GreatPerhaps, I had the same symptoms you have 3 weeks ago. It was something in my intestines. I was sleepy all day long for several days, even though I had enough sleep.

So I ate 3 tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds for 4 days in a row....
Plus I added 1 piece of candied ginger 4x/day for the 4 days.
I bought both of these at Trader Joe's, but any good health food store should stock both items.

I really don't know if I need both remedies, but they worked. Now I am alert and OK.

Today my stomach feels off. My stomach this time, so I am going to eat the 3 tablespoons of raw pumpkin seeds again. I am out of ginger. Tomorrow I'll have to go out and buy a bag.

There must be various ailments going around. :?:

I upped my calories a few days ago, but I also started working out more. I have no idea if I will lose 1 pound a week now, or maybe just a half pound.
Either way is OK with me.

:ebike::woops::tread:

"Obsessed" is just a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated.

Great - hope you figure out what is causing your troubles. You commented a few posts back that you were one quarter of the way to your goal. I meant to comment on that the other day. What a great feeling! It makes it easier to see the light at the end of the tunnel, doesn't it?

April - It's sort of a big relief, isn't it? My DD is an excellent student. She carried a 3.85 GPA in college. She started out with 4 semesters of 4.0's and stressed constantly. Then she got a B+ in something and "broke" the 4.0 average. She was bummed at first and then realized how much she had been stressing over the numbers. Sort of the same thing, don't you think? Real life isn't always 100% on plan. You're doing so well and now you realize that perfection isn't required. Keep up the consistently good work.

And to all who commented on my monthly weighing - we'll have to see how this goes. I know I'll weigh myself once in a while in between. The OCD will surely kick in! I am now only counting what I weigh on the first Wednesday of the month. Just like I used to only count Wednesday's weight as "official." It was hard not to weigh in this week, but I'm trying for this to be a change for the good.

I know that everyone has to find their own way to do this, but I can't spend the rest of my life counting and stressing over everything I eat. I have to keep trying to "eat like a thin person" and leave it at that. If I don't do well, then I have to come up with plan B. So far there isn't one!

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Lin

Originally Posted by linJber:
April - It's sort of a big relief, isn't it? My DD is an excellent student. She carried a 3.85 GPA in college. She started out with 4 semesters of 4.0's and stressed constantly. Then she got a B+ in something and "broke" the 4.0 average. She was bummed at first and then realized how much she had been stressing over the numbers. Sort of the same thing, don't you think? Real life isn't always 100% on plan. You're doing so well and now you realize that perfection isn't required. Keep up the consistently good work.

yes, that is EXACTLY it!

and I was nervous about what would happen - would I be able to get right back on plan? Yes, back on already. Or would all the weight come back on overnight? Nope, just .2 up still - I was already 2.2 up for the week, presumably from TOM bloating because I was otherwise on plan until then.

So all is good.


And Lin, good luck with the monthly WIs. I would not be able to do that (and wouldn't even try, I think - I have decided to not use ANY willpower when it comes to the scale, if I want to get on, I get on) but I think so much of this is all about figuring out what works. And maintenance is a whole new thing for you to figure out now.

April - It isn't so much that I won't ever get on the scale for the month, it's just that I'm not letting the numbers get to me. When I have to write them down, it starts being stressful. It's so weird and hard to understand why. From January 13th to October 5th I lost 90 pounds and on Wednesdays at weigh in I NEVER saw a gain. I was the same, I lost as little as .2 pounds (darn digital scales!) and I lost as much as 4.6 pounds. But never once went up.

It's exactly like your 100% on plan. How will I react if it goes up? Weight fluctuates. I'm trying to get that in my head. I did get on the scale today. Results in a sec. I had been camping for 4 1/2 days last week with friends. When we went camping in May, I took my scale. I didn't this time. I had a stressful 2 weeks. My car was about 1 mile from the graveyard and I had to get something else last week - in a hurry. I had hoped to put off buying a car till next spring. It has been very busy at work, putting in 10 - 12 hours days after being off for a long weekend. I have been putting my "eat like a thin person" plan in effect to the best of my ability, though my ability was severely lacking while camping with my friends! So, the bottom line was the scale said 161.6 this morning. Major success, since my plan is to hold at 162. But (other than here) I'm not writing it down. For some reason, for me, that takes the stress away.

I'm proud of you for recognizing that 100%, 100% of the time, is not realistic for the rest of our lives. It is what it is. We do our best. We slip a little. We begin again. And I certainly don't even want to imply that I think a few calories or off-plan bites of food are "slipping." Heaven help us all if it is, because there are days I'd be considered to be in a free-fall. I really admire your discipline. I know I wouldn't last long on Dukan. How great it is that there are so many ways to do this.

And I'm proud of myself for realizing I can deal with this without being tied to the number on the scale for the rest of my life. It is what it is.

Lin

I have been keeping track of my days on plan by adding 1 to the number in my signature but some days I forget if I did it or not. Today, I went back and checked what day I started and I was 19 days in, not 16. Woo-Hoo!

Thanks for keeping track, Madame Souza. I always look at your signature to see how far we are. Glad you fixed it - I never even noticed!

Lin

[QUOTE=linJber;4072112] For some reason, for me, that takes the stress away./QUOTE]


Yes, I think that's the main thing to remember - we all have different plans and different paths. For example, I know that Dukan is very restrictive and not for everyone. Honestly, I didn't think it was for me, I thought it was a bit nutty when I first heard about it. But I had a bunch of friends trying it so I figured I'd give it a shot. No one was more surprised than me that I loved it and it felt like such a perfect fit! lol!

I feel the same way about the scale. Forcing myself to only WI once a week would be a waste of will power. But forcing myself to WI every day doesn't for me either. But obviously, some people do great with daily WI, others weekly, others monthly. Just like the diet plan, we are all going to feel motivated and supported differently.

I will admit that I was hoping I'd follow your path and never see a week with a gain. But since the gain happened (2.2 up) before the off plan day, I obviously couldn't control it. It's definitely linked to my cycle, and I expect to see a whoosh once TOM actually arrives.

My days tracker is so out of synch now. I started a different 100 days on plan challenge a week or so before this one started and I started the tracker with that. But now I've missed a day so I won't finish up on Christmas when that one went to.

I'm just going to keep counting the days on plan and hope to have 100+ by the end of the year!

April - good job in recognizing TOM has an impact on weight fluctuations. I'm 60 and TOM left with Aunt Flo a LONG time ago. I don't even get the occasional hot flash anymore. So TOM has never been a factor for me. I'm glad for that, because I'd have been nutsy every month!

Like I said - It is what it is. Some things are out of our ability to control.

Lin

Hi everyone! I hope it's ok that I join your guy's challenge! I know there are less than 100 days left till the end of the year, but I still need the challenge and just figure I can make mine the 80 day challenge or just go further into the new year. This is officially my second post on the site ever and I'm excited that is is such an active forum!

Welcome here, too! I saw a different post you made - probably your fist one! Glad to have you in the challenge with us.

Lin

So today is my second day! :) yesterday I wasn't really on any plan yesterday because I wasn't counting points for myself because I lost my little calculator, but I'm watching what I'm eating and I'm being mindful on what I put in my mouth. So I'm still going to consider it my first day. I stepped on the scale today and I was pleasently surprised that I am 4 pounds lighter than I thought I was starting at. So that's exciting.
I hope everyone is having a great start to their day. My son is going to Grandmas right after preschool for the night so I am excited to get started on my bathroom and I'm nervous because this is when I do most of my eating when I'm by myself. So wish me luck. I'll be back a little later to check in.

Welcome, sassyangies! Happy first day :)

I went off plan this weekend...but, like AprilSnow, I think it was actually a pretty positive experience. I had been really strict about everything since I started this challenge, and (as I've mentioned before in my posts) was definitely getting a touch obsessive. I was supposed to visit some friends in Rhode Island, and instead of being excited for seeing people I don't get to see very often, I was mostly just fixating on calories and what was going to happen to my weight and whether we were going to go out to eat, etc. etc. etc. Finally, I decided to put a stop to it by giving myself permission to just eat what I wanted this weekend, with the hope that I could manage to "eat like a thin person" as Lin has suggested. :P

It went pretty okay! At lunch, I swapped out my "bulky roll" for a wrap and when we went out to dinner I didn't even come CLOSE to finishing the massive portion on my plate, because I actually stopped when I was full. I do admit that I ate a bit more cake than I should have...but I had baked a gorgeous, fancy-pants chocolate red wine cake and I felt entitled to enjoy it at least a little ;)

Today I'm back on track...went to yoga this morning and going for a run with my dog later tonight. Hope everyone's week is off to a good start!

hello sassyangies and welcome!

and good job, greatperhaps! I do think my mental state is much better now and I am EXCITED about being back on plan today, which I wasn't feeling before. I'm going to do the strictest version of my plan for the week, and hopefully make up for all the lost ground (I didn't change my ticker but I was up again on Sunday, all the way to 209.6 - still TOM-related, I guess?) this week and then start off next week on a downward trend again.

I'm not even too disappointed that Onederland by Halloween won't happen - that seemed so unrealistic to me anyway. But I do think that getting there by Thanksgiving is still possible so I am going to focus on that. My original idea when I started in May was to be there by Christmas or New Years, so I'm still ahead of the game at this point.

Sassyangie - hope you have a great first week on plan. Check back often to let us know how it's going. What are you doing to your bathroom?

GreatPerhaps - I'm proud of you. This is really what we have to strive for. I wish you all could meet my DD - she is such a good example of how I want to eat. Maybe my weight was the example she needed of what NOT to do. At any rate, I think a weekend with friends off plan is OK. As long as it's back on plan right away.

April - who knows what TOM may take when he leaves. Onederland by Halloween might still be possible. Certainly by Thanksgiving, putting you way ahead of your original plan. Just keep it all in perspective.

Lin