Redhead I’m so interested to hear about the 5:2 IF you’re doing. I’ve been thinking about IF for the longest time, but with my schedule I think whole day periods will be easier than specified eating windows every day. You go girl!
Martine Hello my love! Still killing the workouts I see
Weighing myself tomorrow for the first time in months. Going to guess I’m around the 220s, which is very sad for me. I made it down to 193lbs in early December, and my projected (realistic) one-year goal on April 1st was 150lbs. There’s not anything I can do about the past, except not repeat it. I’d forgotten how good it felt to be on the losing end, ha! Even just logging in to 3FC and seeing so many familiar screen names made me happy. There’s lots of change and uncertainty coming for me these next couple months. At least i’ll have some control over diet/exercise.
4/7:
4/8:
4/15:
4/22:
4/29:
Last edited by gulfmagnolia; 04-06-2018 at 03:17 PM.
Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great week and is looking forward to the weekend.
gulfmagnolia: So good to see you! Welcome back! Plenty of room for old and new friends on this thread.
RunningRedHead: I struggle with my lunch selections. Breakfast and dinner go well but somewhere along the line I lose my motivation for lunch and because it's certainly a meal I enjoy. Cracking the code to what food to shop for, make and take is a major part of weight loss success. You got this.
Martine: on successfully completing your five day challenge. It's good to have wins along the way and it does wonders for motivation and the sense of accomplishment.
jazzfan22: You're doing fantastic! Sounds like you've found the combination of activity and diet that is truly working for you!
VickieLou! How have you been?
opheliaphoenix: I do understand your frustration. "Our bodies are an experiment of one", as one long time poster wrote.
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It's been a long week and I'm about to head home. We are experiencing a Pineapple Express storm that is bringing us non-stop rain since last night. It's supposed to continue through tomorrow. Everything is lush and green and I'm trying to enjoy it as we are nearing the end of our rainy season. Okay, I'm outta here for today. to all.
Last edited by curvynotlumpy; 04-07-2018 at 11:39 AM.
gulfmagnolia: Sorry to hear about your bump up from December. Glad to have you back and you’re in the right place, and you’re making steps in the right direction chatting here From my (fairly limited) understanding, 5:2 is 5 days of eating your normal calorie allotment based on your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure, I used one of those online calculators ) and 2 days throughout the week where you limit your calories to a quarter of your TDEE. In essence it gives you the same effect mathematically of restricting your calories every day through only restricting calories two days per week. There are also studies that have shown other health benefits related to cancer risk and Alzheimer’s, not just the benefit of weight loss. I just started it this month and i'm still learning a lot (thank you, http://thefastdiet.co.uk), but I think Casey has been doing it for a few weeks now and may be able to shed some more light on the subject
Curvy: I just finished making my shopping list so hopefully I’ll be set for the next few days I hope your weather improves soon. There’s nothing more dampening (no pun intended) on my mood than too much rain
Just dropping by to wish everyone a good day. Looks like the rain has lifted for now and the is starting to poke through. Made a quick trip to the Farmer's Market and picked up three small baskets of beautiful red strawberries. Now I'm thinking about how to enjoy them in addition to their natural state. A smoothie comes to mind.
RunningRedHead: Glad to hear you got your shopping completed and are ready to make a strong start! You're going to !
Curvy: Mmmmmmmm, those strawberries sound delicious. Sounds like your trip to the Farmer’s Market was productive Also, to the “” That little guy always makes me chuckle.
After ending the first week with a decent gain, I think that while my TDEE is technically 2000kcal, it may be too many calories. I think this upcoming week on my non-diet days I’m going to stick to my old calorie goal of 1700-1800kcal. I made my water goal yesterday after missing it by about a liter the day before. PT yesterday was productive, a little painful, but productive. I think they’re going to kick me out soon, which I’m happy about and a little anxious about. Have a great weekend y’all!
3/31: 275.4
GW: 269
Week 1:
4/1: 276.6 (+1.2)
4/2: 277.2 (+0.6)
4/3: 276.4 (-0.8)
4/4: 274.8 (-1.6)
4/5: 275.2 (+0.4)
4/6: 277.2 (+2.0)
4/7: 277.0 (-0.2) Total for Week 1: +1.6 Total for April: +1.6
Kayla: I have found that waiting until dinner and then having a full-size meal is so much easier than trying to eat tiny things throughout the day, as well -- it's like eating earlier "activates" my stomach to be hungry and makes it so much harder to stay within a fasting range by the end of the day! I also had to move my fasting days around this week to make it fit with my schedule better, too...one of the great things about the 5:2 is that you can technically pick different days every week to suit your needs, most people just have set days to stick to a routine if its easier for them that way. Life happens though, and I'm glad that you're just moving the puzzle pieces around until you figure out what's going to fit instead of getting discouraged from doing it at all right off the bat!
Martine: I agree that keeping in the lifestyle mindset over a weightloss-only mindset has definitely helped get through these all these ups, downs, and curveballs that life and the scale can throw at us. If we all just keep eating mindfully and staying active, it will eventually come off and is just a healthier way to live in general, regardless of how slow the benefit of losing weight may be from time to time. And, great work on your challenge, by the way!
GulfMagnolia: We'd be happy to have you join us again...glad you're back!
jazzfan22: I'm not sure yet on the new workouts...I know I want to start lifting soon, but I may also look into a couple of the fitness classes that the gym here offers. I've only ever tried Zumba before, but that was years ago. I'd be interested in seeing what all they have! This is a pretty small post, so probably not much, but I will let you guys know if I find anything. If not that, I may pick up trying out some HIIT videos online.
Curvy: My mom has been telling me about all the rain they have been getting the past couple of days where they're at in NorCal...sounds like a ton and all very quickly! Glad you were able to get enough sun poking through today to make a trip to the Farmer's Market. I miss those! They have a very small one here on Thursday afternoons, but it is nothing compared to back home or even back in Georgia where theirs was already smaller than what I was used to...there isn't much fresh produce at the one here at all, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by that, being in Arizona. Enjoy your strawberries!
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Man, I am falling behind on here this week...lol. I missed a couple days this time, but I have been tracking all along! I was up a tiny bit to 186.2 on the 5th, which ended up being the day we ate at the Mexican restaurant instead of this weekend, so - needless to say - I had quite a bit of bloat and went all the way up to 187.8 yesterday. Thankfully, yesterday was my other fasting day for the week (it was Tuesday/Friday this week instead of Monday/Thursday), so I was able to focus a little more on the water and whooshed back down to 185.6 today. Overall, with all the ups and downs this week, I only had a 0.8 lb loss for the week, but I'm just happy it's not a continued gain after the night out on Thursday. Going to try to play catch up a little on the scale for Week Two!
Week One
01: 187.4
02: 186.2
03: 186.6
04: 186.0
05: 186.2
06: 187.8
07: 185.6
---------------------------- Total Loss for Week One:0.8 lbs.
Last edited by opheliaphoenix; 04-09-2018 at 10:39 AM.
Location: Lyin' in a puddle of sweat on the floor.
Posts: 2,296
S/C/G: 235/201/175
Height: 5'7"
Hey all. Flyby. With moving and the new job, I'm about half crazy, but trying to stay OP with food and workouts. Doing better with food than workouts, but I'm just doing the best I can right now. Even not checking in daily, it's helping me to know I have to check in here when I can. I will try to catch up on replies this coming week when I have a couple of half days off.
jamsk8r: I hope life settles down for you again soon!
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And, TOM swoops in early yet again and skyrockets my weigh-in back up to 187.2 today. Everything was on-plan yesterday except the water, so going to focus on that again today and hope some of the bloat goes back down. Trucking on and will just be hoping that TOM doesn't wash another week down the drain this time around...we shall see!
Week Two
08: 187.2 - TOM.
09:
10:
11:
12:
13:
14:
---------------------------- End of Week One: 185.6 Total Loss for Week Two:
Just a quick check-in for me today. Reporting in with a little bit of a drop on the scale. Yesterday was a fasting day—I tried something new in my tracking and was able to stick to 515 calories, but I kind of approached it differently since it was a day where I flipped into a nocturnal schedule and was awake for over 24 hours and tracked midnight to midnight instead of the traditional go to sleep, wake up and eat 500 calories before sleeping again, waking up and eating normally… Maybe that will work out better. I’m also running short in terms of hydration today/yesterday evening, so it may be due a little bit in part to dehydration. Hoping to recoup my losses in that department tomorrow and hopefully it won’t affect the scale too much. Have a great Sunday everyone, I’ll catch up on personals tomorrow.
RunningRedHead how do you manage your hunger on fasting days? I don't fast though have been thinking about doing it for a long time; the most I seem to manage without being miserable is if I eat a huge lunch I can skip dinner and get by with a small snack before bed. But that's not really long enough to count as a fast.
jamsk8r 3 to 4 workouts a week is really good, though, especially if you are being consistent about it. I am managing 3 at the moment. Ideally I'd do more but that's what I'm able to fit in with work and life demands.
opheliaphoenix I do think that not gaining/small drops down when you've had a night out is terrific. It's all about balance and an overall lifestyle.
gulfmagnolia I know how you feel about stepping on the scale when you are back to the beginning of another accountability journey; I have been up and down and up and down in weight for so many years. But getting into accountability mode itself should be celebrated as an accomplishment in itself.
Ate out a bunch this weekend but made pretty good choices. Had a very splurgy lunch one day and so skipped dinner, but that wasn't hard because I was so stuffed. What may have compensated for the eating out was that I had a very active weekend as well, went to the gym for Zumba one day, and then went to a trampoline park and swimming the next day for family fun activities. One of my goals this time around in my weight loss journey is to be a more physically active parent and seek out active family activities, which will be fun and healthy for everyone. So in sum I came out of the weekend maintaining at 182... (weighed at 182.8 this AM 4/9). I think that keeping my next mini-goal in mind, by the month to get into the 170s, will help keep me accountable with diet and exercise. I hope.
One self-perception issue that has come up for me (again) is that when I'm being accountable and starting to see results, I hear a small voice of doubt/disgust. I think this is probably because I'm more "in touch" with my body when I am exercising and dieting, versus when I'm not being accountable I try not to think about it. Ultimately I think this negativity is damaging, so what I'm doing differently this time is actively working on self-acceptance. Does anyone else experience anything like this?
Morning All
Yesterday I sat down and wrote out a meal plan that will be easy to follow. didn't follow last weeks that well. This one is made up for fast easy meals that will make enough for leftover lunches. I have a few days this week that i only have 1.5hrs between work and school or work and evening work meetings with parents. So I tried really hard for fast meals.
Has anyone used a Instant Pot? They seem really neat.. pricey but maybe worth it??
My sister in law does this think called Bullet Journal ing. Which I think is pretty neat. I bought a journal the other day and have started on for myself based around health... so far i have a page for tracking my water, steps, Fitness goals, total calories eaten in a day, my weight and measurement.... im going to add a tracker page for my workouts as well and a goal page for everyday life goals like: Walking the huge El Camino in Spain, getting my full ECE certification not just my assistants
curvynotlumpy I dont know how to knit. but i did a bunch of crocheting before Timothy(friends little one) was born... i made him a hat, and i blanket plus i also sewed a rug quilt for him <3 my friend said she'll be coming to my community in May. im so excited!! She just made it home last night and we video chatted a bit. Timothy traveled very well she said.
I just got back from the gym and thought i would do a quick update. I am needing to get some school work done before i head to work. Have a wonderful day everyone! <3
Nichelle I found that if my meal plan or exercise plan for the week was too ambitious or not "fun", I wouldn't stick with it. Leftovers for lunch the next day have been so helpful in getting me to eat a little less at suppertime and to not have to rush in the morning to make my lunches. Hope you enjoy what you've planned this week.
jazzfan22 only 3 pounds away from a new decade! I like your idea of incorporating active family activities into your plan. It's always a good thing to get kids moving.
RunningRedHead your switch from day to night schedules sure do not make it easy for you for find the right fasting routine. But with your positive attitude, I'm sure you'll find the right solution that works for you.
jamsk8r sounds like you've got a lot to deal with right now. You should be proud of yourself for doing 3-4 days of exercise per week with all that is going on in your life.
curvynotlumpy all this talk of lush greenery and farmers' markets and strawberries is making me long for Summer. Hope you'll get some sunshine this week.
opheliaphoenix hope that TOM is done fast and that the scale cooperates.
This past weekend was so demanding at work, my legs were so stiff by the end of the day, that I don't know how I managed to exercise Sunday morning before work. I tried a pyramid-style HIIT workout, where every exercise interval goes up in length of time before going back down. I actually enjoyed it, even though the Fitness Blender guy called it a "particularly nasty form of HIIT". Today was weights and core. I'm now in my 8th week of training and eating on plan and have only lost 5 pounds. David thinks that being on Depo-Provera is not helping. Add to that poor sleep and I can see why the scale is just not moving no matter how hard I try. I'll have to talk to my obgyn when I see him in June. I enjoy seeing how my fitness level is improving, but I need to lose actual weight too for better health.
Hope everyone will have a great week!
08: 27 minutes pyramid HIIT workout
09: 34 minutes total body weightlifting + 10 minutes standing abs workout
Nichelle: Crocheting, that's what you did! I couldn't remember. Glad to know Timothy is doing well and travels well.
The Insta Pot was all the rage a couple of years ago and still seem very popular. I don't have one but from what I understand it replaces separate gadgets you might already be using, crock pot, pressure cooker, steamer, etc.
Regarding bullet journals--they can be really helpful for different aspects of your life. I use one and enjoy the flexibility of it. Caution if you look online for examples of bullet journals as they most definitely are a "thing" and there are lots of really creative folks out there who go all out in developing their journals. I finally had to turn off the noise and just do something I could commit to and that fit me. Good luck!
Martine: Five pounds is still a win in my book but I do understand the frustration when you've been consistent and on plan and not see the results that you want. It's interesting how meds can potentially effect progress. On another thread a poster who is recovering from an ankle injury mentioned a side effect to Aleve was weight gain. Who knew?! While I don't take a lot of it, I take Aleve for my own ankle issues. Had she not mentioned it I would never have looked at it as a potential culprit to weight loss.
jazzfan22: for integrating fun activities into your life for you and your family. Not only is that healthy for mind and body but you're creating lovely memories with your family! Regarding that voice...oh, yes, I've heard it many times. I tend to think that it's the voice that wants us to live in the land of regret; regret that we didn't start sooner, will never keep the weight off, or undermine our success by continually pointing out all our other flaws. No advice except to keep doing what you're doing. Don't let it win. Your goals and actions are far greater than that feeble voice!
opheliaphoenix: Ah, TOM. Swoops in just in time to wreak some havoc on progress. Upside is that it's here and you're one day closer to it being gone, gone, gone for the month!
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The has pushed off and the sun reappeared. I woke up at 208.8 this morning which is the first time I've been under 210 in a few weeks. I took this weekend off completely and did absolutely nothing but what I needed and wanted to do. More sleep and absence of stress might have something to do with the
jazzfan22: I think planning family activities to make staying healthy and getting in exercise a fun thing for everyone is a perfect approach...especially with summer fast approaching!
Nichelle: I don't have an Instant Pot yet, but I've heard amazing things and have wanted one for quite awhile now...if you get one, let us know how you like it!
Martine: Thank you...and, awesome work with the workouts, as usual! I hope you can get everything sorted out with your OBGYN to see if the DP is interfering with your efforts and adjust things as necessary, if so.
Curvy: That is true! I'm hoping that today's weigh-in back down to normal is a good sign that it won't be completely terrible this round afterall -- the ups and downs have been too extreme to take too seriously, lol. Nice loss, by the way...and congrats on getting back down below the 210 mark!
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Back down to 185.2 today...so, either yesterday's reading was way off or I just whooshed back down? Chalking this up to TOM making things weird, lol. Today is a fasting day, so I'm hoping it will be down a little more tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
Week Two
08: 187.2 - TOM.
09: 185.2 - TOM.
10:
11:
12:
13:
14:
---------------------------- End of Week One: 185.6 Total Loss for Week Two:
Casey: Ugh! I’m sorry TOM snuck up on you But great woosh back down today! I’m starting to notice the increased hunger when eating earlier in the day trend, I think, as well. I’m going to try and have tomorrow be another fasting day and really focus on not letting the urge to binge around 9pm get a hold of me. I’m really optimistic about the 5:2 because of the flexibility with scheduling fasting days and whatnot. Congrats on your overall loss for last week and way to go on getting all your water in. Hooray for a woosh!
Cheryl: I hope everything settles down soon for you. Way to go on your continued downward trend!
Jazzfan22: I love your idea of active family time and the trampoline park sounds very fun. Way to go maintaining! I hear you with the negative thoughts/self doubt. I haven’t experienced the exact same thing, but I tend to do the self-sabotaging “hey, I lost 10 lbs, of course I can ‘reward’ myself with [insert high calorie, low nutritional value treat here]!” I’ve since shifted my rewards to non-food items. I know it’s not quite the same thing, but maybe different lines of the same thought process? I’m not an expert, but from what I was reading about the 5:2 is that the “fast” days are not an absolutely fast (0 calories), but a severe restriction. I’m experimenting this week with trying to trick my brain by drinking things like sparkling water and herbal tea so it’s not so nagging. I’m also scheduling days this week for days that are somewhat busy, but not very demanding. Normally I try to do the waiting until dinner thing, but I have rehearsal tomorrow at 7pm (have to leave at 6) and it’s such an odd time to plan dinner around, so I think I’m going to, as you said, have a great lunch and budget enough calories for a small snack after I get home (around 9pm)… hmmm, maybe an apple would do nicely
Martine: Thanks Sorry to hear your weekend was busy. Way to go getting your workout in anyway! And Great job losing five pounds. With your consistency with eating OP and working out, is it possible that your five pounds is less than you’d like because of gains in muscle mass? Great NSV with seeing your fitness level improving, that’s awesome!
Nichelle: I personally have never used an Instant Pot, but a handful of the girls at work have them and love them. My parents have a pressure cooker (what is the difference between them? I honestly have no clue, I’m all about the slowcooker), and they absolutely love it; they cooked an entire pot roast in an absurdly short amount of time.
Curvy: Way to go on your drop and making it back to the 200’s. Your weekend of R&R sounds wonderful, I think I may have to plan a mini-vacation soon
I didn’t weigh in today because I saw the numbers fluctuating up to 279 and I didn’t want to see the number- how’s that for avoiding accountability? I’ve only been able to drink about 2-2.5L the last three to four days so the next few days will be playing catch-up on the hydration front. I made roasted lemon garlic chicken with veggies, mashed potatoes and a big garden salad with olive oil and lemon for dinner. Still behind on water today, but working on that right now. I have PT in the morning and then some fun (read: necessary and somewhat unpleasant) family business to take care of with my cousin tomorrow afternoon.
and good evening.
because it's certainly a meal I enjoy. 
Cracking the code to what food to shop for, make and take is a major part of weight loss success. You got this.
on successfully completing your five day challenge. It's good to have wins along the way and it does wonders for motivation and the sense of accomplishment.
) and 2 days throughout the week where you limit your calories to a quarter of your TDEE. In essence it gives you the same effect mathematically of restricting your calories every day through only restricting calories two days per week. There are also studies that have shown other health benefits related to cancer risk and Alzheimer’s, not just the benefit of weight loss. I just started it this month and i'm still learning a lot (thank you, 
is starting to poke through. Made a quick trip to the Farmer's Market and picked up three small baskets of beautiful red strawberries. Now I'm thinking about how to enjoy them in addition to their natural state. A smoothie comes to mind. 
! 
Everything was on-plan yesterday except the water, so going to focus on that again today and hope some of the bloat goes back down. Trucking on and will just be hoping that TOM doesn't wash another week down the drain this time around...we shall see! 
Timothy is doing well and travels well. 
voice...oh, yes, I've heard it many times. I tend to think that it's the voice that wants us to live in the land of regret; regret that we didn't start sooner, will never keep the weight off, or undermine our success by continually pointing out all our other flaws. No advice except to keep doing what you're doing. Don't let it win. 
Your goals and actions are far greater than that feeble voice! 
