About Dominique

@TCG wrote: It may not look like you are loosing weight but your are trading fat for lean muscle. Could be, but not very likely a net gain (muscle gain - fat loss) would be that big in just two weeks. Building additional muscle mass is a slow process, even for males (and it's even slower for females). ... View more

@jonrog1 wrote: I was thinking of adding a 10 pound weight vest to a few of my walks. I have a friend who uses one, it's really made a difference. What difference hasn't it made? I'm not convinced carrying 10 extra pounds will make that much of a difference in terms of calories burned.   Is running not an option? That would be the obvious way to burn more within the same amount of time. If not, have you considered nordic walking? Very popular over here (Finland), especially among older folks and people who cannot run. Will make you walk much faster and won't be (literally!) a burden like a weight vest. Will also engage your upper body. ... View more

Your daily deficits sound extremely high in absolute terms, especially given your activity level was fairly high during the past week (12 to 16k steps per day as per your profile, plus the non-step-based activities you mentioned). Are you new to exercising? If so, you could have put a lot of stress on your body by increasing sharply your exercise level while drastically restricting calories at the same time.   Anyway, two weeks is a short time. Better take smaller steps (increase your exercise level progressively, make your deficit more reasonable) and aim at longer term results. ... View more

@LewWagner wrote: it's better to track daily and then just look at the trends rather than worrying why one or two days you're not losing weight.  I fully agree with this. For that reason, I only step once at a time on my scale (Fitbit Aria). I know some people step 4-5 times in a row and then complain they see different values each time. My take on this is that even if there's a discrepancy on one particular day, the "noise" will disappear when looking at longer series. ... View more

@Nick17 wrote: DEXA scans are the most accurate way to assess body fat percentages.  Instruments that use bioelectrical impedance can largely over-estimate or under-estimate the percentage of body fat, depending on a number of factors, one being hydration and the readings can even vary throughout a day if taken at different times. The method used by the Bod Pod mentioned by @Michael ("air-displacement plethysmography") doesn't appear to be sensitive to hydration, like bioelectrical impedance. The site includes links to studies validating it against reference methods, including DXA.   That said, I still intend to do a DXA scan, as I understand it's the "gold standard", as you said.   Btw, @Nick17, are you familiar with the BodyMetrix, by the company IntelaMetrix? I've seen it mentioned by a fitness professional as a reliable (though rather pricey) way for home assessment of body fat. It has good reviews on Amazon. ... View more

@Michael wrote: No it wasn't expensive, $45 for a single test. (The local vendor here offers a discount if you want to pre-pay for multiple tests to track your progress.)   It looks like there are a few sites with the full BodPod in the UK, but availability over there appears limited. Yes, $45 isn't too bad. I assume it only gives you a single value for overall body fat, like the Aria, right?   As a matter of fact, I will be in the US in late October, so I may give it a try, if I can find a suitable place. ... View more

Baklava was just an example, I'm sure you have access to plenty of similar delicacies in China! My point was love handles must be tackled primarily through nutrition, though exercise can't harm. ... View more

Start cutting on the baklava ... View more

You can't "spot reduce" your body fat. You need to lower your overall body fat % and hope the reduction will come from the "right" places. ... View more

I have no idea, but I've always been wondering why people feel there's a need for "detoxes". If you're currently eating toxic food (and/or drinking toxing drinks), wouldn't it be sufficient to drop the toxic stuff and switch to healthy alternatives (eg. plain water instead of sodas)? I can't imagine the toxic stuff in your body is in a closed circuit and will continue to be there forever, unless some magical "detox" is applied. ... View more

@CandyElektra wrote: How does bike riding count towards your steps when fitbit doesn't recognize it with their pedometer? It doesn't. All you can do with your bike riding is log it as an activity, so you will get calories from it. However, you won't get steps from it, nor from any other non-step-based activity.   Some people put their Fitbit in their socks or around their ankle (depending on model) when biking, and they claim this will give them extra steps. Maybe, but that still doesn't change the fact biking is a non-step-based activity and Fitbit is a pedometer, ie. a device designed to count steps. ... View more

Thanks, Michael, for the link to your older post! It was the first time I heard about the Bod Pod Express. They do say it's "available only for the US market" (I'm based in Europe). Was it expensive?   I'll definitely post results about DXA if/when I get a scan done. ... View more

Just curious: how were you able to establish you lost internal fat (which, by definition, is not visible) if you haven't had it determined by any reliable way (eg. via a DEXA scan)? People can indeed have fat both superficially (below their skin) and internally (around their organs). However, I very much doubt you can selectively reduce only one type of fat (the internal one) without the other being affected, just like you cannot "spot reduce" superficial fat either. ... View more

I don't think it matters much, whatever suits you best. If walking at the same speed, you will be burning the same amount of calories doing 1 x 20k, 2 x 10k or 4 x 5k. Of course, you may be able to walk faster during shorter walks. ... View more

With best friends like her, who needs enemies You do not seem to be overweight, but if you feel like you must lose a few pounds, here are the most common reasons for people your age gaining weight: they drink lots of sodas and eat lots of junk food. I know it can be difficult to avoid it because of group pressure: if everyone around you drinks soda, you will feel like doing the same. Same when a group of friend is going to McDonald's or similar. Drink water instead of soda, eat healthy food instead of burgers, pizzas and other fast food and your weight will be in control.   As to exercise, you don't have to run if you don't like it. Walking is a great exercise and your Fitbit is the perfect way to make sure you do enough of it. Your profile shows many days at around 5000 steps. This is low for someone your age. Take 45-60 minutes per day of TV time or Facebook time and go out for a walk instead, so you get your 10,000 daily steps. ... View more

@gourdman wrote: I have the Flex Fitbit and I don't hold on when I'm on the Treadmill. I tie the Fitbit to the loop in my belt or the strings on my sweats. It seem to record just fine that way. I can't really comment, because I'm not using a Flex (I've got an One) and I don't have a treadmill either. However, my understanding is Fitbit trackers should be worn as recommended (eg. wrist-mounted trackers on wrist, waist-mounted trackers on waist) for optimal accuracy. It would be interesting to hear about other Flex users who have a treadmill. ... View more

@bss wrote: cannot get to 1500 steps....NEED IDEAS.... Based on your profile, you seem to have been using your Fitbit since August 12 (ie. almost one month) and your daily step count has varied from 2598 to 15,995 during that period, averaging maybe 7000. So what is your exact problem?   If you find it hard to reach the recommended average of 10,000 per day, you don't have to do it right away. Just set yourself a goal that you can achieve right now (eg. 8000 steps) and increase it progressively over time. Instead of focusing on the daily goal, focus on the weekly goal instead (eg. reaching 56,000 weekly steps instead of 8000 daily).   Try to analyze the reasons why you cannot reach your goal: is it because you are too out of shape? Or because of lack of time? etc. ... View more

@gourdman wrote: For some reason it won't count your steps on the treadmill if your wear the Fitbit on your wrist. Which Fitbit tracker do you have? What are you doing with your hands when on the treadmill? ... View more

@HealthChallenge wrote: Could you tell me more about the Green Challenge Usually, "challenges" promoted on Fitbit forums, especially when little information is supplied about them and/or there are invitations to join a Facebook group to learn more about them, are merely disguised advertising for Beachbody products (or equivalent schemes). ... View more

@JPP wrote: I just calculated my body fat % You can't really "calculate" your body fat, and whatever method you used to do it won't be terribly useful in order to let you see a trend over time (if/when you start losing weight). Even the method used by the Fitbit Aria (BIA, for bioelectrical impedance analysis) isn't very accurate in absolute terms, but the scale is very easy to use, and if used properly it will return consistent values that will let you see a trend over time. At least this is my experience after 14 months of using it. The scale is expensive, but since you are two Fitbit users in the same household, you can split the cost.   Following lean mass vs. body fat during a weight loss program is especially important for older folks, as it's much harder for them to regain lost muscle mass. Using your Fitbit to move more – and, consequently, burn more calories than you eat – will be useful, but it would be a good idea to do strength training as well, in order to minimize lean mass loss during your weight loss. ... View more

BMI is only a ratio that involves weight and height: it can be calculated even if you have no tracker. However, I fail to see how your partner could get body fat and lean mass values without an Aria scale (or similar), or without manually logging body fat %. In my case, the Lean vs. Fat graphs takes its values from my Aria scale. ... View more

@tsteele wrote: I was eating between 500-1000 a day and I work out a fair bit, normally burning over 4000 cals a day. A 4000 calorie burn is rather high, especially for a female. A 500-1000 calorie intake is very low, including for a female. I very much doubt a 3000-3500 daily calorie deficit can be sustained by anyone over several weeks/months. ... View more

Do you have a Fitbit Aria (or another compatible scale, that will attempt to evaluate your body fat %)? If not, you will need to determine your body fat % in some way and log it manually in your Fitbit account. Fitbit trackers only track steps: Fitbit can derive calories burn from that (together with your age, gender, weight and height), but not your body fat. ... View more

You can find a humoristic take on classifying the activity level of people based on their daily step count here. ... View more

The following links were posted some time ago by @Heybales :   http://www.leangains.com/2010/01/how-to-deal-with-water-retention-part.html http://www.leangains.com/2010/01/how-to-deal-with-water-retention-part_28.html ... View more

@ZachCzajka wrote: Every morning I go on the elliptical for 30 minutes and run on the treadmill for 30 mins. Should I assume the fitbit provides me with the accurate amount of calories I actually burned? For the elliptical (and any other non-step-based activity), the answer is: no. You should log them separately, as explained here:   https://help.fitbit.com/customer/portal/articles/413311-how-do-i-log-or-record-an-activity- ... View more

@Heybales   has a point: do you or do you not have a Fitbit tracker? Using the mobile app without a physical tracker doesn't make much sense to me. If you could afford an iPhone, just splash the few extra bucks needed to get a Fitbit tracker. ... View more

@K9dancer wrote: You are getting enough if when you pee, it's light in color.  That's what I do: look at the colour. The good thing about being a male in his fifties with a growing prostate is you get many occasions to perform a visual inspection during the course of the day    When it's colourless, I know I'm drinking enough. No need to use the stupid (for metric users) quick add presets (236.6 ml, 499.8 ml, 730.5 ml and 1,014.4 ml) of the mobile app. ... View more

@faat_headd wrote: I use an app called Map my run, which auto logs it on fitbit What Fitbit data gets overriden, when you auto-sync the Map My Run data to your Fitbit account? ... View more

@Sammi555 wrote: For distance, mapping etc. I also use Map My Run.  I also use a running app for distance and mapping, as well as heart rate data. Instead of Map My Run (which I briefly tried), I prefer using Runtastic Pro. Like you, I don't log anything from the running app into Fitbit: I just don't see the point, and this would most likely mess things like very active minutes. ... View more

@Heybales wrote: @wsc wrote: Do you log runs separately when you wear the fitbit while you exercise? Yes, because for running (even with manually tested and entered stride length) the calorie count is way off compared to more accurate means. What do you use to obtain calories burned during your runs, then? Is Fitbit under- or over-estimating calories, compared to the allegedly more accurate count? ... View more

Look at this Fitbit One being charged in a European (Finnish) socket: ... View more

@Sammi555 wrote: What I'm looking to start working on now is toning up and I want to make sure I'm doing it right. [...] My main focus is my tummy - I'd like to get rid of a bit of a tummy and get to a stage where I have some definition. I'd also like to start working on my "bingo wings". "Toning up" is really lowering your body fat %, so that your muscles become visible. This is done primarily through nutrition.   You can't "spot reduce" your body fat: you'll just have to reduce it overall and hope the reduction will come from the desired places. The reduction could just as well occur in your breasts and your buttocks, rather than in your tummy and bingo wings... ... View more

@MattRutherford wrote: Has anyone tried Dukan? Haven't tried his diet, but the guy is very controversial, to say the least (I happen to be French, like him, so I've followed the news about him). What made you choose this particular diet? ... View more

@JulieVM wrote: How many steps do any of you average on a typical day? Asking this question on a forum like this will only give you anecdotal evidence. If you are really interested in meaningful stats (especially for people comparable to you in terms of age and corpulence), you should have a look at the benchmarks under the Premium plan, as explained in this other discussion. You can get a free trial for a week, which will sufficient to get these stats. ... View more

@_Kayla_ wrote: how do you suggest I find a workout routine that fits me? Sparkpeople has a lot of workouts that you can do without expensive equipments:   http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/resource_center.asp?id=33 ... View more