etarre Member

As others have said, swimming and biking are both very knee-friendly. I injured my knees doing high-impact workouts, and was advised to try spin classes, since biking will strengthen the muscles that support your knees. I found that really good advice-- if you get bored doing a stationary bike at the gym, go to a spin…

Hi everyone-- I'd really like to join! 1. Name: Emily 2. Age: 31 3. City: New York 4. Occupation: publishing 5. Wedding date: June 3 6. Fiancés name: Jay 7. How long you and your fiancé have been together: 7 years yesterday 8. Heaviest weight: 160 9. Goal weight and date: 140 by May 10. Favorite type of exercise: spin…

Thanks, everyone, for all the information and feedback about WW. It's helpful to hear what your experiences were on the program and to know that MPF offers many of the same things-- but better! I have always gotten great feedback when I've posted a topic on these boards, and that's definitely my favorite thing about MFP.…

I really like a cottage cheese/ dill recipe that I have. Here are the ingredients: 3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon dill seed 1 tablespoon dried minced onion 1 teaspoon salt 1 package regular active or fast-acting dry yeast 1 cup water 1/2 cup small-curd cottage cheese 2 tablespoons butter…

Jackie Warner has a DVD called "one-on-one training with Jackie" that has a very challenging ab section-- it's 20 minutes out of the 60 on the DVD (the other sections are also 20 min. each and split into lower and upper body). It's a great DVD to grow into once you've done some of the other basic workouts, and the format…

Garden of Eatin' makes some really good baked chips (blue corn or omega-3 enriched yellow) and salsa is healthy.

Hmmm....found this on chowhound. Comments suggest that it requires some experimentation to get right...good luck! 1 cup tapioca pearls 8 cups water some say 7:1 ratio 1) Boil water in a large pot. 2) Add in the tapioca pearls to boiling water. 3) Stir initially to prevent tapioca from sticking to the bottom of the pot. The…

Argh! I'm firmly in the 'fuzzy' category, with a BMI of 23.6. I'd like to lose 5-10 pounds for my wedding, and I'm stuck. I understand what you're saying about focusing on toning, etc....but I do want to ultimately make a difference overall, and look better in that dress, if you know what I mean. I did have my BMR tested,…

Do you have a slow cooker or dutch oven? This is good, although a bit sweet. Next time, I would use white wine instead of pear nectar. Pear/Fennel Chicken Thighs ingredients • 1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges • 2 6- to 7-ounce jars (drained weight) sliced mushrooms, drained • 1/2 cup…

I do classes a lot, but also sometimes I'm in the mood to zone out and watch bad TV without anyone telling me what to do. I do think I push myself harder in classes, and try to make it to a certain number a week to keep myself honest. At the same time, I agree with some of you who said that classes can be de-motivational…

I really like mine, but on certain days I do make a point of not wearing it. For example, if I have a limited amount of time to spend at the gym, I don't want to beat myself up if I don't reach a certain calorie goal-- in that situation, I would prefer to do my best in the time that I have and not worry about the specific…

I don't know anyone personally who has done this, but I have run across this website: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/ It's pretty interesting in that it discusses daily life after the surgery, and it was interesting to see how much your day-to-day routines are affected. She also includes lots of recipes and…

Lately, I've been incredibly busy, and have been trying to use the crockpot more...this site is awesome, and has just about every crockpot recipe you'll need, all nicely indexed, with comments on how to make them correctly. http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

My favorite thing to do is to add baby spinach to french onion soup. You don't even have to heat it up separately-- once you've heated up the soup, the spinach will be nicely blanched. I've also through in stuffing mix as a substitute for the cheese-drenched toast that it usually comes with-- also very good. I also used…

...but if you don't own any gym equipment at all right now, keep in mind that you'll probably need a set of weights for some of these videos, like the 30 day shred. Jillian Michael's "Burn Fat, Boost Metabolism" doesn't require weights, and there are others out there like it. If you read the reviews and comments on Amazon,…

Air-popped popcorn is pretty blah on its own, but you can get popcorn toppings in flavors like ranch and cheddar to make it a nice salty crunchy snack. Very filling too!

I've been going to the gym regularly for a long time now, and new machines and classes still intimidate me, so I understand perfectly. But I try to remember that everyone at the gym is there because they have something that they want to improve, whether it's how they look, how fit they are, how toned they are, etc., and I…

Some protein powders taste better than others, and people's favorites can vary a lot based on individual taste. Before you buy a large container, it might be worth checking stores for sample sizes to see which brands you like best...GNC, for example, usually has small single-serving pouches that are inexpensive.

I just started doing pilates. I usually do a lot of cardio and find weight training really, really dull. I like pilates a lot because I get some nice toning benefits without having to always rely on weights, and I think it's a nice mentally restful class after doing high-intensity stuff like spinning. I really want to try…

When I have a cold, I really like to stick with squishy foods....rice and beans always taste good to me. I usually just use the low fat canned refried pintos, and then make a little mexican rice, topped with a ton of salsa-- the spice wakes up my dead tastebuds and clears out my sinuses. Hope you feel better!

Hmmm...if you go for #1 be sure to specify no mayo. I love portobello 'shrooms, but grilled veggie sandwiches from restaurants can be calorific because they often soak the veggies in oil prior to grilling/roasting to make them taste better. If you do the turkey, you can order the baked potato with no sour cream/butter (or…

Here's an interesting fact about working out in the morning-- I read this one a fitness website somewhere. Apparently, our body is naturally most attuned to excercise in the afternoon, so working out will feel 'easier' then, and overall performance is higher. However, because your body has to work harder to overcome its…

If you want your HRM to track calories accurately, you'll probably have to go for one with a chest strap in addition to the wristwatch. They're not as uncomfortable as they sound! I was reluctant, too, but I barely notice mine now. Everyone here loves the Polar HRMs. Personally, I have a cheap model that I'm totally happy…

Reebok makes a set of hand weights that are adjustable-- I think they're called a "speed pack" or something like that. They seem pricey at first glance, but they are a better value overall than buying separate pairs of hand weights from 3lb-12.5lbs. and it's good incentive to keep challenging yourself. I think Target…

My HRM does have an input for level of fitness-- if you set it to 'fit' it will calculate a slightly lower calories burn, I've found. People frequently point out that HRMs are generally very acurate at keeping track of your heart rate, but that the 'calories burned' is always just an estimate based on your heart rate and…

I belong to Crunch in NYC/Brooklyn and love it. But if you don't have one in your area, I've also belonged to 24 hour fitness and really liked it. They used to have a part-time membership deal where you could go three days out of the week at a discounted rate, which seemed like a nice idea for people who don't go to the…

Most places have at least a few salad options-- just be SURE to stay away from anything fried (or 'cruncy') as well as croutons, shredded cheese, and any creamy dressings. If there is no low-fat dressing available, salsa is delish on salads, or even hot sauce will work in a pinch if you're OK with spicy food.

I found some recently in a grocery store in New York City, but was less excited when I realized they were selling it for $10 a jar! I've heard that Trader Joe's has a cheaper version, so I'll probably opt for that...

My elbows often pop when I do bicep curls-- it doesn't hurt, but it's loud! I read somewhere that it's harmless, so I don't worry about it. Not sure about the hips, though...'grinding' sounds like a different problem. If it hurts, I'd probably get it checked out.

If you're really just starting out and have never done weight training before, it might be helpful to go to a class a few times so that an instructor can help you with form. It's really hard to tell whether you're doing certain moves correctly yourself when you start out. If you don't belong to a gym, there might be one in…