starlitesue

What a fantastic blog! Thanks for sharing.

Tea absolutely does count as water consumption. Please read the following about caffeine and dehydration: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661 The summary is: "caffeine only has a diuretic effect if you consume large amounts of it — more than 500 to 600 milligrams (or 4 to 7 cups of coffee) a day."

I'm from the great frozen north originally too. What part of Rochester are you from? Penfield here.

I can't sleep if I'm hungry. Literally can't fall asleep. Sometimes I don't even have to feel hungry, but my body always knows. I make sure there's always an extra 100 calories in my day in case I need them before bed.

I have a similar problem when I'm on my road bike. Definitely try loosening your shoes, and making sure your feet have plenty of room. But if that doesn't work the solution for the numbness in my feet when cycling is a product called "metatarsal buttons" (http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/products/PRO007/). I don't know…

I've thought about the Paleo/Primal diet myself actually. I rarely eat carbs as it is. However, has anyone addressed the fact that the animals we eat today are very different from the animals cavemen would have eaten? I haven't done a lot of research on this, so pardon any inaccuracies. But in general cavemen would have…

One good way to avoid binging is to just not have the food you want in the house. Every once in a while I'll get a craving for something (sweet, salty, whatever it happens to be), but all the food in my house is healthy food, and most requires preparation. So that way I'm never tempted to cheat. Also I make sure I eat…

Well, ignoring the sodium impact, there ARE some meals you can take home that are relatively healthy. When we're really busy we'll sometimes get subway with lots of veggies, all of their calories are listed on their website. Or you can get a roasted chicken from your local grocery store. Serve that with a salad mix, or…

OMG I have weird peanut butter cravings too. I never really ate much peanut butter before I started dieting, but now I want it! Once a week or so I have a little PB and an apple. SO good.

Popcorn is my favorite trick for when I'm really hungry. You can eat a bunch for very few calories. Also try drinking water, that usually helps. If all else fails find something to distract yourself, a run, a TV show, paint, read etc.

My "cheat" day is Sundays. Calorie counting takes up A LOT of my time, and can become tedious. So on Sundays I don't count. I still watch what I eat, and I never go crazy. I think of it as practice for when I reach my goal and stop counting calories. I usually do a pretty hard workout on Sunday too.

Just wanted to let you know that they sell cranberry pills too. That way you don't have to drink a whole bottle of cranberry juice!

I vote change your weigh in day to Sunday, that way you don't spend your whole work out stressing about the scale. Also don't forget that although weight loss is wonderful, getting healthy is even better! Every time you work out, or make a good food choice you are getting healthier. Don't worry so much about the scale…

Don't forget that muscle weighs more than fat. If you are a muscular person then you may weight more than the stupid charts say you should. The BMI charts actually don't really work for body builders (some of whom are in great shape, but are considered overweight according to the chart). Also muscle burns more calories on…

I am! I'm going to have a beer when I hit 10 pounds lost, and I'm going to enjoy it. Now for those of you that think it's bad to reward yourself with beer, this has actually had the opposite effect. Whenever my friends/boyfriend are drinking, or I feel like a beer I think "nope, can't have that until I lose 10 pounds"

Hey. We went to the Trader Joes in San Carlos yesterday and picked up their European style chocolate yogurt. 130 calories. It was spectacular! It was like a pudding, or chocolate mousse, or like a non-frozen frozen yogurt. I highly recommend it.

It's usually easier to add the calories of everything you put in the dish. So 2 medium plantains: 437 calories Pam: no calories (i assume? Check the back of the can) Seasonings: no calories All the chips then would be 437 calories. That's 218.5 per cup. Mmmm now I want to go home and make baked plantain chips!

OMG I just finished eating these and they are FANTASTIC!!!! I added some vanilla extract because I love the combination of honey, peanut butter, and vanilla. Also, my recipe only made 8 balls but they were only 77 calories each... I ate three .... and I don't even feel guilty!

I'm not currently doing the Primal Diet .... but I'm thinking about it. I'm going to add you so I can see what you eat and how it's done!

I'm a chemist.

My assumption is that in order to say 0 calories it has to round to zero, so the actual calorie content in a serving is less than .5. So 2 servings would be about 1 calorie etc. It certainly won't break your calories for the day, but it does explain why it says 0 calories.

I just read the Wikipedia article about these (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reference_Daily_Intake) and it turns out those values are for people eating 2,000 calories a day, if you're eating less calories maybe that's why it's hard to get all of them. Personally I don't take a multivitamin, I eat a lot of fruits and…

If you feel comfortable tell someone else at the party about your eating healthy goals. That will provide some accountability at the party. I know personally if someone else knows I'm trying to eat healthy/lose weight I have a much harder time eating badly in front of them.

As to how it works: most of those ingredients have very very few calories per serving (vinegar, spices). So one serving of the dressing has "0" calories. You'll notice that it says it does contain trace calories. So if you eat one serving, that's basically no calories. But if you drank the bottle you'd be consuming a few…

Wow that's crazy! I looked up the nutrition information, to see what's in it, and it's mostly natural foods: http://www.waldenfarms.com/nutrition_facts.html# But does anyone know what "cellulose gel" is? Thanks for posting this I'm going to go find me some.

I'm having some Chamomille tea - always helps me relax and sleep.

I have a similar problem, the cold air makes it nearly impossible for me to breathe (I think it might be asthma related though). Here is the product that allows me to breathe outdoors in the winter, it keeps your breath warm: http://www.rei.com/product/791254 It's not cheap, but it's worth every penny. Now I can run, bike,…

Trader Joe's has a great Pear champagne vinagrette. It's 45 calories per 2 tablespoons ... but it tastes like 100 calories it's fantastic!

They had a whole leftover spread of Indian food at my work today. It looks spectacular! But I didn't eat any of it! It feels good to be able to say no to myself :-)

I weigh in every day, first thing in the morning after using the restroom before drinking or eating anything. Weighing in every day is not recommended, but for me the actual number is a lot better than the number in my head. Some days I feel like I screwed up the day before and I just feel huge. And I'll think…