PokeyBug Member

I found my Fitbit to be wildly inaccurate when I had one. I'm pretty sure that the Fitbit uses your heart rate to estimate calories burned. While lifting, your heart rate may go up, but you may not be burning as many calories as your increased heart rate suggests. "While a heart rate monitor (HRM) can be used to calculate…

YAS! OTOH, if I start my workout around 9:00 pm, it's just *better*.

When my doctor prescribed Lexapro to me 16 years ago, he told me that it wasn't known to cause weight gain. I guess that was at the time? But I've never had any issues with losing weight while taking it. I successfully lost around 30 lbs. while taking Lexapro, gained 20 of it all back by not watching my eating while still…

I can see that, never looked at it from that perspective. Thanks for pointing that out.

I don't go to the gym, because I can't afford the gym and because I don't currently have a car to get me there (I could walk the 3 miles to the nearest gym, but there'd be no point in going once I factor in walking there and back). I do workout most every day, though. I have a treadmill and a hand-me-down air strider, and…

You left out the beginning of my example, so I don't think you're talking about the same thing I was talking about. What are the "right circumstances"?

^ Both of the above (sarahbums and nutmegoreo's posts) are some very good advice. When I restrict too much, I can guarantee that it will end in a binge. I'd rather lose half a pound a week for four weeks straight than try to lose 2 pounds a week, end up binging before the week is over for several weeks in a row, and end up…

Not that I can remember. It wouldn't matter to me if they did. I'd just nod and blink in that way you do when someone is saying something that really doesn't interest you but you don't want to be rude.

Having grown up with a morbidly obese mother, I've always been paranoid about my weight. I've been dieting on and off since college (Atkins, keto, paleo, going vegan), but it wasn't until I had a car accident with a head injury in my early 30s that things got out of control. It caused hypothyroidism, weight gain, and much…

Are you sick or unhappy with the way you look or feel? If not, you're cool.

I noticed that you were concerned about the mattress toppers with the exposed latex deteriorating. I totally understand not wanting to pay for something that's just going to crumble as you use it. Have you considered just buying or making a washable cover either for just the foam topper or for both the topper and your…

I had it most of my life, due to my lower jaw being too small. When I was 34, I finally got enough cash to get treatment from an orthodontist. He treated it with jaw expanders and braces, because my small lower jaw had caused my teeth to grow in all kinds of crooked, some had practically grown in in front of others, the…

An old favorite from my student days -- spaghetti with tomato sauce. Here in the States, you can get a box of spaghetti for $! and a can of Hunt's spaghetti sauce for another $1 -- two meals for $1 each. If you want, add a chicken thigh for another buck, but that'll increase the cost by 50¢. Scrambled eggs, omelets, canned…

That reminds me of the time my diabetic father discovered sugar free candy and ate an entire large bag of Russell Stover sugar free pecan delights while he was visiting me once, not realizing what he was getting himself into. We had to have the carpet replaced.

First of all, don't trust the calorie estimates on machines. The number of calories we burn doing an exercise depends on our bodies. I can walk an hour on my treadmill at a 15% incline and burn around 650 calories. My husband, who is 14 inches taller than I am and who weighs about 100 pounds more than me would burn around…

I surprised by the number of people who don't understand what causes weight loss. That would be a calorie deficit -- you cannot eat more calories than you burn and lose weight. I'm also surprised by the number of people who don't understand that you can treat yourself, meet your nutritional needs, and still create a…

JMO, but you should really be trying to gain weight, in the form of muscle. I'm 5'1.5" and currently a size 8. I have never in my adult life weighed 110#. Even when I was a size 3, I weighed 125# (I lifted and walked everywhere back then). Try resistance exercises, like squats or lunges. Planks are good for building muscle…

To me, exercise feels easier than it did at first. I don't know how much of that has to do with improvements in my health and how much of that has to do with the fact that I've taken to listening to audio books while I walk, plank, and lift, but it *does* feel less tedious and more routine. I actually miss exercising when…

Here's what I do: I eat until I'm satisfied. Mostly healthy foods, some not-so-healthy foods. Some days, I end up eating more calories than I burn, but most days, I burn more calories than I eat. I keep track of some nutrients (sugars, fiber, and protein), but I don't worry about hitting my macros exactly every, single day…

You create a deficit by burning more calories than you consume. I don't know your weekly loss goal, so I'll just assume you're going for a 1 lb./week loss. MFP has given you a number, taking into account your weekly activity level, at which you can meet that goal. If you included your exercise in your activity level, don't…

I take Lexapro, too. I just chew gum all the time.

I've never heard of your condition before, and Google is telling me nothing, dang it. You say you're limited to walking, so I'm assuming you can use your legs. You're not buggered, you just can't lift. I can't lift, either (knee injury), but that's not stopping me from doing what I can. I used to do Callanetics (Eighties…

I agree! As a child of the 80s, Coke Zero/No Sugar is way too different from what I'm used to.

Wine on a regular day. There are times when I get together with my friends, and, oh yeah, I'm going to have a glass of wine like everyone else. Otherwise, I'm not going to blow any calories on a drink.

Usually with a fork, but sometimes with my hands. ;) Sorry, couldn't help myself. I usually eat to satisfaction. Some days, I'm very hungry and will eat them back. Other days, I'm not very hungry and I don't eat them all back. But, it's nice to know I've got a little bit of a reserve for those days I'm just ravenous and…

I don't weigh my cucumbers, because I don't like cucumbers, but you can bet that I weigh my broccoli and my carrots and every morsel that goes in my mouth. Because *sigh* I will eat all the things if I don't see how many calories I'm shoving in my mouth.

A good mattress can make a HUGE difference in how well you sleep and whether you're stiff in the morning. I'm almost 48, and I am still not waking up stiff in the mornings. But I really ought to be, because I have arthritis/gout in my left knee. I sleep on a hybrid mattress, which we got for my husband's back pain…

Of all the options given, I've seen the most evidence for Bigfoot. My husband wears size 16 shoes. He *says* his family are just big (as in tall, not fat), but I've seen his mom and dad and sister. They're all Sasquatch.

I started my first pregnancy overweight, and I tried to eat healthy meals, not trying to lose, but just eating my veggies and laying off the sugar. I gained 20 lbs., which meant that, once she was born and my body went back to normal mode, I was back at my pre-pregnancy weight. It took about a month. But I was…

My husband used to work with a man (he's since retired) who had a heart attack. When he was recovered enough to come back to work, he started doing much the same thing. He figured he'd get work and exercise out of the way in one 9 hour block of time. He brought workout clothes to work, took a quick sponge bath to wipe away…