Hi seven, welcome! You can definitely jump in. Congrats on being so close to goal and on all your achievements so far. I bet you can identify with a little of the diet fatigue and struggles pushing on we all go through in this group as we push towards those final few pounds to goal. We also have a bit of a year-end challenge going. It doesn't have to be a weight loss challenge or anything although I think we all have a year-end number we'd like to be at. It could be fitness-related like working out a specific number of times a week till the end of the year or eating within a specific amount of calories a specific number of times a week etc. I mean it's just a little extra motivation to keep going till the end of the year.
kate: how did the oreo pops go?
steph: I had serious health issues earlier this year and my doctor was like I mostly came through it alright because I was in such good shape. So you're soooo right when you say being in good overall health is always a good thing. How did the cookie-baking resistance test go?
Yesterday, I ended up not going running. My dad was around and whilst he's not drastically overweight, maybe 20-30 lbs over (being overweight for the first time in his life) his blood pressure and cholesterol numbers are slightly up so he wants to start walking as a way to exercise. I suggested we go for a walk instead because I'd much rather my whole family was fit than I alone. It wasn't much of a workout for me, but it was something AND I had a great time chatting and joking with him. Besides, I got my run in today.
So I finally baked my "healthy" brownies today. They were not inedible, but they were a little leathery so maybe that's a "too little fat" issue or maybe because I added grated beetroot to them to sneak in a little antioxidant factor which kind of turned them into red velvet brownies but ah well. Lessons were learned for next time. I'm saving them for TOM when I have chocolate cravings. They're nice enough that I will eat them and think I'm eating a real brownie, but not quite nice enough that I want to eat more than one, so it's the perfect formula.
Last edited by toastedsmoke; 10-26-2012 at 06:38 PM.
Thanks for the warm welcome! Good for you for going walking with your dad. I've been walking with my DH and sometimes the kids take turns coming with me. I never seem to get as much running in when they come along, but they are really trying and improving and I enjoy the time with them whether we walk or run.
I had set a goal about 9 weeks ago to put a thousand miles on my sneakers by Jan 1. I'm 419 miles in, but I know that I'm not going to make it by then. I've been pushing too hard for too long, so I'm slowing down and taking better care of myself. I'll get the thousand miles in by Feb and that's good enough.
Hmmm...my weight has been stuck since April up until this week and I'm motivated to keep it up. I'll aim for 160 by New Years. That's 9ish weeks and 17 pounds away.
Hey seven: I know all about the long plateaus that I like to call unplanned maintenance breaks. I stayed within 5 lbs of 180 lbs for 11 months from March 2011 till February this year. It sucked. We've discussed that a little here and I think part of the problem is that we get to a point when we get a little satisfied with our progress subconsciously and begin to slip in little ways and the lighter we get, these slips have more of an impact.... or something. Anyway WOW about your running distance! 419 miles in 9 weeks is like AMAZING. That's like more than 45 miles a week!!!! :O :O :O (green with envy!) You're a lean mean running machine! Also Yay about this week's scale victories!
I got my third workout in this week for the FIRST time since I set that goal. What a pity it's not looking like I'll meet my calorie-related goal. It's fine though. I'm still hoping 7 lbs by December 22nd is a go. How's everyone's weekend going? It's TOM for me so I'm up a pound to 153 lbs but I don't know these days I seem to have lost my "scale crazy." The number is what it is; the best I can do is make the best decisions I can.
seven, welcome! Congrats on your losses, both recent and cumulative. Very impressive. (Oh, and I now have that song stuck in my head - Oklahoma is one of my favorite musicals!)
As toasted said, this little group is for those of us who have been at it for a while. It does get tiring. My biggest problem these days is complacency. I can maintain at this weight pretty easily, I've got a closet full of new clothes, I'm old enough (54) that I've got no illusions of having thin arms or a flat stomach - so why keep struggling to lose a few more pounds?
Especially since, again as toasted said, the margins are so small now. Last holiday season, I did a lot of baking and could indulge a fair amount since I weighed quite a bit more than I do now. This year, I'm going to have to make some major adjustments. I was only moderately successful in resisting the cookies I made the other night. But I didn't eat a dozen, as I used to do routinely, so that's progress.
More progress: I had people over for lunch today and, instead of eating all the leftovers once they'd left, I went for a run instead. I really should go toss the leftover bread outside for the squirrels!
Steph, that song is ALWAYS in my head, that's why I put it like that. LOL I'm a bit of a musical junkie.
I have no illusions for a flat tummy or nice arms either at this point. The excess skin is...oh my word. I let the fear of that hold me back for so long, and it turns out it's worse than I imagined it would be, but I'm ok with it because my life is so drastically improved.
But then there are times, like tomorrow AM where I have to have pictures taken in tiny shorts and sports bra as the "before" for the bootcamp class I'm starting, that I'm pretty horrified. Mostly because I've seen most of the other ladies there and they are (almost) all tiny and have never been obese.
Whatever, I'm there to get strong, not impress anyone with my amazing bod.
Toasted, Way to go on getting that 3rd workout in!
I ran 5.2 miles yesterday and then walked till I hit 6 because I like even numbers for my counter. Taking today off.
Oh and holiday baking...oh my gravy. Mostly, I can bake bread and cookies and whatnot for the fam and be ok with not sharing, but once in a while they will totally rave about the bread being especially good and I end up caving and eating half a loaf.
seven, good luck with that boot camp. Try not to stress about the "before" pic - like you said, you're there to get strong!
My aching shins woke me up at 1 AM, so no running today. I got in some activity by bringing in everything from the garden and patio, since we're going to be getting some heavy winds with this monster storm. Lots of up and down the basement stairs.
My eating has really gotten off track so I'm hoping to get my act together this week.
steph: You're a rockstar resisting cookies AND leftovers AND moreover going for a run instead of indulging!!! I've been bingey/munchy this TOM and I need some of that willpower! Sorry about your achy shins! I hope you're doing okay and you are safe and well with the Hurricane Sandy frankenstorm and everything. CNN is basically showing us Disaster Movie footage and it looks pretty scary.
seven: For me, I think the excess skin is neither as bad nor as good as I thought it would be. I had no expectations really and I suppose it is what it is in the end. That being said, I'm awed by your courage. I can't imagine wearing a sports bra and tiny shorts for ANYTHING! I barely like to wear a bathing suit/tankini to go swimming. How long does your bootcamp run? Good luck with it, I'm sure you're going to rock it and blow the "tinies" away! I'm terrible with freshly-baked anything so good job you mostly being able to say no to stuff! I guess ultimately life happens and we just need more good days than not.
I did alright last week overall even though I didn't hit my calorie-related goal. I got down to a new all-time low weight (152), I finally worked out 3 times in one week, I'm getting pretty comfortable at 6 mph and already beginning to look forward to my goal of doing a sub-30 min 5k by the first quarter of next year. Then TOM hit this past weekend. On the plus size, I only bounced up 1 lb to 153 which is quite alright by me. On the minus, I've been a human munchy box since then with TWO 2300 calorie days in a row (Sunday and Monday) and not a drop of exercise in sight. I've not lost hope though. I'm doing well so far today and have a run planned for tomorrow. I know I have it in me to have an on-plan day today so I'm keeping the faith. It's going to be alright.
I hope everyone is having a good and safe week! Take care everyone!
No ill effects from Sandy up here in Albany, much to my relief. I was worried mostly about my roof leaking but we didn't get a lot of rain. The coverage really has been overwhelming but I'm sure it saved some lives by convincing people to evacuate, etc.
My eating has not been great, but I haven't gone completely off the deep end. I'm up to 133-134 but my clothes don't feel any different. I'm trying to see this as a learning experience - my first regain. If I can get myself on plan for a few days, I know I'll feel much better. I'm floundering a bit and just need to get steady. I'm sure some of it is the low-level anxiety about my mammo redo on Thursday and some other, more general anxiety (the presidential election, some restructuring going on at work, a friend owes me money - you know, life!). It's easy to fall into the old habit of smothering my anxiety with food.
On the plus side, this week marks the one year anniversary of my rescuing my cutie pie cat Sadie. I just adore her and she's been a good addition to the herd.
steph: I'm glad you're safe. I can imagine you're anxious about the mammo and the other life issues you mentioned. I most definitely do NOT miss election season in the States- never the most congenial period of the year! But in a week, it will be over and what will be will be irrespective of whether one stresses about it or not. I'm struggling with overeating too. It's not wonderful. I did okay Tuesday though. Congrats on the 1-yr anniversary of your cat! Take care of yourself and know you're definitely in my thoughts and prayers for Thursday.
Hey everyone, it's been a little quiet here but I'll do a little update just to push our thread to front page. How was Halloween for you guys? It's not really a big thing here (except for Catholics who might go to mass) so it's pretty easy to stay away from temptation. Did you guys dress up? Trick or treat? Hand out candy? My roommate in college in the States was Halloween obsessed and would go out of control with decorating (cardboard tombstones, fake cobwebs, mummies, the works) in and outside our dorm room. I missed out on all the other Halloween-y stuff though... Although of course not the discounted Halloween candy on November 1. I always cleaned out then.
This has been a pretty rough TOM for me and I've been feeling really munchy and bingey. I've not been eating below my 1400 calorie target and have been more in the 1600 range but I'm still counting, it's not horrible, and I'll take it. I went for a run yesterday and it was pretty terrible. I forgot the watch of my heart rate monitor so I felt pretty "off" already and then I just couldn't get into my zone and it was a push to not give up and just finish. I'm not sure what was up with that but my next run is scheduled for tomorrow so hopefully whatever was up, is sorted by then. Because yesterday was definitely more: "I hate exercise" than "oh the joy of movement."
I hope you all are doing well this week.
Steph: Wishing you luck and praying that everything goes well with the mammogram today.
Seven: How's bootcamp so far?
Kate: how is the madness of this week going? I hope you're getting a little time to stop and at least breathe a little.
toasted, thanks for thinking of me. It turned out well, though it was nerve-wracking - waited half an hour for the 3-D mammo, then another 45 minutes for the ultrasound. AARGH. But I got the all clear, so it's all good!
Now I have to get back on plan and stay there for more than a minute. I'm back up over 135 so I need to get serious if I'm going to get under 130 by the end of the year.
Hey I am in got 20 lbs to lose before the new year ! Gonna work my butt off trying to lose it ! LOL I for sure want to try a lot harder . Thanks for the challenge . This is so me toooo !!!
steph: I'm glad you're fine! Yay!!!! I'm sure some of that 135+ is stress, water and plain ol' scale meaness. You'll be back on track before you know it.
Dumplin: Hello! Welcome and congrats on making it this far! 20 lbs before the new year, eh? I'm sure you'll rock it! You can do it!!! Let's go!
Today was okay. I was more or less within calories. I'm still going through a munchy phase but at least I managed to stay on plan although mostly because I don't eat after midnight and I got home too late to do any real damage. It's just gone past 3 am and I could definitely eat. #lesigh I'm not sure what's up with me but here's hoping it will pass. I haven't dared step on the scale since this weekend but I'm thinking tomorrow might be the day to see where I am... just for kicks. I might as well take advantage of my newfound scale zen attitude.
Dumplin, welcome and good luck with your goal! Getting under 200 was a huge psychological boost for me.
My eating has been pretty good the last couple of days. I really wanted to snack last night but I rode it out and chewed some gum instead. That's the behavior that I need to re-establish if I want to lose another 10 pounds.
