PurpleEpiphany

Makes sense. I have a very high instep, so it's difficult to get the shoes comfy without having the lacing too tight there. Worth a shot, though.

I would bet that the reason you can't stand negativity is BECAUSE your mother is like that. Our parents tend to install those 'buttons' of what easily annoys or frustrates us. Unforatunately, the way she is isn't likely to change. Your only real options are basically what the person said before me, to confront them or to…

I had a Princess Bride themed wedding. No joke :)

This is definitely one of those "glad to know I'm not the only one" moments :) I'm always so jealous of girls in bellydance class who don't have the 'overhang' issue that comes with the double belly :(

I am ALL ABOUT the tiny goals. Right down to on the elliptical when I tell myself "Okay two minutes down, that's 10%, five minutes down is 25%, ten minutes is halfway there...okay only five minutes left..." etc. I purposely set my goal at 20 lbs to lose when I joined MFP to avoid getting too discouraged. Ideally (to fit…

I used to shimmy way more...this sounds like a good way to start up again :) When I was dancing cabaret we used to open every class with at least a full minute of shimmying. In ATS we don't do as many full time shimmies, but I still use a shimmy to help me get warmed up...nothing seems to work better!

It sounds like you're on the right track with doing what you can now. Not everyone can run (I have a bad knee, so it's never an option for me), but you can generally find something low impact that will work for you. Walking, swimming, certain types of yoga...even a little bit of exercise will benefit you immensely, whether…

I've been working out almost every day (six days a week: 5 at the gym, one at bellydance class) and had been disappointed at the slow start to my weight loss. However, after a brief plateau of a week or so, I seem to be going down again. Added to that, in spite of only having lost about 5 lbs, I am now fitting into jeans I…

I tried it last night, it was okay...quinoa is apparently not my favorite thing. Personally I'd rather just leave it out and have the veggies.

I'm an ATS dancer (American Tribal Style) but I love the Rachel Brice DVDs. Serpentine, for example, has MASSIVE amounts of stuff on it. It's two full discs, one of which has choreography (I've skipped this since it's not really my thing) and another that has workout sections you can mix and match. She's excellent at…

For me bellydancing is an okay workout (I do two hours of class once a week), but for me is more a motivator than anything else. One of the big reasons I'm working on getting in better shape is so that I can have more endurance while dancing, and do certain moves that require more athleticism. How good the workout is…

I bought quinoa the other day for the express purpose of making the below recipe, although I haven't tried it yet: A twist on Dirty Rice. 1 med onion – chopped 3 stalks of celery – chopped 1 red and 1 green bell pepper – chopped 1 tablespoon of olive oil 1 lb. ground turkey 3 teaspoons Creole Seasoning – I use Tony…

That ^

I've only been going for just under three weeks now, but the other night two guys and a girl came in, all young and looking reasonably fit. The guys seemed to have been there before, but the girl was a bit lost. She was tiny, like around five feet and maybe ninety pounds, just really petite. Here's the hilarious thing: She…

Often cravings are telling us about something our body needs, it's just difficult to know exactly what element of the craving is that. Added to that is the fact that we're programmed to crave salt, sugar, fat, things that aren't found as easily in nature (going back to our days as foragers), sometimes it's tough to tell…

I'm lucky, because my husband is going through the diet/exercise thing with me. We go to the gym together, and he's fine with eating more healthy meals, etc. I think what keeps me on my routine is making sure it stays interesting. Especially with food, I need to vary it once in a while. Also, sometimes I give myself a…

For me the thing to remember is that strength training has better calorie burn potential in the long run. Yes, you build muscle by doing cardio, but not as quickly, and building muscle helps you burn more calories since (and I'm sure you've all heard this one before) muscle burns more calories than fat. I think both are…

The one I have is backlit as well. They look pretty similar, but I'd say if you can get an accurate one in the style you want for 10 bucks less, go for it :)

I have this one: http://www.amazon.com/Weight-Watchers-WW53-Digital-Scales/dp/B004HX11MC/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1340125586&sr=8-16&keywords=weight+watchers+scale It seems quite accurate (always within a pound or so of the weight at the gym/doctor's) and does go down to tenths. It's also very consistant. I've had problems…

I think adding a banana (or half) makes a smoothie thicker, without having to use ice cream or something like that. Plus it's delicious :)

I definitely find that if I've been good and the scale is stalled or goes up, sometimes as much as a pound, I can directly trace it back to either eating overly salty stuff the day before, or, well...that time of the month.

I think I agree with the last bit, anyway. Even if you agree that some people CAN be healthy at heavier weights (which I do), that doesn't mean you should discount someone else wanting to be healthier.

Thanks for the input, guys :)

I think the issue isn't so much with not eating breakfast, but with people who skip breakfast and then don't eat until lunch time and are ravenous by that point. Persnoally I am just not hungry in the morning, and eating within an hour of waking up usually ends with me having an upset stomach. I generally skip breakfast,…

Depends on the type of bellydance, definitely. Tribal is very inclusive, and it isn't just big girls trying to get skinny, some of them are just big girls and that's it :) Anyway I highly recommend trying it out. People are always saying "oh that's so cool, I could never do that!" but you really can :)

Bellydance has for me been a great source of both exercise and motivation. I'm the type of person who has trouble exercising just for the sake of exercising. I do better when I'm "practicing", working towards some goal...then the time tends to just fly by. I personally do American Tribal Style bellydance (think fokloric…