DanyellMcGinnis Member

I am finally down to <10 pounds to lose (hopefully no fluctuations will change that; it is *that* time of the month so there are water retention issues). But, I am not really going to have a specific plan other than to set my calorie goal from losing 1 pound per week to losing 0.5 pounds per week because I am just…

That is an amazing transformation. Don't let mean people get you down. Be proud of your hard work!

Not sure how popular this opinion will be, but diet soda can be a good stopgap measure. I lost 10 pounds without changing anything else when I switched from regular to diet (this was some years ago, and I was not particularly heavy at the time). There was a period of a few weeks when I was bothered by the artificial…

If you want baked goods, almond flour and coconut flour are good substitutes (may require more eggs in the baking) for white flour. There are cookbooks available for such things (often labeled "paleo"). The Tinkyada brown rice pastas are GF and quite good (some of the closest to "regular" I've found) and especially stand…

I charge mine once a week. Have a Fitbit One -- the same one I've had for a couple of years now. A single charge lasts longer than a week, but I find I am less likely to have problems if I stick to a routine. I get messed up if I don't have that time on Friday afternoon/evening to charge it.

You can also try ips protein chips, I like them a little better than the Quest ones. Or, Van's "say cheese" crackers are pretty good (I like them better than Cheez-Its although I'm not sure if they come in pre-portioned packages). The best kale chips I've tried are ones I do in the dehydrator -- toss with a bit of olive…

But also, don't be afraid to stop and try something else if you find it really isn't for you. I know there are a lot of fans of 30 Day Shred out there, but I am not one of them. (It's not the impact or intensity, I love Focus T25, which is super high impact. I think Jillian's style is just not my thing.) In the end,…

I am definitely finding the last 10-15 pounds to be hardest. I think there was more room for error when I weighed a bit more! What is helping me is changing up my workout routine. I like cardio, but I was finding that my heart rate just didn't get up enough to really burn calories doing things I'd been doing all year. So I…

I'm allergic to ragweed so I avoid milk thistle. Kind of surprising how many teas and such it shows up in. Definitely check out the link a few users have posted to make sure it is not going to bean issue for you.

For me it is because I started trying to lose weight on January 1, which was a Friday this year, and I weigh in once a week.

I don't do cheat days or cheat meals. If I know I am going to have, say, a meal at an Italian restaurant, I make sure to do plenty of exercise in advance, I study the menu carefully and make a choice beforehand (including best guesses as to what the calories will be), and then I stick to the plan. (Even on my wedding…

Only thing that worked for me was wearing different shoes every day. It seems when I wear the same pair often, my feet adjust and I'm back to PF pain soon after. All the ice and stretching in the world don't help. When I wear different shoes all the time, I find myself having to hold my feet slightly differently each day,…

I love my Fitbit One. Have been using it since the end of 2013 and it still lasts more than a week on a single charge. Doesn't do heart rate, and you have to manually start the sleep tracker, but it's been great for me. (The silicone clips kind of suck, though. I'm on about my 5th one.)

One thing that has always worked for me is super strong Chinese-style green tea (not the regular supermarket stuff like Lipton calling itself green tea). You can get it on Amazon or from international markets. It is not the most pleasant drinking experience (though you do start to get used to it after a time) but it keeps…

I like the old Tae Bo videos (like so old they were available on VHS) but haven't seen good reviews of the newer ones (at least, not from people who remember the old ones like I do). Is there one you recommend? I am personally a fan of Les Mills Combat (a discontinued Beachbody program although you can still get it on…

I don't see much protein in there (maybe some from the feta?) but otherwise it looks quite healthy. Lots of brightly colored vegetables will get you a bunch of nutrients. You may want to consider switching out the iceberg lettuce for something like red leaf, green leaf, or romaine lettuce, or spinach, which are a little…

Seeing ribs doesn't always mean underweight. Mine have shown for awhile and my BMI is in the high 22s at the moment. It is more to do with how your body distributes weight (mine is all in the lower half...). I'm a 5'5" woman and use a 20 lb (~9.1 kg) or 25 lb (~11.3) kettlebell at the moment, depending on the exercise,…

I don't usually watch YouTube videos. But, I suspect I am in the minority. I think you are more likely to gain a following on YouTube if you have a good web and/or social media presence already. Like a blog, or somewhere else you can list qualifications (like if you have a degree or certification) or further information on…

For me, it is makeup (a dress and heels don't hurt). I spent a lot of my 30s not really thinking I was pretty (and gaining weight, as well -- grad school is stressful). Then I got contact lenses and got back into makeup (including eyeshadow, fun liner colors, highlighters, bold lipstick, and bright nails) and it really did…

I find that once I start a workout, I can usually make myself get through it. But, I also don't stick 100% to a workout schedule. So, if I am doing P90X (as an example), I don't necessarily follow the calendar exactly. If it is plyometrics day and I am not feeling it, maybe I do chest and back instead, assuming that…

I like chocolate (a lot) and have found the double chocolate chunk Quest bars to be pretty good. My husband finds them too sweet/candy like (they are super low in sugar) but he doesn't have as much of a sweet tooth as I do. Plus they are individually wrapped and only about 180 calories. And they have lots of protein and…

I have lost about 25 pounds so far and went from 32.1% to 25.9%, according to my body fat scale. (I am starting to see muscle, as well, mostly in the upper body where I have always been smaller.) That is reasonably close to what the online calculators are giving me, and the trend is in the right direction. I don't think I…

I have pretty much solved this by eating lower calorie, lower fat meals all year (I still eat fat -- just less of it than I used to, and focused mainly on plant oils) and becoming accustomed to them. One weekend a month or two ago when we went out to eat and I *did* have enough calories left in the day to have a few slices…

Did two rounds a few years ago. Just regular, not lean. Did not follow the meal plan at all, though. Definitely got stronger. Was doing over 200 push-ups during "chest & back" (not from my knees) and was so proud of myself. (I am a small-framed woman with teeny tiny wrists.) Goal for this year is to do real pull-ups…

5'5" and 138 (started the year at 162.4, my heaviest ever). Currently aiming for 120. May reevaluate once I get there. (I am small-boned so lower weights usually look more natural on me.) April was a bit of a struggle; family in town meant a lot of restaurant eating. Even though I kept under my calorie goals and exercised,…

Rear end, thighs, and belly.

If you don't want your apple to turn brown after cutting, slice it and dip the slices in lemon juice or in some powdered citric acid (usually available in the spice aisle or near canning supplies) that you have dissolved in water. Fair warning, the lemon juice makes Granny Smith apples kind of unbearable (waaaay too tart)…

I have had the same Fitbit One since late 2013 (still holds a charge more than a week!). I mostly got it because my health insurance through work has a wellness program. If we earn points in that program, we can redeem them for stuff. We get points for hitting 10,000 steps in a day which I have done every single day but…

I prefer home. I have turned my basement into a gym. I have a treadmill, free weights, kettlebells, a cage/cable/Smith machine combo (which was a bear to put together but that is a separate issue), a set of Olympic plates, an enormous collection of DVDs, bands of all sorts, yoga mats, mini-trampoline, step benches for step…

I pretty much don't believe anything Tracy Anderson says, ever. Among some of the gems: * women shouldn't lift weights over 3 pounds because they'll get bulky * running and biking will make women develop bulky man-looking rear ends * only work small muscle groups (no, really, she says this) Also she has lied about her…