Chewy, I don't necessarily have recipes but our favorite bean-based dishes include:
- split pea with ham soup (you can leave the ham out)
- 9-bean soup (also with ham)
- lentil loaf (it's a "meat" loaf made of lentils instead of hamburger)
- bean burgers (burgers made of beans instead of hamburger)
- white chili (made with white beans, white rice, and cumin instead of chili paste; serve with corn tortillas)
- black bean soup
I use a crockpot for the soups. Can your DD eat rice? Stir-fry rice with eggs is another idea. Or you could make rice balls - you mix leftover rice with bits of egg or fish, roll in seaweed sprinkles, then wrap in a sheet of nori. My DD16 eats this for lunch all the time, since she was a kid. DD14 won't touch it because she's picky but she will eat rice plain.
Can your DD eat nuts? I'm thinking nuts are a good way to get some protein into her?
Anne, regarding how to pick a goal, I used the calculators at dietitian.com. Also I had read that you should strive to be the weight you were at age 18. Something about the healthiest, longest living people maintained their weight from age 18 onward? So I initially shot for that weight, which is 103. This is not an unreasonable weight for someone only 5'0. But, I have learned I feel sickly and weak and find it very difficult to maintain that weight - not to mention I find it harder and harder to find clothing in the adult sections.
Instead, 108 is my "happy" weight. I find that weight easy to maintain without constant obsession, I have a lot of energy, there's room for the extra glass of wine, the restaurant meal, and the occasional cheesecake. And I don't lose my breasts. However, I think of it more as a range than a single number. I am happy as long as my weight doesn't drop more than 5 lbs lower than 108, or 5 lbs higher than 108. That gives me a 10-lb range for normal fluctuations.
I have an idea what my weight is now (I've gotten really good at guessing over the years!), but I still haven't gotten back on the scale. I do know that frequent weighing is one of the single best ways to maintain your weight, but as I said on the other thread, I stopped doing it because it kinda messes with my mind too much. But I guess I need to weigh myself. If I don't do it now, my doctor will do it when I go in to see him anyway. Sigh...
Because I'm prediabetic (have been since 2nd pregnancy), and have a strong history of diabetes in my family (nearly everyone winds up diabetic by age 50 - even those who had no weight problem), my doctor says I cannot afford to go even 1 lb into the overweight BMI. When I start getting on the high side of the normal BMI range, my blood sugars start going haywire. Unfortunately this is the curse of the apple shape. If I was a pear, I could have more leniency with my weight, from a health perspective.
As far as what size that all translates into, if I'm 103 I'm shopping in the children's department or hunting down the elusive 00p's. If I'm 108 I'm in a 0p. If I'm 113 I'm in a 2p. If I'm 120 I'm in a 4p. If I'm 130 I'm in a 6p and you can count my chins. When that happens, fit becomes a real struggle because while the clothes will fit widthwise, they'll be too long all over. I do not like how I look when I hit that range. But, I can be totally happy with my figure in a 4p - It's just that my blood sugar begins to go haywire around that size, and I feel horrible.
The heaviest I've ever been .... well, I didn't own a scale then, but I was in a size 10-12. This was before I got pregnant with my first. I have no pictures to share because I destroyed them all. I gained the weight after college, by eating way too much fast food, too much fat, too much ice cream, too much bologna and bacon, and rarely touching a veggie. Typical day's meals would consist of bacon and eggs for breakfast; big mac for lunch; cheeseteak for dinner and a giant bowl of ice cream before bed. Oh and I adored snickers' bars!
After DD16 was born, I went on a health kick - became a vegetarian and began working out (heavy weights, running 5x's a week). Got down to 103 before I got pregnant with DD14. Successfully kept the weight off, maintaining between 108-115, for years and years, until Feb 2006, when for reasons that have never been explained, I packed on 20+ pounds in a single month. Doctor was never able to figure out why. My overall health was a mess back then and I had lots of tests but nothing conclusive. His best guess to this day is that it's "something with my GI tract." It took me one month to gain it - and over a year to lose it!
Brianna - I totally relate to your story! I also love good food - and wine! And don't have much of a sweet tooth either, although I do love ice cream. I can steer clear of bread pretty easily - unless it's warm and fresh from the oven, then watch out.
The number 1 most effective diet strategy for me is: count my veggies. If I can aim for at least 9 servings of fruits & veggies a day, I find the weight falls right off. The veggies keep me so full, there's barely room for anything else. Exercise doesn't necessarily result in weight loss for me but it does do great things for stabilizing blood sugar, helping me sleep, keeping mood up, etc.
For cravings, try Skinny Cow bars. Mmmm.... and only 100 calories!
Chewy - thanks for starting this thread!
