neuro316 Member

I haven't run a half marathon (I'm concentrating on 5K for the time being), but I've walked two so I'm familiar with the basics of training for one. I think 3x a week is a good training frequency for a first-time half marathoner. When I was doing my training program it was set for 4x a week and the trainers told us to at…

Also: Running Down A Dream - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen Ready to Run - Dixie Chicks And it's not about running, but nothing beats Bon Jovi, Living on a Prayer!

I would definitely make sure that you can walk for 30 minutes continuously at a rather quick pace (a speed that will get your heart rate up, but not necessarily speed walking) before starting the c25k program. Also, make sure that you can do this 3 days a week. Once you reach that point (if you're not there already), make…

MFP calculates your daily calorie guideline based on your height, weight, activity level, and how much weight you want to lose. So, for example, if you have a sedentary lifestyle (i.e., have a desk job), and are an average sized woman, your maintenance level will probably be around 1700-2200 calories. For an example, let's…

I thought it might be useful to re-post what I just wrote on another WW thread:

Personally, WW didn't work for me, for several reasons. I should say I didn't try it for a really long time, but long enough to see that it wasn't ideal, at least for me. I should say, too, that I only used the online program, not the in-person meetings, which may be helpful for some people (but are not appealing to me).…

If you only have 5 pounds to lose, I would change your MFP settings to lose 0.5 lb/week. You are well within the healthy range for your height (and heck, I'm trying to get down to 130-135 as well and I'm 6 inches shorter than you are!), so even though you might think you need to lose 5 lbs, your body doesn't necessarily…

Right now I'm weighing every day, first thing in the morning, but I only enter my weight on here when I see a full pound lost (my scale works in 0.5 lb increments). But I think once I get past my first 10 or 15 lbs lost, I'm going to switch to once a week. If you choose to weigh every day, though, it's really important to…

As long as I'm below my maintenance levels, I know that I'm still on the trajectory towards weight loss, so I don't worry about it. If I'm over and there's still time to do some exercise, then I might do a short workout (like 30DS) just to help undo some of the "damage," but if that's not possible it's not a big deal.

So far, so good! That said, any tool is only going to be as good as the person using it. Unless you have some specific health issues, I think the numbers on MFP are applicable for the vast majority of people, and there's no need to try to second guess the numbers or go for a much larger deficit than MFP suggests. Also, by…

I'm pear-shaped too. My advice is to do both cardio and strength training with an emphasis on lower body exercises. When I've lost weight previously, it was due more to changes in eating habits rather than purposeful exercise, and it seemed like I still retained the same basic shape (large hips and thighs), just on an…

I don't do specific "cheat" days, but if I know I'm going to be in a situation where I won't know all the nutrition details of what I'm eating (i.e., traveling, a party, at someone else's house, etc.), I will just try to stay within my maintenance levels. I think the concept of "cheating" itself implies that you are…

If those numbers are correct, your net caloric intake is 150-450 calories a day, if you don't eat back any of your exercise calories. That is FAR too low for healthy weight loss, for just about anyone. Frankly I'm amazed you can get through that level of working out when you've taken in such a comparatively small amount of…

You could try switching to maintenance calorie levels for 2-4 weeks, then switching back to the lower calorie intake levels. Also, where do you have your MFP levels set at now? If they are at 2 lb/week, maybe it's time to switch to 1 lb/week.

How about just doing the arm movements but stepping side to side, or marching in place?

I have a Fuel Belt, and it works pretty well and is comfortable, though if I were looking to buy a new one I might go with a Nathan belt. The Fuel Belt bottles are a good size, but I found it hard sometimes to get them in and out of the elastic holsters. Also the pocket that comes with the belt is really small (you can fit…

I think you're making this way more complicated than it needs to be. Right now, you should be able to safely lose 2 lb a week, since your 1000 calorie deficit puts you at 1,620 calories. I highly doubt you will go into starvation mode eating that amount. Just let MFP do the work for you - tell it what you've been eating…

I should add that another way to change BMR is to change your muscle mass - more muscle burns more calories, so your BMR will be higher. But again, BMR is dependent on your body composition, not on the amount of activity you do in a day.

BMR is the number of calories your body uses just to run regular physiological functions and stay alive each day. In other words, the amount of calories your body would burn if you just lay in bed all day, with no other activity. So, one clue as to whether someone on here has no idea of what they are talking about, is when…

Halfway done! Come on everyone, we can do this! :happy:

Drink a glass or two of water. Or a bit of ginger ale or ginger tea if you have it. And try to relax - the feeling will pass, and don't beat yourself up for giving in to a craving.

I'm not a nutritionist, but I do have a science background - I would guess that at your height, weight, and with the fact that you're male, plus the amount of daily exercise you're doing, 1400 net calories is a much healthier goal for you than 900, and that 1400 net is also an amount at which you should almost certainly…

MFP has, likely for legal reasons, set 1200 calories as a minimum based on the World Health Organization's standards and findings across AVERAGES of people. So, for the majority, 1200 is a good baseline range to be above. However, around any average there are going to be those that are higher and those that are lower. So,…

I think one or two cans a day is fine. Also you probably don't want it to be the only liquid you drink. But drinking a can of diet soda is not going to make you gain weight, or keep you from losing weight. Everything in moderation.

I'm 5' 3'' and right now my goal is 130 lbs. Depending on how it goes to get to that point, I may aim further for 125, but I think I would be happy at 130. I'm a pear shape and I think with my hips, if I went below 125 I would look really bony and strange - but I'd have to get to that point first to really know for sure.

I tried a few of the WW meals earlier this year when I was doing WW online, but I quickly learned that the devil is in the details - some of those meals may be low calorie (200-300 cals), but the sodium is sky high!! Really way too high in relation to the amount of calories/food that you get. I recommend Amy's Organic or…

I'm doing the 30DS for the first time and when I reach those points that are more difficult for me (push ups, plank moves, etc.), I just keep telling myself "anything is better than zero!" So, even if I can only do 5 push ups and the "girls" in the video are doing 15, hey, I did 5 better than zero! If there are moves that…

There's a complicated psychology at work. The short answer is jealousy. But, I think it's more than that, obviously depending on the individual situation. Sometimes it seems that when you lose a large amount of weight, change your lifestyle and habits, etc., it can appear threatening to people, because it changes the way…

I think there's a huge range here, so I'll just speak for myself. I'm in the middle of doing 30DS for the first time (just finished Level 2 day 1). For the last few months I've mostly been doing elliptical and stationary bike workouts, with a small amount of weight lifting (machines) at the gym. I've never done a serious…

As far as I understand it, MFP doesn't provide a calorie count for weight training because calories burned lifting weights varies really widely between people (much more than for cardio). So, if you're really concerned about the calories you burn in weight training, then you should probably get a heart rate monitor and see…