kavanaghev Member

I live in the desert, so we don't have trouble in the winter, but we gain summer weight because it's 120 degrees out and miserable. I honestly just give myself a break this time of year. I went from running 3-4x and lifting 2-3x per week and counting calories to running 2x per week and that's it. I didn't lose weight, I…

I used to hate running as well. But originally I had the same goal as you (eat what I want, when I want and still be thin) and I found that running was the cheapest, least time consuming, most flexible, easiest-to-do-with-a-baby avenue for achieving my goal. Now I have other fitness goals, but in the beginning I was you.…

I feel like genetics must play a big role in this as well because I don't think I build muscle very quickly at all, but I have had a relatively easy time retaining it while losing fat, and I have always been pretty strong underneath my fluff. Some people may struggle or have to tweak their diets/exercise a lot more to have…

you look fabulous!!

I have the same problemish. I had a couple of bodpod tests done and I am 16% BF but I do not look it AT ALL. I have a tummy, weird butt, and flabby inner thighs, but I really do not want to go any lower, because I also want to get pregnant and do that whole deal. I'm coming to terms with the possibility that I won't be…

As far as a diet/not feeling hungry on 1800 cals, I would try to focus on protein at every meal. I run and lift and I am ravenous constantly, even at 2500 cals per day, but I feel LESS ravenous when I am good about my protein intake. Since your body and activity level will not likely be accounted for in typical…

My legs look bulky as hell and I LOVE IT. It means I'm finally losing the fat that covered my beautiful muscles.

I'm not quite 5'5" and 135-140 pounds and I'm in a US 2/4 with a 37" hip (which is a dressmaker's 6, haha). My mom and I wear the same size but she weighs 20-30 pounds less than I do. It totally depends on your LBM, BF% and where you carry your weight.

My mom and I are about the same height, wear the same size clothes, and I weigh 20-30 pounds more than she does. It's LBM, I guess, and probably mostly in our legs as I have a bigger butt and thighs than she does.

I was eating 6 times a day and then switched to intermittent fasting because I love eating copious amounts of food in one sitting and I enjoyed it for that reason, but I found that I sort of became Mean Mommy during my fasting times even though I wasn't feeling particularly hungry. So I switched back to 5-6 meals a day. It…

I hated the pill and Nuva Ring and had my period for 45 weeks out of a single year on Depo, so I stopped hormonal birth control all together. It took about 2 cycles, before I noticed changes, but I have never looked back. I felt insane, and now I feel even-keeled, and I almost never associate food and emotions anymore. My…

I don't use anything normally, but I live in the desert and have run with a camelbak before and I liked that. For anything less than 60-75 mins I just drink two glasses of water prior. BUT I do have to run before 8AM or else it is too dang hot.

I do a 30s/10s interval strength routine every 4th lifting day. The weights are much less (I normally squat 100+, but on these days I just use a 25lb kettlebel) and it's an hour long, and the focus is on endurance. I may change it to every 3rd lifting day, but I generally like this format. It helps me to not get bored with…

I am less strict on the weekends now, but when I was losing my strategy was two-fold. 1) Schedule one of my weekend days as my "long run day" and I would try to eat well (albeit MORE) to fuel that run. Usually, I upped my carbs just a bit for the day before Sunday Runday, which was intentional, but also allowed me to feel…

I get this sometimes doing heavy squats and I use it as a signal that I'm doing something incorrectly with my form. Are you doing sit-ups (like military style) or crunches? Consider googling the Pilates 100 and doing this at the easiest angle to start in place of JM's crunches until you strengthen your core. Without being…

So I am about the same height and 26 years old and I eat up to 2500 cala per day at maintenance. That's with strength training 3x and running 2x per week with 2 full rest days. That's why I think 1500 calories per day is low. If you don't mind potentially gaining a tiny amount, I would work on upping your calories a little…

Yeah I would scrap those macros. Mostly because I am ALWAYS over my sugar due to fruit, and sugar =/= fat. Also, I would consider finding out your TDEE and eating at that. I don't know your height or weight or age, but I feel like 1500 cals is very low for maintenance, and it's possible you will continue to lose at that…

I don't know how tall you are, but I am 5'4.5" and weigh the same and have similar measurements. I eat 2200-2500 cals per day on maintenance and right around 2000 to lose weight. If I eat less than that, I do not have the energy for workouts. I have a lot of lean body mass and a low BF% and that's what allows me to eat as…

Thank you so much everyone!

I'll have my husband check my form again, thanks! No knurl at the center of my bar, but I do low bar squats.. should I switch to high bar or rotate through low, high, and front? I'd rather not, because I think it would throw me off, but I would really like to be able to progress in my weights. Any way I can build up the…

If you do low bar squats, look at a spot on the floor 4-5 feet in front of you.. not up. Also, I often check my form by seeing if I can lift my toes off the ground (inside my shoes). If I can, I know the weight is centered.

You may find that once you start losing fat in that area, you might wish you had a bit more muscle! I always had a big butt until I lost that last 15 pounds and my *kitten* is super lame now. It would be great if when those last few pounds melted off you had a strong round booty underneath!

The biggest reason to slow down, IMHO, is that when you have to focus so much on your breathing, you will get sloppy in your form, and that leads to injury. If you are wanting to get into distance running you NEED good form. You can punch out a 5K with janky legs, but beyond that you could really hurt yourself. I really…

I am a runner, too, and found that once I passed 5 miles as a decent run, I could no longer run every day. SO I bought a barbell and squat rack and Starting Strength by Mark Rippentoe and I have been doing a variation of StrongLifts 5x5 three out of seven days. It's only been a few weeks, but I LOVE it. It is so great for…

My arm flexed is 12 and unflexed, 11. I was under the impression that I had larger than average arms (not in a body shaming way, I like my arms).

I weigh myself every morning. I like seeing the fluctuations, especially after a hard workout. I have gone up as much as 7 pounds in 24 hours (upped my weights and had a brutal inclined cardio session). I was 133 on Tuesday and 140 on Wednesday! I know I am not eating enough calories to gain fat, so I don't stress about it…

If you have access to a gym I would start a strength training routine with the free weights. Then at home, I would probably just do body weight exercises when I wake up in the morning, squats, planks, pushups, lunges, crunches, etc. If you like to run, I guess I would do that a few times a week. It looks like you just need…

Cook it with whatever broth or seasoning you like and then mix it with egg whites and pour into pancakeish things. Little bit of sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt) and chives on top and it's a delicious lunch or light dinner. I also put quinoa in my red sauce and cook it with spinach, mushrooms, and sweet sausage. I also…

You could also just try combining it with regular or whole wheat pasta so that you can eat just one serving of pasta but your bowl will be more full and your tummy more full because your meal looked bigger, without losing the taste and texture of normal pasta. When I started out I realized that I often wanted seconds just…

Often times it is not that a child hates veggies, they just don't like them the way you prepare them (not trying to be mean). I would try lightly steaming and giving her a vinaigrette to dip them in! Cauliflower is good steamed with cheddar cheese on it. Snap peas are a good way to start and you can pack them fresh in…