zenhiker2014 Member

I know everyone keeps saying "find something you like instead of running" (and that was my first thought too, when I read your post). But you've said that running is the thing you can do for free, from home, with your kids - so from a practical standpoint it sounds like the best option option if you want to do cardio. So…

People who are asking (or advising) about your target weight really are trying to be helpful. They ask because 1) no one wants to suggest things that might end up being harmful (I.e. How to lose more than you should) and 2) if your weight goal is too low that could be part of why you're stuck. I realize you said you…

I weigh myself daily but only to feed data into TrendWeight.com. I don't worry about daily ups and downs, only the direction of the trend line. So if I joined a group with a weekly weigh in, the number I'd report (and hold myself accountable for) would be that day's trend weight number. That said, having a mini goal of…

I'm not the poster but assume tm = treadmill, mt = maintain, tbh = to be honest

Just wanted to second the posters who said your goal weight range sounds low. I'm 5'4" and my goal range is 125-130. That's a healthy, athletic body for me. And clothes shopping is fun at that weight. If I go lower (I did a few years ago) friends start asking me if I've been sick. Definitely not the impression I want to…

On work days, a big bowl of oatmeal and coffee with cream. Simple, quick, filling - and boring - but on workdays I don't really care. It's easy to log because I just copy from the day before. Weekends I change it up. Sundays are often a "fry up" of an egg or two, a small potato diced, and whatever veggies I need to use up.…

I'm glad this thread got revived. I recently noticed my remaining belly fat looked really bad - the term "bowlful of jelly" came to mind - and it was discouraging. Now I can think of it an encouraging instead. Maybe I won't have to adjust my goal weight to get beyond it after all!

I don't do cheat days, at least not the way they're usually defined. I'm one of those who tries to fit what I want into my tracking goals. For me, the term "cheat" doesn't feel right and doesn't promote the eating behavior I want to have in my life going forward. It feels kind of like failure. That's just me, of course. It…

Yes. I track my normal daily activity with a fitbit, and my workouts with an HRM, so I have reasonably good daily estimates of actual calorie burn. I try to eat about 100 calories less than my target amount every day. So if I exercise, MFP adjusts my target calories upward and I adjust my eating to match. I am not in…

This.^^ 20-30 miles is a run of the mill, ordinary ride, and I'm not even very hard core. I rode 70 miles last Saturday. About 60% of my rides are for transportation purposes (commuting etc.) and 40% are for health and fun. People who don't ride don't seem to understand that it's not only possible, it's entirely reasonable…

I cycle and track my calorie burn with a heart rate monitor. It typically varies from 360-540 calories per hour over a long ride depending on terrain and how hard I push myself. A day when I really work on speed or hill climbing could be more than 540/hour but still would not equal the burns you're estimating. Sorry forgot…

Got in a really nice 22 mile ride before the wind picked up today. I know riding in the wind is good for me but I try hard to avoid it! (Currently 16 mph gusting to 35)

I just a signed up and joined the MFP team. All my May rides were stored in Digifit so I manually entered them to get caught up. Looking forward to contributing to our totals!

This.^ I set my activity level to lightly active on MFP. Then I sync my fitbit with MFP. On days when I don't move much, MFP knows it and subtracts from my calorie allowance. Likewise if I'm active according to my fitbit data, MFP will give me more calories while still keeping my planned deficit. So it's more accurate -…

Great thread, thanks everyone! Everything I thought of has been said, often in ways that made me laugh out loud. Peeing, oh yes.... Right now I especially relate to not having enough padding to sit comfortably on hard surfaces and needing to replace clothes with something that actually fits. It's wonderful to realize that…

This^^^^. Or I cut them into thick slices, spray lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with little salt and pepper, and grill til golden brown along with whatever meat I'm having.

If you want to weigh yourself every day then calculating an average is the way to go, at least for me. I use trendweight.com and it provides a nice graph to show what's going on behind the 'noise' of daily weights jumping around. Simple and free to use.

You may need to walk the bike up parts of those hills but you'll have fun coming down them, a good goal to train for (riding all the hills), a nice calorie burn, and shorter commutes so more time for other things each day. Plus you'll be working different muscles and avoiding overuse injuries. And you'll have the bike…

I agree that it will come off with diligence and patience, and also that it's harder/slower than before menopause. Since reading info on MFP and elsewhere I get why that is now, I.e. that my BMR is going down with age so my calorie allowance is going down too. Nothing mysterious or insurmountable, just annoying. Having…

I know chest strap monitors and Polar in particular are the gold standard, and the OP has made a decision, and that's great - but for others who might be reading this and still debating, go ahead and read a few reviews on the Mio Alpha. It it generally considered much more accurate than previous wrist monitors (which were…

I have a Mio Alpha. It's wrist monitor (no chest strap) which I find easier and more comfortable to use . I know most people say you can't get good data without a chest strap, but I compared the data I get from the Mio to an old Garmin forerunner I have that does use a chest strap and the Mio seems very accurate. Might be…

I use a fitbit and an HRM and both work great with MFP. I use the Digifit app to log workouts with the HRM and my fitbit for incidental daily activity. I really like having accurate calorie burn info to go by each day. Make sure to read the app advice on the best way to connect the 3 things (fitbit, your HRM logging app,…

Of course. Not often, and usually because I feel like my body needs a bit more fuel (in other words, when I'm consistently feeling low energy, or kind of run down). Also when I'm in a situation where my food choices are limited like traveling or on social occasions, and I decide a few more calories are worth it to get a…

Another very happy fitbit flex user here. I love the way it syncs with MFP and provides real time adjustments to my calorie budget based on my actual activity. Yes, it's a pedometer, but you are also getting the good algorithm that makes it accurate, plus software that calculates activity levels based on your pace (which…

Great graphic, ronrstaats!

Bump to bookmark - so I can remind myself to be patient, because my weight loss definitely follows this pattern and even though I know the drop will come eventually it's hard to wait!

I think the point was that it's a different motion - on a treadmill you do a pretty normal stride reaching forward with each step. Jogging on the spot is, as stated, basically jumping up and down. Both are exercise, this was just a response to the question about it being like using a treadmill.

I have a Mio Alpha. Have only had it for about a month but so far it's been great. Comfortable to wear and syncs with MapMyFitness. I compared the data I get from it to my old Garmin and it seems quite accurate. I prefer it because it doesn't involve a chest strap.

OP, you got your answer (don't log exercise, or log it and set the calories burned to 0 or 1) but I really hope you will consider the good advice you've gotten about rethinking your approach. When I joined MFP I read lots of threads discussing this, and read the stickied posts, then went out and did some of my own research…