About Dominique

These people need to get a life, a job, or both! ... View more

@Edgar wrote: I will take a look at that post. What do you think it would be more realistic?  @EdgarFitbit: I think it depends on factors like your age and whether or not you've been lifting before. Obviously, if you are in your early twenties, you have a far better potential to gain muscle than an old fart like me But OTOH if you've lifted weights before and have already packed some muscle, you can't expect "newbie gains". ... View more

@Edgar wrote: - Gain 30 pounds of pure muscle (Currently my weight is not suitable for my age. I have a slim body but I'd like to gain more in muscles) @EdgarFitbit: this is a worthy goal, but the numerical value may be unrealistic. See this post by Lyle McDonald (well-recognized nutrition / bodybuilding guru): whatever model you use, it seems no one could possibly gain that much muscle in a year's time.   My own fitness/health goals for 2015:   - Gain muscle mass (I put my faith in "newbie gains"!) - Lower body fat (as reported by Aria) to 15% - Try not to exceed 100k weekly steps (*) - Sleep a minimum of 7 hours   (*) It's quite easy to get carried away by challenges, leaderboards etc. Many people seem to think "more is better" (when it comes to steps), but I feel too many steps are prejudicial to your overall activity. ... View more

@lefty12 wrote: I would make sure you are eating small amounts of food (meals and snacks ranging from 200-400 calories) every four hours to keep your metabolism going. And drink lots of water. I did the Prevention diet once and lost about 15 pounds in a few months and that diet also included eating something with monounsaturated fats, like nuts, olive oil, olives, avocado, etc. every time you eat. It's supposed to help burn fat.  Actually, if you are going to eat 2400 calories during the course of the day, it doesn't really matter whether you are going to eat them as six smaller meals of 400 calories each, or three larger meals of 800 calories each. Even if you were going for just two even larger meals of 1200 calories, your metabolism is not going to be affected (you need to be much longer without food for that to happen).   As to eating "good" fats (with or without other food items), that alone isn't going to have any fat burning effect. The diet you mentioned promoted those fats because they are considered "good" / "healthy". ... View more

OK, your profile photo (*) points to the site of the It works! company, which would make you a "wrapreneur". The company and their products have been discussed in this thread.   (*) photo promptly removed, but still available here: ... View more

Thanks for the link! I also just watched video reviews of the Basis Peak and of the Fitbit Surge. The Surge looks a lot more attractive to me, and I'd rather stay within the Fitbit "ecosystem" anyway. I don't see large companies like Intel, Sony or even Apple being able to compete against niche players like Fitbit. ... View more

@Nick17 wrote: One of the programs that I like due to its simplicity as well as consistency in exercises is Escalating Density Training developed by Charles Staley. Thanks for the tip, @Nick17! EDT looks interesting. Did you use the printed book, or a web site that summarized the method? ... View more

@Janelleks wrote: Does your fitness pal sync with the Fitbit? If so how did you do it? Did you have a look at:   https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/How-do-I-integrate-Fitbit-with-MyFitnessPal/   and:   https://www.myfitnesspal.com/apps/show/30 ... View more

@Knuxchan wrote: I plan on getting a Fitibit Charge HR to monitor my heart rate so I can accurately keep track of how much I'm burning when I workout. Although I have no experience with the Charge HR for the time being, I'm sure it's an excellent device. However, it's not going to be optimal for your stated purpose, for the reason explained here. Even if you do get the Fitbit Charge HR, you would therefore still want to log your workouts (strength training) separately, rather than use the calorie burn reported by your Fitbit for these activities.   As to the "calorie suggestion", the general consensus is it's easier to build muscle when on a caloric surplus than on a deficit, so you would want to eat slightly more than what you burn. You would also want to make sure you get enough protein, since it's the main building material for muscle.   However, your problem may not be that you need to build abs (with 12-15 hours of martial arts and parkour per week, one would think you already have decent abs), but rather to make them visible. If so (could well be the case, since you're posting on the Weight Loss forum), this would mean getting rid of some of the fat layer on top of your abs. Lowering your body fat while building muscle at the same time is usually a tall order. You may want to check books by Lyle McDonald, for instance The Stubborn Fat Solution.     ... View more

You didn't gain 60 pounds from chocolate cake alone. If chocolate cake is the one unhealthy item that you have the hardest time getting rid of, keep (some of) it, but focus on other unhealthy items that would be easier for you to discard. Maybe it's soda, pizza, donuts whatever. The bottom line is no magical supplement will offset the effects of your chocolate cakes (or, more generally, of a poor diet).   Regarding which supplements to take (if any), have a look at this short video. ... View more

@rn_gigi wrote: Thoughts about Beachbody products in general? Hip Hop Abs (and Insanity, and all their other workouts) is just one type of (very intense) aerobic exercise, and Shakeology is just one type of (proprietary and expensive) protein shake. Regardless of the outrageous claims they make, neither will suffice to make you lose weight, whether used alone or together.   I would rather recommend you watch the following five short videos:   http://www.precisionnutrition.com/course-for-women-day-1 http://www.precisionnutrition.com/course-for-women-day-2 http://www.precisionnutrition.com/course-for-women-day-3 http://www.precisionnutrition.com/course-for-women-day-4 http://www.precisionnutrition.com/course-for-women-day-5   Like Beachbody, they're also trying to sell you on their product. Unlike Beachbody, they provide sensible advice on what it takes to lose weight (or rather, fat), and you don't have to buy their product.   They have the exact same videos for men, btw: just replace "women" with "men" in the URL for each video.   I'm not affiliated with them and I haven't purchase a single product for them. I've just found what they say to be sound advice. ... View more

@Sifu wrote: Also when I set up my Fitbit had recorded calories burned already for several days even though it was new. Is that normal? As of today (Dec. 23), your profile only shows 17 steps logged on Dec. 21:     When did you set up your Fitbit and on what days were the mystery calories logged? I fail to see how you could have calories recorded for several days if you only have steps for a single day.   Even if your Fitbit were not new and contained data from its previous owner, you should only get data from it starting from the day when you first linked it to your account. ... View more

@Sifu wrote: I just got my Fitbit today as a present. I am a little dissapointed to find out it's just a pedometer. Is it effective at all for weightlifting, TRX or non step based workouts? Actually, your Fitbit is more than a pedometer. As @Heybales sometimes puts it, it's good for tracking the "other 23 hours" of the day (= when you are not working out), whatever you are doing (not necessarily walking/running).  For the one hour when you're lifting weights, doing TRX etc., your best bet (if you are interested in counting calories burned) would be to log them manually. Your Fitbit account provides a way to do that.   No other device (whether from Fitbit or other companies) is going to provide you with accurate calorie expenditure for the activities you mentioned. Not even devices that include a heart rate monitoring (like the new Fitbit Charge & Surge), for the reasons explained here. ... View more

@Lirok wrote: Sorry for my english... I speak french. @Lirok: pour info, il y a aussi des forums en français.     ... View more

@jcwootown wrote: I really logged a lot of steps and kept my caloric intake to 1000 / 1200 per day. A 1000-1200 calorie intake sounds extremely low for a man, especially if you are/were fairly active. Congrats on your weight loss in any case! ... View more

@ssathya wrote: 6mph is not walking. Most of us start to run around 4.25MPH and to best of my knowledge all of us run at 5mph. As someone suggested your stride length makes a difference. The current world record in the men's 50 km walk is 3 hours 32 minutes 33 seconds, which translates into an average speed of 14.1 km/h, ie. 8.8 mph. That is some serious walking (and the way they walk is not what you and me would call walking), so I agree with you: 6 mph is not walking (for the rest of us). ... View more

@AAWarrior wrote: Drink less soft drinks; Drink at least 64 oz. of water; Join an exercise class; Reduce sugar intake; Eat more raw veggies; Add a large salad each day; Add kale to your smoothie; Stretch for 10 minutes every day; Cook more meals at home; Eat your last meal before 7pm; Eat less after dinner; Sleep for 8 hours every night.   Remember the rule of 2: Eat twice as often; Chew twice as long; Eat half as much Most of the above makes sense, except the timing of your last meal. For most people, it doesn't really matter, or there are far more important factors (see http://www.precisionnutrition.com/nutrient-timing ). ... View more

@AAWarrior wrote: 1. JuicePlus+ Complete (power shake) and JuicePlus+ Premium (capsules).  [snip] Do you want to do the same... let me know So you're basically a JuicePlus+ representative and you would like to sell it to us? If so, you could disclose your vested interest beforehand. ... View more

This would really prove nothing, since calorie burn depends on your age, gender, weight, height etc. and we don't know anything about that.   Also note Fitbit has no clue about the incline on your treadmill: all it "sees" are steps, and it extrapolates your calorie burn from them, together with your personal data (above mentioned factors).   How many steps did your Fitbit (which model) count for your 35 min. walk? ... View more

If you mean this (Gazelle), then the answer is no: it's some kind of elliptical, which Fitbit isn't good at tracking. You will need to log it as activity. ... View more

Maybe around 11,000 steps. But maintaining an average pace of 180 steps per minute over a period of one hour is some serious walking. Why would that matter? ... View more

@Heybales wrote: App - I don't know, probably similar location. As far as I can see, the only body-related data the Android app will let you enter is weight and body fat. All the rest must be entered via the web-interface. Just had a look at my iPad: it seems it's the same with the iOS app. ... View more

 If you mean you have "stubborn fat" in that area you want to get rid of, no exercise will specifically target that area (you can't "spot-reduce"). Fat reduction will come mainly from nutrition, though building muscle under the fat will be useful (revealed when the fat layer is thinner). ... View more

How much does it cost to take part in either of these challenges? ... View more

One thing you may want to check is the setting for calorie estimation (enabled or disabled), under Preferences in your profile. If you are wearing your Fitbit all the time, then you would want to disable calorie estimation (I believe it is enabled by default). ... View more

@Heybales wrote: I'd prefer an app that is specific and does it right, start getting that issue of everything but the kitchen sink, and then everything works mediocre. Is the above wishful thinking, or are you aware of an app that already does that? If so, what is it? ... View more

This is strange indeed, because you should only have friends, and friends of friends, in your challenges. And one get to join a challenge if invited by the person who created the challenge, or one who already joined it.   Of course, it's possible someone has "friends" they do not "know". For instance, I currently have 92 friends, and I certainly do not "know" all of them.   If you go to Options in your challenge with "strangers", you can see the list of players in the challenge. Click on the name of the stranger and you will see his/her friends. Maybe this will provide a clue. ... View more

@RobynKTakami wrote: I would love to see FitBit include weight lifting options in the activity log: type of exercise, sets of lifts, weight used in each set, and number of set repetitions. MyFitnessPal lets you do this:   I also believe you can sync calories burned in activities logged with MyFitnessPal to your Fitbit account.   It's probably easier to calculate what you burn in typical 30, 45 and 60 minute strength training sessions (using the calculator in MFP) and enter them manually (based on duration and perceived intensity) in Fitbit. It's an estimation anyway, and who really cares if it's off by 50 calories one way or the other.   I personally don't bother logging calories burned in strength training at all (I don't log calories eaten either), but I do log the actual exercises (number of reps/sets + weights being used) ... in an old-fashioned notebook.   ... View more

Where did you see the Basis Peak uses "electrodes"? My understanding is it will use LEDs, to "see" the blood flow under your skin by illuminating it. This is how the MIO Alpha works. I've been using one for more than a year, without any issue whatsoever. No chemistry, nor electricity is involved. I believe the Charge HR will be using the same technology, unless it ships with a conventional chest strap sensor and communicates with it via Bluetooth. ... View more

Thanks for pointing me to the forthcoming Fitbit Charge and Charge HR, I had a look at the Gizmodo story about them. I wouldn't have believed Fitbit would introduce a tracker with HR monitoring capabilities. The display of the Charge looked very tiny to me (compared to the Basis Peak, which looks more like a smart watch). I could see myself using both the Fitbit One and the Basis Peak side-by-side, rather than replacing the One with the Charge. ... View more

I recently expressed the view that juicing was wasteful. Some disagreed, you may want to have a look at that discussion. ... View more

Your profile shows you have been using your Fitbit for about a week, and you have been averaging about 12,000 steps for the past few days. Do you feel it is a sustainable level over time, given your current physical shape, your time constraints etc.? You do not have to reach your daily goal every day, think more of a weekly goal, to allow for some flexibility. As @whome said, exercise is only a (small) part of the weight loss equation, you need to get the eating part right. And I'll add steps are only part of the exercise equation: you'd also want to include other kind of activities, like some strength training. And fat loss would be a better term than weight loss: you'd want to minimise muscle loss during your weight loss. ... View more

I guess it depends a lot on what is "home" and what is "overseas". The majority of Fitbit users appear to be US-based. If it is your case, studying abroad might well make it easier for you to stick to healthier eating habits, given that America is the land of gigantic portions and ubiquitous fast food joints ... View more

My main point wasn't that you are a personal trainer, a certified nutrionist, a fitness instructor, a Beachbody coach or whatever. It was that you are offering commercial services (I assume taking part in your "accountability group" doesn't come free) without stating so upfront. This may not be obvious to unsuspecting forum readers like @ogdenlady and others. ... View more

@joestencowwife wrote: do you happen to know if Digifit works with the Health app by Apple? See: http://blog.digifit.com/2014/09/digifit-healthkit-integration-delayed-apple-bug/ ... View more

@Voodoogal63 wrote: I just got my scale.  How do you keep track of your bmi on the scale? Your Aria scale won't tell you about your BMI (only weight and body fat), but it doesn't need to: BMI is displayed in your Fitbit account. Click See More in the Weight tile (lower right corner), or go to https://www.fitbit.com/weight, then select the BMI tab. ... View more