Starch; 1 Other Carbohydrate; 2 Vegetable; 1 Very Lean Meat; 1 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 4
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Chera325- I wouldn't worry about 186 calories! That is actually REALLY good for a beginner, trust me it gets easier. And MFP already created a 500 calorie deficit for you, so you didn't gain, you are still losing at that rate!
Ashmarie- you are welcome to join... there aren't any rules or challenges on this thread we just chat it up. Some of us make monthly goals ( i think its monthly) but we don't 'check in' or anything we just support eachother.

I paid about $120 for my polar F6... you can get it cheaper if you shop around on ebay or amazon. I think they are comfortable, I forget the chest strap is on sometimes when i get home. Totally worth it if you have the extra cash

HAHA! I just realized that the site put stars because it thought I was using profanity! I was asking if D i c k s Sporting Goods carried the monitors!

Mandi--I actually do eat quite often throughout the day. I read in one of my fitness magazines that a fairly large breakfast is best for weight loss (balanced of course). I snack throughout the day on healthy little snacks as well, and I try to eat a lot of fiber. I still find myself getting hungry though, and today, I noticed that even though I am working out and getting plenty of sleep, I am still quite tired. I really feel that I may not be consuming enough calories throughout the day to energize me. I am going to keep trying to get as close as possible to my goal calories for the day for about another week (hoping that my body adjusts), but if it doesn't get any easier, I may have to reconsider my daily caloric intake.

Chera- I stated out at 1200 calories per day. That was waaaaaaaay to hard for me and I didn't lose any weight. I think its because i would be so hungry and then go to Burger King... so I changed it, now i am at 1330. Its only 130 more, but what a difference! I don't know why but its MUCH more managable!

MRobbins--that is a very small amount of calories! I'm having the exact opposite problem. Can you share what one of your days look like as far as meals go? Like, what do you eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks?

The issue may be that you're not eating a proper, balanced breakfast! That could be why you're feeling sick. I know it sucks, but I try to wake up a little earlier to make sure I can get a good breakfast in before I have to get ready for work! Just a suggestion

Chera- Well it sounds like you have a great idea to try! I hope it makes the difference for you! Like Pattitricia said, even 130 calories made the difference so hopefully it will for you too!

MRobbins- I too have the same problem with eating breakfast. I just don't have the time and I'm not very good at sacrificing sleep to get up on time. I would try to incorporate a certain amount of calories to each of your biggest meals. You are only short about 300 not including your exercise calories so even just having peanut butter on whole grain toast would be a start for breakfast. I usually have 2 slices of Sara Lee's Delightful bread and the peanut butter will give you some great protein but also some more of those calories. I don't know. Just a thought!!

I try to take a drink or two of water between bites.. and I get full without eating the WHOLE plate.