kbrogan78 Member

I just rejoined after a long absence and definitely could use some encouragement. Currently 215lbs and looking to eventually getting down to around 150. I'm taking my daughter to Ethiopia in November- her first time going back since I adopted her in 2008- and it's going to be a much more comfortable trip (the first flight…

My daughter is Ethiopian, so we eat Ethiopian food often and love it! My suggestion would be to order a combo platter (either vegetarian or meat or 1 of each if there are enough of you to eat that much). That way you can sample lots of different dishes and find your favorite. The primary spice mixture in Ethiopian food is…

I am (sadly) not in a place where I can safely have Pop Tarts in my house without binging on them. For those of you awesome enough to control yourself around them, I thought I'd offer that I always see the specialty flavors at Grocery Outlet, if you have those in your area. I never knew how many varieties of Pop Tarts…

I assume you're doing a sprint tri, so the distance is very doable, even for a recreational swimmer. However, there is a BIG difference between swimming laps in a pool and open water swimming (I assume you'll be in a lake or other body of water rather than a pool)! You have to contend with more water motion, the…

Another single mama here, so I know what the struggle. I have Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and it's a great at-home workout. Only 20 minutes, some cardio, some lighter weights, can be done in a small space, easy to modify to whatever your fitness level may be. Some nights I want to get in some movement but not full-on…

I have a similar schedule- SAHM during the day then working from home at night until about 2 a.m. Not only does a late-night snack help me stay awake, but I'm physically hungry by about 10 or 11pm, which makes sense as it's been about 5 hours since dinner. The trick for me is to budget the calories ahead of time so I know…

Yep- exactly as you thought. Alternate A & B. Workouts are numbered sequentially. So a my first two weeks looked like this: Mon- Stage 1 workout 1A Wed- Stage 1 workout 1B Fri- Stage 1 workout 2A (rest on weekend) Mon- Stage 1 workout 2B Wed- Stage 1 workout 3A Fri- Stage 1 workout 3B And so on.... :)

I just posted almost that exact question in the Stage 1 thread! I know that we're supposed to allow for 48 hours between sessions, but since I'll be lifting Wed morning around 8:30/9 a.m. and then not again until Thurs evening around 6/7p.m., I think that might be sufficient. Not ideal, but okay given the circumstances. I…

I know that the book recommends a rest day b/n workouts, but has anyone done them back-to-back? I usually lift MWF mornings while my daughter is at preschool. Next Friday she doesn't have school and my little community gym doesn't have childcare Friday or Saturday. So..... if I don't lift on Thursday, I won't have a chance…

Separate workouts that alternate. So your first week will be 1A, 1B, 2A and the next week will be 2B, 3A, 3B, etc.

I stretch if I feel like a certain area needs it post-workout. Usually, though I don't feel the need to stretch until the day after, when the soreness sets in and things feel too tight. Although maybe if I was consistent with the post-workout stretching, I wouldn't be so tight the day after......

I don't know if I've ever jumped into this thread.... I started NROL 2 weeks ago (just did stage 1, WO 4A today). So far I'm loving it. Using the squat rack and wearing my lifting gloves make me feel like a badass. :) I use one of the wooden boxes at my gym for step-ups. The shortest height is 16 inches, which is a big…

Another thing to keep in mind is that portions are quite large! At restaurants here at home, I almost always have leftovers, but that's not an option when you're in the parks and I hated wasting all the food. When I was at WDW with my sister last spring, we almost always split an entree and each got a salad. At the fast…

A great place to start would be looking up recipes specifically made for infants/toddlers. Nowadays parents are recognizing the value in homemade baby foods and having variety in that food. There are lots of great blogs, cookbooks and recipes out there with a wealth of info on making soft yet flavorful foods. Foods for…

Hi all. My name is Katie. I'm 33 and a single mama to a 4.5yr old girl. I work from home, at night after my daughter has gone to bed, so sleep and freetime are both pretty much non-existent for me. I just ordered the book and I can't wait for it to get here so I can start lifting. I'm 5'5" and started my journey with MFP…

When I can't make it to the gym, I workout at home after my daughter goes to bed. Working out at night isn't ideal, but it's the only way I would get it in. DVDs like Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred are great- 20 minutes but a good calorie burn. Yogadownload.com has LOTS of yoga workouts- many of which have a 20 minute free…

I get nonfat plain Greek yogurt (Fage is my favorite) and add a spoonful of jam to sweeten it up. On a whim last week when I had some extra calories, I added a spoonful of my vanilla protein powder as well and it was A-MAZING. It definitely made it taste like dessert!

I'm in Seattle but I'm just now starting to jog (as in, the first weeks of Couch to 5K), so probably not a good buddy for anyone that truly can run. If, however, you're also a beginner, I'd be interested in partnering-up. :)

I am NOT a runner (yet) but I'm using the Disneyworld Princess Half Marathon in 2013 as the "carrot" to get myself jogging. Seriously, I'm starting from zero but running through Cinderella's castle while wearing a tiara is probably the only good reason I can think of to run 13 miles. :) I've enlisted several other…

I second the suggestion to get your body fat tested. My gym has a bioimpendance device, which can be fairly inaccurate, but is a good starting point. If the body fat % on that device is correct, then I carry 117lbs of LEAN body mass. Running the numbers based on that, the goal weight I'd chosen of 140lbs (which I thought…

Haha! My grandmother used to say "horses sweat, men perspire, women glow." Well, let's just say that I glow A LOT at the gym! I'm sure it's not terribly attractive to see but it definitely means I'm working hard. I view it a bit like a badge of honor- the wetter my shirt is when I leave, the more intense the workout was.

I'm going to start this coming week. I've started it in the past and quit when my life got to hectic but I'm not going to let myself quit this time. My sister and I are registered for the St Patrick's Day Dash here in Seattle so I have a definite goal to work towards.

I just re-started 30DS on Monday evening. I'd gotten through level 2 a few months ago and then life got crazy. Things are still nuts (I'm a single mama to a 4 year old and I work from home, currently 4 part-time contracts) but I really need to get my tush moving and this is the shortest workout I can do that's still…

Love, love, love Zumba. I have a HRM & I have burned up to 847 calories in my hour long class! About 2-3x what I would burn on a treadmill for that amount of time and sooooo much more fun. I have a dance background, so it came pretty naturally for me, but my advice would be to just keep moving. Don't worry about getting…

I joke that I'm working on my baby weight too. My daughter is 4 and I adopted her! :)

Nowadays most stores give you a discount off any item on your registry that doesn't get purchased for you. So lots of people put big ticket or odd items on there with the intention of buying it themselves, with the discount, after the wedding. Then again, you might have a friend that will think it's a great gift. A friend…

FYI- Miralax isn't a laxative. What it does is help keep the moisture from being entirely sucked out of her colon, thus keeping things "soft" and making it easier to keep everything moving. It doesn't affect the long-term function of your colon like a laxative would. A friend had her son on it (very low dose a couple times…

My first thought is always ditch the "diet" and "light" versions of things. This often applies more to dairy (yogurt, sour cream, etc), so maybe not quite as applicable to you. But often times we've gotten ourselves conditioned to buy the low-cal version of everything. Eat the real, full-fat, full-calorie version (in…

I'm a HUGE Disney fan and I'm planning to do the Disney Princess Half Marathon in 2013. Getting to wear a tiara and run through the castle is really the only reason I can think of to run that many miles! I am NOT a runner (at least not yet) and even though I learned about the race this summer, I knew there was no way I'd…

I make bacon jam for most of my relatives and friends at holiday time. It is GLORIOUS! Then, of course, both my house and I smell like bacon for weeks. And I end up with lots of rendered bacon fat to do tasty things with (bacon fat pie crust for quiche, just as an example).…