melissamarah Member

My friend is doing 21 Day Fix and loves it. Personally, I really like Fitness Blender. It's free, and I really like the trainers.

Ha! Hilarious! I'm a nanny, and I've found distraction helps. "Look, is that a purple elephant in our backyard? You'd better go investigate!" Or I like the idea of pretending to eat it.

Hi, I used to do WW, but I like MFP more. It's more informative and I like tracking things like protein, healthy fats, sodium, etc. Do you have the MFP app on your phone? It makes a world of difference.

That sounds really low. I'm 6', I'm eating 2,000 calories and I try to hit at least 100g of protein. My numbers are set to 150g of protein, but I honestly rarely hit it. Are you sure you're going after 30g of protein? Is that per meal?

Do they have trainers there? I'm not saying you should hire one, they can be expensive! But the last time I joined a gym they offered a free trial with a trainer. He showed me how most of the weight machines worked, a decent level I should jog at to warm myself up, a couple of free weight exercises and some stretches. He…

Slow cooker recipes are fabulous. I make a chicken taco soup sometimes and it's enough for two to eat for about 4 meals. Plus, I just dump stuff in the slow cooker and leave. Nothing's better than coming home after a long day at work to yummy smells!

I'm going for a similar goal. If I have at least a serving of fruit and/or veggies at each meal in the month of May, I'm buying myself a Ninja blender as a birthday present in June.

This sounds amazing! I work afternoons but my husband works early mornings, so this would be perfect for me to make for him when he's too tired in the morning to cook a decent breakfast.

Hi! I'm trying to stay under 1500 on sodium, too. My mother recently died of congestive heart failure, so I thought it's time to kick the salt to the curb. My diary is open, but I've just restarted. One trick is I stopped eating bread. Instead I use corn tortillas since they have about 5 mg each.

I make a morning shake with baby spinach, frozen strawberries, and Greek yogurt. Sometimes I've thrown in some no salt added peanut butter to sweeten it up a bit. One trick I've learned is to put it in the freezer for about an hour or so, so it's like a slushy. But no, I'm not a fan of pills. Tried them in college and my…

Want to add me? I'm a Cubs fan, too! Born and raised in Wrigleyville. I've decided to not look at this as taking foods out of my diet (as I've done many times) but instead adding them. My goal is making it through the month of May having at least a serving of veggies and/or fruits with each meal. If I make it, I'll buy…

You're doing fabulously! Keep going!:drinker:

Hi there, I did WW a few years ago, and I have to say I like MFP more. There's a ton of great info on these boards about nutrition, exercise, and how to keep motivated. I'm doing the TDEE-20% method, which works nicely for me. I just Googled "scooby TDEE" and found a great calculator. Now, as to vodka, I totally…

I took diet pills briefly when I was in college, first Dexatrim, and then something I found online. Yeah, I lost a bit of weight, but it all came back almost immediately. Here's a list of what I lost: HAIR. Yep, clumps of my hair fell out in the shower. This was when I stopped taking them. Sleep. My heart would race, I was…

Feel free to add me. I've started and stopped at least a half dozen times since I signed up here. :flowerforyou:

I'm a nanny, and yesterday my charge (he's 5) and his buddy needed to go to the bathroom during baseball practice. I volunteered to take them, and they immediately sprinted towards the bathrooms, nearly out of sight from me. I had no problem jogging along with them, so they never were too far away from me. I loved that I…

Hahaha! Yeah, my measurements are always a bit odd, since I'm so tall. When I buy jeans, I have to get them in "tall" or "long" sizes, and even those aren't long enough in some brands! And go Bears! I live in LA now, and when I wear my Chicago gear I always make new friends.

THIS. Read this post carefully, there's a wealth of great info here. I used to do WW, but back in 2009, so whatever the program was back then. I thought it was a great place to start, sort of like healthy eating with training wheels. I only paid attention to Points, which involve calories, fat and fiber. If you find a…

I was a competitive swimmer, too! I'm also a children's swim instructor in spring and summer. Once or twice my coach would let us use flippers, for fun. Yes, they give more resistance, but you go so much faster, so I never thought they were worth it. Now paddles.... ooooh, I HATED paddles in high school. They really work…

Thanks! I guess I should have said I'm 6' tall, hahaha. :wink: Congrats to you, too!:flowerforyou: :drinker:

Hi there, I'm a lurker. I've been really trying to get healthy again this year, and I'm obese. I love checking message boards for info, recipes, etc. I don't comment all that often, but I do read the advice people give. So maybe you're not helping the original poster, but I'll bet for every grumpy OP who refuses to take…

If you do TDEE, you don't eat your exercise calories back. I like doing TDEE because it's the same exact number of calories, regardless of how much I've worked out. It's sort of like those exercise calories are spread out over all 7 days of the week. It's really up to you if you want to change. They're both pretty much the…

Hi there, I recently switched to TDEE, and it gave me about 350 calories more. But that's because you don't eat your exercise calories back. It just makes things easier for me, now that I don't have to worry about estimating my exercise calories.

I'm a total tomboy, so pretty much all of my friends are guys, too (my husband jokes that I'm manlier than he is). I'd say tell them to pay attention to their own food, and leave you in peace. Or, start joking with them about what they're eating. If they get huffy, then tell them you won't comment on their food if they…

I would say don't tell her what you eat. If she asks you, just start talking to her about your classes. Ask her advice on boys (or girls). Talk to her about ANYTHING, just not food. She may try to direct the conversation back to food/exercise, but don't answer those questions. When she tries to change the subject, just as…

Eat it slowly. Really savor each bite! If you haven't had a lot of sweets, make sure you don't inhale the sundae. You don't want to make yourself sick. But enjoy it! :drinker:

I'm a nanny, too! I'm a live-out, since I'm married. The tub sounds just plain awful. :embarassed: But that's one of the downsides to being a nanny, you don't really have control over your surroundings. The upside, I've found, is that I've only lost 15 lbs. but I'm already strong enough to fling my 5-year-old charge (and…

Have you been getting enough sleep? I know that's kind of a ridiculous question. Children are fabulous, but they kind of take away all of your rest and sleep time. I've noticed when I'm not sleeping well, or stressed out more than usual, I need more food to keep my body going.

I'm a swim instructor. Swimming is fabulous! It works your entire body, but it's easy on your joints.

When you change anything in your goals, it goes back to the default, which is 50/30/20. I think it depends on what your goals are, and what works best for your body. Personally, I'm doing some weight and bodyweight exercises, and I found that having my macros at 40/30/30 keeps me super satisfied and losing at a steady…