You guys are amazing. With all of your suggestions I feel a bit ridiculous for not being able to come up with anything on my own.

Tish - you mentioned trying sky diving and that is always something I have been interested in. I think I'm definitely going to do that and

John - the gardening is a great idea. Our front and back yard is really bare and now that I think about it, it would be nice to pretty it up.

Thanks again guys.

Thanks for all of these. I checked out the meetup site and the geocaching site and both look like tons of fun. I think I will try to find something with those.

As far as interests go, I mean, I'm interested in all kinds of sports but really, I'd like to find something completely new, that I've never before tried. Like I said, the sites you mentioned look really neat. Thanks for the help!!

Hi guys,
So, I'm looking for any suggestions or advice about fun ways to keep busy. I go to the gym 5 days a week, working out for about an hour and a half, but even with that, I find I have a lot of time where I am sitting at home, bored. And when I get bored, I just want to eat. My schedule seems so monotonous and the longer it's like that, the harder it is to stay motivated. It's wake up, work, gym, home, and repeat the next day. I thought about joining a recreational soccer team for adults, but the season is ending. I also thought about maybe joining a rec softall team for adults, even though I've never played before.

Any ideas? Any hobbies I can take up? Doesn't even have to be exercise oriented, just something fun that will keep me busy.

I said I would update on my weight loss and thought it was time. So for the past...two weeks I have been eating 1800-1900 calories. I was a little bit demoralized because the scale has not been changing. Really, I think I am exactly the same! and I didn't really notice any changes in inches. However, today I was at a store trying on my current size 10, and it was a little loose. I'm can't wear a size 8, yet, but there is a change! I'm going to keep with this calorie number and wait out the scale.

The calorie sweet spot does sound like a good idea. I think I am feeling a little more confident now, and not so scared, to experiment. Before I was terrified about experimenting, and if anything, wanted to make sure I was only ever eating below the calorie intake number. After thinking about it, though, if I eat an extra 200 calories for one week, I am not going to gain 10 pounds. For some reason, I thought I would balloon up or something. Though it is a bummer to have to re-lose any weight, a pound won't be the end of the world...I think. So, I guess I will just keep looking for that "calorie sweet spot" because like Jeff said, I do want to be able to eat the most amount of food and still have results. Thanks guys.
Michelle

Hi,
Sorry about your scale being off by 10 pounds; I know they say you should care more about how you feel than about the numbers, but it is still a bummer.

To answer your question about the body fat, yes! it is dropping. I started the running about a month ago and although the scale hasn't gone down that much, I really have noticed the inches, so I know fat is coming off.

I try to weigh myself only once a week, otherwise I get a little crazy with it, and I am a little nervous about how this next weigh-in is going to be. I ate 2000 calories two days ago, 1900 yesterday and today about 1800. Like you said, the amount of calories was scary high, so I notice myself reluctant to actually eat that much. I am going to ease into it. If this next weigh-in goes well (and I don't gain 5 pounds from my increased calorie experiment), I will feel more comfortable eating the higher calories that Russ and Jeff suggested. I'll update with the results of my weigh-in. Let me know how things go with you, too.

I know Russ and Jeff just did a podcast about "eating more to weigh less" and I realized that yes, I too, am undereating. I am 5'3", weighed 180 when I started 4 months ago with 35% body fat, and want to get down to 135. I have been eating 1500-1600 calories and lost 23 pounds these past 4 months.

I have been running 3-4 miles 5x per week and after the most recent podcast went back to recalculate my calorie intake; I should actually be eating 2200 calories. I don't have any results for you yet, but I am going to try and start eating around 1900-2000 now. I will let you know how it goes and if I still continue to lose weight. It does seem really scary, especially since I was eating fairly comfortably at 1600 calories. Those 300-400 extra calories I can eat feel like a Christmas present.

I'll second the Kashi's Go Lean cereal (the box with the red). It is not only one of the most delicious cereals I have tasted, it also has 40% of your daily fiber in one serving and is only 240 calories with 1 cup of soy milk. Kashi's other cereals, like the Heart Healthy Warm Cinnamon, are delicious too.

Hi Newbie here,
I tried to go through a lot of the posts to find what I was looking for, but there is a lot of info; I thought I would just ask.

I am starting off exercising (after having been sedentary) and don't know how much of what (i.e. cardio and weight lifting) I should do.

I walk every night for about an hour and I am going to start the Couch to 5k program. Would that be enough to cover my cardio? Oh, and 2x a week I go to this kickbox cardio class at the gym that gets my heart rate up. So, is that enough cardio enough times a week? A lot of people mention 30min a day of cardio, but do they mean 30min of high-intensity cardio a day? So, walking wouldn't count? Would the Couch to 5k thing count?

As for weight-lifting, I am really looking to gain muscle since I have about 35% body fat, yikes!! Does circuit training work as weight-lifting? And would 3x a week weight-lifting be enough? I don't want to do too much exercise but I also want to make sure I am getting enough of weight-lifting and cardio, doing it at the right intensity and also, gaining muscle instead of losing it. Any help would be amazing as I feel totally lost. Thanks
Michelle

Hi all,
Hopefully this isn't too silly a question because I really don't know. So, I just started listening to the podcast and am totally on-board with the BMR info. I went to their site and calculated both the BMR for my current weight and for my goal weight so I can start eating the amount of calories of the thin person I want to be. However, after hearing all the talk about making sure you don't eat below that because your body will go into starvation mode and digest your muscle, I have been more concerned with getting enough calories. I have a high percentage of body fat and so really need all of my muscle.

Before changing my caloric intake, I was pretty much the epitome of sedentary, so I started multiplying my BMR by 1.2 (for sedentary). I thought I could help my weight loss along by exercising. Now I go to the gym 5 times per week. Should I use a higher multiplier (ala the Harris-Benedict equation) or would that cancel out the exercise I am doing because I would then have a higher caloric intake? Does that question make sense? I know that it will tell me to eat more calories because I am exercising more, but by eating extra calories I am canceling out all the calories I burned at the gym (which I am doing as extra work to help the weight loss along).

The reason I am so concerned about this is because I want to make sure I am eating enough calories so my body doesn't go into starvation mode. Well, if anyone can make sense of my question, I would really appreciate any help. Thanks so much.
Michelle

by the way - if they covered this specific question in the show already, I'm so sorry to ask it again. I am only at ep. 16 or so on the podcast.

Thanks so much for the links. I am a newbie here and think this coming week I am going to start the couch to 5k.
Michelle

Hi Everyone,
I looked through all threads and don't think I saw one for smoothies; if there was one, so sorry to duplicate. I am new to the board and am only a week into my Fat2Fit podcast and lifestyle but wanted to post some smoothie ideas. I have the hardest time with fruits because I have this weird thing with texture (don't ask). So, I love making smoothies because I can get a bunch of different fruits in there that I wouldn't normally eat. Here are two of mine that I think taste delicious, especially the first one. I will also post the calories next to the ingredients so you can see what I am basing it off of. I know even just the size of a fruit can change how many calories are in it, or something like the brand of Orange Juice can affect calories. The calorie information is coming from either the label on the product, or from the Daily Plate.

1. This is my bright, colorful smoothie (don't have a name for it yet)
[list]

1/2 a mango - 65 calories

1 container of Activia Peach yogurt

(by Dannon) - 110 calories.

1 peach - 66 calories

1 kiwi - 50 calories

1/2 cup orange juice

(again calories may vary according to brand) - 50 calories

3 tbspns flaxseeds

(you don't have to add flaxseeds, I do because it gives me both Omega Fatty Acids and about 25% of my daily fiber. It doesn't change the taste, just the texture; like seeds from a fruit) - 140 calories
[/list]

Total calories: 481

For preparation, the night before I make this, I buy all the fruit fresh, cut them up and freeze them. By using the fresh, frozen fruit it makes the smoothie really thick and I don't have to add any ice. I cut the fruit up into small enough pieces so that it will blend easier. If your blender is having a hard time with the frozen fruit, just add a little more liquid; it will change the caloric total slightly.

The calories might seem high, but it makes a lot; also, a lot of those calories

(140 of them) are coming from the healthy flaxseeds. After you make it the first time, you can change it up by adding more or less fruit and different kinds.

2. Berry Smoothie
[list]

1/2 cup Soy Milk - 50 calories

1 container of Activia Strawberry yogurt

(by Dannon) - 110 calories

1/2 banana - 60 calories

4 strawberries - 23 calories

1 cup mixed berries

(blueberries, blackberries, raspberries) - 100 calories (this is harder to measure because I didn't have a scale - if you have one, use one -but I used a measuring cup and information like, 1/2 cup blackberries has 45 calories in it, etc. So, 100 calories is a safe estimate and 1 cup of those mixed berries shouldn't have nearly as many calories. Sorry for the ambiguity).

1/2 cup red grapes - 55 calories

1/4 cup wheat bran - 35 calories

(I bought this at my local Whole Foods)

Total Calories: approximately 433

Just like with the previous smoothie, I freeze all the fruit the previous night. This one is much harder to calculate calories for, just because all of the little berries, and you can, of course, change up how much of each fruit you add.

[/list]

I am very much an amateur, so if anyone thinks something is incorrect or wants to add some info to it, please do. Also, if you have other smoothie ideas, let me know. I love them so much!
Michelle

Hello all,
This is, of course, my first post, and I am also brand new to the Fat2Fit Radio podcast (just found it on itunes and have purchased all of season 1 to get caught up). This podcast has done wonders for me, although I am only a week into it. I am 22, 5'3 and 172 pounds (I started at 183). I feel like I have been struggling with my weight for as long as I can remember, and finally, with Fat2Fit Radio I found something that makes sense. No more crazy, restrictive dieting or manic exercising. I am trying to, as Jeff and Russ say, "emulate the thin person I want to be." So far it's working, and I feel so great. Each day that I complete successfully motivates me for the next day.

It's strange, or maybe not so strange, but listening to the podcast has not only changed my view on weightloss, but it has also changed my attitude about everything. My family has even commented that I have more energy and am generally, more pleasant to be around (and this is only a week into it!). I am so excited to continue losing weight and live this change. Everytime I dieted I felt like a little part of my soul died, and I had almost given up completely. So, thanks Jeff and Russ, and hi again to everyone.
Michelle