nlhawthorne

Not sure where you're from. In the UK there is LighterLife, which I did and lost over 100lb. The meal replacement packs were pretty nice and are medically approved as being nutritionally balanced. It's a bit expensive though (over £70 a week now I think) but the best part was the group counselling that came with it. If…

Yep, or red wine is good too for keeping you in ketosis! Although if you're only on Induction I would take it easy on the alcohol - you might get a bit swirly after less than you're used to!

Subway is definitely the best way to get around - NY is a nightmare to drive in. The best free things we did were walking over the Brooklyn Bridge (take the subway to Brooklyn and walk back towards Manhattan - awesome views) and exploring Central Park. Other than that just exploring the different neighbourhoods is great,…

I've read on these forums that cardio is the best way to burn off those stubborn flabby bits, as you can't unfortunately target your weight-loss. However I've also been told that after you lose weight, it can take about a year for your skin to readjust but that eventually it will tighten. Here's hoping :-/

Yeah my old Weight Watchers leader used to say the same thing. You can cut the calories down even more if you go for a mushroom / vegetable chow mein. Chicken and sweetcorn soup is pretty low in calories too by all accounts. But as someone above said, it's the sodium that's the killer really, no matter what you choose.

A heart rate monitor :-) The ones with the chest straps are the most accurate.

Homemade soup is great - I make a big batch every couple of weeks and freeze it in single servings. I usually have it with a wholemeal pitta bread and a low fat yoghurt. For me this is usually about 310kcals in total (although it depends on what you put in your soup obviously!). Alternatively I might bake a potato (usually…

Absolutely love mine. Easy to use and seems accurate compared with how my body is feeling at various intensities. Wouldn't work out without it ever again :-D

I work out at the gym 3 times a week intensely for about 70-90 mins at a time. Sometimes I might go 4 times a week. Other days I might walk a bit. The reason I don't do more is that my trainer at my old gym used to say that if you're just trying to lose some weight and increase your fitness, you should really leave one day…

Lovely in a baked potato. Yum as a "dip" to scoop up with some sliced peppers. But my favourite has to be cottage cheese with pineapple. Mmmm...

Love my Polar FT7. The FT4 seems to be slightly cheaper but there doesn't seem to be much difference between them so if price is an issue that one would probably be great too.

I think this is one of the most popular models amongst the MFP peeps. I personally opted for the Polar FT7 (currently £69.99 on Amazon.co.uk) and absolutely love it. There doesn't seem to be that much difference between the two so I would say go for it :-)

This is what I do. At rest I burn about 2kcals/min so whatever my HRM says I multiply the minutes I've exercised by 2 and subtract it from the total. I'd rather do a little maths and be on the safe side.

There is a lot of evidence that BMI is not a reliable measure of whether or not you are a healthy weight. It takes no account of your body frame, the amount of muscle v fat on your body, etc. Then again how else do you choose a goal weight? At the end of the day it's your choice.

There's also a psychological theory that everyone goes around with a sort of "mental image" of the other people in their life. Very rarely do we stop to reassess this mental image until something drastic (e.g. a change of hairstyle, a different way of dressing, etc) happens to make us. A dress size might mean a lot to you…

When I was younger I was put on a million and one diets and "healthy eating plans" by my well-meaning parents but at the end of the day their interest or mine faded and it was back to old ways. My brother however is 13 years younger than me and was following the same pattern with his weight that I did, so we looked for…

I think this is the key. Some people can't just have 2 slices of toast - the thought of the rest of the loaf sitting there in the kitchen taunts them and they end up wanting more and more. If you don't have that problem then I don't see any reason to avoid bread. Of course wholemeal options are going to be better for you…

At the minute I go to the gym 3-4 times a week. Each time I do pretty much the same thing: 25 minutes running on the treadmill, then 5 different strength training machines concentrating on the arms and legs (usually takes about 15-20 minutes), then another 15 minutes either back on the treadmill (this time alternating…

I have read Overcoming Overeating. It had some helpful bits but overall it wouldn't work for me personally - I don't emotionally eat because I feel deprived of my "favourite" foods - if I'm in the mindset to binge I'll have anything. I guess, like everything else out there, it will work for some people and not for others.

Gave myself food poisoning doing the cabbage soup diet (unintentionally!). That was extreme and very unpleasant lol.

Had a great time today when I Predict a Riot by Kaiser Chiefs and Whip Your Hair by Willow Smith came on my iPod - good beats to run to on the treadmill. But then other times I'm just a sucker for anything I can sing along to in my head and distract myself (lol) so sadly for me that's Glee songs :-/

Some pub chains have their nutritional values online - you could see if there are any similar meals on there and estimate the same? Wetherspoons is a good one: http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/home/food/menu/main/mains-2

I know exactly what you mean. I've lost 150lb but I can't bring myself to share that with anyone who hasn't been in the same boat because to have been 150lb overweight feels like a huge weakness. People react in a horrified way as they do the mental math and try to figure out how heavy you must have been before, especially…

Hangovers are the worst. I like a wholemeal bagel with some low fat spread. Stodgy enough to soak up the booze but still feels "healthy" enough to get my day started on a good footing calories wise.

Just another Polar FT7 user putting in my two cents. Really easy to use - absolutely love it.

I read somewhere that for the average banana 1/8 of the total weight is skin. I therefore weigh the whole banana and then only log 7/8 of its weight, i.e. if the whole banana with skin is 160g, I log 140g. Not sure how accurate that is but it sounded about right :-/

I've had BED since as far back as I can remember and definitely since my early teens. I'd tried loads of different diets to lose the weight over the years but that was just treating the physical symptom of a psychological disorder. My doctor (and the counsellor she referred me to) both agreed I had a problem but apparently…

I did another ketosis-based diet and after the first couple of "big loss" weeks, my losses settled to around 3lb per week too. Don't compare yourself to anyone else - you are a unique individual and 3lb a week is fantastic! It's amazing how quickly all those 3lb losses add up!

I've been told by several nutritionists/dieticians that essentially any drink except for alcohol counts towards your water intake. In fact there are now reports that tea and coffee can actually have more health benefits than just water alone: Tea 'healthier' drink than water: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5281046.stm…

I've been researching the same thing, looking for ideas for healthy snacks I can eat on the go (literally - I'm always hungry on the bus home from work). It's tricky to find things that are low in calories, fat, sugar and sodium. So far my favourites are the little tubs of reduced fat houmous (Tesco and Asda both do them)…