Suffer4beauty Member

I hate running. But I like food! And I burn so many more calories running than I do during my dancing workouts or riding a bike. I do bootcamp videos for 20 to 30 minutes - but I actually hate those more than running - I just do them because they make my muscles pretty. Right now I'm a million pounds overweight (had a…

Thank you everyone! I will talk to a doctor about the possible diastasis recti - especially since my core is SO weak. And I LOVE the suggestions of push ups against a wall and then, later, with the upper body higher than the where my knees/feet are postioned, as well as the ideas to use dumbells to do chest presses and…

Sugar can cause bloat - but that is not real weight. And, according to all the research I have done, fruit sugar is not supposed to count towards your daily sugar allotment (as long as you stick to only 3 to 4 servings of fruit a day - eat more veggies than fruit) - but MFP counts them all the time. SOME of the sugars in…

I don't know what your maintenance calories are - but if you eat more than 500 calories less than your maintenance calories, your body goes into starvation mode and starts to resist letting you burn the fat calories. That being said - a deficit is still a deficit. You could also not eat back your exercise calories (to have…

Do all the exercises that don't put as much focus on the back (challenging, since most exercises involve the core muscles). I do Barry's Bootcamp videos that involve doing 1 minute intervals of exercises with only 30 seconds downtime in-between exercises. Exercises like squats, jumping jacks, blowouts, lunges, "bicepers"…

cool

If I run too long with my heart rate "too high" (as in the 170's) that happens to me, sometimes that has to do with not getting not quit enough oxygen to the brain for a little too long. I wear a heart rate monitor now and then whenever my heartrate reaches 170, I back off until it is at least only 160, sometimes a bit…

I get up at 5 AM M-F and 5:30 AM Sat and Sun so that I can work out and shower/dress/hair before the kids come running in. I find it too hard to come home from work and work-out - most days I find an excuse not to - so I have to do mornings and force myself, or it just won't get done. Sometimes I also mildly exercise on my…

Brown rice. Some cous cous. Potatoes. But you can stick to pasta and bulk it up with lots of steamed veggies/cooked veggies. I made pasta the other night with diced tomatoes, garlic, onion, spinach and broccoli and seasoned chicken. You can't even taste the "not as desirable" vegetables if you put lots of you favorites in…

Yes I cheat - it keeps the metabolism guessing and it's been working. Just FYI - a lot of the gained weight from the 1 or 2 days of consecutive eating is the fact that the waste is backed up in your bowels for a day or two - then your body takes care of it in a day or two. Remember, to gain about a pound you would have to…

What Chris and RGv2 said... that being said, if you do work on your core, it will look "tighter" once the belly fat melts away with your caloric deficit strategy. Crunches can be good - but only if you use correct form - so u-tube directions. Also, planks are great and "crunching rolls" - a push up position, but tops of…

I don't know if my diary is open - but I can try to make sure it is later today. I am 32 and have 2 children - 5 yrs and 19 months (but I've also had several pregnancies and miscarriages at 9 to 11 weeks). I am currently considered to be in a "healthy zone" but need to lose 10 more pounds (have already lost 32) and tone…

I don't know if my diary is open - but I can try to make sure it is later today. I am 32 and have 2 children - 5 yrs and 19 months (but I've also had several pregnancies and miscarriages at 9 to 11 weeks). I am currently considered to be in a "healthy zone" but need to loose 10 more pounds (have already lost 32) and tone…

Very interesting, read most, but need to go to work. Will eat more calories today to not be in starvation mode and to lose less lean body mass (I am lean and struggling with losing the last bits of fat on tummy and thighs - perhaps I have been eating too little and so burning muscle instead of that fat!).

To offer more encouragement: Many people say that they lose inches before they see the scale go down. I am the OPPOSITE. I will see the scale go down 5 to 8 pounds and see no difference. No one will make comments about them seeing any differences. And then all of a sudden I shrink. I have noticed, for me, that it's linked…

I try to burn a minimum of 300 calories a day, and sometimes a lot more! I keep track of calories burned using my Ft4 HRM (pretty accurate, I entered my age/height/heart rate for an activity and the duration into "calories burned" equations on fitness websites and very similar results for calories burned) - so I know that…

I have a food addiction too. I try the following: - Drink a glass of water when craving foods - Chew mint or cinnamon gum - Brush your teeth - the taste of toothpaste often kills some food cravings - Cucumbers with a great seasoning (like Mrs. Dash or a a garlic, pepper spice blend) - Exercise first - even if I am in my…

1) Agreed - some weeks you will loose nothing for whatever reason, and then another week the scale will suddenly jump down two pounds. 2) Agreed - when first starting new routines, the body resists and actually tries to hold onto fat - but once the routine is established as regular, the body will stop fighting it so much.…

I tried a few heart rate monitors - at the same time! First of all, any heart rate monitor with a chest strap is going to be WAY more accurate than one where you have to hold your thumb to a screen or button because the strap keeps a constant "watch" on heart rate as opposed to, say, doing 20 jumping jacks and then testing…

I like Barry's Bootcamp. There are some "stomping moves" but I just follow the "easy/modified" worker who usually does stepping instead of jumping and that sort of thing. I have a baby and the stomping (when I do a full-out workout) doesn't wake her. Just find out which room she sleeps in and then exercise in a room that…

I limit my carbs (but not low-carbs). If hungry, first - like the one of the other posters - I drink a glass of water or 2 and wait for 20 mins. In the meantime, I also sometimes (not all the time) brush my teeth - toothpaste taste has a way of over-riding cravings. Sometimes I pop a stick of gum. Many times I eat carrots…

I do this too. Also, I check everyday. Sorry men if this seems terrible to read - but I weigh myself everyday also to see how our, umm, girl times change the weight. Whenever it seems like I have plateaued but then I check the calendar, it is often a week before the girl time and then during the girl time. Favorite time to…

If you keep your food to this basic balance, you will typically stay low-cal: Breakfast: 1 to 2 ounces protein (like one hard boiled or scrambled egg or one Jimmy Dean turkey sausage patty or 2 thin slices of Farmer John's Canadian Bacon slices) 1 serving of starch (that is 15 grams of carbs) - Depending on the bread, this…

Orowheat pocket thins Italian Herb bread (100 calories) Foster Farms southwestern chicken breast strips 1.5 ounces - dice them up small and mix with some Dijon mustard (about 70 calories with the mustard) Dice some tomato and shred some lettuce (I just use scissors to snip the lettuce to small pieces). About 40 calories.…

I actually plan of having a few binge days - like once or twice a month. I just had 2 last weekend, and yes, I gained, but it was minimal and I already lost the weight. I wait to "binge" after 6 PM. I found that if I force myself to be healthy the rest of day, I can only binge so much in the evening. I still gain because…

For dieting: Love Kix - low carbs for how much cereal you get to eat!

As long as you keep at least a 500 calorie per day deficit, you will lose a pound per week or so. To that note - I exercise to "earn" extra calories. Sometimes I use them and eat a treat. Other times I "save" them so that maybe I will loose 3 pounds in 2 week's time. To exercise, admittedly I do some not-fun stuff (like…

I agree with those who say: Added sugar versus natural sugar - especially since all the research I have read says that you should not count natural sugar towards your daily "allowed" grams of sugar - which I believe are about 48 grams for women according to many websites. Also - I would like to have the food self-calculate…

I have insomnia - complete with used to be on meds until I got pregnant/nursing and I HAD to rely on natural methods (with great coaching from my doctors). EXERCISE - BUT NOT FOR 3 HOURS BEFORE BED - exercise can release endorphins that keep you awake. Drink enough water throughout the day - dehydration can actually wake…

Howdy! I looked at the journal and yes, you go way over in sodium and sugar - but I have been told (and have read several journal articles) stating that high sodium levels aren't too much of a concern unless you have high blood pressure. Too high of sugar on the other had, hinders weight loss and can lead to having Type 2…