November_Fire Member

I don't think genetics counts for as much as people say. I was told 'you'll never look the same' after two kids. 10lb lost and voila. Flat stomach and visible top two abs. I lost fat on my boobs, back, upper arms and legs before the belly, but it shrank 3 inches in 8 weeks just calorie-counting. It can be done!

I respect the rest days or I'm not recovered enough in time for the next strength session. I alternate strength days with a 'rest' day of yoga, a lot of walking and, when two 'rest' days collide, I go for a 20-30 minute run.

Chances are this has little to do with exercise and everything to do with how you're logging. I saw a diary once where the OP just listed three things each day. "Cereal". "Sandwich." "Pasta." Obviously she thought she was doing a stellar job, and only eating 500 cals a day... Another 'I'm not losing weight' poster was…

No, because fat doesn't turn into anything, but there's still a grain of truth in there. Ish. Opinions differ (as with everything.) You can google 'recomp effect', which is an oft-argued about process for beginners where they eat around maintenance-calories (no more nor less than they need), burn fat and build muscle…

It does, for cardio. No electric doohicky can gauge the calories of strength training. It's why people are still arguing about how much strength training actually burns (some say 'nothing!', others says 'millions!', and others have the data - training done versus weight lost - that shows it's 'quite considerable if you…

They need to tackle their relationship with food and their long-term eating habits. Choking down a few shakes and pills isn't going to sort out whatever got them fat in the first place. 1. Identify what that was. For my parents, they eat every meal wrapped in white bread, they mainline biscuits and crisps throughout the…

It will grossly overestimate when you did the lifting, because it only goes off your heart rate, not what you're actually doing. I could wear it while my child has a tantrum, or during a scary movie, and though my heart rate is skyrocketing I'm not actually running a marathon, so I didn't burn 70 cals just listening to a…

Shedding body fat is all diet. I had a pooch. I was told 'you'll never lose it, it's too hard', but I just lost weight and away it went.

More asparagus.

What do you do on Day 3? Gain it back?

I've always been slim (yes, I still wanted to lose a few pounds so I joined here, but I've never been overweight.) Growing up I assumed it was all the usual myths like 'luck' or 'genetics', but in truth, I have always been more active than average (even if I never pounded a treadmill or ran up a soccer field) which likely…

Apples. Kellogs All Bran. What is 'skinny fibre'? There's plenty in real food. Twice daily sounds like a recipe for burning out. Consider some rest.

Why did you cut out whole eggs and fruit in the first place? Don't demonise food There is no 'bad' food. There's just food.

Kopparberg Pear! Love that stuff. Might have to factor in half a bottle but yeah. Total waste of calories, and if I was gonna waste calories, I'd waste 'em on cake :p

No. I mean, 300g might start making you go a bit funny, but a few grams over the 0.8g-per-pound guideline is fine. People do 1g-per-pound, even 2g-per-pound, with no ill effects (apart from a lighter wallet.)

Changes in your carb consumption can alter your water retention. Changed them how? Plenty fall into a trap of thinking eating 'healthy' food will make them thinner than 'oh so naughty food', but you can get just as fat on granola, rice and bananas as you can on McDonalds. You'd be very surprised at the high calorie content…

An intake of 2380 sounds very high for someone who isn't exercising. I find MFP's calculators confusing to be honest - they always tell me to eat 1200 no matter what regime I'm doing (um, no!) and even on days where I over-eat the site tells me I'll be 48kg in a month. Or something. Anyway, I use a seperate TDEE calc,…

If you go to McDonalds, why not just have one burger? There's no excuse for having two. Or three. With nuggets on top.

People train for years, gulping down food til they fill ill, in an effort to 'get big'. Getting big doesn't come easy. It's very hard. It's a myth that anyone can get bulky by accident. If you want to lose weight, eat a calorific deficit. Exercise works the muscle underneath so it looks good when the fat is shed. After…

I was joking about the 'will I get bulky' thing :) I have already assessed the trainer's attitude to women lifting!

Lots of reps of a little dumbbell won't build strength (at 1 and 2lb, I'm not sure they'll even build endurance). You lift heavier than 5lb just moving your groceries around, or the laundry. A small number of reps of a larger weight would do more for your muscles. I started on 5kg (11lb.) Aim for 4-6 reps, have a 1min…

"How do you count calories of food you make from scratch?" You put the ingredients from your recipe - if you make it up, start recording the weights and amounts you use - into a recipe calorie counter online. MFP has one but it's been playing up lately. "How many calories are in an apple" Google it. Then weigh your apple.…

I couldn't choose one really. I look in the mirror and think "I can lose another inch" but there's no point chasing a number on a scale. I could make that number change in 36 hours by going low carb and shedding water. I'm 5 fot 3 and 112lb, thinking I'm gonna go down to 110lb, because it's a nice round number, then…

Everyone is different. Focus on you.

I have Greek yoghurt with honey, some muesli or you could any cereal or oats, honey, cinnamon ginger and flax or chia seeds. Filling and practically a dessert, I find myself quite looking forward to it. The low fat stuff is minging, though, have the full fat. Three Ikea pepparkakor ginger biscuits are 60 cals. Cadbury…

The sort of slow dawdle some people do when they're out shopping, probably not much. Walking from A to B with intent, maybe a fairly brisk pace? Like walking to work or school? Sure it burns. I didn't log my walks. I assumed my walking was small-fry - I don't drive so I walk everywhere, but big deal! That's not 'exercise',…

Basically you wouldn't be here if you didn't know how to eat more calories. The other day I was missing 40g carbs and 300 cals, so I went and bought a cinnamon bun. I could also have had a small bowl of cereal, or - well, let's face it. It's not hard to find calories. Breaking meals up throughout the day, 6 meals, 5 meals,…

Tesco regular houmous: 160 cals per quarter-pot (I don't even eat a quarter pot, I eat 35g.) Tesco even nicer Moroccan houmous, with more spices and amazing flavour - 97 cals per quarter pot. Win! Cauldron Vegetarian Falafel bites - 39 cals each. Baking with fat free Greek yoghurt. I made a lemon cake which, once divided…

Without weights, you can also keep getting stronger with bodyweight exercise by making the exercise harder. ie: Knee-Pushup, then onto Pushup, then Diamond Pushup. www.strengthunbound.com and http://www.startbodyweight.com/ are great resources for beginners looking to do bodyweight strength training. I just got some…

Because you can't accurately calculate calorie burn from a HRM for strength training. It'll give you a number but the equations are set for steady state cardio, so it won't be accurate. The only accurate way would be to manually calculate it using your own collected numbers of calories consumed and the weight you lost.