A good place to track your intake...

Lady D asked me how much protein I'm getting and mentioned that she was going to come up with a spreadsheet to keep track of everying... soooo I wanted to mention to all of you that you can track all your calories, protein, etc. at www.fitday.com and it's free. I used to use this website back when I was "dieting" on my own. I really like it! It even tells you how much vitamins (calcium, etc.) are in the foods you eat. BTW, now I'm averaging about 500 calories and 60 grams of protein a day (thanks to things like TUNA - 3 oz has 25 grams of protein)! What a switch from the days when I could easily consume 3000 calories a day and had to be really conscientious if I wanted to keep it under 2000 calories! I'm still amazed at how little I can eat and not be hungry!

Thanks, Dolores

Anytime... and I'm still thinking about those beaded medic bracelets.

THANKS FOR THE "FITDAY" INFO, MS VI ... I'M GOING TO CHECK IT OUT TONIGHT. I'M WITH YOU ON THE 3,000 CALORIES & HOW AMAZED AT HOW LITTLE I ACTUALLY LIVE ON NOW & AM HAPPY! DO YOU PUT THE TUNA IN A BLENDER OR MAGIC BULLET TO SOFTEN THE TEXTURE? MAKE A SPREAD OUT OF IT LIKE TUNA SALAD OR JUST EAT THE TUNA? GOD BLESS YOU DAWN & NICK

I chop it to death with a fork and then I chew chew chew, so far it sits great with me! I mix in a little lowfat mayo and I eat it with 1 or 2 crackers (low sodium table crackers are on my "approved" list). Mostly I just eat the tuna plain though, same with the shrimp salad.

THANKS FOR THE INFO ... I'M EATING/DRINKING CREAM OF SHRIMP SOUP BUT LOOK FORWARD TO SHRIMP SALAD ... YUMMY! I TEND TO LIKE SALMON, TALAPIA & SHRIMP BETTER THAN TUNA ALTHOUGH I ENJOY TUNA SALAD. HAVE YOU SEEN THE FLAVORED TUNA & SALMON IN WHAT LOOKS LIKE HEAVY ALUMINUM FOILED PACKETS ... I'M GONNA SAY IT'S "TUNA OF THE SEA" BUT I DON'T REMEMBER ... THEY HAVE A SORTS OF FLAVORS & LOOK TERRIFIC. I HAVEN'T CHECKED THEM OUT FOR CONTENTS YET, BUT THEY MAY BE A NICE CHANGE OF FLAVOR. YOU KNOW ME WELL ENOUGH TO KNOW I'M NOT QUESTIONING YOUR "APPROVED" LIST, MS VI. GOD BLESS YOU DAWN & NICK

I don't know Lady D, you had me kinda scared after that other post... I thought maybe I'd better justify my crackers and not bring down your wrath. Just kidding!!

I'M SO SORRY, MS VI ... MY "PASSION" ... DIDN'T MEAN TO SOUND "WRATHFUL" ... COMES FROM DESPARATION OVER MY FRIEND. AS FOR CRACKERS & OTHER WHITE CARBS ... REMEMBER WHEN YOU SAID THAT YOU WERE TIRED AFTER EATING THE POTATO? (I DIDN'T POST TO YOUR ISSUE AS I WAS BACKING OFF BECAUSE OF HOW I OFFENDED MS SHERYL) ... THE POTATO WASN'T BAD, BUT YOU HAD GONE PAST YOUR THRESHOLD FOR CARBS ... THAT IS WHY YOU WERE TIRED. WHITE CARBS, IN PARTICULAR, MAKE THE BLOOD SUGAR SPIKE & THEN YOUR BODY ATTACKS THE SUGAR & IT SLAMS DOWN QUICKLY. ASK ANY DIABETIC WHAT HAPPENS TO THEM WHEN THEY EAT CARBS & THEY HAVE A "SPIKE". SO, NEXT TIME, TRY A LITTLE LESS POTATO TO FIND YOUR CARB THRESHOLD. THAT WAY YOU CAN ENJOY YOUR POTATO WITHOUT THROWING YOUR SUGAR INTO AN UNSTABLE CONDITION. IT'S ALL A BALANCING ACT & EACH PERSON NEEDS TO FIND WHERE THEIR CENTER POINT. PLEASE ALLOW ME TO EXPLAIN WHY MY DOCTOR DOESN'T ALLOW WHITE CARBS ON THE DIET HE PUTS US ON ... NOT TO CHANGE YOUR (OR, ANYONE ELSE'S) MIND ... FOLLOW YOUR DOCTOR'S DIET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ... BUT, SO YOU HAVE MORE INFORMATION TO HELP YOU EAT THOSE CARBS & NOT HURT YOURSELF. 1. THE UNSTABLE SUGAR ISSUE I JUST MENTIONED ... SO, FIND YOUR THRESHOLD POINT & YOU'LL ENJOY THE CARBS WITHOUT JEOPARDIZING YOUR GLUCOSE LEVELS. 2. MOST WHITE CARBS ARE "DRY" CARBS ... YOUR POUCH'S HEALTH RELIES ON FLUIDS. REMEMBER, YOU DON'T HAVE THAT LARGER STOMACH THAT COULD HOLD FLUIDS, ACIDS & DIGESTIVE JUICES WHEN YOU PUT SOMETHING IN IT ... NOW, YOU HAVE THIS ITTY BITTY BUBBLE & YOU HAVE TO BE THE ONE THAT HYDRATES IT. IF YOU GET TOO MANY "DRY" CARBS, THEY ABSORB THE MOISTURE RIGHT OUT OF YOUR POUCH. ON OUR DIET, WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DRINK ANYTHING A HALF HOUR BEFORE OR AFTER EATING ANYTHING, SO YOU CAN SEE WHERE A "DRY" CARB WOULD BE DANGEROUS FOR MY POUCH ON MY DIET. 3. MOST WHITE CARBS "SWELL" IN YOUR STOMACH. NOW, MS SHERYL CAN EAT RICE WITH NO DISCOMFORT, BUT MANY OTHERS CANNOT BECAUSE THEY ARE SWELLING & STRETCHING THEIR POUCHES TO AN UNCOMFORTABLE SIZE. THE REASON THEY ARE SWELLING IS BECAUSE THEY ARE PULLING THE MOISUTRE OUT OF YOUR POUCH & ABSORBING IT. SO, AGAIN ... ON MY DIET, THIS COULD BE PAINFUL/DANGEROUS BECAUSE I COULD NOT REPLINISH MY FLUIDS FOR AT LEAST A HALF HOUR & DIDN'T HAVE ANY FLUIDS A HALF HOUR BEFORE EATING. 4. MOST WHITE CARBS HAVE LESS NUTRITIONAL VALUE THAN GREEN, OR EVEN YELLOW & RED CARBS (VEGETABLES), SO WITH THE SMALL AMOUNT OF CALORIES WE ARE ALLOWED & THE SMALL AMOUNT OF ACTUAL FOOD WE CAN EAT, BETTER NUTRITIONAL CHOICES CAN BE MADE. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOW, ON YOUR SIDE ... YOU HAVE THE BEST OF ALL WORLDS BECAUSE YOU HAVE SO MANY MORE CHOICES THAN WE DO. IF YOU TAKE THE TIME TO FIND YOUR "CARB THRESHOLD" YOU CAN EAT CRACKERS, POTATOS & SUCH WITH LITTLE OR NO AFTER-EFFECT LIKE YOUR SLEEPINESS. BECAUSE YOU HAVE SO MANY MORE CHOICES, STAYING ON YOUR DIET WILL BE EASIER & MORE PLEASANT & YOU'LL BE ABLE TO MAKE "NORMAL" CHOICES WITH YOUR FAMILY & FRIENDS EVEN WHEN YOU GO OUT TO RESTUARANTS. YOUR DIET BALANCES ALL TYPES OF CARBS (EXCEPT REFINED SUGAR, OF COURSE) WHERE MINE DOES NOT, SO IN THE LONG-HAUL, THIS MAY BE EASIER ON YOUR BODY. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ONE ISN'T BETTER; THEY'RE JUST DIFFERENT. THE POINT I WAS TRYING TO MAKE TO MY FRIEND LAST NIGHT (&, I OFFENDED Y'ALL IN THE PROCESS) WAS THAT YOU CAN'T EAT EGG McMUFFINS, HAMBURGERS, FRENCH FRIES & CHIPS, ETC, TO THE POINT OF BLOWING YOUR POUCH. YOU CAN'T EAT "LIKE THERE IS NO TOMORROW" ON ANY OF THESE DIETS - WHAT YOU EAT & HOW MUCH YOU EAT MATTERS. SHE'S REALLY IN DENIAL NONE OF HER FRIENDS KNOWS WHAT TO DO TO HELP HER ANYMORE. SO, SO SORRY FOR SCARING YOU, MS VI! HOPE YOU'LL ACCEPT A BIG ((HUG)) FROM ME & FORGIVE ME! GOD BLESS YOU DAWN & NICK

I totally understand and agree about the white carbs. I spent years as a T.O.P.S. leader doing research on nutrition and trying to explain what carbs do to a person's blood sugar and the spikes and insulin resistance and all that, but the lady's in our group weren't really as interested in eating healthy as I was. So I let them be and just did what was best for me. And I have to admit that even though I kept off most of the 80 lbs that I had lost, I indulged in white carbs now and then. I always said they were my downfall though, so I keep them to a minimum. As for your "passion", I know you mean well, but sometimes we just have to let people make their own mistakes you know? It's unfortunate that your friend is being so self-destructive, but she is the only one who can stop herself. Sounds like she needs to learn to love herself more and care more about her own body.

OH YES, MS VI ... YOU HAVE A MARVELOUS POINT ABOUT HER LOVING HERSELF ... WE TAKE BETTER CARE OF OURSELVES WHEN WE LEARN TO DO THAT, DON'T WE? ... YOU'RE RIGHT ... MAYBE SHE HAS TO LEARN THE HARD WAY, BUT I SO HATE TO SEE THAT FOR HER! MS DAWN Y OFFERED HER PROFILE & EXPERIENCES AS A WAY TO HELP & I'M GOING TO GIVE HER MS DAWN'S PROFILE ADDRESS! THEN, I'M GOING TO TAPE MY HANDS TOGETHER SO I CAN'T DO ANYTHING ELSE ... OR, MAYBE I SHOULD TAPE MY MOUTH SHUT ... OR, MAYBE BOTH ... IF SHE HASN'T SEEN THE LIGHT BY READING ALL THE WONDERFUL POSTS HERE ... WELL ... ... I'LL STILL LOVE HER! GOD BLESS YOU (& YOUR WISDOM) DAWN & NICK PS: THAT'S COOL ABOUT YOU BEING A TOPS LEADER!