poptastic Member

This - could you ever have imagined worrying about a tiny inch of flab on your stomach when you started out?! But if you are intent on losing that last little bit I'd incorporate some HIIT into your weights routine, I have found it the most effective way of getting trimmer.

I find that drinking LOTS of water and exercising a bit helps with the bloated feeling, just don't obsess about it too much for those days and stay away from the scale til you feel better!

I measure for my own tracking only, so I always go around the belly button as then I know I am going for the same spot each time! But I think a bit lower is where your waist measurement should be.

It's still not the same as having someone who can see you and correct your postures. , or push you to go further than you think you can. For ages when I started I thought I could do downward dog (how could you get it wrong, you'd think), but then one day the teacher came and adjusted my hips which totally changed my whole…

Unless you've previously done yoga, I would really recommend going to a class at first, to make sure you are getting all the postures correct. It's so helpful to have someone helping you maximise the benefits, if you get it wrong you could be doing basically nothing useful, or even worse could actually hurt yourself. I've…

I don't bother tracking the lifting part of my workout, only the cardio. If you want to keep a record, why not just keep a note for yourself of how the weights are increasing or how many reps you're doing. In terms of calories, I just see the burn as a bonus.

If you let people see your diary they'll be able to give you some pointers. But weight isn't just made up of fat, there is a load of water as well and that can cause massive fluctuations in the scales depending on all kinds of things! DON"T obsess over a number, it's a waste of time!

I would not get a dessert, and just get some high cocoa % chocolates instead - you would just have to eat fewer of them yourself!

I think porridge is a good healthy balanced breakfast, if I were you I'd probably try and cut out the rice or something instead!

I think if you need a big breakfast, and it fuels you for hours, then fine! If you are eating some junk that fills you up for 5mins but takes 900 calories, you need to rethink your breakfast!

I think that when you drink a lot of water, your body gets used to it and wants more. If you're drinking a lot a lot, you may be flushing out good salts and things that keep you hydrated, if you're drinking so much it's going straight through you, then that might be too much, it's better to sip at over the day than glug a…

I gave up drinking for all of January, it really helped me to just have a specific goal time. In the beginning I couldn't wait to have a glass of wine again, then you get used to it, and now I'm totally OK with not having a glass of wine with dinner, or meeting friends for a cup of tea instead of a beer after work! I lost…

I think only put in active day to day if your job involves physical work or you are regularly working out on a daily basis. For me personally, I cycle to and from work every day, so I would consider that a base level of activity, but anything else I record as a cardiovascular activity (ie gym, tennis, etc).

This kind of stood out for me: " Im not sure if thats possible right now since I cant workout as much as I want to due to transportation issues and money. Of course there have been days where I ate out but I always get right back to my healthy eating. " It sounds like you're already making excuses for your failure before…

I think you can still drink and lose weight, although the most impressive/fastest weight loss I have seen from friends has been when they've cut out alcohol altogether. It's a lot more calories than you think in a pint of beer! It's better to drink spirit & diet mixer if possible (if you like them), but as long as you're…

I think No Added Sugar squash is not that great anyway as it still has some sugar naturally - I started drinking a lot of squash instead of water because my boyfriend loves it and it's always around, but it all adds up if you drink a lot and I think it's not helping me in my weight loss. I used to always have a cup of hot…

Thanks for the tips all, glad to hear that it's not just something I have to live with! I already do yoga 2-3 times a week but will try the other solutions too, hopefully will be able to run properly soon! :)

Definitely planning meals helps and cooking a large quantity of a meal that you can then eat for several days or freeze in portions eg. bean chilli, soup, stews etc. Also you can cook a lot of tasty things using tinned or frozen vegetables which are often much cheaper (and won't go off), and you can stock up on frozen fish…

As others have said, I don't think it makes a difference what time you eat most of your cals, but personally I find that a big breakfast seems to set my stomach up for wanting more throughout the day than if I eat something small-ish a few hours after waking up. It just comes down to what works for you really.

I think that drinking cordial is the same as long as there's no sugar in it, which there is in traditional cordials for sure! But maybe if you can get a diet version that's fine.

I don't log them because I consider that just extra bonus calories down! If my profile was set as sedentary then maybe, but if it's part of your daily/weekly routine then I'd just consider it when selecting your profile lifestyle. MFP can be overgenerous with exercise calories and eating them all can be too much so I'd…

Like others have said, it takes a while for your body to get used to it. I used to come home from lifting weights at the gym and fall asleep on the sofa, now I can go in my lunchbreak and I'm just a bit hungry afterwards but full of energy all afternoon. Either eat more for now, or sleep more (if that's possible in your…

Definitely try drinking more water post-workout. I drink a LOT of water anyway but after working out at lunchtime I have about a pint and a half of water on the way back from the gym, which helps. But, I do still get hungry after a workout - I just try to eat less at other times of te day to balance it out. I think if you…

There's no reason you can't join in with celebrating and eating delicious things, just try and control the amount you are eating. Exercise is really good for you but isn't going to do much if your diet's not on track (unless you're exercising a crazy amount). You said you don't fret if you go over calories - how often are…

^^ This! Also not to just keep on eating until there's nothing left on the plate - it's OK to leave some!

I'm 5'8" but close enough! Currently at about 162, aiming for 150...

I don't have personal experience of this but my brother was into bodybuilding for a long time and from what I can tell it takes a LOT of food, LOTS of protein to build muscles. A few rolls and a choclolate aren't going to do it! He should be taking meat, fish, nuts, boiled eggs, bean salad, cheese, the yoghurt is OK if…

I think you are overestimating your calorie burn especially on the machines at the gym, how long are you on the elliptical and the bike? I really don't think they burn as many calories as they claim to! It's better to do more on the weights than the cardio machines, if you really push yourself on workout days you don't…

I chose my weight based on what I weighed 4 years ago before I moved to London and started getting fat! But, I now do lot more exercise than I did back then so I'm not sure if I need to revise the number upwards. We'll see...

I really don't think that you can be piling weight on overnight by missing one gym day, I think it's about how you see yourself. There is physically no way that you can gain noticeable weight in one day, unless it's bloating - maybe you are slightly intolerant to some of the bad foods you eat on an off day? I think…