epie2098 Member

I'm 5'8", have lost 80 lbs (highest ever recorded was 245, but could easily be higher), and am around my own son and my exceptional group of (special needs) teenagers all day. Feel free to add me. Whether or not you choose to add me, I just want to pass on the friendly advice to take it slowly and do what works for you.…

Lowcarb as a veg would be hard. Really consider reintroducing beans, as they're full of fibre and protein in addition to the carbs, so they won't spike your blood sugar and then crash back down. Similarly with quinoa, there's a lot of nutrition and it's only a little higher in carbohydrate than a typical lowcarb diet would…

I'm vegetarian, but often make vegan meals too. I love goat cheese and eggs when my friend has too many of them from her chickens, or I'd probably be vegan. Absolutely feel free to add me!

Can you fit in exercise before going to work in the morning? Hubs loves that for the mental acuity it gives him through the day, as well as the calorie burn. It might help free that time up for your children in the evening, and may help you sleep better as exercise in the evenings can interfere with falling asleep. If…

Trade one of the fruits at breakfast for some vegetables: cooked sliced tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers or spinach are nice breakfast veggies. The rest of breakfast looks great. If you can't handle veg for/with breakfast, stick with the fruit, and cut fruit at lunch in favour of more veggies. Snack: looks good - maybe try…

I would advise a snack about an hour before doing exercise if you're new to it, and then eat within 30-60 minutes after exercise. Your body will tell you what works best. Some people do better with say, toast and peanut butter before a workout, others a banana, and some like yogurt. For an easy post-workout snack,…

I recommend upping rather than going lower. The default MFP settings should be a nice framework for you to get started. It's really difficult for me to suggest a diet plan for you, because every body is different. I tried several different approaches until I found what works best for me. In general, eat real food rather…

I eat about 1500 per day, and you can friend me to see my diary. I only use goat/sheep dairy and eggs for flavour through the week, but like eggs on toast for a weekend breakfast treat. (I personally use the term plant-based diet for how I eat). 1200 might be too low for you, particularly if you're hungry, so please listen…

Small bites to get the flavour and texture only. I've worked F+B too, and that's the way to go. I bake cupcakes for my summer job, and am able to get away with tiny dabs of batter on the tip of a spoon now just to check if the cupcake batter is awesome enough.

TMI alert, but acu helped lessen the rate at which my body loses blood. Awesome! Keep your hands still when the needle is in your uterus point :)

I absolutely love acupuncture. I have chronic shoulder pain, and have seen 3 doctors and 2 physiotherapists for it, as well as had an ultrasound to look for structural abnormalities. Nothing is wrong with me, but I have pain. Acupuncture is phenomenal. I can do yoga again, and reach for a coffee at the drive thru. No, I…

I limit dairy because I find that after a few days without it, I realize how flat and pain-free my belly is. The other day, I made a smoothie with cow milk because I ran out of almond, and got bloated after a couple of hours. That being said, I tolerate goats cheese a lot better than cows cheese. See how you go without…

It really means different things to different people. Probably the best way to go if you're curious is search second-hand bookstores for "The Eat Clean Diet" by Tosca Reno. I have a copy, and it's more about principles than execution. That being said, it's hard as a vegetarian to eat the way she suggests.

A British-born Canadian here. My husband, who is born and raised Canadian, won't touch either meat. Most North Americans of European descent love beef, pork, and chicken, with turkey on holidays. I've seen lamb in the freezer section, but never goat. That being said, I'm vegetarian, so don't eat either.

MFP can't distinguish between fruit sugars and added sugars. If you're over on sodium, increase the water a bit and try and look at which foods are causing you to be over. I cook almost everything from scratch, so am often way under the sodium. If you're eating more processed foods (deli meats, popcorn, salad dressings,…

Not really. Each body is different. Read up on carb cycling - that's probably the way to go for you as you can combine it with a workout schedule that gives you more carbs on higher-cardio days.

I did eat low carb for a while. I did really well for three months, then my energy levels crashed. The thing is that you may be told to lower your carbohydrate intake, but without knowing if you are either: -eating too many processed carbs (eg crackers, popchips, juice for snacks etc.) -overestimating your portion sizes…

You have to stay positive and love yourself regardless of your size. We (the collective we) are bombarded with images and stories of how life sucks when you're overweight, and will be amaaaaaaaazing once you've lost it. The fact is, my life rocked at 245lbs, and it rocks at 167 (eep, up from my low of 162). And that leads…

Definitely book a session or two with a trainer. They can help you set goals and from there develop a plan for what you can be doing in the gym to make the most of your time. If classes are included with your membership, then that's a great way to get started. The receptionist/staff at the gym can tell you which are…

Clean, yes. Gluten-free doesn't really need to happen unless you have a true allergy or intolerance (gluten-free eating is very trendy right now, similar to how no one ate a carb in the early 2000's). The best thing to do for getting started with clean eating is to get Tosca Reno's book The Eat Clean Diet. Be warned - her…

The cut of the tankini top is great. The pattern isn't great, because the yellow x makes it look like your tummy is much wider than it actually is. I also think that going up a size in bottoms and/or looking at a boycut leg would be a good idea. For the people suggesting a 1-piece, some of us pear-shaped women have a…

I don't know that I'm always at 30+ g fibre each day, but I'm usually over 20 at least. Flaxseed, quinoa, beans, almonds, and veggies are usually how I get it all in there :) My diary should be open; if not, friend me!

Either we're both not sufficiently caffeinated, or you're spot on with the advice! You said everything I was going to. In addition, Jillian Michaels' workouts are fantastic - they're hard but usually do-able, and they're all over YouTube.

Boy shorts all the way. Keep experimenting with brands that don't ride up your cheeks. I got some from JC Penney (in the US last time I was there shopping), so they cost very little, and they stay put. Needless to say, they're my favourites for working out.

Forks over Knives talks about how increasing protein content of food in both rats and populations of humans whose food is supplemented through the UN directly correlates to cancer in the rats and "Western" diseases in humans. The China Study is also fascinating - people living in the areas in China that have traditionally…

Hey hon... your stats could be mine 5 years ago. However, I'm 80 pounds smaller now than I was then. Feel free to add me! :)

I know that's a low weight, but when I was 120 in college, I was a bag of bones. Even with a small frame, why would you want to get down that low? I'm really trying to actively not be mean, just seeking to understand.

I'm 5'8.5". I've been holding at 165ish lbs down from 245 (and probably higher but that's my highest recorded weight) for years now. My dad was a pro rugby player if that's any indication of what my frame is like! My besties say I shouldn't try to lose more weight, but I would like to get to 155 or so - if I ever get…

I'm here - add me :)

You have an MMA class? So obviously you know a lil about the sport. At 5'7", GSP walks around at about 190lbs. He cuts to 170 for his weigh-ins - I adore my GSP, but he doesn't look good at the weigh ins. Once he's rehydrated on fight night, he goes back to looking his usual awesome self. That's what lean muscle looks…