http://dev.weightlossfriends.com/my/advice/hcale en-us I felt like I had a problem with overeating for a long time. I made an account on fitday.com, and enter in every food I eat on their food journal. It shows you the calorie amounts and the percentages of fat, carbs, and protein in your diet. It's really helped to keep me accountable. There's also an "activities" section where you enter in what you did by way of exercising that day, and it shows you how many calories you burned that day. That'll fix up your "allowance" idea--you can actually see how much you're consuming compared to how much you're burning, and it makes it so you can't really "hide" from your habits anymore. I hope this helps you! hcale Sat, 03 Nov 2007 13:33:33 -0700 http://dev.weightlossfriends.com/q/binging_45 125 I came on to this board looking for a buddy. I'm 5'5 and have lost weight from a size 12 to a size 8 already, and I'm 138 pounds. I'm trying to get back down to 115-120, what I was in high school, and I seem to have hit a plateau. I'd really like to have a "buddy" to keep me accountable. What do you think? hcale Sat, 03 Nov 2007 13:25:37 -0700 http://dev.weightlossfriends.com/q/looking_for_a_buddy_102 124 You'll lose more weight in the first week than the rest because of water weight, but afterwards experts say 1-2 pounds a week is the "healthy" route. If you're losing more, it's likely the lost weight is coming from muscle instead of fat. hcale Sat, 03 Nov 2007 13:22:37 -0700 http://dev.weightlossfriends.com/q/advice_seeker 123 It could be water weight, but my bet is that you're building up the muscle and not losing the fat. Doing toning exercises and not enough cardio will do that. You need a balanced exercise regimen. When you do cardio, your heart rate should meet or exceed 65% of your maximum heart rate, which you can approximate by subtracting your age from 220. Calculate that number, get a heart rate monitor, and go out for some heart-pumping cardio. You'll know you're working out hard enough when you reach your target heart rate. That'll lose the fat; meanwhile, keep up the good work with the conditioning exercises. Both in conjunction will show off that muscle you've got "under the blubber," as you put it. hcale Sat, 03 Nov 2007 13:20:25 -0700 http://dev.weightlossfriends.com/q/problem_with_a_pudgy_stomach 122 I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM! Here's the thing: The reason eating at night is such a problem is that it's just before bed. When you go to sleep, your metabolism REALLY slows down. A good way to generalize is imagining that you're getting twice as many calories out of a food than normal. What to do: 1)Make foods harder to get to--accessibility is a big issue when it comes to cravings. If you're hellbent on eating something, make it a healthy snack. I stock up on apples so I don't go downstairs to my dorm's vending machine for a chocolate bar when I get hungry. 2) Drink something first. Warm liquids make you feel a lot fuller than cold liquids, so try a cup of herbal tea or warm up some water with lemon, or even try a cup of hot chicken broth, which depending on its preparation is only 5-20 calories. 3) Vow to yourself that if you DO eat at night, ESPECIALLY if it's a high-calorie food, that you won't sleep until two hours afterward, when your body's gotten at least a chance to digest it. Your want of sleep may overcome your food cravings. 4) Go to bed earlier! That way you won't be wandering around like a nocturnal animal scavenging (like I have!). hcale Sat, 03 Nov 2007 13:16:24 -0700 http://dev.weightlossfriends.com/q/night_stalker_105 121 Try a variation of the pushup that works your core muscles just as well: Instead of holding yourself up on your hands, shoulder length apart, set yourself up in the pushup position on your ELBOWS, a little closer together. Instead of moving up and down, as you would with a pushup, just hold yourself in that position. You'll find it really hard. Aim for 60 seconds, though if you're just starting out you might start by aiming at 30 seconds, per se. hcale Sat, 03 Nov 2007 13:08:09 -0700 http://dev.weightlossfriends.com/q/is_there_any_safe_way_to_do_push_ups_without_hurting_my_wrists_2 120 Try squats and lunges, holding weights in your hands (start at 5 pounds if you have never exercised with weights--otherwise you might want to start with more). But doing muscle conditioning exercises, though it WILL build up your muscle, will NOT burn off the fat. Do 2-4 sets of four or five reps of each. If you've been walking a while and it no longer helps you, that means your body has "reset" itself--you need to vary your workout, and try some cardio that raises your heartbeat. Get a heart rate monitor. Your maximum heart rate is about 220 minus your age. Multiply this number by .65 (or .55 if you're generally unfit). This number is 55/65% of your max heart rate, and when you do any kind of cardio, your heart rate should meet or exceed this number. You said you don't have much time in your schedule, so split up the exercise. Do a heart-pumping cardio exercise like jogging or running for 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes on your lunch break, and 10 minutes after work. You'll get in 30 minutes of exercise a day! Do this 5 days a week, and the "toning" exercises 2-4 days a week in addition, and your legs WILL improve. It seems like a lot, but you should find it pretty easy to fit into your schedule if you try. hcale Sat, 03 Nov 2007 13:06:14 -0700 http://dev.weightlossfriends.com/q/thys_and_legs 119