<p>I compared the pedometer with google maps and I had it set pretty well at least for a brisk walk. I don’t think it would be accurate if I wore it around the house. It’s a lot more comfortable than a heart monitor. My heart monitor coast around $45 I think, but I may be remembering wrong. I like them for different purposes. The pedometer gets you moving, but the heart monitor encourages me to get my exercise up in intensity and helps with interval work.</p>
<p>I think if you ate a slice of pizza your husband shouldn’t grumble. My husband eats the tops off pizza and leaves the crust which I really think is disgusting! If you love pizza I think it should be an occasional treat where you limit portion size or you eat less or exercise more to make up for it. If you aren’t crazy about pizza eat the gyro. If you like it, but can live without the crust do what my husband does. The idea is to eat less and move more. But there are lots of ways to get from A to B.</p>
<p>H’s company had a walking challenge and gave everyone pedometers. They generally seemed to work pretty well EXCEPT for people who were chunky around the middle such that the pedometer didn’t really hang downward very consistently. Some of those folks found that the pedometer underestimated their steps by 30-50% when the walked with companions who had more slim physiques. Women seemed to have more problems than men. Maybe a different brand of pedometer would register better, but if you’re using it as more than an indicator, might want to find a high school and try it on their track and see. (Lots of grousing at H’s company because the contest averaged steps per day by team, so under-reported steps were costly to the team’s average.)</p>
<p>I am joining this thread late. In the last 18 months I have lost almost 30 lbs. I have hit a wall mainly because I am not being as “good” with my eating. The positive is I am maintaining the weight lost. I am at a healthy weight and would love to lose 10 more or at the very least not gained the lost weight back.
My H is the exercise fanatic in our house. I have never loved it. I find walking in my neighborhood with hills to be the easiest and most doable for me. My H is also a very disciplined eater. Drives me crazy.
My family does not eat seafood, fish or pork. I need to find more low carb ways to make chicken! I try to reserve my pizza eating for the weekend. When I was being careful I found I could splurge a bit on the weekend if I was careful during the week and still lose weight.</p>
<p>Wow!!! I reduced (but did not eliminate) carbs a few days ago, and I can see a noticeable difference in tummy bloat. I am going for the long term, slow transitioning vs. shocking my system, esp. since DH is the cook, so it is easing him into the change.</p>
<p>I am cooking for my women’s group in a few weeks and I need ideas for low carb vegetarian main dishes. Got any? Or can you suggest web sites? Sometimes, it is as many as a dozen of us, but since it is summer, recipes that feed seven or eight will probably be sufficient.</p>
<p>Not that it matters to me, but my husband is thrilled that I’m finally paying attention to calories, carbs, sodium. I’m not horrendously overweight (generally a size 12), but have put on a few (well more like 15) pounds now that I’m comfortably into menopause. Anyways, the reason he’s happy is that he’s been cutting carbs and eating more healthily for a couple of years now, including walking 3-4 miles every morning (easy when you’re unemployed). Now that both kids are in college, we have more freedom to eliminate carbs, cook two veggies for dinner and eliminate most sauces.</p>
<p>And yes, CCsiteObsessed, the very first thing I noticed was no bloat at the end of the day. Congrats!</p>
<p>Agree on the tummy bloat. I hold most of my weight in my middle. Low carb makes a difference for me.</p>
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<p>If strictly vegetarian, then you I think that you need to look at Tofu, Tempeh and Seiten as meat/protein substitutes. There are all kinds of soy substitutes that look and taste somewhat like meat out there too (burgers, bacon, sausage, etc.).</p>
<p>Welcome Mom60! Try the link that someone posted earlier in the thread for recipes. it has some good ones.</p>
<p>[Recipes</a> | Jan’s Sushi Bar](<a href=“http://www.janssushibar.com/?cat=5]Recipes”>janssushibar.com)</p>
<p>I completely agree about the carb bloat. It was the first thing I noticed when I cut back. I feel so much better, too and more energetic.</p>
<p>Eptr- Already been there. I made the Chicken with asparagus last week. It was good.
I love the idea of two vegetables.</p>
<p>What I notice most about low-carb eating is that I feel more clear-headed and energetic. When I eat empty carbs now, I am aware that they make me sleepy. I haven’t paid attention to my waistline, but the fact that so many of us are saying that bloating is reduced implies that the low-carb advocates who claim that our bodies are not well-adapted to a high-carb diet are right.</p>
<p>Momlive, very interesting information about the dive in cardiac surgery rates. I think we need another thread to discuss things like this in depth!</p>
<p>CCSiteObsessed, I assume that by “vegetarian” you are excluding fish and seafood. My suggestion would be a hearty soup, but I am not sure whether beans or lentils fit into your “low-carb” guidelines. I am trying to lower carbs, but at least for now I am not worrying about beans and lentils. I had a wonderful vegetarian minestrone for lunch today (cooked a huge pot of it last night), and I will be making a huge pot of tomato-lentil soup later today. These don’t give me what I now recognize as carb symptoms. I get those only from sugar, white flour, empty carbs, as far as I can tell. I had a few Japanese rice crackers this weekend at a neighbor’s house, the ones that are coated with a sweet substance. I had only a few, and they fit well within my allowed calories, but I could tell that they were not good for me.</p>
<p>Beans don’t make you feel bloated? I love lentil soup and minestrone but I do suffer a bit from the beans. As do those around me.</p>
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Would you consider sharing the recipe?</p>
<p>I’ve become quite fond of tofu. My favorite way to eat it is probably marinated (soy, vinegar, ginger, a little peanut oil), and then grilled on kebobs with onions and sweet potato.</p>
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<p>I pre-soak beans and lentils before cooking. There are no gas left and therefore there are less suffering. You might want to try doing that before cooking beans.</p>
<p>Alummom - what sort of tofu do you use? Firm, extra firm?</p>
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Ooh this is nice! One could add a variety of things to make a change. I like this idea a lot. (There was a tofu dish that was very successful on last night’s “Next Food Network Star.”)</p>
<p>Made a healthier choice for lunch and was stuffed. Brought some home!</p>
<p>This time of year I really like gazpacho for a vegetarian soup. For a party filling salad I really like Mollie Katzen’s Southwest Salad with Black Beans and Corn.</p>
<p>2 cups dried black beans (or you can cheat and use canned)
2 cups cooked corn
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup+ chopped red onion
1 minced red bell pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
2-3 Tb cumin seeds
1/2 cup fresh cilantro(chopped)
1/2 cup fresh parsley (chopped)
1 tsp crushed red pepper (or to taste)
moderate amount of black pepper</p>
<p>Soak beans overnight then put in fresh water. Bring to a boil and simmer 1.25 to 1.5 hours. Drain and rinse well.</p>
<p>Toast the cumin seeds either in a toaster over or using a cast iron skillet. Add everything to a salad boil. Serve with corn tortillas heated in a little bit of olive oil or toasted in the oven.</p>