wwoelbel

I really think that a good part of this is observation of "normal". I live in a midwestern (USA) college town. When I go to the university rec center (The Gym), the average person there appears to be healthy and moderately to extensively muscular. When I go into town or the student commons, the average person has little to…

I was extremely overweight in February (BMI - Morbid Obese). I started MFP and going to the gym every other day and doing 40-60 minutes of various cardio machines. My initial calorie goal was just a bit over 1200 which I, of course, adjusted down to 1200 as I wanted more faster. Initially I lost a good chunk in a short…

Not specifically vitamins but... I feel that my post workout protein and muscle armor shake is "working" in that I feel better quicker when I have it. I'm less sore and the fatigue fades quicker. Of course, this is purely subjective and would only be semi-valid if I did a placebo test but.... Its not that much money and…

I have a scoop of IsoPure Protein and EAS Muscle Armor after the morning swim and again after evening weights. I take a krill oil, glucosamine, multi-vitamin, zinc, and B-complex with lunch. Oh... and an aspirin (regular on sore days and low dose on better days). Dont take this wrong - I am actually curious: What are you…

I weigh in every other week. I use my weight to calculate my BMR to make sure I'm eating enough. Originally I weighed in every day but the tiny little losses and the occasional spike from an out of control weekend actually kept getting me down. Now I trust what I am doing and only weigh in to reset my food targets.

Going "to the gym" is a bit different for me right now. I swim and have laid off the dry land workouts (for now). The best thing I did for my health and my workouts was to join a masters swimming team. I work so much harder in a group than I did by myself.

Don't put a red maple leaf on your backpack - You will be immediately spotted as "American in Disguise"

I have a strong, yet completely unproven belief that the exercise numbers MFP provides for me are high. The fun thing is, I log them anyway for the kicks. My strategy (the one I cooked up for myself based on a bunch of forum trolling) is to ignore my exercise calories. I calculate my BMR based on my height/weight/age, add…

I decided that competitive swimming was going to be part of my new and improved lifestyle. The beluga whale gives me hope that even large, well-rounded, pasty white mammals can swim!

Be very careful here - not all protein powders are equal. What you can do with a pure whey protein powder is different from a soy based powder. Soy tends to suck up much more liquid than whey based powders and (in my experience) has a much more pronounced taste/smell effect on baked goods.

Two things that help me with sweet cravings (one is healthy but not really low-cal) 1) 1/2 Cup Fage greek yoghurt (it is less 'tangy'), a big splash of sugar free ameretto syrup, mix well and top with fresh berries 2) Cocoa - date balls. Rehydrate dried dates, and in heaps of natural cocoa powder, mash into a smooth paste,…

Do you know them outside of MFP? If not, what purpose does maintaining a friendship without any communication serve? Tossing someone that you regularly chat with if they dont show up for a few days maybe a bit premature but ditching Bob565 (sorry Bob if you are a real user) who you have never directly communicated with and…

I dont think its a requirement of a job to be in love with it. On the other hand, hating your job is just plain wrong. I have had jobs that I took that I hated as they were stepping stones to a job that was tolerable if not enjoyable. Of course, there are always circumstances (dont seem to apply to your case) - If you need…

100 meters is 109.36 yards

Unless you want really silly looking numbers, start off by just using 'y' where the op used 'm'. ;)

Its not quite a Margarita but its darned refreshing on a hot summer evening: Nice silver tequila (gold doesnt work well here), a fresh squeezed lime wedge in a tall glass, top with diet squirt. It doesnt have the overly sweet bits that some margies can have but it is a thirst quencher with a nice little kick.

Your BMR is the number of cals your body burns doing nothing. Add to that any calories you burn from exercise. This gives you your energy outlay. Now start balancing that with your energy intake - food. If you put out more than you take in, you should be losing weight (dont remember how many cals in a pound of human fat).…

Desk job, World of Warcraft, eating out of boredom all coupled with a giant lack of self image. The threat of mandatory insulin by The MD was the turning point...

I have found that MFP's exercise burn estimates are, for me, overly optimistic. If they are high for you and you are "eating" your exercise, then you are actually going over. My solution to this issue was to ignore MFP's exercise portion and use the food tracking alone. If I find that I am losing too quickly, I adjust my…

Hi there, I'll not comment on your situation as there already seems to be alot of input in that area. What I'll share with you is two things that are helping me quite a bit. 1) Join a gym or something similar. I joined the rec center at the local college. For me, a creature of habit, location is significant. Gym is where…

Getting started sucks! You'll learn what the penalties are for the foods you like. For me, the trick was to eliminate the higher calorie foods that I didnt really really love, cut the portions on those that are in the awesome category, and stock up on the things that are in the "meh" category but low calorie penalty. I…

Do you like to swim? I recently added a swim workout to my schedule and my weight loss has increased substantially. I am doing 1300 yards in 40 minutes three times a week (working up to 2500 yards in an hour). Previously, I was doing 40 minutes per day on an elliptical and two days of weight training (high rep low weight)…

Do you have a bulk foods store near by? We have "The Coop" which is a store serving the organic/healthy/green community. They have a great bulk section where you can get all sorts of excellent staple foods very cheaply. I love to cook with dried beans and whole grains. I can make a pot of very healthy bean/squash soup that…