ElizabethOakes2 Member

I started just walking 20 minutes a day. That's all I could manage after my back surgery. Am now walking 5-6 miles a day 3 or 4 days a week. My blood pressure is down to normal range and I've lost 30 pounds. Walking is an underestimated power! BUT the key to losing fat is calorie intake- combine a reasonable intake with…

I have a gym membership, but I only go there to use the pool. It comes down to what you're more comfortable with. A lot of the time, just thinking about getting in the car, driving to the gym, trying to find parking, etc, gives me a headache! I'd rather just work out at home, watching my tv-shows with the sound at a volume…

WOOO! GO YOU!!!!

I'm 46, and yeah, finding fitness classes at our gym that aren't full of shallow 20-somethings complaining about how they might get wrinkles if they lose weight just strips any fun there is out of it. Honestly, though, you don't need to go to the gym. Go to Walmart fitness section and pick up some dumbbells and a set of…

Wait. So, your mom comes home hungry and tired after work, and makes you dinner and you overeat? Why aren't you cooking healthy well-portioned meals and having a healthy dinner on the table when she gets home? That way, you don't have to worry about eating whatever she puts on the table?

I'm now a total lightweight. Two glasses of wine with dinner the other night and I was toast! Can't decide if that makes me happy because I've lost so much weight and my metabolism is so different now, or sad that I can't go wine-tasting like I used to! Used to go to wine-bars with friends and have four or five glasses,…

Eh, I just politely say that I'll stick with science, and keep doing what works for me. Most of them know I'm an author working on a book about fad dieting through the ages, so for me it's easy to say, "Great! Can I interview you about that for the book?" ... Generally, I get three questions in, and they don't have…

A lot of times, people can tell something has changed, but don't know what exactly. I have people tell me they like my new hairstyle. I have the same auburn mid-back length hair I've had since 1998.

5'3 Started at 179 lbs in November, joined MFP end of December (was using my doctor's program before that), Weighed in at 149.4 this mor ning. Waist started at 39, now at 32. Hips started at 42, now at 38. Gone from size 16 jeans to 12, almost down to 10, and I've had to replace two swimsuits since November. I lost weight…

You've got 4 kids! I'm guessing you're getting plenty of exercise built into your daily activities. :) When I started working from home, I had to find activities that were fun enough that I wanted to do them. I got hula hoops and now, if I want to watch tv, I have to hoop while I do it. And you can get get hula hoops for…

The thing that motivates me to get off my butt is the size of my butt. :smiley: But really, I find if I just tell myself "Five minutes. Get up and go walk for five minutes"... I'll end up doing 30 minutes or more. If I tell myself, "Go to the pool, if it's crazy busy, you don't have to stay", I almost always end up in the…

Does your gym have classes? I find if I commit to going to Pilates class and put my name down, I get up and go. If I think, "Hey, it's Saturday morning, there's a Pilates class..." but I didn't sign, I'd much rather roll over and go back to sleep! LOL Also, I don't know you about you, but usually after work, I just want to…

I like to make enough dinner the night before that I have leftovers for lunch. Not so helpful if you don't have a microwave handy at work, but a little bit of sliced leftover chicken, with some brown rice and a pile of veg always seems to sit better with me than a slice of cold sandwich meat and a pile of carrot sticks. :)

Scrambled eggs and tofu are definitely on the menu, depending on how sore your mouth is. And yes, I'm well aware that weight loss isn't linear. And yes, I'm well aware of how my body reacts to hormone levels, water retention, etc. I CAN see the argument for the body holding onto water weight to help with healing, much like…

Heh- I'm sure not everyone's experience will echo mine, but I just had oral surgery and pretty much lived on Ensure and V8 for two weeks. I also found Greek yogurt and ice cream invaluable. My weight also plateaued for about three weeks- while on around 990 calories of liquids and soft foods. Lost three pounds in a week…

Some of that will be water weight, and that will probably come back. Don't sweat it, and just know it's better to be healthy and strong than sick and lose a couple extra pounds. :)

Sure I could... zucchini bread is a vegetable, right? Banana bread is a fruit... If they just made coffee bread I'd be set! ;)

My waist has only just recently started to show a difference. I lost from my hips and legs first, so that when I used the Waist/Hip ratio calculator, my ratio actually went UP, even though I'd lost 15 pounds. Just keep doing what you're doing and it will come off. Belly and back fat are often the last to go. :)

If it's just your shape that you're unhappy with, not your weight, have you considered using weight-training to do recomposition? A little bit of recomp can go a long way. :)

You know what? Here's a secret I learned back in college when I was starving myself for performance dance... The solos? Go to the girl who is willing to sleep with the producer, not to the skinniest girl, or the best dancer. They go to the girl who goes the extra mile, not on the dance floor but in the back room after…

What Malibu said. If you're using MFP's formula and not eating back at least 1/4-1/2 of your exercise calories, you're putting yourself at risk for malnutrition. If it really bothers you, you can try setting your MFP Activity level to Highly Active, then customize all the exercises in your workouts to 1 calorie.

Boorah!!! WAY TO GO! :)

I always try to book hotels with pools, but I know sometimes that's just not feasible. Also, schedule walking into the trip- I know it's hard when you have performance gigs, rehearsals, and tons of driving, but even just a five minute quick walk around a rest stop can make a big difference. Also, keep things like protein…

I thought the almond milk ones tasted gritty. Haven't tried rice yet. My goto lately has been International Delight, because with the dairy, it's really the cholesterol that I'm supposed to be cutting out. I was a two tablespoons of cream and a spoonful of raw-sugar girl. I miss real cream. :(

Tried at 175 pounds, but my knee gave out after the first week. Doctor said no more attempts at running until I'm in normal weight range, and I get to go to physical therapy. :(

I just ate a cheeseburger at the brewpub. A whole cheeseburger. Sometimes, it has to happen. :)

Oh, and anyone who wants to try the digging garden beds workout, but doesn't have a yard? You're welcome to come use my yard! ;)

Hula hooping Leslie Sansone's "Walk fit" series is fun- Anymore, I run the video, but turn down the sound and have my own music playing. Digging garden beds- not fun, but dang, I'm getting a workout and right here in my own front yard! ;) I'm having a lot of fun with hip hop dance videos, but some of them take quite a bit…

I order all my suits from SwimOutlet. They have great sales and an awesome easy return policy if your suit doesn't fit. My general go-to is Dolphin, which makes generously sized suits. I refuse to drop close to 100$ on a suit I'm going to wear for maybe three months. :)

I love my hula hoop. Since my back surgery I've had to give up all my high impact favorites, like dance. Also love kayaking, and just discovered that the park near us rents kayaks by the hour or by the day.