<p>Standing and clapping for 40 pounds of weight loss. That’s impressive! You must be so thrilled! I wouldn’t panic at a plateau after 40 pounds. That’s about the point where I saw the rate of change start to slow. It almost has to as you have less fat to lose. I have included dairy (cheese and half 'n half in my coffee) in my diet from day one and it doesn’t seem to have been a major impediment.</p>
<p>MOWC:</p>
<p>Sounds like a nice run on the trail. I’ve got to dodge a fallen tree across the trail and a few muddy patches on my little state park route. I’ve planned it to be walking on the two steep rutted stretches (one downhill, one uphill)</p>
<p>interesteddad – I want my DH to learn to cook like you. Your menus are awesome.</p>
<p>I did bring the pepper spray today but there were municipal workers at the park and so the folks with dogs kept them on the leash. </p>
<p>Saw so many little blue birds on my walk today. Are these actual “blue birds”? They are very blue and small – definitely not blue jays. DH and I are starting to get intrigued by birds, one of the markers of getting older!</p>
<p>I’ve had to retire about half my repetoire. For example, I make a killer Pad Thai. And, an awesome Fettucine Alfredo with home-made pasta and homemade California Pizza Kitchen individual pizzas with hand-made dough or deep-fried puffed Indian puri breads. Now, it’s pretty much variations on meat and veggies.</p>
<p>I can do a carb meal from time to time without any problems, so I may go back to a regularly scheduled “carb fest” dinner once every so often only do something really good (like my Pad Thai or Tempura) instead of blowing the opportunity on an Italian sub. The problem is that, being largely off those kinds of carbs for quite a while now, I feel stuffed when I eat them. I could probably reconfigure Pad Thai to have a much smaller portion of the noodles and maybe replace it with brocolli or something.</p>
<p>Dogs have been the bane of my decades as a runner. </p>
<p>Once, for no particular reason, I was got chased by a huge, snarling rottweiler. I could literally hear his teeth clicking as he was opening as closing his jaws as closed in for the kill. I was sprinting and contemplating how I was going to attempt to save myself by vaulting over a 7 foot chain link fence running parallel to the road. When the dog was within about 15 feet I was saved by this deus ex machina miracle. Seeing what was happening, an ~18 year old kid came driving up and skidded to a stop between me and the dog and shouted at me “I’m not weird or anything! Get in!” </p>
<p>Unable to stop his pursuit in time, the dog slammed into the opposite side of the car just as I jumped in. We sped off leaving the frustrated hound behind. A half mile down the road I got out and profusely thanked the kid for the rescue and completed my run from there.</p>
<p>BCEagle, excellent suggestion on obtaining a Municipal City worker tee-shirt but this is New Jersey and municipal jobs are basically handed down in the family. I wouldn’t dare.</p>
<p>Interesteddad, you might get a kick out of Alumother’s outstanding Pork Adobo recipe posted on the Weight Loss for Dummies thread. It’s truly delicious and easy and low carb:</p>
<p>Coreur, there was an incident where we used to live in which a woman was just getting her mail from her mail box when two rottweilers escaped from a neighboring yard attacked her. Another neighbor heard the attack and charged the dogs with a baseball bat and killed one and severely injured the other. Would you believe there was a lot of outrage from dog lovers over his treatment of the dogs? The woman had terrible injuries but survived. The owners of the dog ended up being prosecuted, as I recall.</p>
<p>We’ve had a few cases where an off-duty police officer out with young children shoots and kills a threatening dog. Dog owners sue the city and the officer but invariably lose. In both cases the dogs were off-leash and out of sight.</p>
<p>Raise the crime of a dog off-leash to a felony and that would probably solve a good chunk of the problem.</p>
<p>I do something similar, a Yucatin version with achiote paste. I sear chunks of mariated pork shoulder on the grill along with a big pile of Anaheim chilis and vidalia onions. Then, put it all in a roasting pan, top it up with the mariate liquid (sour orange and garlic and spices) and braise it on the grill for three or four hours until the pork is fall apart tender. It can also be done in the oven, I just like the charcoal fire flavor. I froze most of it the last time and it was fantastic thawed and reheated.</p>
<p>I’m probably going to smoke a pork shoulder and some baby back ribs here shortly and load up the freezer with that stuff.</p>
<p>Marshalls has been moving the short sleeve tech shirts to the clearance rack. I picked up up one of the white adidas shirts for $7 the other day. Their selection of long sleeve shirts has been abysmmal so far. I grabbed a couple Head Skiwear brand poly/spandex compression fit mock turtlenecks (like an Under Armour base layer) for $9.95 each (bright red). I found that nice Nike running shirt. And, they have addidas long sleeve tech shirts in black or white for $15 and the half zip shirts for $21. No great bargains.</p>
<p>For around the house, I’ve taken to wearing a short sleeve tech t under a lightweight or midweight fleece.</p>
Congrats condor!!! Way to go! Will check out the blog you mentioned.
A little stiff this morning from yesterday’s work out but hit the gym for 80 minutes this morning. Rode my recumbent and then did a short kettlebell routine. My thighs and glutes will be hurting tomorrow!
I am really aware of what processed carbs do to me lately. I just puff up and retain fluids if I even eat just a little. I couldn’t believe that I gained 7 lbs of water weight after not watching carb intake for a weekend. Thank heavens it all came off in two days of clean eating. I just don’t feel good anymore if I have a processed carb feast. Need to find something to make for dinner tonight. Was planning salmon on the grill but H did something to the inner workings and now I can’t get it to light and I try not to cook fish inside.
<p>Honestly, my favorite way to cook salmon is really simple and indoor. First, get wild salmon in good condition. Otherwise don’t bother. Put a pan on low heat. Put in some olive oil. Let it get warm, then put in some good butter (I like Presidente). When the butter melts, put in the salmon, let it cook awhile, turn, don’t overcook. It will continue to cook a bit when it is removed from the flame.</p>
<p>It’s just nice and simple and delicious. We actually like it a lot better than grilled. We get most of our salmon frozen from costco.</p>
<p>north minnesota - the wheat belly is something newer for me to try. i lost the weight using the Nu Lean program. it’s about getting toxins out of the body, eating alkaline foods. since i stalled i decided to try out something different. wheat belly is pretty similar from what i can tell except that i can add cheese and plant based oils. i am much like you. if i eat processed foods now i don’t feel good. the biggest offenders are the sugar/wheat combinations…like baked goods. gluten free pastas are to be avoided on wheat belly i read. legumes too. congrats on your gym workout today. salmon sounds great ! through all this dieting, i have determined that atlantic salmon is my absolute favorite.<br>
interesteddad, do you eat grains?<br>
mowc, sounds like a nice run today with nice weather.<br>
what’s everyone’s take on corn and soy product intake? seems like there are concerns with those.</p>
<p>I’m not a fan of corn nutritionally anymore though I love eating it (but I don’t). I eat a moderate amount of soy in the forms of tofu and tempeh - usually at least one to two times per week. We sometimes get soy chorizo and tofurkey sausages too.</p>
<p>3 miles, 9:03 pace - fastest time in at least ten years. Also did Smith Machines and weights (some at home, some at the office). I will do a little more at home tonight. I also want to do some core stuff but I haven’t decided on what to do yet.</p>
<p>I should go over to Marshalls - those Adidias short-sleeve shirts are what I wear to work but I only have three of them so I usually wear dress shirts or a company t-shirt on the other days. I like the shirts for tennis too. I just wish that you could get a size L with an M waist.</p>
<p>Occasionally. I don’t have any specific problem with grains except that I have really tried to cut my carb intake. I get virtually all my carbs from veggies, including carby high fiber veggies like corn and lima beans, and a bit of fresh fruit. I will buy a loaf of rye bread about once a month and nurse it for a few weeks in the fridge for sandwiches at lunch. I have the occasional small serving of pizza or salad or the occassional flour tortilla with fajitas. I will dredge pork chops in flour. No cakes or cookies or brownies. No cereal. So, I would say that I eat minimal grains.</p>
<p>I eat a ton of beef, pork, chicken, fish, leafy green veggies (including a ton of raw veggies), legumes, dairy, cheese, and nuts, all of which are major sources of Vitamin B. I would be shocked if I don’t get enough vitamins from the food I eat since almost every meal I eat is cooked from whole fresh foods. The only exception is that I frequently doctor up Progresso soup with a cup or more of fresh veggies sauteed in olive oil (or bacon fat) for lunches, so that’s a combo.</p>
<p>For example, 2 cups of Romaine lettuce has 100% of the daily allowance of Vitamin A and 90% of Vitamin A. I’m sure that I average at least 2 cups of romaine a day over the course of a week. Brocolli has massive vitamins, too, and I have 2 or 3 cups of brocolli at least once a week, plus raw brocolli in salads. Same with carrots. I probably eat a pound a week. Four bell peppers a week. Three or four onions a week.</p>
<p>bceagle91 - great job on the exercise.
interesteddad - that’s primarily what we’ve been doing. cooking up the fresh vegetables. husband prefers his steamed but i found that i really like mine best oven roasted.
do you eat sweet potatoes, white potatoes or avoid potatoes altogether? seems like the plans i read about are always telling to avoid potatoes and corn.
we love to go out for mexican food because you can order a fajita and make a meal out of it. we try to nix the tortilla shells and i will generally mix everything together, the setup lettuce, salsa together with the fajita meat and veggies. used to have the refried beans but after not having them for a while i discovered they really do tend to “puff” me up when i have them now. i think it’s something about beans being grain legumes. shrimp fajitas are fantastic.
we went on a popcorn binge for a while and it was recommended we eat only organic popcorn.
can anyone recommend a good whey protein shake mix? gluten free please
also - i miss the nu lean super cleanse drink. i am trying an aloe based detox drink but it’s not the same. any suggestions?
overall i’ve have made significant changes in the way that i eat since the first of the year and when i follow that way of eating i feel so much better.</p>
<p>As to your diet question, I did the Paleo diet challenge over the summer to support a family member and experienced some weight loss for the first time in a several year struggle where I had tried all the “conventional wisdom” to no avail. I have now transitioned to a modified Paleo/lower carb diet after reading a couple of books, including some excellent suggestions from contributors to this thread.</p>
<p>For me, a low fat, “healthy” diet rich in whole grains, fruits and vegetables with little meat resulted in WEIGHT GAIN. It wasn’t just the processed carbs – it was the carbs in potatoes, oats, whole grains, etc. that caused weight gain. My challenge wasn’t eliminating “junk food”, I don’t eat fast food or drink soda, so eliminating the usual culprits wasn’t the issue.</p>
<p>That said, even with the low carb, it is slow going for me, my frustration with which I have burdened this thread with on a regular basis.</p>
<p>Happy to report that the low carb, almond flour crust quiche was a total success.</p>
<p>If one eats fish, meat and veggies, B viatmins are not a problem. Folic acid is the stuff added to flour products, and there are some arguments that it might be doing more harm than good.</p>
