natika33 Member

I don't think eggplant ever has a bitter taste, but maybe I'm just not sensitive or something. I eat them raw in salads or just throw them as is into stir-fries all the time. You can also make them into a type of fresh pickle. Slice them about 1/2 an inch (1cm) thick and stick them in a baggy with very salty water. Leave…

I've been not bothering with the forums for a long time now, but I'm still here. Welcome! When I first came to Japan, I lost a little bit of weight due to the extra exercise from biking everywhere. That motivated me to start trying for real and I took up jogging. I also teach at JHS and ES, so I started halving (sometimes…

ummm... that was actually true.

I changed my mind several times, but always knew I wanted a life of adventure and to travel the world. Seems to be working out pretty well so far. :smile:

I don't think you are being unfair, but at the same time I can understand your family's disappointment. They want to do something nice for you all together, right? So why don't you start a new birthday tradition instead? Do something together as a family such as bowling or playing golf/mini-golf or having a picnic in a…

Wow, that's awesome! Good for you! It makes me wonder if I should up my calories too. The thing is, I'm not that consistent anyway, so I don't manage to eat 1200 calories all the time anyway. I haven't lost any weight in quite awhile though... What calculation did you end up using to decide on how many calories you should…

I think we all get like that sometimes. I know I have days where I see something that looks delicious and then completely forget why I'm not supposed to eat it. I can totally understand how once a goal has been reached it becomes even harder to focus, but don't worry! It's just a bump in the road to learning how to do…

This is such a perfect summary of the vicious circle that is Walmart. I never shopped there even when I lived in a country that had Walmart. Whenever possible I prefer smaller and more local stores. It might sound inefficient, but I shop for groceries nearly every day right after work. I don't have a car, so I either bike…

Awesome job! You look great. Keep up the good work!

I guess that would depend on how heavy my scale was and whether there was likely to be one at my hotel or not. It would be kind of funny explaining it to Customs though. :wink:

ha ha! I think that was the article. You posted it as I was in the middle of writing to you.

Of course I can't find it when I need it, but I read an article a ways back that talked about hormones and how it plays into weight loss in women. According to the article, some women did indeed develop larger fat deposits in their legs temporarily during weight loss. Apparently, your body signals that you are trying to…

Wow, you've really been working hard! Everyday training is exhausting for anyone, especially if you are working on the same area of the body every time. Even professional athletes take breaks and vary their workouts to hit different muscle groups on different days! I agree with all the other posters that you should take a…

Great tips! I guess I'm not like most people in that I can judge my food portions pretty well, but definitely it has helped me a lot to have a standard of reference (as soon as someone told me a portion size is roughly equal to your own fist I really started to understand things!) Thanks for sharing and good luck on the…

Thank you. I believe I understand this now (probably LOL!) Your first sentence is crucially important. Before, I felt like I was reading thread after thread where only the second sentence was stated and hence I wasn't making certain connections. Now I feel like I get it and, also, like I know what to say when this topic…

Hi again. I'm very sorry if I come across as complaining. I didn't intend to sound that way and don't feel that way. I'm actually very happy with most of the responses! I don't think I'm looking for anything specific, or perhaps I am looking for many things. I'm not sure myself, so I think your confusion is understandable.…

Excellent article. Thank you very much for contributing this! :smile:

I really need to get to bed, but before I go I just wanted to say that this is a very interesting way of looking at things. I do admit I appreciate my muscles being able to do certain things, so when I lose all the fat, I will definitely re-evaluate whether I still actually want to lose muscle bulk as well. Thanks for…

Thank you thank you thank you! I think I finally get something I wasn't putting together properly before. It's weird how one can read the same information six times, but just the way it is said makes the difference to whether one actually "gets" it or not. Let me see if I get this straight - basically, if I continue to…

First, I want to say that I think you look great in your profile pic and yes, you rock the high heels! :smile: I'm disheartened to hear that you feel the only way to achieve less muscle in your legs would be to lie in bed all day though. I also have muscular thighs (that are where I store my fat too) and was somewhat…

Very true. Also, thank you for writing out nice long, well thought-out and intelligent responses. I really appreciate and admire that! :smile:

I find discussion of a topic leads to many interesting ideas to explore. It doesn't have to have a specific aim such as "advice" or "argument" to be useful. Perhaps I don't even really know what I want out of this and by discussing it I'll find it. :smile: Some things: 1) I find any idea that is given as an absolute hard…

One's personal definition of bulky and what a dictionary says might be two different things. I have my own level I would love to achieve which may be considered "slim" to some and "bulky" to others. I really believe that a lot of people that say "women can't bulk up" have it in their heads that the women are scared to look…

Far enough. I also agree with the other poster that said you look awesome! :smile:

I get that many women want definition or want to bulk up. I'm not trying to discourage anyone from those goals. However, I see lots of women that really don't want to bulk up (even a little), or those (like me) who want to slim down muscles they already have. There doesn't seem to be a lot of good advice for how to go…

Actually, you mentioned in another thread that your thighs were getting bigger than was to your liking so you were scaling back.... :wink:

The article wasn't exactly about those women in the pictures, but yes, I am aware they were working out a LOT harder than the average woman (and some of them were attempting to bulk up specifically, though I'm not sure the gymnasts or the swimmers were attempting to bulk up per say). The point is not that someone will lift…

I've gone through a lot of posts on here and although most people are here to lose weight and diet, there are plenty of people here for other reasons. There are also a lot of ex-athletes on here who've gotten soft and want to tone again or perhaps even become skinnier (less bulky) than they once were. If you already had…

Of course it doesn't happen overnight, however there are many many people claiming on here that no matter how hard a woman trains she won't bulk up. I beg to differ, not only because of this article but because of personal experience. If you look at all the pictures another trend emerges as well. Women training for the…

I usually don't have a post work-out snack, I just time my work-outs so that dinner is soon after. If that doesn't work for you, I second all those who suggested a banana, followed by all those who suggested a protein shake.