HappyStack Member

If you can't get a workup from a trainer, and you don't have an experienced training partner or a patron at the gym you'd feel comfortable asking to point you in the right direction & check your form, you can always start out with 'unweighted' exercises. Squats without a bar, etc. just to get your form right & get the feel…

As long as you're hitting your daily goals, you can eat whenever you want to eat. *The thermic effect (i.e calorie burn) from eating is the same whether you're awake or sleeping your body will process & digest your nutrients at the same rate. It's misinformation to allow somebody to believe that eating carbs after a…

Mine get disgustingly smelly because I'm not only sweating, but I run on grass at around 6:30am, meaning it's always wet or dewy. I throw them in the washing machine every couple of weeks on a quick wash in a pillow case (I take out the laces and wash those by hand), which takes around 30 minutes. I then rinse them to make…

MFP will give you a number based on doing absolutely nothing at all, all day, geared towards any type of dedicated exercise. Because the equation used to calculate your goals doesn't assume you will exercise beyond the 'normal daily activity' you selected when setting your goals (sedentary, lightly active, active, etc.) it…

You should net above your BMR, but below your maintenance. How much is up to you, but base it on a percentage rather than an arbitrary number. Between 10% and 20% of your maintenance is a good place to start. This should bring you sufficiently over your BMR, whilst still maintaining a sufficient daily calorie deficit for…

I probably qualify as a geeky nerd. But I'm a picky geeky nerd.

When you're calculating your weekly deficit, you're using your BMR, not your TEE. If you're doing absolutely nothing but vegging out all week, that's fine... but my guess is you're doing a lot more than that and therefore expending more energy than you're calculating. When you go to your goals page, it should give you a…

Your BMR is essentially what your body would need in terms of being completely comatose. To have a maintenance level of ~1400 with a BMR of 1301, you would literally have to do nothing all day in order to maintain. At an entirely sedentary level your maintenance calories would be roughly 1550 (this has nothing to do with…

I was always under the impression that the so-called "quality" of the calorie is unimportant, it's the macro profile that is most important. i.e As long as you're getting a sufficient quantity of proteins, carbs and fats from the food you eat per lb or kg of body mass, your body neither wonders nor cares where you get it…

Squats > "thigh gaps"

I'd ignore the BF% and water reading on the scales. You're probably retaining a little bit of water due to starting your exercise regime.

I have a friend with PCOS who has lost over 100lbs, regained regularity with her period and although she's still fatigued, she can usually push through the day without issue. She has sleep issues, which makes it worse than the PCOS would normally, I think. As far as she's noted, there's no change in the hirsutism. I don't…

I don't wear any... I have a few times, but it always feels weird on my face and I'm *so very aware* that it's there. Plus I break out like a mofo every single time I wash it off. It's not worth the hassle for me.

Haha, this has its own problems. I use my phone to take photos of this nature, too, and only just recently installed Dropbox on both my computer and phone. I took some photos one morning, went off to get on with my day and upon returning late at night and logging into my computer realised that Dropbox had automatically…

I only read the first and last pages, but if the girl at the desk is aware that he's often following you from area to area and equipment to equipment, it might be a good idea to ask the gym's policy on this type of behaviour... and perhaps on what type of guy he is, in general [I like what someone said about him perhaps…

The only substitution I made was between the colour of the peppers, weighing everything on the scales. I thought myself that it was a misprint or a miscalculation, but I've since put in a few more recipes from the book and noted a wide variance in the values given in the book and those given by MFP. Either off by a fair…

Well, the recipe book doesn't give a brand... it just states 150g of crumbly feta cheese. I picked the crumbly feta cheese from my local shop with the best values, i.e lowest in fat, highest in protein (carbs are negligible), so in my mind that should work to the recipe considering the NI given.

I do, to an extent... but after so long, I've learned to gauge rough amounts if I'm in a hurry. Especially with utensils. One spoonful of rice, a ladle of soup, etc.

I don't think the problem lies with vegans... I think the problem lies with what I like to call 'pseudo-vegans'... those who do it just to be trendy or those who do it whilst, astonishingly, still wearing and using animal products in every day life. Personally, I think any 'extreme' lifestyle with largely unsubstantiated…

Nobody is going to sugarcoat it, losing 100lbs is HARD. But think of all the things it will teach you; how to eat in a sustainable manner and healthily for the rest of your life, how to push far beyond what you thought your upper limits were, how to exercise in a fun way... not just for you, but for your children... I…

I think everyone gets this at some point. I'm 145lbs now (10.5st approx.) and I used to be about 18 stone. I have around 15-20lbs to lose until I'm at my desired weight... when I tell people I want to lose around another stone, they say "you'll be too thin," or "there'll be nothing of you" or "you look fine now" etc. As…

I've found it's been the last thing to go for me. Belly and thighs. It can be disconcerting, but it really is true... you can't spot reduce and the only way to keep trimming up the belly is to keep going. The good news is, the belly fat you lose first is pretty much always visceral fat -- the gross stuff that collects…

You look great. If you don't mind me asking, how tall are you?

You'll find if you aren't getting enough nutrients, the length of your period will shorten and eventually [or suddenly] stop altogether for a time. This can be due to simply not eating enough or indeed overexercising. And just to add to the flipside of the conversation, regular exercise [and resulting weight loss] can also…

A good few that many wouldn't have heard of, lots of 'local' bands... I've seen guys like My Chemical Romance, New Found Glory, and Good Charlotte incidentally whilst attending their shows for the warm-up sets. They weren't bad. If you're not particularly into the band playing, once the music is playing you either get into…

I'm from near Cardiff in Wales and have roughly 15lbs left to lose, if you'd like some encouragement :)

I don't know if slowing down is great advice. If you're setting out at a certain pace, and you're comfortable in that rhythm, that may be your natural running pace... deliberately slowing down may make you even more tired (it sounds silly, but I've been there). If, however, you KNOW you're running too fast, then you should…

The USADA don't have the power to strip him of any titles won outside of the US. The titles he's made his name on; the Tour de France, can only be taken from him by the UCI, who have actually given him support in fighting the doping claims made by the USADA. Basically, he's not giving up any of his legacy by not continuing…

I always despair when folks talk about losing 1lb/2lb or gaining 1lb/2lb. Everyone's weight fluctuates about twice that much, give or take, every single day... the difference between thinking you've gained or lost a pound could be as simple as stepping on the scales an hour later than usual. I gain at least one kilo…

Lots of things work for different people... some like to kick themselves in the butt and note down all the things they dislike about themselves, vow to change it... place it somewhere they'll see it every day, and so on. Others like to note positive things, or bounce off compliments, or other positive reinforcement. Above…