[toastedsmoke]

Slashni: Awesome job on the workout diligence. You guys on here have definitely inspired me to get back up and get moving.

So I just came to check in before bed. It's already past midnight, I'm about to go to bed but just wanted to check in and say I did get my evening workout in!

[MissLoud]

:Boo for all the sickness! Season changes are the worst.

Feeling so much better now that my hormones have settled down, honestly I felt like I was premenstrual for 2 weeks! Hopefully my body sorts itself out and im not going to suffer that every month!! Think it would end in divorce so I'm pretty much on plan with food and workouts hopefully will see a scale result back to where I was before I went off track.

Busy morning for me so better shuffle off! Happy Guy Fawkes Day

[Radiojane]

Mind if I Join in? I've been off plan for the better part of 7 months I haven't weighed but I'm definitely up. Worst is all my hard earned fitness and flexibility is gone.

Today was my first day back in the groove.

[GirlyGirlSebas]

Hi Everyone! Sorry that I went MIA after just joining you guys. I've been battling some serious stomach pain since last Thursday. I feel like a rock is in my stomach after every meal. My stomach feels hard like a basketball! I've been trying to self diagnose. Today, I got pretty bad and I finally broke down and went to the doctor. He thinks it is gastritis. I have to eat a bland diet for a week and take Zantac twice a day. He also took blood to test my liver and pancreatic enzymes and he is sending me for a sonogram. He doesn't think it is my gall bladder. The good news is that I've been having problems eating and I've lost 4 lbs since last Wednesday! Not an ideal way to lose weight, but I'll take it.

Hope everyone is doing well. I'll have the armband back on and be on-track soon.

[martini]

hey hey everyone!

Jenni - I'm so glad to hear you're feeling better! Hurrah for the size 14s!! That's really great news. I also think it's really smart to approach Disney with a plan. What you're thinking of sounds like a great balance between enjoying your vacation without too much food stress and eating without any regard for calories.

Laurie - I think there's a lot of wisdom in recognizing that the alternative to thinking about food a lot is being completely out of control around food. That really hit home for me. I would love to have a normal relationship with food, but I don't. I can either do things that allow me to keep my head on straight with food or I can eat without any consideration for the consequences until I'm back over 300lb. My range of options isn't the same range that those who don't have food issues have. Thank you for reminding me of that.

Do the steroids that you're taking for the bronchitis impact your mood at all? When you talked about white knuckling it that's what popped into my mind and I thought I'd ask.

Uber - What happened when you were 30 that set off the weight gain? Was there any one thing or was it just a slow creep?

I hope your headache gets better!!

Toasted - I remember in college hearing that the REM sweet spot is 4 hours. If you sleep for 4 hours it's just like sleeping for 8. My 20-year old self processes that bit of information with a little less suspicion than my 40-year old self does, but that's neither here nor there.

Jessica - Oooooooo!!!!! You've got a boyfriend!!!

Diane - I'm so glad to hear that your son is ok after the accident! It's awful that it happened, but being able to walk away with nothing more than needing a new truck... that's definitely something to be grateful for.

Mandy - Thank you for the snails! There's something about that photo that really makes me happy!!

Radiojane, Rhonda - Welcome!

I went out for dinner last night and that bumped my calories up for the day. That in and of itself wouldn't be a problem, but this morning I woke up with no food in the apartment. I stopped off for yoghurt and fruit at a little convenience market for breakfast, but I ended up going out for lunch and now I just want to eat everything.

Luckily, I'm writing this while at work and the act of writing forced me to actively work to get my head on straight.

I was going to start writing about all these reasons to eat what I want for dinner as well and on and on... but I can do better than that. I stopped writing this post. I looked up the calories for the sandwich and chips I had for lunch. I wrote it in my little food recording app on my phone and am now committed to motoring along on plan with my day. I would love to let go and just eat what I want, but that's just me being self-indulgent. There's not a single problem in my world that a cookie can solve and quite a number that a cookie can actually make worse.

I have about 300 calories left for the day and I'm still too hungry to make that work. I'll have a normal dinner (about 400 calories) and then make grocery shopping a priority tomorrow afternoon.

I hope all of you have a wonderful day!

[toastedsmoke]

Hey guys, so I woke up this morning and after pretending that it was Saturday for about an hour and lounging in bed reading, I eventually got up and did a strength training DVD (Jillian Michael's One Week Shred) for about 35 minutes, which meant I was a little late to work... Boooo... BUT I got my workout in... YAY!!! If I get home, I'm still full of beans, I might do a second workout. I'm so used to push to the max cardio workouts and running that if my heart isn't pumping out of my nose, I don't feel like I've exercised. I mean I'm sore in the muscles and my HRM says I burned 319 calories on this morning's workout, but I don't feel like my heart rate got very high. I don't know... I'm planning to incorporate workouts involving weights every other workout and this is only day 2 of that so maybe this is how it goes with strength training and it's good to give my heart a rest a bit.

MissLoud: Yay fireworks and bonfires!!! I'm glad you're feeling more balanced overall.

Radiojane: Welcome!!! Please join us, this group is awesome! I remember you and I'm glad you're back! Well done on day 1 of awesome! Here's to an even better day 2!

GirlyGirlSebas: I've been hospitalized with gastritis a few times and it's hurts sooooo badly and is sooo uncomfortable. I've got the chronic kind so I've really got to be careful or I'm in trouble. I used to feel like a wuss but my doctor says people sometimes come in thinking they're having a heart attack- the pain is so bad. It's really terrible. I'm so sorry you've been suffering like that. I hope the Zantac kicks in soon and helps. Yay lbs dropped but when it comes so painfully at the cost of your health, it's always horrible.

Martini: I'll do the 4-hour experiment. Maybe over a weekend, where I can actually go back to bed in the afternoon if it doesn't work. Yay on pulling it together despite the compulsion to eat everything. I'm in that mode now. I'm constantly munchy and I have to keep fighting to stay on plan. I'm on my second bottle of Coke Zero and my colleague I share an office with is casting me judge-y eyes, but she doesn't know my struggle. It's either fizzy drink or the tub of crackers in my desk and that's not 2 calories for the bottle. Sigh. We will make it.

As I was saying to Martini, it's been a pretty munchy day and it's unfortunately a fast day too so, fun fun fun! I'm currently at 217 calories for the day which means I have about 283 to burn on tonight's salad and roast chicken... #tears The last thing I feel like eating is salad. I'm soooo munchy, I don't even KNOW what I feel like, except everything! Ah well, I'm sticking with it. Maybe tomorrow will be better. At least I'll have more calories to figure out what I want. I hope you all have a wonderul day filled with health and wellness and not a drop of the sickies.

[LaurieDawn]

Good morning, all!

Toasted - Can I tell you how much I LOVE reading your posts? Not only the kindness and wisdom, but just the sheer entertainment value. "My colleague I share an office with is casting me judge-y eyes, but she doesn't know my struggle." You're the best! And I know exactly what you mean about getting in a good work-out, and yet, not feeling like it's enough. Imma share with you two of my super-secret, seldom-used, but valued tricks for feeling full when I'm super munchy and don't have calories to spare. Use or discard, as you see fit. And you probs know them anyway. #1 - Shirataki noodles. Don't love 'em. Usually eat them with a bit of teriyaki sauce, so about 15 calories for a big bowl of filling fiber. When I'm super, super hungry, they can be very helpful. #2 - Fiber pills. This one makes me feel a little too EDish, but it's not like I'm popping laxatives. I used to take them on the regular when I was doing almost exclusively lean protein. (Yes, I know I used the word "regular" in a fiber discussion. No, I'm not going to change it.) Woot on your roaring return to the world of fitness! As I've mentioned here before, you were someone who inspired me to start running eons ago.

Martini - I so love when you are able to post regularly! (This is not to suggest that you shouldn't take time off from posting when it doesn't work for your life - only to remind you that your contributions are incredibly valuable.) The reigning it in. THAT is where it's at. We all slip up. We all have days when this seems super easy. The reigning it in is where we go from wishing we were on plan to being on plan, and you totally killed it. Also, I really appreciate not being alone on the abnormal relationship with food.

Rhonda - So glad that you didn't slip back into the ether, but feeling bad about your health issues. I have been whining about my little bout with bronchitis for a week now, but you've got some serious things going on in your world. Happy you went to the doctor. Hopefully, recovery and feeling better are just on the horizon.

Radiojane!!!! - I love it when familiar faces pop back up. I have loved and been inspired by many a post you have written. Woot on first day back in the groove! And Woot! on putting yourself on the path to regaining the fitness and flexibility. It will come, day by day, and I can't wait to celebrate it with you.

Kelly - Glad you're feeling better, and that TOM finally is starting to release its grip on your sanity. TOM can be the worst!

Diane - I love your very succinct description of your current strategy - feeling good about workouts and just trying to not get stupid with meals. That's exactly what it takes, yes? And I still smile every time I see that ticker with its hard-earned sub-230 number!

Mandy - UGH! The upper respiratory yuck makes me CRAZY. Interestingly enough, for my first few days where my throat was not tolerating even water, I subsisted on herbal cinnamon tea. Bengal spice, to be precise. And you're right, the cinnamon bite felt lovely. Get better, and if it doesn't clear up quickly, get thee to a doctor. Don't wait as long as I did.

Uber - So glad you got a minute to check in. I empathize with the physical reaction to not-excellent food choices. I hope the headache clears up, and that the eating gets back to where you want it.

Jenni - Look at you, getting all prepped for eating at Disney. I love your plan. Allow yourself to genuinely indulge in a few choice things, but don't eat so much that you're not physically able to enjoy the trip. And Mandy's snails echo some good advice that you gave me recently that I call upon. Even if the weight loss is slow, it's the direction that matters.

Jessica - Yay for sizing down out of Torrid! One of those mixed blessings. I am wearing a skirt that I love today, but I know I shouldn't be, since I have to keep yanking it up because it's just too loose. Can't wait to hear about work and the continued romantic entanglement. And yay for getting a date for the facilitator, but making sure that you're there for the necessary training.

194.6 today! Finally headed back down. Likely won't be as low tomorrow as I was the previous Friday, but I know it's not linear.

Feeling good today. Did not snack last night. Ate a reasonable dinner. I did eat a half of a small brownie bite, but I am still calling yesterday a perfectly on plan day. Let's see if we can string some of these together, and maybe stay in the sub-195 region of the scale for more than one weigh in this time. =)

Have a great day, everyone!

[ubergirl]

Jenni With all the walking you'll do at Disney, eating should not be a problem as long as you have a good plan!

Laurie Hope you're feeling better!


Martini Thanks. My headache is gone thanks to a magic migraine pill. I'm lucky that migraine medicine works perfectly for me, but I really stall before taking it to see if I can get by without it. Felt kinda dumb when I suffered for 36 hours only to feel better in 20 minutes.

What happened when you were 30 that set off the weight gain? Was there any one thing or was it just a slow creep?

Well, what happened when I was 30 was pregnancy, but it's a little misleading if I say I was normal weight until I was 30. I grew up thinking that I was E N O R M O U S which is actually not that dissimilar from actually being enormous. When I was in middle school, I grew a whole lot and matured (I am busty) and my mother started actively trying to get me to lose weight so I went on Weight Watchers at age 12, and right in the middle of an enormous growth spurt I also dropped from 138 to 120, I'm 5'8" so 120 was a willowy BMI of 18. Of course, parents, friends, family, coaches, EVERYONE in my life praised me to the skies, and of course, I couldn't maintain 120. This basically started me off on a very bad eating disorder cycle-- binge, eat in secret, purge (though not that frequently) and go on and off super-low-calorie diets. Also, I was an athlete, so in season, I could eat A LOT and not really gain, then the season would end and I'd promptly gain 15 lbs. After college, I did development work overseas for a few years and lack of access to junk food, and being completely removed from the crazy diet/body image culture worked like a charm. I lost 30 lbs and maintained a normal weight. When I came back, I gained back the 30 lbs and returned to the yo-yo diet cycle... this kept me no bigger than a size 12 until I got pregnant for the first time-- then I gained 40 lbs and after that, I couldn't starve myself down to a normal weight in two or three weeks, and so progressively over time I just gave up and kept getting bigger and bigger every year. So that is a L O N G answer to your question!


Toasted I absolutely HATE those days when I want to munch everything in sight. I used to really have trouble with that at work. Oddly enough, now that I work at home I don't get munch when I'm working-- but when I was at work, I used to handle the problem by chewing gum... sometimes I used to chew an entire pack of gum.... it's fine when you're a lone in your cubicle but a little embarrassing if your boss just happens to stop by!

Jessica All wonderful! And so much fun!

Diane Glad your son is okay!!!!!

Mandy That snail picture was EXACTLY what I needed.


So, I had a good day yesterday, and it was really just plain easy to be on track. The oatmeal cookies are still hidden from sight in the tupperware, but yesterday I forgot about them.

Ladies, the truth about Uber is that I stay on plan when I'm not stressed and I go off plan when I am stressed. Luckily, several things that have been worrying me have gotten resolved in the last few days, and now I'm all calm and I'm back to being Miss On-Plan Uber.

I think my problem, in part, is that exercise helps me manage my stress and I have not established a bullet-proof plan to get in exercise every day. Last time around, I went to the gym after putting my kid to bed, every night, and it was bullet-proof. There was nothing to stop me from going. Now, I'm in the mode where I don't have set time when I HAVE to be exercising and so it's to easy to skip.

I have been avoiding joining the gym all this time due to cost, but I think it's time for me to commit the resources I need to keeping myself sane because I do know that if I can exercise at least 5x a week I'm much less likely to let the stressful times throw me off plan. Yesterday I did the school walk (1.2 miles) and a second hilly walk in the afternoon and I felt great.

Also, I'm going to print out Martini's quote and put it right in front of me.

I would love to let go and just eat what I want, but that's just me being th self-indulgent. There's not a single problem in my world that a cookie can solve and quite a number that a cookie can actually make worse.

Good day to all!

[Slashnl]

Hi all! Great to see lots of posts!

Went to Body Pump today. It was a good workout again. I really do like that class. I can push as hard as I want and lately, it has been working to push more. I did hear myself grunting and whining when we got to the last workout track of the day, but made it through. I have the heart rate monitor spin class tomorrow. Don't love it, but it is such a good workout.

Trying hard to not eat everything in sight today. For some reason, I am just really hungry. Not so much that I'm craving snacks, but really feeling hunger. So, trying to maintain sanity, but I think I might need to go a little higher on calories today. I just can't go off the deep end!

Uber: I hear you on having a harder time staying on plan when I'm stressed. It is much tougher! I do think it would help you to get the exercise going again. I know you can do it!!! Just make it a part of your day and don't wait for motivation to strike!!

Laurie: Good job with staying on plan so well and the new lower number!! That looks so great! You're heading for the 180's now!!

Toasted: Way to go with getting the workout in! That's great! Even if you have to be late for work.... GOT THE WORKOUT IN!!

Martini: Always good to hear from you! Just remember that if you go over on your calories today, just let it go. Tomorrow is a fresh start!!

Rhonda: Ugh! Sorry you are going through that! Being sick is the worst. Hang in there! Hope you get to feeling better soon!

Radiojane: Glad to see you post! I remember you and I welcome you into this group. It is a very supportive group!

MissLoud: So much fun dealing with hormonal crap! Glad you're feeling better!

[FeraFilia]

Still feeling blah today. Not as bad as I felt last night (wearing layers, shivering and sniffling under a blanket eating every carb in the house as my husband brought it to me), but not 100% either.

I did 2 miles with Leslie (consecutive!) today so far, and I've got my (little bit) of food planned out for the day, since it's a fasting day. I think I'll make Friday a 1500 calorie day instead of 2000 since I'm sure I had that (or more) yesterday.

I also got my Tastefully Simple open house party planned (finally) so I can introduce the members of the congregation to what I sell (yeah, I sell cakes and breads and other such things...) and so they can get to know me as an individual, rather than just the pastor's wife. We'll see how it all goes. I'm hoping for a good turn out. I'll be sending the proceeds from the party to my bff who lost everything in a house fire a couple weeks ago (my friend, her boyfriend, and their 4 month old baby are fine, their 2 cats didn't make it out).

I hope you all have a good day.

7:10pm update: I powered through the sick and did a 3rd mile with Leslie. I'm about to have dinner (egg + egg whites + cheese, yogurt, and fruit), and then I might even try to do another mile before bed. We'll see.

[MissLoud]

Just a quick pop in to say hi!

Toasted good luck with trying the 4 hours sleep, its about all I had last night and I feel like super zombie mum. Let off a few fireworks with the boys, its light til after 8 here so I'm looking forward to when the boys are a bit older and can stay up and we can make a guy and bonfire at the farm, its one of my favorite memories as a child. Not sure if it was the fireworks or the full moon but the kids were awake lots in the night ... feel like death warmed up

Its my youngest boys 2nd birthday tomorrow so a day of baking ahead for me, he wants a shark cake?! Well at least his 4 year old brother does!! I'm also on a fast day so might have to tape my mouth shut. *sigh* I can't believe my babies 2!

Weekend tomorrow for me so if I behave I might see a loss on the scales -- I can hope anyway!!

[jenjenangel027]

Just stopping in to say hi! I have been applying all afternoon to jobs. I sure hope I land one soon

Another kid also has the pukies poor thing! Its like a circular infestation in my house ugggg!

Oh and I know probably TMI but my low carb days are killing my bowels...I have bought the fiber powder that I take on those days anyone else have any suggestions?

[FeraFilia]

Jenni - how low carb are you going on your low carb days? These wraps are one of my favorite ways to add a little extra fiber in my day. You can see nutrition information on the page, and I've seen them at most grocery stores:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ole-Mexica...-of-6/27617770

Also.

I'm challenging myself. One week on plan. Seven days in a row. If I can get through that, I'll do it again. Small goals, small focus. I need to stop looking at the big picture and getting depressed then going off plan. Because it's been happening more than I like to admit, and it's probably why my loss has slowed so substantially. I keep thinking "I've lost 54 pounds. I'm still fat. This sucks. Why bother?" Those little nibbles of this or that, or just a bite of the other thing add up. SO. One week on plan. Then another week. Then another. And if I fall off? Well, I start over.

Today is day 1/7.

My plan is 5:2, calories planned for the week, with 3-5 miles with Leslie daily. AND NO UNLOGGED SNACKING!

I've started a separate thread for that, here: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/100-...week-plan.html

[jenjenangel027]

Thank you....I do have a high fiber tortilla I use in the morning it has 10 grams and then I get 6 more by the powder...but that still is not doing anything! It's limited to 25 grams or less.

I will have to try that brand too....the one I have is ok and its 80 calories so I do an egg wrap.

[FeraFilia]

These are 9g fiber + 5g protein, so they are filling. I also eat a kellogs fiber plus bar in the morning, and generally get some from fruits and veggies through the day.