 Sandals41 6 years ago | Yvette, thanks for your suggestion to check the “Fitness Forum!” I did check it but, the last time someone posted something was week ago by a woman asking for advice regarding tinnitus! Nobody answered her! The rest of the posts were 2 weeks ago, a month ago, SIX months ago!! It’s incredible! I totally get why you’re not in the best shape right now but, let’s keep fingers crossed you’ll be feeling a LOT better in the Fall! |
 YvetteFauteux 6 years ago | Sandles41, Exercising is not the easiest thing to do. Did you try the fitness forum? I assume that more people could answer your needs there. I am not in any shape to do to much right now but hopefully in the Fall I will feel better to start taking walks again. Good Luck, thanks for the prayers. |
| YvetteFauteux 6 years ago | Isabella, I read somewhere on here that you can add a little milk to your tea or coffee. Just no sugar. |
| Sandals41 6 years ago | Isobella, I’m not the pro here but, I cannot drink black coffee at all so, I use a little “Half & Half.” Maybe there’s a better choice but, that’s what I’ve been using for years. (like using butter vs. margarine) When did you join? I signed up yesterday hoping to see lots of women posting their struggles and successes but, it’s disappointing to see topics not replied to for months! That’s crazy! Best of luck to you and I hope you reach your goal weight like “I” intend to do! |
 Isobella57 6 years ago | Hi, I am a newbie.
Is there anyway to add a milk allowance for tea and coffee? Iām not sure if I can drink black coffee especially. |
| Sandals41 6 years ago | Yvette, you are dealing with so much stress; my prayers are with you. I can’t imagine going through all that you are dealing with AND trying to shed a few pounds. I am not following the meal plans here because my “clean diet” is a good one. MY problem is portion sizes and exercising each day. I need a support group to answer to. My daughter is awesome but, she has a busy life and can’t always chat with me every day! I was hoping TDC could fill the void!! Looking over the forums, it doesn’t seem like many women are apt to check-in every day. Oh well! I can do it on my own, it’s just more fun with buddies. I wish you the best and ya know what? I think an occasional dessert would be good for you!!! š |
| YvetteFauteux 6 years ago | I just joined the club a week ago. I have followed the plan, and it is allot of food, but am enjoying it. I am battling breast cancer and might have metastatic breast cancer( had another biopsy this week, nodule in my chest, seems to be in my bones too). So stress level is high. I am finding this weekend harder since I am craving sugar. I did not think I was addicted, but judging from my reaction I am. I was used to having desert after meals and mid-afternoon tea. All in all it has been a good week. Hoping to make a permanent difference in my life. |
| Sandals41 6 years ago | Hi! I just signed up here mostly to maintain a support group. My diet is mostly clean but, lately my portions have gotten out of control, I’m snacking after 8pm (a no-no), and I’m not exercising every day. By joining Trim Down, I hope to check-in each day with good news about my previous days success and hope mine will encourage others. |
 Ossie-Sharon 6 years ago | Hi, gougouki. Some dried fruits are made by simple dehydration, and others have sugar (and sometimes preservatives) added to them during the process. Any labeling should make that very clear. We encourage use of the simplest type, so as to avoid added sugar and preservatives. If you have a sugar-sensitive condition such as diabetes, fresh fruit is still considered best. |
 gougouki 6 years ago | How are dehydrated fruit made? Do they contain sugar? They seem sweeter than the actual fruits themselves. Some (like dates figs and apricots) look natural but kiwis, pineapples, papaya and mangos look like sugar coated… Are they recommended as a snack or as an alternative for a fruit + 1 sugar for example? I really like them… |
| Ossie-Sharon 6 years ago | Hi, Anne. Each 1/4 cup (60 g or 60 ml) of cottage cheese is equivalent to 1 ounce (30 g) of chicken in our exchange system. However, because the nutritional make-up is a bit different in a way that could influence healthy weight management, I recommend to have it with a good source of vitamin B6, such as banana, figs, spinach, Brussels sprouts, pistachio nuts, and chia or sunflower seeds. |
 Annekriss 6 years ago | Thanks for your helpful advice the other day, Sharon. I’m back on track simply by omitting the bread at breakfast and some days skipping a snack if I’m not hungry. I am not used to eating so much meat, having been brought up almost vegetarian, so more likely to have cottage cheese as a protein especially at lunch. I’ve looked at the food switches but it’s never listed. How much would I have instead of chicken? |
| Ossie-Sharon 6 years ago | Hi, Marvelgrrl. Thanks very much for the information. While you are breastfeeding, your needs are a bit higher, so the difference between you and your husband isn’t currently very large – he needs about 10% more than you (unless he is very active). When you have stopped breastfeeding, your needs will go down a bit, and then the difference will be 20% (again, depending on physical activity level).
Your 5-year-old needs about 75% (3/4) of what you eat, and 17-month-old about 60-70% (2/3) of what you eat. |
 Marvelgrrl 6 years ago | Hi Sharon, re: the other members of my family–my husband is 5’11” and about 225lb. His goal weight is about 190. I have an almost 5-year-old daughter and a 17mo old daughter. My older daughter is average height and weight for her age. The baby is in the 90th+ percentile for height and weight and is still breastfeeding (so I am still nursing), but we are trying to wean. She isn’t good about consistently eating any solid food. The girls don’t always eat what we eat, so I am working on finding healthy kid options for them as we try to introduce them to health adult meals. I’d appreciate your help on portioning for the rest of the family. |
| Ossie-Sharon 6 years ago | Hi, Marvelgrrl, and welcome š The foods listed are intentionally generic to give you the freedom to prepare them as you wish, hopefully utilizing the healthy shopping and preparation techniques we recommend in our program guides and modeled by in our searchable recipe collection (which does include pizza and baked chicken – no worries!).
With regard to the rest of your family, you can list their information here (genders, ages, heights, weights, activity levels), and I will get back to you regarding how much they need relative to your portions.
Finally, you absolutely can repeat meals and even whole days throughout the week, so that you don’t waste any foods. |
