ropedancer

I'm a librarian at a small rural library (it's so small, that I'm their only paid staff member). I make money on the side by selling used books/movies/CDs on half.com (my username there is nancyreads). I have a BA in English, a MLIS, and look forward to one day being able to afford to go back to school for my Masters in…

I've had good experience with The Firm's Bootcamp Maximum Calorie Burn. Like 30 Day Shred, it mixes cardio, strength and ab work, but the emphasis here is really on the cardio portions. It's also considerably longer than 30 day shred (52 minutes long), which I like. I really feel as I if I get a full workout out of it.…

Wow! Everyone here is doing so well. Keep on pushing it. We'll all make it to the end together :) I took the suggestion on starting at week 3, due to my initial test. I managed to get through day one okay, although I wasn't able to max out as many as I wanted. I think this is okay, because the exercise DVD I did this…

I'm going to have to vote for restaurant salads as well. If your "healthy option" averages in at about 900 calories a pop, that's a problem!

Hi! I'm 5ft1 (and a half!). My initial goal was to lose 20 pounds. So far, I've lost 8 in over the past 2+ months. Hope you don't mind if I friend you. It's nice to know someone else in the same boat!

chicken and veggies for me :)

To be honest, I've been pretty quiet about my weight loss. I don't have a nice cellphone, so I don't log my calories until I get home at the end of the day. Therefore, no one sees me logging. Occasionally, someone will notice something is up and mention it. I'll just reply "Oh I'm just trying to live a healthier…

The most fun I've ever had working out was a kickboxing class I took while in college. Maybe it's because I'm a sucker for action movies, but I had so much fun beating up the air. It was also quite challenging for me (but in a good way!).

Well my "initial test" was postponed due to a stomach bug, but I was able to do that today. I was shocked when I was able to do 80-good form crunches in a row! I think this is due to the pilates I've been doing 2-3 times a week for the past couple months. I guess they're not kidding when they say that's good ab work! Who…

This is a little different, as it's not really meant to be serious, but John Green's "Fitness for Nerds" youtube video cracks me up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H0ctnAL3jo

Mine is:"ropedancer" which is a great song by bilingual musician Bonnie Pink. It's one of those simple and lovely ballads, and is lyrically very important to me. If anyone's interested in checking it out, you can listen to it here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC3dJGPycWg

I also do the three main meals with a couple of snacks in the afternoon/evening. As for snacks, I usually stick with fruit (various apples, bananas, strawberries, and grapes) and fiber bars (not the fiber one bars, but generic ones from my local grocery store. Tastes just as good to me!).

This sounds like fun! I'll be doing my initial test tomorrow!

I'm no expert on this, and I'm not sure if this applies to you, but I can tell you what has happened in my experience. I often find that what I eat is just as important as the calorie number at the end of the day. This is the most true when it comes to sodium. If I'm eating a lot of food high in sodium (canned soups,…

Ah! Looks like I'm not the only one that gets dizzy on the treadmill! As far as cardio goes, I'm not sure what's the best, but I find kickboxing burns a lot of calories and is actually a lot of fun.

I track my weight once a week, weighing myself right when I wake up on Tuesday morning (don't know why I picked this date, but it works). Occasionally, I'll weigh myself on other days to make sure I'm more of less on track, but Tuesday is the only day that "counts."

I prefer pilates, because it's great ab workout. I struggle a bit with yoga because I have problems with my wrists and arms and find a few of the moves to be a little uncomfortable.

I did my first Firm DVD this morning (Bootcamp Maximum Calorie Burn), and I liked it a lot. At 52 minutes, it's a lot longer than most workout DVDs I've done, but I think it's worth the time commitment. I suspect that I'm going to feel the effects tomorrow!

I don't watch a lot of TV compared to some (whenever there's a new episode of Castle or Merlin, I'm there. When they're in repeats, the TV only gets turned on when I'm doing my exercise DVDs), but I did happen to turn it on last night to watch The Golden Globes. I came out of the award ceremony craving McDonalds chicken…

I've had good experience with both new balance and adidas. I can never afford them full price, but they're often located in discount stores like Marshalls or TJ Maxx.

Today I didn't have the energy to exercise before work (not uncommon for Saturdays), but I managed to squeeze in an evening exercise instead (pilates). I feel so much better now that I've stretched out. This is not a bad end of the day-type exercise.

Before looking at the map I couldn't help but think "oh Maine has to be a lobster." I was so right. My original home (MA) has chowder. Also makes sense.

When I was in college, I lived a relatively active lifestyle. I walked pretty much everywhere, went to the gym occasionally, and was forced to keep my portions down because if I ate too much dining food, it made me ill (they didn't cook things as thoroughly as I was used to). Then I graduated and got one of those dreaded…

If you don't have Netflitx a lot of the self DVDs can he found on hulu for free. Your library may also have a selection of DVDs (my local one does, with access to over 200 more through interlibrary loan). Just remember to return them on time. My only suggestion is to read reviews before you pick up DVDs, as they often…

I went a while back and didn't see the best results. But it sounds like it's worked really well for other people. I just don't think it was enough for me.

Me too! That and sing in a band.

Chocolate, or just candy/sweets in general really. Ooh! And french fires :) For drinks, I'm actually pretty good there. I don't dry coffee, soda, beer, or anything like that. But don't worry, I make up for it in sweets :)

I like Ana Caban's Quick Start Pilates for weight loss. It's not the most intense DVD but it made me learn to really appreciate pilates.

I've seen several posts on this and everyone seems to have a different opinion. Here's what works for me. I do count cleaning as exercise, but not my only exercise for the day. So if I spent 30 minutes dusting and washing dishes that doesn't get me out of doing my scheduled 45 minutes of pilates or whatever exercise I'm…

I am NOT naturally athletic. I was always the kid that read books growing up instead of playing sports. There's quite a bit that I struggle with. I'm not a runner in any way shape or form (was always the kid that finished the mile run last in gym class) so I struggle with that. I also struggle with anything that requires…