JohnnyPenso Member

This is exactly how I feel. I never thought I'd enjoy weighing and logging everything but I do, and it's because I know I can eat everything I log and never have to worry about my weight ever again. Everything seems to taste so much better without the stress of worrying whether I'm eating too much. I enjoy eating now more…

Junk intolerant might be too strong of a word but I believe it's more than possible to change long time eating habits away from "junk" food and towards healthier options. I've eaten fast food my whole life to some extent but haven't had the urge to eat a chain store burger and fries or a donut for months, soon to be a…

I've used my scale from day 1 of logging and I find I'm surprised at how much more I can eat based on weight than I thought I could. I'd break off a chunk of butter to put on my sweet potatoes and think it was a full tbsp only to find out it weighs 10 or 11 grams and I get to add even more!!!

Goodlife. They are country wide, with large numbers of gyms in every city I frequent. They seem to have everything I need and they attract a wide range of people, young and old, new and experienced etc. They all have free weight sections with squat racks, various leg press and cable stations, lots of smith machines, along…

Losing weight is a matter of calories in vs. calories out. I'd suggest using the tools MFP provides to come up with a calorie target and tracking your intake religiously, buying a kitchen scale to measure most things. Also, leafy greens, vegetables and even a percentage of most nuts and seeds are also carbs. Perhaps you…

If you're having trouble meeting your intake goals then add the oil/butter/fat to the eggs and eat them. Focus on eating the calorie dense foods that aren't bulky. Fats are an obvious choice. Nuts are great. 12 or 15 almonds is 100 calories give or take. Trail mix is high in calories etc.

IMO I'd find a lifting program you think will work for you, stay at maintenance or a tiny deficit for a few months and build some muscle. Adding strength and muscle will change your world and I think it's more important at this point to put on the muscle than it is to get down to an "ideal" weight for starting to add…

I'm still trying to find my slow bulk level and I'm currently averaging over 2700 between workout and non-workout days. Didn't gain a pound at 2500 or 2600. This is all new to me so I'm still feeling my way around in the dark. Guess I don't make the 2800 club though :'(

This won't be a popular answer around here but my suggestion would be to just guess. I've logged dozens of recipes over the last year or so and I found that almost all of them fell within the same narrow range of calories per my typical 500ml serving so long as they were based on meat and vegetables. I've made several…

Same here. Greek yogurt makes an excellent base for experimenting with all kinds of creamy dressing recipes and as an added bonus it's high in protein so you get a protein boost while eating salad instead of just carbs and fat.

Yes, start with the puree'd version and just don't puree it and see how it tastes. Carrots and ginger are both pretty cheap and easy to get so you can make small batches and experiment easily until you get it right.

Sounds kind of dry. Where's the liquid? What's a scoop?

You'll probably have load up on the pea or hemp protein to get the that target level consistently. Vegan sources aren't typically high enough that you can eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables plus your protein sources and reach a target that high without severely limiting your diet. Meaning, eating a ton of…

If it doesn't have the added sugar it'll taste more like tomatoes than ketchup and not sweet enough for the typical ketchup lover I would assume. Every label I can recall from Heinz to French's lists the second ingredient as some kind of added sugar. I suppose there are probably brands made with artificial sweeteners that…

Your start is perfect. SL advises to start with an empty bar I believe and add from there, focusing on form. Cardio on the off days is fine so long as you have the energy to do so, just don't let it burn you out or tire you out for the lifting days. It's going to be important to get the right amount of protein and to get…

There are various bodyweight exercises you can do like pushups, leg raises, planks, squats etc. For just a few dollars you can buy some dumbells and add in some dumbell rows, overhead press, goblet squats and more. IMO it's even more important to weight train than do cardio when losing weight. Cardio will help you burn…

I find the greener it is the more bitter it is. The lighter leaves are much better and I had good success growing it at home a couple of times and harvesting while the leaves were young. It has some vitamins and minerals obviously but it's an expensive way to eat your calories B)

In the absence of pre-existing back issues you likely had a problem with your back because you went too heavy too fast and perhaps were not following a well rounded program that involved the proper compound lifts and routines to build back strength. You should start much lighter than you can lift and perfect your form and…

If that's the case I'd suggest doing more compound lifts instead to build more overall strength and get more work in per unit of time. Assisted dips are great for the triceps for example but also for the shoulders and back at the same time. Bench press and a dumbell overhead press are also good.

My question would be why are you focused on such a small muscle? Are you training for a competition or just working out to get fit?

Nuts and seeds are about the best calorie packed snack you can get. Compact, easy to store and carry, not messy, full of calories, vitamins, minerals, fibre and even some protein. They can be soft or crunchy, a little sweet or bitter, salty or natural. Don't need refrigeration either unless you're storing them long term.…

I second the notion of trying roasted vegetables. It completely changes the flavour of most of them through the caramelization of the sugars and browning due to the oils/fat you drizzle on them. I will roast just about anything but my favourites are sweet potatoes, rutabaga, parsnips, cauliflower, butternut squash, carrots…

It's likely a diet issue. Maybe open up your diary so we can see what you are eating.

As someone who is "clean bulking" for the first time, I'm curious about this myself. I see people talking about it all the time but I've never seen any numbers attached to it by real people with real measurements. Great question OP!

Same as losing weight it's about calories in and calories out. I'm not a body builder (yet B) ) but I do lift about 4-5 hours a week and my caloric intake since getting back into the gym has gone up significantly. I was maintaining at around 2000 but now I'm at 2400 on off days and as much as 3000 on lifting days. Someone…

Thanks for the address. $10/lb with free shipping is pretty cheap compared to the bricks and mortar prices I've been seeing in local stores. Walmart seems to be the cheapest and about that price as well for unflavoured whey but of course it's not grass fed and has some fillers as well.

Untrue. Muscle needs protein to fuel growth. If your calories are coming in large part from high sugar soda pop and refills, along with high fat french fries and high sugar desserts, you may not be getting enough protein to fuel your muscle growth in which case, most of your gains could be from fat. 1500 calories of Big…

When I was in weight loss mode I tried to get by without popcorn and brought a snack. That lasted one movie and then I was back to sharing a large bag B) I so enjoy eating popcorn and watching a sci-fi or adventure type movie, it's all part of the movie going experience since I was a kid! I just guesstimate the calories,…

I take this to mean you don't have a food scale so my advice would be to buy a scale and measure everything except liquids on the scale. It may not have been super important to be accurate when you started at a higher weight but now that you are closer to your goal the margin for error is much smaller. You can get a gram…

As above, I figured out my protein goal, set my macro% to fit that, then plugged in what I thought was reasonable for the others, but don't pay too much attention to them. Some days my fat/carb mix is one way or the other, depends on the day. Right now I'm at 45C/35F/20P based on 2400 calories.