GiniN Member

I HAVE A HOME! After years of gaining weight on the "recommended" calories I finally had metabolic testing and learned WHY I was gaining weight. Glad to be here now!

Not an expert, but I suspect the olive oil helps enrich the "sauce" that develops. It is not a large amount, especially if you consider that it covers 6 servings. A small amount of oil can really improve flavor and texture.

You look great! I sincerely thank you for posting these. I have a LONG way to go, and I am quite a bit bigger than you were. But these before-and-after photos really help me believe that change is possible. BTW, in addition to the obvious weight loss, I can't help but notice that the way you hold your body (posture) is…

LOVE reading this. I grew up on a farm and have so many small scars acquired in childhood pursuits! My favorite is a crescent-shaped scar on my right inner forearm, about 1 inch long and 1/4 inch wide. Git it around age 4. For some bizzare reason I was hanging and swinging on an exposed beam in the barn and hit an exposed…

Thanks for all the helpful advice :smile: My weight loss has been so slow that I have been searching for some way to speed things up. I eat 1200-1500 cal per day and I have made my food more and more "clean" I started working with a nutritionist to make sure I was making good choices, and I have really grown to like this…

What an inspiration! For those of us who have a hard time imagining this as do-able, this is a great service! Swimsuits don't hide much, and you look FANTASTIC in yours! Many congrats!

I have a tough time eating out, too. I have cut WAY down on the frequency of going out because I am still too new at it, and restaraunts are SO easy to overeat at. When I go out to a restaurant (non-buffet), I get on their web site to look at the menu and plan what to eat before we go. Most web sites now list all choices…

I am late discovering your photos but...WOW! And I love how darned HEALTHY you look...you are glowing! It is such an inspiration to all of us who have a big part of this journey ahead of us...little victories and NSV are fine, but I find these pix very motivating...so THANKS for sharing!

I will join the chorus - those are serious problems, and thank goodness those people took the time to write a review. As a nurse, I will suggest this: do you know any nurses? IMHO, the best person to ask about opinion of a doctor is a nurse. Ask your friends or co-workers (if you feel comfortable doing so) if they know…

My new idea is ordinary foods but on the grill. I buy wood chips of different types (oak, cherry, mesquite, hickory, etc) and experiment. Big flavor with near-zero added calories. My new favorite thing is grilled veggies. Especially roasted mini "tricolor" peppers, big portobello mushrooms brushed with balsamic vinegar,…

You look fantastic, go for it! If you are not sure, why don't you get them and wear at home for a few days? As someone who is on the other side of 50 years old, I look back at my picture from 15, 20, or 25 years ago and remember how critical I was of myself. But now I see those pix and think I look just fine, and in some…

In Feb of this year. My knees and back hurt so bad that I had to start using the motorized cart to finish grocery shopping. It was too much to spend even 15 minutes walking around getting my stuff. :embarassed:

I assume the original poster knew this would generate controversy, so I am not going congratulate or offer encouragement. Just reporting my own experience. I have tried various "diet" pills throughout my adult life (over a period of 25+ years), including phen-fen way back when. Each time, I thought it was a miracle. All…

I sleep poorly if I go to bed hungry, so I don't do it. About half an hour before I go to sleep, I have fiber one cereal with nonfat milk and berries...usually blueberries. I have tried lots of other different things and this does the trick for me. I also eat a small snack between dinner and bedtime. I have these in my…

THANK YOU! This is so inspiring! I have a long way to go, probably more than you did judging from the pix. But it is so great to see a real person who has lost a substantial amout of weight. I have trouble "seeing" myself at a lower weight; seeing your changes helps me contemplate what my changes might look like. :happy:…

Summer Chicken and Fruit Salad Build as follows: Put a bed of Spring Mix or Herb Salad on the plate. Then layer on: Cantaloupe and/or Honeydew slices 1/2 cup blackberries (or grapes, or rasberries) 2 to 4 oz. shredded chicken Top with dressing of lowfat/nonfat poppyseed dressing, mixed with equal portion plain yogurt ALT -…

Advice for transitioning to FiveFingers? I am barefoot whenever I am at home (wood & tile floors) and otherwise wear Crocs flip-flops when out in the world. Living in San Diego, this is year-round. Is it reasonable for me to expect that I should have a pretty easy transition to Fivefingers instead of the Crocs I have been…

I had this problem too. It did not occur immediately after stopping, but about 20 minutes later. What has helped me: 1) Extended cool-down, with about 10 minutes of very light exercise before stopping 2) Hydration - I sweat a LOT during exercise, probably because I am so deconditioned. I also crave something sweet after…

WOW you are my hero! I have even farther than you did to travel along the path before I get to maintenance. But seeing your photos and profile makes me feel like I can do it! As I move forward, I will be sure to "pay it forward" by posting as you did. THANKS A BUNCH! :wink:

I really appreciate everyone who posted helpful notes! It got me through a period of pain and immobility and kept me on track with my food despite it all. I am happy to report that I seem to have "interrupted" what seemed like an ever-worsening pain experience. I took 2 days competely off, and started back with…

Thanks for all the notes posted! Reading these have given me some hope:smile: I think I have been overdoing it; I am anxious to see results. But I have been almost immobile for over a year due to my arthritis, and I see that it is not realistic to expect I should be able to jump into a routine that may be reasonable for…

Tried it tonight...it is delish! I had it on a salad built like this: Spring mix Shredded rotisserie chicken Sliced cucumbers Diced tomatoes Black olives Feta cheese Cracked pepper Feta cheese It suited this salad perfectly! Thanks a bunch!

Heidi Heaven Tush Now if I need an alias...

Ordinarily I would support anyone striving to achieve their goals by participating in a structured, intensive program...but there are a couple of point that make me very hesitant here. 1) Your family and life situation - This has been extensively and skillfully described by other posters. 2) The Biggest Loser - I have some…

I had that problem with my hubby too. After trying lots of approaches, I stumbled on the facts that while he did not want to cook, he was OK with cleaning, chopping and bagging produce. I hated doing that, and truth is he did it much better than I did! From there, he played around with "composing" salads, fruit plates,…

THANK YOU for posting this! I am just starting out, and you are a genuine inspiration! I love that your top is approximately the same color and that you are in about the same stance in both BEFORE and AFTER photos. This makes it so clear how much progress you have made! Was that intentional? Based on your wonderful post, I…

I also order fish when we go out. Almost anyone can cook fish better than I can! I have had some very delicious fish dishes when eating out, but I KNOW I couldn't replicate them at home. We do like to get the 1 lb. shrimp plate CostCo sells for about $10. My hubby and I get 2 meals out of it: plain cold shrimp with…

I was on 2 different ones: Medifast and another one I cannot remember anymore. I lost almost 100 lbs on each, but ultimately gained it all back. These diets can be very enticing. Once I got past the first week or so, I became almost indifferent to food. Ordinarily, I am NEVER indifferent to food! I became a bit anorexic,…

I'm thankful for: V8 juice Chopped vegetables mixed with cottage cheese Frozen red grapes (try it!) Trader Joe's Apple Cranberry Fiber cakes farm-stand tomatoes Cantalope

I weaned myself from cola and other sweet drinks by drinking cranberry or grape juice mixed 50:50 with sparkling water, and adding a squeeze of lime. Gradually I decreased the juice and increased the sparkling water, and finally switched to Calistoga sparkling water with fruit essence, which I found very refreshing. I…