emmycantbemeeko Member

I think this is so variable, dependent on how you are built, the shape of your face, and the rate and way you lose the weight, but even if it turns out to be true, "fit 42 year-old" is generally a better look than "out of shape, overweight 32-year-old."

Your BMI is on the Fitbit app, if you tap your weight and then the chart, BMI is one of the drop-down options for data to display over time. I love my Aria, too. It's certainly not *necessary*, any more than MFP is necessary to calorie counting- it just makes it easy and seamless to record and utilize your scale data. If…

I love buffets, and actually find them pretty diet-compatible (salads, fruit, usually a variety of proteins and some light desserts) but I think of them as being exciting for offering a wide selection instead of "all you can eat." Like "yay, I can take a *little* bit of everything or just one thing that looks amazing, and…

Just over a pound a week is an excellent rate of loss. I mean, if you think you'll enjoy this data collection more than you'll be bothered by eating the exact same thing every day, go for it, but realize that there are other confounding factors (for instance, where you are in your menstrual cycle) that you can't reliably…

Personal trainers can't diagnose things and shouldn't try, not that that stops some of them. Talk to your doctor about possible muscle damage, not a personal trainer.

To lose 10 lbs of fat before the concert would require a 1400 calorie a day deficit every single day. You can't possibly achieve that in a safe and healthy way that doesn't also involve losing some (a lot) of the lean muscle that you *want* to keep to keep yourself strong, your metabolism good, and your body firm. So even…

I think that suddenly seeing yourself at an unexpected angle can be a real wake-up call. I knew, but had been rationalizing, that I had put on some weight after several years of keeping it off, but a candid shot taken over the holidays at an angle I rarely see in the mirror really threw me for a loop. My face looked almost…

It's all calories in and calories out. You will see tons and tons and tons of ads and books and programs promoting complicated diet plans. Some of them will work for some people- but when they do, it's because they caused those people to eat fewer calories than they burned. Some won't- it's because they didn't cause them…

You can lose more weight. You can build muscle in your core that changes the composition of your body and can, in some people to some degree, create a slimmer profile (in others it can create a wider profile, it depends on your anatomy). You can have surgery that spot reduces fat and skin in that area. That's about it,…

I don't have "cheat days" in the sense of scheduled days when I eat just anything, but there are times like holiday meals/special restaurant visits etc where sticking to my deficit isn't worth it to me (I'd rather have my grandma's stuffing on Thanksgiving than be one day closer to my goal the day after, frankly). On those…

I work twelve hour shifts at an extremely stressful job, the kind of job where I might not get a chance to sit down and eat a meal the whole day. I also struggle with anxiety and insomnia. Planning ahead helps. The fewer decisions I have to make at all when I'm tired and overworked, the fewer opportunities there are to…

Timing isn't important, but personally I like to soak them in sweet almond milk overnight and eat them as a dessert the following day. I don't think they're really "worth" the calorie count to add to things without first giving them time to gel, but as a pudding-like treat, I love them.

You've previously posted that your work offers unlimited free food, so it's HIGHLY likely that you also have access to an Employee Assistance Program that offers free counseling and referrals, even if you don't have health insurance (which, again, it seems likely that you do, in light of the unusual meal benefits offered…

"Starvation mode" is not relevant to normal weight loss and will not occur after hours or even days. Meal timing is important only insofar as it affects a person's ability to stick to the schedule- whether you eat all your calories at one time once a day or in 50 calorie snacks every thirty minutes is irrelevant, all that…

Statistics suggest this happens to the majority of people who attempt weight loss, so... yes. That doesn't make it a life sentence of it being impossible to control weight, though. You did it once, you can do it again. It's just a matter of doing the same things you did before- track your food, move more. Consider what…

Not all fluctuations in weight are fat or lean tissue gain or loss. Quite a bit of it is often fluid. How much fluid your body retains at any given time is influenced by things like the amount of sodium you've consumed, hormones (particularly significant at some points of the menstrual cycle for women), physical activity…

For fun and to improve your perspective, start running the numbers on crazy weight-loss claims you hear. If a headline tells you you can lose ten pounds in a week, think: 3500 calories x 10 = 35000 calories a week/7 days= 5000 calories a day. They're telling you you can do something that requires burning 5000 calories a…

Not in a way that is relevant to you unless you are in an actual starvation scenario, in which case concerns about rate of weight loss are the least of your problems. Think about it: anorexics, famine victims, people with illnesses that keep them from eating- are any of them famously chubby? No? Why not, when "starvation…

I'd side-eye a nutritionist who waved the specter of "starvation mode" so hard.

As everyone said, you're losing at a very respectable pace. It's possible/probable that it will even slow down over time as you approach your goal weight. It doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong, just that losing weight and keeping it off is a long-haul process, not a quick one. We're so bombarded with ads and magazine…

32, 5'4, started at 148.5, down ~ 6 lbs in six weeks. I'm generally an hourglass shape, but my face/arms/breasts are always last to gain, first to lose, followed by my belly. I've already noticed a change in my face, and in fact it was a candid photo of my face that finally made me realize I had put on more weight than I…

The "cleanliness" of your food (whatever that means) has nothing to do with how quickly you lose, only the relative energy content of your intake vs your output. When you're large, eating at a big deficit, and new to weight loss, it's common to see big, rapid drops, some of which are water weight. These will gradually…

It's adding exercise calories burned to your allowance. Your original calorie goal is designed with a deficit already built in off your basic daily energy requirement not including exercise, so if you exercise on top of this and don't eat those calories back, you may be too hungry/lacking in critical nutrients to stick…

I'm the same way. I occasionally find a daily weight depressing, even when I know it's likely water retention or food, but if I don't weigh daily, it's reaaaaally easy for me to stop thinking in a daily sense about my intake and activity and keep putting it off. Everybody's wired a little different.

Do what you like. I love breakfast and would never give up voluntarily, and I start to get hangry early in the day if I skip it, but some people just aren't hungry first thing in the morning (so they tell me; I can't actually imagine feeling this way). Not eating first thing is not a problem *if it's not a problem for that…

I like smoothies as a way to incorporate some nutritious things I don't love eating on their own (plain yogurt, protein powder, greens, bananas) and as a way around the difficulty of having fresh fruit available all the time (frozen stays good much longer). I'm also kind of picky about fresh fruit (if it's even a little…

A couple of suggestions: Katy Bowman's Every Woman's Guide to Foot Pain Relief is an AWESOME guide to troubleshooting the things that commonly cause foot, leg, and back pain (for both men and women, despite the title). Changing shoes can help, although I'd read the book before I bought a new pair, as more cushioning may…

Elite athletes and body builders doing everything right to maximize their gains might- *might* put on half a pound of muscle in a week. So gaining almost a pound a week of actual muscle is not realistic. This is a hard limit of human physiology as we understand it. If your trainer knew a way around this, they'd cost too…

Working out is great, will make you feel better, can help you retain lean mass, can make your body look more defined and strong when you lose the fat overlying your muscles, is good for your heart... but it won't make you lose weight on your own. Personally, it's not uncommon for me to *gain* weight when I start a new kind…

Personally when I'm sick I don't worry about eating at a deficit, although I usually don't have much appetite. Maintenance for a few days won't hurt, as jemhh said, it's just a tiny delay on the path towards your goal, and you particularly don't want to add additional stress at a time when your immune system is working…