August Chat
 

Summer's busy, but I figured we might as well try a chat thread this month and see what happens. :) The "getting out of the __'s" threads are nice to get support from folks who are right in step with you in that weight range, but it's also nice to chat more widely with all of the feathers.

So feathers, how's your weight loss going? Doing any exercising? Are you celebrating an achievement or shaking your fist defiantly at an obstacle this month?

And what's keeping you busy these days? Doing any traveling? Read any good books? Watched any movies? Getting crafty or artsy with a project? Volunteering somewhere or just grinding along at the office? Do tell!

Yay, feathers chat! I agree, it feels odd to be chatting in the 140s thread that I hope to ditch ASAP :D But I'm not very reliable about chatting so I didn't want to start a thread - thanks for doing so!

I am a perpetual featherweight, as in trying to lose "a few pounds" for the last 5+ years. Haven't been able to call myself a maintainer yet (except by accident when my weight stalls).

I fluctuate constantly on what I think my goals should be - some people my height look fantastic at above my highest weight so I often feel guilty for wanting to lose what is mostly just "vanity" pounds. But I am one of those people who gained weight in my 30s ... 20+ pounds of presumably pure fat since I am decidedly not athletic. Anyway as I wrote today in the 140s thread, my "red line" goal is 139 pounds. Acceptable goal: 135. Ideal goal: just below 130. These are not unreasonable goals, or at least I was in the 120s for most of my adult life until 5 years ago. Who knows what is reasonable now! But I think I can manage 139 by cutting out destructive behaviors like binge eating.

I don't fit in well with any diet groups since I am working on my own plan based on trial and error. I mostly follow South Beach Diet but I tweak it lots. Plus I have veered wildly off plan in the last year. I am considering Ideal Protein to get these last stubborn 10-15 pounds off, but I'm not so sure about all the processed foods and it is SO low-cal (800 or 900 per day). Family members have had great success with that plan.

So - overall this summer I have lost weight - about 10 pounds since May 1, which is AMAZING progress for me. The first half was due to getting my binges under control and planning my meals, the second half was due to an infection that left me with no desire to eat (so not the healthiest weight loss in the world). I am NOT exercising AT ALL currently - the stomach virus knocked me out and I haven't gotten back into that yet. Planning to start up again with simply walking in the upcoming week.

Hoping other Feathers will write in. I have taken a lot of inspiration from this area of 3fc through the years. I go in and out of posting here because sometimes I get all weird when I focus on the scale number - but for now I am ALL ABOUT GETTING THAT NUMBER DOWN! Once I am below 140 lbs, I want to start thinking about fitness strategies rather than just weight loss. I was textbook "skinny fat" when I was thin.

what's a feather?

Hi and welcome, Stanski! :wave: Feather is short for featherweight and this section tends to get members who either have just a few pounds to lose to begin with or have nearly come to the end of their weight loss journey and only have a few more pounds to go.

EmmaD, congratulations on your 10 pound loss, that's fantastic! Sorry to hear about the stomach virus though, that stinks. It's tough to get back into exercise after taking time off, isn't it? I lost momentum last month after coming back from a hiking trip abroad that I had spent several months preparing for. I need to start walking again too and eventually get back into jogging. But first, walking. We can do this! :cheer3:

Just keepin' on here with food as usual. It's hard to believe, but I've been at this weight loss thing for a year now. I don't have a weight goal in mind so instead I'm planning to celebrate anniversaries. This year I'm treating myself to a huge chocolate fudge cak---no, just kidding. :D I'm going skydiving, something I've been wanting to do for a long time. Next month when my nephew turns 18, I'll be taking him along with me for his birthday. Very excited!

Well my 10-pound loss is at risk of being frittered away if I don't get my act together. I am really swamped with some training at work and haven't even begun addressing exercise or diet (just trying to keep it "reasonable" with limited success). UGH hoping next week will be a chance to get back on track.

A goal like a hiking trip is a great idea! I will have to think of one for myself. Where did you hike abroad recently?

And skydiving? wow. I think I would have a heart attack. But the people I know who have done it have become addicted to it and if I didn't have a heart attack I can only imagine how amazing the feeling must be. I look forward to hearing about your experience.

When I have free time again I am going to work out a plan for eating and exercise. I am going to try to be more systematic than I have in the past. I am in awe of people around 3fc who know exactly how many calories or grams of carbohydrates they can eat to maintain ... I am clueless about that. Though I have suspicions I need to go low(er) carb to lose weight.

I don't really have a "plan" yet, but I hope other feathers check in and discuss what they are doing ...

By the way Stanski YOU are a feather :D (as LTT explained, someone with not much weight to lose - those painful "last few pounds")
If you come back to this area of 3fc, I am interested in hearing more about Ideal Protein and how it has worked for you as someone who didn't have that much weight to lose. I have the around the same as you - 25-30 pounds in my wildest dreams.

Plans are good! Plans keep us from turning to bad choices in busy and stressful times, yes! I'm a fellow eyeballer of calories (although was never interested in restricting carbs beyond, "hm, maybe not so much bread today"). I think it's about finding a plan that you can easily follow without making yourself crazy over it. For me it's been trial and error. I never have failures, I just learn new and interesting things about what doesn't work well. It's like performing a set of experiments and using yourself as the lab rat. :) Has there been a plan you've used in the past that worked well that maybe you could try again?

This week has been an impossibly busy and stressful time for me too and I've fallen back to some quick and simple meal plans. No exercise, but I'm just going to pat myself on the back for eating decently and save the workouts for later.

Let me know if you come up with a goal! I love hearing about other people's goals and plans. I went hiking in the Swiss Alps for about a week, which was fabulous. I was there last year and there was such a huge difference ~20 lbs and several months of exercising made to my stamina.

Hello
I've been on this site for years. 10 years ago I lost 22 lbs, gained it all back plus some. I lost that weight by exercise alone.
This time I'm doing the slow carb/ 4 hour diet plan. I really like it. I had a few cravings the first week. I wound up taking a few days off because I had a guest in town and so I've restarted and I've had no cravings whatsoever.
I need to lose at least 30 lbs.
As for exercise, last year I exercised everyday. I did bootcamp 5 days a week and I also walked. I tried to walk over 10,000 steps per day. My weight stayed down, but I never lost anything.
I just got back from a 2 month vacation in Japan and gained 6 lbs. I'm going to start a zumba class twice a week from Tuesday. I'll go back to the bootcamp sometime in September.
My short term goal is to be under 150 by the end of August. After that, 5-6 lbs per month.