• You just expressed the problem I am having with podcasts! That, and the fact that I just don't have the time to park and listen to one, usually.

  • I pretty much follow Dr. Mercola's "intermittent fasting" guidelines. I don't eat anything before about 06:30 (AM), or after 17:00 (5:30 PM). So, for me, late-night snacking isn't an issue (except on New Year's... I do toast the New Year with organic ginger ale). Before I got into fitness, I weighed 237 pounds and had congestive heart failure (in June of 2010). After getting my aortic valve replaced and my mitral valve repaired, I made up my mind to get in shape. We already had our own treadmill, so I began to use it. I switched to all-organic foods, got a Fitbit tracker, and the end result is that I'm in better shape now than I was at 30 (and I'll be 73 in December). I do count calories, and I do log activities, but the big bonus derived from eating organic is that organic foods are more nutrient-dense than processed chemical garbage sold in most stores, so you really don't need to eat as much in order to feel full. My stomach rarely growls. And I lost a total of 107 pounds in three years of constantly improving my activities and eating habits. So, the short answer to your question is simple: I prefer not to eat late at night. Not only that, but I make a strong effort to get 8 hours sleep per night (the Fitbit helps with that, too, by tracking your sleep and the quality of it). If you're asleep, you're not eating, so the late-night snack question is rather moot. :-)

  • Wow! That is truly amazing! I can't even begin to imagine the degree of patience it took to do that!

  • My birthday is December 23 (1943). I'll be 73. I should say a "young" 73, because I don't look or act old! Always said that when I grow up, I wanna be a kid, and I think I reached that goal a long time ago!

  • I'm back! Chores done. As I was saying earlier, I got a Fitbit Ultra in December, 2011, and that little gadget is the ultimate motivator. It tracks steps, calories burned, etc.; you log in the foods you eat (on the web site), and your activities, and you get a fair idea of calories burned vs. calories eaten. I got it down to a science, and have maintained my goal weight within one pound up or down for a year. I do use my treadmill every day, at least 3 miles (usually more); I do aim for 8 hours sleep every night (and average a wee bit better than that). Fitbit tracks your sleep, too, and tells you how many hours you spent in bed, how many of those hours were actually spent asleep, and how many times you were restless, giving you a fairly accurate track of actual sleep time and percentage of the total time (efficiency) you were asleep. Since I'm retired, I have plenty of time to keep accurate records, recording vital signs twice a day (average BP is 109/56; pulse 57). Taking printouts to doctor appointments really helps the doctor to see a more accurate picture of your condition than what he gets in his exam room. It is also a good way to see when something starts to go wrong before it becomes an emergency. One other thing about real fitness: diet. I eat ONLY organic foods. I eat no grains (I'm gluten-free), and no soda, not even organic soda. I do all my own cooking and am addicted to chicken wings. The important thing to take away from all this is that everything you eat should be organic. Period. It makes a HUGE difference, in total nutrient value and how full you feel after eating. I can eat only 1000 calories in a day and not feel hungry. Or, I can eat 1800 calories in a day, not feel hungry, and not gain weight, either. Organic makes the difference, and I'm 107 pounds lighter to prove it! I hope this proves useful to someone else... we weren't all stamped out by cookie-cutters, and each of us is different, genetically, but some basics really do apply to most everyone. Good luck, all, with your fitness programs, and keep on stepping!

  • Hi... I've been "Bitemore" since my first computer in 1998, so most people know me (online) by that name. Anyway, I've been using Fitbit since December, 2011, and lost 107 pounds with it. I use my treadmill for an hour every day, generally going 3.30 miles; I'm gonna be 73 in December, so I think I'm doing rather well for a fossil! I got into fitness when I had open-heart surgery in 2010. You might say I "got religion" with that, because I immediately decided to get fit, and fast, because the alternative didn't look like it would be much fun. Oooops... I gotta go; will be back very soon (have urgent chores to do)! This site looks like it may be a LOT of fun!

  • Thanks for that! It never would have occurred to me that it might be a problem. Forewarned is forearmed. Good information to have at least until the "bug" is removed!