CaptainMFP Member

Yep, that's what's it's called. Sad too many people today don't respond well to tough love. I think you did right by your friend AND by yourself.

Figure out what your deepest motivation is. Not something superficial but a really deep reason you want to improve your health. For me it's my desire to spend as much time as I can with my boys (2 & 4) and to watch them grow up, which means getting off BP medication. It's never easy on our feel-bad days to power through,…

Sodium, without question. While crucially important for neuromusclar function, sodium also plays a big (and important) role in how our bodies hold onto water. And counter to something I've seen posted on MFP many times, retained water is not in our muscles; it is in our blood plasma and the fluids around our tissues…

Grazing or delaying (as noted above) may be a better option for you. I've known very few people to lose and keep weight off long term without including a solid breakfast, but it's not written in stone that you have to eat it right away or all at once. Work with your body but make sure you are getting something in your tank…

Your could try upping your daily activity level under your profile one or two notches for the day of the festival rather than trying to estimate calories. This is how I handled a recent trip to my mother-in-law's where I swam several hours a day -- typically with a seven year old and two four year olds hanging off of me.

Great job!

For everyone who begins this journey, there is an "Aha" moment where we wake up. It is almost never a pleasant one. For my wife, it was a conversation with a nasty dress maker. For me it was a trip to the emergency room. It always breaks my heart to hear a story like yours, but there is a silver lining. You have decided…

Great job! I only hope I can maintain that same pace when I do my first 5K in a month!

Breakfast is usually about 1/3 of my daily gross calories.

I measure everything and put it in a recipe within MFP. Typically, I do this before I prep the recipe so I know the outcome. A few recipes have been nixed this way but most just get modified slightly.

I would emphasize watching sodium and the importance of success coming in increments and not all at once. I think the expectation of an instant transformation undermines new people more than anything else. And speaking for myself, I've had better results faster with MFP than with Weight Watchers because I can watch my…

And a Southerner to boot? (Sorry, I miss the southeast a lot and don't hear enough y'alls in the Nevada desert.) Feel free to add me if you like.

You know, most people don't really understand the difference between a choice and an obligation. You are so right about these being choices and you did an awesome job. I know it's cliche, but I can't help it...you go girl! :smile:

You haven't failed yet! Take the trainer's advice seriously about eating more and keep with it. You're down a pound (better than up a pound)...build off this. I tell my students every year: a setback (like a bad test...or a bad weigh) is only a defeat if you let it be a defeat. You can do this if you keep at it!

Awesome stories, guys! Keep it up!

I feel my HRM is extremely accurate. I use the kind with the chest band which measures a bit better than wrist only (Polar FT7). I eat back all of my calories...did 15 miles on my bike in 56:07 today and it read 741 calories. My weight loss has improved since starting with my HRM and I get numbers like that every time I do…

Great question! I actually do it with and without food. My wife and I focus more on cooking and experimenting with new recipes and healthy flavors. (We have awesome farmer's markets in our area, so this has translated into making homemade jams, pickles, and relishes as well as exploring new vegetables. My calories stay…

Maybe quoting a Batman movie is stupid, but "Why do we fall down? So we can learn to pick ourselves up." You have the power to keep going and will be stronger for it!

That's odd and unfortunate, really. While I don't trust a lot of the data here I can enter my own extremely easily and that counts for a lot. (And frankly, my calculations on here feel much more accurate and reliable than they ever did with weight watchers.) She sounds like she wants to be a fitness website snob (like…

Am not saying that diet soda is good for you. But as someone on the inside of the scientific community, I'm very skeptical about these claims. These researchers typically do not control for diet and then they speculate about how these "trigger appetite cues" without getting into specific mechanisms. Chemicals do not affect…

Here's a tough one. On one hand, the epidemic of obesity, diabetes, etc. is a public health crisis that has huge economic impacts (whether you're talking health care costs, productivity drops, lost time...it all feeds into a situation that genuinely demands public sector attention because it affects everybody.). On the…

A body in starvation mode can lose weight, but it will not necessarily be healthy weight. That is, muscle will be catabolized as well as fat. Cells cannot burn fat effectively without adequate carbs available, so if you're not taking in enough calories, your body may turn to burning muscle instead of fat. Look at the…

Major accomplishment!

Ah, but most marine fish secrete large amounts of salt from their gills and in their urine so their meat should not necessarily be any saltier than that of freshwater fish or land animals. Sorry, the biologist in me couldn't help but respond. :smile:

Amen! For the seriously discouraged, I'd encourage you to watch the documentary "Super Size Me" or at least make note of this fact: one of the film's biggest jaw-droppers is the fact that Morgan Spurlock -- who is the picture of perfect health before starting his experiment -- puts on 30 lbs. in one month, then requires…

Agreed. I burn an average of 500 calories a day (with a rest day included in that average); my average gross calories last month were just over 2200...my average net was 1750. If you don't take in enough calories your body will not be able to burn calories effectively. Note that your HR is also quite high if that was an…

I've posted this before, but I'll share it with you. It's something I tell my students often...many of whom desperately want into allied health programs where sub-A grades are not acceptable. We all fall down. It is to be human to err and we all fall down. The measure of a person is not whether they fall (all do) or even…

This is a real victory! Good deal!

It's a balancing act to hit targets and put together a diet that meets caloric goals while also meeting other goals (e.g. carbs, protein, sodium, etc.). I would keep trying and play with what you eat. I'd also echo the planning comment. My breakfasts are typically 90% carb calories (my runs and bike rides follow shortly)…

I actually ignore sugar altogether. Most of my sugar comes from fruits and I don't know of anyone who became fat and/or diabetic because of fruit. I try to keep my carbs, fat, and protein within certain limits, I keep my calories on target, and I keep my sodium and cholesterol very low. My BP has come down to the point…