scrittrice Member

Edamame (green soybeans) are a go-to for me. I buy the packs of them frozen in the pods, boil them, drain, salt lightly, then leave them in the refrigerator. One portion is 120 or so calories (too lazy to look right now) and has a good amount of protein and fiber, and eating the ones in the pods (as opposed to pre-shelled)…

This video is great. It helped me so much the last time someone posted it. I also do the increasing reps thing sometimes when I can't go up in weight. Mostly, though, the progress is just slow.

If all you eat are fruits, vegetables, and nuts, you're not a vegan--you're an extremely restricted eater (and you're probably not getting enough carbohydrates or protein, unless you're counting large amounts of legumes and potatoes as vegetables). There are plenty of more calorie dense vegan options: dried fruit, nuts,…

In a similar thread, someone once said that once they hit maintenance they began practicing "lazy logging." That's more or less what I do, unless I hit the ceiling of my range. Then I get stricter for a little while. I'd do the same thing if I hit the bottom of my range by accident, but I've been maintaining for a year now…

Could not love this more.

Oh, no! Well, at least you've found an upside to a broken wrist.

Same here. I started lifting weights to improve my cycling (which has worked). I like lifting, but if the weather is nice, I sometimes skip a weight session in favor of a bike ride, or squeeze in a bike ride by doing a shorter weight session. I don't think I've ever done the inverse.

I started with dumbbells and it was helpful, though I think eventually you'll want to switch to a barbell. I used this a lot: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/902569/barbell-routines-when-you-only-have-dumbbells/p1

Maybe it's time to move to an intermediate program? That's what I did, not because I stopped progressing (though it had definitely slowed) but because 3x5 was taking up so much time. But I think you can progress in lots of different ways: by adding reps to sets or by altering the lifts slightly so that they're more…

Honestly, TavistockToad is giving you the best advice above. If you eat at a deficit or at maintenance, you won't get bulky unintentionally. Also, it's hard to know without some specifics: Which lifts are you doing, how frequently, sets/reps/weight? This is useful:…

I have a FitBit, too! The margin just appeared to be a little too slim for me to hit it accurately. Just curious.

Can I ask whether you find this is actually working? I had the same thought (for the same reason--I love food and my work involves it, too). At a 250-calorie deficit, which according my logging I was hitting regularly, I just couldn't seem to be accurate enough to lose consistently--I bounced up and down in my goal range…

Even your cat is impressed! Great job.

No such thing as "happy weight" or a "set point body weight" either. That theory's been disproven many times over. If you're cold, tired, lethargic, and losing hair, you may be underweight or running too large a deficit, but your body doesn't have a weight to which it gravitates.

That sounds tough. The changes are pretty slow and gradual, and I think the more fit you are when you start, the slower the changes are. Be sure to measure everything possible--not just scale, but inches, photos, maybe use an online body fat calculator to see if you're moving in the right direction, look at your progress…

Something here doesn't make sense, but also, no offense, this post raises red flags about an eating disorder. In any case, if you're logging as accurately as you say you are and maintaining on such a low number, you should see a doctor. I'm more than twice your age, a little shorter than you are, and I would be really…

It's slow and it's not. At the beginning, you gain strength very quickly, and I felt like I felt and looked somewhat better almost immediately. But for a truly muscular-looking physique, you can either do bulk-and-cut cycles (which doesn't appeal to me personally) or just be dogged about it. I switched from dumbbells to…

I wish you and @ar9179 were at the gym with me. I'm no shrinking violet, but I never come up with a comeback fast enough! I always have my headphones in, and I just shrug as if I can't hear them. (Likewise the teenage boy who was using the squat rack after me the other day and loudly announced that I could leave the plates…

Ditto this, and to answer your original question, I go over maintenance all the time, and I'm in maintenance, not a deficit. One day is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Take a deep breath.

Hee hee--on some other thread somewhere on the Internet, this is being discussed... I have to say, I usually come on this thread to report on someone doing something dumb, but in the last week I've had two nice things happen at the gym. Yesterday someone I'd never seen before asked if I would mind checking his deadlift…

I have to admit that in my early days on MFP, I saw photos of someone and thought, yeah, she looks great, but how old is she? (It was sarauk.) And then I clicked on her profile and to my discomfort saw that she is one year younger than I am. I started weight training progressively immediately.

I had a similar experience--had basically already decided to stop and happened to go for my annual check-up about one month into maintaining. Doctor noted, obviously, that I had lost weight for the last two years, and I said yes, on purpose, and then she kind of leaned back and said, "I think you look great and you're at a…

I agree with all the advice here, and one other thing: meditation has been shown to improve blood pressure, and it has definitely lowered mine. As little as 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes in the evening can have an impact, and it's free. Can't recommend it highly enough.

I agree that 3 to 5 pounds is more normal, but there's one exception (for me, at least) that's not a factor for you (@cwolfman), presumably: every once in a while my weight swings up drastically, as much as 10 pounds in a day or two (I don't weigh every day); inevitably, two weeks later I get my period and realize I was…

There's no need to--it doesn't matter what time you eat.

I need the 20-pound dumbbells. Look around, see that a guy is using them. I wait patiently for a moment, and he finishes his set and puts the dumbbells back in the rack. Putting things back in a rack, as far as I know, is the universal symbol for I AM DONE WITH THESE. Also, he walks away. I pick up the dumbbells, do one…

I had the same experience, then went down a couple of sizes very suddenly. It seemed like one day everything fit, and the next day my pants were falling down. (Also, I'm cheap and delayed buying new stuff for as long as possible.) It really depends on your body shape (and on clothing style, manufacturer sizing, etc.) I did…

I had some stuff taken in, and some of it I still wear, but nothing is ever quite right/the same.

I started with dumbbells and this was really helpful: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/902569/barbell-routines-when-you-only-have-dumbbells/p1 I will say that I only started to be satisfied with my results when I switched to the barbell, even though I much prefer working out at home.

Wait, so you're not actually a mouse that lifts a teeny-tiny barbell? You look amazing.