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Meal Replacement Shakes
I'm asking this on behalf of my mom. She works a night shift and often doesn't have a chance to eat a meal during her 8-9 hour work shift. Since it's easier to take sips of a shake that she keeps in one of her Hydroflask drinking thermoses than it is to eat some chicken and brown rice, she figures a meal replacement shake…
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Naming my new Food/Lifestyle Blog
I am starting to get back into the world of Blogging. Over the years, I've had several blogs: most notably "From the Mind of Lissa Kristine" (which eventually led to my self-published book of the same name) and "From the Scales of Lissa Kristine" which chronicled my continuing struggle with my weight. (That's where my…
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Food Passing too Quickly? (TMI)
To preface this, I understand that most people on this website are not medical professionals and cannot give medical advice here. However, I am currently in between insurance and cannot see a doctor at this time, so I figured I would at least do some research on my own. For a while now, I've been concerned that the food I…
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Health Implications of Working in Retail
A little background information: I am almost 27, 5' 5", and weigh around 190 pounds. I work at a major retail chain as a team member. My job duties include customer service (cashiering), stocking shelves, and culling (pulling old and expired produce and perishable groceries off the shelves). My job is extremely stressful.…
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Protein Powders and Meal Replacement Shakes
I've been in a crazy flurry of job changes, etc and my eating has definitely suffered as a result. I'm thinking about investing in some meal replacement shakes to use JUST in case. Now, I'd much rather do green smoothies with veggies, fruit, unsweetened hemp protein powder, pea or dairy milk, and/or yogurt, but I'm looking…
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Negative calories
Suppose you go out for brunch and get carried away. Next thing you know, it's a little after noon, and you have no calories left. In fact, you've gone over your goal. You're also in a position where you're not likely to be able to excercise that day. How do you figure out dinner, etc if you have no calories left? I'm used…
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Experimenting
Things have been pretty stressful for me lately- there's too much going on that I would rather not get into detail about, but I can say that it has affected my "diet" significantly. And there's part of me that just doesn't care enough to buckle down and start tracking again... though, I MAY decide to start up with writing…
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Obsessive/Unhealthy Dieting Relationship
I've come to the conclusion that I do not know how to lose weight in a healthy way. Now, that's not saying that I don't know how to lose weight in a way that's PHYSICALLY healthy. Lean proteins, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, healthy fats. Limit added sugar. Mentally, however, I'm not there. I'm down about 20 pounds…
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Weight Watchers Weekly Allowance
I have recently dropped 10 pounds in less than two months on Weight Watchers, and while I love the program, I feel like some of the upcoming changes may conflict with my personal beliefs on diet/nutrition. The new, updated calculators now include a spot for things like Saturated Fat, which, I, personally, am not against.…
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Recipe Servings
Normally, if I'm at home and I cook a recipe (like a crock-pot soup), I'll immediately divide it up into containers using my measuring spoons (I have spoons that hold 1/2 and 1 cup portions) and I'll use that to determine how large a serving is. But how do I figure out how large a serving is if I am, say, cooking dinner at…
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Eating at least BMR, but not eating too much
After looking through old weight loss records on this and other sites, I've realized that one of the things that leads to my downfall is eating too little- as is the case with Weight Watchers at times. Based on my average Fitbit calorie burn LAST week (which includes a day spent sick in bed) I burn around 2,600 calories on…
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Do I have this right?
I set my profile saying I want to lose 1 lb per week before changing my calorie goal to my estimated BMR. Does this mean that as long as I don't go over my current goal PLUS activity calories, I'll stay on track? Or does changing my calorie goal mess that up? I want a bit of a range where I eat at least ny BMR, but still…
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Activity Level
I'm trying to set my base calorie goal for MFP, and I'm having a hard time figuring out my activity level. According to my Fitbit Premium account, I'm considered "Active." I work a retail job five days a week (with Sundays and one weekday- usually Tuesdays) off. On work days, I average 16,000 to 23,000 steps. On my days…
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Banking Calories
Let's face it, sometimes, you go on a long walk after work and have a couple hundred extra calories to play with for the night. And, sometimes, you go out for drinks with friends. Wouldn't life be so much easier if they both happened on the same day? But it doesn't always work that way. Sometimes, they happen on completely…
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Setting Diary to Maintainence
I'm just wondering if anyone here has their diary set to maintain their weight while they are trying to lose. I'm just trying to figure out how I want to approach using MFP as a current Weight Watchers member. I love WW's Weekly Allowance, and I get freaked out on MFP if I go into the red, so I'm thinking I can set my…
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Overnight Shift
So, I'm in a bit of a predicament at the moment. I work as a personal shopper at a grocery store (a job that has me actively walking/moving 6-7 hours a day 5 days a week.) Due to commitments with church, I am not available to work on Sundays. However, I was told by my boss that working this upcoming Sunday is mandatory…
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IF: Random vs Scheduled
I have been intrigued by the concept of Intermittent Fasting since I first heard of it. However, I've failed at all of my attempts in the past. I feel that I would do better with IF (16/8 or 14/10) if I had a work schedule that allowed me to break my fast at a consistent time from day to day. I am not quite "up to"…
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When you SHOULDN'T count calories
I understand that the basic premise of weight loss is that one must burn more calories than he or she consumes. Of course, it is not always an exact science. The 3,500 calories= a pound rule is an estimation, and it doesn't take into account the 20% margin of error allowed on nutritional labels here in the USA (as well as…
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Shelf Stable/Car Safe Snacks
I am on week 2 of my 12 week goal to loosely track my food and record the times I eat each meal. It's helping me become more aware of why I eat what I eat, and I'm making a few minor adjustments as a result. For example, I noticed that Wednesdays, I eat dinner earlier than I do on other days. This, not only, means I eat…
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Batch Cooking- What freezes well?
I'm trying to get into some better habits by cooking multiple servings of food at a time, and portioning them out for meals throughout the week. This week, I'm making Chicken Lettuce Wraps (ground chicken, ginger, salt, pepper, broccoli slaw, and Frank's Sweet Chili sauce served in butter lettuce leaves), Turkey roll-ups…
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Lunchboxes
So, I've been MIA for a while, and I'm not sure if I'm officially "back", but I'm here for now. Recently, I've been realizing that I have an addictive personality in conjunction with some black and white thinking. Because of this, I've realized that calorie counting has the potential to hurt me more than it helps. I will…
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TDEE-20, Discrepencies, and Fitness Trackers
So, a lot of people say to eat a 20% reduction of your TDEE (or the calories you burn though ALL activity including BMR a day). But nutritional labels can be off by as much as 20%. And if you have a Fitness tracker, it can be up to 40% inaccurate. And the difference between different TDEE calculators can be off by several…
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Meal Scheduling
From December 2013 to the end of February 2014, I lost just under 20 pounds. From the end of February 2014 until the end of February 2015, I've gained 6 pounds. I started working at my job as a personal shopper at a grocery store at the end of February 2014, and I think that's where my problems with my "diet" began. Back…
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Light, Low Carb Meals
I have a serious problem with consistency when it comes to diet. So much so, in fact, that I am considering an approach which would only require me to be super strict for one day at a time before I'm allowed to loosen up a tad: Carb Cycling. I am taking cues from Chris Powell's "Choose More, Lose More for Life," but not…
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Activity Trackers
I've been a Fitbit user for a few years, and I'm looking for a change. Currently,I have a Fitbit Zip which does NOT sync properly with my phone. Fitbit sent me a replacement device which I have yet to open because I've had this issue with multiple Fitbit Zip devices. I LOVED my Fitbit Flex because it was waterproof and I…
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Eating One Meal a Day and Not Exercising
Lately, I've been noticing that I'm not typically hungry when I first wake up, so I don't eat. This certainly comes in handy on days where I get called into work and don't really have the luxury of taking time to eat much. Unfortunately, I don't always eat lunch either. I don't always get a break (and it isn't required by…
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Random IF/Meal Skipping
I was looking at Intermittent Fasting on Pinterest, and I saw a method that intrigued me: "Random." My schedule is very sporadic, and I'm constantly struggling to eat 3 meals a day. Sundays and Mondays are my biggest challenge. Sundays, between church and work, I usually only eat one meal before work. I work until 8-9pm…
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gummy vitamins
I am having a really hard time remembering to take my multivitamin, so I am wondering if I should switch to a gummy vitamin supplement. Any advice on brands? I can't eat sugar alcohols or artificial sweeteners. I would love a vitamin that has added ingredients to help aide weight loss (b-vitamins, omega 3s, Fiber, etc).…
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Light Lunch
I ate breakfast a little later than I wanted (sauteed spinach and organic greens, two organic eggs, chipotle olive oil, a sweet potato, and a teaspoon of coconut oil). I have to leave for work before 1:30 with the traffic/weather, and I know I probably won't be very hungry at that point (I'm used to going quite a while…
