Val_from_OH Member

$30 for 2 people for a week?! Where do you live?! I spend around $50 on produce every week for my family of 4. $60 on protein, and then you have to add in the dairy and bread items. I buy only items that are on sale (except bananas - they never go on sale!) & use coupons when I can find them, and I still spend around…

I am a 38 DD. I love the Champion Double Dry - I've had two for over a year now and have not broken the clips - though I have had that problem with other bras. I just bought the Champion PowerBack, and it is wrestling match to get into & out of - also does not provide as much support as the double dry. The plus to the…

I cook the Thanksgiving meal every year, and I keep it pretty simple, and log it. I've never gone over my goal by more than about 300 calories for the day, and that's just not a big deal for one day a year. We usually have Turkey, green beans, mashed sweet potatoes with candied pecans, rolls, and PIE. For me, Halloween,…

That's interesting - I never thought of skipping breakfast as fasting. For those that do this successfully - do you ever get light-headed or fatigued from the low blood sugar? The 14/10 is pretty similar to what I do already (eating from 10 am - 8 pm) - but my weight is not budging :-(

Bump! I'll post pics soon - I am inspired by some of your beautiful food photography. I'll have to see if I can take a nice pic of my meatloaf tonight... something tells me this will not be as easy as taking a beautiful salad photo :smile:

Thanks for all the replies! I will talk to the Y about swim lessons. I know they offer them for adults, and I think it would be good to have an expert take a look at what I can do and make suggestions for next steps. I :heart: my Y - I can try out all kinds of new things for cheap.

Sending you a request now. I do New Rules of Lifting for Women. The author says you can do it in a home gym, but you would have to invest in some equipment. Good luck!

Bad idea. Have you ever had to fast for a medical test? Even an 18 hour fast is pretty horrible. You will be fatigued, hungry and irritable. And, assuming that your TDEE is around 2000/day, the best case scenario is that you lose 4 lbs of fat. In reality, it would be some fat and some muscle. So not worth it.

You realize that FMLA is unpaid, right? And... if you're in a situation, other than having/adopting a baby, that requires you to take FMLA, you may very well be depressed...

Thanks for all the suggestions! I checked out the walmart/danskin tanks - those are crazy cute for only $6 each! Next, champion and/or Lane Bryant for black sports bras - I never thought of that since I am fair skinned & usually wear t-shirts.

I have given up on trying to maintain a playlist. I would go broke trying to buy enough new music to keep things interesting. Try Pandora or FitRadio on your smartphone. Most gyms have free wifi, so you can just log on & go. My favorite Pandora station that I created is "Thrift Shop Radio" but beware, there are a lot of…

LOL! I don't really look good in animal prints, but hey, more power to'er. She's in the hotel gym - that's dedication. If I forgot to pack my sneakers, like she did, you'd find me at the lobby bar, not the weight room!

Yes! I am so moody during that time, I need the exercise endorphins just to feel sort of like myself. However, there is usually one day per month where if I move wrong I will have a leak, so that day - no gym time.

^^This!^^ You have to be at least okay with looking at yourself in the mirror before you can be successful at losing weight. Self-loathing never helped anyone, and spending your life in unattractive clothes is just not good for anyone's self-esteem. I don't want to remain my current size, but I am really glad that clothing…

I have not had any problem with semi-nudists, but there is this guy that works out at my gym that looks like a creepy porn star! He has a huge handlebar mustache and a huge mullet, and he works out in short jean shorts and a tight tank top. He works hard, and gets all sweaty, so you can just imagine what that looks like!…

5'3" and 195 - but I'm a size 16! Isn't it crazy how people with the same stats can have such different body shapes? Feel free to add me.

The Marzetti Simply Dressed Light Veggie Ranch in the refrigerated section is very good, has no weird ingredients, and has a moderate calorie count. I use this when I am craving a creamy salad dressing. Also non-fat greek yogurt mixed with salsa makes a really nice dressing for a southwestern flavored salad.

If you call Starbucks, they will probably give you a free drink on your next visit, so definitely do that. I once ordered a Decaf Non-Fat Misto with two splenda, they made me Decaf Non-Fat *Mocha* with 2 splenda. OMG it was so sweet, I gagged! Had a similar experience at McDonald's last night. I ordered an unsweet tea,…

I love squats, I'd give up the deads in a second! The deadlift motion does not seem natural to me - I keep having to watch videos to make sure I'm doing it right. Maybe it will get better when I have less bulk in my midsection, and can lift more (aka a bigger diameter plate). The girls & the belly tend to get in the way…

So awesome! Good for you for keeping up the fight and not giving up in the face of adversity.

If you normally stretch for 10 full minutes before you run and you give that up, I think you are going to feel a big difference when you run. You could probably substitute a 10 minute walk, but you will have to see if you feel limber enough afterward.

I love RunKeeper. I use it to track all my walks, and you can add a picture and post to Facebook too. Supposedly it can sync with your HRM, but I can't seem to get my Polar FT-7 to sync with anything, so I just have to wear the watch :-( The calorie count on RunKeeper is pretty accurate as compared to my HRM.

I used to set my base calories at a 500 calorie deficit, and then eat back my exercise calories. This was not working for me for a couple of reasons: 1 - I was not losing weight. I have no idea why - I checked my portions, logged every bite, there is no simple explanation for this. 2 - I was VERY HUNGRY on rest days…

I completely understand! My husband works overnight, and I just do not sleep properly when he is not home. Sometimes I take a melatonin tablet, which can help. The thing that works best for me though is just to get in bed at a certain time and watch comedy TV or play on my iPad (or both) until I am too sleepy to do it…

You can make a salad in 5 minutes?! It takes me that long just to get all my stuff together to start chopping! I used to buy the Healthy Choice steamers all the time, but usually now I just pack leftovers. I put them in containers while I'm cleaning up from dinner, then I can just grab from the fridge in the morning.…

Espresso martini, or Jim Beam & Diet Coke and then there's always beer...

I love green smoothies, but I have to make them fresh. I like mine with either ice or frozen fruit and clearly that doesn't keep in the fridge :-) Also, I think the spinach tastes too "spinachy" on day 2. The absolute best one I have made so far included plain fat free greek yogurt, avocado, frozen pineapple & spinach. I…

Thanks everyone - you have provided some great insight. I have chronically tight hamstrings (thank you very much high heels & desk job), so I'm sure that is throwing off my form & balance on a deep squat. I think I will work on more stretching, and stay put at 85 lbs until I can accomplish true parallel or better.

Thanks all. Good suggestion on the carbs. I do try to limit them during the day, but I have a sweet tooth that is out to get me :smile: I will strive to be more diligent about this. I really struggle with the protein, as my budget is tight, and lean cuts of meat are expensive! I usually buy 1 1/2 lbs of meat to feed my…

A little help? Anyone?