Hi all, back from the weekend trip, a bit sunburned

I ate intuitively this weekend, enjoyed what I ate and didn't limit myself, but also didn't go crazy. Had some Indian food (salty and fattening, but so good), lots of seafood (panfried fish and CRAB), lots of fruit and fresh fruit juice, a few assorted treats. I weighed myself when I got back and I was basically THE SAME: 127.6 which was fabulous. The number is a bit off, as I am probably slightly dehydrated and it wasn't at my normal weigh-in time. I am also really constipated right now (sorry for the TMI) and have been for 3 days . This is only the second time in my life that I've really been constipated, and both of them have happened in the past six months since I've been in India and when I'm traveling. I think it's a slight mix of psychological factors and eating slightly different food when on travel. I'm not sure but it's weird.

Hopefully will get my PW (haha still love that one lackadaisy) tomorrow and get an accurate scale reading. I'll be ecstatic if I'm 126-128.

Hi feathers

Thought I would join in the chat since I have seen most of you on the forum for awhile now and appreciate your support, motivation and attitude.

My weekend achievement was not indulging in the fried cheese pastry concoction served at the non profit brunch I attended. I was 'rewarded' for my clean eating with a mystery gain of 1.6lbs this morning. Ugh. No salt even, no clue whats up with the gain. Trying to not be bummed out.

Hope everyone is off to a better Monday than I am!

PW!! So important to feeling good and fitting in tight skirts

Finally having TOM (and TOM bloat) today -- caught me by surprise because it's (1) four weeks late, so at entirely the wrong time of the month. I assumed it stopped because I was on a very low-calorie diet for a while in February (~1100 on many days). But of course I ate too much mid-March and now I'm on a steady 1350 kcal diet with lots of exercise, so I guess normality has resumed!

I guess the advantage to a PMS-free period is that I didn't give myself any excuses for exercise or overeating in the past few days... so I didn't actually have my typical chocolate binges and even exercised on a normal schedule. But today I'm so bloated I just know I've gained "mystery" pounds and inches. Xty, maybe yours came about the same way?

Also, update on egg beaters: had half a cup (4.3 oz) with lunch today and was SO full I was able to happily portion-control with only 1/2 a small panini sandwich. That's right, I had a cheesy carby panini but only enough of it to pay 160 cal for the privilege

These are definitely going to be part of my diet plan from now on. It's so nice not to be hungry at all.

Hi feathers -- can I just toot my own horn for a second and say that my mother came home with a BUCKET of KFC to split with me (whyyyy??? sabotage!!!!)

I did not partake, not even a nibble.

Lackadaisy, I love eggbeaters, I like making them in a mugg and cutting up a wedge or two of laughing cow cheese and some spinach in it and throwing it in the microwave. Very lazy breakfast!

Almost lost control with pie just now -- held back and only ate about 1/3 of the piece. Logging it as 140 calories just in case.

I was about to chow down on some cereal but wisely weighed it first -- apparently I can NOT eyeball a "cup" in volume correctly, and I've been overeating cereal all this time. It's both horrifying and a relief to have pinned down where some of my secret lack-of-weight-loss was coming from. I'm going to start measuring everything in mass and weighing it to make sure this doesn't happen again, because that's just terrifying.

indiblue Good luck getting un-'pated! It's a very uncomfortable feeling Glad to hear you had a good trip and were able to enjoy food without obsessing or gaining. Double win.

lackadaisy You must have such a small appetite. I am still working on shrinking my stomach down to a "lite" appetite. I wish they sold egg beaters in Japan, they sound like a magic fix!

Dorian5 Amazing restraint.

xty It's not real, don't let it get to you.

Today the voice in my head that shouts the loudest is the "I'm fat, I used to be thin" voice. I overate quite a bit yesterday, was just really hungry all day for no apparent reason - TOM coming maybe? Hard to tell what's up since I'm off the pill. I did go for an hour-long power walk with my long-legged bf after work which was nice; probably walked about 10km total yesterday, but you can't out-exercise overeating.

Intuitive eating is incredibly tough because my intuition tells me I should eat about 2,500 calories a day. I'm not an athletic man; I'm a small woman with an average-at-best metabolism!

lackadaisy I was shocked when I actually measured a cup of cereal too. I am pretty good at eyeballing pasta and such now, but for some reason cereal is something I always underestimate. It's so calorie-dense too and I realize I'm really not filled up with 1 cup. I've tried to cut it out because I just keep eating 2-3 bowls every time I try to just portion out one :-/

krampus Yes, I'm the same way with intuitive eating. My body thinks that eating large amounts of nutritious food is appropriate, when it's not. It intuits I need about 1,000 more calories each day than I actually need. I lost the first few pounds eating this way and then stalled, which is why I switched to calorie counting. I ate intuitively over the weekend, but that was just for a few days and it was a treat, unfortunately it doesn't work full-time for me. How is your "do what feels healthy and right" plan going?

Dorian way to go!!!! I woudl have had at least a nibble of biscuit or something! Nice willpower!

xty I hate those random gains. Check back in a day or two. There's so much that goes on within the body that we have no idea what whooshes or gains can be attributed to sometimes. Glad you're joining the chat!

Wildflower Sorry you posted this a while ago but just wanted to say CONGRATS on your loss! It must be wonderful to see the numbers move again.

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I had part of my PW this morning, phew. Things are moving along. I've found after being constipated I don't just need to use the bathroom once and it's over... it usually takes a day or so to catch up to my regular routine. Weighed after going to the restroom and I was 128.8. Not surprised. I need to drink a good bit of water today and really count calories. Hopefully the combination of those two + a few more bathroom trips to get regular again will get me back to 126 in a couple of days.

Not so well, though it's been hard to tell really since my boyfriend is around and that means less time for workouts, going out to eat more, having him cook me meals etc. I haven't binged or really wanted to binge, but I am starting to feel really uncomfortable in my slightly heavier body.

Glad your PW has begun. Feeling more "normal" since returning from vacation?

Bloaty again today. I had half a glass of diet soda yesterday. WHEN WILL I LEARN?!

I ended up eating a whole KFC biscuit, fried chicken breast, and mashed potatoes and gravy around 1am in total secret, hiding in my room and splitting it with my dog. Sheesh. Horn un-tooted!

lackadaisy Cereal and pasta are the 2 things that I still consistently measure, most other things I can eyeball well enough. I cannot help but over estimate with those two things.

indiblue I have been having problems in that area since I started counting calories, I don't know if I'm lacking in fiber or water or what. I always like to weigh after going too and it's frustrating if I can't. I feel like I'm not even getting an accurate reading.

krampus I have a hard time when hanging around my boyfriend a lot too, he's a better cook than I am and loves to make huuuuge dinners (he's not a small guy, lol) and doesn't exercise, so it's something I have to squeeze in between work and seeing him and whatever.

I didn't bother getting on the scale this morning because I know my 2nd dinner at 1am was going to make me have a bad day. My work clothes look awesome on me this morning, I'm just going to take that, forgive myself about the KFC, and have a good day today.

Dorian I don't know what my deal is because I know I'm getting enough fiber (I count it on my calorie counter, it's always on par) and I eat LOTS of fresh fruits, vegetables, and several servings of bran each week. So weird.

This evening, before dinner at 750 calories for the day I'm at 131 . Up four pounds from this time last night. I can only hope that with a smallish dinner and the rest of my PW I drop back down quickly. I hate being 4 more lbs than I was a few days ago, even if it isn't permanent weight gain.

Down to 120.2 this morning!! First time I've not stalled during my TOM. I think getting lots of fiber (we're talking about consistently over 40g, not some wimpy USDA recommendation) has been helping me keep the bloat down.

Krampus, I don't think I'd say I have a small appetite at all... I can be satisfied with a reasonable amount, but I am definitely a plate-cleaner if left to my own devices. Carbs are my downfall, but I do think I become full with protein and fat more quickly than other people, so a little bit of eggs or grilled chicken on salad fills me up quickly. It also helps me to eat really, really often... I guess I never really get so hungry that a small 250-cal meal isn't enough at the time.

Indiblue and Dorian, I'm kind of glad to hear confirmation of my epic cereal problem. Wow. Never again will I randomly pour myself unweighed cereal... replacing those meals w cereal bars or oatmeal or toast-and-jelly as of NOW.

Hi feathers!

lackadaisy - way to resist the entire slice of pie! interesting theory about the eggbeaters…I tend to go towards more whole foods in their original form and the ingredient list on eggbeaters seems too long to me, but Hungry Girl had some recipes using them, so based on that and your suggestion I am going to try them out

krampus - the voice is a liar, but I know how that feeling can be so subjective and change day to day…oi do I know. And I am amazed at the intuitive eating thing, my eating is too disordered to do that I think…coming to terms with a life of measuring and tracking.

kat999 - diet soda is the devil. just sayin

Weighed in at 129.2 today, so at least it is headed back down. Today is the last day of my 21day program of extremely strict eating. Wont go crazy tomorrow or anything, though…next 21 days will be increased cals and fat, but only slowly upping carbs. Hopefully I can keep losing during those 21. Id reallllllly like to be back to 125lbs soon.

Good luck Minifluffy -- we have the same goal, so I'm hoping to meet you there soon as well.

I think I spoke too soon when I was excited about resisting munchies yesterday... today is my actual TOM day 1, and I have been craving all kinds of bad things so much it's ridiculous. I also have the full complement of symptoms that makes even contemplating exercise painful. But I know that I need to just SUCK IT UP and go for a run. I just DON'T WANNA. MOMMY.