1BlueAurora Member

I created Jedi mind tricks for myself. For instance, if someone brings a box of pastries into the house to share, I imagine that someone spit on them and I don't eat them. If there's a package of cookies, I look at the box to see what the calories are, and portion out one serving and that's it. Honestly, the hardest thing…

Best of luck to you! It really comes down to what you want out of it, and for many it's the motivation that being in a group of people with similar goals. My sister-in-law was in Weight Watchers off and on. She lost weight, then gained it back when she'd take a break. Unfortunately, when they switched to the program that…

Oh, those last 10 pounds! Don't give up. Maybe go down to 1400 calories a day consistently for a week or two and see what happens. Eating back only 50 - 70% of your exercise calories can be a way to reach your lower calorie goal. I certainly hit that slowdown, and it was frustrating. Best of luck!

The right hip that's fatter than the left. I know that when I lose weight, they even up so they basically match. Weird motivator, I suppose. But what gets me is when I walk in my hallway toward my bedroom, the light casts my shadow onto the wall and it drives me bonkers to see the bulge on just the one side of my body.…

Put on your clothes, put a towel and water bottle in your tote/backpack/bag, take your key, and go over there! You can always knock on the door and maybe someone will let you in. As far as not knowing how to use the equipment, just set everything for a low weight and give them a try. It's possible you'll find a collection…

A day off from the gym is no big deal, really. For me, I have to still have the habit of being diligent on logging my food or I kind of go backwards.

Welcome back! I thought I was maintaining after losing 30 pounds, but gained half of it back. Ugh! So I'm back here, too. We're going to do great!

That happened to me the first week of MFP. People here on the forums suggested more protein, and I found for me that helped a lot! A little more fat was good, too. I’d have a couple scrambled eggs with a slice or two of avocado. Headache, lightheaded feeling and slight nausea all went away.

I eat them back. My body needs the fuel to exercise. When I didn’t I lost weight too fast and started losing my hair! It took months to reverse that trend.

A boiled egg helps me if I’m hungry but no time for a meal. Portable, a little protein, 74 calories.

I had some anxiety over reaching my calorie limit, too. For me, I'd feel shame if I went over the calories I could eat that day. Then I'd think, "what's the use? I'm a failure!" I pushed through that by acknowledging that I'm not perfect, I was doing my best, and finally I started seeing results. That motivated me. I…

Losing a pound a week is, I think, basically perfect. Pat yourself on the back, and keep at it!

I've only taken three Body Pump classes, but it seems like a good combo of cardio and weight training. Perhaps you can log in the exercise here by trying to break down the components (for some reason MFP doesn't give you a calorie value for Body Pump). I think you'd get a benefit with toning your muscles with any of the…

I experienced hair loss because I was losing weight too rapidly. I was losing more than 2 pounds a week for three months and all of a sudden my hair was falling out, which I noticed in the shower and when I combed my hair out afterwards. You didn't share your height, weight, goals - but consider (if you haven't already)…

@jekkarez It looks like you are weighing your food and pretty much have a handle on how to log your intake. It's not clear to me whether you are using MFP to calculate how much you can really eat. It sounds like your trainer told you that you've only earned 300 calories? Have you used the "exercise" tab at the top? Input…

I think if you follow your doctor's advice and get a referral to a physical therapist, you'll benefit in a number of ways. Mostly, you don't want to get injured doing the wrong things, or starting out with a new exercise program too fast. Nothing is worse (to me) than an injury that sets me back for months, never mind the…

MFP says the minimum calorie intake per day for a woman is 1200 calories. Also, it's set up so that you also eat back some of the calories you've earned through exercise and you will still lose weight. I'll share this: when I was eating 1200 calories a day and eating back very few of my earned exercise calories, I lost…

I don't chew gum anymore, but when I did I did sugarless gum on my dentist's recommendation.

Make a doctor appointment. You'll probably get some blood tests to check on thyroid function, among other things. You'll probably get better answers this way than here on the forums (although everyone here is very helpful). You might feel reassured that it's just a blip on the radar. It's also possible that you'll get…

My biggest challenge is mindless eating. I love nothing better than a bowl full of popcorn with lots of butter and salt while I'm watching a movie on Netflix. I try to focus on slicing up some cucumbers and carrots and eating those instead, but it's just not the same. At least, not yet!

For one thing, buy some new clothes that fit. It'll make you feel more comfortable while you focus on losing weight, and you already have clothes to wear after you lose some. My guess is that you are not logging all your food into MFP and have no idea how much you are actually consuming. This program only works if you…

It sounds like you are eating 1500 calories a day and not eating back the calories you've earned through exercise. Let's say you run for 20 minutes and burn 600 calories. Your calorie allowance is now 1500 + 600 = 2100. I used to eat back about 50% to 75% of my earned calories to account for any logging errors. Here's what…

I think concentrating on your health is a great way to recover from a loss like yours. I've found that exercising, getting outside and hiking, running or just walking, taking a gym class, are all good ways of clearing my head and feeling accomplished because I did something every day. I hike alone or with a good friend.…

You need to log the binge sesh. There's no reason to deny yourself some of the foods you love. I usually have a dessert or a glass or two of wine every day, but it's within my calorie allowance. I'm just no good with deprivation! But if you are feeling guilt or shamed, you might consider asking your doctor for a referral…

Looks good to me! It is fabulous that you've been able to accomplish so much. Congrats!

Assuming you're talking about candy, last Halloween I ate some small snack size chocolate bars for a couple days. Then I looked at the remaining bowl full and decided to throw it all away. It was cathartic!

About 0.5 pounds either up or down.

When I took a Zumba class at the beginning of starting to count calories with MFP, when I lifted my legs high my thighs would hit my stomach. It was big and droopy. I noticed at the last class this week that my thighs no longer make contact with my smaller stomach. I nearly cried with joy!

Your left brain telling you you're still big is a liar. It takes a while to get your head around the fact that you do, in fact, look smaller. My sister told me at one point that my failure to see my progress for what it was is something you can actually correct. We went to Goodwill (I didn't have much money) and she made…

You can add me if you'd like! Your goals sound great. Just log every day, as accurately as you can. I followed people's advice and bought a $20 food scale so I could control portions. This may be silly, but I bought a calendar and stuck on a gold star for every day I exercised (aimed for 5 times a week). For every 10…