ajja

I have to say Robert, I undersand how thankless many of our jobs are each day. Therefore, let me personally say thank you for having this forum up and running. Even for a girl like me who is not vegan or vegetarian, the insight I have gained here has improved my health tremendously. I suffer from acid reflux, have for years. Been to the specialists, had the procedures done, paid for the medication time and time again, even tried walking after eating --none of it helped. Low and behold, found an article here, started eating as many fruits and veggies I can keep on hand and leaving the meat and fast food alone as often as I can and I have not burped incessively at any point that I am able to follow the instructions found here. I do not miss the burning sensation nor waking up almost choking to death at all. So I thank you for keeping up this board for the thousands of us who may just stop by for just a little help.

Thanks guys. I do have quite a bit to lose. I am 5'2, 160 pounds. Guidelines say I should weigh about 120 but I don't really know about that.

Could someone please explain the idea of too few calories. For instance, there are days when I can be perfectly fine eating fruit all day and then taking in a couple of light meals, but I am concerned when I feel like I have not eaten enough because of the "body holding on to weight in case of famine -from our ancestors" belief. Is it possible to lose weight without eating a certain number of calories as long as you are full, energized and seeminly getting enough nutrients? Or do I need to count calories to ensure that I get in a certain minimum a day?

I have been experiencing the same thing. In the past, I would eat anything I wanted for lunch because I always ate out and there are very few decent choices -gas station food mostly, near my job. Then I started to be conscious and take note of how I felt whenever I ate fast food, I felt sleepy, tired, grumpy -the whole nine yards. When I switched to salads, I felt much better but, because I usually only have a very small breakfast by the time 3pm comes around I am famished and concerned that my calorie count is very low. This concerns me although I don't know that it should. Can too few calories really hurt that bad? What can I eat at 3 that does not contain meat, because I normally fix meat for our last meal, that will fill me up and give me energy but not make me lethargic?

My boys also love canned pineapples and grapefruit. I only buy what is in its own juices. I did buy two bags of frozen fruit yesterday from Walmart and will see how that works for me.

Thank you guys.

Do any of you ever eat canned fruit (in its own juices)? As the season changes, the choosing is becoming pretty slim. I do not necessary like the taste you find with many of these but wonder if they are a decent alternative esp for my boys. What about frozen?

Kon, it does help tremendously. That is how I grew up also. I know without a doubt that the fast food must go. They are only 10 and 7 but they do eat breakfast and lunch at school and the school sells snacks (straight junk food) which I do not give them money to buy. Other than that I control what they eat, I have just read so much over the years until I am truly hesitant to even give them an abundance of fruit. But if you suggest, this is one change I can surely make. I can replace at least 98% of their snacks with fruit. Will this make a difference though if I am not able to completely change their activity level? As far as outside, we live in an apartment with only a street in front of it and there are no kids for them to play with. They can ride their bikes but not freely like we did because the sidewalk does not allow for much freedom. Before we moved here they were way more active outside. I sound to myself like I am making excuses...I do appreciate your advice though and promise myself and them that I am going to figure something out. Thanks

Thank you guys for the advice. The walking is almost a last result. I live in a very small town where there are no organized sports programs for the children, the one we do have is run by a very unsavory individual whom I would rather not expose them to. They do like Tae bo tapes but I am hesitant to have them do them since they are pretty tough even for an adult and are mostly 40 minutes long. It is this recent move that I think has devastated us. We no longer have access to organized sport programs, regular PE classes, basketball goals, etc. so I am having to figure something out quickly. Thanks again.

Hi, First of all, I am not vegan, nor am I a vegetarian; however, I am in the process of trying to eat as many fruit and veggies per day that I can. I do also try to minimize the amount and type of meat my children and I have per day. Here is my prob: my youngest son and I are short -I am 5"2, my youngest son is about 6 inches shorter and 2 yrs younger than his brother but they wear the same size pants (my youngest is actually beginning to exceed his brothers). His body mimics mine and I tend to carry a lot of bellyfat. I will admit that we do eat probably 4 meals out per week (stupid I know). I am very concerned. Do I allow him to eat as many fruit as he can to eliminate sugary snacks or do I need to restrict the number of fruit he eats per day? How many servings of veggies should I strive for? I also live on a college campus which has a mile long trail -how many laps and how often should we do this as a family? I appreciate all the help you guys can give me. Being overweight pains me but I was not an overweight child and it is devastating thinking that my son will have to deal with this at such a young age. Please help me.