[RunningRedHead]

jazzfan22: Way to go on your *official* 20lb drop Glad to hear your water intake is improving. I think I’ve focused on that so much because it’s one small change that I can try to make consistently, as the whole process of the weight loss journey is a ton of tiny little parts of a very large equation (I like your metaphor, gonna try to run with it :lmao It’s like self-guided behavior modification therapy with a ton of mini experiments, honestly Speaking of sleep, I think that’s another thing bringing me to a stand still the last few days, as sleep has been a challenge. Glad to hear the keto/zumba/weights combo is working for you

Nichelle: Great job planning and prepping your meals and getting in an early gym session

Magicsusan: Good luck to your daughter with her college interview! Way to go on your continued downward trend! Don’t utterly panic too much

Casey: Glad the scale was kind to you yesterday : Tortilla chips are a weakness of mine as well

Curvy: Glad to hear you're day won't be too stressful. Good luck at your eye appointment!

Martine: Hope today is kind to you

I’ve been low on water the last two days (only about 3-3.5L) and relatively high on salt, and I think that has been the perfect storm for me in terms of water retention and a “gain” on the scale this AM. Didn’t weigh yesterday, as I was not home. Aiming for 5L today to see if that is what played such a key part in my wooshes this week. Yesterday, I also got a chance to really look at the trend of my weight loss on a week-by-week basis (thank you Fitbit app ) and found that my losses were more substantial and more consistent before I started IF. I haven’t fasted yet this week (the days that I attempted fasting I still took in about 1300kcal) and I think not fasting and focusing on kcal counting and hydration (increasing water goal to 5L/day) will be my “experiment” for the remainder of the week. Thanks for putting up with my rambling and crazy theories this week.

SW: 275.4
4/5: 277.6
GW: 269

Week 3:
4/15: 275.9 (-1.7)
4/16: 275.2 (-0.7)
4/17: 274.3 (-0.9)
4/18: NWI
4/19: 279.3 (+5.0) *Yikes*
4/20:
4/21:

[curvynotlumpy]

Good morning

jazzfan22: Oh, yes, you are well within the 170 zone to officially say (and stay ) in the 170s. I'm cautious like that as well; not willing to say I've moved into a new decade until I can safely maintain for a several days in a row.

Nichelle: I can't tell you how thrilled I am that you've found your passion in regards to work. I work with college students all day every day and it's heartbreaking and frustrating watching so many earn degrees in fields that mom and dad have chosen for them, will potentially earn them a lot of money, or in a field that they lost interest in long ago but feel like they cannot switch majors or do something else. May you never lose that passion!

opheliaphoenix: reaching 183. You're so close to getting out of the 180s; that must feel extraordinary!
****************************
Since spring quarter began my Thursdays have been largely open so I'm looking forward to doing some catch up today. My work day will be abbreviated as I have an eye appointment this afternoon and I know my optometrist will dilate my eyes.

A lovely day to all!

[Martine]

A big hello to everyone

curvynotlumpy how nice that you have one day a week to catch up on work. Is your eye appointment just a routine check-up or are you having issues? I stopped wearing the glasses that were prescribed to me two years ago (I don't think they were helping me anymore). I think I need to go in for another eye exam.

RunningRedHead very interesting realization about your weight loss through the data on your Fitbit. We're all constantly trying to figure out what works for us. I had been toying with the idea of getting a Fitbit for a while, but for my 20th anniversary with the company, I chose an Apple watch as my gift and I know I can use it as a fitness tracker as well.

jazzfan22 you are definitely well into the 170s now Zumba and weights is a great combination of exercises and it's really working well for you. I believe you have to find something you like to do to maintain an active lifestlye for life. You would've asked me a couple of years ago if I liked HIIT and I would have said no, but now I like to challenge myself and I actually like to sweat. I do have to modify some moves though, but the heart rate still is way up there.

Magicsusan hope your daughter's interview went well. Your nice weather is finally making its way over here starting this weekend. And you are showing tremendous progress on the scale, soon in the 220s, congrats!

Nichelle the learning circle sounds veey interesting. A bit like the assistant-managers' meet-ups we've been having all this month where I've had to go in on the second day of each one to talk about scheduling best practices and answer questions and concerns.

opheliaphoenix the scale is moving again, you must find this so encouraging.

The past two days I haven't found time to exercise On Wednesday, I spent half the day at a training session in Montréal, then rushed to the afore-mentionned assistant-managers' meet-up for my part on scheduling and then I barely had time to go home and change and head to a going-away party at a restaurant for 3 store teams who are changing districts. Then yesterday I started work at 7:30am and finished at 7pm and I just could not find the energy to exercise after that. But I'm back at it today, doing a lower-body workout.

So after talking with my district manager, I know why I have no choice but to change stores. Pressure from above and all that nice corporate stuff, not her choice. My fate is being decided right now, as they are holding a meeting where many assistant-managers will actually change stores. And I will not be able to have the vacation dates I had requested originally either. Thank goodness David's work is flexible for vacation dates. So it's been that kind of a week...

15: 44 minutes tabata and lower body workout with weights
16: 32 minutes upper body weightlifting + 8 minutes abs workout
17: 23 minutes HIIT + 16 minutes double ladder HIIT workouts
18:
19:
20: 37 minutes cardio and lower body workout

[curvynotlumpy]

I'm so sorry this is happening, Martine.

It doesn't seem to matter what kind of organization one works in, management decisions are always, always felt by the wider organization in the most dramatic ways. I'm not against change; as they say, it happens. However, I bang my head against lack of transparency in the decision making process.

Good that you got your workout in to take out some of the anxiety and frustration you might be feeling. Regardless of what happens, Martine, remember that you are

[RunningRedHead]

Martine: Wow! It sounds like you’ve had a busy few days!! Glad to hear things are settling down a little bit and you were able to get back and at it today. Sorry to hear you’re being volun-told to move and losing your vacation dates. It’s great that David’s work is flexible though so you’ll be able to get some R&R in, even if it isn’t when you originally planned. Also, I agree with Curvy regarding change and a lack of transparency; it is the most frustrating thing about change and why so many people are misunderstood as being "against" change, when in reality they're against games and unilateral decision making. I was debating between an apple watch and the new Fitbit when my old Fitbit died. I love the idea of the apple watch, but all the things that make it different from just a fitness tracker are features that I’m not really sure I would use (the smart watch side of it). Happy Friday

I managed to take in 5L yesterday, but from the water I’ve tracked I am still about 3L behind, so hoping to make that up between today and tomorrow. We’ll see. Work this weekend with an extra night today. I just got home from the store stocking up for good food to set myself up for success Last weekends meal prep worked really well, so I’m pretty much doing the same thing (some sort of lean meat with an oven roasted green vegetable and half of a sweet potato, overnight oats, a small garden salad, and baby bel cheese, a clementine and an apple for snacks). I know it’s a lot of food, but generally it’s more so that I have options (like if I don’t want the clementine and cheese, I have my apple) and I don’t usually eat everything, but if I do it still fits into my calorie goal. Now I’m off to cook and get ready for the night. Have a great weekend everyone

SW: 275.4
4/14: 277.6
GW: 269

Week 3:
4/15: 275.9 (-1.7)
4/16: 275.2 (-0.7)
4/17: 274.3 (-0.9)
4/18: NWI
4/19: 279.3 (+5.0) *Yikes*
4/20: 278.6 (-0.7)
4/21:

[opheliaphoenix]

Nichelle: I'm glad that both the learning circle and the visit to the kindergarten class went well!


jazzfan22: Congrats on hitting 20 lbs down!


Kayla: I didn't do any 5:2 fasting this week and it was the only week I saw decent movement on the scale...I think my issue has possibly been not eating enough on my other 5 days, because I still do the 16:8 IF on those days instead of eating closer to maintenance like most do on the 5:2 plan. I'm going to pause on the 5:2 portion again for Week Four to see if this week was just a fluke or if I can confirm that theory. Always a learning process, lol. And, I hope you're able to get a large whoosh and flush out the rest of your water retention soon!


Curvy: Here's hoping I can work back up some momentum after the post-whoosh stalling to see a new decade before the month ends...that may be too hopeful, considering my trends lately, but I can still dream. Even if not by the end of the month, I'm aiming to at least see the 170s soon after. That being said, I hope you were able to do some of that catching up at work on Thursday, as planned!


Martine: It has definitely been encouraging! I hope I can get it moving again for Week Four, as well...lol. And, I'm sorry to hear about having to move locations and how that's going to mess up your schedule/vacation days! I'm glad that David's days can be more flexible to accommodate the transition on your end, but I hope you're able to get everything settled out and sorted for future vacations.


---------------------------------


It's been busy the past couple of days, but I have still been tracking all along! I've mostly just been yoyo'ing a little and settled back down to the same weight from my last post, but that seems pretty typical after a couple decent losses in a row. Also, while my overall loss for Week Three is showing 4.2 lbs, it's more like 2-3 lbs, just because of the huge gain at the end of last week throwing it all off. In either case, I will very happily take it and be grateful for a good week after so many slow ones!


Week Three
15: 186.6
16: 184.4
17: 184.0
18: 183.0
19: 183.0
20: 183.8
21: 183.0
----------------------------
End of Week Two: 187.2
Total Loss for Week Three: 4.2 lbs.

[RunningRedHead]

Casey: Glad to hear that you had such a successful week without your fasting days. When I was looking up the 5:2 diet, I read through some of the forums over at the fast diet website and a lot of people said that they were having 2-3lb losses each week by restricting by a couple hundred calories on non-fasting days. I’m with you on seeing if it’s coincidence or an actual correlation before moving forward with the 5:2

I hit the 5L mark yesterday and saw a nice little woosh I’m up to 3L already today (starting from about 5pm) and am aiming for 6L to finish catching up on my fluid balance. Here goes nothing (except my sodium levels ).

SW: 275.4

4/14: 277.6

GW: 269

Week 3

4/15: 275.9 (-1.7) 

4/16: 275.2 (-0.7) 

4/17: 274.3 (-0.9) 

4/18: NWI

4/19: 279.3 (+5.0) *Yikes*

4/20: 278.6 (-0.7)

4/21: 277.3 (-1.3)
Total for Week 3: -0.3
Total for April: +2.1

[Nichelle]

Cruvynotlumpy: thanks! I definitely found a career I will love for a very long time. I wanted to get into ECE when I was younger but i had a bunch of personal stuff going on in my life and just never did it. I'm so happy that I have fallen into it know.

So my SIL's ultrasound was Friday... baby looks great. Everything is developing perfectly. Heart beat was a good strong 150. And baby is a .... GIRL!!! Super stoked! When the ultrasound was done I went out and spend 60bucks in baby shower stuff and a few outfits and toys lol!

I went to the gym this morning. Planning on tomorrow morning before my last shift at DQ. I'm just about to go grocery shopping and will be meal planning tomorrow

[gulfmagnolia]

4/8:218.8
4/15: 218.8
4/22: no weigh in
4/29:

Completely forgot to weigh in this morning, but to be honest I don’t think I would see any kind of drop. My food and water intake haven’t been great this last week, but I’m happy to report that I’ve been exercising regularly. Hope everyone has a lovely week

[curvynotlumpy]

and happy Sunday!

I hope everyone has had a great weekend. This morning I did two online trainings that my university requires of each employee. One focused on ethics and the other cyber security. Most of our trainings are required every two years but it sure seems like I'm completing something every year!

RunningRedHead: Glad your meal prep from last week went well and is worthy of a repeat. No reason to rock the boat. One of your posts reminded me that I have a sweet potato at home that I need to roast. Oh, and I finally googled how much 5L is. Every time I see your water posts I wonder, "how much is that in gallons/ounces?" Now I know!

Nichelle: So happy to hear that all is well with the . I loved when my neices and nephews were little folks. Wow, did I drop a lot of $$ on them when they were small. It was but so worth it!

opheliaphoenix: Glad things have settled down a bit for you and you're back to seeing drops. Very impressed that you keep tracking regardless of how busy you are. That's an excellent practice!
****************************
Things have heated up where I live. We went from a lovely spring to nearly 90 degrees. I still think it's too early but not a lot that I can do about it. Wishing everyone a great rest of your Sunday and weekend!

[opheliaphoenix]

Kayla: I will let you know how it goes -- I'll be skipping my 500 cal fast days again for Week Four, then reinstating the 5:2 the following week (along with keeping my normal 16:8 IF schedule) to see what happens. Great job on the water intake, by the way! I'll need to take inspiration from you today to catch back up.


Nichelle: Congrats to your SIL and the family on the upcoming baby girl!


gulfmagnolia: Good job on keeping up the workouts, and I hope this coming week will be easier with the food and water goals!


Curvy: It sounds like you guys are certainly set to stay on top of things, at least...lol. And, thank you! Also, I hope you can stay cool in the suddenly hotter weather!


---------------------------------


Weigh-in was 182.4 today...fingers crossed that this will be the beginning of a continued downward trend. I was low on my water yesterday - probably only 60-70oz - so, I'm hoping this isn't just a little bit of dehydration at play. As always, I'll be trying to hit my full water goal today, and we'll see what happens tomorrow.


Week Four
22: 182.4
23:
24:
25:
26:
27:
28:
----------------------------
End of Week Three: 183.0
Total Loss for Week Four:

[RunningRedHead]

Gulfmagnolia: Way to go getting your exercise in

Casey: Good luck with week four’s experiment. I hope you get all of your water in and then some!

Curvy: Gotta love those “annual” education training exercises I hope you enjoy your sweet potato! I’ve been finding lately that I’m on one of two kicks when it comes to bringing dinner to work and one is a large, colorful salad with chicken and vinaigrette (nice and cold and crisp) or a hot dinner with a green veggie, a carb (sweet potato, brown rice, or quinoa) and a protein, whether that’s animal-based or not. Wow! 90 degrees?! That’s hot!

Nichelle: Glad to hear everything went well with your sister in law’s ultrasound and the baby is well! You’re niece is lucky to have you and I’m sure she and her parents will enjoy the nice gifts you just picked out for her.

I managed to take in 7L yesterday, so I’m now caught up and will go back to aiming for 5. Work this weekend has been awesome so far. Sometimes it’s just a great run and I’ve been lucky to have some more stable assignments the last couple of nights and had some nice chats with my patients and their families. One more night tonight and then a nap tomorrow to put me back on a normal day schedule until the next weekend

SW: 275.2
4/21: 277.3
GW: 269

Week 4:
4/22: 275.8 (-1.5)
4/23:
4/24:
4/25:
4/26:
4/27:
4/28:

[Nichelle]

Thanks everyone! I really cant wait for baby to be born! The best part is they only live a few blocks down from my place. So hopefully it'll be a nice fall and we can go for lots of walks together.

This past week hasn't been my best. Only half *** followed my meal plan I stepped on the scale yesterday and was up a little.... so I'm thinking I'm going back to weighing myself every 2nd day

I just finished prepping a lovely spinach salad with goat cheese for my lunch tomorrow along with weighing my fruit and veggies out for the next 2 day.
This week I'm going to stay on plan! I still have to do my meal plan for the week (hoping I will get it done tomorrow)
I bought a pack of chicken wings this weekend (omg I love wings so much lol...weakness) and was going to soak them in honey garlic and them probably eat more then too many but I just ran out of time... so still wanting to eat them I found a clean eating recipe that isn't too killer in the calorie department... I'm going to have to take a correct portion size and pack the rest away. Plus I'm having steamed asparagus and corn on the cob
I should get to bed. I'm wanting to go to the gym in the AM (didn't go this morning)

[jazzfan22]

Nichelle When are you due?

RunningRedHead Glad your work is going so well! That is a big stress reducer!

Ophelia I think it will be a downward trend for you!

Curvy whoa that is pretty hot for April. What's the summer average where you live?

gulfmagnolia what's your workout regimen?

Nichelle baby stuff is so fun to shop for! It's great that your work is going well!

RunningRedHead what veggies do you roast? i eat so much better when I prep ahead of time. Good on you for doing that!

Martine, Sorry to hear about the work situation; please try to build in a lot of self-care and de-stressing if you can.

---------------
On the home front, I am doing some work travel and have late work events so it's really disrupting my eating and workout regimen this week. I will do my best but when I'm out and about, things are more out of my control and thus I feel a bit anxious about that. I have been fighting some extra fatigue this week so I am not sure what's going on with me. My son has been sniffling and coughing so maybe I also have a little cold. Ugh.

[Nichelle]

jazzfan22 my sister in law is due September 2. I'm hoping to get into a kids summer camp this summer and if I do I get the last two weeks of August off so if baby is slightly early I have more free time to help them and be with my niece

It was difficult to get our of bed this morning to get to the gym... but I did make it (a little late for my liking) but I made it. It was just a shorter workout... I'm thinking I might walk to work today if I could get my things organized in time (takes 45-50minites to walk there)
Right now I'm making a batch of whole wheat pumpkin pancakes this time hopefully some will make it to the freezer for days I'm running late (I take frozen ones and pop them into the toaster) last time I made a batch my brother helped eat them lol