TOM finally appeared and my weight is high - yeah. Got to love it. I entered my weight in my app and it's updated me even loosing 5 lbs not until the middle of September. I get it takes past entries and algorithms them. But geez what a crappy way to start your day. I do hope that once this is done my weight moves again. In the past I've not been one who "whooshes" as others speak of. It'd be nice, but I've not ever seen it for myself.

I just had a beautiful color breakfast: a mixture of grape tomatoes red/yellow/orange, avocado, hard boiled egg, string cheese and banana. I wish my garden was doing better than what it's currently doing so the tomatoes are from the store. But they were good. Just not as good as what you can grow at home. I could live on tomatoes all the time. They are a great addition to my day.

Do any of you garden? What's your fav that you grow? Of late I have been enjoying kohlrabi as my ILS have been growing (the rabbits ate mine up).

Have a good day. I hope your scales look better than my own!

Sorry your day started off crummy Lemon. TOM is such a pain. Hopefully it drops back off fast for you.

I'm down 1.2 to 240.8 this morning. I was really surprised because my legs are still crazy sore from leg day. Just goes to show we have no clue what's going on inside our bodies and so little control over it. Obviously I'm in a sweet spot right now. Fingers crossed to Journey into the 230's soon!

I'm pretty exhausted this morning. I haven't slept well the last few nights. I've had a lot on my mind and that usually does it. Irritating. Makes me grumpy with my kids, but I'm so doing my best.

Yesterday I was doing my workout which was a strength circuit of chest, back and abs and when I was nearing the end of the second set I started feeling light headed and nauseous. Was able to finish up but the feeling stuck with me for a few hours. There could be a lot of different contributing factors and I'm hoping it was a one time deal. Hopefully when I do my circuit today it goes fine.

So, I'm going to finish this delicious cup of coffee, hope it wakes me up a bit, because I have every intention to sticking to my plan today and could definitely use some energy to make sure I make it through , and then I'm going to get this day started. Hope it's a great day for all.

Laura wow your first half marathon at 45! Now that is determination. Does your way of eating allow you to have up days(more) and down days(less) during the week so you can save for more on the weekends, or does it go only daily?

lemonthyme I garden. This year I am proudest of my blueberries. Everyone says they can not be grown here. I love the look of amazement when I tell people I have fresh blueberries from my garden. Tomatoes are slow in the NE part of our state also.
I really feel for you with your TOM it sounds so much like mine when I was younger.

Kim so close! Often times that feeling can be from not having enough salt when you are dieting. Try having a cup of chicken broth with your meal. "Just an opinion not medical advice."

The scale was down to 240.4!!! The best part was it jumped around in the 230's for a brief second as it was settling. I admit I got on it an extra time just to see it do that again.

Boy, did I need to be reminded of that!! I was just on another thread moaning about how I'm ready to overhaul everything because what I've been doing for the last 8 months doesn't seem to be working in conjunction with my exercising. To backtrack, I had 2 drinks, a lot of salty foods and a little taste of my husband's sugary dessert last weekend and gained 3 lbs. Fast forward to today and I've still not erased the gain. As the weekend gets closer, and we're going out again Friday, I'm already depressed that I can't even slightly stray from my meal plans. Granted it's my TOM so I'm likely more sensitive, but still I hate looking at life through this strict lens. I'm hitting the inevitable "eff it" stage we all experience when we're stoic with our diets. It took me 8 months so there's that...

Ubee Nope. It's consistent daily. Maybe that's what I should consider to shake things up.

One thing I find annoying about myself, is when I'm down, I'm really down but the smallest victory has me over the moon. I guarantee you if tomorrow, I have a significant loss I'll be hootin' and hollerin' about how great life is et cetera. Manic as heck....

Okay. Down two pounds from yesterday. I'm drowning myself in water today, brought a whole gallon to work. The humidity is finally down, so I can get out and walk a bit. I'm trying to think of all the clothes I have in storage that fit me so well in the 220's, that I want to be able to wear this fall!

Lemonthyme What is the app you use? Also I liked modelmydiet, it was a good visual this morning thinking about cravings. If I had a yard I'd love to garden, I have some basil and mint on my window sill, but that's it.

Ubee and TooManyDimples you are so close!! Congratulations on all your hard work!

FatDoesnt: I use two apps. The one for calories/exercise/weight tracking I use the free version of Noom. For just weight tracking (this is where it tracks your loss/gain and predicts where you could be) I use the free version of HappyScale. Both are user friendly and when you are in good loss, HappyScale just makes you grin when you can see outright how many pounds you have lost, and a graph and how soon it could be until you hit a number. You have the option to on how many benchmarks you'd like to hit on your journey. I think I have mine in smaller doses as 10 lbs can sometimes seem like the himalayas for me to hit.

Laura: you sound like me. Down in the dumps over a crappy number and then the next day high as a kite because you lost weight. I HEAR YOU! I guess we need to celebrate the good and feel like burying the bad. I currently have not stepped on my scale. I loathe wacky TOM and I know the scale goes up. I have my reading from the day before and my obsessive need for sugar.

Ubee: I think we are similar lines of latitude in the state. Heck blueberries are wild to the state (smaller and sweeter), I too went picking recently - I had my 8 ice cream pails full. But I pick at a local farmer as my bushes are mighty small yet. Maybe if I actually treated them better I'd be more successful. Enjoy them. I put mine in my freezer so all winter long I can have a burst of summer in my mouth. ENJOY!

TooMany: Good for you on the movement! KEEP IT UP! Just be sure to give yourself some rest in between, my PT recommends when you first start to give yourself a full 24 hours off. So if you are just ramping up maybe do lighter on those off days if you feel you need to move. I hope what you are doing works well for you.

Hello all!

AM: I won't do the scale today. No thanks, I don't need to be disappointed another day. I will eat as best I can and drink as much water as I can and hope that in a few days I surprise myself.

So I will probably join Laura in the grumbles until I see movement downward and then I will be on here like I've got the best thing going for myself. I think we all need to celebrate those ounces falling off as well. Too many things in this world aren't celebrated at all. I was talking w/my sister and she had passed an older gent going into a restaurant and smiled at him. As he came to sit at his table after her he stopped and said "you made my day - people don't smile any more and I miss that, you have such a nice smile". So girls - smile away - brighten someones day without a second thought. Maybe if we all start smiling more it will give us more to celebrate.

Ok I am off to battle the bulge I'd like to vaporize.Stay strong - onward and downward!

Laura have you ever heard of JUDDD? Some people have success with that. Maybe you could find a way to incorporate that with your WOE. They claim it also resets your metabolism. Just my two cents. I think many of us are the same way with the scale moods. I am really trying to learn to change that this time. Hang in there you are dealing with a lot in life. We should never make big decisions when our hormones are in charge. Again my with my damn two cents.

FatDoesn'tDefineMe you look so amazing in your picture. Do you mind if I ask how much you weighed when it was taken?

lemonthyme so interesting about the smile. I live in a small town/rural area and I notice here it is even less friendly. Not as bad as some places. Still it takes a long time to run errands because we are all so chatty even with strangers. I went to the store to buy 3 things last night and it took 45 minutes. I always plan for it. I am one strangers always talk to.
I will help encourage you and Laura through TOM since everyone was so helpful to hormonal me last week.

Laura glad I could say something that helped you yesterday. Hope today is a better day for you!

Ubee thanks. Yeah a lot of people in my keto group said it might have been too little salt. I did salt supplement before my workout that day but I ended up having to do my workout earlier than I planned so maybe my body hadn't absorbed it enough yet. Going forward I'm going to pay closer attention to my timing on that. And so far no more issues.

Lemon thanks. Yes, Saturday is a full rest day for me. So far so good!

FDDM, I have a whole storage bin full of clothes I kept that I want to wear again.(And some I've never actually worn) There is even a section of my closet devoted to clothes I never packed away because they should fit again soon. Of course "soon" has been going on for a while now.

.6 more to 240.2 today. Oh me oh my I'm sooo close! I think it helps that I'm really focused on everything with both my eating and exercise right now. Usually when I get close to graduating I can really feel that shift in my mind towards not being as goal driven to do it. Like I said before, it's almost like I'm hesitating to get into that next decade because it's going to come with a bunch of new obligations and expectations to keep myself there. I don't understand it really, but I know I don't feel that way right now. I'm feeling just as motivated to keep going as I did 2 days ago. So I will carry on as is.

I slept a lot better last night. Coffee is almost gone so time to start doing my thing and getting my day going. I am going to miss these late mornings when school starts again. But it also means I'll have more time in my mornings to get things accomplished without having to cram them in before I have to start work. Hope everyone has a fabulous day. Almost the weekend!

I have not, what is it?

I'm ounces away from 240 so I finally erased last weekend... just in time for this coming weekend. Gotta take this in stride and make the best choices I can...

Onward and downward!!

Kim you are so close! We are all rooting for you!

Laura I'm not sure of all the "rules" with JUDDD. To simplify it you have up days with calories and down days with calories. I think the down days are around 500 calories eaten in a short time frame so it has some fasting. Then you have up days were you are allowed ? (a lot more) calories. I think you have to do some figuring according to your weight. Anyhow I believe it is all about balancing your calories over a week instead of daily. I do my own version of this I guess. I eat less on most weekdays and much more on weekends if we are doing something. The scale jumps like crazy but at the end of the month I show a loss I am happy with. It is one way for me to enjoy my meals and have treats often.

Alright ladies! 239.4 this morning. But, I am cautiously optimistic and this is why. Today is the last day of my fat fast, really happy with myself for making it the whole 5 days, but I will start taking back in my normal levels of protein and carbs tomorrow. Which could easily mean a slight bump up on the scale at first. So, while I am super excited to see a number on the scale that I haven't seen in a VERY long time, I also know that I'm about to make a big change to my system tomorrow and that the effects might show on the scale until I balance back out. So I am going to hang around here for a few more days for sure, just until I feel like I'm solidly in the new decade. I don't mind, I've been enjoying talking to all of you.

JUDDD sounds kind of like calorie cycling. I have done calorie cycling in the past. For me I set a calorie goal for the week instead of per day. Say it was 10,500 so that would average to 1500 a day. Well I might do 1200 several times that week so that I could move those extra calories to the weekend so I could enjoy it a bit more. I thought it was pretty effective. Like Ubee I think I sort of do a bit now without tracking. I am more tight with my planning during the week and loosen it up on the weekend so I can enjoy some bigger, slightly more indulgent meals.

After this fat fast I already have my weekend dinners planned! Tomorrow night I'm going to make keto crab cakes with a side of probably roasted asparagus and I might throw them over some fried cauliflower rice. Sunday I'm taking my daughter back to school shopping and while we are out we're hitting up Texas Roadhouse for a big beautiful steak and loaded broccoli. I've been dreaming about both those meals for half the week.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday! Hope in the next few days a bunch of us can move over to the 230's thread.

TMD: Stay away form those warm rolls and the cinnamon butter. Those are foul temptresses of the wrong type at Texas Roadhouse! I could make those a whole days calories if left to my own devices. So happy you have found 239! It's a nice feeling. Hopefully it all stays in check as the weekend and reintroduction happens.

Ubee: How are your blueberries? I need to haul out a bag from the freezer and snack on today. I also have a watermelon from the store. Of late they have been getting in good tasting ones. I find that helps out the sugar craving that hits me.

Hello all!

AM: I hopped on the scale. I am right back up there. TOM is almost out of here - well I hope, who knows w/the change. Can anyone tell me what they do to fight the sugar need during this time w/their diets? I had been reading usually when woman feel the need for sugar it's an indicator progesterone is rising and it helps feed that need. However I am not sure w/all hormone changes. I just know that I always get hit w/the sugar need. Drat.

This weekend I aim to keep it all in check. It's been so cool the last day or two its great. Ubee - hey is the sumac by you changing? It is here! I have seen pops of bright red on the sumac around. Not full change but healthy branches of which usually means fall is on it's way. It's been a total wacky summer for us w/rain and all.

Back to diet - I generally have been trying to keep my calories non-TOM at 1275 a day. Would I maybe benefit with adding one day that goes up to 1400? I am trying to see what might help me remain on the downward. I know if I add back in exercise I generally do better. So I will begin that tomorrow as its a saturday and no one is at the gym at 5am on that day but me at that time usually. So that might just be a good thing to go move for my 20 minute allotment. That sounds like a drop in the bucket all things considered. Give me some ideas ladies. Part of my snacking issue has been I have kids under 12 and I find myself snacking with them. And yes, I do try to grab the better things - however. . .

Ok. I aim to battle today and this weekend. My best to you all! I am off to get a big salad bowl filled for the next few days. I also aim to have DH grill this weekend for a change of pace. With all the summer kid running I have been relying on hot dishes to get us through this weeks demand on time. Keep fighting the fight.

TooMany That's fantastic! Good job sticking to your fat fast! Also your dinner plans sound fantastic, I love asparagus!

Ubee Thank you, I felt like a movie star in that dress! I was hovering around 220 at my wedding.

I am up this morning, but my pants are loose, so I'll take it! I'd really like to try the keto diet, I'm just worried that it's so severe that I won't stick with it. Trying to put together some recipes for next week to try it out.

Nice work Kim! I understand about not moving to the next thread until you are sure. I will be the same way.
Would you mind explaining your fat fast to me? Thanks.
I think JUDDD is like calorie cycling and the fasting on the down days helps to reset your metabolism. The people who ate in a small window on their down days were much more successful then the ones that ate throughout the day, even though it was the same amount of calories.

lemonthyme I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me the other day as my maple is starting to change already. I love fall but am not ready for winter. Kids under 12 and trying to lose weight ugh! I had to wait for mine to mostly move out so the stress was lower. You can do this. I am not good at calorie counting things so maybe someone in the calorie counter section would be helpful. I had given up on the watermelon already, maybe I will try again.

FDDM as I've said before you look so good in your picture. You carry your weight very well.
I like low carb and try to do it 3 or 4 days in a row to help drop weight. I bounce back up but then down further so I like it and am sticking with it. I guess it is a form of calorie cycling the way I eat. With the fasting added I hope it is helping to improve my metabolism.

My weight has been sitting at 240.6 the last two days BUT it is the weekend so up it will go. If things go well I should see the 230's next week. I am really getting excited to see that number!

Ubee: No joke - on this side of the state the sumac is indeed turning red in small batches. I know it can do it w/stress, maybe all that crazy rain? But its cooling down big time at night and I now hear crickets and locusts, so fall is sooner than not! How was your scale this morning?

FatDoesnt: Yes, nice photo. I was about 180 when I got married and I look back and say what the heck?! Isn't it nice to feel glamorous even if for one moment?You were rockin' it that day and I am sure you will do so with your weight loss. I haven't looked into keto. Is that close to a diabetic type diet? I have done that due to gestational diabetes.

Hello all!

AM: Well I made a vegetable soup last night that turned out well. It's been cooler here the last few days and sometimes soup just does the trick.

I hope I don't become the perpetual member of the 240s (I ended up that way the last time in the 230s).

I did not come anywhere close to 239 this week. Someone mentioned where their body holds to - mine seems to like 252, 236, 190. But it's been a long long time since I have seen 190. I was surprised I got to 180 for my wedding. And that was over a decade ago. WHY CAN'T MY BODY LIKE THE LOWER WEIGHTS? It's an ongoing irritant for me. Part of my fight (other then sweets) is synthroid. My sister would say that's a cop out excuse, but really, when you are dependent on that to take over your body to work, it is a fight - first to make sure it's working correctly, secondly that it remains correct and third, it TAKES SO LONG when adjusting in your system (6 weeks is normal) that if you are off and feeling crappy it just feels like forever. It's just an accomplice in my day to day issues or outlook. Sometimes I wonder if it'd be easier if I had a thyroid. But I'll never know as an adult.

TOM should be shoving on off. Thank goodness! Back to business.

Do any of you use green tea in your day? I used to, but got away from it. I guess I didn't find myself as hungry during the day when drinking it. I don't know why I stopped. Like anything I think we tend to stray when we don't find success in our foodstuffs.

Question of the day: Undies! When do you replace them or as you loose do you prefer to swim in them until the next size down in hopes they'll fit? I'm due for new ones and w/ the school sales think maybe getting some would be good for the budget. However, I don't want to get ones that are current size and maybe if all goes well be out of them instantly (see optimism!). Should I get the size down and muddle through. I know a dumb question - but the budget is tight right now w/school start but I am also tired of yanking them up. Same issues w/bras. I guess there are worse things out there!

Happy weekend all! Keep eating well!