MENA diet/exercise thread

[♥JP♥ 5]

Well! Today i plan on doing some more running, some weights, and making some soup from my garden stuff. i have the following:

Squash blossoms

2 tomboncino squash

purple basil

swiss chard (bright lights, but i only have white and yellow atm)

beet thinnings

Bok choy

I think it may all go together except the basil, we'll see. Fresh food is always better for you I am thinking about squash blossom soup without adding the cream.

You could always leave the basil out and just sprinkle it on top. That way the soup won't get as strong of a flavor from it.

[Nasturtium 500]

Well! Today i plan on doing some more running, some weights, and making some soup from my garden stuff. i have the following:

Squash blossoms

2 tomboncino squash

purple basil

swiss chard (bright lights, but i only have white and yellow atm)

beet thinnings

Bok choy

I think it may all go together except the basil, we'll see. Fresh food is always better for you I am thinking about squash blossom soup without adding the cream.

You could always leave the basil out and just sprinkle it on top. That way the soup won't get as strong of a flavor from it.

That's true. I figure it can't hurt to try a soup! Worst thing that could happen is it sucks. i was thinking about giving away some of the basil to some girls at work- -we've been trading garden foods. Purple is always fun because it contrasts to well with other foods.

BTW, I know you said you were considering joining this whole exercise thing after Taleen was born. Have you thought about what you're going to do? Don't you have to get approval on ab stuff by the doctor who lets you know when your abs have come back together? I vaguely remember this from another forum and was wondering.

[♥JP♥ 5]

Well! Today i plan on doing some more running, some weights, and making some soup from my garden stuff. i have the following:

Squash blossoms

2 tomboncino squash

purple basil

swiss chard (bright lights, but i only have white and yellow atm)

beet thinnings

Bok choy

I think it may all go together except the basil, we'll see. Fresh food is always better for you I am thinking about squash blossom soup without adding the cream.

You could always leave the basil out and just sprinkle it on top. That way the soup won't get as strong of a flavor from it.

That's true. I figure it can't hurt to try a soup! Worst thing that could happen is it sucks. i was thinking about giving away some of the basil to some girls at work- -we've been trading garden foods. Purple is always fun because it contrasts to well with other foods.

BTW, I know you said you were considering joining this whole exercise thing after Taleen was born. Have you thought about what you're going to do? Don't you have to get approval on ab stuff by the doctor who lets you know when your abs have come back together? I vaguely remember this from another forum and was wondering.

Well I will mostly focus on diet for the beginning but I'm pretty sure I can walk as a start. Breastfeeding burns quite a bit of calories as I understand!

[Nasturtium 500]

Well I will mostly focus on diet for the beginning but I'm pretty sure I can walk as a start. Breastfeeding burns quite a bit of calories as I understand!

Isn't it like 500 extra calories per day? I have an encouraging story for you my friend just had a baby last May, and she did BF the whole time until now-- her daughter would never take a bottle. Anyway, she didn't exercise or anything and she dropped all of her PG weight and then her pre-pg weight and is now as small as she was in High school!

[Nasturtium 500]

Wow. I just made soup with fat-free kosher chicken consomme, 1 small onion, 2 garlic cloves, 8cups of squash blossoms (before chopping/discarding bottoms, etc), 2tbs butter, 4 cups water, 2 tromboncino squash not yet pollinated (so about 8" long)a handful of baby bok choy leaves, salt, and pepper. It's really good! The soup kind of tastes like artichoke hearts.

So, according to the internet, this soup is really low fat.

Squash blossom info:

Nutrition Facts:

Serving Size = ½ c raw

• Calories – 0

• Proteins (g) – 0

• Carbohydrates (g) – 0

Squash blossoms are low in calories and a good source of, potassium, vitamins B, K, and beta carotene.

Summer squash:

1 cup raw=18calories

Low in saturated fat , No cholesterol ,Very low in sodium, Very high in dietary fiber ,High in iron

Very high in manganese, Very high in magnesium, High in niacin, Very high in phosphorus, Very high in potassium , Very high in riboflavin , High in thiamin, Very high in vitamin A, B6, C, zinc

Bok Choy--

1cup= 9 calories

Bok Choy is a great choice for getting lots of vitamin C, calcium and vitamin A. Bok Choy also contain glucosinolates, which may prevent cancer.

(all copied from the internet.)

[Jenn! 918]

Sounds good, Julianna! I admire your extensive veggie knowledge. I don't even know what squash blossoms are really, and you really lost me on the yellow atm Swiss chard, lol.

I was very pleased today because I went to lunch with my grandmother and told her that I only had 5 pounds left to my goal and she told me she thought I looked great and I should be careful trying to lose any more. My grandma is the *only* person in my life who has ever been on me for my weight, so that felt really good.

[Nasturtium 500]

Sounds good, Julianna! I admire your extensive veggie knowledge. I don't even know what squash blossoms are really, and you really lost me on the yellow atm Swiss chard, lol.

I was very pleased today because I went to lunch with my grandmother and told her that I only had 5 pounds left to my goal and she told me she thought I looked great and I should be careful trying to lose any more. My grandma is the *only* person in my life who has ever been on me for my weight, so that felt really good.

LOL Yellow swiss chard atm (at the moment).

That's all the colors, but right now I just have a harvest of white and yellow stems

Squash blossoms:

Thing is, I was (and still am by a lot of standards) a really picky eater-- the kind people complain about. Well, I also have this personality fault where I feel bad if someone does something for me and I don't jsut adore it (guilt). I kind of reached this point, though, where I came to realize veggies, etc are in "families." So like if you like beets, you're going to likely also like swiss chard-- they both are Beta spp. You'll also probably like spinach, although possibly not, and so on. So it was kind of a reaction to the pickiness to determine when and if I would actually like something and then spending time trying to focus on eating that at get-togethers and NOT the other stuff.

I'm also a firm believer in the idea that the reason one doesn't see really morbid obesity or even much overweightness in past populations is NOT because theyw ere starving (a weird idea some people came up with) or unhealthy (lifespan isn't that much different) per se, but rather has a major dietary component. I think our modern processed foods, junk foods, sodas, etc really have done a number on us health-wise. So I decided this season to try to grow more of my own food-- number one it's fun, number two it's exercise (you gotta get out there and screw with your plants all the time), number 3 it's cheaper, and most importantly, number 4: fresh food is healthier. Even fresh vegetables in most grocery stores have been sitting around for quite some time, often picked before ripeness, and the longer they sit and less ripe they were picked at, the more nutrients you have lost. I thought ti would be a good experiement for weight loss and health to try home-grown.

First of all, way super congratulations on your weught loss of TWENTY pounds! WOW!I hope you have some before and after pics for yourself.

Secondly, also? way to go on the grandma thing. My person is my mom-- always on me about my weight. So I remember the one time I got small enough for her... it was a big deal. Of course, it wounds like your grandma has a good sense of weight my mom prefered me at under 100lbs lol (I'm 5'4".)

[polarbear 0]

I decided to weight myself thismorning to make sure I wasn't gaining any weight and I've lost 2 pounds

Only 50 more to go until my max healthy weight

Seriously, I don't get how they can give you a max and min healthy weight based on age and height - everyone is different and I haven't been even close to my max healthy weight since I was 16 and a size 10 clothes and I was still almost 20 lbs over that silly thing

[Nasturtium 500]

Those are just statistical averages. I need to be at the low, low end of that before I start to even look thin. I think right now I am probably at the top of my "max" healthy weight and it is not good.

[Jenn! 918]

Those are just statistical averages. I need to be at the low, low end of that before I start to even look thin. I think right now I am probably at the top of my "max" healthy weight and it is not good.

I agree. So much depends on body type, how you carry your weight, etc. You can look at two people at the same height and weight and come to totally different conclusions about how "thin" they are.

Me, I'm always going to be towards the higher end of the healthy weight range thanks to my "butterflier's" body.

And goodness, Julianna! 5'4" and 100 lbs? That's quite the standard. My mom was 5'5" and 98 lbs in her 20's, after having me. But she never pushed that standard on me, thank goodness. She did look really great in a bikini though, I have to admit.

[polarbear 0]

Those are just statistical averages. I need to be at the low, low end of that before I start to even look thin. I think right now I am probably at the top of my "max" healthy weight and it is not good.

I agree. So much depends on body type, how you carry your weight, etc. You can look at two people at the same height and weight and come to totally different conclusions about how "thin" they are.

Me, I'm always going to be towards the higher end of the healthy weight range thanks to my "butterflier's" body.

And goodness, Julianna! 5'4" and 100 lbs? That's quite the standard. My mom was 5'5" and 98 lbs in her 20's, after having me. But she never pushed that standard on me, thank goodness. She did look really great in a bikini though, I have to admit.

No kidding - my mom's grandmother told her when she was little that no real woman weighed over 100 lbs - she's 5'7" She tried reallllly hard to stick to that, but never managed to get under 110 after practically starving herself and just decided to be happy as long as she didn't have to buy new clothes.

She was a size 8-10 for 50 years, even with 4 children She's all peeved right now bc once she went over that 50 mark she couldn't wear some of her favorite clothes anymore and is now a size 12, which she just thinks is unacceptable (even though she's pushing 60) she looks like she's only late 40's and is in amazing shape - I really don't see what she has to complain about

[Nasturtium 500]

I agree. So much depends on body type, how you carry your weight, etc. You can look at two people at the same height and weight and come to totally different conclusions about how "thin" they are.

Me, I'm always going to be towards the higher end of the healthy weight range thanks to my "butterflier's" body.

And goodness, Julianna! 5'4" and 100 lbs? That's quite the standard. My mom was 5'5" and 98 lbs in her 20's, after having me. But she never pushed that standard on me, thank goodness. She did look really great in a bikini though, I have to admit.

There isn't a person out there who doesn't add at least 20lbs to my actual weight when I have them guess. I don't carry weight well, and I think it looks worse because you can tell the smallness of my frame by my hands and feet. Yet, there are plenty of women who wegh more than me and are actually thinner-- muscle and all that adding weight to them.

LOL@butterflier's body-- I actually totally got the picture from that! I've got man-legs. Uuugh.

No kidding - my mom's grandmother told her when she was little that no real woman weighed over 100 lbs - she's 5'7" She tried reallllly hard to stick to that, but never managed to get under 110 after practically starving herself and just decided to be happy as long as she didn't have to buy new clothes.

She was a size 8-10 for 50 years, even with 4 children She's all peeved right now bc once she went over that 50 mark she couldn't wear some of her favorite clothes anymore and is now a size 12, which she just thinks is unacceptable (even though she's pushing 60) she looks like she's only late 40's and is in amazing shape - I really don't see what she has to complain about

Wow! that is an impossible standard unless everyone was under a certain height!

[Nasturtium 500]

Lalalalalala talking to myself in every thread!

Does anyone else have problems with their husbands NOT wanting to eat soup? Mine will eat lentil soup and recently discovered maruchan ramen noodles and has decided they are OK... but refuses to try my veggie soups. I know they don't taste like #######, because i already have made a million other people eat them and they thought they were just fine and even requested more. I wish I could get him to eat home made soup because he is so hard to get to eat anything that isn't freshly-cooked and 90% chicken.

[sarahaziz 0]

Shorba...does that count as your "homemade" soups?

[Nasturtium 500]

Shorba...does that count as your "homemade" soups?

Thanks for the idea! he may at this.. it's so hard to say. he has a textural dislike for anything "wet" or "liquid" so it's really difficult!