parmoute Member

On the same lines as the coffee creamer idea, you can add pudding mix to change up the flavor a little bit. It's really good with vanilla protein powder, a handful of strawberries, milk, and cheesecake flavored pudding! I haven't tried it with chocolate, but I don't see why you couldn't get some caramel pudding and throw…

Eating the same thing all week helps a lot when I'm busy, but it can also get boring quickly. Here are a few of the meals that I use to keep my protein up. These are things I'm generally willing to eat repeatedly, at least for a little while, and they're very easy to prepare. - Spinach & Mozzarella Ravioli (I get Pasta…

I had that feeling this morning... My trainer wants me to start using the strength training machines on my own and today was the first time (in 2-3 weeks) I had the guts to go in and start messing around with them. I'm at a big 10 school, so that early in the morning, the gym is full of ROTC guys and athletes. Talk about…

I think it depends on whether you keep your settings updated. When I was eating back calories (activity = sedentary, expected workouts = 0 mins/week), if I logged 85% of whatever MFP gave me and ate only that back, the predictions were reasonably accurate. When I switched to the TDEE-x% method a few months back (I stopped…

Oh how I wish this were true of my hair! If I skip a day washing it - workout or not - it starts to look heavy and greasy by the middle/end of day two. But this dry shampoo thing... I'll have to look into it. The microfiber hair wraps might be helpful, too, depending on how quickly your hair dries. I got one from the…

I'll add my congrats to the pages you've already received -- and rightly deserved. I'll also add that your haircut looks super cute on your new body. Way to go!

I have a protein smoothie for breakfast whether I work out that day or not. I just change what goes into the smoothie depending on what kind of day I expect to have (e.g., less protein more carbs on workout days, more protein more fat on teaching days so I don't get hungry during class). I do try to have a smaller smoothie…

I do pay attention to my macros (and my iron!). It took some time/planning at first, but now I can do a pretty good job of eyeballing it. I have too many favorite foods to eat the same thing every day, so that hasn't turned out to be an issue. One thing that's helped me a lot is using the weekly reports (especially…

If you aren't already mentally adding warm up/cool down time to what you listed, you might want to consider breaking up the yoga into three 20 minute blocks and using that to stretch before the workouts. Then you can add something else on Fridays: shred/weights Mon/Fri and running Wed might be good if it fits your…

In addition to playing around with which foods work best (or not) on workout mornings, I second the advice to pay attention to the intensity. If you don't have a heart rate monitor, that's a place to start, because often the heart rate readings on machines is ridiculously off. Using the HRM will give you a sense of what…

Another April from Indiana! Looks like there are several MFP groups for Indiana and the Midwest more generally if you all are interested :smile: Have a great day!

I do, both because that's how I'm using MFP and because my nutritionist said to :smile: But, I enter them low because I know a lot of the estimates are high. Here's my conversion: 85% of cardio (running, walking, elliptical, incline treadmill, dancing, etc.) and 10% for things like yoga, Pilates, stretching, and MFPs…

I have facial skin that can't decide between oily and dry. I really like the Aveeno products. I've used just about everything on the market at one point or another (including Rodan & Fields) because my skin used to be awful, but for me the Aveeno line seems to be the best for daily, long-term use. They have a foaming…

I was unprepared for it this semester because Thanksgiving and finals were back to back and I was traveling, but in the past it's been helpful to prepare a bunch of food the week before finals so that I can eat healthy without having to do anything more complicated than use the microwave. When I have the recipes…

This was my problem when I first stared counting calories and everyone said eat lots of small meals. I'd plan out my food ahead of time so I knew what I could have for a snack and how much and it all looked great on paper but I was hungry all the time. Just like you said -- maybe I had just eaten, but I was already…

I am also coming off of several months of very little progress with fitness and none with weight loss because "life" got in the way. Things seem to be turning around though, so ... fingers crossed! I'd be thrilled to lose 10 lbs by New Years (and plenty more after that) and am also looking for a little more help in getting…

Caveat: my friends would probably say I'm not a "normal" person, but here's my two cents anyway :tongue: When I give my body what it *needs* on a regular basis, most days that's enough food and at least I don't feel hungry. It took some getting used to, but you've been at this long enough to know your body isn't getting…

That's exactly how I felt when I got kicked out of graduate school. I didn't want to talk to anyone, I felt like I had nothing new or productive to say, I didn't want to be a bother and I didn't want to be seen as a failure. I was already seeing a therapist when the final blow came, andI don't think I could have responded…

If you've been walking every day already, I don't see why you can't add in the C25K now -- especially since you've gotten new shoes already. I think what I would do is go out for your walk every day same as now but every other day (or every two days to start) I would see how far into the C25K you can get. Or, if you want…

Hello! Your starting stats are almost *exactly* what mine were a year ago, and in that year I've lost just over 50 pounds. Feel free to add me. My diary is open to friends and I check in several times a day. Good luck! April

Ooh.. I've never seen a recipe with cherries, but I make this version a lot: https://mypanera.panerabread.com/recipes/recipe/balsamic-honey-chicken/ It goes well over brown rice, quinoa, or couscous if the sauce is a little thin. If you add an extra 1/2 tsp corn starch it makes a nice glaze and I eat it with a side salad.…

If you have an active job and work long shifts, then 4,000 calories a day does sound like it's at least in the ballpark for your stats, which means eating ~3200 would also be about right. I'm 29, female, only 5'6" and at 180 lbs I'm eating about 2,000 calories a day and losing about a pound a week. I work out 5-6 hours…

I would go read some of the blog posts by Azdak. This one might be a good place to start: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak?month=201208 He's got lots of helpful information that will allow you to figure out what best covers your particular situation. Personally, I get the MFP defaults then knock off 15% before I even…

Sounds like you've probably gotten most of the advice you need already, but remember too that stress will also mess with your hormones (like cortisol) and can work against you when you're trying to lose weight. Definitely try upping your calories and/or eating back your workout calories (I eat back 85% of what MFP gives me…

I use the pie charts on the iPhone app to help keep the macros in order. Not every day's going to be perfect, but I can use the weekly view to make up for an imbalance here and there. I like the online form better meal planning, and I will choose meals ahead of time that line up with my macros perfectly, but when I can't…

Depending on what your current fitness level is, I might not start with Insanity or the 30DS. Even if you're fit enough not to need much building up to that level, start with something you know you'll stick with and get back into the habit of working out on a regular basis, *then* go into something that's more structured.…

Something else you might look into as a beginner is picking up a yoga book from the library (or Amazon, but at least the library's free!). I don't recommend using a book to actually move through a routine, but some books are really great at explaining how you should be doing the poses and what to pay attention to while…

Secrets: Patience & honesty. A cheerleader or two helps too, but not technically necessary :smile: I started out my first few months here focused on nothing but the total calories for the day and that was good enough to get me started with very little exercise. Now I'm attending fitness classes and paying close attention…

Thanks! I totally needed to hear this today -- and will probably print it out because I need to hear it lots of days. If only I had a 'AAA policy' for my non-weight/food issues, too! Edited for typo.

Sometimes for me it also depends on what mood I'm in. Just because running is on the agenda doesn't mean I'm mentally ready for it and if I'm feeling negative for a totally unrelated reason, it can really hurt my running. It's not even so much that it hurts the time (though that happens too), but I feel like every time I…