poptastic Member

It's not rocket science is it, if you're bigger you need more calories to stay that size; if you're smaller you need less calories to maintain and going back to your big person portions will cause you to be a big person once again!

Personally (Although I do realise this is different for everyone!) I find wheat-based foods such as pasta and bread to be quite bloating, so I try to avoid them in the week leading up to a night when I want to look great, and no pigging out on things with high salt as that can also cause bloating. But aside from keeping…

In my experience if you crave something sweet, it's better to eat a bit of it (eg one cracker as you said), and then log it. If you don't have sweet cravings it's better to snack on fruit or vegetables. Just log whatever it is you have, and make sure it's within your calorie allowance.

I think as others have said - listen to your body. When I first started cycling to and from work (about 8 miles a day), I couldn't do that and a gym workout in the same day without immediately having to go to bed when I got home. Now, it's just a normal day :) As long as you're not exhausted, and your health isn't…

I have it set as Active, so am trying to stay under 1,690 calories per day. A TDEE Calculator told me around 2400 for an activity level of 3-5 days per week. I do know that it's important to eat enough, but I think at those levels there is no way I can be starving my body if I'm eating at least 1500 calories a day!

For those that have asked, I'm not logging my exercises for 2 reasons: 1) I do pretty much the same every day - I cycle to and from work and go to the gym on my lunch break (although I vary what I do there each day). At weekends I cycle and walk everywhere. 2) When I was tracking my exercise and eating back exercise…

As others have said, it sounds like she's not sticking with it long enough, if she doesn't have a lot to lose then she will need to be really strict. Things like eating a portion of a sweet treat last thing at night make me think that maybe she's not sticking with it as much as you think - this sounds a lot like me when I…

"gone in September" Haha I like that :)

Also you didn't say if you have varied your weights, I'm assuming you have, but if you are lifting lower and upper body twice a week then you should be moving up weights at a fair pace.

I think you probably have built some muscle. I was always sceptical of this argument with myself when I was strength training regularly, but since I stopped (c. 2 months ago) I have remained the exact same weight but gained inches. So obviously there is some truth in all that "muscle weighs more than fat" stuff.

The problem with bingeing on fatty foods is that it doesn't actually fill you up or satisfy you for very long. So even though you've gone over calories you might still be hungry. Try to eat something healthy and low calorie like some vegetables/salad (no dressing, mayo, etc) if you are hungry today, otherwise you'll just…

Eat whole foods, cut down on bread, pasta and anything else that makes you bloated. Drink plenty of water. As you are aiming for your special day, being especially strict with yourself might be easier as you have that goal in mind :)

Thanks for all the great replies :-) It seems like it does work then, so will keep at it! I will try and go more times in a week, the problem has been that for a couple of days after I literally cannot lift a thing, and my gym membership is near my work rather than my home, so I only go Mon-Fri. Hopefully as I get more…

Cellulite is just fat, so the more exercise you do and the more healthy eating you do, the better it will be. I struggle with the same issue as you re: the larger legs but since I started exercising more (cycle daily and lunges, squats etc), they are definitely looking leaner and more defined. To an extent it's genetics…

If you regularly walk every day, I wouldn't say your lifestyle is sedentary. I'd change it to active, and just log the exercise that gets your heart rate up. I assume that walking probably doesn't do that if you're a regular walker.

I would saute the prawns in garlic, chilli, lemon and olive oil (add a drop of white wine if you have some), and then serve with pasta and parmesan - YUM

How about having a herbal tea or even a regular tea with milk instead of eating? Herbal tea is calorie free and fills up your stomach :-)

Diet pills are really bad for you and not a long term solution. I'd also try and lay off the "low-calorie" snacks as they can be packed with loads of weird additives and things that confuse your body. If you're hungry eat real food like a banana (under 100 cals) or a handful of unsalted nuts. That will keep you fulled for…

Agree with everyone else about the lifting, I love it and it's made a big difference for me, unfortunately I've had to take a break for the last month or so but can't wait to get back on it. Really wouldn't take any notice of MOST of the muscley gym guys, in my experience they know next to nothing about anything other than…

I usually go to the gym 2-3 times a week for a 45 minute workout. Any longer than that I get bored, and I don't have time to be there any longer anyway! I also cycle for an hour 6 days a week although I don't count that as my workout, it's just how I get around :-)

I agree with the squats camp, if you do them with (heavy) weights you will really feel it. I also like high intensity interval training, because I get bored being in the gym for too long. A quick weights workout followed by HIIT and I'm ready collapse - and can do that in my lunchbreak :-)

I recommend cycling - since I started cycling to and from work every day I've noticed a massive difference in my thighs and bum :-)

Could be one of two things: 1. Are you forgetting to log everything? And where are you getting your calculations of 900 cals burnt from? If you forget a few snacks, and use MFP estimates of cals burnt, you may actually be consuming more and burning less than you're aware of. 2. If you are genuinely eating that little, and…

Agree with the pee comment. The actual amount you need varies per person, and according to what your body;s used to. I drink water alll day long (around 3-4 litres a day) and if I don't get enough I feel terrible, but my boyfriend hardly drinks any (probably around 1 litre all day), so I guess you get used to what you…

If you make your diary public, people can give suggestions on what to change? In general, a lot of sodium is found in prepackaged foods so that might be holding you back. I'd take the MFP recommendations with a pinch of salt (no pun intended though!) because they are just general guidelines. Eating good fats is important…

I think it depends on the exercise you do. Bear in mind that MFP is not hugely accurate with the calories burnt during exercise and it will often be an overestimation. I would say that if you are doing low intensity exercise (eg walking, swimming), it's not vital to eat back the calories. But if you are doing a high…

I eat lots of fruit, and nuts. However, if I have a craving for something bad eg. chocolate, I find it better to eat say 2 squares of high quality chocolate and satisfy the craving, rather than a load of junky 'low sugar'/'low fat' diet alternatives that just make you hungrier! A couple of squares of a good quality (85%…

I wear the same running footwear for everything, except weights and yoga where I wear flat plimsolls.

As far as I'm aware nothing! Just try to eat less sugar :) It's hard at first if you are used to having a lot of sugar, sugary drinks etc but if you cut down gradually, you will get there over time without cravings. If your sugar is from fruit I wouldn't worry about it too much, but any other sugars are not good.

1. Nakd bars 2. Total 0% Yoghurt 3. Baby Plum tomatoes 4. Suma peanut butter 5. Sweet potatoes