jjs22

The chest strap has 2 conductive pads on it. They are made of a black conductive plastic, so they don't stand out much, but you can definitely see them. When you wear the strap, the pads are several (8 ?) inches apart, on either side of your heart. The electrical signal produced by your heart is teeny-tiny. The electrical…

WARNING ! I see lots of recommendations for Polar. Before you buy one, check to see if the battery in the chest strap is replaceable. Most of the Polar ones are not (unless they've changed lately) and you are supposed to send it in "to the factory" for replacement. IOW, throw it away and buy another. Keep in mind that…

Congratulations on your progress so far ! I love walking and I think its a fantastic (the best ?) way to get into fitness. My approach to running is sort of like C25k, only backwards. I walk when I can, and only run when I "have to". IOW, don't think of walking as "taking a break" or something you fall back on when you're…

I don't know how it applies to elite athletes, but for newcomers or for those of us who are a bit older, I think the approach is a good one. I'm 50-ish, and have have been having problems with calf pain/injuries. I take time off from running, do some strengthening and stretching, and when my legs are back in shape I try…

Well, speed isn't everything. Congratulations ! But seriously, about the headphones... When I signed up for my first run (still in the future) I was super-happy to see that not only were headphones/earphones not allowed, they were considered grounds for disqualification. I do a weekly casual 5k run with many hundreds of…

Like others have said, the *only* thing a HRM can measure accurately is the rate of your heart. In order to directly measure how many calories you are burning, you literally have to measure how much heat your body is giving off. It can be done in laboratory, but its not very practical. The next best thing would be to…

Maybe I'll give that a try. I still have all those Niacin pills.

Its important to keep in mind that _both_ measurements are wrong. The MFP number is probably more wrong, as it has no information to go on : How "vigorous" was the cleaning ? How good a shape is the person in ? etc. But the number from a HRM is also wrong. The only thing it can get right is your heart rate. After that,…

I've noticed that if I do a significant endurance activity (long vigorous hike/bike) it takes a couple of days to get my body re-charged. This period of being "out of gas" definitely lasts longer than it did when I was young (I'm now 50-ish). As long as its just a matter of being a little depleted of glycogen, then there's…

It depends on what you mean by exercise. We all get *some* exercise every single day. (Just lifting a fork burns calories !) But any conscious effort that uses your muscles "above and beyond' normal daily levels is going to cause damage. The more intense the workout, the more damage. After you finish your workout, your…

I hit my target weight loss of 45-ish pounds for one simple reason : I did NOT cut out fat. From a biochemical point of view, all that matters in losing weight is that the calories you eat each day are (slightly) lower than the calories you burn. But people are more complicated than test tubes. What REALLY matters is that…

IMPORTANT ! I *wish* I had been told this before I tried Niacin, but I had to learn it the hard way. There is a reaction that some people experience when taking Niacin called "flushing". It is not harmful, but can be extremely unpleasant. In my case, I took a standard dose of "slow release" Niacin for my cholesterol. A…

Here's an idea : Don't cook it. I just cured my first salmon this week and it turned out fantastic. Google for recipes, but basically you mix a ton of kosher salt, some sugar, and anything you find tasty to make a "cure". Spread the cure over the non-skin side, wrap the filet in plastic wrap, lay it in a pan/tray of some…

One nice quickie is tuna and white beans with olive oil and salt. I keep canned beans on hand for convenience, but with a tiny bit of planning, the soaked/cooked ones taste better. I buy tuna canned with olive oil (my preference), drain it as much as possible. Drizzle some good extra virgin olive oil over it (you don't…

If it is not crushed, it will look like a bunch of sesame seeds : same size, only a tad darker. I don't know what "crushed" looks nlike, but I grind mine up in a coffee grinder and it comes out as a coarse powder. The problem with eating the seeds uncrushed/unground is that they pass right through you !

I started MFP in Aug (Sept ?) this year, and I've made it most of the way (35 out of 45) to my goal by counting calories and walking. My rules for myself : 1) No gym !! 2) No feats of willpower. 3) Keep eating the things I really love. And it works. As for the walking, I walk to work every day (1 mile each way). And a few…

It's great to see that walk as part of your "ordinary" activities. Some people (like me) absolutely despise going to a gym or doing specifically designated exercise sessions. Much to my relief, I've found that that's not necessary. I started walking to work every day (1 mile each way) and gradually sped up the pace as my…

"Worried that I haven't lost weight this week..." Try to set your goals/expectations for the long haul. Your body will gain/lose weight (up to several pounds) over the course of a day/week/month due to factors completely unrelated to calories or exercise. The trick is to "see beyond" the fluctuations (or lack thereof),…

No need to atone. Its not a sin, just a dose of calories. The main thing is to a) enjoy it, and b) adjust your caloric input (diet) or output (exercise) to keep you moving towards your goal. I think part (b) is what we focus on the most, but as others have hinted, its important to take part (a) seriously. The cafeteria…

Ditto for the DIY approach. I mostly just use olive oil and vinegar (balsamic or otherwise). I also like to add tons of freshly ground black pepper (especially a good black pepper like Telicherry) and plenty of salt. I don't know how many people put salt on salads, but (like everything else) it really brings out the…

You can check the calories in a piece of fruit and compare that number to your calorie target, but there are other things to consider as well. Some fruits (oranges ?) give up their sugar immediately, whereas others (apples) put up a noble fight. After you eat an apple, it takes quite a while for your digestive system to…

My understanding is that the alcohol is what contributes most of the calories in wine. (Definitely true for distilled liquors.) The rest is mostly just water (and awesome flavors). If you "reduce" the wine/liquor in a pan, you boil off essentially all of the alcohol, so I wouldn't worry too much about the remaining…

I really like my fitness ball. Some things are really easy. Like : Sit on the ball, body upright. Hold arms out to your sides, horizontally. Then lift one foot a few inches off the floor for 15-30 seconds. It takes a surprising amount of concentration to stay balanced. And all the "adjustments" that you are constantly…

Well, depending on what your cardio goals are, brisk walking is a great exercise. I started just walking a little to get my sorry butt off the sofa. And I liked it. And I got better. And I sped up. Now I do 5k's with a couple of running clubs, and my pace is a smidge faster than 15 min/mile. Feels great, no pain/injuries,…

I think walking to/from work is a great idea for anybody. I started doing it a month or two ago, and it has become the core of my fitness routine; I just add walks at lunch/evenings/weekends when I want more. Besides the exercise, I think it has many other benefits : being engaged in your world, having some open space in…

Yes. The sugar in fresh fruit is as bad as refined sugar. The sugar in fresh fruit is fructose. Organic, schmorganic - it doesn't matter. Fructose is fructose. Its the exact same fructose molecule as in Coca Cola and Shoo Fly Pie, although they contain other sugars as well. But that's not to say that you shouldn't eat…

If you think about it, fats and carbs are made of carbon and oxygen. If you burn these completely (with additional oxygen from your lungs) then you are left with CO2 and H20, which leave your body with no smell. But protein (amino acids) contain nitrogen. If your body burns protein (either from your diet or by consuming…

I don't know your age, but at 48 I'm having to acknowledge many things that aren't the same as they were when I was 16. I used to be able to just run 3 miles without stretching any time I felt like it. Now, just trying a few 40-yard intervals of jogging had me limping for a week. I'm not sure about yoga/stretching, but I…

I started walking for fitness about 6 weeks ago. It didn't take long before I felt significantly more fit, and my pace started to pick up. So I began to walk (1 mile each way) to work each day, and several more walks per week. And I began to up the pace bit by bit, as long as it felt good. Walking feels great. I never feel…

Interesting stuff. I read about a case from the early 1900's of a young girl who suffered from serious burns, including her face. They grafted skin from her thigh to repair her face. After she reached puberty, she began to "fill out", and the patch of thigh skin on her face added much more fat than the rest of her face.…