Author Topic: Losing Weight in 2018  (Read 240994 times)

galliver

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #500 on: February 12, 2018, 09:32:09 PM »
Not going to weigh in today because between traveling, going to a wedding, and socializing generally in the last week, and it being That Time, I know I have extra numbers on the scale that should fall off in a day or two...I hope!

firelight

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #501 on: February 12, 2018, 10:31:07 PM »
I'd love to join too. I have baby fat to get rid of now that baby is five months old. I'm down 32 pounds from my highest of this year but that includes an 8 lb baby too, haha. I still need to lose 18 lbs for pre pregnancy weight and another 12 for my marriage wedding and another 14 for my ideal weight. I joined in 2017 and found we got pregnant. Hope to finish 2018 at my ideal weight. First goal is to get to pre pregnancy weight by end of March. Second goal is to hit wedding weight by June and to hit lowest weight by end of year (the hardest stretch which I hope to attack with established habits). Let's bring it on!


Like the idea of goals - here are our goals for Jan:
1) 5000 steps per day
2) 6 stairs per day
3) one meal of veggies and fruits only per day
Updating after two days:

I've lost two pounds - I'm sure it's more water weight than actual one but I'll take it :) I've cut out all carbs except for a tiny portion. Surprisingly it's not been that hard to switch. I've also noticed that I eat more sweets now (and ate some ice cream and sweets for new year). I usually hate sweets but developed a liking for them during my second pregnancy and am still holding on to it six months later. Time to kick the habit back to curb. My routine is crazy and I don't have much leeway into building in exercises. The only exercise I get is carrying a 17 lb baby. Has anyone lost weight only with diet changes? How important is exercise in a weight loss journey?
Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll concentrate on food changes till I can add more exercise in. I especially loved the suggestion to incorporate exercise into play and surprisingly my baby is loving it! I'm now trying to find more ways to add in fun exercise into daily routine.

My weight is down 3 lbs (mostly water weight because low carbs). I don't track my food but try to eat healthy (less carbs, more veggies and fruits) but looking at some of your meals, I think I just eat a lot. I've gotten used to eating more when pregnant (yep, fell for the eating for two advice.... not that I needed lot of encouragement)  and my stomach expects more food. Need to slowly dial down the amount to a normal person's portions.

Does anyone forget you are trying to lose weight? I completely forgot and ate a few cookies. Later when I was checking how I did at end of day, I realized I ate those cookies :( how do I remember all the time?
I'm still losing weight daily (goes to show how much crap I was eating before) but it has slowed down. My eating is still not good enough (I eat a serving of carbs at every course (and a bit more at lunch) and I eat ice cream or sweets because it is at home). My nemesis is sweets and ice cream. I can't resist it when it is at home and I can't stop others at home buying it. To add to the problem, I forget I'm on a diet and eat them. I'm considering figuring what I should eat all day and not eat anything not on that list. Will give it a try for a few days to see if I can continue losing weight.
Still on the losing trend. I was expecting it to stop since my activity level hasn't increased much and my eating is still not perfect. I don't count calories or have a chance to weigh  food since I don't cook or shop (visiting in-laws for a few months). I'm trying to eat healthier (less carbs, more fruits vegetables and protein - egg, fish, chicken) and reduce sweets (take smaller portions, being selective in what I eat). My culture (Indian) shows love through food, especially sweets. So every visit (even when visiting parents every day) leads to more sweets and hurt egos if we don't eat the sweets. So far portion control has been the key. I can't believe how much crap I've been eating before for the weight to come off so easily now that I'm eating healthier.

This thread is so motivating and reminds me to make healthier choices with food. I find that I eat healthy when I remember and this thread is helping me remember. Thanks everyone!
Ok now the weight loss has stopped. Time to really get into cutting calories or burning them through exercise. I don't have an easy way to estimate calories or do exercise which makes it tricky. I'm planning to drink at least a glass of water before every meal and snack (and ideally before anytime food passes through my lips). I think I eat more than I think I'm eating. The first eight pounds came off easy. Now the real struggle starts. I still need to cut 12 pounds to reach my first goal (highest pre pregnancy weight) and 18 pounds to reach my second goal (my normal BMI weight). Hoping the water trick helps.

Please suggest other tricks that have helped in reducing food portions (basically tricking myself to eat less and eat healthier) or exercising more (moving more). I currently walk 7k steps a day and do 5-10 stairs.
Thanks a lot for the suggestions. I especially love the eating fruits instead of sweets and using  shape wear ideas. I've also started concentrating on adding more protein to my diet (changed macros). My weight is still at standstill but it's at least not going up any more. I had one day (DH bday) where I had some cake but otherwise I'm starting to not be super tempted by sweets. I'm liking the progress even though the scales don't show it.... yet.

I'm also experimenting with eating only upto 80% of my stomach's capacity. Due to pregnancy eating, I fear my stomach has increased in size and I now need more food to feel satiated. I need to eat less to reduce it back to normal size. Will report back soon on its effects.

Thanks for the exercise tips. I'm an absolute beginner when it comes to exercise. So I'm starting with the walking videos and hope to increase from there.

Weight - still at 8 lbs loss from New year, no gains, no loss from last time.

Any app recommendations to log weight and get trending weight for a period?

I've started eating more frequently (breakfast, 11, 1, 4, 6 and 8) but lesser portions. This has helped me keep hunger at bay while tricking my stomach into eating less at every meal (and not worry too much if I don't eat to max since I know the next meal is just two hours away). I hope this reduces my stomach size and bring it back to normal (from pregnancy size). I'm also drinking more water than before.

Exercise is still not happening yet :( got a jump rope to see if I can make myself use it.

Managed to knock out three more pounds after hitting a plateau for a week or so in between. That brings up tally to 11 pounds lost since new year. Hope this is the start of a new losing streak.
Checking in here. Still at the 11 pound loss, inching towards 12 pounds. I think I've finally found a way to figure out how much food is right for my stomach. I've been experimenting with food portions and frequent small meals with each time being less than my palm keeps me sated while not overloading my stomach. I also like the feeling I get when I don't stuff myself. Now to remember it for all the hard times (party, buffet, mom-cooked delicious dishes). A pound more to my first half goal. So close!
Welcome everyone! Especially new moms :) I'm one too and my goal is to lose pregnancy weight and get to a healthy weight now that baby is seven months and starting on solids. I still breastfeed exclusively but no longer have the pressure to be the sole food provider.

Weight still in the decline. Down 13 pounds from Jan 1 and I've reached my first goal. Now to stay here and lose more to reach my second goal of prepregnancy weight which is 6 pounds lesser. My eating has slacked a bit this week and I've been eating cakes and sweets more than I like (to celebrate my first goal). Need to get back to careful monitoring. I guess my weight loss rate would reduce a lot once I reach my prepregnancy weight since that is my usual weight range. But I want to lose another 15 pounds from there to get to my comfortable weight. I've always been lackadaisical about weight loss once I reach a healthy BMI but this time I'm going to try and lose those last 15 (those are my freshman 15 and have been around 12 years now).

I've also started doing mini exercises after trying to do dedicated half an hour to an hour of exercise and failing miserably. So far it's going good. Will report back next week if I can sustain it.
Holding steady at 13 pound decline. Not sure if it is a new plateau but I'm chalking it up to bad sleep due to baby being sick. As a result, I'm craving simple sugars to keep my energy going. That doesn't help in weight loss either. I've also taken to eating some almonds or cashewnuts when I wake in the middle of the night or as snacks which my body is not too happy about. Need to cut those extra calories and see if I can drink more water since my water drinking rate is abysmal.

The mini exercises are sticking! I have a goal to hit 5k steps before lunch and 8k by 8 pm and hopefully 10k by end of night. I do power walks to hit these goals. They won't strengthen muscles but my Fitbit shows my heartbeat rising enough to be classified as fat burn or cardio. I now need to find some strengthening exercises and work them in as mini exercises. Would love to hear if anyone does mini strength training exercises and what your experience has been.
Weight still holding at 155-156 (13-14 pound loss since Jan 1) for the past week. I think I'm at a plateau and am concentrating on more mini exercises. Sadly my food tracking and control has gone way down since I discovered cooking as a hobby (bad time to do it but I'm enjoying making new dishes for the family). Need to rein it in a bit. But I'm happy that I'm hitting my goals of 5k steps before lunch and 8k or 10k steps by nighttime. I've consistently gone over 8k that I'm considering upping it to 10k or 11k steps by nighttime. This will force me to get off my behind and actually play catch with my preschooler every evening.
Started downward trend again albeit slower this time. At 154 today.

My first goal was to hit 156 pounds (my heaviest before pregnancy), my second goal is to hit 151 (my weight before baby#2), my third goal is to hit 145 (my normal BMI), my fourth goal is to hit 138 (my lowest in the past 8 years) and my final goal is to hit 129 (the weight I feel most comfortable in). I'm happy to hit any of these weights but prefer to be around 130s and have exercises and food changes to be lifestyle changes rather than a one shot thing. To give some perspective, my highest was 199 lbs at 40 weeks pregnant.
Hit 153 after a few ups and downs (at 17 pound loss since Jan 1). So close to my goal#2 (151 pounds).

I've learned to add exercise to my schedule.
Back story: I hate exercise and just couldn't find time to do exercise every day. My toddler and baby served as convenient excuses. However, I also know I need to do it to keep myself toned. So I started running around the house every time I wanted a snack for 5-10 mins. I run in whatever clothes I'm wearing (mostly pajamas or home clothes) and since it's for such short durations, I don't put up big excuses. Also I don't have to look for childcare (my biggest excuse) since I can plop my toddler in front of an activity and my baby in crib with a toy and run (more a jog but it gets my heartbeat up at cardio levels so I'm not complaining). But my Fitbit confirms I'm getting 30 minutes of exercise which is 30 minutes over nothing.

Another awesome thing is my snack craving changes to water craving after a 5-10 minute run/jog. If it persists then I eat something.

Time to up Fitbit goals - upped exercise to 20 mins minimum and days of exercise to 3 days minimum, upped number of steps to 9k minimum per day and calories spent to 2k per day. I know it's a bit less than what I spend regularly but I want to be sure I'm hitting goals before I up them again.


asiljoy

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #502 on: February 13, 2018, 07:01:06 AM »
Per Happy Scale I've lost 2 pounds. Logging food before I eat it seems to be an effective way to get myself to evaluate if I really need that blizzard. I didn't get to the gym 3 times last week, but I did do a class, lift twice, and did the walking desk enough so that beat my calorie burn goal each day. So gonna say yay for that.

Part of me wants to get really aggressive with this, but past habits tell me that's when I yo-yo. Yes 2 isn't a lot. Yes this is going to take time. It's about building a sustainable lifestyle and just making it a habit I don't even think about. I can do this. Stay the course!
Down 4 pounds in 18 days. So close to under 190. It's been slower than I'd like, but frankly it hasn't been that hard either. I think the forced logging before eating has been a good change for me. Usually when I have a crazy week at work, like this one, I would have gained a couple pounds through stress eating. While this week I didn't get the exercise I'd like, at least that stopped me from gaining weight.
Down 5 pounds in 30 days, but on the bright side I've also lost 1% fat. These changes are sustainable for me, BUT SO SLOW.
Half pound change, but that means I broke 190 for the first time in 8 months. I'm not sure why hitting the those kind of numbers feels like such a big milestone, but they do!

cats

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #503 on: February 13, 2018, 09:35:18 AM »
Ugh.  I was all excited to join in this thread, then had two very terrible weeks in January.  Some shit news at work+that time of the month+no tracking on MFP==two weeks of terrible eating.  I did at least keep up with some exercise.  So rather than getting down under 150 by the end of January, I went up, briefly hitting 155 even, grr!  I've been doing much better in February but it's such slow progress...basically now back to 150-151, right where I started the year.  My ability to lose weight has really gone off a cliff post-baby.  I don't know how much is just getting older and how much is being a bit more prone to stress eating and having a bit less time to exercise (no half-marathon training in my life now, for example.  I have gotten more efficient with exercise, but at the same time...20-30 min of going all out is still not the same caloric burn as an 8-10 mile run).  I also find I have a much lower tolerance for calorie deficits now, I guess because I don't so often have the option of going and holing up with a book or similar for 2-3 hours instead of eating lunch or dinner.  Damn family obligations ;)

My goal at the moment is to manage 6 consecutive weeks of "good" eating (currently on week 3, whoo!), which means maintaining the habit through at least one menstrual cycle, which is where I think I am most prone to having things fall apart.  I have resumed a habit of drinking raspberry leaf tea daily, which I did religiously 5+ years ago and found very effective at reducing PMS symptoms.  I let it drop when I started my current job and started relying 100% on advil instead, which is also effective but I think not in quite the same way.  So will be interesting to see if adding it back into the mix helps at all.  If nothing else I suppose it will keep me slightly more hydrated.

SachaFiscal

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #504 on: February 13, 2018, 04:54:12 PM »
Joining for accountability. Going to finally lose the extra 10-15 pounds I’ve been carrying around for the past 10-15 years. I’d like to lose at least 10lbs by April when I plan to get my cholesterol checked.

My plan is:
- track calories in MFP (1200-1400 per day)
- walk for an hour every day
- Pilates, yoga, Zumba, and spin class each once a week.
- no alcohol until July 4 (doing this with my spouse)
- plant based diet
- no eating out unless invited out with friends until July 4

My spouse is also on board which makes this a lot easier this time.

Starting weight: 135lbs
Goal weight: 120-125lbs

1/1/2018: 135 lbs
1/8/2018: 134.0 lbs
1/15/2018: 134.7 lbs
1/25/2018: 133.0 lbs
2/13/2018: 131.7 lbs

Yay! Still losing!  I had a couple weeks where I ate a lot more but now I'm back to the 1200-1400 cals per day. I've been off and on with exercise.  Trying to get back into the groove. I've mostly stayed away from alcohol except a couple of happy hours this month. Hope I can make it to 125 lbs by the end of April.



cats

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #505 on: February 14, 2018, 11:01:02 AM »
Joining for accountability. Going to finally lose the extra 10-15 pounds I’ve been carrying around for the past 10-15 years. I’d like to lose at least 10lbs by April when I plan to get my cholesterol checked.

My plan is:
- track calories in MFP (1200-1400 per day)
- walk for an hour every day
- Pilates, yoga, Zumba, and spin class each once a week.
- no alcohol until July 4 (doing this with my spouse)
- plant based diet
- no eating out unless invited out with friends until July 4

My spouse is also on board which makes this a lot easier this time.

Starting weight: 135lbs
Goal weight: 120-125lbs

1/1/2018: 135 lbs
1/8/2018: 134.0 lbs
1/15/2018: 134.7 lbs
1/25/2018: 133.0 lbs
2/13/2018: 131.7 lbs

Yay! Still losing!  I had a couple weeks where I ate a lot more but now I'm back to the 1200-1400 cals per day. I've been off and on with exercise.  Trying to get back into the groove. I've mostly stayed away from alcohol except a couple of happy hours this month. Hope I can make it to 125 lbs by the end of April.

Nice work!

happy

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #506 on: February 15, 2018, 04:26:57 AM »
I need to do this. I'm not good with accountability when it comes to weight loss, since I usually fail. However I really need to to this. I will post my weight on 1/1/18 , and henceforward on  the first day of the month. I'd like to lose 2kg (4.4lbs)/month but from experience that will be a stretch goal. My first goal is to have a BMI that is no longer in the obese range - that could take all year.

Hmmm, since then I 've steadfastly ignored this thread, and put on a couple more kg. I'm unsettled in my new kitchen, disorganised at meal planning and have lost my cooking mojo - I am completely uninspired ATM. Usually I like cooking and cook from scratch.

But today is a new start and I've started some diet shakes today. I've never done shakes before. They don't taste too bad, and filled me up.Also reasonably frugal at $2.25/shake. Will try to stay the course and post updates.

StarBright

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #507 on: February 15, 2018, 02:43:55 PM »


Weekly Weigh in:

December 30: 145
January 5:      144
January 12:    143.4
January 19:    143.8
January 26:    143.2
February 2:    142
February 15:   145

GRRR - vast amounts of stress (family illness, work deadlines and overtime, child in trouble at school, personal illness) had me doing pure comfort eating the last two weeks. Back to Christmas weight this morning.

Starting the Huel regime again for  a few days as I need to both feel full right now but also cut the sugar/carb cravings. Planning on two-three days of Huel for lunch and then back to my regularly scheduled programming.

Exciting to see the successes around here while I've been gorging on carbs :)

firelight

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #508 on: February 15, 2018, 10:09:22 PM »
I'd love to join too. I have baby fat to get rid of now that baby is five months old. I'm down 32 pounds from my highest of this year but that includes an 8 lb baby too, haha. I still need to lose 18 lbs for pre pregnancy weight and another 12 for my marriage wedding and another 14 for my ideal weight. I joined in 2017 and found we got pregnant. Hope to finish 2018 at my ideal weight. First goal is to get to pre pregnancy weight by end of March. Second goal is to hit wedding weight by June and to hit lowest weight by end of year (the hardest stretch which I hope to attack with established habits). Let's bring it on!


Like the idea of goals - here are our goals for Jan:
1) 5000 steps per day
2) 6 stairs per day
3) one meal of veggies and fruits only per day
Updating after two days:

I've lost two pounds - I'm sure it's more water weight than actual one but I'll take it :) I've cut out all carbs except for a tiny portion. Surprisingly it's not been that hard to switch. I've also noticed that I eat more sweets now (and ate some ice cream and sweets for new year). I usually hate sweets but developed a liking for them during my second pregnancy and am still holding on to it six months later. Time to kick the habit back to curb. My routine is crazy and I don't have much leeway into building in exercises. The only exercise I get is carrying a 17 lb baby. Has anyone lost weight only with diet changes? How important is exercise in a weight loss journey?
Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll concentrate on food changes till I can add more exercise in. I especially loved the suggestion to incorporate exercise into play and surprisingly my baby is loving it! I'm now trying to find more ways to add in fun exercise into daily routine.

My weight is down 3 lbs (mostly water weight because low carbs). I don't track my food but try to eat healthy (less carbs, more veggies and fruits) but looking at some of your meals, I think I just eat a lot. I've gotten used to eating more when pregnant (yep, fell for the eating for two advice.... not that I needed lot of encouragement)  and my stomach expects more food. Need to slowly dial down the amount to a normal person's portions.

Does anyone forget you are trying to lose weight? I completely forgot and ate a few cookies. Later when I was checking how I did at end of day, I realized I ate those cookies :( how do I remember all the time?
I'm still losing weight daily (goes to show how much crap I was eating before) but it has slowed down. My eating is still not good enough (I eat a serving of carbs at every course (and a bit more at lunch) and I eat ice cream or sweets because it is at home). My nemesis is sweets and ice cream. I can't resist it when it is at home and I can't stop others at home buying it. To add to the problem, I forget I'm on a diet and eat them. I'm considering figuring what I should eat all day and not eat anything not on that list. Will give it a try for a few days to see if I can continue losing weight.
Still on the losing trend. I was expecting it to stop since my activity level hasn't increased much and my eating is still not perfect. I don't count calories or have a chance to weigh  food since I don't cook or shop (visiting in-laws for a few months). I'm trying to eat healthier (less carbs, more fruits vegetables and protein - egg, fish, chicken) and reduce sweets (take smaller portions, being selective in what I eat). My culture (Indian) shows love through food, especially sweets. So every visit (even when visiting parents every day) leads to more sweets and hurt egos if we don't eat the sweets. So far portion control has been the key. I can't believe how much crap I've been eating before for the weight to come off so easily now that I'm eating healthier.

This thread is so motivating and reminds me to make healthier choices with food. I find that I eat healthy when I remember and this thread is helping me remember. Thanks everyone!
Ok now the weight loss has stopped. Time to really get into cutting calories or burning them through exercise. I don't have an easy way to estimate calories or do exercise which makes it tricky. I'm planning to drink at least a glass of water before every meal and snack (and ideally before anytime food passes through my lips). I think I eat more than I think I'm eating. The first eight pounds came off easy. Now the real struggle starts. I still need to cut 12 pounds to reach my first goal (highest pre pregnancy weight) and 18 pounds to reach my second goal (my normal BMI weight). Hoping the water trick helps.

Please suggest other tricks that have helped in reducing food portions (basically tricking myself to eat less and eat healthier) or exercising more (moving more). I currently walk 7k steps a day and do 5-10 stairs.
Thanks a lot for the suggestions. I especially love the eating fruits instead of sweets and using  shape wear ideas. I've also started concentrating on adding more protein to my diet (changed macros). My weight is still at standstill but it's at least not going up any more. I had one day (DH bday) where I had some cake but otherwise I'm starting to not be super tempted by sweets. I'm liking the progress even though the scales don't show it.... yet.

I'm also experimenting with eating only upto 80% of my stomach's capacity. Due to pregnancy eating, I fear my stomach has increased in size and I now need more food to feel satiated. I need to eat less to reduce it back to normal size. Will report back soon on its effects.

Thanks for the exercise tips. I'm an absolute beginner when it comes to exercise. So I'm starting with the walking videos and hope to increase from there.

Weight - still at 8 lbs loss from New year, no gains, no loss from last time.

Any app recommendations to log weight and get trending weight for a period?

I've started eating more frequently (breakfast, 11, 1, 4, 6 and 8) but lesser portions. This has helped me keep hunger at bay while tricking my stomach into eating less at every meal (and not worry too much if I don't eat to max since I know the next meal is just two hours away). I hope this reduces my stomach size and bring it back to normal (from pregnancy size). I'm also drinking more water than before.

Exercise is still not happening yet :( got a jump rope to see if I can make myself use it.

Managed to knock out three more pounds after hitting a plateau for a week or so in between. That brings up tally to 11 pounds lost since new year. Hope this is the start of a new losing streak.
Checking in here. Still at the 11 pound loss, inching towards 12 pounds. I think I've finally found a way to figure out how much food is right for my stomach. I've been experimenting with food portions and frequent small meals with each time being less than my palm keeps me sated while not overloading my stomach. I also like the feeling I get when I don't stuff myself. Now to remember it for all the hard times (party, buffet, mom-cooked delicious dishes). A pound more to my first half goal. So close!
Welcome everyone! Especially new moms :) I'm one too and my goal is to lose pregnancy weight and get to a healthy weight now that baby is seven months and starting on solids. I still breastfeed exclusively but no longer have the pressure to be the sole food provider.

Weight still in the decline. Down 13 pounds from Jan 1 and I've reached my first goal. Now to stay here and lose more to reach my second goal of prepregnancy weight which is 6 pounds lesser. My eating has slacked a bit this week and I've been eating cakes and sweets more than I like (to celebrate my first goal). Need to get back to careful monitoring. I guess my weight loss rate would reduce a lot once I reach my prepregnancy weight since that is my usual weight range. But I want to lose another 15 pounds from there to get to my comfortable weight. I've always been lackadaisical about weight loss once I reach a healthy BMI but this time I'm going to try and lose those last 15 (those are my freshman 15 and have been around 12 years now).

I've also started doing mini exercises after trying to do dedicated half an hour to an hour of exercise and failing miserably. So far it's going good. Will report back next week if I can sustain it.
Holding steady at 13 pound decline. Not sure if it is a new plateau but I'm chalking it up to bad sleep due to baby being sick. As a result, I'm craving simple sugars to keep my energy going. That doesn't help in weight loss either. I've also taken to eating some almonds or cashewnuts when I wake in the middle of the night or as snacks which my body is not too happy about. Need to cut those extra calories and see if I can drink more water since my water drinking rate is abysmal.

The mini exercises are sticking! I have a goal to hit 5k steps before lunch and 8k by 8 pm and hopefully 10k by end of night. I do power walks to hit these goals. They won't strengthen muscles but my Fitbit shows my heartbeat rising enough to be classified as fat burn or cardio. I now need to find some strengthening exercises and work them in as mini exercises. Would love to hear if anyone does mini strength training exercises and what your experience has been.
Weight still holding at 155-156 (13-14 pound loss since Jan 1) for the past week. I think I'm at a plateau and am concentrating on more mini exercises. Sadly my food tracking and control has gone way down since I discovered cooking as a hobby (bad time to do it but I'm enjoying making new dishes for the family). Need to rein it in a bit. But I'm happy that I'm hitting my goals of 5k steps before lunch and 8k or 10k steps by nighttime. I've consistently gone over 8k that I'm considering upping it to 10k or 11k steps by nighttime. This will force me to get off my behind and actually play catch with my preschooler every evening.
Started downward trend again albeit slower this time. At 154 today.

My first goal was to hit 156 pounds (my heaviest before pregnancy), my second goal is to hit 151 (my weight before baby#2), my third goal is to hit 145 (my normal BMI), my fourth goal is to hit 138 (my lowest in the past 8 years) and my final goal is to hit 129 (the weight I feel most comfortable in). I'm happy to hit any of these weights but prefer to be around 130s and have exercises and food changes to be lifestyle changes rather than a one shot thing. To give some perspective, my highest was 199 lbs at 40 weeks pregnant.
Hit 153 after a few ups and downs (at 17 pound loss since Jan 1). So close to my goal#2 (151 pounds).

I've learned to add exercise to my schedule.
Back story: I hate exercise and just couldn't find time to do exercise every day. My toddler and baby served as convenient excuses. However, I also know I need to do it to keep myself toned. So I started running around the house every time I wanted a snack for 5-10 mins. I run in whatever clothes I'm wearing (mostly pajamas or home clothes) and since it's for such short durations, I don't put up big excuses. Also I don't have to look for childcare (my biggest excuse) since I can plop my toddler in front of an activity and my baby in crib with a toy and run (more a jog but it gets my heartbeat up at cardio levels so I'm not complaining). But my Fitbit confirms I'm getting 30 minutes of exercise which is 30 minutes over nothing.

Another awesome thing is my snack craving changes to water craving after a 5-10 minute run/jog. If it persists then I eat something.

Time to up Fitbit goals - upped exercise to 20 mins minimum and days of exercise to 3 days minimum, upped number of steps to 9k minimum per day and calories spent to 2k per day. I know it's a bit less than what I spend regularly but I want to be sure I'm hitting goals before I up them again.
Phew!!! Hit 151 finally! Finally at my prepregnancy weight, 8 months after my baby was out. I rapidly lost weight in first few weeks, then stalled for months at 170 and lost again starting this January (19 pounds). Hit a few plateaus but managed to lose again. In all, down almost 50 pounds (which included a 7 pound baby).

I think the mini exercises did the trick for me after my last plateau. I'm sure the exercise purists would balk at it but it works for me and avoids my excuse zones. Even though I would like to be one of the people that goes at a set time to the gym/home workout, my current lifestyle doesn't aid it. I'd rather do it this way than wait for the gym/home workout lifestyle to start.

Onward and upward to my next goal on list - 145 lbs which would mean I'm at the normal BMI after nearly two years. Can't wait to get there!

lexde

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Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #509 on: February 16, 2018, 05:36:50 AM »
2/1/18: 140.2. Going for 5lbs this month.
2/7/18: 138.6 (-1.6). I have been doing unplanned IF and really only eating dinners because of stress at work. Worked out Monday and Tuesday, too, and I’ll try to get a workout in tonight as well.
2/16/18: 137.8 (-0.8 ) 2.4lbs down this month so far and on track to hit my 5lb goal!

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #510 on: February 16, 2018, 08:50:40 AM »
I've definitely indulged this weekend (my birthday - cupcakes & cookies), but have kept the rest of my eating in check, and  went for a nice run yesterday. Back on track tomorrow with no sweets again. I've enjoyed it, but I'm definitely no longer in the habit of eating sweets anymore, so a little goes a long way!

I'm recovered from my birthday indulgences, and I've officially lost 3.3 lbs since the first of the year. It's going slower than I'd like, but I had a week long international business trip (the jet lag really screws me up) + my birthday. So, I'm hoping I can pick up the pace a bit. I'm reporting my actual weight - 157.3. My comfortable weight is 135, so I've got some work to do.

Plan for today  - go for a run & perhaps either pilates or yoga as well. It's my son's birthday, so need to figure out an eating option that's not crazy. (We'll be having a pizza party for him at a bowling alley.)

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #511 on: February 16, 2018, 09:18:52 AM »
I'm one week out from needing to be at 148 pounds or below to avoid losing a bet with DH. The bet ends Friday morning 2/23. I hit that number today, but had gone jogging yesterday which usually results in short-term weight loss. Also, of course there's the element of random weight fluctuations, so I like to have a couple of pounds of margin.

I've been struggling for the past two weeks. There was birthday cake, there was the Superbowl, and there were free cookies at an event. I made bad decisions. Also, DH and I hadn't been doing our normal walking, since he was having knee problems, and I hadn't picked up the slack for myself. Now it's go time to avoid losing the bet. If I lose, I have to play board games, and I hate board games. It's enough to give me that extra motivation when the usual motivations don't rise to the level of my weakness.

DH went to the orthopedist to address the knee issue. He was told it's arthritis, and to wear a knee brace and take pain reliever. So far, that seems to be working, so I think we'll be back in the swing of doing our walking. On a side note, the relative lack of exercise and fresh air definitely affected my mood. I'm happy we'll be back to normal.

Start: 153
Current: 148

It's been a lot more difficult over the last three weeks to lose anything. To ensure success, I'm taking extra steps with the eating restrictions this week. No white carbs. Pretty much nothing but good proteins, veggies and fruits. One protein bar a day to act as what amounts to a treat. I'm one of those people who's got to have protein at almost every meal or I get crashy, which makes me useless and volatile. So I have to manage calories carefully since I don't have too much discretionary calorie budget.

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #512 on: February 16, 2018, 12:35:02 PM »
@Candace - I'm really chuckling at your punishment for losing the bet. I actually don't mind board games in general, but throw in a day long game of Monopoly against the kids, and I am OUT. Why does that game take so long?!

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #513 on: February 16, 2018, 12:49:45 PM »
@Candace - I'm really chuckling at your punishment for losing the bet. I actually don't mind board games in general, but throw in a day long game of Monopoly against the kids, and I am OUT. Why does that game take so long?!
Glad I could help you chuckle. ;-)

Before I FIRE'd, I would find a co-worker with a sense of humor and opposing political beliefs, and make a bet with them. Lose the weight or turn over some amount of money to be given to their candidate. You can imagine I never lost one of those. Now, with no more co-workers, I had to find something else. I can't explain why I don't like board games. I guess I just prefer talking to people. DH and his kids, who absolutely love playing poker, Katan and Ticket To Ride, are all competitive and apparently enjoy limiting their conversation to the depth possible while playing poker. I feel like it's a waste of together time. In any case, this becomes fodder for weight loss motivation.

Do others use inducements or punishments, or is it just me?

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #514 on: February 16, 2018, 01:01:24 PM »
God, I hate Settlers of Cataan!  I have friends that loved the game, and I’ll admit that part of my dislike comes from not fading well any of the times I’ve played. It’s kind of passé now for them, so they don’t bring that game out anymore.

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #515 on: February 16, 2018, 01:11:49 PM »
God, I hate Settlers of Cataan!  I have friends that loved the game, and I’ll admit that part of my dislike comes from not fading well any of the times I’ve played. It’s kind of passé now for them, so they don’t bring that game out anymore.
Maybe a game-related wager would be going motivation for you too, then, if you find yourself needing an extra push. When I look at that slice of cake, I imagine to myself having to sit down to a game of Ticket To Ride, my personal anti-favorite. Even my DH's kids get stressed out when they play that one. There's a family story about one person getting so upset they swept the board off the table in the middle of a game. WTF? I thought being together was supposed to be enjoyable?!

Anyway, this bet works for me when the usual inducements of vanity and health concerns fail.

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #516 on: February 16, 2018, 01:42:36 PM »
God, I hate Settlers of Cataan!  I have friends that loved the game, and I’ll admit that part of my dislike comes from not fading well any of the times I’ve played. It’s kind of passé now for them, so they don’t bring that game out anymore.

That’s an old favorite, haven’t played much recently but I’ve quite possibly played more than 1,000 times.

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #517 on: February 16, 2018, 05:13:10 PM »
@Candace - I'm really chuckling at your punishment for losing the bet. I actually don't mind board games in general, but throw in a day long game of Monopoly against the kids, and I am OUT. Why does that game take so long?!
Glad I could help you chuckle. ;-)

Before I FIRE'd, I would find a co-worker with a sense of humor and opposing political beliefs, and make a bet with them. Lose the weight or turn over some amount of money to be given to their candidate. You can imagine I never lost one of those. Now, with no more co-workers, I had to find something else. I can't explain why I don't like board games. I guess I just prefer talking to people. DH and his kids, who absolutely love playing poker, Katan and Ticket To Ride, are all competitive and apparently enjoy limiting their conversation to the depth possible while playing poker. I feel like it's a waste of together time. In any case, this becomes fodder for weight loss motivation.

Do others use inducements or punishments, or is it just me?

Sweet mercy, I may have found my motivation. If I could find a coworker with a political belief opposite enough of mine, and the threat of having to donate to his/her candidate. . . yes, that absolutely do it.

I do a walking relay with my family every summer (my parents, nephew, sister, bestie, aunts, uncles, etc.) Ages range from 15-66. It's awesome. Anyway, we now have a group chat where we all posts are workouts, and there's always lots of motivation & funny commentary. I've been really enjoying the support.

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #518 on: February 17, 2018, 07:03:07 AM »
@MaybeBabyMustache my brother is a very driven businessman and very conservative politically. His professional development coach did that tack with him, he had to donate $50 to the Hilary Clinton campaign every time he failed to meet one of his goals.

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #519 on: February 17, 2018, 03:48:23 PM »
My weightloss peoples - A question:

Anyone super close to goal/maintaining and still hungry all the time? I have not hit my goal (and might not ever) but I've been within a couple of pounds for almost 6 months (other than a few weeks where I stop logging/stress eat and I creep back up to 145).

I'd say I go to bed hungry 5/7 nights a week. I'm hitting my macros and am generally eating satiating foods.

The MFP community is basically saying I'm doing something wrong but is it just possible that I have to be ALWAYS hungry to be around my goal weight?

This morning I was 142 and I'm almost 5'6" (so not too skinny - perfectly average but healthy).  I eat between 1400-1500 calories a day and am lightly active (walk a couple of miles most days, hike and swim on weekends, etc). I do not eat my exercise calories back - but I'm not losing so I feel like I must be at the correct CICO level for maintenance.

I am legit HUNGRY guys. I am basically typing this post to stop myself from eating. Dinner is 45 minutes away.

I like my body at this weight (as opposed to 150 which is what my body wants to weigh post babies) but I'm just not sure if I can deal with being hungry like this for the next 50 years (I know that sounds dramatic, but I want to be healthy all the way to old age- right?).

Ugh, thanks for letting me vent and I welcome any and all thoughts.

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #520 on: February 17, 2018, 09:01:01 PM »
My weightloss peoples - A question:

Anyone super close to goal/maintaining and still hungry all the time? I have not hit my goal (and might not ever) but I've been within a couple of pounds for almost 6 months (other than a few weeks where I stop logging/stress eat and I creep back up to 145).

I'd say I go to bed hungry 5/7 nights a week. I'm hitting my macros and am generally eating satiating foods.

The MFP community is basically saying I'm doing something wrong but is it just possible that I have to be ALWAYS hungry to be around my goal weight?

This morning I was 142 and I'm almost 5'6" (so not too skinny - perfectly average but healthy).  I eat between 1400-1500 calories a day and am lightly active (walk a couple of miles most days, hike and swim on weekends, etc). I do not eat my exercise calories back - but I'm not losing so I feel like I must be at the correct CICO level for maintenance.

I am legit HUNGRY guys. I am basically typing this post to stop myself from eating. Dinner is 45 minutes away.

I like my body at this weight (as opposed to 150 which is what my body wants to weigh post babies) but I'm just not sure if I can deal with being hungry like this for the next 50 years (I know that sounds dramatic, but I want to be healthy all the way to old age- right?).

Ugh, thanks for letting me vent and I welcome any and all thoughts.
I can sympathize. I'm 5'6", 51 years old, and have gone through what you're going through. The only times I've been thin and not hungry were when I was playing sports at least three days a week, and I was a lot younger and could eat a lot more.

Honestly, the best I feel I can do is to find the combinations of foods that work best for making me feel satisfied, and snack in between on "free" foods like green veggies and raw fruit. For me, protein and fat in the right proportions, and avoiding most other carbs, is the only way to feel good. Even tonight, I had beans with quinoa and tomatoes with an egg on top, and am hungry a couple of hours later.

Sometimes being really busy helps me forget about food for a while. But mostly I'm hungry, in spite of eating three decent meals a day plus snacks. It's depressing. I thought about trying keto, but I don't want to give up eating apples and oranges. It's a screwed up world when you have to think of those as bad.

Sometimes I feel like being older and female means you have to be hungry if you want to be thin. Sorry to be a downer. There's probably a better way.
« Last Edit: February 18, 2018, 12:12:23 PM by Candace »

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #521 on: February 18, 2018, 04:59:42 AM »
@StarBright What are you eating? I’ll beat the high protein, high fat drum if you haven’t tried it already. If you’re eating a lot of carbs (even veg, fruit, or whole grains) the resulting blood sugar and insulin swings could be causing the hunger pangs.

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #522 on: February 18, 2018, 05:13:24 AM »
@starbright — what does a typical day of food look like for you? CICO is the primary indicator for weight loss but there are also several other factors that affect satiety and overall success.

Can you eat a salad before dinner? Just some greens dressed in  a little olive oil and lemon juice? Or is that not what your body wants? If so you may need to work your macros around to include more fat.

I’m doing keto but even when I wasn’t, I made “fat bombs” (google has a million recipes) that are coconut-oil based. I’d have one when I was hungry (maybe 60-120 calories, nearly pure fat from the oil) and that would shut down hunger and cravings faster than anything else I’d ever tried. Maybe give that a go?

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #523 on: February 18, 2018, 05:25:30 AM »
Anyone do wacky stuff to lose weight like drinking apple cider vinegar, prunes, water and lemon, canned pumpkin?

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #524 on: February 18, 2018, 05:39:43 AM »
@StarBright What are you eating? I’ll beat the high protein, high fat drum if you haven’t tried it already. If you’re eating a lot of carbs (even veg, fruit, or whole grains) the resulting blood sugar and insulin swings could be causing the hunger pangs.

Thanks HarbingerofBunnies (is that a BtVS reference?) - I'm eating moderately high protein and fat. I try to keep my macros at 40 (carb)-30 (fat)-30 (protein). I usually go a little over on both fat and protein and am generally a little under goal on carbs.

Candace - ugh - that is my fear. My MIL is 65 and a very fit woman and one of the things I've always noticed about her are the tiny portions she eats and how she always "I'm ravenous" before she eats a meal.

lexde - dinners, lunches, and snacks are generally healthy and I attempt to eat my macros. Due to some digestion issues from a gallbladder I had removed a couple of years ago I need to limit my roughage to no more than 1 salad a day but I still get other fruits and veg.

Dinners are usually protein, salad and either another veg or a v. small carb serving. We try to limit pasta/riced based meals to one a week.

Snacks are usually an apple and a piece of cheese, or Tbl of PB or something like a clementine with a half piece of toast with either goat cheese or avocado, carrot sticks w/ hummus, a high protein yogurt - stuff like that.

Lunches are generally dinner left overs or something like a can of tuna mixed with olive oil and seasonings and 6-9 crackers and some carrot sticks.

Right now I've also been incorporating Huel as a snack and/or lunch because it is supposed to be perfectly nutritionally balanced and it is close to my macro goals and the constant hunger seems to be worse right now.

I try to not eat breakfast because otherwise I often seem to run out of calories before dinner and I'm always starving at 10am whether I eat breakfast or not.


re: fat bombs - I'm not a coconut person but I'll have to see if I can find similar recipes. I do love fat (and feel full when I eat it) but I lean towards cheese for fat and that knocks out my calories for the day really quickly.
« Last Edit: February 18, 2018, 05:41:40 AM by StarBright »

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #525 on: February 18, 2018, 05:55:41 AM »
@StarBright I personally would back off on the fruit and yoghurt, snack on more fatty things like cheese or sausage or nut butters. Also, the best fruit from a glycemic perspective are berries. See if that helps :)

My username and current pic is from a meme I found silly. What’s BtVS?

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #526 on: February 18, 2018, 05:57:33 AM »
@HarbingerofBunnies cute meme! BtVS = Buffy the Vampire Slayer, there is a character that is a demon that is deathly afraid of bunnies.

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #527 on: February 18, 2018, 06:00:45 AM »
@HarbingerofBunnies cute meme! BtVS = Buffy the Vampire Slayer, there is a character that is a demon that is deathly afraid of bunnies.

Ah, okay,  it’s been ages since I’ve seen that show.

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #528 on: February 18, 2018, 06:08:19 AM »
@StarBright - I hear you.  I am starving all the time.  My body just seems to want to weigh more than my 133-135 at this point in my life.  I will be interested to see what others have to say - although I have to confess I haven't been trying very hard in the last six weeks to lose weight because I have had too much other stuff going on.

This morning I asked Hubs to show me how to use our damn treadmill.  I can't seem to get enough exercise into my life.  Yesterday we walked to the market in a bitter damp cold and slowly over the icy patches everywhere.  We got home and were both feeling starved and thinking it was a small bit of torture.  I think there is something happening that is preventing me from feeling the benefits of exercise at the scale but at the same time I am working really hard on replacing calories "not" burned.

I think there might be a bit of boredom impulse eating (I work at home most of the time and a very small amount of time I have to think really hard and then there are long gabs of filler)
I then make a dinner for four - and two of them are growing sporty teenagers that pack in the calories.  We always eat together and have a great time at the table so I am sitting there, surrounded by eating and having a good time.
I think about taste sensations all the time - wouldn't it be nice to have ....sweet, sour, salty, spice...at this moment or would the family enjoy this....And I am often cooking things while I work and making the house smell fantastic.  I have to say I live for eating, growing, finding, learning about and making food.  It is probably astonishing that my family is not morbidly obese with how much I focus on food. 
Now I will wrap it up because...I am going to make myself some delish English breakfast tea and possibly eat....yogurt with raspberry or mulberry jam - with only enough jam to make the yogurt a beautiful colour. My daughter's eyes twinkle when she discovers the dark blue bowl has plain yogurt with a swirling pattern of homemade jam on the counter.   And then some grapefruit and blood orange and clementine cocktail - my son loves to wake up to a medley of chopped citrus.  Or I could eat some smoked Gouda that hubs bought me for valentine's day....But maybe daughter would like to make me apple pancakes with homemade syrup. 
Maybe this afternoon I should get the gear ready for tapping the trees - the squirrels are getting amorous, it is about time to get ready for sugaring...this is my mind at 8am on Sunday morning.  Not thinking about anything that would help with weight loss.

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #529 on: February 18, 2018, 06:29:34 AM »
Another strategy folks struggling with that final poundage might try would be resistance training to increase your lean mass. Maybe your body wants to be heavier, but does it have to be fat? Plus, increased lean mass will also raise your base metabolic rate while (in most people’s experence) not giving you quite the same ravenous hunger cardio workouts typically do.

Just a thought.

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #530 on: February 18, 2018, 06:39:37 AM »
For those of you who are super hungry, and especially @Frugal Lizard, have you tried Walden farms dressings/sauces?  They're somehow completely calorie free, but they have a HUGE range of sauces, dressings, creamers, etc.  I'm guessing it's mostly xantham gum for thickener + spices or stevia.  I've honestly never tried them.  My sister bodybuilds, though, and she eats a ridiculous amount of their products when she's cutting before a show.  It might help with your flavor boredom, at least. 

I'm also going to second @HarbingerofBunnies about eating more fat.  I have had zero success this year with losing weight, because I haven't been trying hard enough, but in the past I've had significantly less desire to snack when I'm eating a lot of fat and ALSO fewer carbs.  More fat doesn't help for me otherwise.  On a 2000 calorie diet, keeping my carbs around or under 125g seems to be the sweet spot for satiety.  I'm 5'5" and 148 lbs right now, but I've maintained well on that around 140 lbs (before I had a kid, of course - I do wonder how that will affect everything long term).  Also, lifting heavy things or even doing bodyweight calisthenic-style exercises has always helped me with my shape and body image more than cardio, because you're increasing your lean mass.  Even if you don't lose weight, you may lose fat and gain muscle, and you'll be stronger and slightly firmer for every pound.

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #531 on: February 18, 2018, 08:13:51 AM »
For those of you who are super hungry, and especially @Frugal Lizard, have you tried Walden farms dressings/sauces?  They're somehow completely calorie free, but they have a HUGE range of sauces, dressings, creamers, etc.  I'm guessing it's mostly xantham gum for thickener + spices or stevia.  I've honestly never tried them.  My sister bodybuilds, though, and she eats a ridiculous amount of their products when she's cutting before a show.  It might help with your flavor boredom, at least. 

I'm also going to second @HarbingerofBunnies about eating more fat.  I have had zero success this year with losing weight, because I haven't been trying hard enough, but in the past I've had significantly less desire to snack when I'm eating a lot of fat and ALSO fewer carbs.  More fat doesn't help for me otherwise.  On a 2000 calorie diet, keeping my carbs around or under 125g seems to be the sweet spot for satiety.  I'm 5'5" and 148 lbs right now, but I've maintained well on that around 140 lbs (before I had a kid, of course - I do wonder how that will affect everything long term).  Also, lifting heavy things or even doing bodyweight calisthenic-style exercises has always helped me with my shape and body image more than cardio, because you're increasing your lean mass.  Even if you don't lose weight, you may lose fat and gain muscle, and you'll be stronger and slightly firmer for every pound.

I haven't even heard of that line of products.  Maybe they are not here in Canada.  I am also celiac so I rarely use a commercially prepared products.  The limit of the condiments that I regularly buy are soy sauce, mayo, ketchup (I have kids), mustard.  I make most everything from scratch including my maple syrup, bbq sauce and salsa. 
I really should get on a fitness / strength building program because I believe that you folks are probably correct about lean mass and I am a woman of a certain age so I should be focusing on maintaining bone mass. And I like to be able to pull my weight on the landscaping and house reno jobs.  And muscles help prevent injuries.

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #532 on: February 18, 2018, 09:04:04 AM »
I really should get on a fitness / strength building program because I believe that you folks are probably correct about lean mass and I am a woman of a certain age so I should be focusing on maintaining bone mass.
Yes! Resistance training is sooo important as we age. It increases metabolism, bone mass and strength and reduces chance of injury from falls and ADLs (activities of daily living). EVERYONE can benefit from sensible training.

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #533 on: February 18, 2018, 09:35:23 AM »
Thanks, everyone. I have been ramping up the resistance and high intensity parts of my normal routine to build muscle mass, hoping that will help move the needle down after the initial phase where I usually gain weight from building. Come to think of it, that could partially account for why I'm having such difficulty losing weight right now. I will also try the fat bomb snacks. Thanks to you all for making me aware of those. Looking forward to making the lemon bar ones. I just ordered a new hand-held mixer to make them with. I had the mixer but not the beaters. Couldn't find those puppies anywhere. Looking online, it was almost as cheap to order a new mixer with beaters as it was to order a pair of beaters that I wasn't sure would fit my old mixer. Sigh.

Meanwhile, it's a good thing that my challenge bet with DH only requires me to lose a pound every three weeks. I made it a goal that should be easily achievable, on purpose. Friday will mark the end of my second three-week challenge this year. During the first one, I lost three pounds in three weeks. This time, I'm struggling to get one pound off. Again, hopefully I'm building enough muscle to be good in the longer run. I'm certainly sore enough -- but that is a good thing.
« Last Edit: February 18, 2018, 12:37:37 PM by Candace »

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #534 on: February 18, 2018, 11:34:59 AM »
Yeah, I can’t wait until my chiro clears me to start doing resistance exercises again. I’m feeling great getting regular cardio in for past few weeks but I can’t do more than my normal homestead chore weight lifting (20-30lbs multiple times a day, 50lbs several times a week) until I get my spine a bit more straightened out.

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #535 on: February 18, 2018, 03:27:17 PM »
Add me to the always-starving, go-to-bed-hungry club. It sucks and honestly is driving me insane. I tried adding more fat but that sent my calories through the roof and I was out of calories before dinner. I drink what feels like gallons of water and herbal tea to try and fill myself up without calories.

NOTHING makes me feel full and I'm truly worried that this is going to be the rest of my life now that I'm getting older - eating pitifully small portions and constantly wanting to chew my own arm off from hunger, just so that I don't gain weight.

Candace

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #536 on: February 18, 2018, 03:49:00 PM »
Add me to the always-starving, go-to-bed-hungry club. It sucks and honestly is driving me insane. I tried adding more fat but that sent my calories through the roof and I was out of calories before dinner. I drink what feels like gallons of water and herbal tea to try and fill myself up without calories.

NOTHING makes me feel full and I'm truly worried that this is going to be the rest of my life now that I'm getting older - eating pitifully small portions and constantly wanting to chew my own arm off from hunger, just so that I don't gain weight.
Hey there Miss Dauntless. I never read the books, but enjoyed the mainstream movie "Divergent". I was amused by how a few of my friends were impressed that I knew what "erudite" meant without having to look it up. I ended up putting on my best deer in the headlights look at that one to avoid making a comment that wouldn't have endeared me to anyone ;-). Yes, I'm a snob.

I just clicked over to your Journal and browsed part of the first page. In your initial post from 2016, it says you could stand to gain some weight. Has that changed since then? Were you always hungry at that time, or has it become that way since?
« Last Edit: February 18, 2018, 03:56:59 PM by Candace »

Roadrunner53

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #537 on: February 18, 2018, 03:50:46 PM »
Add me to the always-starving, go-to-bed-hungry club. It sucks and honestly is driving me insane. I tried adding more fat but that sent my calories through the roof and I was out of calories before dinner. I drink what feels like gallons of water and herbal tea to try and fill myself up without calories.

NOTHING makes me feel full and I'm truly worried that this is going to be the rest of my life now that I'm getting older - eating pitifully small portions and constantly wanting to chew my own arm off from hunger, just so that I don't gain weight.

I am no expert and am overweight but try eating apples they have fiber. Try eating some beans or hard boiled eggs. Pumpkin has lots of fiber. You could mix the canned pumpkin with oatmeal and cinnamon and Splenda. There are probably lots of things you can mix the pumpkin with. Buy some spaghetti squash, acorn squash and sweet potatoes. Lots of fiber. You can make soups out of this stuff too with chicken broth. Frozen fruit with yogurt. I just started making yogurt in my Instant Pot. I made a yogurt pie with yogurt, cool whip, frozen cherries and a chocolate graham cracker crust. I am always hungry too. I have no answers. Bean soups are filling. I made a rosemary navy bean soup today and it is very tasty and filling. Also, you can roast veggies like parsnips, carrots, potatoes, onions, peppers and others. Brush with olive oil, sprinkle with rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. They are low calorie and delicious! Poach up chicken breasts in chicken broth. Cook them low and slow and take the internal temperature to make sure they are cooked. You can slice them up and eat them as lunch on a salad or eat as snacks. Eat as dinner. I wish there was a magic pill! I have been waiting for that my whole life!

Tris Prior

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #538 on: February 18, 2018, 04:00:19 PM »
Hey there Miss Dauntless. I never read the books, but enjoyed the mainstream movie. I was amused by how a few of my friends were impressed that I knew what "erudite" meant without having to look it up. I ended up putting on my best deer in the headlights look at that one to avoid making a comment that wouldn't have endeared me to anyone ;-). Yes, I'm a snob.

Haha, I HATED the movies. Enjoyed the books a lot though. You should toss "abnegation" into a sentence next and really impress them! ;)

I just clicked over to your Journal and browsed part of the first page. In your initial post from 2016, it says you could stand to gain some weight. Has that changed since then? Were you always hungry at that time, or has it become that way since?

Ah.... I remember those days. That sure was nice. Yes, it has changed. I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted, in whatever quantities I wanted, and not gain weight - in fact, I struggled to keep weight on. Aging and hormonal changes are a bitch. I'm having perimenopause symptoms so I assume that's to blame. This past summer/fall, without changing my eating habits or activity levels, I packed on 15 lbs like nothing.

Went to the doctor who made me get on the scale, saw a number I have not seen since I was an overweight college student, promptly freaked out. A few days later put on some pants that I hadn't put on since spring (I hate pants and will only wear them when it's too cold out for skirts). Could barely get into them. Tried another, same thing - NOTHING fit and with winter coming I was going to have to buy all new pants. Freaked out again because I literally had not had to think about calories or dieting in decades. (I was an overweight kid and teen but around age 30 I suddenly grew a metabolism and found I could eat what I wanted.)

I've since taken off most of the weight I gained, I'm within a couple pounds of my goal.... but I'm just not sure how much longer I can handle always feeling hungry and how hard I should push myself to get those last few pounds off. Is it worth it?

G-dog

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #539 on: February 18, 2018, 04:12:51 PM »
To those that are starving:
There are lots of things that can make us crave food
1. Are you getting enough sleep? If you are tired, you will seek energy via food.
2. Are you stressed?  I think stress has a similar effect as lack of sleep, but maybe from a more emotional or distraction angle
3. Are you getting enough exercise? Exercise can be an appetite suppressant (particularly if you are more overweight IIRC)
4. Also, emotion, depression, nutrition, etc. can make us want to eat.
5. How are you structuring your meals and snacks? Maybe try adjusting the timing of when and what you eat. Some people eat their biggest meal at breakfast, some people eat one meal a day, some people eat 6-8 times a day....  but you see where this is going.
6. How fast do you eat? If you can slow down, it might help.

There just isn’t a simple one-size-fits all answer for this.  I know for myself - some strategy will work for a long time, but then it stops working.  This is probably more psychological than physical for me many times (but, hormones are definitely in play), but it’s not exclusively one or the other.

So, you may need to try some new foods, timing, meal sizes, etc.

Tris Prior

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #540 on: February 18, 2018, 04:31:51 PM »
I'll add "weather" to that list. I have a WAY harder time controlling my appetite on days that are colder.

G-dog, those are all really good points. I sleep poorly (thanks, perimenopause, go away and take your night sweats and middle-of-the-night hot flashes with you!). Yes, I am stressed. I started exercising regularly for the first time in many years this fall, at the same time I started dieting. I don't *think* that emotional eating or depression is the issue because I'm talking about literal stomach-growling spacey-headed shaky hunger. But maybe depression does that too? Our minds and bodies can be very connected.

And I certainly can work on eating slower; usually I am so starving by the time I let myself eat that I have a hard time controlling myself and it goes down pretty quickly. :(


G-dog

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #541 on: February 18, 2018, 04:50:58 PM »
It starts early in school that we are all trained to wolf down food quickly at a specific time, instead of eating slowly because you are hungry.  I know I kept it up for all my working life.  Also eating while distracted (at my desk, while watching TV) instead of really paying attention and experiencing my meal. Some claim eating with no distractions helps - I’ve never tested it. But more mindfulness about whatever we are doing is probably better on average.

I don’t know that depression would have physical hunger symptoms, but can certainly relate to the pleasure of distraction from eating.  Depression just makes so many things harder, including sticking to an eating or exercise plan (why bother...). 

I am trying to get myself to the headspace of losing weight as a side effect of healthier choices, not the absolute goal. Because, i will tend to obsess and make worse choices for short-term benefits (or escapes).

Yes, feeling physically cold can definitely make you want to eat to warm up! I had that this winter.

neophyte

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #542 on: February 19, 2018, 07:09:57 AM »
Jan 30:  178
Feb 12:  174
Feb 19:  174

*sigh* there were 2 birthdays last week and junk food at work every day. I guess I'll take it.

asiljoy

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #543 on: February 19, 2018, 08:26:30 AM »
Jan 30:  178
Feb 12:  174
Feb 19:  174

*sigh* there were 2 birthdays last week and junk food at work every day. I guess I'll take it.
On weeks with lots of obstacles, you gotta take maintenance as a win.

Morning Glory

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #544 on: February 19, 2018, 08:57:54 AM »
To those that are starving:
There are lots of things that can make us crave food
1. Are you getting enough sleep? If you are tired, you will seek energy via food.
2. Are you stressed?  I think stress has a similar effect as lack of sleep, but maybe from a more emotional or distraction angle
3. Are you getting enough exercise? Exercise can be an appetite suppressant (particularly if you are more overweight IIRC)
4. Also, emotion, depression, nutrition, etc. can make us want to eat.
5. How are you structuring your meals and snacks? Maybe try adjusting the timing of when and what you eat. Some people eat their biggest meal at breakfast, some people eat one meal a day, some people eat 6-8 times a day....  but you see where this is going.
6. How fast do you eat? If you can slow down, it might help.

There just isn’t a simple one-size-fits all answer for this.  I know for myself - some strategy will work for a long time, but then it stops working.  This is probably more psychological than physical for me many times (but, hormones are definitely in play), but it’s not exclusively one or the other.

So, you may need to try some new foods, timing, meal sizes, etc.
This post explains a lot for me.
I have definitely been struggling since returning to work. #1 is probably my biggest issue, followed by #2. My baby seems to wake up more  on nights when I have to work the next day. He was up at least 3 times last night, with the last being one hour before the alarm was supposed to ring.  Some nights he will do a nice six hour stretch but that only happens about  twice per week. 5, 6, also have an impact because I have to take breaks at certain times and usually shovel in food while pumping.

I am doing ok with exercise as I can usually get in a good workout on non-work days, and I always get my 10k steps when I work. I probably need to do more strength training but I get a mental health boost when I run, plus it doesn't require any planning.

Candace

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #545 on: February 19, 2018, 09:05:07 AM »
I'll add "weather" to that list. I have a WAY harder time controlling my appetite on days that are colder.

G-dog, those are all really good points. I sleep poorly (thanks, perimenopause, go away and take your night sweats and middle-of-the-night hot flashes with you!). Yes, I am stressed. I started exercising regularly for the first time in many years this fall, at the same time I started dieting. I don't *think* that emotional eating or depression is the issue because I'm talking about literal stomach-growling spacey-headed shaky hunger. But maybe depression does that too? Our minds and bodies can be very connected.

And I certainly can work on eating slower; usually I am so starving by the time I let myself eat that I have a hard time controlling myself and it goes down pretty quickly. :(
Have you tried varying *what* you eat for protein and fat? I know you're a vegetarian, and don't intend to try to get anyone to change their ways, especially non-meat eaters. Personally I eat a less than average amount of meat, but when I'm trying to lose weight I find I can feel the most satisfied by eating eggs and non-lean meaty dishes. It sucks, because I hate animal suffering and would rather eat rice and beans etc. more than I do, but it just doesn't do the job for me. Please don't flame me -- I'm really trying. Since I know that for me, it matters what kind of protein I eat, I'm wondering if it might make a difference for you too, within whatever rules you feel best following for yourself.

Also, I'm starting to accept that as much as I like eating apples, and as much as I feel like I should be able to eat them, they end up making me feel hungry. So I'm going to try making some fat bombs and see what happens when I eat approximately 100 calories of that for a snack rather than an apple. Stuff like that.

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #546 on: February 19, 2018, 09:29:56 AM »
Jan 30:  178
Feb 12:  174
Feb 19:  174

*sigh* there were 2 birthdays last week and junk food at work every day. I guess I'll take it.
On weeks with lots of obstacles, you gotta take maintenance as a win.

My weight regularly fluctuates 3-4 pounds or more within a week. Don’t stress the numbers. Subjective feeling of health and objective measurements like waist size, resting HR, etc are better indicators of progress than the scale anyways :)

StarBright

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #547 on: February 19, 2018, 09:42:47 AM »

Also, I'm starting to accept that as much as I like eating apples, and as much as I feel like I should be able to eat them, they end up making me feel hungry. So I'm going to try making some fat bombs and see what happens when I eat approximately 100 calories of that for a snack rather than an apple. Stuff like that.

Apples also make me hungry as do cucumbers. I try to never ear apples without also eating a piece of cheese or PB (because I love apples!).

To those that are starving:
There are lots of things that can make us crave food
1. Are you getting enough sleep? If you are tired, you will seek energy via food.
2. Are you stressed?  I think stress has a similar effect as lack of sleep, but maybe from a more emotional or distraction angle
3. Are you getting enough exercise? Exercise can be an appetite suppressant (particularly if you are more overweight IIRC)
4. Also, emotion, depression, nutrition, etc. can make us want to eat.
5. How are you structuring your meals and snacks? Maybe try adjusting the timing of when and what you eat. Some people eat their biggest meal at breakfast, some people eat one meal a day, some people eat 6-8 times a day....  but you see where this is going.
6. How fast do you eat? If you can slow down, it might help.

There just isn’t a simple one-size-fits all answer for this.  I know for myself - some strategy will work for a long time, but then it stops working. 

G-Dog, these are great questions and ones that we should constantly be asking ourselves. I think my personal frustrations are that 1 and 2 are a constant in my life (stressful job, husband's job keeps me in low level stress because he has to reapply every year which also means that he is trying to go above and beyond all year, every year, and children that aren't natural sleepers). I have given up trying to exercise due to factors 1 and 2 and factors 4-6 are thing that I am constantly tweaking anyways.

I'd say on factors 4-6 I have them as optimized as possible and I'm still hungry.  The bolded above is probably where I'm at right now but I just don't feel like I have the bandwidth to try something new, yet again.

I'm feeling like a bummer right now guys. I need to FIRE faster so that I no longer have my stressful job and can then focus on  optimizing eating and exercise :)

G-dog

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #548 on: February 19, 2018, 10:14:34 AM »
@StarBright - sleep and stress have been struggles for me for much of my life.  For me, stress leads to negativity as well.

At university I specifically targeted improving my sleep (insomnia from a mind I could not quiet). I took a relaxation techniques class, yoga, and followed the sleep hygiene practices recommended at that time.  Of course, it was easier since I had more time (full-time school, part-time work), no kids or partner.  I lapsed on a lot of that stuff (doh!), but did establish several practices that still improve my sleep now (quality and quantity).

There are some simple things that help me, even when I don't practice them regularly - breathing exercises from relaxation techniques / meditation practice, gratitude observations or journal (could be fun to do at the dinner table with the kids if they are old enough), both of these help me stay more focussed on the moment instead of obsessing over the past or worrying about the future. 

Sleep and stress can both be devastating to overall health, so it is worth it to me to try to keep tackling these in my life. It's a constant struggle.  Sometimes all I can do in hang on at status quo, sometimes I can work on it, sometimes there is improvement.

Tris Prior

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Re: Losing Weight in 2018
« Reply #549 on: February 19, 2018, 11:00:18 AM »

Have you tried varying *what* you eat for protein and fat? I know you're a vegetarian, and don't intend to try to get anyone to change their ways, especially non-meat eaters. Personally I eat a less than average amount of meat, but when I'm trying to lose weight I find I can feel the most satisfied by eating eggs and non-lean meaty dishes. It sucks, because I hate animal suffering and would rather eat rice and beans etc. more than I do, but it just doesn't do the job for me. Please don't flame me -- I'm really trying. Since I know that for me, it matters what kind of protein I eat, I'm wondering if it might make a difference for you too, within whatever rules you feel best following for yourself.

I haven't eaten meat in nearly 30 years for ethical reasons, and that's not going to change. But I did accidentally find something filling, I think - I made avocado egg salad the other day and that was very filling. (Hard boiled eggs, an entire avocado, a little mayo, and lemon juice.) I don't allow myself avocadoes because they're expensive, the ones at Aldi where I do most of my shopping are always terrible, and I hate how they immediately go from unripe to gross and brown and mushy in my house. This time I successfully hit the window of ripe-but-not-gross, though, and maybe I can budget for a decent avocado now and then at a pricier store. I love them but rarely buy them for the aforementioned reasons.

Also, I'm starting to accept that as much as I like eating apples, and as much as I feel like I should be able to eat them, they end up making me feel hungry. So I'm going to try making some fat bombs and see what happens when I eat approximately 100 calories of that for a snack rather than an apple. Stuff like that.

That's interesting because apples actually DO help me feel full. I haven't bought them in a while because when they're out of season they just don't taste as good. Have been subbing citrus but that doesn't keep me full at all.

The more I think about it, I think it has a lot to do with sleep and cold weather. Like, I have today off for President's Day. I haven't had to freeze my rear off on the walk to the train, and I slept until around 9:30. It's nearly noon, I've only had coffee, and I am not ravenous. I'm a little hungry but not starving and weak. The same thing happened yesterday - I got up around 10, went to a protest so I made myself eat some breakfast to avoid crashing mid-march, but honestly wasn't that hungry. If this were a workday, my stomach would be growling loudly at 8 a.m. as I haul myself to the train, and I'd be shaky. I get 7-8 hours' sleep a night but early mornings are tough on me. My body does not want to be up at 7 a.m., but that's what my job requires, so I guess it is what it is.