lostintranslatn

Hello! I practice power yoga about 5-6 times a week, in hour or hour-and-a-half sessions. The room is heated to 90°, the poses are challenging, and the last thing I want to be worrying about is whether my yoga pants are indeed see-through. Since the latest drama surrounding Lululemon's sheer yoga pants, I'm even more paranoid: If $100 pants aren't safe, what is?! Certainly not the $15 pair I rock from Old Navy. I'd really like to find some quality, wicking, opaque, affordable yoga pants in this world. Does anyone have a brand they trust and recommend? As I said, the room is 90°, so the wicking part is essential. While we're at it, I'd also love to find affordable, wicking tank tops that don't go AWOL in downward dog or get all bunchy in forward folds. If I ever find a solid set of yoga duds I really like, I think I will just buy seven of each item and never worry about yoga clothes again. I would so much rather focus on my practice than on my pants. Thanks in advance for any suggestions y'all have!

I totally feel you. I thought having a great rack was Science's gift to me for being a little overweight, and my husband's appreciation for my boobs made it seem totally worth it. When I finally decided to lose the weight, I was EXTREMELY scared about this. (Obviously; I started this thread!) But I can now say, 50 pounds lighter, that it is 100% WORTH IT. Yes, I've gone from a 38D to a 34C. I feel like the cups are a little loose on some C bras, even, and that depresses me. I also think they're a bit less perky than they were, and they're maybe less shapely. But my husband swears they look, if anything, bigger because now I have this nice tiny feminine waist to go with them. He swears not to notice the lack of perkiness I worry about. He goes just as crazy--more crazy, in fact--for them than he ever did. (Woohoo!) With a good bra and a tight shirt, I feel a million times sexier than I ever, ever did before losing the weight. It is absolutely, definitely, in every way worth it to risk losing some fat from the ta-tas. Moisturize like an absolutely insane woman. Get a nice rich cocoa butter and put it to good use at least twice a day on the girls. Also, drink water like it is your job. (It kind of is.) You won't believe what a difference these two things make in your skin--both the complexion and the tautness. Also: push-ups, push-ups, push-ups. Do NOT slack on push-ups. I do them every morning (unless I'm sore from upper body weights the day before) and it has made all the difference at keeping things up. If you moisturize, hydrate, and strengthen your pecs, you may even discover your boobs wind us LESS saggy than you currently think they are. So: Take heart! You've got lots of good stuff ahead. You're not going to lose your most prized asset; you're going to gain a friggin' ton more. (And you'll still have boobs for days.) You can do this!

We actually moved into a house a few months a go, which makes me feel a lot better about boxing into the night! But when we lived in an apartment I "silenced" my bag by wrapping an old t-shirt in the chain to stop all the clattering around it does. I'm not sure how you could mute your punches, though...hopefully that just wouldn't be a problem. I say go for it!

Thanks, guys! Hehe, the dogs crack me up when they watch boxing practice. They're always really cautious around me afterward like, "Oh shit, what's she gonna do next!"

I set out to throw 300 punches in a minute on my heavy bag...wearing my NF tank, of course!

A lot of people mention getting tatts as rewards for reaching fitness goals...I'm just curious if y'all are getting health-related tattoos, specifically. I've seen a kettle bell tattoo that was pretty badass, and a barbell one. I'm not sure what icon specifically would best represent my own fitness journey...but I'm definitely going to get it inked when I do!

Thought if might be worth bumping this...voting ends in a few days and he's in second place by 300 votes. Since you can vote once a day, there's still a chance he could pull up and win! Anyone willing to help us out?

Thanks for all the suggestions! (And for ruining my life with thisiswhyimbroke.com.) I went with designing my own at spreadshirt.com. Fun stuff!

I'm shopping for a birthday gift for my good friend and trainer--who's a nerd, of course, he is MY trainer, after all--and I can't find anything cool! I was thinking maybe Hulk weightlifting gloves, or a sweat-wicking shirt with the Batman logo...something! This "Superhero cleverly disguised as a personal trainer" shirt was about as close as I could come, but I'm not a huge fan of the design. Does anyone have any other ideas? Is the Google machine holding out on me?

Thanks for the input! I think I'll get the smallest quantities I can find of plain and vanilla whey and try those on.

Thoroughly enjoyed the smoothie thread in this guild, but it brought up more protein questions for me. I've been adding Optimum Nutrition 100% whey in the chocolate malt flavor to my smoothies, but I so dislike it that I find myself adding a bunch of other stuff to try and mask the flavor. It's really sickeningly sweet...maybe sucralosey? I'm wondering if it's possible to get plain, unflavored whey, and what that would taste like. Or if I should switch to a vegan protein? (I'm currently pescitarian.) I get a lot of soy elsewhere in my diet, so I'm hesitant to pile on any soy protein powder. Any input would be much appreciated!

Relatively new to my pescetarian diet, and looking for ways to sneak in more protein. I have to admit--I've never made beans. I consider myself a pretty seasoned cook (see what I did there?), but somehow the magical fruit has just never wiggled its way into my pantry prowess. Can someone give me a basic intro? Should I go for dry or canned? If the latter, do I drain them? Rinse them? Also, while I'm on the protein topic, can anyone explain why you're supposed to seek protein from a variety of sources? Is there a reason I can't just load up my smoothie with 65 grams of whey and call it a day? Thank you!

I've been pescetarian for the past month and a half, and I've also noticed a new kind of tiredness. I really don't want it to be due to diet, though, cause I'm also loving this lifestyle change! In every way but the tiredness, I feel better than ever. I've been using My Fitness Pal to track protein and cals and make sure I'm getting enough of both. I think the days that I'm low on protein (currently shooting for .4 grams per pound of body weight, per No Meat Athlete) are the days I'm most sleepy.

Three blissful miles! And I live in the very temperate south, so I only had to take about a month off due to cold. On good weeks, I get about 50 miles in just from going to work and back, home for lunch, and off on errands. I love it! Definitely the difference between arriving at work in a great or an awful mood.

My husband (who lives on NF vicariously through me) entered a Visit Savannah video contest in our hometown of Savannah, GA. His entry is bike-centric...check it out! It's also a choose-your-own adventure, for added Nerd appeal. Watch it in its full res and interactive glory; watch it here to vote for it to win (if you like it, and if you like bikes)! Thanks, rebels!

Doing it! 5K here.

OK, I take it there is not the pressing demand for this that I thought there was! Nevertheless, I'll report my findings for posterity: The Arm Pocket Sport i-20. It looks awesome! Fits the phone in its case (though I don't think it could handle, say, an Otterbox), and also has a nice pocket-y space for keys, gym membership cards, etc. AND it has the velcro arm band, available in two sizes to ensure the right fit. To boot, it's waterproof and comes in pink. I am at peace.

Just wondering if anyone else here wears their iPhone on their arm while working out--and if so, what brand do you recommend? I currently use a Belkin Sport that I'm not very fond of. My main complaints are that my phone won't fit into it unless I first remove the case (the relatively slim Griffin Reveal), and that it has a snap closure instead of velcro, which I would prefer for a tighter fit. Any tips on a replacement? I'd also love to have something with a more secure key pocket--this one lets the key hang out in a way that makes me positive I'll lose it in a gutter somewhere, and my key will ultimately wind up living in the sewer with the Ninja Turtles.

Thinking about buying this weight bench and weights. The guy said he'd take $150 for everything...is that a good deal? Is this some decent equipment? Husband and I are getting weights as Valentine's day gift to each other. Edit: I should add that we are not (yet) super strong or intense weight lifters. I can only bench the bar, for example. Though we definitely plan to progress, we are primarily looking for a good starter set.

Wow, thanks for all the math! I think, at six feet tall, any weight under 150 might look kind of gross...but it's hard to know for sure.

OK, need help figuring out some math behind my upcoming goals. In April, husband and I are going on an anniversary cruise to the Bahamas. (Squee!) I would really like to attain my goal of having visible abs by said trip. (In case this is making me sound like a vain lame-face who can't set legit goals; never fear. This is in addition to taking up kickboxing, entering my second 5K, doing real push-ups, etc.) I started my fitness journey at 198 pounds and approximately 30% BF. Since then, I'm down to 164 pounds and approximately 24% BF. (I'm six feet tall.) My current BF puts me in the "physically fit" category for women, but I want to get into the "athlete" zone, which I read somewhere on the Interwebz (so it must be true) is 14-20% for women. I believe the athlete zone is AKA the visible abs zone, no? So, let's say I'm aiming for 18% BF by April 1. What (if anything) does that mean in terms of weight loss? Is there a formula for determining how many pounds of fat that is? So far tracking my weight (non-obsessively and fully aware of the faults of the scale, of course) has been a rather satisfying and quanitifiable way to track my journey. I guess I'm hoping for more numeric guidance on this particular quest...is there any?

Yes! Exactly my motivation for making this happen. I think once you become interested in fitness as an adult it naturally happens that you're more active (I used to spend my breaks from a desk job sitting. Now I find myself shooting hoops or jumping on the trampoline or taking a walk to the park for a picnic), but it helps to also make a conscious, concerted effort to prioritize fitness on a daily basis. And to make it fun, like we did as kids!

I'm assuming you have to check in to the gym via GPS or something. It would be cool if the app somehow allowed for non-gym workout options, too...like if there were a heart-rate monitor aspect, and you got credit every time you got your heart above X beats per minute? Not sure how else that could work. Anyway, we should go make money off all the people who don't fulfill their resolutions. (Though I'd honestly rather they succeed!)

Anyone heard of Gympact? Basically, it's an iPhone app that has you pledge to go to the gym a certain number of times each week and say how much you'll pay if you don't do that. Users who *do* go as much as they promised to get a share of the funds from others who didn't go. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/01/01/gympact-keep-it-or-pay/ I'm conflicted. Amused by the concept, annoyed that people need to be paid to work out, and tempted to get a slice of the pie.

Thanks for all the responses! Maybe I wasn't clear enough about my plan for the easy days...I'm talking about a REALLY mild walk to the park and back being the "workout" once a week or after heavy lifting. (I'm also not talking about doing two workouts in a day.) I don't think there should ever be a time when a girl can't walk at a leisurely pace with her dog for 20 minutes. Also, obviously, if some kind of emergency comes up, the streak will have to end, but I think that's a given with most resolutions. I'm not going to worry about flossing if the power goes out in the middle of my tour of Jurassic Park, either (though I would definitely get my workout in, in that scenario). Barring exigencies, I'm not going to plan for missed workouts. I'm just not going to consider that an option. For those of you interested in joining me: The more the merrier! 2012 won't know what hit it!