snowbunnyA Member

Just to clarify, are you sure you're not talking about the weight of the meat (or whatever protein source)? 5oz (about 140g) of chicken breast contains 29.4g (1oz) of protein. To get 140g of protein, you'd have to eat 667g of chicken (23.5oz)!!!!!

I sympathise because I used to struggle to get more calories in. I unwittingly ate a very low calorie diet that wasn't doing me any favours, and when I started tracking I realised I had to increase that. But, I was never hungry - my body had become used to its minimal intake. It took a little while, but by increasing my…

Plenty of people on the 5/2 diet would disagree. I like to try to average out my intake over the week. Without lots of planning, which is almost impossible for me, my caloric intake goes up and down over the days, too. I don't stress, I just even it out over the next couple of days. Seems to work.

Because, as useful a tool as MFP is, it's not exactly cutting-edge, is it? Just take the fact that you can't set the number of grams you want for your macros, simply a percentage. Outdated at best. Yes, I can do the maths, but when I change my goals, I have to do it all again. I should be able to set individual gram…

Ever tried PB2? I just started using it in my shakes because I'm cutting so need to keep my calories down. It's not as ermagherd as full-on PB, but it's a great lower-fat substitute. And, because I had the calories available today, I just had 25g of the real deal, straight from the tub. Meridian "no added anything" PB. As…

As the others have said, and you seem to understand yourself, it's not possible to spot reduce (* to any relevant level) and quite often for ladies the belly fat is the very last to go, so you won't get rid of it until you have a very low body fat percentage. You can make it look better by gaining more muscle mass overall,…

I've not done the 5x5 myself but I've heard a few people saying they skipped the empty bar and went straight to some load. It sounds like that might be a plan for you. DOMS isn't necessarily an indication of a good workout, but if you know you've not worked hard, it hardly seems worth wasting your time. Yes, bouncing on…

^^ this. The idea that fat-free diets are good for you is outdated at best. Fats are essential in your diet. Even the thought that saturated fats are bad for you is looking less certain now. Trans fats are pretty much the only sorts of fats you should avoid. Do some research and you will see that eating fat actually helps…

Remember, also, that alcohol has a diuretic effect, so it's possible it's simply shedding some water weight when you drink.

I started with Body Pump and, whilst it's a good introduction, it is by no means a real strength training program. It's a high-rep cardio program that just happens to use a barbell. I'm not slating it at all - like I said, it's a great introduction to get people used to using a barbell and some of the basic moves, just…

Oh, and also, I'm doing the Simply Shredded program myself at the moment (search online for it). The one called "The Ultimate Female Training Guide". To be honest, men and women shouldn't train any differently, so the title put me off to start, but when you look at the workout, it's actually got the exact same lifts that…

I'll add my voice to reading NROLFW. It's a great book with loads of the basics in there. You might also want to read the book Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle, which will give you a clearer view on the nutrition part. Another great free resource that I use a lot is the bodybuilding.com website. No, I don't want to be a…

Great post. I'm a petite lady and very new to lifting weights. I don't have the benefit of being able to book a PT so when I decided I might like to give free weights a try, I researched, researched and researched some more. I read NROLFW and SS, both of which are full of useful information. I found myself a program I…

You need to eat in a calorie surplus (you can calculate your TDEE from online calculators) and lift some weights. Heavy weights. None of those pink dumbbells. I would recommend joining the forum at bodybuilding.com - even if your goal isn't to become a bodybuilder, there's a huge amount of good advice on there on how to…

Same as most of the others. I do the same as always. Exercise helps the pains and the time you spend exercising is time you're not feeding your face! :D As for the cravings, just weigh up whether or not it's worth it. If you can fit it into your macros, then great. If not, it's your choice whether you sabotage your diet or…

^^^ This. Unless you're potentially eating way under TDEE and you're not losing, in which case you might have to increase your intake a bit. But if you're tracking, you should know roughly where you stand.

I can definitely relate to this. I first joined MFP about a year ago and logged a couple of days of eating, and realised I was WAY under-eating. I had no idea, because I certainly didn't feel like I was starving myself. I always skipped breakfast and often had no lunch, and could end up only eating 500 calories a day. So,…

I don't have much weight to lose - about 5-6lb - but once I lose the body fat, I want to slowly increase my muscle to get me back up to around the same weight I am now - or maybe more. I'm finding it really tough to shed this little bit, though. I've just started a new training program which is really hard, so hoping that…

I realise this post is a bit old, but it may help others. I'm 5'2 and 54kg and my HRM tells me I burn around 180-200 calories per class. As @Caralynn07 says, there is a continued, post-workout burn, too.

Sorry, I don't understand who that is aimed at? It certainly doesn't seem very constructive, whoever you're talking to. Do you have any advice?

I'm not trying to lose at all - I don't even own a set of scales. I used to weigh myself pretty regularly and I know I never really fluctuate from 52/53 kgs. Body weight has no interest to me. What I would like to do is tone up and lose the bit of flab I have on my hips and stomach. If that means putting on 10kg, I don't…

1 outer leaf of lettuce and small amounts of everything because I made a wrap out of it with all the other bits chopped up inside - a little corner of feta crumbled up. I don't do ounces, all grams and I weighed everything as I went. I agree it would look a bit weird if it was just put out on the plate like that!

Thanks for all your suggestions and support. I'm definitely upping my intake to something sensible; I just need to learn what sensible looks like! I struggle with breakfast, but I'm going to make a concerted effort to have a protein-rich start to the day. Scrambled eggs for me tomorrow! I'll also invest in some peanut…