Chokis

Have you considered buying an HRM? That's a good investment. You can find them used and not expensive online. That will give you a more accurate number of calories burned.

My understanding from the research I've read is that you need to focus on increasing your HDL and decreasing your LDL and also lowering your tryg levels. Those things are more of a risk factor for a heart disease than the overall cholesterol number.

It's a good idea to go slower, so you don't shock your body with all the calories you're starting to get. Work your way up gradually.

You need to look at the ratio of HDL and LDL and your triglycerides. Cut down on sugars and high-carb foods (starchy foods), increase your fiber intake, eat more healthy fats (coconut oil, fish, avocado, nuts, etc). And exercise.

You can manually set your macros in MFP, so you don't look at the levels of cholesterol, it's irrelevant. If anything, you should be eating MORE foods with high cholesterol, it will be good for you. Why are you so scared of cholesterol?

Even in the medical world there are different opinions of what is healthy. I support those who advice to eat sat fats such as butter and coconut oil. Others will tell you to cut on saturated fat. And the USDA will tell you to eat cereals in a box to lower your cholesterol. Who are you going to believe? Your choice.

http://www.eatingrules.com/Cooking-Oil-Comparison-Chart_02-22-12.pdf Comparison chart of cooking oils.

Canola oil is not exactly the healthiest or best oil for cooking. Go with grapeseed oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, peanut oil, olive oil.

I'm down to 10 lbs, but wouldn't mind losing 12 or so. Mostly working on toning my body. I need some friends too!

People already gave some great ideas. I would just add some cheese (like add feta cheese to your salad or sprinkle parmesan cheese on your chicken when you cook it, or just eat string cheese or sliced cheese, etc), make sure you eat Full-fat stuff, none of that fat-free or low-fat stuff. Also, try pork rinds as a snack.…

Somebody posted this great link on a different board: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/maki1.htm Hope this helps. I set my macros to 120 (which is 30% of all calories). But I do have a hard time meeting that goal.

No, MaxHR-20% is the zone where you should be staying, so I set it to 172. And it starts beeping after it goes over 172. I don't stay there for too long, maybe 1-2 minutes and then it goes down.

Thanks, guys. Yes, I did do the stress test as described in the HRM guide, and I added whatever number it told me to add. I guess you are right, 189 and 192 are not too far away from each other, so maybe I underesitamed my max heart rate when calculating it with the guide. Should I then adjust it on my HRM? Because I had…

Is this just your regular doctor or an RE? With all of your problems you need to see an RE. You're just wasting your time with a family doctor, they don't do squat. Save your time and get a referral to an RE.

Why would you want to replace oil? It's healthy and good for you. I would personally not use canola oil, but rather olive, grapeseed, coconut oil and butter.

Substitute for mashed potatoes and rice: mashed cauliflower, you can either mash it to look like mashed potatoes or more grainy like rice. Great substitute! Mix it with some butter and/or sour cream, it is so delicious! A substitute for pasta: shirataki noodles (they're basically tofu noodles) or spaghetti squash. Bread:…

Funny, in Russia we have a saying, "Eat your breakfast yourself, share your lunch with a fiend, and give your dinner to your enemy", LOL! But yeah, kind of the same meaning! I eat 600-900 calories for breakfast. 1600 calories total + exercise calories (could be 500-600 extra calories).

I eat low-carb, and just my breakfast is about 600-800 calories. How do you manage NOT to get to 1200 eating low-carb? I would probably be starving by eating 800 calories a day. Just an example: Breakfast: 3 egg omelet (boom! 277 calories!) + 1 tbsp olive oil (120 calories)+1 cup of spinach (7 calories)+1/4 cup cheddar…

What is your height and weight? I don't think 1200 cal would be enough for anybody who exercises 5 times a week, does circuit training and heavy lifting.

"Nobody asks your opinion" sounds kind of lame on a public forum. If someone posts "I can't lose weight", it means they want to hear other people's opinion. If a person doesn't want or doesn't care about other people's opinion, they can just do it outside of MFP forums.

I believe flaxseed does have some carbs left after you subtract fiber. Plus berries have carbs too (a little bit for that amount, but still). Otherwise, sounds like a yummy meal!

Made me laugh! UTIs have nothing to do with vitamins or supplements you take! LOL!

Sometimes we do need a break, and don't beat yourself for that. It's normal, we're humans, our body and our brain need a break from the crazy super-achievement goals we give ourselves! Haha! Tomorrow will be a better day! If I know I'm going to get in that mood, I just put my workout clothes on, including tennis shoes, so…

If you prefer to be flexible and workout at home, I would suggest home workout videos (like TurboJam). You can exercise as much and in whatever order you want. Create your own schedule! How many Turbo Jam DVDs do you have? I think I own almost all of them (except for the ones with the ball). Chalene Johnson is very…

I disagree that Chalene doesn't explain things. She is so good at giving cues about when to switch and her routines are very easy to follow, you just have to copy her or watch the other people for modifications. You'll get a hang of it very soon. Honestly I didn't even do Learn and Burn (I just watched it one time), I went…

Shiritaki Noodles? They're low carb and many people like them as a substitute for pasta. ANother option is to use spaghetti squash instead of pasta. They also sell low-carb tortillas. As far as breads, there are so many recipes for low-carb bread and deserts, you just have to get some low-carb cookbooks or even go to…

Clothes? Pictures of yourself in a bikini. The best way to stay on track is to plan and schedule your workout and plan your meals. For the exercise I make a schedule for myself for 1 month and print it out, and then I check off the days I workout.

In Chalene's program you can go as heavy as you want, it's really up to how you feel and how you progress. I love Chalene Johnson and her programs. As far as I understand, the other program is just a book that you're supposed to follow (I borrowed the book at the library, read it, everything looks good, but I'm not that…

Have you tried massaging those areas? Have you heard of dry brushing? Basically, you get a special brush (pretty rough bristle) and massage your problem areas in circular motion BEFORE you hit the shower on dry skin. It will help with blood circulation and overall skin appearance.…

Oh, if your friends are girls, tell them they're also ruining their hormonal functions. If they don't start eating right, it will lead to hormonal dysfunctions to the point where they will have fertility problems later in life.