saskia

Here's my two cents. To loose one pound a week, MFP has calculated my calorie intake to be 1380. If exercise on a day burns, say, 480 calories, I would leave my body 900 calories to do its thing. For my body (5ft7in tall, 11.5 stone), that is just not enough and it would go straight into starvation mode. So I eat my…

I love parmeggiano: layered eggplant, tomato sauce (home made from canned tomatoes with herbs, union, garlic, etc), and mozzarella in the oven. Shouldn't be much more than 400 cals if prepared with low fat cheese.

@ Nataie: No such thing as a fast working diet plan I think. Really, exercise more and eat less is the way forward. To me MFP is a great help, if it doesn't work for you....surely there must be other sites.

Cheesecake!!! That'd be my snack of choice. Failing that, I tend to have some dark chocolate and cheese on crackers with olives if I have that many cals left over. Whole wheat pita with hummus is a pretty healthy snack of around 200 cals.

The dutch government promotes 2 pieces of fruit and 300 grams veg per day. I try to more or less stick to that. Fruit is easier to eat as I can grab it on the go w/o preperation but I try to eat at least 300g veg as well, often snacking on carrots and celery with hummus when at home. That won't give me too much sugar I…

I don't think there are several ways to calculate your BMI, it is fixed formula considering weight and length, nothing else. And the ranges factor in that some peeps will have more muscle and others more fat. It's probably one of these things that reflects the right state for 80% of the people, and for some bodies it just…

Crudites with hummus

Go out the door as soon as it happens. Run, walk, anything goes. You'll be away from the food and will feel refreshed afterwards.

Bob Sinclar (love generation, world hold on etc) just makes me fly - love it when running or doing steps or aerobics

I'd have to run in 12 cms of snow today.... That's a no!

When I started running the physio who trained us adviced to stay clear of them and just drink water. Forgot all the science behind it but basically most people who drink it don't need it whatsoever and just up their sugar intake. Then again, you might be one of those hard core athletes who run for hours, in which case it…

If you check the message board you will see there are loads of replies to this question.

Sounds yummy buy aren't most of the fibers in the skin?

Don't know what you did on your gym days, but when in doubt, a brisk walk is a safe choice.

Don't know if they exist in the US, but in Holland Nike organises Start-to-Run courses. Six Saturdaymornings, and I loved it afterwards, and for the first time kept running. I also love the book Running Made Easy (by Zest magazne) - very motivating and great tips. But at the end of the day.....it might just not be for you.

Such a lovely dish. For a lower call option, I make it the way my Italian friend makes it: no bread crumbs and home made tomato sauce (using canned tomatoes - less sugar and salt and preservatoves than most spag sauces). Yum!

I guess it means if you eat 1944 calories and don't exercise, you will stay at the same weight. In order to loose 2 pounds a week, you need to cut 544 calories a day.

100 crunches aren't a very useful goal I think. Do a lot less and do them very very slowly. Not just crunches but also move from sitting up to lying down and vv with your hand above your head for example. Or lie on your back and slowly bring one leg up and then make scissor movements till your lower leg almost touches the…

Here's one. http://caloriecount.about.com/low-cal-garlic-bread-recipe-r92355 You can also make spanish garlic bread in a healthy variation. Grill wholewheat bread, rub garlic on it and pour a wee bit of olive oil on it. In spain i usually had them with chopped tomatoes on top but with spaghetti you could just do garlic.

I guess what you have heard may refer to people who run for 20 minutes and then think they have deserved a pint of lager or Big Mac meal.... In general, you will loose weight if you burn more than you eat. Personally, I believe the research that says you should eat most of your exercise calories but as said above, there…

Start running outdoors, and plan for 3 miles. Running back to your comfy couch should be an incentive to keep going for that additional mile! Good luck.

@ Kasey: you don't have to be flexible for pilates, it really can be done at all levels if you find a good beginners class or DVD. Just do the exercises you can. As for food: have some yoghurt or a banana 45 minutes before cardio and you should be fine I think.

Try to stay low on non-exercise days but have rice or pasta on exercise days. Feel like I am doing my body no favour by not eating them when I do cardio like running.

Champagne is pretty low cal. Gin and diet tonic also does the tric for me.

Alternatively, you could get some measure tape and stop worrying about the weight too much (just do it once a week bf your aerobics). Measures can tell you a lot more than weight sometimes.

Not buying them! Otherwise, after exercise I just don't want to eat crap stuff, so go for a run or something if the craving gets too bad.

Haven't ditched the small skinny latte's in the morning, too good and not too bad for you.

What works for me, is doing the grocery shopping on the way home, and just buy healthy stuff. The cooking is then easy (I tend to eat quick pastas, stirfries or salads).

As you've been here since May, why do you not just work out how many calories work for you with the targeted weightloss?

My favourite is a BBC one: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/stuffedsummerpeppers_5494.shtml