africanmasq

Awesome, thanks everyone! I will definitely be trying some of these.

Haha I feel you. I'm pretty happy with my body at the moment, but those love handles are real! What Cherimoose said is correct though - all you can do is make sure you're exercising all your muscle groups (especially core muscles) and watch your calories. Don't worry, they'll go away eventually if you keep at it :)

To be honest, my biggest motivation is my mood and mental well being. After a run I feel less stressed, I feel powerful, and I feel like I can do anything. I haven't been able to run in quite a while and I really miss it...it's hard and some days I just don't feel like it, but it brings down my stress and gives me more…

There is a difference between being toned and gaining muscle. Models for example are usually told to focus on getting toned, but if they start looking too athletic (unless they are sport models, obviously) they are told to lift less. Toning does not necessarily make you stronger since the exercises/weights are very light.…

It's up to you, really. If you're having a hard time eating at a deficit, exercising to earn more calories can give you some wiggle room. But if you're managing to eat at a deficit and you're coping, feel free to eat back your exercise calories...just be aware the MFP overestimates how many calories you burn in exercise.

Haha no worries, that's all super helpful, thank you! Luckily for me I have a lot of Jewish friends who make amazing hummus, so getting hold of it is not a problem ;) And thanks for that recipe! I have a cheap blender (well...relatively lol) so I'm sure if I soak them properly it will do a good job. And I do love hummus. A…

vintage

baseball (it's the hat, sorry lol)

Serious

Beautiful!

Catwoman / Home Alone / Mission Impossible

Cool, that does look really good! Yeah that's true. Haha I doubt I would ever get one around my middle, just in case...not that I plan on gaining a lot of weight, but with future pregnancy/stretching I feel like that's not the best idea. I really want this on my inner bicep, obviously bigger so that there's no feathering:

Awesome, thanks! My tattoo artist is amazing but I only have one on my wrist so far (which isn't really going to change a whole lot either way lol) so that's why I ask. Now to save for it :P

OP, if you follow the advice people have given here, I'm sure you'll see some progress. If you're still having trouble, please do consider letting someone look at your food diary to see if they can spot anything that might be causing your problem. And ignore the negative comments. All the best :)

I second what everyone else has said - MFP way overestimates how many calories exercise burns. Also, if you're lifting a lot, you could be putting on a lot of muscle mass and losing fat but not necessarily losing a lot weight...I guess that's a long shot, but it's possible. Which is why taking your measurements would be a…

This. Also, I usually drink green smoothies for breakfast (spinach, pineapple, papaya or mango, and a banana) but I almost always have some almonds or an egg as well. Protein will help a lot.

(Sorry for the gigantic post but I didn't want to miss anyone) Ah I didn't think about that, thanks! I will definitely try it. I would be super happy if I could find a way to eat tofu, since it's pretty affordable. I love the ideas you posted, thanks! Sweet, I'll check that out. I do eat eggs and yogurt quite often,…

Some veggies are high in carbs as well as calories, so it's important to log them. Also...I even log my green tea, which is basically 0 everything, because I think it's important to log everything and stay disciplined.

I just finished Return of the King, and now I'm about to start Watership Down. I'm having a nostalgic, books-I-love year :)

@Turning_Hopes thanks, I will definitely take a look at Skinnytaste! And I actually totally forgot about frittatas so thank you...I do eat eggs quite often but it will be nice to make a variation once in a while. As for tofu...I think it's the texture I don't like. The taste doesn't bother me at all really, but something…

This is certainly not my norm though. 440 ml draught beer, two slices of brown toast (one with bovril and one with honey, both with butter), and two boiled eggs.

I think that for both your sakes it would be better to break up. I've been single for most of my life because I just haven't found anyone I'm really interested in (except two guys, one of whom would have been bad for me and the other of whom turned out to be married, so obviously I wasn't gonna go there). I'm happy and I…

I'm so sorry to hear that you're struggling with this. I can relate, and I know it's not easy. I don't have better advice than anyone else who has posted, but I hope you'll be able to get help on your boyfriend's insurance soon. And yes, exercise and just being outside are huge helps for this kind of thing. All the best.

I also just came back and I'm determined to stick around, so whoever wants to add me, go for it :)

So true! :D

5'11" and around 2,000 before exercise. I'm pretty active in my day to day life though.

No, of course. I just meant that as a general thing in terms of harsh restrictions - but obviously you have to do what you have to do to get to a healthy place.

Exactly. What's the point of trying so hard to live longer and healthier if you don't enjoy it? Not that food is what makes life good, but you know what I mean.

artsy

I think starting with machines is more to make sure that your form is correct before switching to free weights (if you're new to lifting) so that you don't do an exercise wrong or hurt yourself...but free weights are definitely better. Wow, how ridiculous! Some people, ugh...