Arizona B,

I'm always looking for a hot cereal that does not contain gluten. I would love it if you would share yours.

JAnn,
I've been using this recipe for a single serving of Flax Meal Bread.

4 TBs. flax meal
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
1 packet of splenda or SF sryup
Mix it all together in a spquare plastic container, put in the microwave for two minutes, butter and enjoy. You can also put cream cheese or SF sryuo over it.

I made some muffins last week for my husband and he loved them. If you want the recipe just let me know. I put cinnamon in the above recipe and it was great. Flax meal can act as a laxative if you eat oo uch so be careful. The recommended daily amount is no more than four Tbs. Let me know what you thing. I'll try and find some recipes for hot cereal that do not contain glutten.
Brenda

breanda i really appreciate your response thank you so much.
i had actually just found a LOT of stuff over the weekend on soy. i was actually wondering if THAT was what was triggering my cravings. and turns out that will help me curb them. i did a LOT of research on soy. i didnt realize how good it was for you . i guess being a vegetarian for so long paid off. to bad i was so ignorant lol. but i actually eat some meat now. mainly chicken turkey and tuna. and i do get most of my cravings at night. so i will deff up my protein during the day. im the hungriest at breakfast. but the bingiest (i know i know not a word) at night. i have been snacking a LOT on sugar free soynut butter. this is also my first time in 15 years to have something remotely close to peanut butter so i have been enjoying it. i have 2 delicious recipes one is for a drink that i came up on my own and the other is an alternative mock danich concotion (i like to play in the kitchen).
but i would LOVE some recipes. anything you think would work, please pass along, i am open to anything at this point. i am so upset. in my move i lost my recipe collection from my 2 years of atkins'ing (yes i make up words, but it seems to fit) -=laughs=- i had soooo many recipes and they are GONE. and i now have to start ALL over. BOOOO!
i just have to be careful with flaxseed because i caused a blockage in my colon from not hydrating myself enough 2 years ago while consuming so much of it. not that i was having it in excess. but since it expands when it gets wet. it was like rubber cement in my colon and got stuck and with having hypomotility of the colon. i went 3 weeks without a movement and darn near almost ruptured my colon. i try to stay on top of my water as much as possible. but i suffer from dehydration easily. (but i have a lot of medical issues all rolled into one).
but i really appreciate your help with this. and any other tricks of the trade would be greatly appreciated. you are a doll. thanks hon

JAnn,
One of the girl's one the forum says that she lost 9 lbs in a week by eating two hard boiled eggs for breakfast, a can of tuna for lunch, and a large salad and serving of protein for dinner. I tried this for several days and it actually works quite well. I wasn't hungry at all . If you start feeling hungry drink a large glass of water. If you still are having cravings try eating some sugar free jello with the canned whipped topping. It always works for me. I have two huge books of recipes I have collected since I've been doing Atkins. Tell me what you want and I'll send you all of the recipes I have for that particular food group. There is a site called Linda's low carb recipes that is fantastic. Have a great day and let me know how things are going.
Brenda

Brenda, thanks for the recipe. It's pretty similar to another I saw but did not save that had equal parts flaxseed and nuts (which I love.)It's interesting that you mention Linda's site as I have it bookmarked. I am also eating pretty much as you suggested although recently I began adding in more veggies such as spinach and broccoli when I really feel hungry. I also have about 25 spaghetti squashes that I grew this year that helps when I get really hungry. The only cheeses I have had is cream cheese melted on the veggies and parmesan. That and some pine nuts gives me the fat, protein and low carb and very easy to fix.

I have just about a month before I leave for Oregon and I need to buy some new clothes for the trip so I'm trying to lose (or re-lose!) another 10 pounds before I go. I've even motivated myself to start exercising although I don't do as much as I would like.

Sara, I know how it feels to lose cookbooks. I lost all of mine in a house fire years ago. If you need more recipes, let me know. I have over 1000 in my cookbook. Let me know if you want any or all and I can e-mail them to you. Some may need some minor tweaking as I modify any with gluten in them.

JAnn-thank you so much. that would be greatly appreciated.
so what do you replace gluten with?

Brenda , thanks for the offer but I, too, have a somewhat large collection, all on my computer. I plan on putting a computer in my kitchen so that I can just pop up the recipe I want and read it from the screen. I don't like having to spend half a day looking through cookbooks trying to fnd that certain recipe. But when I'm looking for a certain recipe that I don't have I'll keep you in mind.

Sara, a lot of LC recipes are made that way by adding vital wheat gluten to them which is the worst for me so I either skip that recipe, replace with soy flour, nuts, or a combination of soy flour and soy protein, or soy flour and nuts. I'm always open to suggestions as I really do miss bread and a good bread recipe is hard to come by. When I get to my weight I can add spelt and kamut in moderation, and the basic corn starch, tapioca flour, and brown rice flour combination with xanthan gum in place of the gluten. I have also found garbanzo bean flour is a good wheat flour substitute for recipes usine baking powder or baking soda.

I can try to email my cookbooks to you. Some have already been adjusted some need to be but I downloaded them as they sounded appealing.

Hi, I started my change way back when I was 42. I have been period free, YAHOO, for 6 years now. The hot flashes are a pain and I was bummed to learn recently that they never stop. God certainly must be a man. I spend my nights in and out of the covers, windows open all year round with the fan on me all night long and in Michigan that's something. I remember complaining to the doctor once about the flashes and she told me she could put me on something but I'd get my period again. I told her to forget it I'd put up with the flashes. I was also on Effoxer ER for about 5 years and found they made the hot flashes even worse. I'm off that now and the flashes pretty much just hit at night now. How did women get so lucky to go through all the stuff we have to go through. I'm just sweatin as an oldie now.

Hi, I'm 53. I had an ovarian cancer scare in early February, was in surgery within 10 days for a hysterectomy (everything had to go), and am just finishing my 6 weeks of recovery. It turned out not to be ovarian cancer, but terrible endometriosis that I wasn't aware of. (That's strange in itself, since most women with endo have a miserable time.)

I was in perimenopause before, but surgical menopause is everything all at once with no gradual transitions.

I have been taking soy, black cohosh, fish oil, and estroven. I have lots of hot flashes, some of which are more like warm moments. I have always been so easy-going and even-tempered, but my current mood swings are a little scary. Anyone have experience with that? I usually don't show the mood swings, but it's a lot harder to maintain a professional composure than it ever was.

I have been maintaining a 70 pound weight loss for a couple of years, but put on 12-15 pounds dealing with surgery. 9 are already gone, and I want to get down a couple of sizes before doing another round of LC maintenance.

Holly

Holly,
I've been in Perimenopause for over 6 years now. I'll go 9 or 10 months without a period and then have one of the little darlings. My hot flashes were terrible for the first 3 or 4 years. My moods swings were crazy. My poor husband asked my Doctor what he could do to help and she told him that he should remove all sharp objects from the house, give lots of hugs, and settle in for the long bumpy ride.
Thank goodness my mood swings are almost gone along with the hot flashes. I still get them but mostly at night and their not near as bad or as frequent. I exercise everday for at least one hour which you can't believe how much that helps. If I stick to low carb with no bread, no sugars I also do better. I've made up my mind that I will just have to live with the chances so I sleep with a sheet at night and with a fan. I dress so I can be as confortable as possible. Believe it or not after a while you will probably go through periods of time when you are cold instead of being hot. My Doctor told me after awhile it becomes easier to lose weight and your body settles down. I still have 40 pounds I need to lose so I'll keep doing my best. Stress will make the hot flashes worse as well. Good luck and I look forward to hearing how you are doing.

Bren

I was whining to my brother about menopause and lack of sleep recently and he told me my body was a "perfect storm" and I think I like that phrase...I guess everything just lines up and I get the mood swings, the hot flashes, just all of it. I thought I would get through this thing scott free...but nnnooooo. The one thing that it is helping me to realize, is changing my habits of yo yo dieting throughout my life and probably any past lives that I have had. So I have been slowly, very slowly, losing since November and I really sincerely want to change my eating habits for life.

Not to long ago, I was in for a haircut and I started crying to the hairdresser. She was so understanding, being around the same age and all. She just said...don't fight it, just learn to work with it...sigh, I am a fighter in deed, so it has been quite a journey.

when I workout I now workout at a lower heart rate to burn the fat...which is quite strange, to workout and just feel....well comfortable. I have started swimming...which is quite a new thing for me and am pleasantly surprised that it is such a great stress reliever. There is something about hitting the pool after work and "washing it all away"

I don't get on the website often. But I like the posts I have read on this thread, because I can truly relate to everyone here. I hope more posts keep coming.

I have been in menopause since I was 35yrs old due to Uterine cancer and could not take estrogen or soy products because my cancer was estrogen dependent. So, that being said.......yes it does get better because at 51 it does seem at times that I am a little warmer than others but hey - I don't PMS - I just sweat (LOL)
Seriously, there are now more doctors sensitive to many issues that we haven't covered here that "the change" can cause in women and no one can know better than you and your doctor what can ease you through this time.
All my best............

HI, guys! Boy, BEEN there, SUFFERED that! I was in peri. 8 years. Had my last TOM summer of 2005, was pronounced Meno in October this year. Yay! I am already feeling less hot flashes (although still a few), and definitely got rid of the constant PMS-from-He!! feelings. Not just monthly but all the time. That was the worst. The anxiety and stress. Looking back, I should have gone on a med for something like PMDD, but I'll just take being over it.

Now, if I can EVER get this metabolism back on motion! Between being on 1000 useless diets all my life, (til this one) and having my hormones all over the map, I can't seem to burn pound #1. But, I FEEL better on this LC dealy, and I'm for it! I only wish I'd started this when I was about 44. I'm 52 now. Gained probably 40 *extra* pounds in peri. Sigh.

I don't qualify for TOFF but I do this thread and I can't find people to relate to regarding it anywhere else. I hope everyone doesn't mind me joining in. I am 32 and went through surgical menopause at 28. I took estrogen replacements for a few years. I weaned myself off them about 2 years ago.

I am certain that weight gain has been easier for me but as for weight loss, it appears to move at about the same rate as before. The hot flashes and other symptoms seem to almost vanish in the last year, just occasional flashes, then I started low carbing. Seems as though they are returning more often now.
I am just at a loss with my skin. Its aging faster than my peers with their goods still intact. I wanted to know if anyone uses something to help with this? Skin creams? Natural hormone replacements?

Welcome--I'm sure no one minds.

I had a hysterectomey at 30 but kept my ovaries. I am now going through the hot flashes, etc. I really can't answer about the skin as I don't think mine is aging any faster than anyone else's. In fact most people don't gues my age--60. Maybe someone else will have some info.