CaffeinatedConfectionist Member

I'd recommend using a TDEE calculator, like Scooby's Workshop: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ or FitnessFrog: http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html to calculate your TDEE. Since you don't have much weight to lose, you'd probably want to aim for about TDEE-10-15% as your calorie goal,…

Yes, like others have mentioned, I find that I am most successful when I eat a few hundred calories lower on week nights so that I can indulge Friday through Sunday. Of course, it makes Monday all the more... Monday-ish, since I go back to a deeper cut, but it allows me to never feel deprived on the weekends. If I feel…

Feel free to add me. I lift about 3x/week, do trail running on weekends or occasional hiking, and just started Krav maga 3-4x/week. I'm much more interested in my fitness level and physical performance at this point than hitting an arbitrary number on a scale.

I am this way with snacks, but it tends to go in cycles; recently my snacks tend to almost always be yogurt, peanut butter banana toast, and a protein bar. Almost every day for like two weeks. But pretty soon I'll get sick of those things and find a new three for or four snacks to eat every day for a couple weeks - jerky,…

Yup, this. I expect to be taking care of my health and fitness for the rest of my life. I definitely can't see going without chocolate for the rest of my life, so I may as well develop and maintain long-term and sustainable habits now. Which typically involves making some sort of cookie/chocolate/treat fit into my day -…

I am on every day and probably waaay too much >.> Feel free to add me

Just click on someone's username, click on their username a second time when the little window pops up (thanks for that unnecessary addition, MFP...) and then you will see a green button on their profile that says "add as friend." There will also be a "send message" option.

Like others have stated, there are no guarantees in weight loss. And weight loss is NOT going to be linear, so don't get disappointed and give up if you don't see yourself losing two pounds a week. Also please don't be surprised or disappointed if you don't see anything happening on the scale for a bit after increasing…

In for peanut butter... it sure sounds a lot more appealing than the cabbage soup diet! But in all seriousness, yes, a "peanut butter diet" or any ("xyz diet") is completely unnecessary. And not my idea of a good time. Set a simple calorie deficit and you can have your cake and eat it too (and your peanut butter).

^^^ This. I go by my weekly rather than daily calorie goal because it gives me more flexibility from day-to-day. And I think it helps keep me from getting hung up on "having" to hit a specific number each day.

I know I'm late to this party, but yeah, just to agree with all the above posters - eating time only matters in terms of personal preference (and eating at appropriate times to fuel a workout, I suppose). I typically eat dinner at 9ish and have a bedtime snack after that, and that's usually something like 900 calories.…

I'm not a cereal person because it never fills me up. I feel like I'm throwing calories away on something I don't enjoy very much and that leaves me hungry half an hour later. However, I love greek yogurt and eat it essentially every day. I buy full-fat fage plain yogurt, because it is unbelievably creamy and rich and…

I plan out my meals in advance, in the morning when my willpower is strong. This helps me keep on track in general. If I realize I'm close to stress or boredom eating, I find something else to do to occupy my mind and hands - go for a walk or do some other exercise, play video games, go do something social, etc. I will…

Another vote for trutein. I really enjoy their mocha caramel, chocolate peanut butter cup, vanilla bean, and cinnabun. Their mango and banana flavors are fine, too. A benefit of trutein is that they sell samples on their website so that you can try the flavors out before dropping $40 on a tub:…

I'm similar to this - I used to drink almost certainly more than I should but I started only drinking on the weekends. Not drinking midweek has had the additional benefit of reducing my intake of snacks, since I tend to have less willpower about snacking when I drink. I eat at a higher deficit during the week so that I…

I think it depends on where your headspace is in regard to the scale and what kind of emotional impact the number it reads will have on you. Several years ago I went through a period where I weighed myself infrequently because if the scale did not move it would discourage me, make me feel bad about myself and my efforts,…

Agree, I did not love the Secret Place as much as I wanted to. I didn't feel like I could connect to characters or events in the same way as her other books.

I would highly, highly recommend the Eatsmart digital scales. I have their basic kitchen scale ($20 or so on Amazon) but I plan to upgrade to their larger one, which can weigh up to 15lb (sometimes I want to weigh something I make in cast iron without the transferring it to a bowl), and even that one is only about $35. I…

Blah, same here. I second the Robert Galbraith books, tho, which are solid. Also, if you like mysteries I Love Tana French, especially The Likeness. I think I wanted girl on the train to be like Tana French and it just...wasn't. I liked Jim Butchers Dresden Files series for running, and am currently listening to Terry…

Yes, definitely update us! I may have to see if my library has "Olives, Lemons, and Za'Atar." I recently found a local market that has multiple varieties of za'atar, so I may as well put them to good use ^.^

I love to bake; it's one of my hobbies, I find it relaxing and it's my primary creative outlet. I would go crazy if I let my desire to be fit and healthy come between me and something that I enjoy that much. I still bake all the time, but I generally share what I bake and/or freeze what I do not want to immediately eat.…

This is essentially what I do - I reduce my intake Monday through Thursday by about 400 additional calories per day so that I can drink and have more of a calorie splurge on weekends. But this still means that I need to be mindful of my weekly average - I can't eat so much on Fridays through Sundays that I negate the…

If you focus on how much weight you have to lose and how long it will take to accomplish, it can definitely get overwhelming and seem impossible. Just try to take things a day at a time; pick a simple task, like the poster above suggested, and become comfortable with that change before moving on to the next step. No one…

Yes, you still need to cook them if you're making hummus; soaking rehydrates and speeds the cooking process, but they're still just raw. If after soaking you're making something that involves cooking them as part of the recipe, like falafel, you don't need to boil them first, but for something like hummus you do.

I know this varies a lot from person to person. For me, I do much better have one large meal rather than many small meals, so my evening meal is typically between 700-900 calories (though I also follow it up with a ~150-200 calorie bedtime snack like half an hour later, soooo...)

I think that people here that you may perceive as "food braggarts" are vehement in support of eating more because there is so much of the opposite on MFP forums. When I first started on MFP back in 2011 I thought I HAD to eat at 1200 and do hours of cardio in order to lose weight, and it's only thanks to people "food…

:D

Yup, I average 1800-1900 per day and lose quite readily. I do eat 1500 per day on Monday - Thursday so that I can eat 2200-2400 on weekends, when I want to be able to splurge more.

Aside meat, as you mentioned, I gotta add a third vote for greek yogurt - I get full-fat plain Fage and mix homemade jam into it and it's amaaazing. Some people like to mix protein powder in their yogurt, but that is too thick for me. Tuna + cottage cheese + salsa is one of my favorite protein bombs. Cottage cheese also…

Yup, as others have said, whenever you want; the only thing that matters with meal timing is preference - whatever helps you adhere to a deficit - and making sure you're eating appropriately to fuel workouts. I typically don't eat dinner before 8 or 9pm, and have a bedtime snack after that and it has not and will not…