Original Post by pattikins:

Original Post by mollymouser:

Hmmm.... I actually LIKE Fritos ... their ONLY ingredients are corn, corn oil, and salt .... no weird additives, no chemicals, no artificial colors or flavors and no preservatives. From a chip standpoint, they really aren't all THAT bad for you, once in a while.

Just don't eat them with yer feet, k?

MOLLY

Hey, and you can also use them as candles!  I saw one of those cable tv survivor-man shows and the guy took a chip out of his pocket, put a match to it, and the thing burned just like a candle.  He said it was from the oil in the chip, and he did it so that he had more time to light his fire than just a match would give (I think- I was totally fascinated by the flaming chip!). 

Sooooo, even though there may not be broccoli candles,  we could actually come up with a frito candle!  and wouldn't even need a wick!

 

Sorry to back-track to this post, but I just had to share this.  My kids LOVE LOVE LOVE Bear Grylls - (he is on "Man Vs. Wild", the English guy)  - they call him "The Master" and just revere him so much (I think my 13-1/2 year old has a crush on him.)   They have also watched a few episodes of Survivorman (which is an American host, and apparently more "camping" oriented.)  So at dinner I was telling the kids about using the Frito as a candle ... and I laughed so hard at them - we were trying to figure out which show it was to see if we could watch it on the computer ... and when I mentioned the match, they all said, "Oh, that's Survivorman.  He cheats.  Matches are cheating."   They did think the Frito thing was cool so I expect to come home any day to the smell of burnt Frito in my house.

Original Post by rufus_k:

RANT:   I've spent the last five days in misery with a horrible sore throat, viscious cough and occasional chills/fever.  My calories have been less than 1400 everday and I have been constantly sipping water.  AND my weight has gone up!  Ok, only a half a pound but still - all that suffering and no reward. 

Drat ... hope you feel better. (Note to self: eat when sick, since I usually gain, anyway)

=^..^= MOLLY

Can I just take a moment to say how much I like fresh corn on the cob? Yum yum yum yum!

(Yeppers, I am eating lunch)

You may now return to your regularly scheduled ranting.

=^..^= MOLLY

Rufus - sorry you're feeling bad... I heard recently that there is a medical benefit to starve a fever, feed a cold!  Or is it feed a fever, starve a cold?  I guess I'd better get it right before I suggest it!!!!  ;)

 Had a 1# loss last week, for about the fifth week in a row.  I don't know if I'm eating too much or not enough.  Afraid to eat more (I go for about 1500 cal/day or so).  What to do, what to do?????   I upped the exercise a bit last week, too.  Maybe with 1500 one lb. a week is to be expected?  I was just losing more than this initially, so I'm a bit bummed.

Maybe I need a couple of 1200 cal days?

Hello Rachel206 ... nice to see you back on the wagon!

HOW DO WE MEASURE SUCCESS?

One of the many ways that we measure success when eating healthy (and trying to lose weight) is by stepping on the scale and holding our breath until we received the verdict. Another way we measure success is how well our clothes fit (or don't fit, as the case may be!) A third way to measure success -- especially for those of us with diet-related health issues like high cholesterol or high blood sugar (diabetes) -- is by looking for positive changes in test results. Finally, a fourth way that we can measure success is by using a tape measure and seeing if we've been shrinking.

As a reminder, I've lost 71.6 pounds, 2-3 clothing sizes (depending on brand), my cholesterol dropped 60 points and my blood sugar average dropped 40 points ... ALL very positive measures of success for 20 weeks of eating healthy!!!

I wish I'd had the foresight back in August to take my measurements before I started this weight loss - healthy eating adventure, but I didn't. I waited for two months (about 35 pounds lost) and then took my first set of measurements ... so heaven knows what my actual starting measurements were! (They were depressing enough after the 35-pound loss, ya know?) Anyway, I visited a friend's house today (she's the one with the soft, fabric tape measure) and took my measurements after 20 weeks of dieting.

Here's the results .... the differences which have occured since October 20 ....

NECK ........................ lost 1.25 inches

UPPER ARM ............... lost .75 inch

WRIST ....................... lost .25 inch

CHEST ....................... lost 2.25 inches (drat)

WAIST ....................... lost 2.75 inches

HIPS .......................... lost 7.00 inches (hip hip hooray!)

UPPER THIGH ............. lost 2.25 inches

CALF ........................... lost 1.00 inch

TOTAL INCHES LOST SINCE OCTOBER 20: 17.50!

*   *   *

Another way I measure success is by my willingness to try new foods. Last year, one of my healthy eating goals was to try new food -- and I did. This year, one of my goals is to keep trying new foods, and on the list was "try a new grain in 2008!" So, when I was at Whole Foods this afternoon to pick up hummus, I was wandering around the cereal aisle and decided to pick up a package of organic, puffet KAMUT ("kah-moot") cereal.  I had a bowl-full for an afternoon snack ... it's pretty tasty!

KAMUT is a close relative to wheat whose kernel is about the same shape as a wheat seed but a KAMUT kernel is more than twice as big. Even though KAMUT is very closely related to wheat, some (but not all) people who are wheat intolerant can eat KAMUT with no problems. KAMUT also has some pretty amazing nutritional strengths.  Scientists who have attempted to classify this seed generally believe KAMUT was an obscure grain kept alive by peasant farmers in Egypt or Asia Minor.

KAMUT is a high protein grain, generally containing 30% more protein than wheat. As this grain hasn't been altered by modern plant breeders, it retains its ancient nutrition, flavor and goodness. Due to its slightly higher fatty acid content, Kamut can be considered a high energy grain, and compared to wheat, Kamut also contains elevated levels of vitamin E, Thiamin, Riboflavin, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, pantothentic acid, copper and complex carbohydrates. All around, Kamut seems to be a very healthy grain.

One cup of puffed KAMUT cereal has 50 calories, 0 fat, 0 cholesterol, 0 sodium, 70mg potassium, 11g carbs, 2g fiber, 0g sugar and 3g protein ... which means it has fewer carbs than puffed millet cereal and more protein ... WOO HOO! When paired up with 1/2 cup of unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze at 20 calories, you've got a great healthy snack for just 70 calories!

TRY SOMETHING NEW THIS WEEK!

=^..^= MOLLY

I'm trying to get back into the habit of getting up early to go the gym before work. I'm a real wimp about getting over-tired, I start to feel like I'm coming down with a bug. For that reason I need to really try and get to bed early enough to get at least seven hours of sleep. My DH hasn't been coming to the gym so it's often a little difficult to get our sleep schedules coordinated. Last night I had to stay up a little late to finish making a large batch of meatballs for freezing (part of my goal for saving on grocery money in 2008.)  For some reason DH got particularly ornery last night and insisted on tickling and teasing me for about 45 minutes after I finally got to bed. I warned him that he would pay --and he did: I made him get up and go with me at 5:15 AM. Mu ha ha!

DH and I are enjoying a little bread baking frenzy and I'd really like to try making some lower calorie/high fiber versions. I'm all stocked up with flax, wheat germ, caraway seeds and other goodies. Does anyone have a good recipe? I'd especially like to try an english muffin recipe similar to my Thomas's multi-grain. I'm going to seach the web but I'd love to hear from someone who's actually had success.

Edit-oops double post!

Original Post by energygirl:

My rant for the day: My DH's opinion that pasta doesn't go with sides.

For some reason the fact that I want to have a side (veggie) with a pasta dish drives him nuts. He says that pasta is a whole meal unto itself and does not have sides go with it. Granted, his pasta sauces usually do have some veggies in them, but I like to try to cut down on the amount of pasta I eat, and stock up on the veggie sides. I don't know if that's normal or not. I grew up in a vegetarian household so we always had veggies to go with our pasta, and I just assumed that was how it was done.

Even if he doesn't want a side, why can't he just let me do it without making a big deal out of it??? AAAHHH.

BTW, I suppose I should mention that he is the cook in the family, which is why this is such an issue.

It drives me nuts.

As to why he makes such an issue about it, I dunno.  There are a lot of people in this world who can't accept that "different" doesn't mean "wrong."

But we always have sides with our pasta dishes.  I NEED something green and light to balance out the richness of pasta sauces.  Usually asparagus for the kids and a yummy salad for the DH and me.

If he won't cook you a side with pasta, maybe you could at least make yourself a salad, or get some of those microwaveable single-serving side dishes and pop one in for yourself at mealtime.

(And for the record, Italian restaurants, both chain and authentic bistro-style, ALWAYS offer at LEAST a salad with their pasta dishes.)

haha my BF and I were talking about this the other day.  I wanted whole grain veggie lasagna with corn on the side... it blew his mind

A few weeks ago I was researching research studies and I found out that there was an obesity study going on in my area.  I was thrilled and contacted them thinking that maybe I could try whatever it was out and hope it would help.  I got through 95% of the interview, my health was along the lines they were looking for but guess what made them not take me?

 "Have you EVER been diagnosed or treated for depression?"  - "Yes"

"Sorry that excludes you from our trials."

 Ok, tell me this, what wacky percentage of obese individuals have never been depressed?  Maybe they just want people who are so depressed they aren't seeking treatment?!?

 Sorry, that's my rant to add to this list.  The crazyness of medical science.  

To me, pasta is the equivalent to rice or potatoes .... I wouldn't eat a plate of JUST rice or JUST potatoes .... usually a protein and a veggie (or two or three) accompanies a starch ... but that's just me. What I discovered is that my dinner proportions, before dieting, were all out of whack.

I'd take a plate, fill it with a starch, add in some protein (meat, of course), and then add some sort of veggie or veggie/combo as sort of a little "extra" .... you know, a huge steak, a baked potato, and a small salad... that sort of thing. NOW what I realize is that fully 50% of my plate should be veggies, 25% starch, 25% protein/meat. If anything, I've decided that veggies should be the STARTING point of most of my meals, and then I add in protein and, if I have "space" (calorie-wise and carb-wise) I add a starch.

Then again, I am one of the very few people I know (outside of this website) who actually eats 9+ servings of veggies/fruits daily (just like the RDA calls for!)  How did we get so anti-veggie, anyway? Or stuck with the notion that veggies can be eaten only if we add fat? (Cheese, butter, oil, etc.)

* shakes head in sad wonderment *

=^..^= MOLLY

Last night, I had pasta for dinner (by the way.) 

First, I sliced up and grilled 8 ounces of fresh mushrooms, a delicious red bell pepper, a half-cup of yellow onions, and some fresh shallots. Once cooked (in fresh garlic and basil, of course), I added in some spicy Sicilian marinara sauce, and the leftover lean grilled sirloin from the night before ... oh, it smelled heavenly. I served that over 40 calories' worth of tofu-shirtakai noodles, along with a crunchy side salad of snow peas and radishes in a balsamic vinaigrette. The centerpoint of the dinner was definitely the veggies (mushrooms, peppers, onions, shallots, garlic, tomatoes) ... then the sirloin .... plus the crispy salad (snow peas and radishes) .... and served over some noodles.

If I left out the "extra veggies" ... what fun would THAT be?

=^..^= MOLLY