ShannonMpls Member

Why? As much as I love plain avocado, guacamole is tastier and pretty much the same number of calories. More sodium, yes, but if eating Mexican the sodium in guac is merely a drop in the salt bucket....

If I want to count calories at a Mexican restaurant, I order chicken fajitas, no tortillas. The meat and veggies are pretty filling and under 400 calories without the tortillas, cheese, sour cream, and other condiments. You can also count out 8-10 chips when they arrive and enjoy that as one serving (about 180 calories).…

My reward was meeting my goal weight. I never really did rewards along the way....the whole thing was just enough in itself :)

My recommendation to you is to get below 200 and see how you feel. I'm just shy of 5'11" - all I really wanted was to get below 200, and frankly I'd be happy there. But I now weigh around 175 and it's a great place for me. I thought I'd look "too skinny" below 180 but that is definitely not the case ;) I could easily lose…

It took me 15 months to lose 133 pounds. I started in mid June 2011 and made my goal weight in late September of 2012. I've been maintaining for more than a year. I lost 10 pounds per month steadily until I purposely slowed it down. I did not really follow MFP suggestions, but used a TDEE-cut approach. I just couldn't be…

The heart rate monitor's calorie count, though, is nothing more than the Polar algorithm's best guess. Polar bases it's calorie counts on a formula involving max HR, and that is based on average charts. Yours could, and likely IS, higher or lower than the average. That skews the calorie estimation. You can make a HRM more…

Based on what you want - something to motivate you to get up more - a Fitbit would be a better tool for you. Eh, I've had three *excellent* Fitbit customer service experiences. I washed my Fitbit after having it for a week and Fitbit replaced it - for free. 11 months into my warranty, my device was coming apart (this was…

I'm 5'11" and started out at 308. I took 15 months to reach my goal weight of 175. I've been maintaining in the mid 170s for 13 months. My main tip is always just START. And then don't stop. The rest is just details. It's really not that hard...choose a reasonable calorie goal. Count calories 95% of the time. Give yourself…

Don't worry about it. The default fat goal here is pretty low. I lost almost all my weight getting at least 40% of my daily calories from fat. I pay fairly close attention to protein and carbs, but I usually ignore fat altogether.

Exact same weight, one year apart. This was after losing 130+ pounds, so the results aren't perfect but I'm pretty pleased and eager to see the changes after another year of heavy lifting.

Are you cooking it yourself? Then weigh and measure the ingredients and create a recipe here. Going out? Eat it. Enjoy the hell out of it. Search the database and choose something comparable. Then move on. Nothing is exact, not even the nutrition label on your food.

I also want to add: At first, my free weekends were license to binge. It was not good. Now, I'm in a much better place. And a big part of this is that I run longer distances on Sunday mornings, 10+ miles. Saturday becomes my pre-fuel day. I eat a lot, but I'm mindful that I need to make choices that will sustain my runs.…

Well, I guarantee I would gain weight on this plan, because I guarantee I'd go over maintenance on weekends. So what I do this this: Slight deficit during the week, and I count calories just like I did while losing. I do not log weekends, vacations, or special occasions. I am certain to go over maintenance on these days.…

I don't log it. I'll eat like 6,000 calories. It will be awesome. And then the next day I'll go right back to my normal routine of healthier food and exercise. That's how I lost, that's how I maintain.

You Are Your Own Gym would be perfect for what you're describing (I think it's $2.99).

No. I do not consider cleaning to be exercise.

Are you working out at home or the gym? Gym. What has helped you most to get the results you have? Heavy lifting. Though I won't post the photos here, I took pics one year apart, exact same weight, but there is a huge difference in my body size. During that year I cut way back on cardio and focused on lifting 4 hours a…

LIES. It tastes like you take all the fun out of pb and nutella. Fine, yeah, but a distant approximation of the real thing.

I simply cannot state it better. Peanut dust added to other things to enhance a peanutty taste? A+. Peanut dust, with delicious and healthy fat removed, mixed with water to try to fool you into thinking you're eating peanut butter? Abomination.

No, I didn't. I hit my goal weight and then kept on doing what I was doing, only with more wiggle room diet-wise. I don't have to work very hard to maintain in this range. I've been above it one, below it once (stressful job change time resulted in some loss I knew wouldn't last). I did not bounce up immediately once I hit…

Eh, I had unlogged bad days once a month or so the whole time I was logging. In my opinion, it's good to log them now and then to see that "damn, those bad days are 4,000 calories!" but it's not vital in my opinion. It really depends on the person. For me, part of the reason my unlogged/free/"cheat" days were so beneficial…

Honestly, some of them - yes. You can get wasabi peas, standard trail mix, pistachios anywhere. But a lot of the treats are much harder to come by. I'd have to spend a small fortune to buy all the dried fruit, nuts and seeds, crunchies, chocolate, crackers and dippers, etc that I get in the box. I've never seen in a store…

I use Jefit. It has a browser version and app. I like it :)

Okay, criticism of BMI measurements aside, 5'10" and 225 is not morbidly obese. Morbid obesity is generally characterized by a BMI greater than 40. At these measurements, his BMI is 32.5. That is obese by BMI standards, not morbidly obese. There is a difference. And yes, he is obviously one of the rare individuals whose…

Use a weighed or measured portion of real maple syrup. Or use peanut butter and jam. Or fruit. Or plain. Sugar free syrup is an abomination.

You will become a faster runner by running more (in terms of duration) and running...well, faster. Run at least three days a week, and make one of those sessions intervals. As for running on the treadmill, I can't help you there - I nearly always run outside (including during MN winters), indoor track when needed, and…

You cannot expect to stay at one precise weight every day. I have a 5 pound range. If I'm in that range, I'm all good. If I'm above it, I might tighten things down a bit for awhile, diet-wise, but I've never really been above it except for a day or two after some indulgent eating.

The same place gas from your car goes: conversion to energy.

5'11" 175 (GW/CW) 2600-2700 (TDEE) I lost weight eating 1700-2200 a day. For maintenance, I track/cut 5 days a week (weekdays) and eat what I choose weekends. Typically I don't track Saturdays, which are currently my fueling day for a long run Sunday morning. I probably eat 3500-4000 cals (they're awesome days!). Sunday I…

Yes. It will. You may need to build up the duration of your runs to get there, but eventually it becomes addicting and low effort. One thing that really helped me was the "Zombies, Run!" app. It's not cheap but it kept me engaged and turned running into a game. I don't use the app anymore because I now LOVE running. For…