ruststar Member

I had to stop doing it because my physical therapist freaked out when I told her about the jumping jacks. And the jump rope. And the ice skaters. I still use all the strength moves in my own little put together version, but I highly recommend altering the cardio IF you're having any knee trouble. Not "my muscles hurt"…

The few times I've seen the calorie and fat counts in the menus it has definitely made me stop and rethink what I wanted to order. If it's posted on a wall somewhere I'm not going to stand there and agonize - instead I'll research at home before I leave or do the best I can to make an informed choice from what I know of…

I'll have to check out Leslie Sansone - I went for a walk today and even that hurt my knees. Gah! The funny thing is the best treatment for my knees is losing weight and exercising, but slowly every exercise I like to do is being whittled away.

Quaker oatmeal with almond butter and splenda brown sugar mix - packaged oatmeal has so much extra stuff in it. Cottage cheese with berries mixed in. Whole wheat english muffins with almond butter and sugar free jam. Half grapefruit and whole wheat english muffin. There are endless possibilities if you're willing to take a…

I went to the physical therapist for my knees again today and I am officially cut off from doing any of Jillian's cardio. No jumping jacks, no jump roping, nothing that will jar my joints. I'm disappointed because I was seeing changes in muscle tone and strength, but my knees are too important to my quality of life to risk…

I'm a career counselor so I find this topic fascinating! I got my current position by keeping my eye on the website for appropriate openings. It took 7 YEARS, but finally, the right thing opened up at just the right time.

Check out this podcast on breaking out of weight loss plateaus: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/2008/10/fat-2-fit-show-45-breaking-weight-loss-plateaus/.

I love working out, whether I'm at the gym or somewhere else, and I'm not just trying to convince myself (or anybody else). Can you find something to like about exercise - I say exercise because your ire seems aimed at the effort rather than the location - that can keep you motivated? For example: Having an easier time…

I roast a chicken every sunday night and eat the leftover chicken with different packaged salad mixes for the next two or three days. I've read about making oatmeal in advance, but the recipes always call for steel cut outs and I have two big canisters of the regular old Quaker to use up before I can try it.

I took two days off over the weekend to let me knees do some recovering, but I got right back on today and did day 3/level 2. Felt a little easier today though I hate the planks with squat thrusts - I don't need ankle problems too! I've noticed a difference in my arms, the definition of my abs, and the muscles in my thighs.

The more muscle you have the more you burn when at rest - your body needs a mix of both.

Is anyone else dripping sweat on the mat when they do level 2? I feel like some of the moves are easier, but with all the plank moves I guess I'm just closer to the mat and can see the evidence. I wish I had a heart rate monitor to see how much I was really burning while doing this - I track it as circuit training, but…

The numbers MFP gives you include a calorie deficit without any exercise. If you add exercise you should eat that much more to still be at a safe level for losing weight.

I got headaches when I cut back too far on sugar, caffeine, or carbs. They do go away if you push through it.

Sorry - I was just going by what I see when the men's rowing team on my campus works out on the rowing machines. Though I admit I might have been distracted by the arms...

Rowing machines would work your arms more, and using the elliptical with the moveable arms will work both your upper and lower body. Dance classes or Zumba might be more of an allover workout, and swimming, too.

I bypassed Jillian today to go to the gym because I felt like I hadn't done enough decent cardio in a while. When I got there, though, the first thing I did was pull out a mat and do pushups! The woman has warped me. I alternated sets of pushups (real ones) with some of her crazy crunches from level 2 for 15 minutes, and…

I trust the amount that MFP gives me (240) because of the amount of sweat pouring off me when I do it! I burn at a similar rate when I do the elliptical for just 20 minutes.

I have a male colleague who was always going on about how he didn't eat this or that (what the rest of us were eating) because it was ___ (some version of unhealthy). What we heard from that, whether he intended it or not, was judgment. The last time we went to a group social hour I sat next to him and was so self-concious…

Finish the 30 Day Shred by June 18, then go back to 3x/wk weight lifting Do cardio 6 times/wk (alternating walking/running/elliptical, and aerobics) Stay under my calorie goals every day this month Stay off the scale until June 30th!

I jumped up to Level 2 yesterday even though it was a day early and I survived! Looking forward to completing Day 2 Level 2 tonight.

I like the consistency of it - most yogurts gross me out, but not the greek yogurt. I like the Fage Total 0% which is nonfat, 120 calories, and totally awesome with almonds added in. I also think they're more filling than other yogurts.

I completed day 9 today and I'm looking forward to level 2 on Tuesday. I can do most of the level 1 moves with 10 pound weights, manage a few full pushups on my feet, and the crunches feel like a break. I can't believe I got to this point!

I imagine it's the same kinds of chemicals flavoring the pre-bottled stuff, too. Whatever it takes to get you drinking more is good, and you can slowly wean yourself off the flavorings.

When I joined the army I couldn't do one. By the end of two months I could do 50 in two minutes. What happened in between? It's all a painful blur, but I do recall doing a ton of attempts before I could get one full proper form pushup. I recommend starting on your knees and just keep trying. Adding other chest exercises…

Real food will probably do more for you. Occasionally shouldn't be an issue - I keep a couple in my drawer at work in case I need to eat something and can't get a healthier option. I plan out my days before I leave work, sometimes even the night before, and I rarely need to eat them.

Day 8 of level 1 is done for me, too, and I used the 10 pound weights for any movement that wasn't a squat. I had to modify the cardio because of my knees, but I still did some of the jumping jacks. The best part: 6 REAL pushups. 48 on my knees, but 6 real ones, too!

The more muscle you have the more your body burns at rest. The number one reason to include exercise. Find an activity you can enjoy and just do it. What's the boring part? You can listen to music, audiobooks, or podcasts while you exrcise, you can do it with a friend and have somebody to talk to, or you can do things in…

Mine always gets sucked in by the Ben and Jerry's - that's when I had to ban him. The worst thing is he's lost 2 lbs a week since I banned him from shopping with me while doing NOTHING (except not eating Ben and Jerry's).

I make as much as I can from scratch - pizza dough, pasta sauce, etc. Pre-packaged food is often far less cost effective than the fresh stuff because you can get so much more out of what you make yourself. Meat I buy only when it's a good deal - Safeway had a buy one get one free deal on boneless chicken breasts in large…