sophiareal Member

Check out Pod. Lots of healthy salads as well as no carb wraps - nori wraps with chicken and avocado for example. Just avoid some if the dressings.

All depends on your definition of low carb - if you want to avoid carbs altogether then salads or steamed/stirfried veg with some protein (meat, eggs) etc is your best bet. If you are trying to avoid simple or starchy carbs such as potatoes, pasta, rice etc. but not all carbs then have a look at your pulses ... I made a…

In all seriousness, I think Italy could be a good option. Generally very cheap compared to the rest of Western Europe, great weather, good food, cheap car rentals, lots to see and gorgeous beaches. Otherwise i would say the Balkans as well. And try and organise as much as you can yourselfnto save money.

At first i lost well on 1200 but it was hard and nay impossible when being with family or travelling, so after two indulgent weekends, some weigt crept back up. Now with 1300 I am finding it easier to stick to it, I dont event go up to 1300 everyday. I have also increased the amount of exercise I do again and suddenly the…

Not sure whether my diary is open but 1200 really requires a lotbof discipline. To be able to eat well, stay within the limits and not get too hungry, I tend to have porridge for breakfast (pret porridge has about 247 kcal) with a white americano. Snacks would be 1-2 pieces of fruit. For lunch, I either bring something…

Protein powder is the obvious and you could make your own protein bars. Otherwise, google the Chocolate Covered Katie blog - she does healthy twists of treats like brownies etc using chickpeas and beans and healthy sugars. That should get you started on some high protein treats.

I get total carb cravings as well. Definitely have to feed these as i get ravenous, but i try to eat wholegrai or complex carbs as much ad possible and try to exercise a bit more those days. And yes, the scale goes up but that is also partly water weight and eventually the scale goes down again.

Although I am sure they are healthy, I don't think the health benefit of chia seeds over other nuts and seeds alone does not justify the price difference. However, chia seeds are super useful for vegan baking - similar to a 'flax egg', the fact that chia seeds start gelling in contact with water means they are great for…

Definitely a foodie trying to lose 16 lb (halfway there at the moment). And yes, it is a struggle being a foodie and dieting - I am a hugely passionate baker and I had to rechannel some of that passion away from baking cupcakes to baking wholemeal sourdough bread or simply taking most of my treats to work rather than have…

I think a lot of pole will also increase how much they walk as a way to move more. I certainly do - while I am a runner, I have started walking to work rather than take the bus to burn some additional calories, but provided you can do more strenuous exercise, I would run rather than just walk.

If you have a rice cooker then you can use that for making oatmeal as well. Check whether it has a porridge setting, some even have a timer so you can prep all the night before. If not, switch it on first thing in the am, before having your shower, that way, once you are dressed your oatmeal will be done. You could then…

www.ohsheglows.com is a great blog of a Canadian girl who eats vegan only and creates super yum recipes. Check out her recipe page for super yum lentil recipe - e.g. lentil "meat" loaf, lentil sloppy joes etc etc etc I love lentils for the bulk, satiety, fibre and protein they add to soups and stews. I also like throwing…

In addition to ZWOD or the bodyrock.tv website you can try the following: www.exercisetv.tv - although partly subscriber only, there are plenty of free full-length workout videos, whether it is high intensity you are after, yoga, pilates, circuit training, you name it - some are gentle some are brutal. For pilates, try…

In that case try and pick whatever is the healthiest option - e.g. do they have all bran flakes or muesli? You could have that with yoghurt and fresh fruit (and if there is no fresh fruit, try and by some at the store and keep in your room). I went to boarding school and lived in halls of residence during my first year at…

I think the best possible breakfast is still oatmeal: 1/2 cup of oats brought to a boil with a pinch of salt and double the amount of water as well as some milk and then simmered on low for a few minutes until the oats have soaked up plenty of liquid and the whole thing is nice and thick. As for toppings, my current…

Falling off the treadmill while "Defying Gravity" from Glee was playing - it was "rush hour" at my gym and I made a beeline for the last remaining treadmill, stepped on it and just went flying until I landed on my back with the rest of the gym staring at me. Turns out I had stepped on the treadmill that someone had left…

At the moment I weigh myself every day, to make sure I keep on track. I totally recognise that weight fluctuates a lot ... my weigh day is a Monday, given regular big brunches with friends on a Sunday, I often feel that my Monday weight is not representative (as it usually drops again by 1-2 lbs by Tuesday morning, which…

It's super easy and yummy - for 4 portions I did the following: 1/4 large butternut squashed, peeled, deseeded and diced 1.5 carrots chopped into large chunks, 1 courgette, chopped into large chunks 1/2 onion, cut into wedges 1 garlic clove, chopped roughly, 1/2 inch of fresh ginger, chopped roughly 1 can of chickpeas 1…

I can so relate to the missing baking - baking is my life and what picks me up again if life gets stressful. My only solution is to bake half batches, have one muffin/cookie whatever it is as a treat and pack the rest up to take to work! Also, instead of baking sweet treats I have branched out into baking bread,…

It really depends on what you want and how quickly or how easy you want to achieve it. I once lost about twenty pounds through diet alone, but what really made me feel comfortable in my own skin again was exercising, especially Pilates and using free weights ... The free weights made me feel invincible. The thing about…

I have always had digestive issues, some doctors think it might be IBS, others think I am simply lactose-intolerant, yet others think I might have some food allergies and food intolerances. For me, dealing with this (and I appreciate people with crohns or celiacs have it much worse) is not necessarily about eating cleaner…

Something quick and easy would be a quinoa or couscous salad with say feta and mixed vegetables. If you want to cut out all white grains then go for a mixed salad that contains some egg, fish or plenty of beans or chickpeas so you get enough carbs, protein and fibre for satiety. If you can warm up meals then leftover soup…

A week alone is not indicative of how you are doing with your diet, it could be water retention, muscle-growth etc etc etc. going forward, jut keep up the good work with exercise (eating back those exercise calories) and otherwise staying within your calorie limit and eating good, wholesome food. If you do this, the weight…

Don't despair - your body is no machine. Sometimes there is a good reason for not losing any lbs (e.g. Are you about to get your period? Did you eat a lot of sodium in which case you might be carrying extra fluid? Did you workout extra hard the day before your weigh-in? If so, I tend to weigh more the day after a hard…

5'4 as well. Started off at 65kg and want to get down to 58.

NSV is non-scale (weight loss) victory - fitting into smaller pants, feeling better in a bikini, lacing up your Doc Martens to the top etc etc etc

There some health and fitness bloggers out there doing it and posting about their results, I think 'nhershoes' (www.bobbimccormick.com) is doing at the moment. Otherwise just google Jamie Eason's Live Fit plus blogger.

Mine is set to 1200 - for a 1-1.5lb loss per week (from a starting weight of around 147lb). Yes, it is a lot lower than what I am used to, but to be honest, it just forces me to make the right choices for EVERY.SINGLE.MEAL.AND.SNACK. Before this, I never knew how many calories my snacks took up - a latte after lunch with a…

First of all, congratulations on your weight loss - I once lost 36lb over a similar time period and I know it is hard work, every single day! The other posters have already made some good suggestions, so I will try not to duplicate, but just had a few additional thoughts: - try to cut out your post dinner snacks completely…

I have a similar issue with my bf - he naturally gravitates to very fatty foods and although he likes vegetables he won't eat the following: sweet corn, broccoli, most types of cabbage, all types of pumpkin, sweet potatoe, res or yellow peppers ... Basically unlike most people he doesn't like sweet veggies and dislikes…