Losing Weight in 2016

[elaine amj]

@Bee21 I found the hardest part was getting through the first 1-2 weeks of being hungry all the time. Then I feel great for a few weeks and everything is on track and it is super easy to eat within my calories. Then I hit another hunger phase.

I think I will have to remember that when it hits me next. I plan to try being kind to myself, maybe eating at maintenance for a few days, and not go in a downward spiral just because I ate too much in one meal.

On a more mushy note, I am so thankful for this group. Hearing everyone's individual stories, struggles, and successes is incredibly helpful. And u guys also motivate me to claw out of downward spirals...I'm always excited to post wins here. And yet, it is also a safe place to post when I fall.


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[Frugal Lizard]

have to go to a meeting in the city today and put on the good clothes - EVERYTHING IS LOOSER
gotta run....

[Geostache]

I think I will have to remember that when it hits me next. I plan to try being kind to myself, maybe eating at maintenance for a few days, and not go in a downward spiral just because I ate too much in one meal.

On a more mushy note, I am so thankful for this group. Hearing everyone's individual stories, struggles, and successes is incredibly helpful. And u guys also motivate me to claw out of downward spirals...I'm always excited to post wins here. And yet, it is also a safe place to post when I fall.

I feel the same way! Y'all have been an inspiration to me and have helped tremendously!

[elaine amj]

have to go to a meeting in the city today and put on the good clothes - EVERYTHING IS LOOSER
gotta run....

WOOT!!!!!!! Now that is an amazing feeling!

[NeverLost]

I will be very happy to get to the "everything is looser" phase!  Great job! 

I weighed myself this am.  Down .6 lbs only.  I was a tad disappointed since I felt like I did a pretty good job last week but oh well.  I am going to try to stick to the same plan this week and if I can keep up the .5-1lb range then I'll probably keep going as I am.  If it drops under .5lbs/week then I need to make more drastic changes...  Tonight is not helping, I am making a huge Italian dinner for my mom's bday.  Going to have to stay away from the limoncello cream sauce!

[elaine amj]

Have to confess - I was planning to have no snacks today. In a moment of weakness, I raided my stash of cheese puffs. Promised myself one serving. Well, of course that wasn't enough and I ate a second serving. Thank goodness the bag is now empty. 300 extra calories...ouch. I've been enjoying my lengthy evening walks but doesn't look like the weather will hold out for a walk tonight. Good thing my planned dinner is an under 300 cal Vietnamese summer roll and I already assembled the fixings last night! All in all, it shouldn't hurt me too much and I'm still hopeful I will be under my weekly calorie goal.

Enough complaining - what's everyone's favourite low-cal go-to these days? I'm loving spaghetti squash and zucchini noodles. While they aren't noodles, once I drown them in sauce, they taste close enough to fool my brain. This week, I made spag squash with a meat ragu and am so impressed that a big portion (I'm definitely full after that!) clocks in at 350 calories. Actual spaghetti would have doubled that.

[oneday]

I think I will have to remember that when it hits me next. I plan to try being kind to myself, maybe eating at maintenance for a few days, and not go in a downward spiral just because I ate too much in one meal.

On a more mushy note, I am so thankful for this group. Hearing everyone's individual stories, struggles, and successes is incredibly helpful. And u guys also motivate me to claw out of downward spirals...I'm always excited to post wins here. And yet, it is also a safe place to post when I fall.

I feel the same way! Y'all have been an inspiration to me and have helped tremendously!

+1

[Frugal Lizard]

I think I will have to remember that when it hits me next. I plan to try being kind to myself, maybe eating at maintenance for a few days, and not go in a downward spiral just because I ate too much in one meal.

On a more mushy note, I am so thankful for this group. Hearing everyone's individual stories, struggles, and successes is incredibly helpful. And u guys also motivate me to claw out of downward spirals...I'm always excited to post wins here. And yet, it is also a safe place to post when I fall.

I feel the same way! Y'all have been an inspiration to me and have helped tremendously!

+1

+1 me too

Back from my trip into the city.  It ended up meaning lunch out.  I had a mango salad and a chicken summer roll.  A large salad is dang hard to eat during a lunch meeting.  So much chewing time.  On the drive back home I ate some of my packed lunch - Probably a few too many almonds and cashews but my pants are still loose.  I had to take my DH's car because my car still has winter tires on and it is warm today.  No radio so I think I was eating because of boredom.  Must get the radio fixed.

[Bee21]

Need to work on the willpower muscles this weekend. Last weekend i survived the big party without overeating, yay. I made a really good hummus and brought veggie sticks. Camping weekend is coming, that is danger zone.

Bought the chips i hate and no pretzels.

I just have to be super good around the cheese and wine. Hb expects me to cart out the cheese platter every afternoon on long weekends.

Keep up the work people, we can do it.

[Geostache]

Friday weigh-in day here. I'm down 0.6 lb, which is good considering that I was on work travel this week. Long hours and out of my eating routine. I think I did fairly well, though. I tracked it all and made good choices when I was forced to dine out. I'm paying closer attention to how food makes me feel, and I'm finding (no surprise!) that I feel crappy when I eat junk food. Go figure! I was happy to be home and have my breakfast smoothie this morning.

1/01/16: 182.8
4/08/16: 155.2
4/15/16: 156.8 (+1.6)
4/22/16: 156.2

Goal: 140

@Bee21: Can you add in some fruit with the cheese? Intersperse one serving of cheese with some grapes or berries. That way, you can have some, but stretch it out and trick your brain into thinking you're eating a lot of cheese! When you figure out how to trick yourself with wine, let me know! :-)

@Frugal Lizard: Way to go on the clothes! That's always a good feeling.

@Elaine: That spring roll sounds amazing! I've used the noodler for potatoes too. It works well to keep the calorie count down and also make me feel like I've had a huge portion of potatoes.

[elaine amj]

@Geostache It is interesting to learn more about your body, isn't it?

@Bee21 I love @Geostache's suggestion of adding the fruit!

I'm switching up to a Friday weigh in. I like Fridays - and typically have the lowest weight on Fridays. I have detailed records of my daily weigh-ins so I am going to adjust the numbers for Friday.

Jan 1 2016: 154 lbs....Jan 8 2016: 153.2 lbs....Jan 15 2016:149.2 lbs....Jan 22 2016: 148 lbs....Jan 29 2016....147.4 lbs
Feb 5 2016: 145.2 lbs..Feb 12 2016: 142.8 lbs..Feb 19 2016: 140.6 lbs...Feb 26 2016: 140.8 lbs
Mar 4 2016: 139 lbs....Mar 11 2016: 138 lbs.....Mar 18 2016: VACAY......Mar 25 2016: 136.8 lbs
Apr 1 2016: 137.8 lbs..Apr 8 2016: 136.8 lbs....Apr 15 2016: 135.8 lbs...Apr 22 2016: 134.8 lbs

19.2 lbs lost
GOAL WEIGHT: 130 lbs

WOW - who knew I was so precise? Exactly 1 lb a week for the last 4 weeks! By this time next week, I should hit my 20 lb weight loss mark. Crazy! I'm so very close to goal weight....but I doubt I will be satisfied there. I still feel so big! And I can't see my toes yet, which means there is still more to lose. I don't know what my ideal is - probably about 100 - 110 lbs? After I pass 130, I'm going to celebrate...then stretch to 120 lbs and see if I am happy there. That's about where I was in university and while I still had extra padding, I felt pretty good.

The weirdest part is - although my clothes feel looser, I still can't fit into a lot of clothes in my wardrobe. And things that I loved to wear last year...look dreadful on me now. I think I need to haul out everything in my wardrobe and do a whole parade in front of the mirror thing to see things clearly. I currently feel like I have nothing to wear - basically wear the same thing every day (work golf shirt in navy blue or black and black dress pants). My boss has already been asking me where all my fun spring outfits are. 

[Frugal Lizard]

No change on the scale.
Still keeping up the eaten journal entries.  This seems to be working as a motivator to not put something in my mouth.
Snacking on fruits and vegetables is going well.  Almost everything that I bought last weekend is gone.  There is one sad pear waiting to be eaten.
Decided that feeling hungry feels less uncomfortable than feeling I have after eating junk food. 

Elaine:  your body may change shape over time so you may have buy things with a slightly different cut.  But I think that is another thread.....

[elaine amj]

@Frugal Lizard I'm learning to be at peace with occasionally being hungry. It really is OK to be hungry sometimes. (Especially when I am saving up calories for a big meal). I am hungry now - but I'll have dinner in a couple of hours.

[RedmondStash]

@Frugal Lizard I'm learning to be at peace with occasionally being hungry. It really is OK to be hungry sometimes.

+1

For me, cravings are harder to deal with than plain hunger.

[RedmondStash]

Weigh-in day.

3/12: 162.6
3/19: 161.8
3/26: 159.6
4/2: 160.2
4/9: 158.4
4/16: 158.4
4/23: 158.4

Hey, at least I'm consistent.

I'm wondering if my body is going into starvation mode, because I've been eating consistently less over the past couple of months even than last time I lost weight. I'm trying to believe that if I keep pushing forward, I'll get the results I want, but it's disheartening to see that needle not move for 3 weeks in a row.

On the bright side, the number isn't creeping up. So there's that.

[elaine amj]

@RedmondStash I forget - do u weigh your food? What about activity levels? Is it different between then and now?

Do u weigh daily or just the weekly weigh in? Might be worth trying a daily weigh in.

Hang in there- u can beat this!


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[Frugal Lizard]

I think I am down a pound.  Scale has small ticks but the needle is definitely not as close to 140 as it was.

Quite proud of myself for planning for social eating.  I think I am getting into mindful eating.
Friday night neighborhood happy hour - I made dinner super early and ate a small portion before I went.  I brought tomato juice as my beverage but I was sitting beside the bowl of chips but I abstained from all the passed around treats.  It was freezing cold so I hope I burned calories shivering.
Yesterday I worked outside until my muscles were sore.  I lifted heavy stuff and shoveled and raked and hauled loads of rocks, gravel, leaves, compost, mulch and concrete blocks.  I had my regular meals but outside and away from the kitchen - no snacking and I wasn't hungry all day until 5 and then I was starving.  Then I started eating the snacks that everyone was bringing out.  Maybe fell of the wagon for 10 minutes.
We had plans to go out for dinner using a gift certificate from Christmas at a very fancy restaurant.  I had hoped to walk but hubby's feet had blisters from some new to him shoes so we drove.  The beef special was 12 oz sirloin so we asked if we could share the entree.  We each had a salad - I had Caesar - but lightly dressed and no croutons (gluten free) and then we split this huge entree.  It was plenty for two.  Hubby had dessert but since it wasn't gluten free I had none.  One glass of red wine.  Didn't feel stuffed (which is how I usually leave a restaurant) and had nothing for the rest of the night.

I am thinking that getting engaged in a physical task totally takes my mind off food. 
Invited out for dinner at a neighbor's tonight.  She is a retired freelance recipe developer and takes her dinner invitations very seriously.  I am planning to eat lightly all day, drink lots of water and work on my garden hard so that I have earned those calories.
Woke up and I am starving.  Going to have tea (neat) and a piece of fruit before I load the calories.

[RedmondStash]

@RedmondStash I forget - do u weigh your food? What about activity levels? Is it different between then and now?

Do u weigh daily or just the weekly weigh in? Might be worth trying a daily weigh in.

Hang in there- u can beat this!

Thanks, Elaine. I don't weigh my food; I use calorieking.com to estimate calories. I used to weigh food many years ago, but I've got a pretty good eye for it now.

Activity levels are definitely lower. I'm gradually working up to the levels I was at before, but they're probably currently about 1/2 to 2/3 of what they were. I have to be really careful not to overdo it or I can wipe myself out for days, so I'm increasing super-slowly.

I'm also older. :) And my metabolism is definitely slowing down.

I'll think about the daily weigh-in. I generally find that when I do it daily, I start obsessing too much about what I eat. I'm trying to stay balanced, you know? And I know that over time, even weekly weigh-ins average out fairly accurately. It's a long, long game.

Mostly, I'm trying to remind myself that I am on track, and that it takes time. The most important thing is not to just throw in the towel. And I am actually grateful that the numbers aren't still going up, as they were doing steadily over the last year and a half or so.

@Frugal Lizard -- sounds like you did really well. Mindfulness really does seem like the key.

[elaine amj]

@frugal lizard That's awesome!! I love that u have come up with a plan that lets u indulge where appropriate and yet still eat less overall. So glad u are seeing some movement on the scale!

I went for one of those fundraising chicken and pasta dinners yesterday. Ate 2 big plates of greasy roasted chicken and pasta. It totalled 880 cals or so. But, I skipped breakfast, have been going for long walks all week (to build a surplus), and still have almost 2000 calories left for today (the end of the week). My base calories is just 1230 a day - I love that I somehow always end each week with so much wiggle room. Especially since I tend to have big meals on the weekends. Hoping to finally finish the bread pudding I baked a week ago!


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[elaine amj]

@RedmondStash if your activity levels are less and food about the same as before, then that could be why the scale is so slow. Try cutting the cals a wee bit more (maybe by 100-200 cals a day) and look for a slow loss. Good luck finding the right balance.


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[SingleMomDebt]

I'm jumping on ship! Get older and the weight just doesn't come off anymore!!! Grrrr. Haha.

I know its also work. But since I am still working i will need to work on other means for losing this stuff.

Two years ago I was 10lbs lighter. I cannot keep this up! My weakness, I am a snacker. And My exercise activity is very, very light. Cuz I am very, very busy at a desk.

Okay, stats:

5'7' and 170 lbs :(

I am so sad about it. I feel the weight now.
And it makes me very self conscious.

My comfy weight used to be 135 and I was good with that. Not sure I will get there again. But would be happy with 140 - 145.

Plan: we have these really good flights of stairs (6 floors). I'm gonna attempt it - for start - up/down 1x day. Then work it up (there is a guy at work who does then 12x a day). And I am going back on portion control and logging food down.

[Bee21]

Camping weekend went well. The tracks were so rough that i didn't feel like eating at all. :)

Minimal cheese has been eaten, no pretzels, yay. I added sliced apples and pears to the cheese platter and it Worked well. Alternated wine with sparkling water (drank 1 bottle in 3 days by the campfire).

All in all, glad i didn't pig out. It was great to prepare mentally for the eating scenarios and have a strategy to avoid overeating in social situations.

Emergency carrots, people!

[Frugal Lizard]

Emergency carrots, people!

+1

Chippewa - welcome to thread.  I have been doing this for 10 days and these guys have really made me feel welcome. 

[elaine amj]

Chippewa - welcome!! So glad to have you here. You know the most awesome thing? you're taking a stand and making a change NOW. Just imagine if you continue as you are for the next few years. How many more extra pounds will you have to lose then?

@Bee21 LOL to the emergency carrots! It's so true that having a plan helps so very much. Kudos to you for using all those fantastic hacks.

@Frugal lizard You've been amazing to have around. Thanks for sharing your journey with all the rest of us :)

[Cookie78]

First thing I'd like to say is how inspiring you all are! Good work everyone.

The bad news is that my upward trend is still in full force. Also in full force, the trend where my weight goes down all week, then jumps back up for Monday weigh in day! (I weigh myself daily, but have a graph of the Monday weight-ins going back a few years.) No matter.

The good news is that I'm done fixing the basement suite and the bulk of the necessary yard work (still tons of fun gardening to do), my energy levels seem to be improving immensely (I was going to bed at 7pm, but now I'm up without effort until 10pm), and I'm ready to get back on track.

Starting today I'm back to tracking calories. I'm going to fit in a little exercise routine and build some extra muscle and endurance. I have a motivating and epic expedition planned in a couple years that I need to start physically working towards now.

@Frugal Lizard I'm learning to be at peace with occasionally being hungry. It really is OK to be hungry sometimes.

+1

For me, cravings are harder to deal with than plain hunger.

Back a few years ago when I was doing really well at losing weight I found that I actually enjoyed that feeling of being a little hungry. I associated the slight hunger feeling with the thought of losing weight and progressing towards my goals and it made me smile. I hope to find that ability again soon! But I agree about cravings. Vicious things!

Monday check in:

Jan 4 Starting weight: 160
Jan 11 weight: 156
Jan 18 weight: 155.2
Jan 25 weight: 156.8
Feb 1 weight: 155.2
Feb 8 weight: 153.2
Feb 15 weight: 151.6
Feb 22 weight 152.6
Feb 29 weight 152.2
Mar 7 weight 149.4
Mar 14 weight 149.4
Mar 21 weight 149.6
Mar 28 weight 149.2
Apr 4 weight 151.2
Apr 11 weight 151.4
Apr 18 weight 152.0
Apr 25 weight 152.2
Goal weight: 130

[StarBright]

I finally dug out the scale this weekend to see if cutting back on snacks has made a difference - My scale doesn't work anymore! I think this is the universe telling me to  not make it a numbers thing yet :) For now I'll just keep with the better habits and see if it makes a difference in how I feel. I have a couple of dresses from pre-kids and a more recent pair of skinny jeans that I might use as my gauge for now.

Re-arranged my kitchen this weekend to encourage fruit and green smoothie consumption. We moved to a new state this year for a job and landed in smaller apartment and I realize now how much a kitchen affects my cooking and general relationship with food. In our old house I made green smoothies several times a week but there is not a good place for my Vitamix in the new apartment and I haven't made any since last September. When I'm drinking smoothies I'm not craving sweets. So i rearranged a bunch of stuff. The DH was not thrilled that the coffee pot is in a less convenient spot but I'm putting my health over convenience. And also, it's not like he uses the kitchen anyway -I pre-set the coffee at night so all he has to do it pour it in the morning.

In addition to cutting out carbs at snack time I will try to add in at least 3 green smoothies this week. That is my goal- small and simple, but surprisingly hard for me to do this year.

@Bee21 - that cheese/apple/pear platter sounds divine! 

@Chippewa - WELCOME!

@Elaine amj - I love your frequent checking in and feedback - I may not post a ton but seeing other people frequently commenting on the thread helps keep me in line :)

 @Redmondstache- I'm like you when it comes to daily weigh ins - I obsess. I mentioned it in an earlier spot in the thread but I read once about a study that indicated extended plateaus could be a body's way of resetting its "set point". The author theorized that allowing the reset to happen might make it easier to maintain the weight loss. They basically theorized that it might take 3-4 times as long to lose the weight but you were less likely to gain it back if you leaned in to the plateaus and just allowed them to happen for a while before trying to push through them. I'm not sold on the set point theory, but it does seem to make sense and I'm intrigued.

@frugallizard- am loving your updates!

@geostache - I'm so impressed that you were able to maintain while traveling for work! When I travel for work I eat ALL THE THINGS that no one else in my family likes (so lots of sushi and Indian) and always come home feeling overstuffed and gross :)

Cheers to everyone having a great week!

[Geostache]

@StarBright: Somewhere along the way, I figured out that I couldn't just eat whatever when I travel. I used to travel a lot, and part of me treating it like a vacation led to my weight-gain.

@Bee21: Sounds like you had a fairly successful camping trip!

I've fallen off the sugar wagon. It started a few weeks ago, and I haven't been able to kick it again. I had to come home today due to a tension headache, and I ate two pieces of cherry pie. Blargh. I think it's time to go back to my clean eating principles to scrub my sugar cravings.

[elaine amj]

@rockstache Last time I went off track, it took me 1-2 weeks of being hungry to get back to "Normal" again. Helped to Re,mind myself that I went through it in my first 1-2 weeks and survived. Lots of habit hacking :)

@geostache I'm so impressed with your work trip discipline! I am currently in a hotel room on a short work trip and did terribly. Dinner ended up being over 2000 calories!! AND I treated myself to a bag of cheese puffs and ate way too much. Will I survive a free hotel breakfast tomorrow? I am such a sucker for free food. To make matters worse, I have a staff party tomorrow night and will be surrounded by a free flow of munchies all night.

On the good side, I dragged myself to the hotel gym at 10:30pm and spent an hour on the bike. Burned 400 cals. Would like to go back tomorrow but doubt I will have time.

I am estimating it will take an entire week of being strict to make up for today and just don't know if I have the willpower to be that strict. I over ate by over 1600 calories today!! (3321 total less 1230 allotment and 420 exercise).  I'll be keeping u guys updated!

[RuntoFIRE]

Hello all, hoping I can join you on here to hold myself accountable and share progress. Have been super impressed seeing everyone's numbers and a steady weight loss from January. Congrats to all!

I am finally back in a mindset to tackle this for the long term, after a classic 20+ lbs weight loss and regain a few years ago. For the past couple of months, I've been working on building out a sustainable exercise habit and I think I am getting the hang of it (I hope I won't jinx it by boasting that). I use two apps to keep myself accountable- one for running 3 x a week, and one for a strength training workout 3x a week.

I haven't seen any progress on the scale, but my clothes are fitting a little looser so I am happy (hopefully I'm just gaining muscle mass?). I've also switched from calorie counting when I realized I was blowing my budget every day and probably double counting for exercise calories. Now I just track what I eat and when I eat it in a little notebook I carry around and that has eased my anxiety about calories a bit. I was reviewing my entries and am realizing that I don't eat as many vegetables as I thought I did! Big focus for me this week is to incorporate more veggies and hold myself to snacking only once between breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner, at a defined time.

Starting point for me:

4/26/2016: 168.6 

[Geostache]

@rockstache Last time I went off track, it took me 1-2 weeks of being hungry to get back to "Normal" again. Helped to Re,mind myself that I went through it in my first 1-2 weeks and survived. Lots of habit hacking :)

@geostache I'm so impressed with your work trip discipline! I am currently in a hotel room on a short work trip and did terribly. Dinner ended up being over 2000 calories!! AND I treated myself to a bag of cheese puffs and ate way too much. Will I survive a free hotel breakfast tomorrow? I am such a sucker for free food. To make matters worse, I have a staff party tomorrow night and will be surrounded by a free flow of munchies all night.

On the good side, I dragged myself to the hotel gym at 10:30pm and spent an hour on the bike. Burned 400 cals. Would like to go back tomorrow but doubt I will have time.

I am estimating it will take an entire week of being strict to make up for today and just don't know if I have the willpower to be that strict. I over ate by over 1600 calories today!! (3321 total less 1230 allotment and 420 exercise).  I'll be keeping u guys updated!

Hang in there! I had a free breakfast buffet, including an omelet station. I allowed myself a slice of bacon to go with my (estimated) 2 eggs worth of scrambled eggs, and 1/2c each of berries and pineapple. I knew I wasn't going to have access to healthy snacks before lunch, so I tried to eat a larger breakfast than normal.

Will your staff party have vegetables? Try to load your plate with crunchy veggies first, and then have a small serving of the not-so-good-for-you stuff. I went to a birthday party on Sunday that had the same thing - unlimited amounts of food - and I tried to stick with the healthier options. I still overate, but at least the things I was eating were healthy!

I am recommitting to my no-refined sugar diet today. In addition to the two slices of pie I had, I also ate two klondike bars, and felt gross. I didn't even eat dinner. I tried to make up for it by pushing my 30 lb toddlers in their stroller for 1.5 mile walk. It added some exercise calories in there, so it wasn't as horrible as it could have been. But still. That sugar dragon is a beast!

@RuntoFIRE: Welcome to the thread! Everyone here is really supportive, and it's good to hear that others are having similar struggles and victories. It's really motivating!

[Frugal Lizard]

Welcome to RuntoFIRE - this is a great place to help you with the motivation.  I too am not eating enough veggies and having too many snacks. 

Last night I was thinking about the whole frustration with weight coming off so slowly. (before the face punches come my way - I know I have only been declared on the program for a week and a half but I have been actively pretending for years)  It took me 15 years to put this weight on, so why should I be thinking that it should be coming off in 12 weeks?  I decided that for this whole thing to to work I have to be realistic.  I need to recognize that halting the weight creep (2 lbs a year) is an achievement in and of itself.  I read somewhere (I think Nutrition Action Newsletter) that 1-2lbs per year is 200 -300 extra calories per day.  Cutting that out is very doable for me.  Have extra vegetables at supper in place of starch.  Delete the cheese from the salad.  A smaller amount of meat.  Water instead of fruit juice.  Start breakfast with fruit.   

I think I have made a big step towards mindfulness around how I got to this place.  And this morning the evidence of this was:  I made myself breakfast.  I resisted eating standing up from the fridge.  I put some leftovers from dinner last night and 3/4 of an orange on my very small plate and sat down in the dining room. I was eating slowly - reading a book, drinking tea, and having some quiet time before everyone rushes out the door.  I had eaten half of the high calorie food and realized I was nearly full.  I finished the orange and put the rest back in a container for later.  Two weeks ago I would have thought - oh - just finish it up and then spent the morning feeling stuffed. A similar thing happen last night at dinner.  There was cake sent home from dinner on Sunday night.  There were three pieces.  The kids each had a piece but I decided I didn't need more food.  My DD picked the walnuts out of her serving, and put them back in the container and then asked for the third piece.  I was satisfied with knowing that it tasted good Sunday night but I was full at that moment.  I ate the cake coated walnuts at nine when I did the dishes and was tempted to have a snack.  I didn't feel deprived when Hubby came home from work asking if the cake was finished (he had a piece at work) and wasn't going to let the three remaining pieces go to waste.   

I think that this is a breakthrough for me.  I know it isn't enough to get me to 30lbs less but it is probably enough to stop the weight creep.  I think if I keep noticing that I am getting full and stop eating, stay with the food journal and getting comfortable with being a little hungry before I mindlessly snack for a month then I will be ready to start the next step and chip away at the 30lbs and getting back to the shape I wish to be.  (The one without a muffin top and to have muscle definition in my legs and arms)

[elaine amj]

@RuntoFIRE WELCOME! I hear you about the veggie stuff. When I first started having calories to spare, I got a bit excited and started eating more junk food. Then I realized it really wasn't particularly nutritious for me to refuse fruit/nuts/veggie in favour of a calorie laden slice of cake or caramel popcorn. I still let myself indulge, and sometimes (last night!) overindulge, but I'm really trying to choose something nutritious to snack on - just because it is good for my overall health even if it doesn't make any difference with the weightloss.

@Frugal Lizard I love that attitude of self-awareness. Sometimes I am tempted to race to the finish line. But like you, I want SUSTAINABLE change. And I know if I go at this too fast, I will likely yoyo after I get off the diet. Already I am starting to wonder about just how committed I am to make this my forever life. I've had ups and downs, but overall, the slow and steady thing has actually been rather easy and I think that is a good thing.

As for this morning, I am thrilled to report that I did go to the gym this morning (although I was tempted to go back for a nap) and spent another hour on the bike, burning another 400 calories. For breakfast, I restricted myself to a single fruit cup (although the free made to order omelette was calling my name really loudly!). I snacked on a small corn tortilla on the hour drive home (picked up from an amazing local spot for my DD). Lunch was a very small serving of plain yogurt and granola. I'm debating my strategy for the evening. Not sure if I should snack again in the late afternoon? Work party starts about 7pm. I am HUNGRY now, but decided I will just deal with it today to save my calories for tonight. After all, it was my own fault for going way overboard last night. I can have ANYthing I want - but not EVERYthing. Will let u guys know how it goes :)

[alleykat]

Frugal Lizard -  I totally understand, as we all do here.  There are a couple of days I am good with my eating and expect to drop 10 lbs. LOL.  Then, when I realize I barely moved the needle,  I use it as excuse to indulge and then start again the next day.  You have to love the mental games we play.  They are quite effective. Now if we can get them going in the positive direction, it would be even better.  It is definitely a slow change that we have to keep in sight for the long term. 

I am back on the wagon. I dropped off but it has become apparent to me that I have to do this more for health reasons.  I get heartburn now and bad when I overeat and the other day, the message came crashing down. It is really painful and uncomfortable. I don't want to live on tums nor do I want to take medicine for it.  So, I have decided not to calorie count but instead just be mindful of how much I am putting on my plate and what I start to reach for throughout the day.  So far, while I did have some junk food over the weekend, it wasn't excess and my portions of everything was pretty good, for the most part.  I am trying to teach myself to stop when I am full and not keep going. This is harder than it sounds.

Summer is coming and I want to fit into my summer clothes. I really don't want to buy new ones just because of the weight.  So now, besides health reasons, I have a second goal. I cant even believe I didn't buy new winter pants. Getting dressed in the morning was uncomfortable and frustrating and walking around all day stuffed in my pants wasn't pretty.   

We can do this. It is just a mindset and it is time to change it.

[elaine amj]

Just got home after work party. Let's just say it didn't go so well and I am uncomfortably full. Couldn't stop after 6 meatballs. Then 12 meatballs. Finally stopped after 15 meatballs. And only because I was so very stuffed. Along with munchies and candy, I hit a 1500+ cal meal easily today. UGH. I'll be lucky to stay at maintenance this week :(

Tomorrow is another day, right? Time to focus on small wins and one meal at a time again.


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[RedmondStash]

Just got home after work party. Let's just say it didn't go so well and I am uncomfortably full. Couldn't stop after 6 meatballs. Then 12 meatballs. Finally stopped after 15 meatballs. And only because I was so very stuffed. Along with munchies and candy, I hit a 1500+ cal meal easily today. UGH. I'll be lucky to stay at maintenance this week :(

Tomorrow is another day, right? Time to focus on small wins and one meal at a time again.

Yes. Tomorrow is absolutely another day. I had a really bingey day today too; someone at work brought in grocery-store cookies, and while sometimes I can just ignore them, today they kept calling my name and I ended up eating 4 of them. And more dessert when I got home. My highest calorie count in a while, today.

I'm choosing to believe that a day of higher caloric input is part of my stealth scheme to fool my body into thinking I'm eating more every day, so I can sneak in some more stealth weight loss the rest of the week.

But more important than that, tomorrow is a new day. The counter resets when I wake up, all sins of the past forgiven. I hope to do better tomorrow, but if I don't, the next day is a new day. I absolutely refuse to feel guilt or regret; I chose to eat the way I did, and I also chose the consequences. I am okay with that because it helps me strategize how to make different choices in the future.

I'm glad this thread is here. The support really is helpful.

[RuntoFIRE]

Hi all, thanks for the welcomes!

I am doing ok today even after going out to eat at a pub last night for Trivia night. I had a Ceasar Salad with grilled chicken (which actually proved to be super tasty) but I did have two beers, which did not feel great this morning. Still I made myself stick to my working out schedule and went out for a run this morning. Small win.

For lunch, I had this smoked salmon salad from Starbucks for the second day in a row and realized I love it. My office is in a mall, so food options are a bit hard although there is a supermarket on the ground floor. I made myself dip my fork into the dressing before picking up a bite instead of putting the dressing on the salad, which was just as satisfying. I did splurge on two small macarons from the bakery before coming back up to the office. I had a strong craving for something sweet to finish out the meal. I don't know where the craving comes from or what the reward is, but I practiced mindful eating for these macarons and realized I could have done with just one and that now I am contented and satisfied.

@Frugal Lizard I totally feel you about the slow eating. Before I committed to tracking things with my notebook, I didn't realize how often I ate on the run, in front of the TV, etc. For two weeks, I committed to sitting down for every meal (even if it's at my desk for lunch) and to focus on what I was eating and to eat slowly. It was interesting to see that I felt much more content when done and did not always finish my plate.

@elaine amj - sorry to hear about the overeating at the party- it happens. Maybe next time try not to "save" calories for the evening, but rather eat a filling snack, like oatmeal, before you go? That way, you'll be much more picky about what you decide to splurge on? Congrats on working out that morning!

@geostache- the sugar cravings are tough, huh? Let me know if you find something that works besides just going cold turkey. I have told myself that I'll just quit sugar so many times, but am always back to eating something sweet a couple of days afterwards.

[bloomability]

Camping weekend went well. The tracks were so rough that i didn't feel like eating at all. :)

Minimal cheese has been eaten, no pretzels, yay. I added sliced apples and pears to the cheese platter and it Worked well. Alternated wine with sparkling water (drank 1 bottle in 3 days by the campfire).

All in all, glad i didn't pig out. It was great to prepare mentally for the eating scenarios and have a strategy to avoid overeating in social situations.

Emergency carrots, people!

If it's white wine, you could do a white wine spritzer and combine the sparkling water and wine. I'm a big fan of sparkling wine so it is perfect for me.

Congrats on the successful weekend!

[Geostache]

@geostache- the sugar cravings are tough, huh? Let me know if you find something that works besides just going cold turkey. I have told myself that I'll just quit sugar so many times, but am always back to eating something sweet a couple of days afterwards.

There really is no other option for me. If I eat it, I crave it. I do best when I cut it out of my diet completely. I wish I had a better answer for you!

[Frugal Lizard]

What do you folks think about making rules around your eating?  I am not counting calories because I know I won't.  I am too lazy.   So I have made some rules around the circumstances that I eat that I have chosen because a) I will stick to the rules b) there is scientific evidence that it helps reduce the amount I eat and c) I don't feel deprived.

I have to write down everything that I put in my mouth.  (so that I really know exactly what I am putting in my mouth)
I have to eat off a dish sitting down.  (so I eat slower and can measure with my eyes how much I put in my mouth)
No juice  (don't want to drink my calories)
It must be very high quality food (no cheap rubber cheese - if I am going to eat it is is going to be the most delicious cheese a craft cheesemaker can make)

I may have to re-evaluate if I don't start to loose weight because I want to be a different shape again.  But this is what I am trying in the early stages of this process.

In a way I have some built in restrictions because I am celiac,  I can't eat most buffet food. But I work from home and there is too much food available and I can snack continuously.  I have three emergency carrots left in the stash....must go grocery shopping.

I think I read or heard that high fructose corn syrup interrupts our bodies natural ability to know when we are full.  Has anybody heard about that?

[Bee21]

It is hard. I think breaking the snacking habit is the hardest. I can avoid junk food, but i still feel like eating constantly, especially if i am angry/stressed/ sleep deprived.

I can't go cold turkey, but i am getting to the stage when i can reduce things, or stop after 2 bites of something.

I did 4 weeks of intermittent fasting in january and it helped me breaking some of my bad snacking habits. Am planning to do it again in May. Somehow i learnt to manage hunger better those days.

Lizard, If you are a snacker i recommend counting the calories of the snacks you have. That might scare you into eating less. It definitely scared me. Eg a tub of my favourite youghurt=368 cal. A bag of pretzels=360. If i eat the pretzels and the yoghurt it is over 700 cals just in snacks. If i don't, i can lose a almost a kg a week.

[RuntoFIRE]

@ Frugal Lizard: I like the rules you have set up. One thing I am trying this week is to keep my snacks at a consistent time. I know I am going to want to snack, so I just tell myself that I can snack at 10am and 3pm, and no other times. That helps me rationalize away the cravings that come in between breakfast and snack time and lunch time and snack time. I read that if you have a craving but tell yourself that you can have it (or a version of it) later, your craving lessens.

I recently discovered a book called Foodist by Darya Rose, which recommends the habits of eating real food, eating slowly, not depriving yourself but instead mindfully choosing the best version of something (like the cheese example), etc.. I recommend the book- it's helped me get a better, less stressful perspective on my eating. Whether that perspective lasts, however, is another story....

Good luck to all today!

[RedmondStash]

What do you folks think about making rules around your eating?  I am not counting calories because I know I won't.  I am too lazy.   So I have made some rules around the circumstances that I eat that I have chosen because a) I will stick to the rules b) there is scientific evidence that it helps reduce the amount I eat and c) I don't feel deprived.

I have to write down everything that I put in my mouth.  (so that I really know exactly what I am putting in my mouth)
I have to eat off a dish sitting down.  (so I eat slower and can measure with my eyes how much I put in my mouth)
No juice  (don't want to drink my calories)
It must be very high quality food (no cheap rubber cheese - if I am going to eat it is is going to be the most delicious cheese a craft cheesemaker can make)

I may have to re-evaluate if I don't start to loose weight because I want to be a different shape again.  But this is what I am trying in the early stages of this process.

In a way I have some built in restrictions because I am celiac,  I can't eat most buffet food. But I work from home and there is too much food available and I can snack continuously.  I have three emergency carrots left in the stash....must go grocery shopping.

I think I read or heard that high fructose corn syrup interrupts our bodies natural ability to know when we are full.  Has anybody heard about that?

I like those rules too.

I find that the rules I can tolerate vary depending on variables I can't define. The rules that work best for me are much like yours, including writing down everything I eat, writing down all my exercise, and saying "no" to treats whenever I can without severe distress or cravings. If I have a serious craving, I can eat something really high-quality to sate it.

I don't exactly try to stay under a calorie limit, but I am aware through previous analysis of the caloric and exercise levels at which I lose weight, so I just keep that in mind throughout the day.

Right now, making mostly good choices on most days has been working well. But there are times when all the rules go out the window and I eat like a helpless idiot for a while. I've had to learn to let those times run their course and then get back on track.

[RuntoFIRE]

Right now, making mostly good choices on most days has been working well. But there are times when all the rules go out the window and I eat like a helpless idiot for a while. I've had to learn to let those times run their course and then get back on track.

@RedmondStash - I think this is a good strategy. You are not judging yourself for failing, you are being compassionate towards yourself when you do go off track and trying to stick to the program as best you can most of the time. I like that approach and will try to emulate it.

[RedmondStash]

Right now, making mostly good choices on most days has been working well. But there are times when all the rules go out the window and I eat like a helpless idiot for a while. I've had to learn to let those times run their course and then get back on track.

@RedmondStash - I think this is a good strategy. You are not judging yourself for failing, you are being compassionate towards yourself when you do go off track and trying to stick to the program as best you can most of the time. I like that approach and will try to emulate it.

@RuntoFIRE -- Exactly. I view my poor eating choices as some weird combination of brain chemistry, sugar addiction, emotional roller coasters, and free will. I know it's always a choice, but there are days when my eating seems to be on autopilot to such an extent that I watch from the outside and marvel at the fact that I'm stuffing yet another doughnut into my face.

Basically, there are days when it's easy to eat well, days when it's harder, and days (or even just moments) when it's nearly impossible. I don't punish myself for the nearly impossible days, and I try to reproduce the situations that led to the easy days, so I can have more of them. My life is my laboratory. :)

Good luck to you!

[senorpanqueque]

Hey all,

Just chiming in. Am down 15 pounds from 208 to 193, as well as 2 or so inches off the waist since beginning of March.

Good luck to everyone participating! Keep up the great work!

[Frugal Lizard]

I crafted a post, proofed it and then it disappeared into the netherworld.  Take 2 - and the power just cut out for 20 minutes - take 3.
Thank you all for the feedback.  You are all so helpful.

Elaine amj - how are you going?  Hope you are back your horse.
Redmondstash - have you tried to figure out what the trigger is to cause you to abandon your intentions and go "helpless idiot" for awhile.  It is probably hard to tease out the constellation of circumstances that leads you to loosing your focus but it would be very helpful if you could break the cycle.
RuntoFIRE - I will get that book from library.  I have been doing better about snacking when I have a protein serving at the breakfast.  I think that it takes longer to digest and keeps me from needing to snack for hunger reasons.  I am recognizing that a lot of my snacking has very little to do with hunger.  I snack because I am bored or stuck or don't want to start a task or have to do something that is hard or probably the hardest to admit - because I am insecure.  I work by myself so I get very little affirmation or opportunity to compare my skills to others.  I think I snack to fortify myself in case I mind find out that I am not the brilliant creative expert I pretend to be.  Seems super silly written down here but I need to fully explore what I do that has caused me to eat too much and not because I need the nutrition.  I want to get back to eating about eating.
Bee21 - The journal record has scared me away from snacking so I think you are right about counting the calories.  I did brilliantly yesterday - no snacking in the morning at all.  Then bam - saw six chocolate easter eggs in the cupboard on top of the can of beans I was needing for dinner prep.  Ate em all.  At least they are gone and there was only six.
Senorpanqueque - well done.

[alleykat]

Right now, making mostly good choices on most days has been working well. But there are times when all the rules go out the window and I eat like a helpless idiot for a while. I've had to learn to let those times run their course and then get back on track.

@RedmondStash - I think this is a good strategy. You are not judging yourself for failing, you are being compassionate towards yourself when you do go off track and trying to stick to the program as best you can most of the time. I like that approach and will try to emulate it.

@RuntoFIRE -- Exactly. I view my poor eating choices as some weird combination of brain chemistry, sugar addiction, emotional roller coasters, and free will. I know it's always a choice, but there are days when my eating seems to be on autopilot to such an extent that I watch from the outside and marvel at the fact that I'm stuffing yet another doughnut into my face.

Basically, there are days when it's easy to eat well, days when it's harder, and days (or even just moments) when it's nearly impossible. I don't punish myself for the nearly impossible days, and I try to reproduce the situations that led to the easy days, so I can have more of them. My life is my laboratory. :)

Good luck to you!

RedmondStash - I could of written this myself. 

[alleykat]

Well, I am down 2lbs again.  I say this gently as I am sure it is just water weight, but hopefully, I can keep this going in the right direction.

It really is amazing how much you can eat throughout the day and not realize it.  The other day, I thought I did pretty decent and when I sat down and thought about it, I was like uh oh.  I have a ton of stuff around, but realize I am just one of those people that cant keep things around.  Portion control is too hard for me. It works one day, maybe two, but then it goes out the window.

I am thankful for this thread.  It keeps me trying.

[elaine amj]

Basically, there are days when it's easy to eat well, days when it's harder, and days (or even just moments) when it's nearly impossible. I don't punish myself for the nearly impossible days, and I try to reproduce the situations that led to the easy days, so I can have more of them. My life is my laboratory. :)

I agree - I am learning to be kind to myself when I go off track into a crazy binge. I have a feeling it's going to happen every now and then. Rather than going all crazy beating myself up (and potentially going into a downward spiral), I'm going to forgive myself and move on. And remember that I've had many, many, many easy days and those will return again if I can just be patient and stay the course.

@Frugal Lizard I'll be honest, it's been a struggle. Monday was an awful blowout of epic proportions. Tuesday was better, but still ate more than I wanted. I dragged myself back on track on Wednesday, eating relatively properly all day. I was still so munchy after dinner though and that was hard to control. I nibbled a couple of small things for under 60-80 calories and managed to stop (although DH and DS did intervene a little). Last night I was thinking about how much work I have to do to make up for Monday and felt myself starting to spiral down again. At that point, I decided I am going to give myself a clean slate and forget about Monday. The binge was too big to make up for and I will drive myself crazy trying (mentally, I do better with occasional larger meals and treats. The deprivation mentality sends me into a tailspin). I'm just going to move forward and stay on my usual eating routine for the rest of the week. Normally I like to end the week with average net calories of 1230/day. I'm now planning to end it overeating by about 1200 calories. So what? It means my loss is slowed by less than half a lb. Really not a big deal.

On the good side, I spent the last 2 hours arguing with myself over the cookies in the office kitchen. I even input one cookie into MFP to see how bad a hit it would be. Then I walked there, fully intending to return to my office with a cookie. My boss happened to be there and again brought up my awesome weight loss. I told her I was dying for a cookie and she convinced me I could do without it. Made myself a giant cup of black coffee and went back to my office...cookie-less.

@senorpanqueque CONGRATULATIONS!! a 15 lb loss is fabulous! We love to hear awesome successes here :)

@alleykat Awareness about eating is huge in this. Being real and finding a technique that works for you and your personality is so critical. And sometimes - you just need that magic something to click in your head. Nobody else can do it for you. We're all here cheering you on!!

[Frugal Lizard]

Elaine amj - I was hoping you weren't struggling in silence too much.  Glad to hear you are back on your horse.