kristingjertsen Member

1/3 cup oatmeal cooked with 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk plus 1/4 cup water, 1 tbsp flaxseed meal, 1/2 tsp chia seed, 1/4 tbsp coconut oil, 1/2 tbsp walnuts, ginger, cinnamon, and fruit of choice (today it was a chopped date, other days mixed berries, apple, peaches, or whatever is in season. Fills you up until lunchtime.…

Wonderful and realistic advice. Thank you!

Adding healthy fats like avocado, using beans as a protein source, and making sure I am eating lots of veggies helps me fill up. I have problems when I add too many carbs (rice, bread, etc).

I have the same issue eating out. I do better when I can cook my own meals at home because it is easier to keep it healthy and avoid hidden fat and salt. We went on vacation last week, I ate carefully, but still came home with 3 extra pounds.

We went on vacation last week, and I am up 3 pounds. Too many meals out in "family style" restaurants where there was limited access to healthy options (Meat and 3 place plus dessert had only carbohydrate sides, so I ended up eating an iceberg lettuce salad and vegetable soup, for example). Back on track now and focused on…

My grandparents used to complain that supermarket meat and chicken tasted nothing like "real meat" and "real chicken" does. They both grew up on farms, eating homegrown veggies, collecting eggs from the chicken house, keeping a cow for milk, butter, buttermilk, and cheese, and raising and slaughtering pigs, chicken, and…

My kitchen scale which keeps me honest about portion size.

Eating beans, veggies, and whole grains no longer makes me feel bloated and uncomfortable, which means the good bacteria have moved into my digestive system. This makes it much easier to stay on track--in the beginning, I was pretty miserable. I am now discovering that highly processed foods, sugary foods, and red meat are…

I have had success with both. I lost 56 pounds with WW 7 years ago. Got me eating healthier food, taught me that diets don't work but lifestyle changes do, and gave me a support system at a time when I was really struggling with my weight. When I regained 25 pounds, I started using MFP. It is free, easy to use, and helps…

My petty motivation is that I don't want to donate my nice clothes to Goodwill because I don't fit into them anymore. Another is that I see older women who are fit, slim, and well dressed who are rocking their 60s and I want to be one of them (my role models are a regal 70 something pilates/yoga instructor, a nutritionist…

My goal is healthy BMI, good blood chemistry, strong, functional body, and just enough fat that I don't look drawn and don't constantly struggle to keep the weight off. In the past, that has been roughly 143-147 pounds on my 5 foot four frame, and that is what I am aiming for.

I use a cheap $9 food scale. Weigh and measure almost everything. Makes a big difference in my ability to keep within my calorie budget, especially since my budget is only 1300 calories. When I don't have a scale available (restaurant meal, dinner at a friend's house), I guestimate portion sizes. Eating out is the…

Mini Hass Avocados! So tasty and full of vitamins and healthy fats.

Finally seeing results from months of MFP. Down 11 pounds, fitting into clothes that I haven't been able to wear in 3 years, and going to the doctor and seeing that my BMI has moved from obese to overweight category and my BP was 111/75. Nice when you see real impact from making better choices.

Keeps you honest and helps you realize that eating a bowl full of ice cream or a delicious meal at a restaurant won't add enough calories to gain an extra pound in one day. Keeps you from feeling like a failure when you are only 500 calories over your daily limit.

Yes, you can build muscle with lighter weights, you just have to be consistent about working out, and do higher repetitions using the lighter weights. I have a spinal cord injury which limits me to lifting no more than 10 pounds with my upper body. Most of time, I work out with 3 to 4 pound weights for each arm, and no…

Yes, and I am very grateful. My primary care doctor patiently and kindly explained to me seven years ago that I had high blood pressure, hypoglycemia, and joint problems because I weighed almost 200 pounds and the best way to fix the problems was not medication, but for me to eat a healthy diet and start exercising. She…

Check the reduced produce rack at your grocery store (most items at my local store are priced at $1.00 for a bag of bananas, apples, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, etc. Buy whole grains and beans (if you family doesn't like beans, then buy canned beans--I can get 2 to 3 healthy meals out of one can which costs 89 cents…

Weber's Beer Can Chicken seasoning adds a lot of flavor to plain chicken breasts. I sprinkle it on and either grill the chicken on the BBQ or else cook it in a pan with half a tablespoon of olive oil and half a tablespoon of earth balance or butter. Cook until browned on both sides, and then I add a half cup of chicken…

You might benefit from finding a bariatric doctor who has experience working with people with a metabolic disorder like Hashimodo's. If you are doing all of these things and aren't able to lose weight than something else is going on. Based on your message, you are living a high stress, very busy life (autism parent here…

Weight loss isn't a steady decline--I get to a new "low" weight, get excited and happy, and then a day or two later I see .4 or .6 pounds added to the scale. Focus on long term trends, rather that the day to day hiccups. One dinner out or homemade Chinese with soy sauce can put on one to two pounds of water weight…

A mid afternoon snack helps me avoid binging at dinner because I am not famished. An apple and peanut butter or almonds, a smoothie with protein powder, fruit, and soy or almond milk, popcorn, hummus and mixed veggies or a few triscuits all work to control my appetite. I keep cooked rice, veggies, canned beans, salad…

cwolfman, I am glad you and your wife are in a really good place. This gives hope to folks who are opposites in health, fitness, and eating habits. It can be really frustrating dealing with extremes of behavior. Sometimes you just have to keep your mouth shut and let your partner figure out how to solve the problem alone.…

Everything I have read about the procedure indicates that the surgery should only be performed if the risks of early death from extreme morbid obesity outweigh the risks of the surgery. The procedure impacts more than just your eating habits--it can affect relationships (there is a big risk of "bariatric divorce) and some…

There is a lot of good advice in this thread. When I first started to get healthy I was obese with a low level of fitness. I started slow with a daily walk on flat ground. At first, I got out of breath walking to the end of our block, but gradually as I got into better shape and lost some of the weight I was able to go…

Working very hard just to stay in roughly the same shape and size. Hearing men who are your age (paunchy, fat, badly dressed, and very wrinkly) explaining that they don't find "old women" attractive and they want to date younger women because that is what nature intended.

Dave's Killer Bread is very tasty in either the full slice (120 to 130 calories) or the thin sliced (60-70 calories). Manna bread is tasty, too. I look for low sugar content and high fiber in my bread, with occasional splurges for a good quality baguette (flour, water, salt--simply delicious as a treat).

I lost 56 pounds with weight watchers 7 years ago. I managed to keep it all off for 3 years, then menopause and surgery with a prolonged recovery put 26 pounds back on. I did keep up with exercise and healthier eating. This January I decided it was time to get serious about getting my weight down again (Middle-aged weight…

I envy my naturally skinny son, who can eat two bites of a luscious chocolate cake, put down his fork, and say, "I am done, that is enough." But I know my weaknesses, so I only eat chocolate cake or cookies when I am out of the house. If I kept it in the house, I would eat the whole cake!

I don't do as well when I eat intuitively. The scale, measuring cups, smaller plates, and eating out strategies (don't drink your calories, only eat half of what is on the plate, make only one trip at a buffet, and say no to bread and chip baskets) help keep me on track. The only intuitive technique I follow (after…