hippiefemme Member

Definitely! However, you might want to switch it up in a few weeks just as a way to avoid a plateau. For example, you can doing intervals on the elliptical rather than keeping a steady pace, either by increasing the resistance or upping your speed.

Since starting at the gym in late February, I feel significantly more comfortable. Part of that is realizing, as others have said, that most people at the gym aren't worried about what I'm doing at all (and if anyone is, they really shouldn't be). The other part is becoming comfortable with the equipment. If you can, find…

1) 25 minutes on the treadmill doing interval "hills" 2) 10 minutes on the Stairmaster 3) Strength training

1) I love this song! 2) Getting sassy, let's shake it 3) Dancing while running/walking burns more calories, right? 4) Oh god, who saw me doing that? 5) Just run until the end of this song... 6) Okay run until the next song starts... 7) Of course there would be a commercial. Come on commercial 8) Commercials are, like,…

Oh my word! Yes!

I get ganglion cysts on my wrists if I put too much stress on them so I have to modify certain exercises. 1) For push ups, I hold dumbbells so I can keep my wrists straight. 2) I do forearm plank position instead of holding my weight on my palms. 3) Whenever using any machine or any tool, I'm very carefully about proper…

I'm proud of you, too! It's hard to work out when you're having a bad day, so it's great that you pushed yourself anyway.

I was supposed to be on W6D2, but I'm not feeling spectacular, so I did a high intensity W3D1. My walking was 3mph, my normal, but my jogging was at 5.0 or 5.2, which was well above my normal 4.0 in the longer runs. Hopefully I'll be feeling up to par Monday and can get back to W6D2.

I still check in! I think our fearless leader has gotten too busy to keep up with the daily challenges, but I imagine someone else could work on it.

If you aren't particularly comfortable with going in person, there are online and telephone meetings where you have as much anonymity as you would like. I've been to a few, and people were incredibly supportive.

Charleston, here. Aren't we West Virginians? I've never heard West Virginia-ites. :)

I heartily agree with this! When I started, I pushed myself way too hard on week one day one. I tried to run at a pace that I thought should be "running"; I quickly learned that I needed to slow my pace. I found that a good pace in the beginning of my program was about 2.5mph walking and 4mph running. If you can, up your…

The exercise explanations with photos at the end of that article are really helpful! Thank you for sharing.

You are so right that no one ever uses the rowing machine! It is a serious workout. If you all are going to row for the first time, please make sure that you watch the video to make sure you're using good form.

That is great! I love the "added sugars" section, as well as the huuuuge calorie notice. Unfortunately, a lot is still dependent on people actually reading the labels and checking the ingredients to determine what's healthy. I wish they would put explanations with the peculiar ingredient names. For example, "maltodextrin"…

I realized that my mother is a really bad influence on me. I got a modest plate, and she kept saying things like "you're only getting one chicken tender?" and "why don't you get any corn in butter sauce?" and "don't you want more mac and cheese?" We didn't have any fruit or salad. Our sides were all very carb-heavy and…

I actually bought a kitchen scale just so I could make sure I'm watching my serving sizes. It's useful for everything in general, but I particularly use it for foods that I can eat and eat and eat--like potato chips. I'll weigh the bowl to see the starting weight and then add chips to the bowl until it equals the serving…

Welcome, thewinged! I'm fairly new here, too. If you go back to page 13 of this thread, you can see this week's OWL and NEWT challenges if you want to jump right in. New ones should be posted in the new couple of days.

Because I'm out of shape and tired a lot, I struggle with keeping my house tidy, which is a problem because I have allergies. Tonight I will put fresh sheets on the bed, dust, and sweep the floor. That will get me moving around and provide a better environment for me to feel healthy.

I love string cheese! One of my favorite stacks is a sliced apple dipped in sunbutter (sunflower butter). It's similar to peanut butter in consistency and taste but slightly higher in certain nutrients. Buying an apple slicer and corer was one of the best possible things I could have done for myself. I love apples but hate…

How's everyone doing this week? Not a lot of chatter going on lately. This morning, a coworker brought a fruit salad, so I've already had two different colors for the NEWT! I plan to have a salad for dinner, so that's makes three. Looking at the list that was provided in the explanation of the NEWT…

When I first started doing these, I hated them! Over time I realized that it was just because it was difficult for me to maintain balance. Now I don't mind them so much. I'm in!

I like this week's NEWT! I've been trying to incorporate different colors into my diet. Tomorrow I'll be getting in at least yellow (squash) and green (zucchini). I didn't get much in today, unfortunately.

I'm finding it difficult to get motivated at all, CivicSista. I try to remind myself of the alternative, and normally I can push through. Maybe you could start by doing one thing that's fun for you. For me, that would be zumba. I can't go very often because it costs money--and I generally have a shortage of that--but it's…

I decided to do the exercise challenge because I just happened to have met the food challenge (yay!) before I saw this week's goals. I thought, "oh, surely that won't be very difficult!" Lies! My arms are a little tired after just one set of 10 reps. Ouch! I'll try to do a set every day unless my arms go from tired to…

I only have one MFP friend right now because I'm a newbie, but I usually send her a "way to go!" or some other sign of encouragement when I see that she's on track. A few days ago, I saw a notification that she had logged 195 days in a row (!), so I definitely commented on that. In turn, she's also good about validating me…

Hey, everyone! I'm Amber, a 25-year-old knitter from WV. Between my work, my partner, and our six furbabies (!), I sometimes struggle to find time to knit. However, I'm participating in the Ravellenic Games this year, and mass cast-on is tomorrow. I'm excited to be here and to meet all of you!

You know, I've been thinking about doing this for a while but never took the initiative to do it. Tonight, I'll use this recipe (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Foil-Barbecued-Trout-with-Wine/Detail.aspx) with garlic and maybe some zucchini slices also in the packet. I'll have a salad with a garlic dressing as my side. I'm…

Hello everyone! I'm Amber, and I would like to be sorted into Ravenclaw. What do I need to do to get started? Thank you!