[Hotaruchan]

I hate Lyme disease...I was down earlier in the week then went right back up to the old number because my joints are visibly swollen. Blargh.

[Riestrella]

Hey everyone! Charts go up tomorrow, so please enter your weights asap!

Counting calories has been eye opening, I'm really glad that I've started monitoring everything I'm eating/drinking. Drinks have been the real eye opener, I never realised how much of my calories was being used up by drinks! I'm currently using My Fitness Pal, which tells me my daily recommended amount should be 1380 calories a day. So far I've managed to stick to it, 3 days out of 8 I've been over down to being out with friends and not paying attention. I hope that the next time I step on the scale, combined with working out again, I'll see some results. Here's to hoping!

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noname - Thank you for your advice, I really hope I can see a change soon! What's your year-long goal? Being on your own can be a nightmare in relation to healthy eating, it's so easy to slip up when no one's watching. So well done!

[Marniadec]

Because of various reasons, I haven't been doing any strength training. I thought it would be better for me to wait until I was done losing. But I've just figured out that you can only gain a few pounds of muscle per year and that it's difficult to see changes unless you're also dieting. So, yeah, I effed up.

I'm a size S/M in most stores now and I don't want to lose much more weight. But I do have to continue losing fat if I want to look good. At some point I'll start working out and eat at a smaller caloric deficit than I do now. The question is do I do it now or once I reach goal? How much difference could these 10 pounds make? What do you guys think?

[nonameslob]

Riestrella My goal is to get to 179 by the end of the year ("overweight" rather than "obese" on the BMI charts).

I don't know if I'm *failing* lately or my body is just playing games, but I'm up this week. It was only my second real week of strength training, so that could be part of it, but I also haven't been doing great food-wise. Going to pay more attention this week to what I'm eating and hopefully everything will fall back into line.

[Riestrella]

Marnia - If you want to see fat loss, you need to combine cardio with strength training and be eating a healthy diet. When I say diet I don't mean eat 1000 calories a day, I mean you need to be eating 1600+ but of purely clean, REAL food. So try and get rid of this mindset that you need to eat less to lose fat, it just doesn't work that way. I recommend a book by Jillian Michaels called "Making The Cut". It's for people who want to shed the last 20ish lbs and get lean. It comes with it's own meal plan and an intensive day by day workout that combines cardio with strength training. I use it purely from a strength training point of view, but those workouts are tough and if you can eat clean you'll start shedding off that fat. You can download it via torrents. But pleeeeeease stop thinking you have to workout more and eat LESS, that's crazy! You should workout more and eat MORE! Your body is a fire, the wood is the food you give it and your workouts are the oxygen. If you don't have enough wood your fire will burn out!

noname - That's a good goal! I set most of my mini goals based on BMI. Just be really mindful of eating a balanced diet along with your strength training and I'm sure you'll see a loss. Are you eating lots of protein too?

[Marniadec]

nonameslob don't call it failing. You can't be 100% on plan all the time. As long as you get back on track, you're fine. You need to take breaks every now and then.

Riestrella, that's not what I'm thinking at all. I meant that once I start working out I'll start eating more. Once I add ST, I'll eat at ~400 under maintenance as opposed to ~900 which is what I do now. I'm just trying to decide if I want to get to 130 before I add ST.

[Riestrella]

Week 5 chart!

[Riestrella]

Marnia - You should start strength training now!! You might not reach the number you want with strength training but who cares when you look lean and healthy?!

[Marniadec]

I've wanted to weigh 130 since I was 12. I can always gain some weight if I don't like how I end up looking. I definitely know how to gain. I do think that it's a bit stupid and that it will take longer, etc but I've wanted this for 15 years and I'm finally doing it.

[themilesawaygirl]

Hi guys! I've been very quiet and off the wagon for tooo long. I am back on it today though, and determined to stay good this time! We had a national holiday in the UK yesterday, so it's my first day back at work today and with only 3 more days in the week I've got absolutely no excuses not to stick to plan!

Maria If you really have this number in your head you want to get to, then focus on a healthy diet and cardio for now. If you start strength training it may cause you to put on weight and that might not be the thing you need right now. I'm not sure where you've got your research from about gaining muscle and having to diet at the same time but this doesn't sound right to me (I read a LOT about strength training and diet) You can gain a lot of muscle pretty quickly, but it involves huge amounts of training and eating a ridiculous amount. Alternatively, you can build muscle with weight training slowly on a healthy, balanced diet. But do try to remember what Rie says about looking and feeling healthy being more important than a number. x

noname It's not failing - you're on your second week of strength training! That sounds like a success to me. I need to be better with my food choices this week too. Let's do this!

hotaruchan Whoa, Lyme Disease? That sucks. It's treatable though right? Try not to worry about any gain caused by it, and it's not a true reflection of your progress. Get better first, then get back to the challenge!

Rie Is 1380 what MFP is telling you for net cals or total? I'd be wary of going much lower, but then I eat like a horse!

[nonameslob]

Marnia I totally understand. I almost waited to add strength until after I got below 200 (because I just mentally SO MUCH wanted to be under that) but decided to start now anyway for other reasons. Whatever you decide to do will be a perfectly good decision. Congratulations on all you've lost so far. That is amazing! You will get to where you want to be soon enough!

themilesawaygirl Thanks! We got this!

[skittlesfirehawk]

so excited im starting a new gym with stuff i can actually do

[Riestrella]

Marnia - If you have a goal, then by all means do your best to achieve it. Although personally I believe happiness isn't a number, it's how you feel. I still think you can sculpt the best body of your life with strength training! But that's me ;p

milesaway - Glad you're back! Pretty sure the 1380 is my net calories, not my overall. Though I still get confused by this stuff! If I burn calories then I'm allowed to eat them back, so that's good.

[Marniadec]

themilesawaygirl I said that wrong. You can build muscle but if you also need to lose fat in order to see it, you have to cut. I have trouble explaining this in english for some reason. I've been off and on for the past two weeks, too. The thinner you are, it really gets more difficult to even want to try to lose weight.

nonameslob thanks! For me, it's not that I won't lose as fast as I do now. I have Hashimoto's and chronic severe iron deficiency. When I add ST, I get tired too quickly and I give up. That's why I wanted to at least stop dieting, so I wouldn't do a half-a$$ed job for a little and then give up. If it's about how slowly or quickly you'll lose, you shouldn't even think about it. NSV are more important than the scale. Unless you need to participate in challenges in order to stay on track, like I do. That's another reason I'm not working out. I'd be up every day due to water retention, I wouldn't do well in challenges and I'd give up. Nothing motivates me as much as challenges do.

[rambling]
So, here's what I've decided to do: I ordered a caliper which will arrive in the next few days. I'll definitely lose another 600 gr, so I won't stop at 63,6 and then I'll measure my bodyfat and figure out what to do next. My ultimate goal is <=20% fat, so if I'm close to that I'll start working out. If not, I'll just figure it out from there.

I've read that the less fat you have the less sagging you'll have and that you have to get to <=20% in order to really see how much loose skin you have. My progress so far seems to support that.

I used to think that I'd end up looking like I had bariatric surgery and that I'd have to go on a tv show so I could get plastic surgery for free because I'd never be able to afford it. I used to exercise at home and seeing what i thought was loose skin on my legs grossed me out, ngl. But I swear I look way better now. There's some loose skin on my lower abdomen and at the top of my inner arms and thighs and that's it. It's nothing compared to what I expected. And I'm not even exercising!

So, I want to get really low bodyfat, see what I'm left with, maintain for a while and decide if I need surgery based on my progress. Because, apparently, you also need to wait 1-2 years for the skin to snap back. And then if I think that I'm too thin, I'll gain back some weight.
[/rambling]

[Riestrella]

Week 6 chart! Lots of people not weighing in this week . Please keep the spreadsheet updated!