duckpond11 Member

hey! I hope you get this figured out - and I wanted to say that I'm so impressed that you haven't thrown in the towel and given up. Firstly, get a different doctor - surely there is someway they can draw blood from you. They sound lazy or rushed. Secondly, I don't think I'd drop below 1200, but don't be afraid of lower…

depends. For example, today I took a circuit training class at the gym, and logged it. Came back claiming I burned 800+ calories. I wish. There is no way I burnt that much, and the battery went out on my HRM so I couldn't tell you what I really burnt. Probably 300-500. I don't put too much stock into what MFP calculates…

you could be retaining water from the increased exercise. I'd give it 2 more weeks before considering a change.

you looks so wonderful in that black dress! I hope I can wear something so beautiful one day. Congratulations on your success!

You look great! Must be a good feeling knowing you've kept your initial weight loss off for so long, and even added to it. so what did you do to restore your metabolism enough to be able to eat 1500 cals and not gain? Just really crank up the exercise?

Congratulations on your weight loss, you are doing great and should be proud. It is a big accomplishment, man or woman. I think what makes things "harder" verses easier in general is whether you are carrying a lot of Lean body mass, as that will increase your metabolism and also dictate how large a calorie deficit you can…

I've read this too. Plus, if you go grass fed, you are getting lots of good fats too. Just eat whole good foods in moderation.

I figure the key is to not try to take on too many changes at once. I would personally just focus on getting your nutrition under control, and try to find ways to make your daily life more active, although it sounds like you must get lots of activity in already just doing house cleaning. What about cooking in bulk and…

I do it! I use a low fat organic chocolate milk, and it has no weird corn syrups in it. There is actually lots of info on the web about this - their is no provable benefit for using a more expensive product - and as far as protein goes, your body can only utilize about 20 or so grams anyway for muscle repair post workout,…

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wow, I really need to lose some weight so that I don't have to lift as much to get to the "novice" stage! ugh. I hope that as I lose weight I keep my strength up, because the amount I lift is perfect, if I were already at my goal weight, LOL.

Yes, I've developed some callouses for sure. Although I still wish I had gloves. How long did you have to tough it out before it got better?

New Rules of Lifting for Women is a book with a 6 month strength training program as well as nutrition advice. You can find it on Amazon and read the reviews there.

Hi Ruststar - we are close to the same age, although you are much leaner than I am. I am still trying to figure out what calorie level to get to that will allow me to feel like I"m getting enough to eat to fuel my workouts, but still lose. I am not exactly following the books guidelines for food intake, but this strategy…

Yes, dropping 700 calories from what you normally eat is a lot and you will definitely feel it. Think about it, your probably cut 1/3 of your daily calories out. And the next day when you worked out, you probably burned an extra 300 calories, and created a 1000 calorie deficit - which is probably 50% less than what your…

argh, those shredded and sliced pictures are like something out of a horror movie and make me want to vomit. Guys, don't ever do that to yourself, totally icky!

Can't you just eat exactly the same stuff as you eat now, with the same frequency, only increase portion size? Seems pretty simple to me, but then I am STARVING all the time, so the thought of larger portions makes me happy.

most of the advice I've gotten has been that you should target being about to do about 3 sets of any where from 12-15 reps. At the end of a set, you should feel like you could perhaps to 1 or 2 more, but not more than that. If you feel like you could just keep going on and on, then increase your weights.

I do 135# for squats, for lunges I hold 20# dumbbells, for deadlifts I do 70# (yes, I should try harder there), shoulder presses is 20# but I have a little bit of an injury in my shoulder so I don't push those harder right now. I don't do bench presses, I just do regular manly style push ups - I can do 3 sets of 8 with…

yes my HRM reports much lower calories burned than MFP would give me. But the HRM knows exactly how hard I worked, and MFP doesn't.

First of all, I think if you like doing some sort of exercise, you would be insane to stop doing it. Do what you enjoy and are willing to stick with! I'm still playing around to see what works for me. I think this is going to be a moving target. Currently I do NROLW m/w/f and cardio of my choice on T/Th. I am actually…

Yes, totally normal even if you have a lot to lose (raises hand). It's just water or whatever fluids your body uses to repair your muscles. I like to do my weekly weigh in after a rest/cardio day. I'm in the home stretch of stage 1. Started the 8 rep sets yesterday. Feeling pretty ready to say bye-bye to stage 1, but I…

don't worry about it today. Your weekly average is more important than what happens on a day to day basis. Eat a special treat tonight (I would totally have a glass of wine) and just try not to make it a regular thing.

Thank you for all the thoughtful responses. I'm not going to give up exercising - I guess I just wish that it could have really been the magic bullet. Like you all said, there are other benefits to it that I am no doubt reaping.

I thought the fat burning zone was a fitness myth? please be a myth... I hate the thought that I wasted my time.

cottage cheese is a good high protein snack.

Hey! I just realized that I was forgetting to count the weight of the bar in the amount of weight that I lift when doing squats. I do 80 pounds + the 45 pound bar. Go me! If only that was my body weight, I'd be feeling really buff, but alas, it is not yet.

ack - also got lost in the rollover. Yes, eat more - good. I am still playing with my numbers, but I want to eat as much as possible. After all, at some point I might hit a plateau or something and need to increase my deficit, so it would be nice to have somewhere to go.

I think it will work for you. I spoke to a trainer before I left for my business trip this week, and we discussed my calorie intake. She said for my height (5' 5"), 1700-1800 calories was exactly where I should be. Her advice was actually to stick to that for 6 weeks, and if it didn't work (and I was honest in my…

Are you saying it's impossible to have a lot of LBM if you have a high percentage of body fat? Look at your own calculation, if Weight is a LARGE NUMBER, the LBM will be large. Now, let's use a specific example - me. I weigh 218 pounds, 36% body fat. I have approximately 140 pounds of LBM, and about 78 pounds of fat. It's…