Miss Molly Gee,

First of all, I wanted to say I have been very inspired by TBL. When I saw men heavier then I was running faster on a treadmill, it encouraged me to crank my speed up. Now I can do a comfortable 5mp (can do 7mph for a min). I have lost 275lbs in the past 2 years by diet, exercise, aerobics. I have educated myself in every aspect.

In a thread somewhere here on 3FC someone had asked how do they count the calories of their mothers soup. I realize fast food places have their nutritional info posted on their website, but how do you take in effect the restaurants that don't? Is it ok to bring your own digital scale to measure portions? For instance, I indulge in chocolate mousse at Sizzler, but I have no idea how to add the nutrition into my diary. I like to monitor my calories, carbs, fiber, protein, fat. I try to keep an eye on my sodium as well. Say I buy a tuna salad sandwich from the vending machine at work. All I know is that it is 4oz. No nutrition listed. How do I factor this into my diet?

Next question is fats. I know there are good/bad fats. I believe the RDA is 60g a day. But if you eat almonds, peanut butter (I use a 2.5g Better N Peanut Butter - but name brands can have up to 16g!) those numbers can quickly add up! How much fat is allowable if you thrown in the good stuff?

I have been plateauing since Halloween. I am 36lbs away from my goal. The way I see it, at least I didn't gain anything. When I get to goal, how difficult is it to maintain? Will I continue to have to push myself as hard as I am now at the gym/diet? Or can I take things easier? I heard an Australian winner of TBL (Adro) say that maintaining is easier. BUT, he was only 1 year into it. Any thoughts?

Lastly, I asked my own dietitian (was diagnosed Type 2 diabetes, but I am officially "cured"). My sister recently passed away to pneumonia. I was told that years ago she had the gastro-bypass. For some odd reason she developed diabetes (was it because the lack of food???). I was also told she had a weak immune system. By googling pneumonia I found out those with diabetes are suspectable to getting this. How do all of these tie together?

I could have edited my own question, but I figured it was so loaded, I'll ask here.

Back to the fats. 1g of fat = 9 calories. I had thrown in 16g of almonds into my smoothie. Not even a handful. My software says that this was 92 calories. For those on counting calories, can we "cheat" and eat a little more if alot of our calories came from the good unsaturated fats? I know a 99c package of blue diamond almonds contains 280 calories

Hello Ms. Gee, thanks for coming to answer our questions! I have two questions.

First is a question about calcium. I am 25 years old (so pre-menopausal), I use hormonal birth control, and I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism so I take Synthroid. How much calcium should I be getting? I usually have skim milk with breakfast, usually a low-fat yogurt cup during the day, and I take a Viactiv calcium supplement (just one) at night. I also eat veggies like broccoli pretty frequently. Is this enough? Or is it too much? I heard a story on the news the other day that said that too much calcium lead to heart problems, but my family has a history of osteoporosis, so I'm pretty concerned about getting the right amount.

Second is a question about Omega-3 fatty acids. I have read that omega-3 fatty acids can reduce inflammation, and in fact a recent magazine article said that sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis who took a fish oil supplement daily felt significant improvement in their joint pain. I have chronic tendinitis and joint pain (possibly related to the hypothyroidism), and I would do anything that would help reduce my inflammation. I know that the best way to get nutrients is from the source, but here in the midwest it's hard to get fresh fish, so I don't manage to eat fish more than once a week. Are fish oil supplements a good option? Do they have any negative effects? Do they have the same calories per gram as fat?

Thank you so very much Suzanne and Ms. Gee.

I had a hysterectomy in June '88. They had to go back in and get the rest of it in Dec '94. I was briefly on the patches but went off because I put on weight hand over fist. I finally put my foot down last year and started losing again. It is so slow! Is post menopausal weight harder to lose? I work out doing Walk Away The Pounds 4 or 5 times per week. Times can be from 30 minutes to 1 hour and I do interval training. I've been stalled at my current weight for over a month.

I have diverticulitis and have been in the ER twice over the last 6 years. Does it ever go away? I've increased fiber but sometimes I have incredible pain with it if I go much over 35 grams. I avoid nuts, seeds and corn. I really miss nuts and fresh corn on the cob in September. What can I do besides fattening peanut butter for the nuts? Would it be OK to let myself ever have these things again?

Thank you, again.

Hello Ms. Gee:
Thanks again for your time. I only have one question this time around.

My current weight is 244lbs at 47% body fat. I have a chart that says I should be in the 21-29% range for body fat because of my age and gender. When I use my old high school math, I calculate that my goal weight should be 156 to 166lbs. Is it really that simple or are there other factors in determining goal weight?


-Sonja

Hello Ms. Gee!!

I was wondering if it mattered where your calories came from, or did it only matter if you kept your calories in a certain range to lose weight. Does the quality of food matter?

Should we ask our questions here from the other thread that weren't answered?

This is my second time on a Low Carb diet. The first time I stayed at 20 carbs a day and lost about 100lb in 9 months. I loved the diet and my Dr. was very happy with the results. I opened a resteraunt a year ago and I have been off plan sampling and cooking. I have about 50 pounds to lose and I have started LC again. I stay at 5 - 10 carbs a day (20 last time). I am not losing as quickly as last time around and wondering why. Is it because I don't have as much weight to lose? Or can too few carbs stop wight loss?

Thanks for your help!

Hello Ms Gee,

I am 19 years old and am coming up on my 4th year being diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic. I have seen nutritionists through my GP, but they never offer me much advice, and I always end up getting stuck in type 2 diabetes classes. I was wondering if there should be a difference in how type 1 and type 2 patients eat. I am coming up empty handed for answers on the Internet so far, and it takes 3 to 6 months to arrange an appointment with a nutritionist here.

I have also noticed that I cannot lose weight as fast as other people, can you explain why?

Also, I notice you recommend chewing sugar free gum to curb appetite after eating and as a replacement for calorie rich snacks. I read an article recently that suggests that having too much "sugar free" in your diet can cause you to become "irregular". There was one example where a college student chewed on average 10 sticks a day of sugar free gum, she lost a load of weight, became severely dehydrated, and had diarrhea and constipation on and off. Is this likely to happen? Or did this article just leave out other factors that may have contributed to the condition? (not getting enough water/calories etc)

Thank you for answering our questions!

What dietary supplements would you recommend to someone with Celiac disease?

I have PCOS and have hypothyroidism. I currently take 500mg twice daily of Metformin and 88mg of Levothyroid. It has been recommended I also take 1000mg daily of Evening Primrose oil. Are there are other recommendations you would make?

Topic for Ms. Gee -

Can you break down multi-vitamins? What should I be taking? I love my fish oil supplement but I can't decide how to pick a daily vitamin or calcium. Do they really add anything to my diet?

Hello!

I have a question regarding toddler's drinks....I currently have my 2 year old nephew living with me and my mother, and we have been trying to fix healthier meals for him. However, we're a bit stumped on what to serve him for drinks. Every juice we see in the stores generally has added sweetners or artificial stuff in it, so can you give some suggestions on what to serve him? Right now, we just have tea, milk, and water, but would like to serve him other healthy drinks. Also, would Kool-Aid do, even with a little bit of sugar?

Hi Ms. Gee,
Thank you for answering our questions. I just purchased a new scale and it tells me how much I weigh, my BMI and my hydration percentage. I drink water throughout the day but the scales is saying I need more hydration. I do drink coffee but I also drink 6 glasses of water a day too. How can I insure that I am properly hydrated? I don't want to harm my organs and I realize they need to be hydrated to function properly. Will drinking more water insure that I am where I need to be?
Thanks again for answering our questions.

Hi Ms Gee:
Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions! I had gastric bypass in September '06. I'm trying to find the right balance of foods to keep me feeling good and possibly be energetic! Also the right mix of supplements.
Additionally I have cerebral Palsy and fibromyalgia. My WLS doc said that my body burns protein faster than other peoples. What does this mean? and what would be a good range of protein intake?
Thank you again!
Kierie

Thank you so much for answering our questions, Ms. Gee! I've been wondering about this for awhile: It's been suggested to take a multi every day following WLS (for me LBS coming up within the next few weeks). What if you're also drinking liquid protein with vitamins already in it (like Boost, for example)? There have been some scare stories in the news about "overdoing it" with vitamins - would that be a problem? Thanks!