rhazelwood Member

Congrats! I've taken it slow and focused on strength training, too. About 35 pounds down the first year, about 10 down this past year. Then I got close enough to goal to get too comfy and slacked off the past couple of months. Gained a pound back (not bad two days after Thanksgiving) but your pictures are helping me get my…

From 42 DD to 36D/DD in 45 pounds, but my husband says they LOOK bigger because the rest of me has shrunk LOL!

No kidding. I'd be a witch if that was all I ate for BREAKFAST. LOL!!

I will always track my calories during the work week and let it go on the weekends.

Exactly right! The more muscle you build the more fuel your body requires, and that's not taken in to account in the calorie targets you see. Definitely something that should be considered if you are strength training.

Well, a pound of muscle burns more calories than a pound of fat (can't remember the exact numbers, sorry) so that you burn more calories throughout the day even at rest. And strength training helps prevent osteoporosis, though I am sure that's not even on your radar yet. I don't force myself to eat back my calories. Some…

LosingLizard, Your Mii looks like my Mii, except my Mii wears green. Does this mean that we could be twins separated at birth?

Crock pot steel cut oats If you have a large crockpot and a 4+ cup bowl which will fit inside of it: 1 cup of steel cut oat meal 4 cups of water Place a doubled sheet of aluminum foil in the bottom of the crock pot - the website I found this on says this will prevent the crock from cracking. Place the bowl inside of the…

hahaha!:laugh:

I agree!

I have a Luna bar every morning before I work out. 9 grams of protein, 170-180 calories depending on the flavor, and they taste good.

Most gyms offer a few free sessions with staff trainers who will work with you to create a program that fits your goals and body type. They will teach you how to perform the exercises correctly to prevent injury. It's really worth it to take advantage of this service!

The first thing you should do is meet with a trainer to discuss your goals and have a program designed for you. Generally, most sources recommend working out 3 -5 times per week alternating muscle groups to allow each to recover between sessions. I do 50+ minutes cardio on Mondays and Fridays and strength training Tuesdays…

I actually talked to my Doctor about regularity and I was told that it is not a sign of trouble to go less than once a day. If you are concerned you should talk to your own Doctor, though.

Non Scale Victory :flowerforyou:

Today a lady who works in a different department and whose name I don't even know stopped me in the restroom to tell me how good I look. She asked if I minded telling her how much I've lost (Hell no, Lady, I'll shout it from the rooftops!) and ask how I've done it. Maybe I'll be an inspiration for her :) AWESOME!!!

I ran into a colleague I hadn't seen in a couple of months yesterday and she said 'you look great! what have you been doing?'. I said counting calories and exercising. She seemed almost disappointed - 'oh, the old fashioned way?' I said 'well, I realized that sitting on my @ss and eating whatever I wanted wasn't really…

A HELL of a lot better than a number on a scale! Nobody sees the numbers :) You're doing great and you look awesome!

I agree that it is usually noticeable in your face first because people look at your face when speaking to you. I all of a sudden saw it in my own face just recently but my husband says he noticed the difference a couple of months ago.

My co-worker has one that says "In case of rapture, we get all of their stuff". Somebody actually left a note on her car once reprimanding her for being blasphemous :)

Thank you for posting! I've been kind of stalled out for the past couple of weeks, no progress and even a small gain from quitting smoking. I've been giving myself pep talks that it's minor and short-term but was really feeling low. Your pictures show what determination looks like and I am feeling it again!

I totally feel your pain. I started exercising last June and worked my way up to the strength training I started in December. I didn't have a scale but figured I weighed about 200 at my highest. I started MFP in January and didn't weigh myself for weeks, then was shocked to see that I was at 197. It took FOREVER to lose 5…

I've been thinking along the same lines and decided that my musculature is not a negative, it's a positive, and I am not going to let the scale skew my goals. 5 years ago I looked and felt good at a weight that was 15 pounds more than the upper limit for my height, and I am lifting more strenuously now than I was then. My…

The key word here for me is "unsustainable". It is important to implement a healthier lifestyle and anything drastic can often lead to a complete backslide, which is how so many people gain back everything they've lost and then some once they quit 'dieting'. 1-2 pounds per week is considered a healthy loss rate, and a half…

OMG - too, too funny!! :laugh:

LOL -Where did you find that? I've wondered, too :)

Try OneStopPlus.com. They carry a wide range of sizes and you might have good luck there. The prices are pretty good and the clothes are pretty nice. I did find that tops run a bit large so be mindful of that, but hopefully you can find some things that will work for you now without spending a lot of money on 'between'…

I love your signature - I tell people that I am at the gym at 4:45 am so I can be there before I am awake enough to talk myself out of going! :)

I am so glad that I'm not alone!

I misspoke and couldn't go back to edit: Muscle doesn't necessarily burn fat, but one pound of muscle burns 6 calories a day where a pound of fat only burns 2 calories a day. So by replacing fat with muscle, you burn 3 times the calories for everything you do throughout the day. A pound of muscle is also about 1/3 of the…