bokodasu Member

Huh. I just calculated it and my trainer is obese, according to the BMI chart. He is also a giant mountain of muscle, so yeah. I do see a trainer who is "technically" overweight, but I probably wouldn't have hired him if that was fat and not lean mass. On the other hand, my mom had a tennis pro who was 350 lbs, and he was…

It also helps to track your weight along with your cycle. Staying at the same weight for four weeks can really be losing a pound of fat and gaining a pound of water every week, and then overnight you'll "lose" the four pounds. (And then get frustrated again next month when the same mysterious thing seems to be happening...)

I am also not competitive, but I let my trainer talk me into doing one, and it was a pretty good experience. Especially since I won, and got a free month of training out of it. But mostly the good part was the accountability - it's easier to stay on track when you know that fifteen other people are going to be watching…

None? I mean, for a straight-up "set", anyway. There are two variations I do that do involve pausing - if I can't finish a set at a given weight, I will grab a lighter weight and finish it, so there's a couple seconds there to change weights. Another thing I just started playing with is where you do a full set, then rest…

Definitely try one out before you buy, you shouldn't spend that much money on something you may or may not actually enjoy. I've been making friends with the rowing machine since I'm back on "no weight-bearing exercise" and I find it much tougher than a bike but easier than running. And it took some time to work up to…

If you aren't already in good condition, no, you shouldn't do both together. Those recovery days are when you actually get the benefits of the exercise - if you don't take them, you'll burn some calories (a depressingly small number compared to what's in a slice of pizza) but you won't get fitter and eventually you start…

Also, cocaine and heroin (depending on what kind of celebrity you are) will keep your weight right down.

I've used Fitocracy and Gym Goal, both of which are fine, and tried a few that aren't good at all but of course I don't remember which ones any more. (Skimble? I didn't like that one, if that's what it was called.) But now I just use a notebook and pen - it really is the most efficient solution. And there's no reason I can…

All gyms are going to have pretty much the same equipment - the important thing is to pick the trainer. If they say "join first and then we'll assign someone to you," go somewhere else. Don't sign a year contract off the bat - if you can get a minipackage of 2 or 3 sessions first, that's going to be worth the upfront cash…

For the record, I do know that my coworkers care what I eat, because they have to make a comment Every. Single. Time. It wears on the psyche and drains the joy out of communal eating. That said, the restaurant was running a lovely asparagus salad special, and everyone decided to make a big deal out of another coworker not…

I make a big protein shake and chug it before I go out. If you're not going hungry, you're a lot less likely to be tempted by the things you don't really want to eat. And I limit myself to one drink around co-workers, because I like staying employed. :wink: But I always make sure to keep a drink in my hand, because then…

:flowerforyou: Woot woot! 3&4 are so important for avoiding that spiral back into the dark places - keep it up!

Relax! Lots of women here have done it, I'm sure they'll be along to tell you how awesome it is. (Because it is.) Anyway, everybody gains weight when they start lifting weights. Put your scale away for at least a month. It's water and muscle-repairing stuff, not fat. You'll probably get a woosh at some point - like one…

The trainers at the Y I go to seem to be on the upper end of average... but I train at a different, independent gym. I started with looking at the trainer bios, but interviewing is the key - I lucked out and the trainer I picked from his bio really listened to what I said my goals were and was immediately on board.…

Check out "Suffering Succotash: A Picky Eater's Quest to Understand Why We Hate the Foods We Hate" - a picky-eating friend of mine got it for me to help my kids. It really goes into why picky eaters respond the way they do and what they can do about it. The author went from eating basically nothing but grilled cheese to…

It's a bodybuilder thing. It's a crash diet used to get ready for competition - it's definitely not a healthy or sustainable way to eat, and even they won't do it for long. But yes, it will work. (And yes, you will gain it all back when you start eating normally again. Plus sometimes those regained pounds will bring…

I was pretty psyched when I realized I could get any dress I wanted off Rent the Runway (most of their dresses only go up to a 12). Rented one for Easter, just to try it out. Now I'm totally psyched about the two weddings I'm going to this year - yay, travel with children! Hooray, standing around making smalltalk with lots…

Yep. You're doing wacky things with your hormones, which will mess with your immune system response - think of it like an allergic attack. Or you could actually be failing to fight off the normal yuck that we're surrounded by every day, because your body's overwhelmed with the stress you put on it. It's not like it's going…

The gym? Full of people who go to the gym. It's funny like that. And the best way to get a workout buddy is to be one - if you see someone else lifting heavy, offer them a spot. Or just ask for one if you need it. (And make friends with the safety bars and the dumbbells for when there's nobody else around.)

That could be kind of a lot of things, but pretty much they all come down to: you're doing too much. Scale back and build up your volume more slowly, and try to be more consistent overall. Other things to try - eat something carby right after your workout (could be not enough fuel), eliminate grains or dairy (one at a…

Yep, this. It's not like if you get her tested the doctors will install an automatic Ritalin-pump in her brain; the parents are still the boss of what goes into their child. And mostly the knee-jerk prescription writing for kids who forget to use their indoor voices occasionally has stopped. That said, cutting dyes…

It's kind of like... I rememeber when the Super Nintendo came out, *and* my cousins got a color tv in their game room, so suddenly Super Mario World was this hyper-realistic practically 3-D experience, at least compared to Pole Position on a 12" black-and-white tv. But I don't *still* see it that way, it just looks blocky…

And this is why I don't try to work out with my outside-the-gym friends. One day it's, "hey, let's take a day off" and then two weeks later I'm waking up in a pile of cupcake wrappers and wiping the frosting off my lips in a sugar-induced haze. Besides, my friends who do work out pretty much fall into two categories - the…

So, 4 days a week, 30-40 minutes per day? I'd usually say just leave one day for cardio and do a beginner program like Stronglifts or New Rules of Lifting three times a week, but if you get to swim twice a week I'm totally jealous. Anyway, that's still a good option, but with the time crunch you might also try switching to…

Huh, I've never looked for any special lotion. I follow the two-step procedure: 1) Never use any soaps, scrubs, detergents, or anything harsh or rough on the arms 2) Lots of lotion. Sometimes oil. If you google "oil cleansing" - that works. It's a little more effort than I'll usually go to, so usually I just wash using a…

Thanks for this - there's a difference knowing "oh, everything's Photoshopped" and really knowing what to look for - and how much they change. This thread is now my 10-year-old's required reading. :flowerforyou:

That's the problem, isn't it? Good advice is good and bad advice is annoying, so you can't really give a blanket yes/no answer. I've only been offered advice twice, and it was one of each; one was a trainer who pointed out something I was doing wrong, which was appreciated. The other was an older lady who advised me to…

I'm not a fan. Even their "builder bars" are really for endurance athletes, and they don't taste absolutely fantastic, so they offer nothing I want in my life. I'll just have a candy bar if I want that sort of concentrated calorie hit.

Hm, I'm not sure I'd do "Swing Bridge & Curl" in public, but otherwise that looks pretty cool. I love playground workouts.:smile:

Um, yes. There are a lot of trainers who just hand out the same plan to everyone, and some will even shamelessly call it "customized" because maybe they plugged in your height and weight to get your calorie allotment (but probably didn't). They are bad trainers, and you shouldn't give them money. Run! (edit: or speedwalk,…