CaffeinatedConfectionist Member

Feel free to add me - I'm 35, also short, have been lifting for about eight years. I'm no means an expert, but I do my due diligence in terms of reading and research in the fields of nutrition and fitness. I'm also a grad student in public health with RA positions in obesity prevention and physical activity & health…

Another vote for recomp. When I was younger I made poor choices and tried all the "quick fix" claptrap. None of it worked - not the pills, not the patches, not the very low calorie/"eat like a model" diets. It wasn't until I started resistance training that I really developed an appreciation for my body - not only how it…

8-10 here. I have no problem maintaining 🙄 but those last few have been hanging around for far too long...!

My diary is open and I do my own cooking 95% of the time, but the vast majority of my calories are spent between ~3pm and 10pm, which I think makes my diary less generally helpful to people. I do train regularly, however. I do a 4x/week power/hypertrophy lifting routine and some form of cardio most days. I'm working on…

This is my perspective, also. I started off the shelter in place very strong, and actually dropped weight for the first few weeks. But it became more of a struggle as the semester wound down (I'm in grad school) and I allowed the stress of finals, the uncertainty around trying to find a field placement for the summer with…

Man, I hear this. I get wicked anxiety, usually over the most ridiculous, low-stakes situations. What really helps me, aside from things like deep breathing, mindfulness, and limiting my time on devices (especially around bed) is exercise. It's something that restores my feelings of control and knocks my brain off that…

I don't know how entertaining or motivational I am (I'm more of a believer in habit and routine over motivation, anyway) but I'm very chatty and active. But I post a lot about food and non-calorie-counting-specific things, I swear a fair amount, and I have an inappropriate sense of humor, so I'm not everyone's cup of tea.…

My favorite is trutein, by body nutrition. It's a whey, casein, and egg white blend, which I prefer over soy. I mostly add it to coffee or put it in oatmeal with fruit, but I've also baked with it successfully. Protein muffins ftw. One nice thing is that you can order samples so that you don't drop a bunch of money on a…

35 in St. Louis, here - came here from Maryland for grad school last fall but I've moved around a fair amount in the last decade. I'm consistently active on here (though I may be less so during certain life events, I was not very chatty during finals!) and have been for going on nine years. A lot of my friends have been…

I have less to lose (working on that pesky last ten pounds) but I've been on MFP for going on 9 years and have been active throughout most of that. I've noticed a significant drop-off in my friend activity over the past several months (not surprising, under the circumstances!) so am looking to add some new friends. My…

I've always been a home cook, but in the past couple weeks I've taught myself to make pasta and rough puff pastry. We've been eating a lot of homemade ravioli (goat cheese and butternut squash, yes please), lasagna, and various things wrapped in pastry (in this case, sausages, and also brie with marinated figs). We also…

Does it have to be a video? If not, I would recommend https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/ or the more advanced https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/advanced-body-weight-workout-warning-this-will-kick-your-*kitten*/ They're a little shorter than you're looking for, but you can…

Very impressive work! You look fantastic

Edit: Oops, I see there's another, more active one of these elsewhere. Well, I'm pretty consistently active, both in terms of using MFP and fitness. I currently have a slightly scaled back workout routine because I'm in grad school and have a inconvenient schedule this semester. My current schedule is lifting 3x a week…

When I can - trail running (tops the list hands down), hiking, kayaking, whitewater or otherwise, biking. But since I now live in an urban metropolis and accessing the wilder areas that I prefer takes a considerable time commitment, I also spend a lot of time going for long walks/walking home as part of my commute, and…

I wanted to highlight this advice because I think it's especially relevant given what you said earlier about feeling like your body is crying out for you to binge. Often people will pursue an aggressive deficit, which makes them hungry enough that they then overeat in response, especially during times of stress. It's…

400-500 calories in 15 minutes seems unrealistically high. There is a zumba entry in the exercise database that you could try using. The aerobics entries might also be an option, because you can choose intensity levels. Either way, they'll just give you an estimate, but if you keep track of your calories, in and out, for a…

Same here! I've been lifting for a few years, but I just got a new weight set a few weeks ago and started a PHUL routine. Good times! (I want to have a nice physique, of course, but long term I want to retain my physical capabilities well into my 80s and 90s and lifting will help with that).

TRX is great, and I'd also recommend that option. Buf you're looking for traditional cardio options, I have a small elliptical from Amazon that cost ~$200 and is very light and easy to move - it has wheels on the front so can be pushed from room to room without much effort. It's my go-to home cardio option for the time…

Definitely this! Also, don't be discouraged if you see the scale jump up several pounds. Water retention when starting a new exercise is normal, but it can discourage people. The scale always goes up by 4-5lb for me after every lifting session, and I've been lifting for years.

Lifting (shoulder day ftw) and trail running. I have a certain fondness for group classes because they bring out my competitive side and so I push that much harder, but the workouts I can do in sweet solitude are my favorites.

The worst thing about having moved out of Wisconsin is the lack of Penzey's stores :/ For the most part I buy straight herbs and spices rather than blends, but I do really like their curry blends (and they have quite a few - most recently I got garam masala and rogan josh) and some of their chili powder blends. Unlike a…

Same here! I'm 5'2" so I have a bit of an advantage, but if I'm sedentary I burn no more than ~1500 calories. I'd die eating that little (well, maybe not, but I would want to). With my activity level I can eat what feels "average." My diary is open but probably not that helpful to most people because I tend to eat OMAD and…

My personal favorite is Body Nutrition's Trutein. They have a wide variety of flavors, but I prefer chocolate peanut butter cup and banana cream. My favorite thing is that you can order samples to try out flavors so that if you don't like something you're not wasting $40-$50: https://bodynutrition.com/collections/samples

Ditto!

This. I wasted a lot of time just bouncing around from random fitness videos or doing unfocused, random lifting exercises and I now regret all that time I could have been spending in a more efficient and productive way. Following an existing program is the best way to maximize your strength gains and will have rests and…

Drat, I'm only 34 :'(

I agree that it's down to individual preference and schedule, but I basically always train fasted. I see a boost in strength if I lift fueled, but I prefer the schedule I follow now.

I just recently (as in within the month) was able to rig up a pull-up bar station for my at-home workouts. I was happy to find that I can do sets of three right off the bat. But I'd been working up to them for a long time. Inverted rows were really helpful:…

I take amitriptyline and when I started I noticed that I did see a small increase on the scale from water weight. When a medication causes weight gain, it's typically because it causes one to retain water, because it makes one hungrier and so one eats more, or because it makes one more tired and less likely to exercise and…