BeezBeez Member

Yes!! Congrats! I wish I'd taken "before" photos... I've been rowing. I haven't lost much weight at all, but I look and feel totally different and I've lost a couple of inches. Keep it up! :)

I'm just speaking from my own experience. Not lifting weights, but doing pilates.

No, you can absolutely see a change in your abdomen doing pilates without a calorie deficit or weight loss. It reshapes where and how you are carrying your weight. If you are looking for weight loss, though, you need that deficit.

I love love love the Winsor Pilates Ab Sculpting workout. I've been coming back to it over and over for over a decade. You can pick up the DVD on Amazon, or I'm sure it streams on YouTube somewhere. You don't need any equipment, just a mat and it feels so good! It really cinches you in around the waist. People on this site…

Well, I did do this. I've been tracking my calories and lost about 17 pounds over the course of a few months. When I found myself at a plateau, I started getting very consistent with my rowing, and that's when I started really seeing (tape) measurable changes to my body, but the scale still isn't budging. I still have…

I've been measuring food, but not weighing. I do have a food scale, which I'll start putting it to use. I was wondering if I needed to if I seem to be losing fat, but the consensus seems to be yes. Do you think the fat is just shifting around then? Because I've been measuring my body and I've lost a couple of inches off my…

My scale hasn't been moving much at all, but I am losing inches. Two NSVs this week... my mother-in-law asked me how much weight I've lost (not really much of anything, but it must show I've been working!) and my boss asked me about my "energy level" being higher when she saw me walking in the park.

Ha! If only it wasn't followed by the inevitable full sized bag of Doritos, or raiding the fridge for everything inside, that might work for me. I had a friend who discovered that eating a head of lettuce was equally as delicious as eating junk food to him after he'd smoked, so maybe that's a good strategy. Regardless, I…

Yeah, the stress eating thing is haaaard. Eating and drinking have been my crutches and that really needs to change! Since I first posted, I've been doubling down on my rowing accompanied by loud music and so far that's working a treat! Thanks, everyone, and please keep the suggestions coming!

I've gotten a couple cortisone shots and no, I'm still not back to running. I'm barely back to walking, some days. Thanks, I'll let my docs handle this one.

You know, thanks for saying this. Anytime you Google "how to relieve stress" or something similar, every article tells you to get some exercise, eat healthy, and try meditation, but nothing ever tells you to evaluate your life choices or dares to suggest that maybe you just need to get a divorce or something. I know some…

I've spent years doing hour-long yoga routines. I enjoy it and find it helpful in many, many other ways, but it just doesn't help that wound-up, stressed-out feeling for me no matter how much other people insist that it will.

Thanks. I actually really love the rowing machine! I've been using it on and off for about a year now, but am just recently using it consistently enough that I'm starting to see significant improvement. I think the issue is more that I'm not quite strong enough yet to feel like I can row "hard" and keep my form good enough…

Also, I just posted a thread asking for advice on destressing on this board and a lot of people had great suggestions! Give it a look! https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10743908/how-do-you-destress

I've absolutely been there, and I'm now dealing with the weight gain a couple years down the road, now that life has calmed down. I knew I was sliding back into bad habits at the time, but I was so overwhelmed with life I ate and drank whatever I wanted for comfort. The best I can tell you is that no food or drink ever…

I do love yoga! But despite everyone touting it as a stress-buster, it just doesn't do it for me. Dogs! Dogs! Dogs! Always true. 😀

These are great! Keep 'em coming! (Rowing actually did really help me today, but I'm absolutely going to implement angry-mopping and shooter games in the future!)

I didn't think I was drinking very much, but when I cut it out completely, I debloated completely over the course of 2 or 3 weeks. My face really thinned out and the places where I was holding fat started shifting around. I'm still working on the weight loss part, but I lost the first 6 pounds pretty quickly. I've also…

My doc put me on it last autumn and my results were pretty good. I lost 15 pounds in a couple of months, then took a break from it (following my doctor's recommendations). I've just started back on after a three month break. I didn't gain any of the weight back in the interim. Hoping for similar results on this round -- I…

I was going to say the same. I picked up 30 Day Shred, Ripped in 30, and a couple others on DVD for about 5 bucks each, but I'm sure you can find them online at this point. I lost inches and pounds and felt SO much stronger doing those, and I keep coming back to them because they're so straightforward and effective.

Have you tried rowing? I have foot issues that most weigh-bearing exercises cause to flare up and I picked up an inexpensive rowing machine on Amazon. So far it's working really well for me, but it might not be comfortable with hip issues. Give it a shot at a gym if you can and see if it might be a good option for you.

I wouldn't worry about it, @joyinjesus1. There are also a lot of good vitamins and fiber in there!

Some great ideas here! I'm especially intrigued by popcorn with cinnamon. Thanks, all!

I love apples! I have an apple for lunch every single day, which is the only reason I don't usually snack on them after work. I often have an apple in my bag though. It's always a good idea!

Oh dang, I wish I'd seen this before I posted almost the same thing! My go-tos are plain yogurt with nuts and dried cranberries, a bowl of muesli, or some veggies and hummus.

Wow, that's a great testimonial! Which model do you use?

Yes. I am much more likely to make smart food choices when I'm exercising regularly. For me, it works in a few ways. I agree with both your points, also with cwolfman13's point about craving nutritious foods (plus, I can feel in my workout when I haven't fueled myself properly). I also try to schedule my workout during the…

As I mentioned above, the readout on my machine does not provide any useful metric beyond time and number of strokes, which really tells me next to nothing. I want a way to somewhat quantify my intensity. Thank you to the folks who provided recommendations. I appreciate it.

Nah, the original question was What's the best type of heart rate monitor to use when I'm monitoring my heart rate? Seriously, though, I'm just looking for a little help quantifying the workout I'm doing. I want to be sure I'm rowing hard enough to get my heart rate up into my target zone. That's it. I'm less concerned…

Polar seems like the consensus then. Thanks, folks!