chriscolh Member

I am taking my teenage son (with a humanitarian organization) to Zimbabwe in August to help finish building a medical clinic. I want to be strong and energetic - I will be the "mom builder" to 20 teenagers! So excited! But I need to get rid of the extra fluff that slows me down!

I've been trying to change my way of eating (aka "diet" ;) ) to make it into a sustainable healthy lifestyle, but sometimes I get overwhelmed by the process. I (like you) went looking for a meal plan to help me find recipes that I can incorporate into my day that are balanced and I found one that I really like. They do a 7…

I get it. I have Hashimoto's, and it's hard. One of the problems is that when your thyroid isn't working, you're tired! And if you're like me, you become desperate to just find enough energy to finish a task. And somewhere in my brain I think that I just need more fuel. And so I go looking for simple carbs, sugar, and…

We are in the same boat! It is so hard to try to lose weight when you're trying to get someone to gain weight! My cute son is on the autism spectrum and takes adhd medication to help with impulse control issues which kills his appetite. He would go all day without eating if I didn't remind him. It doesn't help that his…

I've been in your shoes. Do you know your family history? High cholesterol and heart disease run in my family, so I have been watching my numbers since I turned 30, and they are always high. At one point, I was exercising regularly, at a healthy weight, and my husband and I tried a vegetarian diet (eliminating all sources…

School fees for my 14 year old. (So not ready for school to start!)

Go for it! The most helpful tips I could give you is to plan ahead, and track EVERYTHING. Making menus (usually 2 or 3 things I rotate through for breakfast - usually smoothies or oatmeal+fruit; a few menus for lunch - I'm trying to eat more salads with protein or tuna on sandwich thins; a few yummy snacks - i'm kind of…

The pain first thing in the morning was the worst for me. I really found relief by buying a brace to wear at night that pulled my toes upward. It's a little awkward at first (took me a few nights to get used to it), but I was able to start the day off with no pain. I agree with the calf stretching and rolling your foot,…

I love the crystal light energy drink packets. (Actually, to be honest, I like Walmart's great value generic brand even more!) One packet is 10 calories, 120 mg caffeine. The packets are made to be poured into a 16.9 oz water bottle, but I use them in my 32 oz water bottle. Keeps me hydrated, gives me a little bit of an…

I love my nutribullet. I think because of the smaller size, it mixes (purees) ingredients better than my blender. We did have issues with rust in our first blade, and the grinding noise that it made caused us to think the motor was burning out. But we were able to buy just the blade replacement (which they have re-designed…

Ditto on what cwolfman13 said. When I started putting on weight, I started running to get rid of it. Didn't work. Neither did cross training, spinning, "booty-camp", swimming, walking... At one point, I was working out 6 times a week, sometimes twice a day. I got stronger, more flexible, had more endurance, and set a PR…

I average 6-7 each night, but it is interrupted. I feel best after 9 hours, but that doesn't happen often! Thankfully, my youngest son is in school all day, which means I can have an uninterrupted nap once in a while! I'm a sleep hog, I know, but have always been this way. I wish I could function well after only 6 hours,…

That's a big victory! I still struggle with this, although I am getting better. One of my biggest struggles is to not clean up my children's plates. I'm pretty sure half of my extra fat has come from eating my breakfast, then finishing what was left on my boys' plates instead of just scraping it into the garbage. I may or…

Here are a few things that help me in my quest to eat a little better! Plan your meals before you eat them. I've got a dry erase calendar on my fridge, and once a week I sit down and plan out my meals. Then I make my shopping list and go shopping. It saves me time, money, and stress. It helps with variety (I try to do…

So awesome! I am down about 20 lbs, but I'm having a hard time seeing a difference. Of course, I feel a difference - my jeans are looser, and when I do crunches I don't have as many rolls of belly fat (tmi?) - but seeing a difference is hard. It's even harder when I can't find any pictures of myself. It seems that I've…

I want more than just weight loss. I lift to get stronger. I run because it makes me feel like one of the cool kids. (not even kidding when I say that. Well, that, and I love that I can run and not be totally breathless anymore. I just feel good when I finish. Anyway...) I am trying to eat more fruits and vegetables…

Eat well, and rest. Seriously. I broke my collarbone years ago. Long story short, I was impatient and not willing to take the time I needed to heal. My collarbone continued shift and move every time I did something stupid. It took 3 times longer to heal than what it would have if I had just rested, and is now 1/2" shorter…

Go for a pedicure!!!

For me, 1200 cals a day is what works for me to lose weight. But I want to stress the "for me" part. I am short. Like, "do you need a child's ticket today?" short. I'm 45 years old and just under 5' tall. And it really sucks, because 1200 calories is not a lot. But if I concentrate on hitting my macros, I really can…

Pregnancy is not the time to worry about a number on the scale. (Trust me, I know - I've given birth to 5 awesome little men!) Instead of focusing on weight, focus on nutrition. Set some healthy goals - drinking enough water, getting more vegetables and fruits, making sure that you get protein, etc. For me, my cravings for…

Just want to add my 2cents on getting a scale. I got a digital one at Walmart and it works great. Since I started using it regularly, the scale finally started going down. Some things are just hard to measure. Like spinach. I mean, really... The difference between a lightly filled cup and a packed cup of spinach could be 4…

I am also eating around 1200 calories - but am less than 5' tall, so it is appropriate for me. Once every few weeks, or when I've had a particularly strenuous series of workouts, I do hit a wall. I think that when that happens, you have to look at what you've been doing and nourish your body. Today is one of those days for…

I like to log them, because I am striving to get more of them. I am trying to be more accountable, and writing it down helps me do that. I went from getting sometimes none a day to 3 fruits and 3 veggies each day. I know it may not be perfect, but it's so much better than where I was! Also, as a "less than tall" person…

Yup, I'm a morning gym person, too. I love that it's not as crowded, but my main reason for doing it is because it works for me. At 5 am, there are no excuses. No kids needing help. Dishes and laundry can wait. All the things that keep me busy during the day don't start calling to me until I'm done. If I wait until later,…

I'm sub-5' (4'11.5", to be exact) and my numbers are similar. My bmr is right around 1350, and I have a low TDEE. To maintain my weight, I must keep it between 1500-1600 cals, and to lose I've got to keep it around 1100. I don't eat exercise calories back (I exercise 5 days a week and use a hrm to calculate calories) when…

Frankie and Johnny - Elvis

Try to make smart choices, watch your portion sizes, fill up on vegetables, drink water, avoid the sweets. I think that if you just keep it small and listen to your stomach (ie, don't stuff yourself!), you'll do fine. My husband's family gets together often as well, and sometimes I eat the dinner, other times I just grab…

This last week I kept to the lower end of my calorie goal while upping my exercise (I started an exercise challenge, so I almost doubled my exercise!). Today I was feeling very sluggish and weak, so I decided to eat more than I usually do. I had a mid-day green smoothie and have been snacking on celery and peanut butter.…

I've got a killer sweet tooth. In my defense, I'm gonna blame genetics. Both my grandmothers were sweets-addicted. My grandma's doctor kept on telling her that she needed to cut out chocolate milk. She drank it until the day she died - at age 94. Anyway, I digress... I have a hard time eating sweets in moderation. Like,…

I've read 2 stories on this the past few days. They say that it reduces the calories in the rice, but no one ever mentions about the added calories from adding the coconut oil to it. Both articles start of with "hoping to see up to 60% reduction in calories," but in the lab, they are only reducing calories by 10-12%. I'm…