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You're looking at two different devices. 1) A fitbit or similar pedometer to track steps. 2) A Polar or Garmin HRM (Heart Rate Monitor) to estimate calories. If you don't care about accuracy as much, the Fitbit will basically estimate your calories as well, although a dedicated HRM will do a much better job.

Wow, I had Keyano 19's, custom fit orthotics, and terrible IT band / left knee pain - I think they made the pain even worse. Switched to the New Balance <=>, (no idea what they are actually called), with the Vibram barefoot sole, huge difference, no more pain! I thought I was the only one.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely think you are on the right track, just don't take the calorie burn from your HRM as gospel. I started with a Polar FT60 (which is a step above the FT7). One of the big features it has is the ability to "test" your VO2Max, or for you to be able to input your own VO2Max. I never did the…

CROUTER, S. E., C. ALBRIGHT, and D. R. BASSETT, JR. Accuracy of Polar S410 Heart Rate Monitor to Estimate Energy Cost of Exercise. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 36, No. 8, pp. 1433-1439, 2004. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy of the Polar S410 for estimating gross energy expenditure (EE)…

No it's not, especially not for women due to the algorithm it uses to calculate calories burned. You'll see soon enough, I do think it makes an excellent heart monitor though.

I wouldn't eat back all of my calories, what would be the point of working out? Besides, maybe, the obvious heart benefits. However, sounds like you got the data covered, so if you see a pattern at some point that it isn't working, alter your calorie intake, say by 100 calorie increments. Also, I'd add some body…

If you are really dehydrated, expect your weight to go up a few pounds while you re-hydrate, it will normalize within a few days.

Whole plain yogurt Blueberries Apples Chicken Pecans Dark chocolate Red wine If it's working and IIFYM go with it!

^^ this, and drink tons of it. In fact, drink enough water and you won't even want a soda. I went from drinking Diet Dr Pepper, and maybe 8 glasses of water per day, to no pop at all, and about 25-30 glasses of water per day. I have a bottle I refill at work. There is nothing more refreshing than a nice glass of water…

Do they help at all with knee / IT band issues? I've tried the Pratt Strap, custom orthotics, gait analysis, different shoes and still having some left knee pain (getting better though).

I'm pretty certain that Splenda doesn't fall under clean-eating. But like gsarah1 said, perimeter shopping, preferably organic, and healthy meats. Meat that isn't fed a bunch of GMO corn or antibiotics. Free range, AB free chicken is a good bet, and stay away from pretty much anything that has too many ingredients. It's…

Try upping your normal intake for a week by 150ish calories (basically adding in a granola bar or an apple or two), or possibly reduce the intensity of the workout. Look at the weight change from the previous week. If you've lost more, or just lost, it's probably your body going into starvation mode. I don't know what your…

BMR = basal metabolic rate, the amount of cals you need to keep your body from eating itself, assuming you are more or less comatose (think involuntary bodily functions). TDEE = total daily energy expenditure, or usually your BMR + (a calculation based on different factors, mostly body fat percentage, using different…

Totally agreed, cardio workouts in MFP are very generous (especially for gym workouts) IMHO by 10-30%, so I definitely wouldn't eat back to the amount they estimate.

It depends. Early on I was eating back almost all my workout calories because my goal was so aggressive. Then I hit a plateau, lowered my weight loss rate, which upped my cals. I've had to do this two more times, upping the calories, because I think I was going into starvation mode when I'd plateau. Unless you're stalled,…

Pack-able breakfast: Yogurt, whey, berries, and nuts. For lunch, an alteration of the wrap somebody suggested, wrapping turkey or whatever meat, plus cheese and mayo and veggies in lettuce. I got the idea from the un-wich they serve at Jimmy John's.

It doesn't really matter. It's an arbitrary measurement. I would focus more on wattage than anything else, 60 rpms doesn't mean anything since you aren't taking into account resistance. Maybe he set the resistance higher?

Better than chips, but the serving size is relatively small. If you like popcorn, you get quite a lot for a small calorie impact. But, if you don't mind the serving size, why not?

The most accurate measure for fruits and veggies will be by weight in grams, pick up a food scale, they aren't to costly. I don't count my veggies since they aren't very calorie dense but I do track fruit, example, frozen blueberries or an average size Apple are around 140g by weight and 70-80 calories. Using the food…

Ok, there are two scenarios based on your username. 1) You are already a Java programmer (like myself), and maybe you're burnt out and are pursuing another major. Or 2) You are studying to become a programmer? I don't know your situation, but don't quit. Anyway, don't quit, working a desk job . . . It's hard to stay fit,…

If you were dehydrated before (say days when you weren't working outside) and then drank significantly more water due to working outside, it could explain the weight gain. However, some of the chore type workouts are way off in my opinion. A coworker of mine had raking leaves on his log and it compared similarly to a…

Not sure about your situation, but since I started I've been in a pattern. It seems like my metabolism increases a bit and then I have to up my calories. So, I go into starvation mode or something, then plateau, then up my calories. My energy levels, and weight loss increase following that. One other thing, I eat a low…

It's a guideline . . . If you workout, and burn say 500 calories, you'd be way under your goal, and you wouldn't want to eat back all the calories since it would negate the workout. So some days, you may be a little under, a lot under (on workout days I can be under by 500-1000), or a little over. The deficit is what…

1) Organic dark chocolate . . . calorie dense, delicious, and a healthy snack 2) Nuts (pecans, almonds, etc) . . . calorie dense, good source of fats I do this all the time, and my food diary is public. Some times I eat almost an entire chocolate bar per night . . .

I started getting pretty rough headaches as well, by a process of elimination (or technically addition), I found that I needed to drink a lot more water. Went from the typical 8-10 glasses/day to around 18-22. My weight shot up considerably in the first day, and then started going down again over the course of the next few…

Polar (any model), but there is some debate over the accuracy of the calories burned. I have the FT60, and it seems to way over-estimate the calories burned during working out. Unless the machines at the gym are just way under-estimating . . . Therefore, I just use mine to target heart rates during interval training, I…

Rollers . . . if you have the room. No more wear and tear than roads, and you can grab the bike and take it out. The bike is not attached to the rollers in any way. One other plus is that you use your core muscles for balance, just as if you were riding on the street. Less monotonous then riding on a trainer or exercise…