allshebe Member

My "last 10" came off at pretty much the same rate as the "first 40". I didn't notice any change in rate (I also don't take "cheat days" - just try to eat sensibly every day)

There aren't any "bad" foods, though some choices tend to "work out" better than others. I tend to eat a pretty regular/predictable diet for breakfast and mostly have the same predictability at lunch. I keep those two meals pretty low in calories, saving the bulk for dinner. I eat what I like, but limit portion sizes on…

Add some plain baking cocoa (no sugar or cream unless you normally use it) to your coffee - a teaspoon is about 5 calories. I also have been known to eat 1/2 ounce "squares" of baking chocolate - about 70 calories per 1/2 ounce/14 g. The taste is bitter and maybe needs to be "acquired", but I like it. You could also go buy…

The bottom line is that is is pretty well proven that extremely restrictive diets do not work long term for most people, because the restriction is not sustainable. Sooner or later you get cravings and "fall off the wagon". Regardless of the diet plan, most people gain the weight back in a year or two, and sometimes end up…

Haffie - not great dressage potential as she'll expend no more energy than I REALLY ask for (she has to know I really want "it"), but perfect for me in the sense that I am confident she won't do anything truly "stupid" that will get me seriously hurt.

I find it helps to "hit" something when I'm stressed. I would love to have a heavy bag, but I usually "settle" for hitting the pavement with my feet. Alternatively, hitting a ball (tennis, soccer, volleyball, baseball) can have the same effect or some sort of martial arts practice (check out to see if there is a chapter of…

I've come to the same conclusion, but I'm not going to go back on gluten so I can know for sure. Leftovers from a stir fry using thai noodles can be thrown in a container and carried for lunch - can be eaten cold or heated up if you can find a microwave. The more vegetables you add, the healthier it gets (and you can use…

Hydration levels can change your weight by several pounds either way. When you start exercising and "stressing" your muscles, you typically hang onto some water as part of the muscle "healing". For myself, I find that my "normal" pattern is to show a drop of a couple of pounds on the scale (log it), then "gain" back a…

For lunches, I mostly pack a tub full of chopped lettuce and some cherry tomatoes. I add a pouch of "canned" tuna or salmon and some salsa and it's a pretty healthy lunch. I find none of the above really need refrigeration at normal room temperatures. (you would need a small container for the salsa or other dressing, as…

I'm not sure if I'm celiac or just gluten intolerant, but I quit eating gluten containing products a couple of years ago and most of my GI symptoms went away and an itchy skin rash completely resolved (I'm guessing the GI comes back from time to time if I accidentally "acquire" a bit of gluten in something). I mostly…

Try eating what you normally do for a week or two (and log every bite you eat) to get a baseline for where you're at now (and are you relatively stable or gaining?). From your baseline, find ways to cut from 250-1000 calories, depending on whether you are stable or gaining now and how fast you want to lose. Eating at a…

Since you are "small", your maintenance calories are lower than someone who is taller, with a higher BMR and higher healthy weight. You still need about the same amounts of vitamins and mineral as a larger/taller person, so the more healthy food you eat, the less likely you are to need supplementary vitamins (which are…

1. Limit the packaged/processed food you eat 2.Eat a little less than your calorie budget (If your base level is set to 1400 and you burn an extra 500, eat back no more than 3-400) Following these two rules seems to be working for me (I also don't strictly measure or weigh most things - just bulk items with "high" calorie…

When I need to eat more calories at night to "make" my minimum numbers (keep my net above 12-1300), I check my macros and typically either eat greek yogurt if I need to get more protein and dry oatmeal with dried cranberries (essentially home-made museli) if I need some extra carbs (learned in an online nutrition course…

Can you pack a healthy lunch, but eat it someplace else. I don't know where you are, but in nice weather, you could try walking to a park and eat your lunch there. Sometimes I just go out to my car and read a book (I eat at my desk and then "do something" for my official lunch hour - I fully understand that may not be an…

All food is good. Some foods are better eaten in moderation. Eat mostly things you like to eat, just eat them "mindfully" with consideration for which foods you can pretty much eat all you want (like "greens") and which things you might want to save for an occasional treat for when you have "calories to spare", like cake…

40 pounds by April is probably doable. 25 pounds by December is probably not. Work with the "Bridal Salon" (or wherever you're ordering the dress from), to select a style that can be easily taken in or let out (just in case stress foils your intentions). I don't know what's "in" right now, but an empire waist tends to be…

There is new evidence suggesting that if mothers to be eat "too well", they may be setting the infant up for excess weight problems later in life. <http://www.today.com/moms/extra-bites-mom-could-mean-future-fat-baby-study-8C11310950> You want to be certain to eat a nutritionally dense diet, but, depending on how your…

You mentioned that one of your snack foods is nuts. Nuts, while generally very healthy, have an amazing number of calories for a very small relative volume. If you don't accurately measure, or even better weigh nut snacks, you can inadvertently add quite a few calories to your day without realizing it. Beyond that, I find…

Things with lots of natural fiber tend to be relatively low calorie and fill you up. Things with a bit of real fat also fill you up and tend to leave you feeling filled up longer. For me, things with a lot of sugar fill me up short term, but leave me craving more food a very short time later. It helps to base most of your…

You could try adding a little lemon or lime juice to your water - sometimes that makes it more thirst quenching. Other than that, if you're thirsty, drink.

Exercise doesn't need to be restricted to the "gym". You need to find ways to fit extra movement into your day where you can. Park further from the door where you work, or get off the bus one stop sooner. Take the stairs rather than the elevator. Use a bathroom further from your "workstation". Walk to lunch if you eat out.…

How much sleep are you getting? I tend to alternate between "burning the midnight oil" and "crash and burn" early in the evening. On crash and burn days, I go to bed earlier and get more sleep. I've always been this way, so, in my case, at least, it's not the work of a calorie deficit. Alternatively, you could be suffering…

Unlike some, I eat lighter during the day (eggs or almond butter on rice cakes for breakfast, salad with a pouch of tuna for lunch) and eat the bulk of my calories in the evening. My husband does the cooking and this allows for reasonable portions of whatever he cooks. If he cooks something low cal, I'll make up the…

If you eat somewhere between your base calorie assignment and assignment + exercise you should do fine. Try to net at least 1200 calories per day (calories eaten minus exercise calories burned). You don't have to hit the mark exactly every day, but it's fairly well accepted that you need 1200 calories per day to obtain…

I think you really need to count calories or use the diabetic exchange system to get a handle on what you are actually consuming. You may need to weigh and measure your food to get an accurate calorie count - depending on how well you understand portions (or if you are consistent in estimating, that can also work if you…

if you look at your "diet" as a limited term thing, you are almost certainly doomed to failure in the long term. The only thing that seems to really work is to change your eating habits/lifestyle "forever". You need to get into the habit of eating "healthy" (for the most part) and "mindfully" all the time. If you don't,…

You should never starve yourself or feel "restricted". There are no bad foods, only unhealthy quantities. Start by tracking what you DO eat, then look for ways to cut back a bit - maybe one less slice of pizza or 4 oz, of chicken breast rather than 4 oz of chicken thigh. Cut your "carb servings" by half a portion or a…

This is not necessarily true unless you do an elimination diet or get tested for allergies/intolerances. You may know that "something" is making you feel ill or trashing your insides, but you don't know for sure whether it's dairy or gluten or something else until you test in some way (blood test, skin test and/or…

I've never been fond of "wet" cereal (cereal with milk added). It is against my "religion" to pay "$5 for 50 cents" worth of ingredients. What I have been doing lately is take my serving of old-fashioned oats and adding "craisons" and nuts and whatever else I feel like (and fits into my macros) and voila, I have museli. I…