Robin_Bin Member

Congratulations! Thank you for reminding us that everyone has different challenges and our successes may look a bit different, but they are still wonderful and to be celebrated!

Water and enough hydration is critical to health. The liquid your body needs does not need to come from drinking plain water. Much of the liquid your body needs, it can get from food -- especially if you are eating lots of healthy fruits and vegetables. That said, many find water useful. The people I know who have lost…

Good to know that others tip based on service, specifically the wait staff that is attentive and refills my water glass. I've been known to leave an extra dollar even after the bill was paid for a waiter who continues to fill the glass after the bill was paid.

Yes, chicken can be kept in the fridge. Generally it's a good idea to cook it within 2 days of purchase. Don't leave it out after cooking it -- either eat it or refrigerate it again. Because you're dealing with a mini-fridge, that probably doesn't regulate or keep the cold as well as a full-sized, I wouldn't keep it long…

And so it depends on whether you're talking about amount by volume or by weight. By volume, muscle does weight more. A cubic inch of muscle will weigh more than a cubic inch of fat. If you're going to be picky, you should be specific. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Robin_Bin/view/how-much-does-a-pound-weigh-295817…

You've already mentioned a microwave, so you have a way to cook a chicken breast. One easy way is to take a chicken breast (or thigh or a few pieces) put some salsa on them and cook in the microwave. (Time will depend on the strength of your microwave and the amount of food.) If you don't want to use salsa, try sliced…

* http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-chocolate/AN02060 * http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20030827/dark-chocolate-is-healthy-chocolate * http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/benefits-of-chocolate From this last link, "Researchers from the University of Copenhagen found that dark chocolate is far more filling, ... dark…

Chocolate is good for you in many ways (antioxidants, trace minerals and vitamins and more). Try eating small amounts of high quality chocolates. The other ingredients that are mixed with chocolate are usually the problem (fats, hydrogenated oil...). However, if you really don't want to eat chocolate for some reason,…

Yes, if you get into a yo-yo pattern, you can mess up your metabolism making it harder to lose the weight. With a microwave... steam the vegetables as someone suggested. Some vegetables that work well for this are asparagus, green beans, zucchini or other squashes (cut them up first), corn on the cob (without a steamer…

As others have said... weight fluctuates. I've seen a more than 5 lb variation within a day. And one binge will not affect long term weight. So, you need to figure out what you can eat healthily long-term. A first stab at healthy dorm room food... (You didn't say if you have a mini-fridge, anyway to heat it, like a toaster…

Most of the people here who are experiencing hunger have either cut back too much (more than recommended, not eating back exercise calories, etc.) or are missing critical nutrients -- usually protein or fiber, but sometimes something else, like the B vitamins or fat. One reason to track vegetables even when they aren't…

Wonderful. Congratulations so far! I think you've found a wonderful, reasonable and sustainable way to introduce new, good habits into your life. I hope you're enjoying excellent results already. Thanks for sharing this with us all!

Yes to spoons, spooning and eating soup, bisque, ice cream, sherbert, gelato, chocolate spreads (Nutella, Trader Joe's cocoa-almond, Rapunzel's cocoa-hazelnut and others) stirring teas, hot cocoa and other things with SPOONS!

Beautifully written. Thank you, TheFinalThird. I hope many people take the time to read this carefully. Best wishes on your continuing journey!

Tagging for later inspiration. Great job, lifters!!!

Sure. You have to start somewhere. A little exercise that you can keep up and not hurt yourself doing is much better than none or than harming yourself overdoing it. As has already been suggested, you may want to check with your doctor first to see if there is anything in particular you should be cautious about. When I…

You're probably right. Without knowing more it's hard to say. First, MFP recommends 1,200 (or 1,250) calories per day for almost no one. Second, if she's working out 1-2 hours/day, even at a light exercise, she's probably exercising a few hundred more calories worth. So if she's not eating those, she's really netting about…

WOW, zombie post... this is almost a year old. So before saying you hate water, why not look at the hundreds of suggestions already in the 5 pages of this thread. Or see the collection at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Robin_Bin/view/water-265761 Start with your attitude. If you say you hate water, you're not likely to…

Actually, your weight problem may be related to your mother's thinness whil pregnant. I don't remember the details, but I recently heard of a study where they followed up on the children of women who were pregnant during a food shortage. (I think it was Europe at the end of WWII and right after.) An unusually high…

HUH? Because you ate it a week ago, it won't affect your weight? Ok, so you probably mean that you have a week to compensate. And it's true that many of us fit in the occasional calorie dense food with no trouble. In fact I happen to think it's good for you to figure out how to eat in a sustainable way, and that often…

See http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/973542-how-often-do-you-cheat-on-your-diet

Wrong "calories out"... unless you were in a coma the whole time. BMR assumes no activity. Your TDEE is energy expended.

30 kilometers / day ??? That's over 18 miles each day or roughly 40,000 steps. It's definitely exercise.

And as a bonus, you got exercise building it!

Actually, the 2 weeks or 21 days that many people claim for habit formation was just a "proposal" with little research behind it. (The 21 days was how long it took amputees to begin to get used to it, not habit formation.) Research by Lally et al shows a range from 18 to 254 days with an average of 66 days to form a new…

Love the new clothes (and the previous closet pictures) and the rose is gorgeous! Thank you for sharing the inspirations and beauty with all of us! Oh, and I like your user ID and good luck with your knees!

There are multiple ways to do this. Some people calculate how much they burn including their normal weekly exercise and how much of a deficit they need. Then they put that in as a target. Because their exercise is already included in their target, they then record all exercise as 1 calorie. At the other extreme, some…

Not normally, but if I do large amounts, like spring cleaning for multiple hours, especially if it involves a lot of physical activity like carrying boxes up and down the stairs to and from storage.

Salsa's good with eggs.

Never. Why do you want to cheat yourself? Some people decide to have "free" or eat anything days or meals. Personally, I prefer to learn how to eat properly for long-term health. Occasionally, for a special occasion, I allow myself to eat extra. By occasional, I mean less than once a month, and they still aren't "eat…