The calorie cycling tactic worked! I was getting so disappointed from seeing that scale fluctuate between 163 and 164, sometimes even up to 166 depending on what I ate, despite giving it my all on both the stationary bike and treadmill, not to mention all this tedious calorie counting. I decided 1200 cals a day is a bit extreme considering I only have 33 lbs to lose and staying at that calorie level would give me no future leverage to really take those last 5-10 lbs off.

I went up to 1700 on Sunday and Monday was 1900. I went back down to 1400 yesterday and this morning the scale reads 161!!!!!!

I am now going to stick to a cycling plan that allows me on a weekly average about 1471 cals per day. From the freedieting.com site, I didn't want to do the extreme fat loss which is your current weight X's 8, but I didn't want to go as high as the regular one either. So I took those numbers and am doing an in-between one of my own.

So I guess my mini-goal over the next two weeks is to bring my weight down into the 150's, something I think is highly doable. My ultimate goal is to look like Jillian. Probably not so attainable, HAHA. But hey, she has thyroid problems too, so you never know what is possible.

I just wanted to share this with everyone in case anyone else out there is stuck and has been sticking to the same calorie level day after day. Don't be afraid to eat a little and keep that metabolism guessing but more importantly, working.

Well done!

hey that's great!!

Yay! That's fantastic! It's so true, often we just need to give that metabolism a kick to get things moving again.

Yeah!!!! Rock that scale!

Jay

Tom Venuto, author of "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" (best FAT loss book ever) recommends the same thing but he calls it the 'zig zag' method. The other nice thing about doing it the way you are is that some days you really are HUNGRIER than others. This method will allow you to eat more 'normally' based on your natural body needs while still losing. Way to go! Or rather I should say 'weigh' to go!

Wow, that's interesting! I will definitely keep that in mind for when I reached the dreaded plateau.

hmmm...interesting one that, is it easy though? how do you all keep count of the cals? do you write them down?
do you pre plan your meals? im just trying to get out of my aged 21 mind set ..you see im not 21 anymore and cant eat as much as I did then without worrying...do you eat more one day and then less the next to trick ur body so to speak?

my problem is a bottle or two of the red stuff on the weekend..most weekends...!! humph!

Touchmytoes: Yes, it is a total trick to play on the metabolism. Today I was supposed to log 1300 calories and it was actually hard because we had grilled chicken salad for dinner. I ended up still being short by about 200 calories so I ate a little debbie cupcake at 190.

Once you get the hang of knowing how many calories is in the food you eat, it becomes really easy to control. Weighing and measuring is also important. I try not to "eyeball" anything. 50 extra calories here, 30 extra there can add up at the end of the day.

I do have to pre-plan though. I have been going through my better homes and gardens dieters cookbook and jotting down needed ingredients for recipes and pick it up at the grocery store once a week. I also prepare mine sometimes separate from my husband and three kids because of things like butter and such.

Also, get this. Today was my grocery trip day and I bought fresh romaine lettuce, green peppers, orange peppers, red peppers, tiny potatoes, apples, green onions and well, lots more but you get the picture. The fresh vegetables and fruit along with all of my meats (mostly chicken and fish) before tax was less than $100.

So there is a lot of preparation that goes into this, but it is that important to me and feeding a family of 5 takes planning anyway.

When I was in my 20's, aside from my 3 pregnancies I weighed under 115. So I can relate to aging/weight gain for sure.

Good for you! I want to try calorie cycling, but it always seems to backfire on me. It's verrrry easy to have a couple high calorie days, but much harder to go lower.

Woohoo! That is amazing news! Keep it up, you're doing so great!

good job!! :-)

Bindersbee: I think I might go check out that book at the library. I have heard a lot of people quote it and rave about it.

Booskibabe: You are right about enjoying those high days! Then, the party is over, lol.