pickledginger

I think the goal is to be close to the goal -- maybe a little high one day, a little low the next. Then, you can adjust the goal once you see what happens. Some people do it the other way -- just track food for a week or two, to see what they ate eating now, then tweak their diet starting from there.

There *are* people who are sensitive enough that it really matters. Must make life hell, sometimes.

I have a friend with a severe wheat allergy. She can't eat out, because if her dish is cooked in a pan that previously held something with wheat, or if her salad contains a tiny crumb of crouton, she ends up in the ER. For her, it matters. For most of us, it probably doesn't. If it's a manufacturer I'd trust anyway, I…

If what you're doing works, I'd stick with it. That's what matters. Congrats on your progress!

It's going to be slow. But that's okay -- the faster people lose, the faster they tend to gain. The longer stretch gives you time to make this a lifestyle, not a diet. Just track everything, and tweak as needed. Expect long annoying plateaus. (I am working on stabilizing my blood sugar -- I want to keep it in the 70 to 90…

I've been passing out again lately -- this time, because of dysautonomia instead of hypoglycemia. Sometimes I think life had a really twisted sense of humor.

Hey, Allison! I used to have a big problem with hypoglycemia. Had to pretty much give up sweets and white bread to get the blood sugar stabilized -- and for a couple of years, couldn't go more than 3 or 4 hours without eating, which was a real nuisance. These days, there are a lot of foods that can make things easier. Like…

If you're doing smoothies, remember: cocoa powder qualifies as a high-protein food. (Sometimes, life is good!) I'll blend it up with protein powder or cashews, pear, lime and parsley -- maybe some raspberries.

I'd also vote for losing the bagel: lots of calories, lots of carbs, little else. It's tough to squeeze adequate fiber and nutrition into a low-cal plan, and that's not helping. Trying to keep to bright-colored "superfoods" and higher-nutrient baby greens as much as possible can help, as can trying to get some veg in every…

There are lots of nice recipes for crustlesd mini-quiches -- make up a couple of different kinds, freeze them, and you have a good meal in a microwave minute or three. Greek yogurt plus fruit and nuts is good. Leftover veg stirred into a tofu or egg scramble - maybe with a little feta cheese - is quick and easy, too.

I am really impressed with how gracefully you handle the MFP and other one-formula-fits-all trolls.

You're very welcome! :-) Niacin, that's what B3 is called. And here's some info: http://www.rxlist.com/niacin_and_niacinamide_vitamin_b3/supplements.htm

More "good fats" might help: nuts, flax seed oil or meal, algae or fish oil capsules high in DHA, avocado. If your blood sugar is at all high, even if you aren't pre-diabetic, that supposedly can boost the evil triglycerides and affect other cholesterol levels. Sleep, good sleep, helps. Vitamin D deficiency (remarkably…

Not right now. I am on my usual 1,200 oval per day. But I never have been able to lose weight eating more than 900 per day, no matter how much I was exercising. Note: Trolls, trolls, keep away!! I am under the care of trained professionals who know a LOT more than you ever have or will about metabolisms in general and this…

Never. Unless it's the sort of job you wouldn't mention to your mother. It is an interview, not a date.

BTW: "I'm sure you can tell I'm a little bit irritated. I did math. For nothing." Love this! Glad you're keeping your sense of humor. :-)

Worst comes to worst, you will have a bunch of data, in official-looking printable form, that should be very helpful if/when you talk to your doctor and possible future nutritionist. Having the MFP reports should help cut down on *them* insisting you must really eat more than you say. That aline could save you *months*.…

I never said eating junk food was healthful or (far less imprtantly) that it was especially conducive to weight loss. (This is known as a "straw man" argument: positing something the other person did not say, then attacking it.) I will say now, however, that I am appalled at the number of commenters who seem bent on…

One strongly suspects that there is a medical reason: Her BMR is not average, so the calculations don't work for her. Certainly, the possibility of other issues should be ruled out -- people with pre-diabetes or PCOS, for instance, have a terrible time losing weight; metformin has been shown to be very helpful for them --…

It does work for a lot of people. It uses numbers based on an average metabolism, so that is not a surprise. It also *doesn't* work for a lot of people -- whether the site's average-BMR-based calculations yield numbers that are too high for their not-average metabolisms or too low -- but those people can still get a lot of…

Ditching the fast food obviously would help, for lots of reasons. They have found a combo.of salt, starch, and grease that is nearly as addictive and unhealthy as (ok, I exaggerate) crack. Making sure you get a good dose of protein at every meal -- especially breakfast -- is supposed to be important to stabilize blod sugar…

Yes, good point. (My thyroid scan is Monday!)

For a lot of people, the numbers are pretty close. For a lot of people, though probably not quite as many, they are ridiculously out of the ballpark. The human metabolism is a lot more complicated than even researchers used to think. (Really long discussion of recent research omitted here. If you're really interested,…

Generally speaking, an unfit person who begins to eat and exercise appropriately will show improvement in many health markers, regardless of what s/he weighed at the beginning and end of the process. Focusing exclusively on weight encourages the pursuit of extreme diets, short-term weight loss and other stratagems that do…

Actually, doctors used to think that skinny people who eat and eat and eat must be overstating it, or working out like crazy, or, er *insert handwavy stuff here*. And they were certain that fat people who exercise a lot and/or don't eat much, well they just must be lying, about everything, and sneaking home to eat a…

Oh! Mushrooms! They're great, and add lots if flavor. And TVP is good to have on hand to beef up a sauce (some spaghetti sauces are without added sugar, btw) or thicken a soup, and can even be tasty. (But that's more work) Flax seed, ground, is another good additive and stars in a lot of low-carb muffin or pancake recipes.…

Positive motivation works better than negative -- they have done studies! and look how well the negative approach is working for you now -- so if you have a gorgeous photo of you before, blow it up and use that for inspiration. If you just can't deal with dieting right now, don't. Instead, you could maybe try to add one…

When I was healthy and uninjured and ridiculously active, and had a single-digit body fat, I still had a little pooch. No detectable fat anyplace else. (At the time, that drove me totally nuts. Now, I would live to have that body back.) It is a secondary sexual characteristic; I think most of us are stuck with it, barring…

Yes! Ignore the goals for a week or two, while you establish a baseline. Then pick one or two changes to use as a beginning, like a better breakfast or a walk after dinner. Slow and steady wins ... And it's not a race, anyway.

At 20, I think most people are still recovering from some facet of their childhoods. So, still being mad at Mom at this point may not be helpful but it is perfectly normal. You are young enough that you may be able to avoid later surgery for saggy skin. I have heard that compression garments can help - don't know how…