karenvandam Member

I did the 50 mile route for El Tour de Tucson 2018. It was paved and most people had road bikes, although there were quite a few hybrids especially on the shorter routes. I think there are some short portions of the 100 mile route that are unpaved, but it sounded like it was minimal. If you live in Tucson, there are lots…

I trained for a Grand Canyon hike last year so I feel like I can offer some relevant advice. While the hike went well, there were some things I wish I had worked on more. First, I was incredibly sore from the hike down. I had obviously neglected the muscles for going down (front of thighs and lower calves). To fix this, I…

Thanks everyone for the supportive comments. I just get frustrated every so often. I did manage to lose 20 lbs in 2018, so I know the process works. I'm hoping to lose another 20 lbs in 2019, but I'll be happy if it's only 10. Slow and steady is my mantra.

I don't go for food restrictions - just trying to maintain a calorie deficit sufficient to lose weight at 0.5 lbs/ week. I've tried everything I can think of (short of Keto) to find a way of eating that would not leave me hungry. I've tried drinking water before every meal, eating more protein, eating protein at every…

CICO works, of course. But, let's not pretend that eating less than you burn is comfortable or easy for everyone. For me the biggest complicating factor is being hungry all the time. It makes it very hard to stick to the calorie target even with a minimal calorie deficit. Other complications for me are emotional eating,…

I am going to offer a different point of view. After losing some weight, I packed up my "fat clothes" into a bin and stored it in my closet. I only kept the clothes that were not worn out and would be rather classic styles. When my life circumstances changed and I gained the weight back, I was relieved to still have those…

What is a zeeuwse bolus? It sounds like Dutch language, but I have no idea what this is. Your biking sounds rather Dutch as well - I think the Dutch are the only ones who grocery shop by bike!

I can no longer justify pancakes, waffles, or french toast - carbs coated in butter and smothered in sugar with very little nutritional value. I also no longer drink fruit juice (unless it has rum and I'm on the beach). Salty snacks like potato chips and pretzels are also difficult to justify. Most of these foods were…

I also have a Garmin to track exercise calories. On MyFitnessPal, I set my activity level at sedentary. I also allow for negative calorie adjustments in case I have a really sluggish day (sitting on an airplane for 12 hours for example). By doing this, I feel like the calorie adjustment from Garmin comes pretty close to…

I also started my weight loss journey (this time) at 179. Let's be honest, that may be pretty heavy depending on your height, but it's not the end of the world. Lots of folks are way heavier than that. You probably only have 20-40 lbs to lose to be healthy. Look at all the people who manage to lose 100+ lbs! If they can do…

For my husband (who is Type I), walking is awesome. A 20-30 minute walk after a meal helps keep his blood sugars from spiking. He's always amazed at how much his sugars drop with just a simple walk. But truly, any exercise you enjoy is good. Just be sure to keep track of where your sugars are and keep some sugar tablets…

I hate that I'm always hungry and cold. I've been at this since February losing about 0.5 lbs. a week (so not a crazy super-low-calorie plan). I feel like I'm doomed to be hungry and cold forever unless I gain the weight back.

I've always been a bit mystified by the whole water debate. If I have a 16 oz. cup of hot water and I put in a tea bag, then it's not counted as water (by some recommendations). But, if I have that same tea bag in 8 oz. of water and drink the other 8 oz, then I have consumed 1 glass of water. If I take a caffeine tablet…

I had to ask the bike shop to loosen the pedals so I could clip out more easily. They put me on a trainer in the store and had me clip in and out as they were making adjustments. I have the left foot set to come out pretty easy as that's the foot I use when I stop. I still tip over about once a year as tbright1965 said.…

Friday check-in, week 4 and 5: 7/20: 164.4 7/27: 162.8 8/3: 161.8 8/10: 161.4 8/17: 163.6 (ouch - what the heck?) 8/24: could not weigh in - traveling Current weight this morning was 164. I was traveling all last week and not able to log my food. It seems that I've gained back most of the weight I lost during this…

Dry beans are awesome and easier than you think. Be sure to buy a new bag at the store. Don't use that old bag of beans that have been languishing in your pantry for several years - they won't cook easily. I usually cook 2 lbs of dry beans at a time. I put them in a big pot with cold water and let them soak for about 4…

Friday check-in, week 3: 7/20: 164.4 7/27: 162.8 8/3: 161.8 8/10: 161.4 Overall, I've lost 3 lbs in 3 weeks, but as I expected, this was a tough week. I'm actually impressed that I was able to lose 0.4 lbs! At least it's still going in the right direction! Shout out to Jazzypdx: thanks for all your support on my timeline!

Week 2 check-in 7/20: 164.4 7/27: 162.8 8/3: 161.8 I just made my 1 lb goal this week! Going for 1 lb is a lot harder than the 0.5 lbs I've been doing. I seem to run out of calories before dinner unless I do a pretty decent workout. I'm worried about making my goal for next, but feeling determined to hit my calorie goals.…

My husband and I tried the nutritarian lifestyle for a while (about 1 year). While most of the advice is spot-on and well researched, I feel like I did not get enough protein. My husband lost quite a bit of weight, but much of it was muscle. I ended up with fatigue that lasted 6-9 months. During that time, my doctors…

Week 1 update - I lost 1.6 lbs. this week! I stuck to my new calorie plan without too much trouble. I was able to get in a couple of really good bike rides and kept up with my stretching and back exercises. In between the bike rides, the dog got a lot of walking. The weather ended up being cooperative for both the bike…

I would like to join you, too. I'm 5'3" and 164 lbs. I need to get down to 140 to be in my normal weight zone. I've been doing the Real Appeal diet through my work's insurance company, but I track everything on MFP. I've lost 15 lbs since February, which is great but awfully sloooow. I'd like to redouble my efforts and get…

There are already some great comments here. I would add that if you are making multiple servings (say a big pot of chili or something), remember to measure the final amount to determine how many servings you have. I jot down the tare weight of the pot before I start or else pour the food into another container to get the…

My calorie goal mysteriously changed today. It was 1800 for the last few months and now it's 1450. Nothing in my settings changed - I checked. My weight has only gone down by 7 pounds, so I didn't even hit the 10 lb. threshold. I did report weight gains for the last two weeks. Do you think it changed to account for my…