I am very lucky in my metabolism and my weight 'set point' being low, so I've never done anything I would consider "being on a diet." But I have always tried to do the general things people are discussing here, partly because this is how I was raised - home-cooked food from simple ingredients is important for me culturally as much as healthfully. We don't keep soda in the house, and most of the sweet baked goods we eat are baked by me (so I, um, at least know there are 2 sticks of butter and 3 eggs in 'em - and no preservatives!); we usually use meat as a seasoning and not as a main ingredient. Enough vegetables is harder, especially in winter and with pretty picky kids, and the price. In season, we could happily eat a bag of fresh local carrots every night, they are sweet as candy. But also $4 a bag, so we get them once a week and eat them in one night. (My ability to grow my own carrots is pretty limited still.)

Their new design will put spoilers on the front page

What? Why? How so? Not that I use the front page very often, since I usually just follow the links from the Facebook feed, but still.

Looks like my thyroid levels are maintaining normal, so no more med futzing for now. But my iron is low, low. I've told them IV Iron is the only thing that has worked in the past for me, but I have had to try iron pills and liquid iron to prove those don't work. Will see what the next hoop is.

so...i've been considering "putting myself back out there", but the only way i see to feasibly do that is to join a dating website. any recommendations or success stories? i'm terrible at these things because i'm terrible at "selling" myself.

What? Why? How so?

[link] They're going to lead with a full article and links on the right side (so how can you see the links and not look left?), and sometimes that will be a recap. So far they had the Fringe recap up before it aired on the West Coast, as well as the Black Swan review. Charlie Jane has said she doesn't know how it will work when it all goes live next month.

So far they had the Fringe recap up before it aired on the West Coast, as well as the Black Swan review. Charlie Jane has said she doesn't know how it will work when it all goes live next month.

Fail.

Superfail. What's wrong with the way it is now? WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO CHANGE?

Healthy eating in one sentence? I guess "Vegetables and fruits first." The times that I've felt the best and lost weight in a way that felt healthy were when my meal-planning strategy was to first pick out the fruits and vegetables that would be the main part of the meal, then add some protein, then whole grains, if I needed it. So a typical dinner might be to first think "I should make kale," then add "chickpeas and garlic go well with kale," and then "that would be good with some whole wheat couscous." Or "I've got a ton of bits of pieces of veggies that I need to use, so I'll make soup," and then "Mustard greens, carrots, celery, onions, leeks, potatoes, and spinach? Those all go in lentil soup."

Oh, and I hate the taste of diet soda. It just tastes all ick and wrong. I don't like Equal or Sweet n Low in anything, really. Splenda tastes OK, but I'd rather just limit my sugar than replace it with artificial stuff.

flea, if you have any ground to grow on, or even a porch for pots, you can grow your own veggies pretty cheaply. That's great that you were raised to eat right.