Aitenev

I pretty much follow the American Heart Association diet : http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HealthyDietGoals/Healthy-Diet-Goals_UCM_310436_SubHomePage.jsp It is basically a low-fat, low sodium diet that is pretty easy to maintain once you get used to it. It's something that you can do for a…

Wow! I just listened to the sample of this on iTunes and it's fantastic! It's definitely going on my playlist. Thanks for the tip.

I am a great naturalist/interpreter.

It really depends on what your goal is. Are you trying to lose weight? Improve cardiovascular fitness? Train for endurance competition? You determine your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. Then you use that number to determine your target heart rate based on what you want to accomplish. TRAINING ZONES…

I agree with PoorGirl. Try some higher calorie healthy foods. The ones I go to often are peanut butter, almond butter, raw almonds, avocados and dates. Also, don't take all the default settings as set in stone. MFP's limits for things like sodium and fiber are way off what nutrition specialists recommend. Do some reading…

What a great way to look at it! Not only does this put it into perspective but the slower we lose the weight the more likely it will NEVER come back which is my big motivation for going slow. Well...that and less wrinkly skin?!?!! :laugh:

I've had a problem with thinning hair also. I read somewhere that Biotin (B7 vitamin) helps hair and skin growth so I've been taking it for about 4 months now. Recently my hairdresser mentioned (unprompted by me!) that she thinks my change in diet has helped with the thinning patch. I don't know whether it's the change in…

What a wonderful post! Great motivation for all of us. Thanks for sharing.

Enigmatica, thanks for posting this. Great article.

Hi All, My name is Venetia and boy am I glad to have found this group! I'm 54 and I've been going through peri-menopause for over 10 years so I am ready for this to be over! As for the weight loss, I'm actually having an easier time losing weight now than when I was in my 30's and 40's. Part of the reason it's been easier…

Yeah after I posted it I saw the mistake and corrected it. You were too fast for me! :)

Fruits & veggies, beans & brown rice.

I agree that MFP default is WAY too low. The American Dietetic Association recommends 20-35g per day. I have mine set at 29 on MFP and almost always go over that.

I don't really count the naturally occurring sugars in things like fruits and vegetables. They are actually good for you. When people talk about limiting sugar they are usually referring to refined sugar or products that have added sugar.

Not all cellulose comes from wood. Most plants (ie fruits and vegetables) have cellulose. If you are concerned about "cellulose" in your foods, you should be reading more labels. There are a lot worse things in many packaged and processed foods!

When I first started this I felt the same way. I thought I looked like I had lost weight but it took about 25-35 lbs before anyone said anything. After that the comments started coming from all sides. I also wonder sometimes if people are afraid to say something for fear you lost the weight because you are ill. I'm always…

I use Country Choice Organic also but I get the "quick cook" version that cooks in less than 10 minutes and they turn out perfect!

I have the Polar FT4 also and I do think it would be beneficial. I mostly use mine for keeping track of my target heart rate rather than the calories burned. Using the HRM helps me know when I'm working hard enough to get my heart rate up to where I want it.

Oh this sounds good. Chick peas and cucumbers will be on my grocery list this week! Thanks for sharing.

Words of wisdom! Thanks for posting. I COMPLETELY agree.

Your BMR is the number of calories you need just to keep your body going - heart beating, breathing, moving, etc. Exercise calories are usually above and beyond that baseline. If you exercised the exact same amount every day, you COULD include that in your BMR. For most of us, however, the amount we exercise every day…

If I'm adding something with a label, I ALWAYS go by what the label says regardless of what's posted on MFP. I check what's already on MFP to see that it's the same as the label and if not, I will add it. For generic things like grapes, I use the web site below to get the nutrition data: http://nutritiondata.self.com/

Nicely said! I am also living proof that eating back as many exercise calories as possible is important. I was at a plateau for about a month and a half before I started eating more to make up for the exercise calories. I started losing weight again almost overnight! Thanks for the post.

I usually get dried fruit at the regular grocery stores. I often find a rack in the produce section. The brand I usually get is called Regal Gourmet and they have all kinds of dried fruit many of which have no additives whatsoever.

I love shopping for produce at Whole Foods. They have a much better produce department then any other store near me and such a variety. I like trying new produce items (well, new for me!) I will often pick up something that I've never tried before and come home and look up a recipe in which I can use it. By doing this, I…

OMG, YES! I used to be the one that was hot all the time. But after losing 100 pounds I am always FREEZING! I sit around the house in sweats, sweaters and wool socks. I've had everything checked out medically so it's just the loss of insulation I guess.

I started losing weight on 3/29/10 (didn't find MFP until Oct.). Since then I have lost 101 pounds and have 10 more to go. I know it can be a daunting task but one thing that helped me a lot was to have smaller goals along the way. 100 pounds is a huge and intimidating task. Losing 10% of your body weight, getting out of…

I'm with Diet45. I think I lost 25-30 lbs before I went down a size in pants. After that, I went down a size every 10-15 lbs. Hang in there. You will start to notice the changes soon and it is soooooo exciting when you do. Good luck!

What a healthy, balanced attitude! I completely agree with you. This is a lifestyle and it's not realistic to think that I can completely do without all the "bad" stuff for the rest of my life. It's a matter of balance and moderation. Good for you!

Your maximum heart rate is calculated by subtracting your age from 220 so in your case it would be 180. Your target heart rate is generally 50-85% of the max heart rate depending on how fit you are. I also have a Polar FT7 and the scale you mention just shows you whether you are working hard enough to improve the fitness…