toothpick

Wow. How cool. I hadn't thought at all that flour != flour etc., I thought everyone would use pretty much the same races by now. And of course, there's a soil difference... well, lucky me I guess, with the good bread Also, southern Europe definitely has better food, mainly in the vegetables. They don't have to transport much at all so everything gets picked when it's ripe. In some rural places, the farmer's market is pretty much the only place you go for food. Awesome.

Cooking extra is excellent! I try to have at least some soup in the fridge at all times (lentil soup currently). Also, beans and rice is definitely quick. Throw in a fresh vegetable (you can pre-cut them once a week and keep them in the fridge in containers, no need freezing) and you have a very decent meal. I try to prepare my oatmeal in the evening, then microwave it for two minutes in the morning. About the time it takes to put my clothes on

Being born and bred here, I wouldn't know how to sell/preserve hot dogs except canned or in jars! So, er, how do you keep them? Don't they dry out? (Do instruct the curious vegan ). Then again, to defend the homeland, we do have proper sausages, don't we? Just not hot dogs. Yes, but then again, I would think you could get good quality as well at artisan bakeries in the US or pretty much anywhere. It's the method that counts. 'Tis true, though, that wonderful bread is readily available, and the mediocre stuff is still pretty good. I read an article about whole-wheat bread baking in which they said it isn't done that much because white just tastes better, and did a double-take. Definitely a cultural difference there!

Planking! I can do that! (Well, at least for 30 seconds I can.) I've been really bad with the beginner's routine. But I did go sailing Saturday (first time this season) and my shoulders still hurt. Counting that as a win. Tired-Victorian, I totally missed your reply re: running w/ appropriately dressed minor clergy. If we ever find ourselves in the universe where I can run a marathon, this must happen.

Yes, and some fertility drugs are made from the urine of newly pregnant women - they filter out the hormones. There are big collection schemes and all. Honestly? I'm not too bothered... it's not like you're going to find head lice in your bread

Definitely dry! They taste SO much better than canned. I use this chart for soaking/cooking: http://weblife.org/beanchart.html I usually have 3-4 types of cooked beans in the fridge and just take them out when needed, because I don't always have time to cook them. You need varied sources of protein because not all protein is the same. Protein is built up out of amino acids, and every protein has a different make-up. We need enough of all of them to thrive. A varied diet will give you that. If you don't like to eat beans in their beany shape, you can make them into burgers, soups (I love lentil soup and split pea soup), hummus... the possibilities are endless!

I do it to stay healthy. And to be cool, I guess. If I don't train my legs, the scar tissue from the arthritis (it's not active now thanks to my diet, but the scar tissue doesn't go away) makes my joints misalign and then I can't even do normal stuff anymore. So for that it's essential. And I want to be strong because I am such a huge dork - vegan, living in the library and singing classical music. I like messing with people's image of me. Tigger - hope I get there. So far, not everything is "fun" yet. But it will probably become more so when I start to feel more in control of what's happening (and less flailing around like an octopus in lava).

Woot woot! Now I really have to manage those push-ups. Tired Victorian: scandalously short skirts in that pic of yours If I finally manage to talk my running choir mate into doing a (half) marathon in full robes, would you be interested? (It would have to be a winter race, or we'd get boiled.)

I'm all for Battlesquad Galactica. I want Starbuck to be my PT (those raised pushups she did in the brig! I WANT!) Zelda-themed works for me too and I'm a physics dork, so "The Flashy Photons"? I'd rock that. MaraJade, what's the problem with your knee? Tendons, bone, cartilage? I've had arthritic inflammations in both and squats saved me. AFTER the inflammations were gone, mind, I don't think there are enough painkillers in the world to do them during

Hiya! I've been crazy busy the last week, so I got a bit behind on forum stuff. We have a squad, apparently! Wonderful! And we need a name? What's it going to be? Seth, cool! I'm a newbie. Bodyweight is what I'm at. Hopefully it will increase as I get stronger I won't be able to browse the forums in detail very often, so if someone will poke me when we need to win all those challenges I'd be very grateful.

Ah, whiskey! Greenore when it's early, Dalwhinnie when it's late. I'll have a glass of wine on occasion, but those are rare. For some reason I hold hard liquor much better than beer or wine. Two glasses of red at dinner are enough to make me giddy, but I won a drunk spelling bee on nine tequilas during my early years at uni... CFmom, Johnny Blue and a 900 bottle wine cellar? I want to be you when I grow up!

Oh, so familiar - I broke my ankle last year and got cabin fever like crazy. Can you swim? Bike? Canoe... hm, maybe not in London this time of year Bench press, knee push-ups...

Hullo! Welcome &c. I love your bonus challenge! (Also... neckchin. Yeah. Mine is probably genetic, since I'm underweight and it's still there. Everyone in my dad's family has one, my grandmother first and foremost - hers was seriously impressive, think pelican. That said, if your parents don't have it, surely you can get rid of it!)

Second what others said, Eastern Europe is way more affordable. You managed to pick the most expensive countries The Balkan countries are warm, cheap, and have both beautiful nature and old cities (although a couple of them are a teensy tiny bit war-torn). Croatia especially is very open to travellers. And the food is fantastic. I loved Prague, but the centre is incredibly touristy. If you're in a habit of early mornings you'll enjoy it more. All the people on beer tours will be sleeping off their hangovers then

Yup, the problem with paleo and calorie counting is that there's paleo and paleo and paleo People who eat massive amounts of greens probably don't have to count because they're so stuffed, they wouldn't get those extra calories in if they tried. So they excitedly post "I stopped counting and still lost weight!" Which is true. For them. (I'm not paleo, I'm vegan, for which the same goes - those nut butters...) Over time, you'll get a good feeling for what's high and what's low (you probably already have, since you counted before).

I'd take some time to find out what you like to do, because if you're not enjoying yourself, it's way too hard to stick to a regime (at least, for me it would be)! I like the Beginner Bodyweight Workout because I can do it at home with no-one watching (it's here), and on alternate days I run (hobble) or ride my bike. Maybe you prefer to swim or do yoga or take a dancing class? There's a six-week challenge starting on Wednesday, you could make it your personal challenge to take one or two introductory classes every week for six weeks and then decide what you love, perhaps combined with something like a couch-to-5k program or the bodyweight routine.

Curries? For example, even amounts of tomato, sweet potato, mushrooms and broccoli, with a couple of tablespoons of curry paste, a cup of broth and half a can of coconut milk. Bunch of cilantro on top.

I'm in! http://nerdfitness.com/community/entry.php?3993-March-April-6-week-challenge

More or less everything you said, VexedCoffee, plus my auto-immune disease went dormant. As a vegan, it's much harder to get unhealthy snacks on the go! So I always bring a few pieces of fruit, some nuts, "good" cookies, etc. My friends have learned it's a good idea to stick close to the vegan, because I always have food stashed away somewhere

Congratulations Do you wear leather belts? You can punch extra holes in those.

Wow. That's 2lbs a week. For a year. You, madam, are the bomb.

alternatively titled "Why I work out in my bedroom and not a gym" During the final jumping jacks of today's Beginner Bodyweight Routine, I was suddenly standing in my knickers, with my bottoms halfway down my thighs. They fit so well a month ago!

Ummm... I think I can, but my coordination isn't so great. And there's some stuff bouncing along. And my boyfriend is looking at me funny.

Second on the toques!

You could also get a couple of pieces that are not dumpy but still size-change friendly, like a wrap sweater or something you could wear with a belt?