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Shaping up - Diet and exercise


Couch Tomato

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Hey Luckiest! I'm sorry to hear about your daughter's diagnosis. I really like the Looneyspoons/crazyplates books for low fat recipes. The books are hilarious with lots of tips and fun reading inside. They also sell mealkits at grocery stores and luckiest daughter will be happy to hear they sell pizza's too! Here is their website:

http://www.crazyplates.com/index.html

Any local bookstore has the books. I'd lend you mine, but my neighbour currently has them. The authors were born in St. THomas and now live near Ottawa I think.

I try my best to eat well (though pizza is my downfall), and exercise regularly as I'm at high risk for heart disease due to my family history.

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Hee, it's so funny you mention those books because I love them too! I ony have one of them (Eat, Shrink & Be Merry) but I am going to buy the other two next paycheck. I've been reading their blog the last couple of days (www.eatshrinkandbemerry.com), so thanks for the link to the website. Did you know they have their own TV show now, too? I checked and it's on the Food channel on Wednesdays at 6:30 pm. I don't get that channel but I'm thinking about changing that.

Hee, you Americans should check these two ladies out! Really funny stuff, and great recipes to boot.

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I'm sorry to hear about your daughter's diagnosis, luckiest. I certianly wish her the best with the dietary lifestyle changes she's going to have to make.

I've sort of been having one of those months where one or two days off track leads into several weeks off track.

:(

*sigh*

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Mainstream medicine saved my life and I would NEVER refuse to take prescribed medication IF it were absolutely necessary. However, I feel that we've been hoodwinked by the powers that be for too long about other essential methods of health management.

For example, I am surprised that there are still many expectant mothers who are not aware of the importance of folic acid.

Here's an interesting video, about 30 minutes long... if you are interested in why we are never realllly told about the extreme benefits of certain nutritional supplements.

http://www.stopfdacensorship.org/PlayVideo1.htm

Although I'd never deprive myself of yummy junk food treats (life is way too short) , I try my best to ensure my main consumption of food is nutritious and organic as much as possible because I find supplements tiresome, although I do my best to take them as well because of the HI factor that we cannot escape from.

Dark chocolate is considered an essential nutritional supplement.... :thumbup: :purplebanana:

HI = Human Interference

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I have really been trying to eat better these days. Not that I do not splurge once in a while. I gave up chocolate for Lent, so I have not had many desserts. Bike season is starting as soos as it get warmer. I will ride anytime it is above 40-45 degrees. We start with around 40 miles in about three hours and work our way up to 70-80 by the end of summer. We average about 15 miles an hour. I say we because I am on a tandem with my husband. I usually do not lose any weight but things are firmer. When we have to climb hills that are short I am the one who stands up to get us up, when it is a long climb we just gear down and go slowly up. My husband always teases me that when it is time to go he wants it to be when he is riding, my respond is wait I am on the back and do not want to go with you.

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If you're over 40 and need some tips on exercise, this might work for you:

EXERCISE FOR PEOPLE OVER 40

Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of

room at each side. With a 5-lb potato sack in each hand, extend your

arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you

can. Try to reach a full minute, and then relax.

Each day you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit

longer.

After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato sacks.

Then try 50-lb. potato sacks and then eventually try to get to where

you can lift a 100-lb potato sack in each hand and hold your arms

straight for more than a full minute. (I'm at this level.)

After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each of the

sacks.

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http://www.mealopedia.com/

This is a useful link to keep. It gives you recipes whereby you can choose the main ingredients, and select from a list, for example... kid friendly, low GI, low fat, high protein etc.

It has a weekly meal planner as well, and then lists all the ingredients you need to shop for in order to create those meals for the week.

You have to register, but that's a good thing because once you register your location, it also gives you local stores to shop at, for the ingredients you need.

I like the fact that, for instance, if I want ideas for a chicken dish, it will list all the chicken recipes to choose from, and the recipe lists the quantity of ingredients based on how many people you are cooking for.

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I found myself unexpectedly pants shopping yesterday (went out to get a haircut too early, and everything was still closed) and couldn't figure out why everything I tried on felt sloppy and didn't seem to fit right. Hee, until I thought maybe I'd try on a size smaller just for the hell of it, and discovered it fit! Wheeeeeeeee! I haven't lost much weight lately, but I have been walking again.

BTW, anyone who enjoys Indian food should check out the President's Choice Blue Menu line of products. I just had a Curried Chicken combo for lunch, only 190 calories, 5 g of fat and delicious! Satisfied that craving I've been having for curry. :)

Hee, can you tell I'm in a good mood today? I love OMWH!

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That's great, luckiest! It's always nice to be able to go down a size. :)

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I'm sure no one but me wants to hear this, but I lost a pound! Hee, I've been going up and down the same 5 pounds since November so I'm doing a little happy dance! Except I'll probably gain a few this weekend in NYC......what can you do.

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So far I've managed to keep off the few lbs. I lost walking my butt off (I wish completely!) in NYC last month. But.... my eating habits haven't been the best since then. I've found myself too tired and not having the time or wanting to expend the effort to cook, so lots of take out. :( Finally, a month later, I'm getting back on track with my food choices!

Today I started out with half a banana with a dab of peanut butter, yogurt & coffee. For lunch I'm having cheese with sourdough Wasa crisps, raw broccoli & carrtos, fresh strawberries, cherries & bluberries. I've got a few spelt pretzels with spinach & scallion hummus and a pear for snack later. Mostly organic. :)

Has anyone tried the Amy's Kitchen line of frozen foods? They're really very good, vegetarian, and they have quite a few items that cater to specific allergies such as gluten, dairy, wheat free varieties. I highly recommend their cheese enchiladas & the garden vegetable lasagna - YUM!

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I haven't tried them yet, anna, but I've seen them and wondered about them, so thanks for the recommendation! This week I haven't been so good.....was forced to go out for dinner with the new boss, and ended up eating a dish that I later found out had almost 50 g of fat in it! Eeeeep, I wish they would put their nutritional guides right in the freaking menus! I try to keep my fats down below 45 g per day, which works out to around 20% of my calories. I have no idea what I'm doing for the most part, just track my food intake online and try and make healthy choices. But I'm still fitting into my size 12's, whereas a year ago I was in an 18, so I must be doing something right! :)

Today I have an interesting lunch (i.e. it's the day before payday and I'm eating what I can find in the fridge/cupboard) - a tuna/onion/avacado sandwich and a bowl of cup-a-soup. :cryingwlaughter:

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Another recommendation from moi... :cryingwlaughter:

Stonyfield Farm organic yogurt Particularly their fat-free Chocolate Underground and Caramel Underground flavors - YUMMM! With my dairy allergy, I try to limit my intake. These are great for dessert!

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Hey, peeps, how ya'll doin'? Glad to see that there's still a few people over here.

I'm not doing as well as I would like. I've gained a few pounds (er - more like five) and I want to get them off ASAP. Sigh. I was so busy earlier this year, between being a Mom, working at the hospital and all of the piano playing around town, that I neglected working out. I've continued to work out, but not as often as before. And I developed a bad habit of eating too much chocolate, so the pounds came back on!

Plus, I kinda got sidelined with sciatica issues, which have stabilized a little bit now. So, I'm working out more often again, and am determined to get back down to a weight I'm comfortable at. I decided to take my measurements, too, because building muscle can skew the results on the scale so that it looks like you're not having as much success as you really are. And I have no chocolate bars in the house, which will help!

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I'm looking for a plan, not necessarily true low-carb, but without simple carbs - bread, crackers, pasta, white rice, potatoes, corn, sugar, etc. - and dairy. My allergies are really acting up and I'm positive my food issues are aggrivating the weather related issues. <_< I need to find something I can follow and/or adapt so that I don't get so discouraged trying to do it on my own and wind up tossing in the towel - yet again!

Any suggestions, ideas, websites, books would be greatly appreciated. PM me if you like. Thanks! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

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Sorry, no plan here for ya. In fact, all my discipline seems to have flown out the window lately. On the weekend, I descended into a mess of junk food heaven. Total of 3 chocolate bars..........had popcorn with butter for dinner both nights........eeeeep. Got back on track yesterday, but I haven't tracked my food in a few weeks. I'm gonna try today. And I'm gonna go step on the scale right now and see how much damage I've done, just as incentive. :cry4:

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Um... I'm feeling for ya, Couchie... especially because I'm in the same boat. I'd lost 8 lbs. between my first & second helpings of Spam, but have now gained back 11. :cry4:

In fact, all my discipline seems to have flown out the window lately.

Mine too. I think maybe I pushed it off the plane without a parachute.

Must.get.busy.

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I find that during the week, I am good. I only eat what I pack for lunch (having no money does that to ya!) and I don't do too badly at night, as long as I decide to get to bed at a decent hour. All bets are off if I decide to stay up late, though! I get the munchies every time. Weekends are just killer. I don't even pay attention to what I'm eating. I'm so bad. I think I've only gained about 2-3 pounds though so I must balance out somehow.

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Late evenings & weekends are bad for me, too. As much as I hate being at work, the structure of a work day does help me stay on track better. I've got to get back to exercising, which I HATE to do. I was doing really well prior to Spam, but was sick afterwards and haven't really worked it back into my schedule. I liked that in NY you can walk everywhere.

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I just got home from the gym and my one hour power stretch class. I'm toast. I'm on a mission. I have a bet on with my boss who will be home from her vacation in 6 weeks. I will be eating right, and exercising at least 3 or 4 days a week. Tonight power stretch..and it's a hell of a lot tougher than it sounds..tomorrow ..water aerobics. I forget the rest of my schedule. But this time I mean it.

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I just got home from the gym and my one hour power stretch class. I'm toast. I'm on a mission. I have a bet on with my boss who will be home from her vacation in 6 weeks. I will be eating right, and exercising at least 3 or 4 days a week. Tonight power stretch..and it's a hell of a lot tougher than it sounds..tomorrow ..water aerobics. I forget the rest of my schedule. But this time I mean it.

Couchie, do you use negative calorie foods?

I know people who swear by this method of weight loss.

If you Google "Negative Calorie Foods", you will find lists of foods to include in your diet. I personally haven't paid a lot of attention to it because I've never really had a weight problem, but I must say that the listed foods have always been a regular part of my diet simply because I like them anyway. I thought I'd mention it because, in the absence of food allergy and sensitivity, I can't see any harm in eating these foods since they are mainly fruits and vegetables that I am sure you are already including in your diet. Perhaps you may be interested in increasing your intake of these particular foods.

WHAT ARE NEGATIVE CALORIE FOODS?

Negative calorie foods are foods which use more calories to digest than the calories food actually contains! Calories from these foods are much harder for the body to use. In other words, the body has to work hard in order to extract calories from these foods. Even though a food may contain equal amount of calories, much less of these calories can possibly turn into fat in negative calorie foods as fewer calories are actually available to the body. This gives these foods a tremendous natural fat-burning advantage.

Consider the facts:

A piece of dessert consisting of 400 Calories (actually 400 kilocalories) may only require 150 Calorie (actually 150 kilocalories) to digest by our body, resulting in a net gain of 250 calories which is added to our body fat !

On the other hand, a 5 calorie piece of celery may require 150 calorie to digest, but resulting in a net loss of 145 calories from our body fat !! It implies that the more you eat, the more you lose weight!!!

Therefore, these foods are said to be good for achieving weight loss naturally without starving."

How it works?

All foods have a nutrient (carbohydrate, fat, protein), caloric (calories) and vitamin & mineral content. Vitamins stimulate living tissues to produce enzymes that breakdown the caloric nutrients of that food.

The foods with negative calories contain sufficient vitamins & minerals that produce enzymes in quantities sufficient to break down not only its own calories, but additional calories present in digestion as well. This is called "negative calorie effect"

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