PeachyCarol Member

I'm not currently using my protein powder for shakes. I like stirring it into my morning oatmeal to get more protein in my breakfast!

True, but sometimes people simply like the convenience of a shake for a quick meal replacement. I like smoothies in the summer when my appetite isn't the greatest. I add veggies and fruit to protein powder and almond milk and use it as a meal replacement. Some people just don't have much of an appetite at times. The…

Which you can get from a balanced diet. No need to focus solely on carbs. Now, if you're low carbing and want to bulk, well then, I dunno. You might need to add more carbs.

No, no they don't necessarily. Most of the popular protein shakes are quite low carb. They're sweetened with stevia or sucralose.

No, the only way to bulk up is to eat at caloric surplus and run the proper lifting routine to build muscle. Also, why are you suggesting the OP cut her carbs? She asked about protein shakes. To that topic, OP, I'm with blankiefinder. Shakes are good if you need to supplement your protein for one reason or another. I also…

I low carbed in one form or another for more than a few years. I ate so much cheese. And almonds. And egg salad. It's really embarrassing to remember just how much. Another thing I could really put away were chicken legs. I'd buy one of those economy packs and dry rub them (no sugar in the rub, of course). Then I'd slow…

Well, you don't have a lot of weight to lose. That would explain why your loss is slow. Some questions. What are your stats and what are you using to calculate your exercise burns?

Diet breaks are useful, but they're not needed because you "kill" your metabolism otherwise. The truth about them is that several hormones might react unfavorably to eating at a deficit for long periods of time. This is certainly longer than three weeks. The issue you're looking to address is adaptive thermogenesis, not…

I think I don't put much stock in this theory unless you have pica.

How about butternut squash? It's close enough, and that's fairly easy to batch cook ahead. You might even be able to find it frozen.

I tend to enjoy smoothies a lot in the summer when it's too hot to feel like eating. Something cold to drink just seems to hit the spot.

^This. Try stirring some pumpkin into your oatmeal for a veggie serving. Add protein powder for extra protein and some pumpkin pie spice. I understand going on food kicks, I do that myself. It just seems as if your diet might be a little unbalanced right now. Some macros like protein and fat are really important. The…

Avocado and nut butter.

This gives you oven-baked skin in the microwave? I have to get one. The skin is the best part.

I don't either. Breakfast skippers unite! I get up at 4:30 and generally don't eat "breakfast" until 11:00-12:00.

It sounds like a couple of issues might be coming into play here. 1. As has been mentioned above, are you getting enough protein? You should be shooting for .65g - .85g per pound of bodyweight. Dieters need more protein than the average person not only for satiety, but to preserve muscle mass while losing weight. 2. Are…

Not everything that's fun needs to burn calories, man.

I'm curious, I've never really heard of anyone having that routinely tested. Do you mind me asking why it was tested, or how high it is? Is this something most people need to worry about? Does your diet address it? Is it related to another health condition?

He left River City the library building, but he left all the books to her!

It's interesting. The study where the figure that gives the burn closest to the 200 calories an hour cited an average length per session as being six minutes. The figure given for a burn for a 150 pound male was about 3.5 calories a minute. Sorrynotsorry for bursting bubbles. I'm too old and jaded to be amused by this…

Samesies.

I think the answer here is to go deeper. Why did Joe go back to the way he ate before he started juicing? One of the issues I have with resorting to these sorts of measures to "kickstart" yourself is that you're essentially using band-aids to avoid dealing with the real underlying issue. By giving yourself something to…

^This. I was a raw vegan for a while and I drank a lot of veggie/fruit smoothies during that time. This was right around the time gas prices went through the roof and grocery costs rose as a result. We were spending a ridiculous amount of money on food to support my WOE. I had to give it up because we could no longer…

Cosigning this, but adding that I only trust the Fitbit with step-based burns. I'm iffy on the HR for burns for other activities. I wouldn't eat back much of what was earned during lifting. It can raise your heart rate, but the calorie burn might not correspond. Or something like that.

You've had some really good suggestions so far, and I want to give you props for upping your intake! Something else that also helped me when I first started was slowing down when I was eating. I started out on 1200 calories because I'm short, old, and was sedentary at the time. Making my food last by taking small bites,…

@diannethegeek, this thread and others like it to which you've contributed your sensible advice have made a huge difference to so many people, myself included. Thanks so much!

I was long overdue for a diet break since I'd been eating at deficit for a year. I started eating at maintenance level Thanksgiving week. I plan on doing that through Christmas. Thanks to exercise, my maintenance is somewhere between 2000-2200 calories. That's enough to get some treats in there. I'm logging my food and…

KK, I've been making my own protein bars with Vitafiber for the past month. I'm happy with the results. If you like the protein powder you use, you should like the finished product. Granted, some come out better tasting than others (I've been experimenting), but they're all pretty good. In general, I find my home made bars…

YOU MAY BE OVERESTIMATING YOUR CALORIE BURNS kind of precludes the idea that a person is using less than the later mentioned 25% - 50%. I weep for reading comprehension skills instruction.

Most people who read flow charts don't just stop at one box. They actually... follow the flow.