PrimalGirl Member

Hi Unfortunately the others are correct - chances are good you'll gain in the next few weeks. However, if the cardio hasn't been working, then perhaps the HIIT will. Try incorporating strength training as well - build up some muscle to burn more calories at resting. And - even if you haven't lost as much weight as you'd…

5x5 is a good strength program. You probably can't do it all in 30 minutes but once you learn the moves you can split it, so you could do Squat and Deadlift Monday, Bench and Row Wednesday, Clean n Jerk and one other you like Friday. Big compound moves, shifting a lot of weight, building and sculpting muscle. Alternatives…

Sounds like you listened to your body and adjusted accordingly, so brilliant, well done! It's really easy to lose muscle strength so I'm not surprised you had to modify. Absolutely keep it up, especially if you enjoyed it and are feeling invigorated. You'll make strength gains really fast in the first few months, then…

Hi That's absolutely awful, but as someone who works in a law firm I can tell you right now that you have a case - with hard evidence - and you can take your company and those individuals to court. You're being bullied and your manager hasn't done anything about it. If you threaten legal action, they will have to act -…

Hi You've lost a couple of pounds - that's great, you should be proud of yourself! If you plan on sustaining that amount of exercise you absolutely need to increase your calorie intake. You're burning 500kcal each workout, and you're burning at least 1000 more just sitting and breathing, let alone any movement you do not…

Try making protein the basis of all your meals, instead of carbs. If that fails, a good protein shake that's low fat and carbs will give you a boost.

Tomatoes dipped in almond butter - the butter got way too sickly way too fast and I wasn't at all full up even though it was about million calories! In the end I just ate all the tomatoes on their own.

Hi, what about backstroke in the pool but without using your legs? Just let them drift behind you. Or front crawl but with a float under your hips to keep them elevated so you don't need to kick?

Same for me on magnesium. Also try potassium.

Hi Thanks both. I think I might shift up to maintenance rather than cut for a few weeks and make sure I'm getting adequate protein, lowering my carb intake a bit too on strength days and keeping it a bit higher on cycling days. I don't want to keep changing things up every couple of weeks, but I do now think going from…

Hi, if it goes on consistently for too long you will eventually plateau and may even start putting on weight again. This is the position I'm in at the moment and I'm having to make a concerted effort to increase calories in order to restart my fat loss - sounds counter-intuitive but the body starts storing fat if it…

Eat naturally is probably the best thing you can do. Limit processed food, refined sugar, etc. Real cuts of meat or fish, real raw veggies you steam/roast yourself etc. If you know what's going in your body, you know you're being healthy and can take ownership for the days when you don't eat so well. If you want to be…

Reducing your carbohydrate intake - both simple and refined carbs - is a sure way to regulate insulin and reduce blood sugar levels. Increasing exercise will also help with this. - Information from The Diabetes Warrior is particularly interesting and mentions the low-carb rule for managing the condition. You can find out…

Hi, kale, spinach and avocado (I think) are all high in potassium. Green leafy stuff!

Oh my gosh you've lost 80lbs! That's fantastic! I'm also 5' 5" and I know there is no way whatsoever that my body would be healthy at 124lbs. Your body has most likely reached its perfect weight - perfect for you, not for your brain which has chosen a different goal. Maybe you should focus on a different challenge now…

I have entire conversations about fitness in my head because no one I know really likes talking about it. Not sure if that counts...

Despicable Me

Strength training will give you the biggest transformational qualities - you'll be getting stronger and leaner and shapelier. If you want to keep your body guessing you could alternate heavy weight/low reps with bodyweight only or lighter weight/higher reps. Throw in some HIIT training and hill sprints/bike tabata. So you…

Make sure it's a pure protein shake. The one I have is 23g of protein and 2g of carbs. Some so-called protein shakes will have 20g of protein and 25g of carbs - sugar. That'll make your blood sugar levels spike and then drop, making you feel hungry. You eat more, so you gain weight.

No. Keep doing what you're doing - give it around 8 weeks - and see what your body composition is like then. You'll have made strength gains and changed shape. You will have lost some fat - strength training doesn't get your heartrate as high but it revs up your metabolism, which stays high for hours after your session has…

Say you're gluten intolerant. Chances are 99% of the stuff they bring in will have gluten in it, so you have a legitimate excuse.

I've got a Vivofit that works sporadically. Yesterday it synced exercise from Garmin to MFP but didn't sync food from MFP to Garmin.... It's all a bit confusing!

I've got a Garmin Vivofit. It's an activity tracker that comes with a HRM strap. I keep it on all day so it tracks steps, calories etc and then measures activity through the HRM. It also tracks sleep. So it tracks steps taken during a workout as well as during the whole day - I wasn't sure I liked that feature to start…

Wow. Good on him for his perseverance.

This in particular. Learn to midfoot strike, not heel strike, right from the start. Heels were not designed to be landed on, which is why modern running shoes have cushioned heels, otherwise it would hurt too much. We evolved to midfoot strike - that's really important to remember. 'Barefoot' shoes will encourage you to…

Shotokan karate and lifting.

Hi, I don't have your condition, but I would think swimming is okay as the water supports your weight? And it's one of the best exercises for losing weight and strengthening muscle. Water aerobics? I also know that bone density is increased by weight-bearing activity, so walking is a good start. How about walking while…

In that case, interval all the way. I alternate heavy weight days with interval training and I'm seeing better results than when I alternated with steady state. But you should probably realise if you've gained 8lbs while focusing on strength training, those 8lbs are probably muscle. If you like how you look in the mirror -…

Don't do that or the muscleheads win!

I just hope they're there on the day you first deadlift your own bodyweight - whatever that bodyweight is - because there is no greater feeling and, frankly, f*** them! It's fabulous that you got into the gym as soon as your doctor told you that you could - that's serious determination, so I've no doubt they won't put you…