dwilliamca Member

Congrats on deciding to make a change. As others have said your birthday goal is too aggressive and not realistic. You want to lose weight and stay healthy at the same time. However, 20-25 lbs. in 3 months is possible, so perhaps you can make a mini-goal for yourself and allow about 6 months for the total goal. Your first…

Dinner is not an issue since it is almost always the same quantities and food groups....4 oz. meat/poultry/fish, 1/2 cup potato/grain/pasta, 1/2 cup vegetable w/ butter....400 and some odd calories (I'm on 1200) and typically the largest meal of my day. I always log before I eat so there are no surprises (like with fattier…

By the way. Grocery shopping is a great way to get started burning calories. Here is a link to the amount of calories burned per household activity. The numbers are probably high, so don't over estimate, but feel good when you do something you normally didn't do before.…

I set myself to sedentary, which I am some of time, and then add a few exercise calories here and there for doing things around the house like housework or childcare when I take care of my young grandchildren. That way I get an extra 100-200 calories to either eat or add to my deficit. Then a few times a week I make myself…

If you are truly that active it looks like you will be at about 1/2 lb./week loss. You realize that exercise calories are added to your daily calorie budget, therefore if you exercise regularly then you should have that many calories extra to eat. I think that would be a better and more controlled way of adjusting your…

Sounds like a good plan. I think it is easy to burn out if we ask too much of ourselves. I try to do some mild to moderate exercise at home 3 or 4 days a week and feel good about it. I eat healthy foods but allow myself goodies as well. I don't eat much sugar but do use sugar substitutes. I stick to 1200 or 1300 calories…

I wouldn't jump into a gym membership right off the bat. I like your park and beach idea. I know a lot of parks by me now have adult exercise equipment and it sounds like a great way to get outside and get started if you aren't used to working out. Do some walking, running, workouts at home and see where you feel like…

I'd go to You Tube and search on Booty workouts. There are some great ones out there and you can do them at home for free. You may need light weights for some.

I'm responsible for feeding a large family with various dietary needs, so I do tend to cook meals around the same time every day. I find I always start feeling a bit hungry about an hour early, so sometimes speed things up a bit otherwise I over snack.

I use steel cut oats and make a savory side dish occasionally for dinner using things like mushrooms and onions. It is a nice change from potato, rice, pasta, of which I eat 1/2 cup every night. Steel cut oats are good for breakfast too, but do take longer to cook. I like adding orange juice and orange zest.

I use very small amounts of Stevia, which is plant based rather than chemical, but still very sweet. My family never even notices the substitution.

Are you asking for a place to enter your blood sugar levels? Not really set up for that although you could create a food called blood sugar with 0 calories and a unit in mg and enter the number there. No way of getting a graph though because the reporting section only allows one entry per day (like with weight).

I don't remember the name but I bought one once that tasted like alfalfa. YUK. I gave it to a vegan friend and he liked it.

I don't like sweet cereals for breakfast and they must stay crunchy in milk. I like to mix the 3 Chex cereals together like in Chex Mix. I like granola with lots of nuts and pieces of fruit for a sweet, but the calories are too high for me.

Lobster, crab, scallops....its the butter I drench them in that kills me.

I eat sugar free desserts every night and really look forward to them. My favorites are chocolate ice cream (I like Breyer's Carb Smart fudge bars), chocolate pudding, & Jello parfaits. I use Stevia in baking and other recipes that ask for sugar. I prefer it because it is from a plant instead of a lab, but I use some…

I use Stevia when I can since it is not artificial, but settle for Sucralose on diet desserts like pudding, ice cream, and Jello parfaits. My new favorite addiction...Breyers Carb Smart fudge bars only 70 calories and lots of fiber so low carb.

I try to stay within my sugar goal each day and usually do, but I am also type II diabetic. I assume you've been tested during your pregnancy and are lucky enough not to have diabetes. I usually eat a couple pieces of fruit and some berries. Here is a link listing low to high sugar in fruits/berries/melons.…

Blueberry crepes (or strawberry). Fresh made crepe, light cream cheese w/pinch of Stevia, cooked blueberries, squirt of whipped cream. Fit well in my 200 calorie breakfast budget.

Only the foods with green arrows have actually been verified by MFP and if you click on the green arrow MFP explains that occasionally even some of those slip by and need corrected. However, more than that is what others said about food labels being "confusing" because of rounding and reporting standards. If you scan an…

Are you sure you burn 700-1200 calories per day/everyday in exercise? Why don't you start with the number MFP gave you and add back exercise calories using the database when you actually do them? It has entries for all of the types of exercise you do. Since the numbers are known to be high, most people only eat back half…

Yes, even healthy foods can have lots of calories. They add up quickly, especially as our calorie budgets shrink over the years. Logging calories really is an eye-opener. Start weighing and logging and I'm sure you'll start seeing the scales tip the good way. Good luck.

I love cheese and "make it fit" usually by cutting back quantities. I never use over an ounce and sometimes less. I buy the extra thin cheeses for sandwiches or cheese and crackers and it fools my simple mind. I do use 1/3 less fat cream cheese and it isn't too bad. Some of the Mexican soft cheeses use skim milk and have…

Personally I prefer the taste of sucralose to aspartame, but I'm sure drinking one or two artificially sweetened drinks a day isn't going to kill anyone. I mix Sparkling Ice with unsweetened sparkling water to dilute out some of the over-kill on sweetness that comes with all artificial sugars.

I used to eat a lot of sugar but cut back several years ago and now use stevia or other substitutes when I want or need something sweet. During the day I do OK with regular foods and things like fruits for snack. But my biggest problem has always been after dinner snacking. I do like and crave chocolate and find that if…

I know I'll sound like your mom, but I notice you don't eat a lot of fruits and vegetables other than salad. They are a way of adding bulk to your diet without adding many calories. Try adding at least one portion of something per meal and see if that helps with the hunger.

My digital scale is unreliable as well. Minor fluctuations in the tile floor can give me readings 5 lbs. apart. I'd love to find a new reliable one.

I used to drink 2-3 glasses of wine per evening and always had some on hand. When I started dieting it just didn't fit in any longer so quit buying it and quit drinking daily. I seem to do OK as long as it isn't in the house. My problem is when I get around others who are drinking like a party, I "have" to have a drink,…

Welcome. I'm not that familiar with the principle behind JC except that they sell prepared food. You should be able to wand in the barcodes in the app making it easy. Does JC calculate your calorie budget or did you let MFP do that for you? I assume JC keeps you in a calorie deficit. That of course is what is necessary for…

Just the name is enough to scare me away.