MKEgal Member

A slow cooker is a great investment, and can be had for cheap at garage sales, Goodwill, Craigslist, freecycle, and this time of year even check the black Friday ads. It allows you to get cheaper cuts of meat, cook them long & low, & they'll end up very tender. Or you can easily do dried beans, vegetables, soup,…

Here's a cookbook put together to help SNAP (food stamp) recipients make the most of the small amount they're given. Yummy healthy recipes, great photography, a nice departure from the usual bland government output.…

Also, don't think of it as dieting. A diet is temporary. When you stop dieting & go back to how you used to eat, you'll go back to weighing what you used to weigh. Think of this as changing your life for good, and for the better. Find a way of eating & exercising that you can maintain, that is healthy, that you enjoy. It's…

Here are some helpful / classic posts you might want to read, especially sexypants. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10012907/logging-accuracy-consistency-and-youre-probably-eating-more-than-you-think…

In your case, go with the one labelled Ruby Tuesday, or find the one which most closely matches what's given on their website for nutrition info. Otherwise, I scan the barcode on things when I can, or search using as specific of terms as possible: brand name, flavor, etc. Is the food baked or poached or steamed? Use that…

Welcome aboard. Keep in touch with your doctor & dietician, don't just change their prescribed diet on your own. Hope it eventually helps you feel better.

First off, what are your trainer's qualifications to be giving this advice? What national body certifies him/her, and does their training program include nutrition, does their scope of practice include nutritional advice? Most likely this person does not have any training in the science & would face censure & possible loss…

This calculator from the Baylor College of Medicine will tell you not only your BMI, but how many servings of various foods to eat to maintain that weight. If you enter your healthy goal weight, this will help you plan your food intake. It takes activity into account, so if you want the most conservative estimate, tell it…

Here are some useful links for you to start educating yourself: This calculator will not only show you your BMI at any weight, but how many calories you need to maintain that weight, and how many servings of the various food groups you should eat. https://www.bcm.edu/cnrc-apps/healthyeatingcalculator/eatingCal.cfm…

I love my crockpot. With a larger one, you can make a big pot of roast veggies (or maybe a bit of roast beast with a bunch of veggies around it) without a whole lot of effort & eat for days. And when you discover the liner bags, cleanup is a snap. (Though I've learned to put about 1/2 cup of water in the crock before the…

After you lose a little weight, you'll need to reset your profile because you'll need fewer calories to support your smaller mass. So if you're stuck at a 10 lb loss, & the same calorie count, try cutting 100 cal/day for a few weeks (go from 1700 to 1600) without changing anything else, and see what happens. . Wow. Have…

While 2 lb per week is very ambitious, starting out with so much to lose it's quite doable for a while. When you get down to maybe 60 to go, slow your rate to 1 lb or less. Also realize that if you're struggling, feeling hungry or like you can't keep doing this, aim a little lower and it will be easier. You'll still be…

BTW: "if my calorie goal per day is 2080 how many calories per day can I go over that without gaining weight?" If you have MFP set to "maintain weight" and it's telling you 2080 cal/day, then sticking within +/- 100 of that more days than not should keep you near your desired weight. If you start to gain, pay more…

This calculator from the Baylor College of Medicine will show you how many calories, as well as food group servings, you need to maintain any weight for any combination of height / age / activity level. https://www.bcm.edu/cnrc-apps/healthyeatingcalculator/eatingCal.cfm I'd start with their recommendation for "inactive",…

The doctor was uninformed, which is scary. I, too, developed a (fairly mild) case of chickenpox from being vaccinated, also as an adult. Spots here & there all over, very itchy, but nothing like the pictures in medical books of those poor unvaccinated children who are just covered in pox. :( Both the NP who originally saw…

. The nasal spray uses a live vaccine. The shots do not. You cannot get the flu from a flu shot. You may have a couple days of your immune system doing what it's supposed to do, recognizing the intruder, ramping up defenses, etc., where you might feel a little like you're getting a cold. But you're not getting the flu,…

That's not how the immune system works. It doesn't focus all it has on one thing at a time. (Though if it's working on something serious, yes, its response to new challenges will be less / slower... a good reason to get immunized, teach it to recognize a disease instead of having to fight it with no preparation.) You're…

Be aware that the anti-science people _will_ lie to you. So maybe require showing the receipt from the pharmacy or wherever they got the vaccination, with their name on it? One of the facebook groups I follow is pro-science, pro-vaccine, and regularly mocks the stupidity and even downright evilness of the anti-vaccine…

Almost as easy, nearly every year there's a nasal spray. But the shot is pretty much painless, and if the arm is sore it's not very & not for long. Compared to being laid out with the flu (or dead), that's nothing. If you can't take having a shot, you can't take dealing with the flu.

The scientists look at the strains which are circulating in areas where they're likely to come here next, and incorporate those into our vaccine. The number of strains varies by year, and yes, it's possible some unvaccinated traveler could bring any strain into the US (being a carrier while asymptomatic before developing…

So you get the kind that's not cultured in eggs. Next objection? . If you get one that's a single-dose type, there's no preservative because there's no need for it. When using the multi-dose vials, the preservative is there to prevent people being infected with nasty things like fungus & bacteria. Thimerosol is not the bad…

This was me last year. Got the shot first thing in September when it was available, and sometime in spring I got laid up with the flu for several days (missed several days of work, felt lousy for longer) to the point that I missed work & ended up seeing my doctor (who diagnosed flu & said other people who got the shot…

I'm for science. Yes, I get the flu shot every year. The flu kills thousands every year. It's not a couple days of throwing up, it's a serious illness. http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/leadingcauses.html In 2011, flu & pneumonia were the 8th leading cause of death in the USA, with nearly 54,000. (Heart disease & cancer…

If you've been losing 0.5 lb per week pretty consistently, feeling fine, then why change? If you've stopped losing, or are struggling, then yes, drop 100 cal/day. Some of these might be useful to you. Definitely read sexypants & the one about goal setting (which has links to several calculators - the one to the Baylor…

Have you tried either freezing milk & letting it thaw on your commute, then mixing the shake, or mixing the shake, then freezing it, and let it thaw until you're ready to use it? Just keep it in a small insulated cooler or bag, or wrap it with newspaper or a towel. Or how about using powdered milk, and the shake mix,…

The only reason for weight gain is that you eat more than you burn. The only reason for maintaining weight is that you're eating as much as you burn. The only reason for weight loss is that you eat less than you burn. The hormones can affect appetite, water retention, mood / energy. But the drug is not responsible for your…

I either scan the barcode, or when I search for something I'll throw in "USDA". Also helps if you use "cooked" or "raw", and "ounce". Unless you've put a recipe together, DON'T use "homemade", or someone's private recipe.

Simply counting them won't do anything. Being sure your measurements are accurate + paying attention to how much you eat + knowing how much your body needs & eating under that amount will lead to weight loss.

Yes, having too much caffeine (from any source) can kill you. In fact, late last year or early this year the FDA convinced companies to stop selling powdered caffeine because there were overdose deaths. Even some people who drank lots of energy drinks have had serious problems. Read through the signs & symptoms of…