AdrienneinTO Member

Yes, you are correct. One day will not cause you to suddenly burn through that weight. Mine was a quick reply, and I wasn't thinking cause & effect, more of a long-term weight loss/maintenance strategy. One of my main pieces of advice to people is to eat a decent amount of healthy food, even (especially?) when trying to…

I've noticed the same thing, a significant weight loss shortly after eating above my maintenance calories. I saved this link because it has a good scientific explanation: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Russellb97/view/leptin-feast-or-famine-the-truth-about-the-anti-starvation-hormone-185745 Leptin is a hormone that…

Thank you for this great information!

Please be careful to do extra stretching before doing Ripped in 30. Jillian does not do nearly enough stretching in that DVD. It also seems hard on the lower back.. Don't rush the moves, be careful to use proper form Several months ago, I did Ripped in 30 twice and then had to stop. I hurt my shoulder/arm. I think I pulled…

Don't give up! Stick with it and you will improve. Level 1 used to be hard too, right? And then it got easy, remember? Modify the moves if you need to, but just keep going. The whole point is to challenge yourself. It is worth it. Like someone else mentioned, I noticed the most improvement in my body with level 2. I used…

With only 20 lb to lose, maybe you could make most of your calorie deficit come from exercise? I also agree with others: don't hide what you are doing, and your focus should be on healthy eating as a lifestyle, if you want results to be long-lasting.

Since you do not have a lot of weight to lose, you should not have a deficit of more than 0.5 lb per week. I suspect that you aren't eating enough and may have slowed down your metabolism. Also, to get into better shape once you are already at a healthy weight, strength training is key. I'm 5' 5.5", started MFP at 164 lb,…

It's OK. When people first start an exercise/healthy eating regime, the often lose a few lbs right away. A lot of it is water, though (retention was from high sodium, that sort of thing). It's unlikely that you will continue to drop weight at the same pace. But I'm sure that you can steadily lose weight if you stick to…

I am 5' 5.5", and I was a size 14 when I weighed about 165-170 lb.

Yes, you can! :) Have some fruit maybe, if you're hungry? Or even a big glass of water can help.

I love food too. But I managed to lose 30 lb over 8 months by eating moderate portions of healthy food, mostly home-cooked. Not diet, "low-cal", processed junk - real food. I'm now down 36 lb, wearing a size that I never dreamed was possible for me, and have been holding steady for months. You can gradually replace foods…

How many calories are you eating, and how much exercise are you doing? You might not be eating enough.

I skimmed through your diary a bit, and wonder if you are under-eating some days (though you might not have logged everything, not sure). That could cause you to binge the next day. MFP has been very helpful to me. I put a lot of effort into leading a healthy lifestyle, and MFP is a great tool for me to do that. I'd be…

Great idea, thanks for sharing!!

JM recommends 3 lb (1.5 kg) weights, or 5 lb (3 kg) for those more advanced. I just re-started 30DS. I've always used 1.5 kg weights. Maybe it's a bit wimpy if you've been doing other strength training, haha. I don't go to a gym to lift weights, but have been trying to think of alternative ways to get strength training in.…

Congratulations on your results and also for your hard work! I skimmed through your diary, and think that you might need to increase your calorie allowance. You need to fuel your body. Consistently low calories in the long-term slows down your metabolism. You are very close to your goal, which also means that you should…

This just landed in my email inbox today: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/06/spicy-black-bean-burgers-with-chipotle.html I've made this one below with much success. I've also made a variant in which I added shredded carrot and zucchini. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/homemade-black-bean-veggie-burgers/ The key thing with…

I have an FT40. Do the fitness test. You can scroll through the menu to reach it (button on right side, either top or bottom button to scroll). I can confirm that it does impact the calorie estimates. I accidently had the wrong VO2max once and my calorie counts were suddenly quite different.

Please do keep in mind that it is still very beneficial to do strength training for many reasons. Don't let the calorie burn "issue" discourage you. Having more muscle increases your metabolism, helping you lose weight and maintain that loss down the road. And you still do burn calories during strength training, it's just…

See this link for a good explanation: http://www.sparkpeople.com/community/ask_the_experts.asp?q=75 The treadmill time probably gave a relatively good calorie estimate. The strength training time probably did not. During combined strength training/cardio DVDs, the HRM is probably somewhat accurate if you had your heart…

Do more stretching on your own before you start. Week 1 seems to have a lot of bending at the waist types of moves, and the stretching in the DVD is not adequate. I hurt my back after doing 2 days of Ripped in 30. I've done JM's 30-Day Shred, and am in pretty decent shape, but I still ended up hurt. I'm still dying 10 days…

If you're not logging food from fresh ingredients, you could be way off on calorie estimates. It's hard to know how someone else cooks, e.g. how much oil is added. Tough situation if you rely on dining hall food. I'm not sure what to suggest to help, but be aware of it at least. I notice that you are 5'8" and 125ish lbs.…

You may need to do more exercise to boost your metabolism. Do you use a heart rate monitor to estimate calorie burn? I agree with others that logging your food intake meticulously is necessary to get a handle on what is going. But in my case I feel like the exercise I started doing is what really made a difference. I feel…

It gets easier. I was sore as heck too at first. Take a rest day. Try again the following day. Stick with it, and after doing the workout 5-6 times, you will see a significant improvement in you endurance. Remember that you don't need to do it every single day, and you don't have to move up a level after 10 days. Do what…

This thread is very inspiring. I will soon be increasing my calories to about 2000 a day, and will eat back my exercise calories. I am very close to my goal now. I've steadily lost weight while eating 1650-1800 calories per day, burning 400-600. I had many days when I ate over 2000, but still lost weight.

People with a fair bit of weight to lose can generally handle a greater net calorie deficit. I usually suggest that people eat at least their BMR. But as you point out, your BMR is rather high. It seems that general rule might not apply as well here. I am not an expert, but I would suggest eating 1700-1800 calories a day…

I've set myself to 40%/30%/30% carb/protein/fat. I don't quite meet it every day, but it's something I aim for. The blog below explains things very nicely. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/WifeMomDVM/view/let-s-talk-about-macros-216850 MFP's fibre goals are too low as well, I would aim for at least 25 g per day (my goal is…

It won't be helpful to exercise less vigorously. Please see the link below. The total calories burned will still be higher in the "fitness" zone vs. the "fat-burning" zone. http://exercise.about.com/od/weightloss/a/The-Truth-About-The-Fat-Burning-Zone.htm

The HRM will help you get a better idea of your calorie burn. I'm glad you bought one. My suggestion is to eat at least your BMR (you can find it under Tools), and not have net calories below 1200 for an extended period of time.

I skimmed through your diary a bit, and I think your net calories tend to be much too low. The fact that you lack energy is a big clue. Consistenly having very low net calories causes your metabolism to slow down. You could maybe try eating back at least some of your exercise calories. Do you use a HRM to estimate calorie…