scookiemonster Member

Hi! I'm in a similar boat. I wouldn't say I was ever super fit, but I had come a really long way in my fitness and abilities before intense pregnancy fatigue and giving way to a lot of carb cravings sidelined me. I've been trying to get back on track since my daughter was born last spring, and would be happy to have some…

Thanks for the suggestions! I could definitely use some more help, but I swear my husband isn't slacking. He's literally just not here a lot of the time. His job hours are genuinely ridiculous, and he has no control over them. I don't have many friends who really live close enough to come over and help out (or at least,…

Thanks so much for all the suggestions! So many good ideas here - even simple stuff like streamlining mornings by programming the coffee maker. I just never have, so it never occurred to me, but mornings are always so rushed and stressful! It's really helpful just to hear from people who tell me something besides "just be…

Thanks everyone. Unfortunately, I think planning, efficiency, and organization are not at all my strong suits. My work day is pretty packed, so I do get a lunch break, but it's short and doesn't leave much time for things like taking walks, etc. I have tons of cookbooks (actually, I think I have both of the Cooking Light…

I'm a new mom to a six week old little girl. I just got the go ahead from my doctor this week to get back into working out, so here I am. I have 30lbs of pregnancy weight to lose (gained 60 total by the end of the pregnancy... too much carb loading!), and a lot of ground to make up in my fitness. I know it will take a lot…

I'm only a month postpartum and still waiting on the okay from my doctor to start exercising again, but I have a good 30lbs to lose (gained almost 60 total during the pregnancy, lost the first 25 or so within a week or so of birth and nothing since then). I'm very nervous that this weight won't come off, as I've had…

When I stopped birth control last spring I found it easier to lose weight and felt better in general. Then I got pregnant and gained 60lbs. Oops. (The pregnancy was on purpose, the weight gain not so much). I was on nuvaring years ago, but only for a few months due to side effects I experienced, so I couldn't comment on…

Hi! I'd love some mom friends as well. I'm a new mom to a one month old baby girl. I gained almost 60lbs during my pregnancy. I lost about 25ish in the first week or so postpartum, but nothing since then. I know it's early still, and I can't really diet while breastfeeding, but I have no clothing that I can wear right now…

This is the first year since I was a baby that I'm not attending synagogue - my mother decided to cancel her membership, and as I don't have one of my own and was mostly just going to be with her the last few years, I'm not going. It feels strange. I'm not fasting either - my digestion has been really wacky lately, and I'm…

This. It took me quite a few different pills (plus a go-round with the nuvaring) before I found the one I'm on now, which seems to have fewer side effects for me. I think I may have actually lost count of how many I've tried... 4? 5? 6? But this one works for me, finally. I'd definitely say give it a month or two - it can…

Ha, mine's the same as yours :-) I'm also a teacher, and today was my first official day of the school year... I'd forgotten how physically exhausting and demanding school days are! Somehow every year I forget how it takes me a few weeks at the beginning of the year to get my endurance back up for the school day. I came…

Ha, indeed. Bananas give me major stomach pain... just the idea of eating 7 of them is making my stomach twitchy. I think my intestines might explode if I ate that many bananas... Anyway, it happens to the best of us. There are worse things. Next time, if you're eating bananas because you're craving chocolate, just eat…

Love luna bars. Since going gluten free, I can't have the regular ones anymore, but the luna protein bars (I second the recommendation for the cookie dough flavor - awesome!) are definitely a life saver for me when I need something easy that I can stash in my purse in case of emergencies. Lara bars are pretty awesome too.

Well, I think it's kind of understandable that she'd be annoyed that you've suddenly turned the family's eating habits upside down and are taking her along for the ride whether she likes it or not, especially if it makes things more complicated or difficult. Perhaps she needs a bit more of a transition - find ways to eat…

Gluten free teachers unite! (I'm one too). Do you have access to a fridge? I tend to bring a whole bunch of snacks to school with me and eat a little bit in between classes throughout the day, because if I get hungry my concentration goes to hell. My go-to school snacks are things like nuts, cheese sticks/string cheese,…

I never wear shoes when I do my elliptical at home. Seems like a waste of clean socks to me. I don't wear shoes inside the house for anything else, and I walk around barefoot in my yard all the time when the weather is warm, so I don't see why I need them on the elliptical. Nobody else uses the machine, so it's not like I…

No offense, but sounds like a lot of excuses to me. There's no reason you can't make better choices - you're just not making them. Looking at your diary, there's nothing wrong with the foods you're eating, but the proportions are way out of whack. Why do you need a pbj sandwich AND pasta for lunch? How on earth do you fit…

I have this one from under armour: http://www.amazon.com/Under-Armour-Dominate-Insulated-Stainless/dp/B0053RWBSO It's awesome. Water is still cool at the end of the day, I can throw it in my bag without worrying about it leaking or sweating all over my papers, I've even put it in the dishwasher a couple of times if it gets…

This. It's a hard balance for me because not logging means I might not be paying as close attention to what I'm eating and I don't really know how many calories I've had. However, when I do log, I often end up obsessing way too much about food, and spending half the day sitting around thinking about what I'll eat next,…

Because the amounts of wheat or gluten in a particular product are not generally listed on the food label. It would be impossible to really measure that for most foods. Also, like others have said, if you can't have gluten then you can't have gluten. There is not point in tracking how much gluten I'm having because I can't…

This will be my first holiday since going gluten free, so I'm more worried about how I'll make it through without getting sick than anything else... That being said, it's all about small portions. Take a little bit of everything, but keep it to just a little bit. Or prioritize the stuff you really love and ignore the rest.…

It's been years, but I could easily eat a whole Domino's pizza (with plenty of toppings) when I was in college. And did so, quite frequently. I can't even imagine - that would make me so sick now. The wonder of it is that I weighed less then than I do now. Ah, to have the metabolism of an eighteen year old college…

You didn't gain two pounds from one sushi dinner. If anything, you're probably just holding extra water weight from the sodium in the soy sauce. I know I'm always a little bloated after sushi because of that. I find that the best option is sashimi. I'll usually get a sashimi platter with a avocado roll on the side (mostly…

Get up early enough to work out in the mornings. If you wait until the evening, you'll be tired and it will be harder to motivate yourself. You don't say how long of a commute you have, but you could easily get in at least a 30 minute workout in the morning and still get to work by eight. I have to leave my house for work…

Indeed. Sounds about right to me. I wonder if the manager even got a complaint that the class was overcrowded and there were people in there not wearing wristbands on the spot - perhaps someone who had gotten their band and noticed the OP and band-less others setting up and went up to the desk to complain about people not…

I have the Garmin 210 with the heart rate monitor. My husband also has the 210. We both love them - I don't go for a run without it. Easy to use, easy to wear, gives me plenty of information without being overwhelming, and not as expensive as some of the fancier models. Highly recommended.

Honestly, no, probably not. Have you ever done any research on how many of your actual tax dollars actually go to running your local school? It depends on your area and your school, but I know around here only a very, very small percentage of my taxes actually go to my local district. A portion of it goes to a variety of…

As a teacher, this makes me sad on a couple of levels: 1. I don't see a problem with putting a "wish list" at the bottom of the required school supplies, so that parents who are able and willing can help supply the classroom with extras. Making it required though... I don't like that. Not everybody has the money for that…

Look up recipes for gluten free baking. You can't just do an even swap for wheat flour, you need to mix flours and occasionally add other ingredients to achieve similar flavors/textures to traditional wheat-based baking. Wheat flour has a very specific chemical make-up that creates the flavors and textures in traditional…