dopeysmelly Member

Very, very, very common. In fact, I would say it's unusual for it not to happen. It took quite some time for people to stop commenting like this to me. MIL still occasionally comments 4-5 YEARS LATER.. Just ignore it. This is something THEY have to get used to and it can take time, especially if they've only ever known you…

Eating all your calories early in the day might not work for you, in which case, I would suggest you learn from it. Are there other foods you can eat which are more filling with fewer calories? Think lots of vegetables without the oil, or whole fruit, or a light soup, so you can eat the same (or greater) volume, but fewer…

All I can say is check out Plant Nutrition for Idiots (version 2) and learn about the Food Triangle by Ray Chronise. It explains about the various terms and what they actually mean. It really helped me understand how you need to focus on food rather than macros, and filling up on leafy greens, cruciferous veggies, stems,…

I never eat the food provided at work. Even at full-day/all week conferences unless I'm allowed to request a special diet, I take my own (peanut butter sachets are wonderful, and I always scope out nearby grocery stores). People would try to push cake/donuts etc on to me but they got tired of me saying no thanks. It's hard…

My daughter's school district also banned all outside food from school. You have no idea how much of a relief it was for the parents. No need to bake and frost cupcakes the day before a huge work deadline, and no more crappy food being shoved down my daughter's throat.

I would get your doctor to test your serum (blood) cholesterol and then you'll know if how you're eating now suits your body. You won't really know for sure until you know the stats. Dietary cholesterol may or may not have an impact on serum cholesterol, but unfortunately saturated fat does and cholesterol and saturated…

me too

When I stayed downtown, I went up and down Michigan Avenue for a quickie run and checked out all the stores while the sidewalks were empty. But I agree, lakefront and parks (Lincoln Park around the Zoo) are really lovely. Just check the weather right before you come, maybe you'll bring some toasty temps with you?

I guess a lot of people just want to make only enough changes to get the weight to go without realizing that you have to change a lot more about your life than just that, if you want the weight to stay off. I am absolutely not the same person I was 5 years ago in many more ways than just my calorific intake.

I eat peach skin and kiwifruit skin. More fiber. I also eat the whole apple, skin and core, and just leave the twiggy stalk. Don't need to bother looking for a trash can that way.

I'm not far off that too. I try to be as active as time allows so I average 15k steps a day and then add in a lot of activity at the weekends (bike rides and long walks) so can double the calories my body would need to maintain my weight. I get mid-week workouts in whenmy daughter swims. OP: I don't know how old you are,…

There is only one way of knowing how changing your diet is going to affect something like blood cholesterol and that's to give it a go for a few weeks and see how your body responds. I'm all for experimenting until you find what works!

I had exactly that happen. I cut out all animal products for a month to see what would happen and my cholesterol dropped way down. And I should say that my diet was really healthy before, lots of fruit and veggies, little red meat etc. I guess I'm just one of those folks who is sensitive to saturated fat.

I switched to plant-based about 2.5 years ago. Did it because my cholesterol was getting high enough that my doc wanted to prescribe statins and I didn't want to go that way. I just tried cutting stuff out for a month and found it actually really easy. My cholesterol went down lower than "normal" within 3-4 weeks. DH then…

I've found that it's important to get a range of different sources of fiber. There's two types of fiber - insoluble and soluble, and you need them both. Good thing is that fruits and veggies have both. Grains, beans and lentils have both but more on the insoluble side, fruits and veggies have different amounts of each. For…

If you want to fit in a workout, you need to sit down and schedule it in around your other committments. Sounds like you should schedule it in for the mornings on the days you have to work late. It's easier if you write it down somewhere rather than just try and remember. On very busy days, I schedule it in as an…

We've always eaten all the same. I don't have time to figure out different meals.

Actually, time might take care of it. I had a lot of loose skin elsewhere on my body and quite an impressive turkey-neck coming. I figured at the wrong side of 40-odd and a lifetime of being overweight that I would have to settle with this. But after a year, pretty much all the loose stuff had gone and my face had settled…

I just work more activity in to my day every day. It's not hard considering I'm not tethered to a desk all day. I don't worry about the odd pound - it'll come off within a few days when I get home and revert to normal eating habits.

I found it really helpful to sit down and make a plan. Use MFP to set a reasonable calorie goal to achieve what you want to, and then figure out a meal plan which works for you and meets your calorie goal. It can take a lot of patience while you learn a new way of eating, but it's only in the beginning. It take 2-3 weeks…

I agree with everything here. I had high cholesterol, doc was reaching for pills, but i really wanted to challenge myself to see what i could do without that. But everyone is different, so what worked for me (cutting out all animal products, even though my diet was very good before) may not work for you, but what didn't…

I switched to plant-based whole foods (no animal products and very limited junk/processed foods) and saw a significant improvement. My LDL went from 202 to 105 in about 4 weeks and is now under 90. I figured i would give it a go for 4 weeks and see what happened. That was 2 years ago.. Forks Over Knives and Engine 2 diet…

5'3", 45 years old, 130 lbs. I eat about 1500-1600 to maintain, but on really active days it can be up to 2300.

onegreenplanet has loads of really easy vegan recipes. I love the Thug Kitchen recipes as well - always turn out fabulous.

Cocoa powder. It's loaded. Iron is best absorbed with some vitamin C, so I do a fruit and cocoa smoothie for iron.

Yes (well, I guess 99%). Add me.

You could try getting your fix by making a fruit smoothie using unsweetened cocoa powder, which has very little calories, but lots of good stuff in like iron, plus you have the fruit and protein if you thin it with milk. Win-win!

Damn. Beat me to it. My LDL cholesterol halved (from 202 to 88), and DH's blood pressure zipped to normal. Mine is still a bit elevated but within normal - I'm trying to lose a bit more weight to see if this makes a difference. I'm not saying this would work for everyone, but I decided on a plan (no animal products at all)…

There's only one way to know if a specific dietary change will benefit your SO's cholesterol, and that's to give it a go and see what happens in a few weeks with a retest. My cholesterol levels were just about the same as your SO's, early 40s and I'd already lost a lot of weight. I ate a pretty healthy diet, with lots of…

I started out pretty much the same size/shape as you. I suppose I do have some curves left, but would I swap what I have now for what I had then? Absolutely no way!! You learn to look at yourself differently and figure what looks suit you best and appreciate what you have now that you didn't have before.