vivaldirules Member

And that's my favorite part, although I neglected to say so above. A terrific goal. Please let us know your progress, both in training and in collecting funds for your friend.

Yes, yes, and yes. Where is the "like" button around here? I will just add that a marathon in a year will probably require you to be pretty diligent about your training to go from your first 10k to a marathon in nine months. I don't mean aggressive, I just mean sticking to your training schedule every day. Also, one pair…

That was very interesting. Thanks for posting it and to Shropshire195 for starting the thread. I find I'm thinking about this topic more often this week and may want to hunt for some references that have more data.

I love your courage to start! It was amazing wasn't it? Probably in realizing how difficult it was but maybe also that you actually started. I started once. All of us here did. I literally could not finish 5 minutes on the elliptical machine that first day. In January, I ran my first marathon. You don't have to run…

I completely understand, especially as an oldster myself who has had several running injuries (thankfully, none severe yet nor related to my speed that I know of). I've read about LSD (long slow distance running) and find that equally interesting and then I think about the lack of fun of running for hours at a slow pace…

I find this interesting. As with everything else in the world (but particularly those related to health and fitness), I see this is contentious. I've been running and pushing my heart rate above what they tell me should be my max but a stress test suggested that would be okay for me. I've lost a lot of weight but that…

That sounds like a great idea so I had to try it this morning but, of course, I had to scramble it up a little (sorry for the pun). 1 tbsp butter Diced white onion (I didn't have green) Cook a bit over medium heat. Add diced mushrooms and diced green pepper. Cook just a little more. Add a big splash of curry powder. Stir…

Daily. First thing after emptying my bladder. Daily means you get the small ups and downs (noise) and have a chance to average those out (at least mentally if not in a spreadsheet). If you weigh only weekly, you're stuck with whatever number you read until the next week. If you can do that and not go crazy for that week…

Alarm = 4:30 am every day. I usually wake up a few minutes before that. I set an alarm for 8 pm to remind me to go to bed. Let's get going!

Thank you for all the comments! I've been assuming that sometime in March I would increase my calorie goal, reduce my running, and bump up the strength exercises. I'm just not sure how much to do of any of those. I guess I will play it by ear and see what happens. To start, what would you think if I changed to: - Increase…

The process is the goal. The goal is the process. Every single day.

I load up on (and love!) lentils, chickpeas, beans (particularly black), and granola. That's in addition to a serving of Greek yogurt every day and fish three times per week. I'm almost always over my MFP protein target. Good luck to you!

The idea of eating at maintenance has three advantages. First, even if you don't exercise you won't gain weight which is already a huge advantage for a lot of people. Setting that as a daily goal for the rest of their lives would be tremendous. Second, you get to eat at maintenance level! No more depriving your desire to…

I'm really impressed that you have transformed your body so effectively without losing weight. That's pretty convincing. Thank you!

Absolutely. Congratulations!

The American Heart Association website continues to indicate that: "Eating foods that contain saturated fats raises the level of cholesterol in your blood." and "The American Heart Association recommends limiting the amount of saturated fats you eat to less than 7 percent of total daily calories. That means, for example,…

Yes, yes, and yes!

For breakfast on most mornings I eat 6 ounces of Chobani nonfat plain Greek yogurt mixed with 2 ounces of granola and 6 ounces of fresh berries (usually blueberries). That's roughly 450 calories or so. It's a wonderful mixture for me with enough flavor and crunch and "satisfaction". I just need to watch what kind of…

If it drives you crazy then don't do it. But that's the only reason I see that makes sense against weighing daily. Weighing is a noisy measurement and you reduce the noise by making more measurements and looking at the averages. For example, I weigh every day and plot it in Excel along with a running 5-day average of those…

Abbey, I'm sure a lot of people on MFP would like to suggest to you that 1200 calories per day is perhaps too few. I'd recommend you read some more about this topic (it's all over MFP).

I am on my third fitbit (all gifts) and I hate them. I exercise and know how long and how intensely I work out and don't need help estimating the calorie burn from it. The rest is passive and not intentional. I have no interest in the possible calories I burn from that. I don't trust the estimates and do Not want to rely…

It can be very useful to relieve or perhaps prevent overly tight muscles. I had an inflamed soleus (lower calf) muscle that I was afraid would keep me from running my first marathon last month just nine days after the muscle flared up but lots of ice packs, aspirin, rest, massages, and the foam roller relieved it…

You don't think it's fair? I understand your frustration and most like you (including me) would, too. I lost 65 pounds and then regained 30. It's very common even while continuing to exercise and watch what we eat. But I saw eventually that I just wasn't being as careful about as I should have. A few extra calories here, a…

I have a vague recollection of having had a similar problem at the start of my running attempts a few years ago. And I seem to remember using a syncopated breathing rhythm. But somehow this must have just cleared itself up in the process of all my running since then because I don't think I have this any more. Maybe that's…

Fresh raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, or strawberries. I would sit and savor each and every one slowly without distraction from television, reading, conversation, etc. At the end of I'd be happy. In fact, I just did that five minutes ago with six ounces of raspberries. They were delicious.

I love lentils. Lentil salad (lentils with finely diced peppers), mujaddarah (lentils with brown rice and a few onion slivers), or lentil soup or dal (i.e., either a brothy soup or a thicker Indian style). I also enjoy chickpeas (usually with a few chopped veggies) and beans (mostly cooked or in soups). These are the main…

Besides fish with perhaps three meals per week, I load up on lentils, chickpeas, and sometimes beans. And I usually have granola and (greek) yogurt for breakfast. I do eat chicken and wheat but both sparingly. I enjoy nuts but often find I lack sufficient control eating them so I am presently avoiding them. My protein is…

Don't worry about your speed ever. It means nothing. Compare yourself with no one but your older self. As long as you're working to improve (speed, distance, or frequency), you're making progress. I'm guessing you're not in this to win races, right? So just enjoy it and have at it!

It's a great way to lose weight, stay cardio healthy, and also clear your head. I started 2-1/2 years ago, have lost 70 pounds, have terrific cardio stats, and love it. I started on an elliptical and struggled to stay on the thing for even five minures. After weeks, I ran a mile and thought I was going to die. I signed up…

This can be really hard. I still struggle with it but less now. If I can catch myself for just a moment before I start bingeing and can just pause for a minute or two and try to calm myself and sense my real hunger level and if perhaps I'm about to do something I will regret for no good reason, I often can just walk away…