jshaps7 Member

What I've done with a couple recipes is exactly at the other posters have, then I'll use a 1 cup measuring cup to scoop the food into a tupperware container. Then I know how much the recipe made and how to measure it out in the future (i.e. what a serving actually is - for example I made some pasta sauce, it made 9 cups so…

You said you try to eat lots of protein - what about carbs? Protein is great for building muscle and muscle repair, but carbs are just as important as energy for your muscles during the workout. It sounds to me like you're not eating enough (but I'm not a professional). Also how is your overall calorie intake? Unless…

I see men, old and young, use the elliptical at the gym. Stair stepper too :)

You need to fuel your body and that extra exercise. You don't need to eat ALL the extra calories, but by all means you should try to make sure you're fueling yourself adequately (especially carbs and protein).

I live in CO too and just finished the couch to 5K running program. It's a really hard adjustment and it hits you before you know it. Best advice I can give you is to ramp into it and listen to your body. And make sure to hydrate hydrate hydrate! I really liked the couch to 5K and I've made a lot of progress (I can run for…

I use my HRM for tracking calories burned during weights, but there's a good chance it'll be somewhat inaccurate due to the spikes and drops in your HR during the active and rest periods of your workout. I use it more as a guideline but generally speaking, I try not to eat back the calories from weight lifting, only the…

Actually weight lifting (assuming you're using challenging weights and doing so correctly) will increase your metabolism as you add lean muscle mass. Cardio only really builds muscle if you're doing extremely instense cardio such as sprints (not long distance running). And many people who are built for speed will tell you…

Thanks everyone! It was the lack of ipod/music controls in mapmyrun that was a bit of a turnoff to that particular app. I've messed around on the website though to figure out some theoretical routes. I just don't want to be switching between apps when I'm running (I can barely focus on the run as it is so I probably don't…

So that one I don't know much about but just from looking at pictures, they look relatively the same. I think it's likely just going to be the length of the band that differs. Theoretically Polar would have some basic dimensions on their website? I wish I could offer more! Good luck :)

I have the women's FT60 (black) and my husband has the men's FT40 (also black). They actually look fairly similar. The main differences I've noticed are the design on the face of the watch, and possibly the length (i.e. diameter) of the wrist band as men's wrists tend to be larger and need a longer band. In doing research…

Fair enough :) For me personally it's not just about the calories burned but how your body continues to burn calories after you're done exercising. Studies have shown that the "after burn" effect lasts longer with weight training but it's still there for cardio exercise as well. I also don't eat back ALL my exercise…

Just out of curiosity (and I really don't mean for this to sound snarky) but as a med student, shouldn't you already understand the benefits of doing cardio exercise? I guess it depends on your specific goals for yourself and your fitness level, but I wanted to be able to do things like run a 5K, complete a triathlon, even…

Lol I saw that one but didn't look into it - I wasn't sure how serious of a running app it was but I certainly will now. I don't want to invest in another HRM since I use my current one for more than just the treadmill/running. Not to mention I invested in a good quality one and I'll be bringing my phone with me anyway for…

I agree with everyone who said drink more water and it's unlikely you're gaining that much muscle in such a short time. Also I'd check how much you're eating. Insanity is really intense so you may need to eat more than you have been. That could be throwing your system off and causing you to gain a little. I remember…

Workout whenever you're most likely to do it. I work out in the morning because my work schedule can be unpredictable and I would skip too much when I work out in the afternoon. My husband works out around 5-6pm because he's not a morning person and can push himself harder at the end of the day, so he feels it's more…

I LOVE bread too, but they're not very high in sugar unless you're getting the kind that's got a lot of stuff added to it. Are you talking about sugar or carbs? They're 2 completely different things (although somewhat related).

I'd definitely cut out the cereal and cinnamon rolls on a regular basis. Save them for a cheat meal if you really love them and it's worth it to you to splurge. Added sugar, regardless of source (white/brown sugar, corn syrups, etc) are just not great for your system. It's not a great source of energy and gives that sugar…

We have P90X and Insanity. Both are excellent workouts. There's tons of info online if you want to read up about it but neither is particularly cheap (well I guess it is if you compare it to a few months of gym membership)

LOL I would hope so!! I never create a mental image of these kinds of people being in shape though... I always go to something you'd see made into a motivational poster, ecard, or something you'd see on Tosh.0

I think polar has a "pod" for adding gps capability but only some of their HRMs are compatabile with it (it'll say in the description). The pods vary if you want it for your bike or running I believe. So if you want to stick with polar I *think* you'd have to get an upgraded HRM plus a gps pod. I don't know what the base…

That's a mental image I just didn't need.... :)

I figured you weren't :) I'm sure you were fine!

I don't think so! I have a couple friends who are big into biking and they're usually happy to see other people getting into it. Unless you're committing some kind of huge bicycle ettiquite fail or something... :)

Mine goes under the sports bra (so they're layered). I would think if you put it below the sports bra it's farther from your heart? Or the bra could push it down so you don't get the most accurate readings during exercise? I know some companies sell a sports bra with a built in HRM strap in the bottom strap of the bra, so…

From what I've heard the readings can vary greatly just by time of day - and that's using the same device. So if you take a reading at 7am and another at 7pm they would likely be completely different. It's entirely based on how hydrated you are (what it does is essentially measure electrical resistance between either your…

You should definitely get one with a chest strap - they're far more accurate. The readings from the gym equipment compared to what I get from the HRM are usually WAY off. It'll make a difference if you eat your workout calories. Also a lot of the gym equipment picks up the signal from your HRM so you can see it on the…

I believe it's actually been documented with research backing it that exercise (and the endorphins) are a natural way to battle depression. On a not serious note, this 100% made me think of Legally Blonde: (when talking about a fitness instructor accused of killing her husband) "Exercise creates endorhpins, endorphins make…

I agree with this also. I've found some of the more compact ellipticals to be *really* hard on my joints and the stride motion to be uncomfortable, especially for more than 5-10 minutes. I tend to burn a comparable number of calories on both the treadmill and elliptical but it depends greatly on what you're doing. You can…

Are you looking at an elliptical to increase your arm workouts? (that's what it sounded like in your original post). If that's your motivation I'd say stick the with the treadmill and invest in some weights instead (either to use during your arm movements on the treadmill or to do some separate weight training). I like the…

It also depends on what kind of fitness instructor you want to be. Some only require the book/test method. If you want to be a certified personal trainer that tends to require a bit more (possibly even a degree). I want to look into being a spinning instructor and that requires I believe 3-4 classes before you get…