Posts by leanerandmeaner

i've looked at your pics and aside from a couple of visible muscles, you look very thin.  i think the only way you're going to get rid of the mid-body "fat" is to completely clean up your diet: plant based fats, complex carbs, no caffeine or refined sugars, etc.  being at such a low BMI already is going to make it really hard for you to lose weight at all let alone "spot reduce" specific "fat" areas.

i'd suggest you quit worrying about losing any more weight and start to work on gaining muscle by eating a small surplus.

i have hypoglycemia and this is my standard eating schedule. 

breakfast - 7:30 am

snack - 9:00 am

lunch - 11:00 am

snack - 2:30 pm

snack - 4:00 pm

dinner - 6:30 pm

since i eat rather slowly it can occasionally feel like i'm always eating.  on the up side, i pretty much get to eat all the time.   filling the gaps between large meals with snacks not only prevents my blood sugar from going too low between meals but also prevents too high of an upswing at the next meal.  the goal is to keep even-keeled at all times rather than swinging wildly up and down.   

i generally try to stay away from highly processed foods because i tend to find them very unfilling and they also tend be the foods that cause spikes & crashes.  i definitely try to stay away from the obvious things like chips, soda and candy but other culprits (for me, at least) include white bread & pasta, baked goods and commercially prepared soups. 

your main goals should be to eat every couple of hours and to stay away from foods with a high glycemic index.

losing weight =\= hungry.  if you eat right and stay active, you can lose weight without being hungry.  by quitting smoking, becoming more active* and eating right, i've lost 11 pounds of fat and put on some muscle.  it's taken a year but it's a result that'll last and i can envision myself doing for the rest of my life what i'm doing today.  you've gotta take a long-term approach to this if you want lasting results.

* "more active" doesn't just mean the gym.  i've made a concerted effort to be more active in real life.  there's the little every-day stuff like taking the stairs or parking farther away from my building.  but i also try to have 3 active weekends each month: yard work, hiking, golfing, swimming, competitive thumb wrestling, biking.  something other than the gym that i can do for fun that happens to be good for me.  and it's nice to put all the strength and endurance i've gained at the gym to a practical use.  it's makes going to the gym more fun, too.

the easiest thing to do is to hold a weight plate while you do crunches.  or you could use a resistance machine.  or wear ankle weights while doing jack knifes.  anything that adds resistance to an ab exercise.

but it doesn't matter how hawt your ab muscles are if they're under a layer of fat.  you'll have to eat clean & do cardio to uncover them.

my reason for cutting out HFCS was that it interferes with the two hunger/full hormones in the human body.  it doesn't turn off the "hungry" hormone as efficiently as "normal" food and it doesn't trigger as complete of a release of the "full" hormone as "normal" food.  so what you've got is something that leaves you feeling hungry and keeps you from feeling full. 

i don't usually go for "fad food phobias" but i decided to see what would happen if i cut out the HFCS and it's really made a difference*.  i'm feeling fuller longer on fewer calories.  since i still have the same calorie targets each day,  this means i get more food each day.  that's an epic win in my book.

*for the sake of transparency, i would like to point out that i am hypoglycemic and my entire day revolves around the thin line between "full" and "hungry".  i'm fairly sensitive to the waxing and waning of food related hormones so every little bit helps.

Original Post by ilovecornflakies:

I really love Orowheat Double Fiber. It has 6 grams of fiber per slice, and each slice is 70 calories. So two slices is 140 calories, and 12 grams of fiber. I think they have Orowheat Double Fiber English Muffins too, but I haven't tried them.

The slices are big slices, too. Compared to an old brand I used to buy, they're humongous.

w3rd.  i keep both the bread & the english muffins in the house.  the english muffins are a little softer than your standard english muffin, even when toasted,  but i've found a solution: double toasting.  toast it, let it cool off and then toast it again for half as long as the first toasting.

i also like that they don't have HFCS.  we're in the process of banning all HFCS from the house (except for miracle whip.  you'll have to pry the jar from my cold, dead hands.)

push ups, pull ups and dips are all easily done at home without any special gear and are great compound exercises not only for your arms but your chest and back, too.  i still do dips and pull ups even though i belong to a gym and have access to all kinds of weights and machines.  as a matter of fact, despite all the fancy stuff at the gym, the first visible muscles i've developed are triceps and that's just from dips.

i'm pretty sure that most of produce you purchase at your standard supermarket is grown in soil.  you'd know from labeling & pricing of you were eating hydroponically grown fruits or veggies. 

eating home grown is about the fact that most supermarket produce is grown for it's looks and shipability rather than it's nutritional value  (i.e. perfectly round, unblemished tomatoes that are hard as hockey pucks and virtually tasteless).  if you grow your own produce at home, you can choose varieties that are higher in vitamins, nutrients and taste.  they may look a little goofier than what you're used to seeing in the store (tomatoes that are a little wonky in the shape department and more easily bruised) but they definitely redeem themselves on the "yummy scale".  if you can't grow your own, look into farmers markets, coops or grocery stores that sell locally grown produce. 

i know march of 2010 sounds soooo far away but don't despair.  if you take you time and lose weight the right way (i.e. changing your diet for good instead of going on a diet for a little while) you're more likely to keep it off.  when i first started trying to loose weight i shot myself in the foot by being in too much of a hurry.  i ended up setting myself back farther than i would have been had i just done it the slow & easy way from the start.

it sounds like you've got a lot going on but i recommend setting aside an hour on sunday afternoon just for yourself & getting your snacks prepped for the week.  use your food scale to divvy out your snacks in ready-to-eat proportions.  right now i could grab-and-go a single serving of trail mix, nuts, crackers, granola, cottage cheese & fruit or veggies & dip.  it makes it so much easier to avoid junk food when the good stuff's ready to go.

good luck!  you'll get there.

basically, i need to keep doing what i'm doing and quit being so farking impatient?  got it.  *sulk*

side not:  could someone please remind me that, as a female, i'm never going to be able to carry a low enough body fat percentage to have the OMFG! muscles the guys do? 

Original Post by keo187:

I'm curious, what do people think of the Duggar family?? They just had their 18th child. 18!!! I think this is totally messed up. Their kids seem like good, healthy kids, but I think they are completely isolated and I think it's unfair to have that many kids. There is no way each child gets the attention from the parents that they need and deserve.

 at least they can take care of their own.  the family has two successful businesses that afford them the opportunity to have zero credit debt.  they live on cash money alone.  while i may not agree with their particular lifestyle, at least they're raising their own kids without using handouts.

Original Post by im_amy:

This recipe was very good and I think the beef bullion they use in the onion soup mix gave it a bit more beefy flavor. 

lipton has a "beefy onion soup" mix now, too.  it comes out of the packet more brown than regular onion soup mix so i'm guessing it's simply got more bullion in it.

i'm a toothpick chewer/holder.  it's been just a little over a year & i still keep them in my purse at all times.  at the bar i usually end up with a cocktail straw in my mouth.

in my undies, sports bra & socks after i work out.  i don't have a scale at home so i hop on the one in the gym locker room. 

i think i just got called old for not liking the skinny jeans look.  i know i'm 30 but, damn... thats harsh.