melsinct Member

Honestly, my desire to not be fat kept me motivated to lose and keeps me motivated as I maintain. When I would feel like slacking I would think to myself "Do you want to be overweight?" the answer was always no.

First and foremost: shop the sales. I will look at a grocery's store ad and make meal plans based off of that. Shop at ethnic stores: my local Asian grocery has dirt cheap produce compared to the regular grocery store. Frozen vegetables are very nutritious and quite cheap compared to their fresh counterparts. Frozen…

Whole Foods, mainly because my TJ's has an atrocious produce section. Not to mention, half of TJ's is prepared foods and most of what I buy is plain meat and vegetables, making it impossible for me to do a full week's worth of shopping there. I do love TJ's for certain things, I just would pick WF over TJ's if I had to…

I only looked at your diary for a few days. It appears the only reason you go over on fat is because of peanut butter. I wouldn't worry, it is healthy fat and the only time you should worry is when it is causing you to go over in calories. Fat doesn't make you fat, so if it is from a healthy source (like nut butters),…

+1 Why eat food you hate in order to lose weight? Do you plan on choking down oatmeal for the rest of your life in order to maintain the weight loss?

I agree. It is amazing how much even a food intolerance (not allergy) can effect your whole digestive system.

MFP has "groups" in addition to these message boards that you may be interested in. There are a few PCOS groups...follow the link below and type PCOS in the search box. You'll probably get more traffic on those boards from women in the same boat as you. Good luck! http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups

I am guessing chicken tikka kebab (not chicken tikka masala, which is in a sauce and higher calories) would be minimal calories. It is usually chicken breast, smeared with a marinade of yogurt and spices. The entry in the database for "Morrisons - Chicken Tikka Kebab" at 136 calories per kebab sounds reasonable. Naan is…

Look it up in the database. Look at a few entries for chicken tikka and pick what seems reasonable (sometimes there is one entry with ridiculously low or high calories, throw out the outliers). Same with the naan.

I am in the 3% (though I am going on year 3 of maintaining, not 5) but I also fall into the “was an averaged sized child, got fat in adulthood” camp. I gained weight once I graduated college and settled into a sedentary office job but was a healthy weight up until that point. I finally decided to lose weight at age 34. I…

Well stated, I agree with all of this.

I agree with all of this. Make sure you are eating all of the calories you are allotted and also make sure you don't have MFP set too aggressively. I made that mistake in the beginning and had it set as a 2 lb/week loss when I was planning to lose 30 lbs. I should have set it for 1 lb/week off the bat, but hindsight is…

In season tomatoes!!!! I don't buy those mealy imposters at the grocery store. I wait until the real deal is available.

Add me to the list of people who would rather eat a reasonable amount of real ice cream than gorge on a whole pint of what tastes like crappy frozen protein shake. That is one thing I have learned while losing weight (and now maintaining) on MFP: I would almost always have less of the "real" (meaning high calorie/fat)…

I became overweight eating healthy stuff. I just ate too much of it. Portion control is now my BFF.

I agree with this. What kept me motivated as I lost was the simple fact that I did not want to be fat ever again. My options were to A. Keep losing the weight or B. Stop caring and be fat again.

Is it all things acid that bother your stomach or could it be just the caffeine? I agree with whoever posted above that such an extreme reaction requires a doctor’s office visit.

Actually, I just couldn't think of a better way to describe what food without any additional preservatives, additives, etc. would be called. Don't hold my inability to think in the morning against me, LOL! That's fine to clutch your pearls over the use of the phrase "real food". I'm sure I could have phrased it better but…

I understand this article was supposed to be humorous but for me it does nothing but feed into the “only elitists are mindful about what they eat” school of thought. Just because someone eats a diet based heavily in “real food” (as in not stuff from a package, with unnatural preservatives/additives, etc., which is how I…

It is admittedly a pet peeve of mine, so I just want to make clear what a food allergy is versus a food intolerance, as they are not interchangeable terms. A true allergy means your immune system mistakes the food as being harmful and attacks it; the symptoms will likely come on suddenly and even a small amount of the…

I love the Justin's version. I think Nutella tastes like cheap Duncan Hines chocolate frosting in a can with a hint of hazelnuts.

Look up Paleo recipes.

Just because it is deemed "unproven" doesn't mean it can't be effective. The traditional medical community has changed its tune regarding acupuncture in recent years, for instance. Hell, my crappy US health insurance even covers it! Again, my stance is that in *some* cases a Naturopath could compliment traditional…

You will need to make your diary public if you want help, as all of this is meaningless without seeing the numbers. How many mixed nuts? What size burrito: A tiny frozen one? One the size of your head from Chipotle? How big is the pizza slice? How large is a slice of butter? It is true that if you are truly in a calorie…

I agree. Most people put the weight back on because their "diet" is over. It sounds cliche, but it really has to be about a lifestyle change. Losing weight (and keeping it off) really isn't rocket science. If you aren't willing to put in the work to lose AND maintain, you will not be successful.

I had a great experience with a Naturopath. Not sure if it matters, but NDs are licensed in my state, have to pass boards, etc. and I know that is not true in all states. My Naturopath guided me through a rough patch with allergies and made me feel better- something my MD allergist couldn’t do. The MD’s diagnosis was “we…

If you are pooping only once every 10 days, then you don't need to be taking laxatives. You need to see a doctor. As noted above, ballerina tea (and dieter's tea and all of its other names) is made of the plant senna, which is a laxative. It may be something as simple as a dietary imbalance (not enough of certain vitamins…

Do you really think there is a magic pill that will make you lose weight? Think about it. As a general rule of thumb, if Dr. Oz recommends it, chances are you should not be taking it.

With all of your issues, it sounds like you need an eating plan from a doctor or dietician, not from random people on a website.

Weight loss isn't linear. Some weeks you may lose 2 pounds, some weeks 0.5 pounds, and some weeks none. It's just the way it is. If you go for a few weeks with no movement, then I would look at shaking up your routine. For now, you fall into the "perfectly normal" category.