ShannonMpls Member

Until you do, log it as circuit training. You'll get a pretty good ballpark guess from that, and it's already in the database.

If you eat at maintenance, you will not lose weight. If you eat at a deficit, you will (for 99% of healthy people without hormonal or metabolic issues) "If your car gets 30 MPG and you put 1 gallon of gas in it you are going to be hard pressed to drive 40 miles" suggests maintenance-level eating and ignores the body's…

That's why I said you do require food regularly. Body=car is not an apt analogy. We lose weight by using our fat stores to fuel activity.

This analogy makes no sense at all for someone losing weight. Cars do not have an extra fuel tank; your body does. It's called body fat. The entire goal of weight loss is to force your body to, to use your analogy, drive 40 miles instead of 30 miles on 1 gallon of gas. A deficit is required. Since your body is quite…

If an individual gains weight after starting to eat calories burned through exercise, that is because: (1) the individual was miscalculating his or her maintenance needs; (2) the individual was failing to properly log his or her intake; and/or (3) the individual overestimated calories burned during exercise. I blame a…

I weigh most foods by grams. If it's a processed food like peanut butter, I'll either just use the grams/serving weight indicated on the label or create my own food entry that is based on gram measurements. Most unprocessed/non-labeled foods in grams can be found if you avoid user-entered database entries. It would be…

Mine too. Enjoy :)

I lift in bright pink chuck taylors. They make me happy.

Go Kaleo put it best: My super simple guide to surviving the Holidays: 1. Go about your life as usual. Eat how you usually eat. Exercise how you normally exercise. Sleep how you normally sleep. 2. On the Holidays, celebrate with your loved ones. Enjoy the food that has been lovingly prepared, without guilt or shame. Eat…

Pretty much. Heavy is relative to your strength. I see the best results in body comp and strength when I lift 5x5 (5 sets of 5 reps, heavy enough that I really struggle on the last rep) for the big lifts. For some accessory lifts, I still do 10-12. I had pretty decent results when I was lifting everything in the 10-12 rep…

I did this. I gradually *increased* calories during the last 8-10 months of my weight loss phase (which was 15 months total). All I really did when I hit "maintenance" was increase calories incrementally. In fact, I still log most of my weekdays at my last "losing" goal of around 2100, but I have a lot more leeway for…

I like Marathon Sports on 50th and Penn in South Minneapolis. They also offer a 20% discount on your shoes if you sign up for their mailing list (I get 1-2 emails a month, max, and you can unsubscribe). Gear Running is also great.

As a sole indicator of health? Yes. But it's one of several biometrics that can be used to assess one's health and - more importantly - health risk factors. It's a rare individual who is obese due solely to high muscle mass and not excess fat.

Nah, I like it for inverted rows :) I also started push-ups on the Smith, gradually lowering the bar until I could do standard. It's got its place ;)

I started 6/16/11. On 3/24/2012, I was down 100 pounds...so, a little more than 9 months (wow! I didn't realize how fast that went). On my one-year MFP anniversary, I was down 120 pounds. I hit my goal weight on 9/23/12, 15 months after starting. I've been maintaining ever since. My blog has oodles of tips:…

If you can run 6, you can definitely run a half in March with a training plan. I second Hal Higdon's plan, linked above. Good luck!

Burnout for me is nearly always the result of undereating. If I am feeling lethargic and unenergetic, and I look back at my diary, it's usually pretty clear why - overtraining and undereating. In my experience, as long as you're eating enough to sustain your exercise, you won't physically burn out. Mental burnout is a…

Oh, thank you! Since you boosted, I feel like I should upgrade this post since it's an oldie :) I always love seeing updates on these threads, knowing that changes are "sticking" for people. Right before I made this post, I ran my first 7k. Last week I ran my first half marathon! When I posed this, I'd lost 100. I hit my…

YES!!! That was such an important lesson for me to learn. Some foods are worth it. When a coworker brings in a heavenly homemade dessert or donuts from the best bakery in town? Absolutely worth the splurge. Supermarket cake with frosting made from shortening? Donuts from the gas station? Absolutely not worth it. I used to…

I love ceviche but I admit I'm too much of a pansy to properly make it, so I usually boil for a short amount of time and then douse with lime juice and the rest of the ingredients. So good! Unfortunately, my mechanism of choice to transport the ceviche into mouth is tortilla chips so it ends up not being the low calorie…

First of all, it's totally possible to indulge in amazing foods without undoing hard work. I do it all the time, and my "new" body actually looks better than it did when I hit my goal weight. Moderation for me is key; deprivation of foods I love wouldn't work out. Second, I've gotta disagree that nothing tastes as good as…

How I've been maintaining is logging food at a small deficit most of the time, then eating what I like the rest of the time. I've done this for more than a year and stuck within my goal range almost without exception. It works really well. It also means I'm unlikely to actually gain any weight during the holidays. There…

If you're happy at your weight, and it's a healthy weight, I'd absolutely not stress about it. I could still lose 10-20 pounds; some days I think I wouldn't mind it. But maintaining my current weight is easy. My body can do everything I want it to do. I have a closet full of great clothes that fit. I'm going to stick…

I just counted. I've gotten 36 boxes so far! I signed up early, January or February. I have NOT gotten sick of any of the snacks, though I do trash more and more as I go. I get them only every other week now (used to be weekly) so my new boxes are even more special now :) the snacks are fun, getting the box is fun (I don't…

I do a ziploc of almonds + chocolate chips

Gym member - since June of 2011, which is also when I joined MFP. I started tracking and exercising the same week. How often/long - I exercise 5-6 days a week, 30-60 minutes. When I'm training for a race obviously my long runs are longer than an hour. Not all of this is gym-time; I don't do machine cardio, so if I'm…

I am soooo happy for you! You're an inspiration, changing your life and setting a good example for your kids. I love your attitude and your commitment.

You don't need to do this in a year. People always seem to want deadlines, and I know from experience that when you have a lot of weight to lose, it seems impossible. I'd often think, "I have 120 to lose minimally. That will take at least a year. I don't want to wait a year." But once I got through the first three months,…

For how cheap they are, I'd almost classify them as necessary. I still use mine daily. It was $20 at Target. Brand doesn't matter - as long as it can weigh grams and ounces and has a tare button.

As long as you're eating enough and resting enough, run as much as you'd like. My body is very good at telling me when I am running too much :)