ariellespiller

The best way is probably to use a heart rate monitor and measure exactly how many calories you're burning, then customize one of the preset exercises with that amount of calories.

Hi, I'm Arielle, and I'm 28. I've been logging into mfp since September 2010. I was skinny in high school, then through a combination of birth control, marriage, babies, and oh yeah, PIGGING OUT, I would gain and lose, gain and lose. In September I clocked my starting weight at 165 and was down to 143 by Thanksgiving, and…

I weigh myself every day to keep myself accountable...I know that's not the recommended frequency but it works for me! One thing to remember that will effect your weigh-ins is not to eat anything in the 2-3 hours before you go to bed, to give your body time to digest while you're still active. (If you must, try to choose…

Nice motivation! Thanks!

Welcome! This site is so helpful...good luck with your journey!

I've heard that the sugar substitutes are actually really bad for you...but I don't know that for a fact. Any thoughts, anyone? Bump!

Me too!! Mine usually eventually lose some, enough to look a little more proportional to my body size, but not enough. How does one firm up this area, too?

Wow!! Great ideas! I used to do the celebratory gorging as a reward, and always felt sick and guilty after. This seems like it would really work.

Darn it, I was hoping there was a magical secret! Oh well, back to the gym I guess!

Ooh, I'd be interested! Would you want to organize through here, or some third party site like goodreads.com?

I don't have any answers for you unfortunately, but really, congratulations on gaining control over your eating habits!

I don't know if there's a technical way to answer this question...for me (I'm 5'2" with a small frame), I picked the weight 130 because I feel like that's where I look best. Not so skinny as to be unhealthy, but plenty thin for me. Get to a nice low pant size that you're excited about, and stay there! :glasses:

BEST of luck!!

Practice yoga, or if you're really agitated, do some cardio. Go brush your teeth right now, cause you'll be less likely to munch while you're minty fresh. If it gets overwhelming, pop a stick of gum after guzzling 16 oz of water. You can do this!!

BEST of luck!!

Yikes, she sounds hard-core! Her hell-day must not be as bad as yours. I know that exercise is the furthest thing from my mind on that day. And if that will hurt my weight loss, so be it. But I'm still losing, so I don't think it's hurting anything to have one day of rest!

I've found that the sooner you start to take off the holiday weight gain, the easier it is. I don't know if there's a scientific explanation for that, but it seems like New weight comes off pretty quickly. Good luck! :flowerforyou:

Congratulations!!

That's amazing!! Congratulations!

I've used a blender before, but not a food processor, sorry...Someone gave me a Magic Bullet and now that's all we use for smoothies. I'm going to have to try using almond milk, that sounds awesome!

Yikes, that must be scary! I agree with some of the others...see a doctor of some kind. Maybe a nutritionist? You know how when you start exercising and dieting it can take 2-3 weeks before you see any weight loss at all? It's like your body can't process all the things you're doing differently right away. I wonder if…

I KNOW the feeling!! I hit my lowest the week after thanksgiving, and somehow managed to gain FIVE back since then!!! EEK!!! Start your cardio, everyone! We can do this!

That is FANTASTIC!!!! Thanks for sharing!!

Congratulations!! That's an incredible loss! Keep up the good work!

My FAVE to get the legs toned is a cross-training elliptical. It has the running motion of a treadmill, and the adjustable incline, but it's way easier on the joints. (Wow, I sound old!) Also, like people have mentioned, step class rocks. Our instructor says it's like climbing the great wall of China for an hour: awesome…

What a GREAT difference!! I bet that's awesome motivation to keep going too...you're doing great!

:flowerforyou: CONGRATULATIONS in a BIG way!!! You deserve to be so proud of yourself!

I used this the first year I was married, and put on about 40 pounds...bad news man! And it also made me a witch. But that's just me!

Agreed! If you try to be too strict on later days, you'll just be even more likely to fall off the wagon again. Start fresh!!

Do whatever you Can do...there's no point in hurting yourself just to hit a goal on an exercise program. Work hard, but within your limitations. Good luck!