msfitmom Member

The shoe suggestion is a great one too. My hips and knees always start to hurt when I need new shoes.

Could be. More than likely it's a combination of the hills, cold weather and duration. If the soreness gets worse and not better, go see a doc. But if you just started running this new course, give it 5 or so runs and take a temperature check. If it's just a matter of building strength and duration then the soreness should…

I recommend concentrating on one thing at a time. If you want to do a faster 5K, make that your goal. If you want to run longer, then make that your goal. Then train accordingly. You're developing different sets of muscles for each type of task. Distance running develops slow twitch muscles, speedwork fast twitch. It may…

Well... Now that I'm not needing to lose massive amounts of weight like I once did I can say I'm not a fan of anything processed. However, when I did need to lose, I found frozen dinners like Lean Cuisines and Weight Watchers immensely helpful toward helping me figure out what was an appropriate portion size. Without them…

You got that right. Men - take note.

I recommend going to see a chiropractor. I have had back and sciatic issues ever since I had my son and suffered for years. I finally went to a chiropractor for the first time a year ago and am kicking myself for waiting so long! 10 minutes once a week and I'm back running without pain again. It's awesome. Find a good one…

You'd be better off figuring out a way to eat that is something you can do for the rest of your life, so that there is no "beginning" or "end," it's just healthy living. Way easier said than done and it probably will take a long time - it took me many many years and I'm still not spot on with it yet - but it's so worth it.…

Good luck! Have a great race & have fun! If you've trained for it, you'll make it easily!

You have to find something that you love, or at least like, or you won't do it. Some suggestions from a decades-long gym rat: - Take a group fitness class you've NEVER taken before - Zumba, TRX, spinning - something you've never even tried once. You may love it, or you may hate it, but it will get you back - Call your gym…

Nothing whatsoever is wrong with you. That's the first thing you need to understand. If any of this were easy, there wouldn't be a multimillion dollar industry out there devoted to weight loss and fitness. There wouldn't be millions of people on Weight Watchers. There wouldn't be thousands of people on this site. There is…

You can do both or either if you want. Depends on what exercise you're doing and what you feel like. Lots of people can't eat right before a cardio session. I can, though I usually try to eat mainly carbs + easily digestible protein about an hour before a cardio session to allow my body some time to digest it. After a…

VERY cool. As a runner trying desperately to get faster (trying to qualify for Boston this Sunday!) I really appreciated this post. I don't need to lose any significant weight - 5 lbs max if that - but am very interested in runners who are vegetarians/vegans because I am considering this as well. Any insight/diet plans you…

Hi there, I'm a busy working mom too and the only thing I've tried that works well for me is to reserve Sundays for cooking ALL my lean proteins and carbs for the week that day. Which means that on any given Sunday I'll be grilling chicken breasts and turkey and bison, boiling couscous, quinoa and pasta and making a sauce…

Weight loss is simple math. Calories out must be more than calories in. Plain and simple. That's why people who eat nothing but chips or nothing but Subway sandwiches still lose weight. You can lose weight eating nothing BUT sugar if you eat less of it than energy you expend. If your goal is to lose weight and be healthy,…

Hi, Long time distance runner here. I've had every kind of pain you can imagine. First off, pain means something's wrong. People for some reason think that pain is normal when you exercise but it's really not. Pain that severe likely means something's really wrong and you need to get it checked out. It's good you've…

You're probably overtrained. If you're working out 6 days a week plus doing manual labor like cleaning every day, that's pretty taxing. Muscle pain when there shouldn't be or if there isn't a good reason for it can be a sign of overtraining. It's a signal that your body needs a rest day. So take one. Take two. You'll be…

You're probably overtrained. If you're working out 6 days a week plus doing manual labor like cleaning every day, that's pretty taxing. Muscle pain when there shouldn't be or if there isn't a good reason for it can be a sign of overtraining. It's a signal that your body needs a rest day. So take one. Take two. You'll be…

Hi, Long time distance runner here. I've had every kind of pain you can imagine. First off, pain means something's wrong. People for some reason think that pain is normal when you exercise but it's really not. Pain that severe likely means something's really wrong and you need to get it checked out. It's good you've…

I'm training for a marathon myself - I've run several - and I'm usually at my HEAVIEST when I'm in the thick of training. Like right now, I'm at least 5 pounds heavier than I normally am and my race is in a week. If your goal is to lose weight, don't expect to do so when you're training for a marathon. This is the time…