CoCoRedRider Member

The cigarette after work was my most disappointing to give up too! However, nine months quit and I had already forgotten about that. It sounds like you are getting your head in a better place, and it only gets easier from here. Good luck!

Three months of not smoking and I feel great! I went cold turkey on the very cliche New Year's Day. My skin is considerably better and I only gained 5 pounds (but I blame that more on the polar vortex this winter than the not smoking). I've saved about $600 already. DO IT! We should start an "It gets better" campaign for…

Great photos and physique!

And another vote for Sheldon Brown's site.

Very good point! I live in Indianapolis - it's all flat here except some minor hills that I do take slower.

This is simply not true. I've ridden my fixie with normal pedals for years and never had a problem. I converted a Raleigh I got at a Salvation Army for $20 into a fixie by taking it to my local bike shop. You'll spend every bit of that $300 but it's worth it; they are fun to ride.

Love this because it is so, so true. However I can attest that around week 2 I had my first glimmer of happiness for no reason. It felt really good. Today is only day 21 for me so that memory is still fresh. Hang in there - it really does get better.

getdrunknotfat.com :drinker:

I've always wanted to do this but never have... An added perk is that it's one of the few group rides where a helmet isn't required.

I've been averaging twice a week since the end of November. Still seeing great progress - just a bit more slowly than the thrice a week ladies.

I have found that this calculator is much more accurate than MFP's settings: http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced I've been maintaining for almost 9 months averaging 2600 cal/day. I have a desk job but need to set MFP at the highest activity level and eat exercise calories to maintain (so 2300 +…

Check out Indy Cog's Ride Guide, too; each street in the county is ranked for its bikeability. I imagine it's especially helpful for those new to Indy. http://indycog.org/rideguide

Oh, there will be platforms for the appliances then. Dreaming big here...:bigsmile:

Sounds lovely, thanks!

Last month I was a lot better at lifting twice a week rather than once, so this month I'm shooting for three times a week. Since I haven't been as frequent as I should be I'm only technically on week seven and I've decided to switch to 3x5 to see if that inspires me to increase weights faster and more frequently. current…

I do this too and love it, but read this summary instead: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/560459-stronglifts-5x5-summary

Kitten-presses! I LOVE this visual!

Thanks for this! I've been doing the wide stance with toes pointed slightly out but will try the lifts under my heels next. I've never really felt squats work my butt (and I really really want to have a butt so this made me sad :laugh: ) so hopefully this will help.

Kasil and Ranahan I've found on tallcouture.com and Petrol I found for super cheap on sierratradingpost.com. These brands may only come as long as 36" though, which is what I get.

I have a 7 mile-each-way bike commute to work which burns 600-700 calories a day. And then I walked around town a few miles that evening for the other couple hundred calories burned. Lean only because I have not a lot of curves to speak of. Extra fat goes straight to my belly and not my lovely lady lumps, sadly... Love…

Get a gym membership. Look for places that offer subsidized rates for lower incomes, such as YMCA or city parks and recreation facilities. Or at least start with what you've got - body weight and 20 lb dumbbells - until you can make a gym membership a priority in your budget.

This! Strength train and don't put complete blind faith into MFP calorie goals - particularly if you don't have much to lose. I started out using MFP numbers set for losing 1 lb per week, sedentary, which gave me around 1460, and I ate most of my exercise calories. I lost way too fast - about 17 pounds in 2 months. I also…

This! I started out using MFP numbers set for losing 1 lb per week, sedentary, which gave me around 1460, and I ate most of my exercise calories. I lost way too fast - about 17 pounds in 2 months. I also kept getting colds - seriously I think I had four different colds in two months. And then I plateaued. So I changed to…

Love that show! :smile:

Southwestway Park has some really great trails for hiking or running (as well as mountain biking and horseback riding). I work for Indy Parks and this is one of my favorites!

I bike-commute to work on the Monon between downtown and Broad Ripple for cardio (and free and fun transportation) and I go to the Legacy Center for strength training. Speaking of, anyone have any pull there to get us a squat rack?

Really?! How do you figure this? OP: You've got a great plan. Keep it up!

I LOVE this program: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/560459-stronglifts-5x5-summary

Crap..not what I meant. 100 +/- MFPs numbers. If your calories are 1500 for the day, and you ate that then you exercise 200 calories, your net is now 1300. If it's the end of the day grab a beer which adds a couple hundred back, and toast yourself to staying around your net goal.

Within a hundred calories either way is something to be proud of.