Fennel seeds are quite enjoyable eaten plain. they mustt be chewed a good deal, so one does need good teeth. they have wonderful digestive and especially antiflatulent properties (prevent bloating). i've taken them for mild indigestion - about a tablespoon, but chewed in about 5 mouthfuls or more depending on ease-of-chewing.

the brightly colored thingies in indian mixes are decorative. they are made of sugar or artificial sweeteners - i have little single-serving packets of those indian blends - the restaurants make their own most likely so they will vary. Usually i've found the mixes also contain other aromatic seeds such as anise, which also has digestive properties.

----------------

Dear Mari

w/ regard to your recipes above, presuming now all occurrences of "fenugreek" should be read as "fennel"):-

Do i understand correctly that hubby cooked the stalks as well, sliced as one might do with celery?
.............:Hum:
were they sweet? i mean what did they taste like compared to the bulbs?

~ waves ~

Dear Bobby,

doctors/dieticians recommend weighing in once a week. weighing in every day you will most likely see fluctuations of about 3lbs which are easily water weight and do not mean you have gained weight. so just bear that in mind. also if you are constipated you will see slight intermittent gains from waste accumulation how else should i put it.

it sounds like your weight is stable right now, which is good. not changing easily beats gaining weight. i lose weight sometimes when i am very anxious but that is a horrible way to lose it. it depends if i have food cravings or if i lose my appetite, either of which can happen. when i am manic i almost always lose weight. lately that's not the case because of the meds he puts me on when it happens. :rolleyes:

before medication i used to fluctuate by about 20 lbs between mania and depression. it's terrible then the minute i'd level off and gain a pound or so things would start being a bit tight, eventually i'd get depressed couldn't get into most of my clothes.

my weight seems to be stable also but i haven't lost any since the last round with Zyprexa. (i had lost > 10 lbs with great difficulty before i had to take it again. :() i hate that the meds do this too us. they should call the AP class of drugs the blimp drugs, don'tcha think?

i am glad you will discuss the steel cut oats with your doc, in regard to the diabetes - that seems most sensible to me.

love

~ waves ~

made myself go to the gym tonight. walked on the tread mill 3.5 miles in one hour. Sweat alittle bit.
shower felt good.
then ate 2 thin mint girl scout cookies....oh they were good!
bizi

Bizi,
That is a brisk pace. Keep up the good work. :)

M

I fell off my diet this past weekend. Ate such good food...sigh
Have not been to the gym in a while, gained 2 pounds must be water weight. I feel so bloated.
My system is still abnormal but am using psyllium husks and this seems to help. It has been awful.
I dieted the better part of a month and only lost 2 pounds...sigh
bizi
I did say that I wanted to lose it slowly...:o

Hi, Bizi,
Slow is good.

:hug: :hug: :hug:
Maybe things are improving.


M

Dear Bizi

i am glad you enjoyed your food this weekend. ;)
that's good. oh, i mean the psyllium, not the "been awful" - i'm sorry about that part! :o i looked up psyllium husks. they absorb water and become mucillaginous... should be very gentle and yet effective.
one thing at a time. you need to take care of yourself, and figure out a diet that doesn't mess up your system. (that doesn't have to mean a whole new type of diet. a few tweaks to what you were doing might to the trick.) but i say priority is to get things... "moving" smoothly again. ;)

if nothing else you learned some things about your body in the month you dieted. also, perhaps this recent gain will in fact turn out to be water weight and it will be more like 4-5 lb net loss... never know. (that would be nice, after all your effort and discipline! :))

for now, just keep taking good care of yourself, Bizi.

love

~ waves ~

thank you for your support.
I have been worrying alot about money. My business has been extremely slow. Am waiting impatiently for my ad to come out on the bags at the pharmacy.
signed up to do a health fair yesterday. An got a great lead to talk to a group of AARP members, about 20-30 of them at a luncheon. They meet every other month at this senior center. Could be in august or sooner if they have a cancellation. This worry is not good for me.
thanks for listening.
bizi

awww
 

((((Bizi)))))

i sure do hear you about worrying. i worry that i will end up aging/elderly, ill and very broke without any sort of retirement income. many of us here have different kinds of worries and fears, so we understand what you mean about worrying. you are not alone. Of course you are right, also, that it is not good for us, but it is extremely hard to just up and quit worrying, isn't it? :(

i hope your ads come out soon at the pharmacy. what a nifty idea! :)
i also hope you get a cancellation to talk to the AARP group sooner rather than later. i realize you get anxious about talking too:o but hopefully even amidst the anxiety of the moment you will feel good, knowing that the talk will likely bring you new business. i hope things start looking up soon.

it sounds like you have been proactive about improving things. even if results are slow to come, you are moving in the right direction.

:hug::hug::hug:

love

~ waves ~

Could excessive worrying be a bipolar trait or more an OCD trait, which my pdoc now thinks that I deal with also.
bizi