cs2thecox Member

THIS. I honestly believe it depends where you are in your weight loss journey, and what your goals are. I'm at a perfectly healthy weight and now into aesthetics rather than simple weight loss, and it turns out to be WAY more complicated than CICO for me to achieve my goals.

Specific programme for me, preferably one set by someone else! (Previous ones have included the Body Coach, SL 5x5 and now my trainer.) I work harder if I have a plan that someone has put together for me. I wuss out if I wing it!

I'm going to be the first to ask it, but probably not the last... why only 1,200? What are your stats and what are your goals? 1,200 is the default MFP minimum for women when you put in a goal that is too aggressive to achieve healthily. 1,200 is approximately the minimum number of calories that a woman needs to support…

Things I've done over the last year to get me to pull ups (not all at the same time!)... - Rows - seated, single arm seated, dumbbell, barbell... - Lat pulls downs - single bar, double handle pulls, figure eight bar - Overhead press for shoulder strength and stability - Tricep work - cable pull downs, dumbells etc - Hammer…

As we forgive those who woo against us...

Basically this. My gym is a bit unusual and the newer trainers take turns to work reception, plus sometimes the gym manager and even the owner (yeah, when Shaun *kitten* Stafford is on the front desk I definitely work a bit harder!!). Also, it's open plan so you can see the whole gym from the reception desk. If you're…

You say you break into eating whatever's there... If you're aware of it, you can stop it. Do you really want that chocolate/cake/extra portion of potatoes more than you want the end result of shifting the weight? Really? Will the food actually make you feel better in the long run? Ask the question, have the conversation…

You can do recomp - basically maintenance calories with dedicated weight training - to reduce fat and increase muscle, but it's slooooow and your muscle gains will always be limited compared to what you could achieve on a bulk and cut. I've been doing it for a bit over a year and am super happy with where I'm at. I'm 5'…

Pretty sure we had this exact conversation in another thread recently. *facepalm* (I will always vote for cake plus a multivitamin :p )

You might want to do light weight form work with free weights alongside/instead of some of your machine work if you want to start down that path. I use free weights as much as possible because of the core activation etc. I'm quite happy with lighter weights compared to what I might be able to achieve on a machine, but…

What calories and macros are you aiming for? Lack of time may mean you need to pick more calorie- and nutrient-dense options, often things like avocado, nuts and seeds. Did you get medical input on your diet? A bit of internet reading suggests low sugar, low amounts of processed food, focussing on good fats... but we…

I was thinking along those lines... The types of veg that often come frozen because they survive quite well that way are those with somewhat of a more robust cellular structure that can handle the freezing, and those tend to be the ones with more calories (because they're made of STUFF! :D ). Agree on things like peas,…

Agreed - the only change is water loss, but you do need to pick the correct database entry. I'd tend to err on the side of raw.

I thought 10k had been fairly well debunked as being rather arbitrary, and basically a nice round number for marketing purposes with limited scientific proof as to this being the holy grail. A bit like 2,000 calories for women and 2,500 calories for men. (There are sure to be more exceptions than people for whom this is…

I did a walking marathon a few years ago, so I did a whole LOT of walking training, including to and from work (7 miles one way...). 1) I always, always put on a clean shirt for work. I'd never walk in my work shirt, not least because it gets crumpled by the straps as well as sweaty. I stashed more clothes than normal at…

I agree with @seltzermint555 that brushing your teeth is helpful. Or just take some time out with a nice mug of tea. Also, do you eat with your children? You might do a bit better to delay your evening meal until a bit later, if that fits with your/their routine. Depending what time they eat, I get that child dinner time…

I do as many as I can with "normal" grip, then just switch to mixed grip for the rest of the reps. I try and go one more every time but it doesn't happen for me beyond a certain weight. So I don't go wonky, I alternate my mixed grip on each rep. My trainer thinks I'm a bit mad to do that, but I prefer it to doing e.g. one…

I'm on up to 155g a day and my diary's open if you want to look. I can't do it without shakes, bars and high protein yogurt, but all of those are lactosey... If you want to get that much protein in, then your best bet may be supplementing. I find I can't fit in the amount of food I need to get it all that way - my calories…

I think I left my sensible hat at home one day and bought some raspberry ketones in a sale. Probably the penny sale at Holland & Barrett. I literally don't remember what they did, so let's assume nothing. They went in the bin, where they belong.

Give Me Everything - Pitbull Shut Up and Dance - Walk the Moon And a whole ton of other really predictable stuff. But because I mostly lift these days, I HATE dealing with an ipod and headphones even if I'm wireless etc, so I just listen to whatever's on in the gym. When I have a rare cardio moment, that's when I need…

Well done on finding that carbs are your friend! Also, make sure you're drinking enough. And consider something like making and drinking a cup of tea as a displacement activity when you think you want to eat. I get bored cravings at work a lot of the time. What works most of the time is just getting up from my desk, going…

I also struggle with picking a goal, BUT I'm an advocate for boring but consistent routines... I'm 36 (yeah, yeah, ancient), 5' 5.5" and about 60kg. I've been tracking my macros (and therefore calories) fairly accurately for a bit over a year. I've been doing a whole-body progressive lifting programme, set by my trainer,…

My current favourite is ostrich steaks! Super lean and almost pure protein. Plus, yummy. Also fish, prawns etc as well as more normal meat. And chicken thighs beat breasts every time - so much tastier.

Mine's ok but I've had wonky issues in the past, where my app shows food correctly but the website puts it in the wrong day! I've had to copy meals across and delete things, and log out of the app and force it to close. It generally sorts itself out overnight for me, but has happened a couple of times quite recently.

Just getting a basic food processor/blender combo was a revelation for me! No more dicing onion, slicing things or grating things unless I really want to. Genius! I have a super cheap Kenwood one (It's the FPP225 I think) and think it was amazing value for the money.

Something that seems to work for a lot of other people is skipping breakfast and "back ending" your calories so you have more available in the evening. It seems to work for people who don't feel particularly hungry in the morning, and function fine without breakfast. If you're one of these people, it might help to play…

I'm at a desk all day too, although I do get longer for lunch. But my strategies... - 750ml water bottle on my desk which I found is the best compromise between actually being hydrated, but still having to walk to the kitchen to fill it a few times a day. - Use the bathroom on another floor to get in a flight of stairs…

I find planning is (annoyingly) key to meeting my protein target without busting through my calories. I intentionally have low carb, high protein snacks - protein bars, protein shakes, skyr, quark, jerky - to help make sure I have space for "normal" meals. I also rarely cook one-pot dishes (although right now I'm eating…

Iced skinny latte with sugar free syrup! An iced skinny latte is 63 kcal for a Grande, which is very doable. Sugar free syrup is 2 kcal for 4 pumps which is plenty to add flavour. Caramel topping is 15 kcal which is also ok (but I don't know if this is drizzle or what). Sprinkles are 4 kcal! (All UK nutrition values -…

Be a bit careful with the percentage view as it doesn't show anything about your GRAMMES of macros, just your split. Personally, I find the Nutrients view much more useful...