Beethoven1827 Member

Each to their own. I chose to lose weight by changing my eating habits in a way I hope will be sustainable in the long-term. I've no idea what the effects are of the pills and whatever you're doing, but I'd always prefer to have real food! :wink: I would have the same concern, that the lack of proper food might be doing…

I've started bringing little bags of snacks to work with me to stave off the mid-morning munchies... Any combination of nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, cashews), dried cranberries, mini chocolate chips, raisins, mini marchmallows, small pieces of fudge, chopped dates. You could package up a few different mixes for her very…

I normally have a little something to eat before running if I'm going out early morning - but I didn't yesterday (other than the essential black coffee!). Don't think it made any difference to how I felt at all. I think the body is a more complex thing than 'oh, I've had no food this morning, I can't do this exercise' as…

SO many variables. I love it when people comment on my weightloss - it's not that I need their validation, but I like compliments! :) But on the other side, I know my mother-in-law is losing weight, she's lost over 40lb since the summer, and has gone down more clothes sizes than I have, but to be absolutely honest I'm not…

It sounds as though you're very near your goal, so remember that this weight won't come off as quickly as it did at the start. Dropping junk food, chocolate, pizza, whatever won't necessarily help you if you just substitute something else for around the same number of calories. And being vegetarian didn't stop me gaining…

I've seen suggestions that sheets of leek can be used instead of lasagne. And garlic, onion etc. can be dry-fried over a low heat for longer (about 10 mins I think), instead of sauteeing in butter. Or just save it for a special occasion, plan around the calories, and enjoy! :wink:

The eight cups a day claim actually means 'any liquid that hydrates you' - and that includes tea and coffee, soda, juice etc. etc.

I have the runkeeper app for tracking my runs - you can also use it to record treadmill workouts. It has a whole heap of other running training programmes included, too. I haven't actually tried using any of them yet, but there are lots to choose from!

Exactly! :smile: I used to be skinny until I had my children, and have gradually gained around 30lb over the past 10 years. People who haven't known me forever just don't realise that in my mind I *should* be slim, because that's how I was, growing up. If I explain, which I occasionally do, they seem to understand better…

I get that sometimes too - the whole 'you're not going to lose any more now' thing. I'll be honest with real friends who I know will support me (and who would be honest if they had any concerns), but to most people I smile, nod, and give the response theynwant to hear. Life's too short to justify myself to everyone who…

Don't worry about the dehydration myth - you gain more hydration from it than the caffeine can possibly deplete! I mainly drink decaff now, but that's because it's my normal drink, and I (apparently) get *really* tetchy on 10 mugs of strong coffee a day. Or so my husband tells me :wink:

Why not look at a Couch to 5K plan? There are lots of them available free, and although there are slight differences, they all basically start you at alternating short runs (e.g. 60 seconds) with walking, then build up the amount of running time and reduce the walking until your're running for 30 mins non-stop. Works just…

If it's not the set of scales you normally use, just ignore it completely. We bought a new set of scales a while back, which showed me as 3lb lighter than the old ones. You can betcha I didn't magically gain or lose the weight according to which scale I stood on - it's just that at least one set is innacurate (probably…

I just had a piece of pizza for lunch, too. Could *so* have eaten the entire tray, but I'm trying to learn this moderation thing :wink:, and I don't think the servery staff would have been too impressed...!

We went out for Indian food yesterday. I logged the couple of bits that were straightforward (naan, pilau rice, bombay potatoes etc), then did a Quick Add calories for the rest. I figured the whole meal would probably come in around 1000 Cal, so didn't snack in the morning, and had a *very* light evening meal as I still…

The horrible flabby loose skin on my tummy. :-( I've lost about 35lb since July last year, and while I love how I look now (although I'm not done yet!), if I lie on my side or lean forward, I have this horrible wrinkly squelchy stuff. Euuch. On the bright side, I'd forgotten how much I love my collarbones! :-)

I bought a nice neoprene running belt for less than £20 back in the autumn so I didn't have to hold on to my key and phone while running. Sadly, it lived up to its name and ran away less than six weeks later! :( I didn't want to pay quite that much a second time, so bought one of the very cheap ones in Sports Direct. It…

Yeah, I've started to just lie to some people. Basically, if it's not someone I'd count as a real friend, they're entitled to their opinion but I don't have to care about it. If saying I'm not aiming to lose any more keeps them happy, I'll say it but carry on regardless. I know where I want to get to, my friends know what…

Some fitness apps for smartphones come with assorted workout programmes already there - I know Runkeeper has a selection of 10k training programmes, depending on what sort of target time you're aiming for. I've got as far as looking at them, but no further than that - yet...!

I did a couch to 5k plan in Sept-Dec last year, and really enjoyed it. Since completing it, I've done some work on increasing my speed, but since that meant my stamina decreased, I'm now repeating weeks 6-9 but trying to keep the speed up. I thought it was a great plan - hey, anything that could get me from *never*…

I'd echo the advice to make sure you stretch properly at the end of every workout. If you do that, you shouldn't get anything like this level of soreness in the future. (Can you tell I'm not the kind of personwho judges the value of a workout by the residual pain? :wink: Apart form anything else, it makes it much easier to…

I'm another C25K advocate :smile: I started it back in September, having spent at least 6 months thinking about whether I could & should actually try this thing, given that I Don't Do Sport. It took me two weeks longer than the theoretical 9 to finish it, and it took me nine weeks of going out three times a week to…

I felt exactly the same as you, Daniel, when I started back in September. I live in a very small village, in a close-knit community, but only told a couple of friends who I knew would be supportive what I was doing. Fortunately, there are footpaths round the fields around the village, so I'd take the dog for a walk/run…

Well done you! :smile: It took me 9 weeks of running three times a week to start enjoying it! I'm up to 12 weeks now, and am keeping going...

My guess is it's about lifestyle and moderation. My dad has always been very slim - but he doesn't eat very much, and walks miles every day. He's admitted that he has absolutely no idea what it's like to know you need to lose weight, and to have to learn better habits - but in fairness, he's been supportive of first of all…

I started it at the beginning of September, and completed week 9 last weekend! :smile: It's been brilliant for me - I'd done no kind of exercise for about 11 1/2 years, and was never, ever a runner at all! The first week was so tough - I knew I was really unfit, but found the 60 seconds running such hard work. I got…

I've had a pretty rubbish week this week, over my calorie allowance every day - by almost 1000 one day... I can make lots of excuses, but even at the time I knew what I was doing and that I shouldn't be eating all this chocolate since it wouldn't actually help anything. Two days ago I decided I was going to call it quits,…

For me, a (relatively) low-fat diet is much more sustainable than low-carb. Most of the foods I like are - or can be - low-fat. And I love my carbs! Fat is so high in calories that cutting out unnecessary fats means more calories are available for things I'll actually notice that I'm eating, which works for me. If it's not…

One thing that is supposed to help with stress and anxiety is to have a notebook so you can write down the things you're worried about - it helps you look at them objectively, I think... I've recently tried both the exercise and junk food methods of coping with stress. The exercise method was good, but more effort. The…

I'm having a bad week for one reason and another. I think I'm probably about 550 calories over for just today! Don't stress about it. Pick yourself up and try again tomorrow.