Posts by maraelle

I saw a difference in how my body looked and felt when I bumped up the strength training.  I do body work classes 3 times a week for an hour, and cardio another 2-3 days.  Do the kind of exercise that leaves your muscles a little sore the next day, and you'll know you're making progress! 

I agree that you should do more than just the treadmill, such as spinning or yoga, or whatever other classes interest you.  And if your goal is to be a runner, you need to start weight-training and conditioning, even if it's just a few squats and lunges at first.  Strong legs prevent injuries!

I get hungry at night too--not for a binge, just for a snack, so I try to leave 200 calories for a snack right before bed.  If I'm hungry, it takes forever to fall asleep.  My suggestion is for you to eat less in the morning and at lunch, so you have more calories to work with for dinner and an evening snack.  But binging in general I think is a sign that you are either trying to cut too many calories and your body is rebelling, or you aren't getting the right nutrients from what you are eating.  Each main meal of your day should contain all the major nutrients - protein, good fats, and carbohydrates (unrefined as much as possible) - as well as veggies or fruit. 

Building muscle requires strength training that actually challenges your muscles (read: low reps with heavy weights), and eating the right nutrients--protein, obviously, but also iron, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and vitamin C.  You might consider some basic supplements, and try to eat a wide variety of foods.  Your personal trainer should be able to show you how to properly lift weights and how much weight you should be using.  A rule of thumb is that you should only be able to do 2-3 sets of 8 reps, and at the end, your muscles should feel maxed out. 

Building muscle may at first mean you are mostly gaining weight, but since the pounds you are gaining are made of muscle, it will improve your BMI.  Eventually, you'll have enough muscle mass to improve your metabolism, which will make it much easier to burn through any extra flab. 

That sounds fishy to me.  I'd get a second opinion from another scale. 

I second the yoga suggestion to increase flexibility, and I don't think anyone could overstate the importance of strengthening your QUADS.  Running mainly uses the muscles in the back of your leg, and if you don't strengthen the ones in the front, you're setting yourself up for the most common running injury, the strained quad.  A great way to even out your leg muscles would be a spinning class 2-3 times a week. 

I agree with everyone that for a new runner, you are training much too hard, and need to slow down before an injury forces you to stop completely.  

Finally, with the amount of exercise you are doing, 1300 calories seems low to me.  It might be enough for a rest day, but 1500-1800 sounds more reasonable for days when you are burning off 350-600 calories through exercise.  

Actually, there are ways to build stomach muscle that will hold your mid-section in, by making the muscles tighten all the way around.  NYC Ballet's Workout DVD 2 has an incredible ab section that will walk you through various exercises and explain exactly how to do them properly.  The key is to draw your stomach in, belly-button toward spine, while working the muscles.  But really, unless you have a little extra fat to lose around your stomach area, you might just be facing the reality of how your body is shaped. 

My usual chinese food strategy is to get an entree with lots of veggies and some meat or tofu, ask them to go light on the oil, have steamed rice and egg drop soup, and snitch two pieces of sweet and sour chicken off someone else's plate.  As long as you watch portion size, you should be fine. 

I was vegan for two years, and now meat is probably my favorite food (I spent about six months recovering from never getting enough protein).  High protein foods from meat to tofu to poached eggs are the only things I really get honest-to-God CRAVINGS for.  I think my brain is trying to ensure I never go vegan again!

Rilo Kiley, Brazilian Girls, Radiohead, Modest Mouse...and the occasional Planet Money podcast.

I think of yoga as a conditioner that prepares your body for other types of exercise.  It works muscles that sometimes get forgotten and for me, it REALLY  improves flexibility--both of which are important to prevent injuries.  I do a power yoga DVD on my "rest" days.

I can't believe no one has said Adam's!  Salted, creamy, so spreadable, and it tastes like...PEANUTS.  Plus, you can find it pretty much anywhere.  Skippy and Jiff and all their imitations taste like peanut-flavored frosting to me, blech.  But, I don't have much of a sweet tooth.  My philosophy is, with a good peanut butter, I'm satisfied with 1 T spread on a piece of toast, and that's only 100 calories, plus about 90 for the bread.  The protein and good fats keep me satiated for 3 hours or more, and darn it, that's what breakfast is supposed to do!

Before you cook quinoa, it's a good idea to rinse it really well in a fine sieve.  It has a natual bitter coating that you want to get off before you eat it--maybe that's why heather67 found it vile!

Original Post by healthydiet101:

But, one day a week, Friday or Saturday, I can eat whatever I want and the rating and calorie intake doesn't matter.  I have a weekness for Sour Cream n' Onion Ruffle Chips.  Sometimes I might eat a whole bag, I don't care.

I have lost over 30 pounds while doing this.  I eat between 1300 to 1400 calories a day.  On my cheat day, I might eat around 3000, sometimes more.  It is a planed binge.  I love it.  Without that day, I wounldn't have lost all the weight that I have.  I would be junking-out all the time.

I've never heard of this, but I'm impressed!  And you look so thin!  

Your body will put its protein use into priority mode if it isn't getting enough.  First thing to get the shaft: hair and nails, and to some extent, skin.  Next: the muscles you use to move around.  Next: your vital organs--this is why anorexics can develop heart problems; their body is literally eating their heart. 

Following your ideals is important, but so is taking care of your body.  KNOW how much protein you are eating, and if you are very active, your protein needs may be more like 80-90 grams a day than 50 or 60.  If you're really serious about being a vegan, start to self-educate yourself about nutrition, or make an appointment with an actual nutritionist.  To be honest, the best way to represent your lifestyle is to show other people that you are healthy and thriving.  No one will be that impressed by an anemic, weak, overly thin vegan who lives off of white bread and french fries.