Brian_VA Member

I like to run on an empty stomach. I make sure to eat a good dinner the night before. When I run in the morning I feel my body is in fat burning mode. As my weight is now at goal I may reconsider eating something before running, but old habits die hard!

Two thoughts on this ... 1 - exercising on a full stomach is pretty awful. If you get into fitness, soon that full feeling you have come to associate with being satisfied begins to be unpleasant. This mind set change is helpful in keeping your eating in check. 2 - eating a lot of sugar / starchy carbs definitely drives my…

Up your exercise. Not saying exercise will burn all your extra calories and make overheating ok, but for me at least, exercise helps me stay motivated to eating healthy. After doing a few intense sessions and burning 500 calories or more each time, you'll find your willpower is much stronger.

To answer the OP, if you are feeling sore enough that you can't run without a pain killer, I'd suggest an extra rest day. The key to running is to avoid injury, and when you run when you are hurting you are definitely setting yourself up for injury. Ibuprofen is a pain reliever when used at lower dosage. To get its anti…

When you begin an exercise program the most important thing is to not overdo it, and that at each session you do a little more. Set short term goals and meet them. In the long run it won't matter if you do 20 minutes or 30 minutes on an exercise bike if a month from now you're able to do 60 minutes, and a month after that…

Go go go ...

There is a running program called B210K (beyond to 10k) that picks up from the 30 minute run and takes you to 10k. I don't think you would decondition that fast. It sounds like you have been sick and likely need to let your body get well before running.

DON'T START RUNNING until you read about midfoot strike vs heel strike! Consider a minimalist style shoe without heel padding to make it impossible to pound your heel, which is the source of most running injuries. Then start C25K. I started in June, gratuated in Aug, did a triathlon sprint in Sep, and an 8K in Nov. Now…

Is the pain related to your coccyx (tail bone): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2682410/ There is no "cure". Losing fat around this area means that sitting is putting pressure on the bone. A "donut" style pillow helps. Here is a page of "manual manipulations" that may help you find some relief. Just do whatever…

How long have you been feeling this way? Are you following a new diet that may be affecting you? Or eating very differently all of a sudden? Or running a fever / getting sick? Eating is important obviously so try to eat a healthy diet and get your required nutrition. It will likely pass. If not a trip to the doctor might…

Endomondo Huge following. Automatically records exercise into your mfp diary. Smartphone app tracks mileage using GPS (running, cycling, walking, etc.). Challenges galore. Virtually any form of exercise. Takes speed, distance, elevation, and weather into consideration in computing calories burned. Even tells you how much…

This definitely works! Although you may not be able to out exercise a poor diet, slowly building up your fitness level will change your attitude about food. Soon you'll be looking at that piece of chocolate cake and be saying that it would undo all the calories you burned exercising yesterday and you will want to skip it!

I don't care for it. Does not taste like pasta AT ALL to me. The nutty flavor with the marinara is slightly nauseating to me. I like my squash mixed with onions. I like Dreamfields pasta which tastes great and is lower net carb. I like to pour spaghetti sauce over a grilled chicken breast and melt some cheese on top. High…

The biggest issue with sugar, even in fruit, is that it has a tendency to make you feel as if you are hungry. Especially true for sugary fruits like grapes, pineapple, and bananas. Try to eat them shortly before exercise or earlier in the day when they will get burned up in activity. Another trick is to not eat sugar on an…

Squats are a compound exercise that primarily work the glutes, but also the core, back, and legs. Form is extremely important! Don't let knees get too far forward and get low enough that thigh is parallel to the floor. Lots of good YouTube videos.

Ketosis puts the body in a state of converting fat into a sugar-like substance (ketones) that the brain can use for energy. I found that I dropped weight at a brisk pace when I kept carbs low enough to get there. But it is important to eat a minimum of 20g of veggies while doing it.

I suggested watching the video and learning a midfoot strike. This is good advice for any runner, regardless of weight. Landing on the heel is bad for all of the joints - from ankle to knee to hip, and also tough on the lower back and shins. I don't think you meant to disagree with this advice. On the shoes, I'm not sure.…

The most important think I learned was to land on the midfoot and not the heel. Here is a good video that explains the basics. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8Fl9t3FVis Someone else mentioned good shoes. I agree. Consider the minimalist styles too as you look at the options. I started with VFFs and now run on Merrell…

Muscle soreness as you describe is not necessary to move into a new or more strenuous routine. It is not good to go from none to heavy lifting in one workout. A few transitional workouts where you are doing some of the new movements with lighter weight to learn the proper form, and gradually adding more exercises and…

I see the 40 lbs down picture, but nothing to the right of that. If there is supposed to be another, you may need to post separately. Great job being down 50!

On the squats it is good to simulate a failed lift and practice using the support apparatus to catch you. I think it is a little tricky, even with a spotter. OHP and bench are pretty easy to deal with. Similar with deadlift. LIke you, I got a long ways before having a failed set, but when they started happening it was…

Get everything ready the night before. Set the alarm and give yourself one snooze before you have to get up. Tell yourself the night before that you ARE going - no equivocations. And when you hit the snooze button, think about your workout and visualize yourself doing your best ever. Then, when the alarm goes off again,…

It depends on what it is. If it is one of your trigger foods, and you know one will lead to two will lead to a whole box, then it is better to not eat the first one. If you know that you can eat one or two and be satisfied, then go for it.

After a workout, I make a mental appointment for the next one. It's the only exercise date I need to remember.

Sugar is a powerful influence on our eating. My suggestion would be to try cutting it out from your diet. This includes white breads, rice, white potatos, crackers, etc. that convert to sugar as soon as you eat them. These foods make you feel hungry, and drive you to eat more even when your stomach is full and your body…

Congratulations on the half marathon! I hope to do one in the Spring.

I don't think it has as much to do with how much you lose, but how much % you lose. You've lost about 6%. If a 135lb woman lost 15 lbs, that would be 11%. If you weight 350 lbs, losing 15 lbs would be 4%. The higher the percentage, the more noticeable. It also has something to do with where your genetics have you lose…

Fruit can certainly be healthy, but it also contains a lot of sugar. Bananas and grapes are among the highest sugar fruit. Apples are great, as are strawberries and blueberries. Grapefruit is also a good one (I always remember them being sour and needing a lot of sugar on top, but since cutting way back on sugar I now find…

Consider a minimalist model like the Vibram Five Fingers (toe shoes), Merrill Foot Gloves, or Nike Frees. If you start to research midfoot strike, you'll start to learn that traditional highly padded shoes enable you to run in a way that pounds the heel, and sends shocks up to the ankle, knee, hip, and back. Minimalist /…

Hey. I started running in June as part of training for a Triathlon sprint, which I completed successfully. I have kept running and recently ran an 8k. I am a member of Endomondo - a great site for tracking exercise including running. There are lots of challenges there (public and private) that I participate in. Keeps me…