H_Factor Member

I only want to say that some folks have different trigger foods than others. For some, avoiding cake and tasty pastries might be easier than it is for others. Each person has to know where their fault lines are...and to plan accordingly. I know for me, when I'm fully focused I can avoid most foods...even high quality tasty…

1. Get your husband to help out with walking the dog and making dinner, at least on occasion. 2. Workout AT HOME. There are a lot of exercise programs you can find on youtube and the internet that require little or no equipment (i.e., look for Craig Ballantyne's Home Workout Revolution....or check out dailyhiit.com and…

I agree, generally, that you can't spot reduce. But, if you do sprint intervals, you're going to see the fat disappear from your legs...and other places. The key is doing a real sprint, as opposed to just running or running hard (you actually use different/more muscles to sprint). Think of the Olympians who run the 100…

You can lose weight without eating clean. I did for the first few months of my journey...and then at various times throughout my journey, I've eaten less clean. I also don't think I've eaten "perfectly clean", but I do think eating cleaner helps me. The reason is that cleaner foods are generally more nutrient dense and…

1. Blender bottles are awesome. If you shake it well enough, you won't have any clumps. I use them all the time to mix protein powder and water and don't end up with clumps. I also use them to beat eggs. Works great for that too. 2. Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey....very good Whey protein and great flavors (except…

I've gone through several "cycles" with the scale. Where I am currently....I weigh myself daily or almost daily, but record my weight only on Fridays. I know the things that affect "scale weight" and that "scale weight" does not always accurately reflect fat loss. So if my Saturday weigh-in is higher than my official…

There is nothing wrong with being healthy every 3 hours. That's pretty normal. As long as you're shoveling in the protein, fiber, and carbs with low glycemic index values....your food isn't being digested too quickly. Also, given that you have less than 10 pounds to lose, your goals should be set to "lose 0.5 pounds per…

I know a lot of folks support the strong lifts program...so nothing against it. But, for fat loss, I'm more a fan of metabolic resistance training. The basic concept is that you do supersets with non-competing muscle groups. So, for example, one superset I do is incline press + deadlifts. During the incline press, you're…

you can only get a 6 pack by burning the fat covering your ab muscles. That is done in the kitchen. crunches will get you no closer to a 6 pack then will a bunch of sit-ups. until you burn the fat, you're better off doing compound muscle exercises because they burn more calories. plus, exercises like squats, deadlifts,…

MFP's database cannot measure effort.....so its estimates are not a good guide. When you get a heart rate monitor, you will see that some of MFP's estimates are closer than others....but, really, that's just because of the effort you put into the workout. Anyway, until you get a HR monitor, you can use MFP's…

one key to success is preparing your environment for success. So, yes, its hard to eat just one cookie....given this, just don't have cookies or chips or other junk in your house. If you don't have it, you won't eat any. Its much easier not to buy it in the first place than to make yourself avoid it as you walk by your…

you can do very well with dumbbells and bodyweight exercises....especially with a set of adjustable dumbbells like the powerblocks you're hoping to get for your birthday. I'm not sure if you ever heard of metabolic resistance training, but the concept is doing a full body resistance and fat burning workout by doing…

This is very true. Your internal fire has to be lit. You light that fire by taking time to reflect on all of the things you hate about your current lifestyle...and specific reasons why you want to get healthier. If those things matter enough to you, your internal fire will be lit and you will find the motivation to make…

You're not mentally ready for this journey right now. You have to get your head straightened out first. Do the exercise in this blog... http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/H_Factor/view/recipe-for-a-will-power-pill-for-help-with-the-mental-part-of-the-journey-155978

3 ideas for addressing your plateau: 1. increase the intensity of your exercise. I recommend HIIT 2-3x per week. You could go to dailyhiit.com and try those work-outs or you could do sprint interval training outside your house. 2. add in a 24 hour fast each week. I strongly recommend reading Eat Stop Eat.....or, at a…

I drink 14-20 cups/day

I gave up diet soda first in April 2011 (lasted until September 2012 when I had some regression because of some nasty life things)....and again around Memorial Day this year. Both times I gave it up, I had some caffeine withdrawal headaches (I don't drink any other caffeine....only water). Know that water is an acquired…

If you have had trouble sticking to healthy decision making doing things "the right way"....what makes you think you will be able to stick to healthy decision making after surgery. I only ask because if you are unable to stick to healthy decision making after surgery, you will gain all of the weight back and probably some…

first, I'm not a therapist and I strongly recommend that you meet with one. saying that, I will relay some of my experience to you and perhaps something will help at least a little. second, toxic relationships are NOT HEALTHY. Without knowing more than what you have offered, I don't think things are going to work out with…

Another thing you could do is step up the intensity of your exercise..... Consider doing HIIT. If you do a form of interval training where the work intervals bring your HR to near max levels (165-175), you'll trigger EPOC, which will help get that metabolism rolling. I recommend sprint interval training. You go outside,…

Here's a link to a youtube clip for foam roller exercises. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJLxruO3su0 I just started week 3 of Insanity yesterday. During week 1, I had incredible soreness, first in my calves and then in my thighs/hamstrings....but the soreness was largely gone by week 2. I did get calf sleeves that I use…

you know how you figure out portion control....you reach a point of deciding that your health is more important than eating what you want. when you reach that point, you will figure out how to stop eating when you're physically satisfied.....the difference between needing food and wanting food. if eating continues to be…

jump squats, sumo squats, wall squats, jumping kickbacks, step-ups, stability ball leg curls (single and double legged), stability ball crunches, switch kicks, scissor kicks, etc.

eating poorly to "soothe" your emotions only causes you to have something else to be down in the dumps about...your health. In my experience, when dealing with emotional trauma, if I can continue to make healthy choices, I feel better about myself and I deal better with the emotional trauma. Unfortunately, I had some…

you eat fewer calories by sticking with foods that digest slowly and keep you satiated longer. That would be lean protein, carbs with a low glycemic index value, and healthy fats (i.e., basically clean eating). When you start eating processed foods and sugars, they metabolize faster causing you to get hungry…

Fantastic post :) Keep kicking fat's *kitten*!!!

I've never heard of that diet, but a word of caution. Anything of limited duration...an eating plan that is not designed to be a lifestyle....potentially does more harm than good. Specifically, will the 21 day diet teach you how to eat healthy? Will it slow down your metabolism to the point that after the 21 days when you…

The scale is not the best indicator of success and progress. Are you toning up? Anyway, if you're doing Insanity (or any other hard core program), you need to feed your body. You probably aren't eating enough....or not eating enough protein. And you should be drinking a LOT of water.

You are doing amazing. Just as your shirt in the after picture shows...keep on inspiring others with your success :)

I got into pretty good shape from Jan 2011 through Aug 2012. I lost 75 pounds and got down to 180. I was doing all sorts of crazy exercises at that time. Then some life issues got in the way and I wasn't mentally tough enough to stay on track so I gained about 60 pounds back. 4 weeks ago, I began my restart. I lost 8…