scrittrice Member

1) I say this all the time. Flexing is what we do (obsessively) during our "alone time" in front of the bathroom mirror. 2) You look stunning in both photos.

Ages ago I read a comment from someone who was working with a trainer to lose a large amount of weight, and the trainer instructed her to stop and maintain for a week (or whatever) at every 10-pound mark (or some other marker). I thought that was smart, because it would give your brain time to catch up and you'd get a…

I would add that you can probably eat one or two Samoas and fit it in for the day. Obviously, a diet of all junk food all the time is not healthful, but there's no real reason to stress about "eating clean," whatever that may mean to you. If you allow yourself an occasional treat, you'll probably find that the cravings die…

I'm 5' 8" (well, 5' 7 3/4" if you're going to get really technical about it) and I don't think I could last even one day eating 1250 calories. Seriously. Just like the people above me said, I eat fewer treats/smaller servings and try to remind myself that this stuff will be around tomorrow and the next day. I've maintained…

You're using the TDEE method, meaning you've incorporated your exercise into your maintenance calories and are averaging it out. That's fine, too, but if you're maintaining you're eating back your exercise calories in one way or another.

Oddly, I like cow's milk and eat regular dairy, but I like chocolate soy milk better than chocolate dairy milk. It's a little less rich, I think, and more refreshing!

I'm not a fan of protein shakes/bars either (and I've got a serious sweet tooth). I make my own "protein shake" by whirring chocolate soy milk, Greek yogurt, and ice cubes in a blender. Sometimes I mix the soy milk with some rolled oats and let that sit while I'm working out--that makes it really filling. I'm not a big…

I would actually argue that it's good for you to eat those foods and get used to eating them in appropriate amounts. It's good to "desensitize" yourself a little.

Agreed, but that seems to include the OP (or at least I'm assuming that when she says she got her body fat measured she did so using a reliable method). 18% is relatively low for a woman. I just think most people have an exaggerated idea of how much "extra" they get to eat because they have low BF.

Just wanted to come back here in case anyone ever searches for 5/3/1 and say that I finished my first cycle yesterday and so far so good. Workouts are a little shorter, which is helpful. I've been doing pull-ups (can now do a couple unassisted!) and bent-over dumbbell rows as accessories, as well as a kind of l-i-t-e…

One of the standard TDEE formulas (Katch-McArdle) uses body fat %, so you could calculate your TDEE with the various formulas and see the difference: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ But sadly, as everyone has noted, it's not a big difference and probably well within the margin of error for most…

The whole "set point theory" has been disproven, but maybe you're using it to mean something a little different.

Thank you so much for posting this video--really helpful, especially the leg drive.

Same here, and I use a FitBit and eat back my FitBit calories. I figure there has to be somebody who's average.

Back to the original question, I experienced this very thing when I first went to maintenance. Hungry ALL THE TIME. Then I started lifting heavier weight and it got worse. It has slowly tapered off, though I still go from not hungry to starving in what feels like a very short time. (My completely unproven theory is that…

That's not what I said at all. I said most women are pear-shaped. You can control your fitness level, body fat, weight, proportions, etc. through fueling yourself in certain ways and training in certain ways. Honestly, I think people have been incredibly helpful in this thread, and you seem a little unreceptive, as if…

Rather than looking at Instagram, check out the amazing changes to all kinds of women's bodies on this very site: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/977538/halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky/p1 http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1045433/women-lifting-heavy-with-pics#latest…

Agreed on both counts. I use the website to keep track of my mileage, but I took the app off of my phone. While everyone complains that MFP calorie counts are off, they seem to be very accurate for me for biking, or at least when I eat back MFP biking calories I maintain. Eating back Map My Ride calories I started to gain,…

Whenever I see people saying they eat 1200 calories and/or don't eat back any exercise calories, I think they're way undercounting and/or their workouts are very low-intensity (those people I see sitting on a bike at the gym, reading a magazine and talking on the phone and pedaling at a cadence of about 20).

That's my story exactly--slow gain of a pound a year from college onward, then one year with a drastic change in living situation (I moved and wasn't walking to do errands, etc. all the time anymore) when I really piled it on. I don't own a scale, but I weigh myself at the gym a few times a week. If I'm trending upward, I…

I have found trendweight.com very useful. It averages out over time and lets you know whether you're truly gaining, losing, or staying the same.

I'm with you. The hunger was terrible--like to the point of driving me to distraction--at first. Now it's just hunger. Also, I go from meh-I'm-not-that-hugry to oh-my-god-I'm-going-to-gnaw-off-my-arm in minutes. My completely unscientific theory is that it's a symptom of lower body fat. It is definitely related to…

Wow, your numbers!

Thank you! That's just what I was looking for--the numbers seemed like big leaps (especially considering that my bench and OP are pathetic...)

Thank you--I'd seen that but was hoping for a little personal experience.

<<But I do feel that my arms in particular are an area that could use a bit more work. I included that last pic so you can see that they look kind of soft when I'm not flexing.>> I don't have any brilliant ideas for you, but I wanted to say that EVERYBODY'S arms look soft when they're not flexing.

That's funny--I feel as though weightlifting is more sustainable long-term than cardio.

What she said. Machines are better than nothing, but the results I've gotten with a barbell are much more striking than anything that ever happened with dumbbells and machines. YMMV, of course.

I don't think this is true. Lifting may add some muscle to your shoulders, but it can't make your skeleton wider. The thing that people disregard when they get all freaked out about how bulky lifting is going to make them is that your muscles don't show unless you're flexing. You just look slim and "tight." At least that's…

I know it's not what you want to hear, but you do sound as though you are developing disordered eating. No, you probably won't become anorexic overnight, but things like partially wanting to continue losing weight, being "scared" by the thought of eating calorie dense foods, and not doing something you love (baking)…