robpett2001 Member

These stories are GREAT! The story about the alpacas reminds me of when I'm passing this same farm that had the goat -- they have a herd of about 30 cattle, all of whom stop whatever they're doing and stare at me intently as I run by. I feel like a Cow Celebrity.

Thanks! Sounds like a good plan for the weekend. I'm probably just over-thinking all this... Regardless, I'm going the full 13.1 the day of the race, doggone it! :)

Should I be concerned that I stepped on my scale today and it promptly stopped working?

*slaps a gold star on your excellent response* (while still chuckling at BondBomb's response)

Oh cool, that's a great suggestion. Here's a runners headlamp I'm contemplating (the guy on leadfeet.com recommended it in an interview): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003DQZ7WY/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_6?ie=UTF8&smid=A2Y00PJ965TIMN Anyone have experience to comment on whether it's worth the $40-60 to get a runner's…

I'm very appreciative of all these tips, I'm in the same boat as the OP -- facing my first winter of running. One thing I can add to the discussion is the need for a headlamp and reflective outerwear, since it's more likely that it will be dark out when it's time for a run.

I know some people around here who will do both on the same day -- working their upper bodies on days that they run, and doing lower-body workouts on non-running days. I think it comes down to how much time you wish to devote to it. And you DO need to give the muscles you're working a day to recover and rebuild. That is…

Strength training will support your running. And running will support your strength training. It's the Yin/Yang of fitness! :)

I'm no nurse, but I've given a lot of blood -- you don't really need to do anything different. Eat your usual well-balanced meals in the days before and after and you will be fine. There might be a case for finding foods that are higher in iron, but it's probably not going to make a noticeable difference in your…

Yep, RunKeeper will let you set up interval workouts and save them -- as well as do a lot of other things, even with the free version. "Easy Intervals" is a pretty basic, free interval timer that will let you save workouts. I haven't used it extensively, so can't give an informed review. It's on my phone, I used it once,…

Oooo, love me my crockpot. Bumping for now, but will be back later with a recipe to add to the pot, so to speak.

Well, first off, major congratulations on taking charge of your life and your fitness! As you're discovering, the more fit you get, the better and better you're going to feel overall. I'll echo some of the sentiments here that building up your swim-walking...walking...and then running base will be the key to avoiding…

Sounds like a great one! I really like the multiple-enclosures idea. And I wish my dog park had free coffee...

Oh, that's a good DIY alternative, yah. The "hands-free" leashes attach to a belt, so you've come up with a very similar -- and cheaper -- alternative. Thanks!

Pffft... I could get on a scale 6 times in a day and have 6 different numbers appear on the scale. You can't look at one reading and take that as a measure of the overall progress of your entire diet. You're doing great -- down almost 10 pounds!

Thanks for providing such great info, and being so open to suggestions! I think this particular topic has been a good example of what makes MFP so great! As far as your situation is concerned, lots of people have encouraged you (correctly, I would say) to increase your net intake. I haven't noticed that anyone has put your…

Sadly, the vast majority of people who lose it fast see the weight bounce right back on. Anyway, you've got something even more important going on -- I'd encourage you to celebrate the much bigger and longer-lasting success of knowing that you are now living a healthier, fitter lifestyle at 35 (and for the rest of your…

Lots of good advice given here already, so I'll merely add that "fast" and "slow" are relative terms that you should ONLY compare to your own performance. As with every doggone opinion offered here on MFP forums, you will see every possible response, as people give opinions based on their own performance or experience. The…

Always remember, you are special and unique. Just like everybody else.

Personally, I subscribe to the Eat Exercise Eat program. And the only "fast" that interests me is my running speed. Eat right, exercise hard, and you don't need some complicated, convoluted system to try to trick your body into becoming more fit.

*Cheering, applauding, and pointing to audmom1218! What she said. All of it! If you try to lose your weight fast, it will come right back with a vengeance. Set your MFP goal to 1800, and then log all of your food and exercise, and end each day as close to "0 calories remaining" as you can, and you'll lose the weight, get…

Precisely. Again, BMI isn't intended -- and shouldn't be used -- to define the fitness of individuals, it's most useful for researchers and investigators looking to classify and examine trends in larger populations of people...say...for example...in this 2012 NIH study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22333899…

Absolutely tremendous! Congratulations -- and thank you so much for sharing your story!

You rock! As everyone has said, the best way to start, is to start. Start by walking, and throw in a brief stint of running, and build up slowly. Try out several of the Couch to 5K programs that are out there until you find one that has music and a narrator that you like (Google can tell you all about them). They start you…

The biggest thing (and I didn't notice anyone mention this...though I coulda missed it) is that the Body Mass Index wasn't designed for INDIVIDUAL diagnosis. It's intended for classifying general populations of people. As some folks have pointed out, there is huge variation within body structures of individuals. But this…

To prepare more of my own meals To get within 5 pounds of my goal weight. To have at least one 9 mile run before the end of the month...maayyyybeeee 10 miles.

Make sure you've got accurate information entered into MFP about your current weight and goal weight, then: - enter all of your food every day - enter all of your exercise every day - try to end each day as close as you can to "0 Calories Remaining" I think a lot of people work too hard to figure out some way to game this…

Well, I left it off to see if anyone else might recognize them -- but I think "Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp" was a pretty obscure Saturday morning kids' show from the early 70's. That's Lance and his compatriot, "Mata Hairi".

I remember the names of these two groovy characters:

http://www.knorr.co.uk/cooking-tips/Tips/How-to-spatchcock-a-chicken.aspx Wow, I gotta try this. I think the best exercise for toning arms is Spatchcocking.