brianz72

I weigh myself 2-3 times per day. Anybody who understands statistics and sampling theory knows that the noisier the observations are, the more samples you need to approximate the true value. Those who say you should weigh yourself only weekly since it fluctuates a lot are just wrong... you should weigh yourself at least…

That's the best way to go about it. Benchmarks such as blood pressure and exercise endurance are just as important, if not more so, than weight alone. Congrats on the progress.

I don't know about "normal", but it's common... knees are pretty complicated pieces of machinery. I'm 39 and my knees hurt sometimes from the treadmill. They make painless grinding/popping noises all the time, but only hurt once in a while. When they hurt, I give them a rest. I also mix in some rowing machine work just to…

It can take a good 1-2 weeks before any weight loss happens. The idea that a 500 calorie deficit equals one pound per week is a rough estimate and is also an average. In the three times in my life where I've seriously dieted, I weighed the same for the first 10 days. Then I'd lose 3-4 pounds in the space of 2-3 days! Then…

We're in the same boat - I started on Jan 1 at 181 pounds and I've targeted a 500 calorie per day deficit. I'm currently down to about 169. It's important to get a body composition scale. My 12 pound loss breaks down into a 16 pound fat loss and 4 pound muscle gain since I've been lifting weights heavily all year too. So,…

Awesome. I always wanted to name my punk band Bloody Stools, even though I never had a punk band.

Yes - learn how to not be embarrassed by it. Whether I'm in a client meeting, on a conference call, or in a crowded but quiet elevator, I not only rip 'em in comfort and style, but with an almost defiant sense of pride and purpose. I always make sure to announce them just prior to their emission, and if anybody nearby…

I am Pseudocolus fusiformis, aka stinky squid stinkhorn. My foul smelling gleba helps distribute my reproductive spores. I'm sure you'll agree that I'm quite a specimen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudocolus_fusiformis

Terrible logic. Obviously starvation is an effective way to burn fat, but it's also an effective way to simultaneously destroy muscle tissue, damage your organs, deplete vitamins/electrolytes, etc. Moderate net calorie reduction is the only way to emphasize fat stores as the energy reserve. Severe calorie reduction will…

It's definitely possible - to an extent. I am a 39 year old man, 5'9, and on Jan 1 I was 181 pounds. I got an Omron body composition scale that showed me as having about 31% body fat and 32% muscle. Since Jan 1, I have been running a daily 300-500 calorie deficit in order to burn fat, and I also have been doing serious…

I used to think that too, but the older I've gotten, the more I've realized how damaging religious thinking can be. Religion teaches people the following: * Don't take control of your circumstances. Just pray. It's all "god's will". * When something good happens, it's a blessing. When something bad happens, it's because of…

I am an atheist! To put it mildly. In fact I think I've outgrown atheism and become an antitheist. I think religion is a neurotoxin, and belief in god(s) is bad for the individual and even worse for a society.

The more interesting question is whether anybody homeschools who isn't an evangelical born-again fundamentalist gay-hating Harry-Potter-fearing science-bashing Christian? I really need to move to Sweden or New Zealand...

No excuse for racism, but when it comes to religion, why pick on Catholics? All religions are equally invalid and silly.:tongue:

Wait a second... this is significant. I have been drinking tons of Diet Pepsi for years, thinking it's a "free lunch". But if the above is true, then I've been really screwing myself. Does anybody have additional comment/feedback/data on the above??

Great stuff, thanks for all the replies. I think I'm clear.