RedSquadronLeader Member

Hi guys, be really careful about trying to be darker shades of pink/purple with ketostix. These are measuring *excess* ketones in *urine*, meaning that two things affect the concentration besides ketone production: your energy consumption at any given time, and your levels of hydration. If you're dehydrated it will cause a…

It's a little hard to compare -- you're wearing very different styles of clothes in both photos, and it obscures your physique a bit in the second. I think you look great in both, and you have a lot of definition where you're at now! But, you know your body and what you're happy with. If you want to put on a bit more…

FlipBelt. I got one about a month ago. It's really amazing for running, lifting, walking around, traveling, whatever. I hate fanny packs or similar "buckle around the waist" type things because they irritate my skin, bounce around, make weird looking bulges, whatever. And I lost my armband ages ago and also generally have…

Look no further than your before/after pic for validation -- you know what you're doing! If you're feeling crappy about having less healthy foods all stacked up in a week, that's good because that says you've made a huge mental shift over the course of the weight loss, and you now feel good when you're loaded up on…

I'm 5'4" and sit around 135 lbs with a good amount of muscle (but not bodybuilder levels or anything), which puts me in a 4-6 pant size depending on the brand. At a little softer 145 lbs I was in an 8-10. About 5 years ago I was 175 lbs or so when I decided to get fit -- it took about a year, and was really rewarding…

If you're into body weight exercises, I highly recommend the free app "Sworkit." It has a ton of workouts divided into Strength, Cardio, Yoga, and Stretching -- they're circuit-type workouts and you can adjust the length of the work intervals, rest periods, and overall workout length. You can also custom-build some…

Yeah water's not useful for anything.

@PowerliftingMom what's your routine like to get legs like that?! Well done!

@tnm7760 Thanks! That's very helpful. I was working on oversplits but I've put a hold on that because I've read it's not great to get too big of a gap between static and static-active flexibility, as it destabilizes the joint when you're in the stretch, especially if your muscles try to contract a bit. So I'm trying to get…

Hi, I think a better method is to tell MFP that you're sedentary, and your goal is to maintain your weight. Then it will give you a calorie target that will have you maintaining even if you sit around all day. Then, you can log your exercise, perhaps underestimating it a bit because calorie burns are nearly always lower…

@Saaski Thanks. I'm also in martial arts, looking to improve my showmanship in demos -- I've always been mostly interested in the "art" aspect anyways. It's interesting, I have a much easier time with holding my roundhouse/side kicks higher. I mean, I'm not yet close to where I'd like it to be, but I'm probably around 120…

That's impressive! I've never been good at doing them fast.

I'm motivated to exercise because it's my zen time when I don't pay attention to anyone else or anything else that needs to get done. I like fitness, and I like seeing the changes it's made in my body over the years. I used to hate even the thought of it, though - when I was very unfit. In that case, knowing that it was…

Okay, I'm going to try to say this in as many ways as possible so that as many people as possible understand, because I think people who "don't believe in" CICO misunderstand what it is, and people who "get" CICO misunderstand why others don't understand it, and it all really comes down to semantics. CICO is NOT "Online…

I haven't paid any attention to that number, as I keep my own projections. But, I wonder if it's based on the weekly average net calories, so a rolling average to the particular day you're logging, rather than a single day. To me that's a reasonable way to approximate it, but maybe there's just flat out a bug in their…

Ahhh! Fit and Bendy looks amazing! Just the thing I've been looking for. Thanks!

I'm adjusting for it, or trying to anyways! If I do the supported-then-release I can feel the shift in my core, but I can't hold it, my leg falls. Slower than a dead drop but pretty quickly :). I suppose the hold position wouldn't quite me vertical splits, but pretty close to 180°...I know of at least two martial artists…

I love this. Amazing transformation, awesome motivation, great attitude. And how many times did any of us think, "man I should have started this 3 years ago!" What martial art do you do?

So sorry you're having a tough time. Maybe stop trying to lose weight for a little while -- it sounds like you need to take care of yourself. So perhaps try to shift your focus mentally to "I'm feeling really miserable, I need to give my body and mind good nourishment so that I stay as healthy and stress-free as possible…

Week 1 (2/2) Classic: 46 Diamond: 14 I once briefly considered OCS for the Navy nuclear program. Doing this kinda reminds me of trying to hit the peak standards for their physical fitness test - fun times, but I'm SO glad I never went through with that particular career choice.

Do you track your weight daily, and are you decently accurate with logging your food intake? If so, with about a month of data (less is okay too but the more the better!) I can calculate your TDEE. I do this for myself, keep a spreadsheet of it. PM me if you want, I can send a link to a google doc or explain in more detail…

You engineers get all your formulas from physics. You're welcome. (I kid, please let me join the cool table =) )

@hrgal91910 That really depends on your goals, current level of fitness and if/how much/what type of exercise you plan on doing, and most importantly what types of food give you the most satisfaction (and nutrition, of course). What are your stats and what's your lifestyle like?

@craigo3154 Dropping one of the activities for a bit and seeing how that changes TDEE ... that's a great idea! I guess I just need to do 2/3 (I can't drop the walking anyway, it's how I get to work). Curious to see the strength training especially. I'll do it when I need a good recovery week. @TavistockToad I agree with…

I guess I do have a question related to this. I set my cals in MFP at 1730, knowing that it's roughly my BMR if I'm sedentary, so I figured I'd eat around that mark and with exercise figured I'd be around 1 lb/week loss. But with this new TDEE, I'm thinking I might set my calories there, not log exercise, and shoot to be a…

My boyfriend is Korean; I have this in the fridge always. Made it once but it's a looong involved process so I just try to find it at Asian markets, with quality ingredients as I prefer to avoid corn syrup and such. Anyway I use it to season meat (korean bbq notably but it's also really great with seafood), in stir fries,…

I love this challenge, guys :) Curious for anyone's input - I see two common variants on the standard push-up: some people will have their arms a bit wider, and when they drop down let their elbows go more towards the outside. I've always found this really irritates one of my shoulders, so I focus on trying to keep my…

I loooove paneer (a handmade mild cheese, usually mixed in with peas and other veggies). Usually it's a vegetarian choice, for some reason it doesn't seem to be come with chicken or lamb often. This is probably too late for your date night ;)

Sure, I agree. But it does happen, and that was my point. For those of us who do deal with that, reading this sort of thing constantly is demoralizing and frustrating. I did note to the OP that their approach and finding their "moderation tolerance" should definitely be individualized - and I also doubt they eat sugar by…