ShannonMpls Member

131-135 pounds, depending on the day (it's all within the range of where I want to be). It took me 15 months to drop it. I steadily lost 10-12 pounds a month until I purposely really slowed things down for the last 15. I've been maintaining since September of 2012, so about 18 months.

This. Though they're still essential for barking (since most recipes still use volume measurements). And I measure liquids by volume as well. Still, the food scale has really replaced measuring utensils relating to my nutrition/fitness tracking.

In my opinion, it's to assure that you're adhering to the portion size of calorie dense and harder to estimate foods like peanut butter, potato chips, even rice and pasta. I use my scale daily (5-6 times most days!) even a year and a half into maintenance. I'm less likely to weigh things like spinach, but I weigh my peanut…

I don't know how about the role asthma plays so I can't comment on that. But I find that for some cardio means 45 minutes on the elliptical and I find that soul crushing. On the other hand, I LOVE group exercise classes and really love running outdoors. I also like recreational cardio - cross country skiing and snowshoeing…

It's not within that price range, but the BOB Revolution is one of the best baby-gear purchases we made. My son is almost 4 and still rides in it. Rugged, pushes like a dream (even one handed), great for walking AND running. Front wheel can be swivel or fixed. We've used it as our sole strolled since my son was born and…

Happens to me frequently after a set of deadlifts. Watching my breathing really helps.

I started lifting when I weighed 300+ pounds. It most definitely didn't make me bigger :)

I don't know that any device, from a HRM to an activity tracker, is going to give you an accurate number because they are all based on general formulas and you may be above, or below, the average. To answer your question though, I have an love my Fitbit One. I wouldn't want a wristband style activity tracker because I want…

A sprint is still a run. A jog is also a run. Nothing in my post suggested that all three exercises involve the same oxygen demands. Also, OP wasn't asking about aerobic/anaerobic conditions or sprints, as you'll recall.

Those body bars are just what I was going to suggest. My gym has them in varying weights and they're a great way to start. Your gym might also have shorter barbells that weigh 25 or 35 pounds. You can also use dumbbells. Please don't be embarrassed - we ALL start somewhere. My first ever bench press was with 10 pound…

Oh, maybe because life has fun events that involve food and pulling out your iPhone to log every bite of a passed appetizer and lovely dinner at a wedding might be a big drag? It's perfectly possible to achieve a healthy lifestyle without having to log every. single. day. for the rest of your life. I'm proof. OP: I'd stick…

ha - excellent point! "No jogging in the house!"

Running = a stride wherein both feet leave the ground at once (versus walking, where one foot is always in contact). A jog is a slower run. A sprint is a faster run. These are subjective. What's faster or slower for you may not be what is faster or slower for me. That doesn't matter though: it's all running. Jogging, to…

or Fitbit One?

Don't weigh yourself. And no, I didn't gain while training for a half marathon - I actually got overly lean and had a hard time keeping weight on during that time. I was also strength training.

I treat protein as a minimum, not a limit. I wouldn't be concerned at all about exceeding that. To answer your question about how to keep up calories but not protein or carbs, the answer is fat :) Avocado, nuts, nut butters, oil, coconut, etc. Do what you prefer regarding sugar. I keep an eye on added sugars but don't…

This times a million - I've used the "never let a bad day become a bad week" line before too. People ask me all the time, "what's your secret" and really it's simple: I never quit. Sure, you can play around with maco ratios and exercise routines and meal timing. But in the end the only thing that separates those who are…

A food scale, no doubt. I use mine every day, multiple times a day. I like my heart rate monitor but it's far from essential for weight loss. These days I primarily use it for endurance training anyway; that's really its purpose. Remember that its calorie calculation is nothing more than a calculation based on an algorithm…

They weren't cheats because they were part of my plan. I took 2-3 days off a month from logging while losing weight. Now I don't log most Saturdays, sometimes both weekend days. It worked beautifully for me, but YMMV. I was DILIGENT during the week, still worked out on my "off days" often, lifting weights regularly, and…

mwah! You made my day, thank you.

Opposite. Healthy eating to me means home-prepared meals whenever possible; in 1000+ days of MFP, I've never once logged a Lean Cuisine or frozen burrito. I have literally hundreds of recipes saved in my MFP recipe builder. I create new ones when I make something new, edit old ones when it's a repeat. It's slightly more…

My advice? ignore it. Watch overall carbs/protein/fat if that's your bag, otherwise just watch your calories. If it's working for you, no worries.

I have started races with friends but our agreement is usually that we will run our own race. I train alone, and I prefer to run alone too. I do love running with a pace team, though - I have "people" but am still running my own thing.

The first "after" pic is goal weight, the second exactly one year later, same weight. Photos taken in bra/underwear tell a slightly different story though. My body is smaller/tighter after a year of weight maintenance and weight lifting. It's remarkable, actually.

How do you know that it's not the exercise you started doing that lowered your cholesterol? That's where I'd put my money.

Exactly how I feel. There is no way I would have been successful losing what I have, and maintaining the loss for a year and a half, if I tracked calories every day and restricted at social events. I'd go nuts.

This is not supported by science, unless you are one of the few people who are so-called responders (meaning your bloody cholesterol levels correspond to dietary cholesterol - which is not the case for most people). Most recent research indicates that the biggest influence on blood cholesterol is the mix of fats and…

You can totally do this - you're already on your way. Just commit to living like a 200 pound person instead of a 275 pound person and you will become it. I literally used to run that through my head when I made a choice. "Would a healthy person choose this, or is it choice an obese person makes?" Sometimes asking that…

At first, my long-term goal was simply to be under 200. I thought that would be enough. As I got closer, though, I adjusted my goal to the top end of the healthy BMI range for my height. I ridiculously thought I'd be "too skinny" at this weight, but that was just because I'd never been there before. Once I hit this, I…

Counterproductive to what? If what matters is overall weekly intake, how are big swings a problem as long as you're running a weekly or overall deficit/maintenance/surplus, depending on goals? I can see that this might be an issue if your goal is muscle building, but for those whose goal is simply maintenance and a sane,…