fudgebudget Member

Fajitas - chicken or beef (some places let you do a mix, some may even have shrimp) and then you get the AWESOME fire-grilled onions and bell peppers with it. Just use a lot of the veggies and request corn tortillas. If you want beans, get borracho beans, or just avoid refried beans. Mexican food doesn't have to be…

Maybe it's easier for a man to panic about small scale changes since as a woman I can watch the scale fluctuate 5+ pounds in a week depending on how much water I'm retaining, and I'm not alone in that by any means. If your calories had been too low, then your body would have been in storage/starvation mode - 4 days isn't a…

My biggest craving issue is chocolate, and I've found that if I just keep dark chocolate around (like 74%) and have a square or two of it when I crave chocolate, the cravings go away a LOT faster than with milk chocolate. Dagoba makes a Xocolotl bar (if you like chiles in your chocolate) that's only 68 calories for 1/4 of…

Just FYI - celery powder = nitrites, it's just a natural source of them. I hate the "no nitrites/nitrates" claim on so many "natural" products.

I live in Santa Fe (7000 feet) and baking has been a challenge. Decrease your rising agents by a third or half and it will help - at higher altitudes your baked goods will rise much faster and then fall. Oddly, I've never had a problem with using yeast here - I've taken to using yeast in more than just my breads since it's…

For something like an egg I'll usually put in like half a teaspoon since that's probably about how much sticks to the egg, but I rarely use oil for that anymore - my cast iron skillet is well-seasoned and almost nothing sticks to it. Bonus: cooking with cast iron will add iron to your food!…

For what it's worth, the BBC published this the other day and I think it's a good read for anyone struggling with diabetes-type issues. It's definitely encouraging at any rate: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13887909

I had tons of terrible luck with birth control pills, especially the low dosage ones (I am convinced that Satan invented those himself, although I know plenty of women who like them) - if you're experiencing acne with your pill then it's probably a problem with improper hormone levels (not a doctor, just have tons of…

Shrimp size is measured by "count" - do you know the count of the shrimp? Medium shrimp is usually in the 41-50 count range, which means that there are 41-50 shrimp per pound. 20 shrimp would then be about half a pound, or 8oz. Source: grew up on the Gulf Coast :)

I don't ever want to feel like my body is holding me back, and I need to set some new healthier patterns for myself so I can age a little more gracefully.

You could always roast them and make a pasta sauce or dip out of them. Roasted peppers make my world go round.

I am willing to trade cooking services for cleaning services, yes! :)

I did a road trip through there a couple of years ago on my way to an internship in Yellowstone - Badlands National Park in SD and Devil's Tower in WY may both be on your way, depending on what part of WY you're going to - I recommend them both highly!

Seconded! I've driven cross-country 7 times in the last 3 years (and had 900+ mile trips an additional 4 times) and audiobooks have totally saved me from eating out of boredom. I get in the car with a giant unsweetened iced tea and a good audiobook and I'm fine until I have to make a pit stop. Also, having something to…

I follow a ton of food blogs, and I do make quite a few of the recipes - there are easy ways to make them lighter and healthier. I cook a whole lot, which has helped me learn how you can (or shouldn't) alter a recipe. I find that in most recipes, I can halve the sugar and not sacrifice any taste. Sometimes I'll only…

I'm only 5'3, but when I weighed 125 I looked like Skeletor - I've got shoulders like a linebacker, a big rib cage, and wide hips. My sister is the same height, weighs around 105, and when I weighed 125 _I_ was the one getting comments about looking too thin. Large frames/big boned/however you want to say it, it does…

Ditto. And bacon.

I signed up for a hike that included a lot of "obstacle course" elements earlier this year, and while I finished the hike (and was proud of myself for doing it! I usually HATE obstacle course type things), I did NOT want my picture taken to document it. I really felt like I was holding myself back. The number on the scale…

I had a hell of a time getting mine covered - my insurance was supposed to cover it without question, but the doctor I was originally seeing didn't carry them in the office, so I was going to have to order the IUD through the pharmacy - when it was going through the pharmacy, my insurance company was claiming that it was…

Bulk bins! If you've got a Whole Foods nearby these are awesome. I get all of my steel cut oats, quinoa, flour, lentils, etc., from the bulk bins and save a lot of money that way - and the environment will thank you. Also, if you like to cook and use spices (which will help you create more variety with your diet, too), use…

My boyfriend claims that I'm like a different (better, less-irritable) person with my IUD, ha.

For what it's worth, I had more issues with the generic pills than I did with name-brand ones, and I've had more than one gynecologist agree with me. My last one said that generics sometimes only have to have 80% of the bioavailability of the active ingredients to be considered equivalent, and if your issues were anything…

I never had issues losing weight while on a pill (maintaining was harder, though, I think), and I've been on just about every pill you can imagine in the 10 years I used them. The most difficult part of being on the pill for me was finding the right pill, not any weight gain associated with them. I have an IUD now, and my…

I see what you're saying, and I think that if you're eating out or at someone else's house that making every healthy substitution you can is a good idea, but if you're at home and tracking the calories and budgeting for them it won't hurt to have a hot dog every once in a while. Some people are "all or nothing" and that's…

Studies also show that full-fat dairy may offer protection from colorectal cancers. http://www.ajcn.org/content/82/4/894.short

There are several potential things that could be stalling you out on the scale - 1) Make sure you're eating enough - if your body is in starvation mode then it's going to hoard your calories instead of burning them. 2) Do you get sore after your workouts? If so, your muscles are busy repairing themselves, and when they do…

Feel free to add me - I've been in remission (if you want to call it that) for several years, and I'm happy to support anyone who's trying to be healthier :)

You're never too old to be healthier - and look at all of the progress you've already made! 23 pounds is worth celebrating, whether you're keeping up with a 30yo or not :)

A thousand times yes, but with my mom more than my dad. I was always a chubby kid, and my weight yo-yoed quite a bit all throughout my adolescence. I ended up developing some eating disorder issues and struggled with bulimia in high school because of my anxious personality and my mother making me a nervous wreck. When I…

Not everyone loses from the same places first, just like we don't always gain in the same places at the same rates. If you have an apple shape, then you probably will lose from the calves/arms first, but I have a pear shape and have always lost from my waist and chest first. You will lose weight first from the last places…