Lina4Lina Member

At my highest weight, I was 364 lbs. I lost 160 lbs at my lowest weight and maintained that for about 5 years until I had a variety of issues including injuries and a death in the family. I regained some but I'm working my way back down.

I normally wouldn't say anything but I understand the concerns with cleanses. Generally, I say that people can do anything they want and a short period of time using whatever products will just generally cause a hole in your wallet but shouldn't hurt you physically. I looked up this program and it consists of eating 420…

Just calories. My macros are set at 60% carbs and 20% fat and protein. Due to IR/PCOS/hypoglycemia, I care about the type of carbs I eat but not really how much of them I eat.

My advice is resistance bands and there are couple programs that can be done with minimal equipment. The New Rules of Lifting for Women. You can do this with dumbbells or resistance bads. You would need to figure how to adjust for resistance bands though. You are your Own Gym. Needs very minimal stuff. Both of the above…

You should find the diet that is right for you as this is something that you should look at as a life long change. I eat high carb, low fat because that is what works for me. One thing you should also remember is that you may experience a lot of weight fluctuations going from low carb to high carb due to your glycogen…

I would agree that eating out usually means more sodium. Dairy can also bloat you. I weigh daily to watch fluctuations. I weigh 3 lbs heavier today than yesterday. I ate 1800 calories yesterday and exercised. I can tell you that it takes 10,000 calories to gain 3 lbs so I know I didn't gain 3 lbs of fat. Our bodies are…

As for me, I have the book. I only got as far as month 2 though. No reason other than I'm flaky :). I do weights though and have been doing them off and on for more than 10 years.

The amount of loose skin you have is mostly a factor of genetics, your highest weight, how long you were at your highest weight and genetics. The information about losing fast results in more loose skin is false in a sense. Basically if you lose 100 lbs in 6 months or 3 years, you should have the same amount of loose skin…

Look at the New Rules of lifting for Women. It is a book and has a 6 month routine in it.

A couple years ago, when I was lifting regularly, I went to give blood and the person had to check my arm. She said that my vein was strong and wasn't sure it was really a vein. You could see it though.

More of a total body workout. A lot of the work is actually in the legs.

Yeah, I was just giving an example. I had a friend who had very weak upper body strength and 3 lb dumbbells for any upper body movement was tough and overall, she just wasn't strong at all. I was thinking about someone like her. I have swung a 53 lb kettlebell and although I can do a few of them, I choose 25 lb ones. It…

The thing though is that if you are using upper body strength to swing a kettlebell, then your form needs to be checked. And by incredible muscle weakness, I would say those that require 3 lb dumbbells (and 5 lb are a challenge) to do any upper body exercise would fall into that category. Maybe I'm presuming the average…

Ok, I'm going to say that your instructor is full of crap and giving you bad advice. I know plenty of fit women doing 35 lbs and they are far from bulky. Artofstrength.com has some videos of very non-bulky women doing 70 lb kettlebells. The common advice though is that there is a point of diminishing returns in weight of…

I had shunned gym memberships for years. I could've gone back to Ballys for $99/year but instead joined a gym near my house for $70/month. I go everyday, take 4-5 classes per week including Zumba. I also pay extra for weekly sessions with a personal trainer. When I belonged to Crossfit, it was $200/month. Now, with my…

I understand the frustration but unless you've been doing what you have been doing for a few weeks, I'd relax and see what happens. The scale isn't the most accurate way to measure fat loss, it is just the most convenient. And if you are closer to goal then changes take even longer.

As a vegan, I agree. I don't like when people have magical thinking about their diet. Low carb seems to have this the most and I think it is due to the drastic water/glycogen loss that occurs at the beginning. You also see people pushing vegan diets thinking it magically results in weight loss, it does not. A lot of people…

Most likely. Protein requirements really aren't that high, even for people who do lifting regularly.

I've eaten at Bob Evans once. I was on a road trip and didn't know what it was. The taste if their food is reason enough not to eat there. I do go to Red Robin once in a great while and if I get fries, I don't get a refill.

You should search the forums, it doesn't work.

I agree that not going above 5 is ridiculous but the general notion is spot on. Rather than quoting a magic number, it should've been more generic.

For a variety of reasons, could be due to certain limitations, could be for enjoyability reasons, could be for convenience reasons, etc. I think body weight stuff is great and my personal overall goals are basically body weight stuff but I also like using weights. I am also not sure what the book shows for progressions on…

Weights have their place but it depends on your goals and expectations

I haven't but I really like stuff that Dragon Door publishes

As I have experience with weight lifting, my primary purpose of using a trainer is accountability. We are working on a plan and I'll have 3 lifting sessions/week, one day with him. I see him every week. It is worth it to me but I know my goals and what I want to achieve.

smoothie - almond milk, berries (I mix it up) & protein powder

How I eat is really how I've been eating for a few years but it was definitely a lifestyle change to get there. Counting calories and making sure I'm accountable for my food and exercise is a lifestyle change for me as well. At some point, I may relax on calorie counting a little bit but honestly, I expect to keep at it…

I don't worry about sugar because I eat very little added sugar.

I enjoy the foods I eat. If I didn't, I'd find different foods to eat.

You can use canola oil but you should never use olive oil for high heat cooking. I have olive oil, coconut oil (even a coconut oil spray) and peanut oil (good for high heat) that I use for almost everything. I rarely use canola oil.