michellebirtleeds Member

I track foods and eat at a deficit M-F and spend weekends practicing the way I want to live when the weight is gone, which involves selective modest indulgence coupled with practice at restraint.

I'm so glad you posted this. When I first started weightlifting, those comments were ambiguous--did I look like I needed encouragement? I couldn't tell. I tried to take them in the best possible light, but they made me wonder. Now, when I get complements on my weightlifting, I know that it's because I actually look great.…

Here's my favorite; the recipe is a rough approximation since I never measure these things out 1 lb fresh watermelon 1 tbsp sugar 1-3 tsp lemon juice ( to taste) 2/3 cups of yogurt. Add some frozen raspberries if you want to. Blend. Drink.

I cleaned out my closet. I got rid of clothes that don't fit anymore, clothes that never fit but they were "nice" so of course I had to keep them, and clothes that were worn out/stained/damaged but I'd once loved them and I didn't want to get rid of them! I have about half as much clothing left. I might buy 2-3 carefully…

I need to eat all of my allotted calories. And most of those I earn by exercise. If I don't do that, it's hard to prevent snack binges. This isn't true for everyone, but it works for me.

I'll often do an open face sandwich so it uses 1 slice of bread rather than two; this helps me enjoy my sandwich while keeping the total calorie count lower.

It happened to me last week. I think she was trying to complement me, because she saw me eating dessert and started telling me I needed to eat more. It didn't really feel like a complement, though.

Hojicha is roasted green tea, and the flavor is quite different from other kinds of green tea. However, if you really don't like green tea, you're probably best off if you move on and find a different healthy habit that you can actually enjoy.

A lot of vegan food is high in carbs and that's fine. It's one version of a healthy diet. Carbs are nothing to be afraid of. Personally, I try to meet protein and fiber goals while staying within my calorie limits. If I'm struggling with that, I look at fat and carbs, and try to identify eating habits that are driving up…

I'm still struggling to get down 2 pounds to the top of my maintenance weight. No weight lost in 2 weeks, but I'm close to goal weight and that's normal. Also, I'm really close to doing all of my barbell lifts (except for overhead press) with the women's bar rather than the trainer bar. I still do snatches with the trainer…

Green tea and toast with peanut butter.

I aspire to olympic lifting but I'm not really there yet. I've been trying to learn to do snatches. Today I finally did several--in a row!--with totally adequate form. This means I can start to go up in weight, which will be nice since my current max is 30lb.

I want to get to 130, which is 5lbs from my goal weight. I was 132 today. I'm going to buy a new pair of running shoes when I get there, since I'm overdue to replace running shoes at this point.

Mostly I've been rewarding myself with feelings of success. However, I'm less than 10 lbs away from goal weight, which means that:* Each pound is really hard * I need to replace lots of clothes So I've been rewarding each pound with new clothes. Mostly really basic stuff. I weighed one pound less today so I'm going to buy…

I lift 3X a week and do cardio 3X as well. I love cardio more, probably because I've been doing it for longer. It took me a while to learn to like lifting, but I really enjoy it as well.

Hi. I've lived with CFS/ME for almost twenty years now, currently (mostly) in remission. I've also gained weight due to lack of activity and because eating was one of my few pleasures when I was housebound, and I'm here to lose it. The best research shows that weight loss is about 80% diet and 20% exercise. Walking is…

Sometimes lots of exercise actually interferes with sleep. I can't do any cardio after 6:30pm or so or I have trouble sleeping.

I'm 10lbs away from my goal weight, so things are going very slow and every single remaining pound is a mini-goal. I'm going to buy a dress I've had my eye on when I lose the next pound.

I'm 5'2, 135lb, and I've been doing 3X8s recently. I can squat 115lbx8, and front-squat 85lbx8. I've never done 1rm. I've been kinda stuck at these weights for a while, so I just ordered some fractional plates. I hope they help me make some new progress.

I also paid for a couple of sessions with a trainer to learn to use weights. I use Youtube to try to improve my form from there. Every year or so I pay for a couple more sessions with a trainer for form check and form advice that is more personalized than Youtube. I used to hate free weights and now I do lifting 3X a week.…

Hey! After 3 weeks of no weight change I made it to "Normal" BMI this morning! Also, that means I achieved my other mini goal and I can now deadlift my body weight! Next mini goal is to squat my body weight. Also, 11lbs left to go before goal weight.

People get anxious about not getting enough sleep, which damages their ability to sleep.

I'm one of the people who really likes my tracker. It's important to remember that lots of the metrics are *really* inaccurate, especially when it comes to measuring sleep. I've heard from a physician friend that people are working themselves into (previously nonexistent) sleep disorders because their tracker keeps telling…

I've met the 10K steps goal every day for the last 28 days! I've been wearing my tracker for about a year and that's my longest streak so far. I'm grateful for this NSV because scale victories haven't been happening for the last three weeks.

I plan my runs to start with about a 1mile or 2k loop back to where I started. I drop a layer of clothes if I need to after completing the first loop, then continue with my run. Good luck.

I have Chronic fatigue, now (mostly) in remission. I'm wishing you the best. When I was housebound, I was pretty miserable. Eating was one of the few joys I had, and I overdid it a bit. I hope you're able to consciously seek out other kinds of joy in your life. The "good" news is this: most research shows that weight loss…

I ate at least 800g of fruits and veggies every weekday in January! Weekends are a little less organized.

It sounds like you always start a diet change and a new exercise plan at the same time. Maybe start with the diet, build good habits for a few weeks or even months, and then add more exercise--slowly--when you're feeling ready.

I'm not vegan, but I like savory breakfast. I've been eating a lot of chinese rice porridge with vegetables (surely there's a vegan recipe out there). Also, I'm planning on having Ful Mudammas for breakfast sometime soon: Egyptian fava bean breakfast.…

I had lunch with my family today. It was my daughter's choice, so we had pizza and ice cream. I had one slice of pizza then stopped. I shared one scoop of ice cream with my husband then stopped. I was totally in control and I was proud of myself.