Nichelle: Gardening is such a wonderful way to take care of ourselves, emotionally and healthwise. And fresh vegetables are so much nicer than frozen. You're way ahead of me. On my end, it's an accomplishment when I manage to buy veggies that aren’t pre-washed and pre-cut.
Curvy: Down time that feels nurturing and full rather than draining is a real gift. (Zoning out in front of Facebook is my worst habit.) One of my favorite things to do is to read a good book in the sunroom, especially when it’s warm, surrounded by pets.
Opheliaphoenix and RunniingRedHead: I like to think that, when the scale is stuck, we’ll be rewarded big-time for being patient. It’s like welcoming spring after a long winter.
-----
I’m getting ready for a big volunteer project this week and looking forward to the rush of energy and the feeling of being deeply connected to the community. Foodwise, I’m on a Bok Choy kick. It’s delicious steamed, with a sprinkle of sesame oil and a dash of Accent (which adds a nice touch of “umami” flavor).
PartTimeHippie: I hope you enjoy your Bok Choy (sounds delicious!) and your volunteer project. There’s nothing like the feeling that comes from helping others
Another drop today down to 271.9 and writing to y’all while I sip my coffee that took about two to three days to get used to without sugar and adding fat and milk instead of creamer. It’s amazing that only five days in I’ve noticed such a decrease in cravings. Normally when I’m around someone eating baked goods or candy or chocolate (yum!!) the “hunger” monster comes out and I feel out of control, but so far this week, that hasn’t happened at all. I know it’s early and there is still time or a chance for things to turn down a bad path, but I think I’m in a better headspace to deal with it if it does (e.g. I know that if I hit a plateau or bump up a little bit I just need to keep doing what I’m doing, not panic, and it will all work out). Plan for me is to finish coffee, clean out my car, and get stuff ready for another day trip to the city, do my PT exercises and then we’re off to the Bronx again Go Yankees Surprise addition to today's plan involves my friends cousin needing a ride home from the city (he moved down there a while ago and is coming up this weekend to visit family) so we may have an additional passenger. It'll be nice for them to have a chance to catch up and one more person always makes for a fun car ride that goes by more quickly
RunningRedHead the scale is really moving for you, low carb is really working for you. Cravings are just that and when your body gets over all that sugar, they go away. Have fun at the Yankees game. I saw my first MLB game a couple of years ago in Boston and it is such a fun time.
PartTimeHippie thank you for doing volunteer work, it's so important to help others and pay it forward. What kinds of dogs do you have btw? 3-4 dogs at a time is a lot of work and I can't imagine trying to walk them. Loki is a handfull all by himself. He does love playing fetch at the dog park though.
opheliaphoenix great job on hitting your water goals these past couple of days. Wishing you to reach the 170s very soon.
Nichelle your description of your garden is making me so envious. If I may ask, what brings about a Summer layoff? One positive thing is being able to enjoy the season.
curvynotlumpy the service for your colleague sounded lovely but that's never an easy event to attend. Hope you get to enjoy long walks at the arboretum this week.
jazzfan22 you're so close to the 160s, I can understand how frustrating it is to see the scale bounce around like that. Just enjoy your zumba and keep up your water intake, the number will move soon I'm sure.
This week has been busy, for work and non-work reasons. I had a first meeting regarding the new store. Still not feeling it. I've had appointments left and right (vet, medical, getting our tires changed on the car, physio) and I've been running around buying things and preparing food for an event at work on Friday/Saturday (I made over 100 sandwiches this morning). I'm ready for this week to be over. At least I'm eating normally but I'm not drinking enough water. I notice that the only days I reach my 2L goal is when I exercise, because I always drink 1L throughout the day andwill drink a full litre while working out, so no exercise= just 1L. The positive news is that my cold is pretty much gone and I won't have to run around next week, so I can re-focus on being active again.
Martine, yay for getting over that darn cold! And the weekend is almost here, so you're almost through this very busy week! Today is my last insane day and then Friday, Sat and Sun will be more calm.
RunningRedHead NICE work dropping the sugar and the cravings going down, and 12 net carbs, so awesome!!! You may want to think about coffee with 1 TBSP of heavy whipping cream and 1 TSP of MCT oil. Or the traditional bulletproof coffee is just with MCT oil and Kerrygold Butter (I don't love it, I like the bit of HWC taste). I had coffee with MCT and HWC this morning and didn't get hungry until 12pm!
PartTimeHippie, Your volunteer work is so admirable; I don't have the bandwidth to do it so I admire people who make the time. And the bok choy recipe sounds delish!
opheliaphoenix, Fingers crossed, and remember that TOM messes with so much before (PMS) and I noticed for me even a couple of days after, so much weirdness.
------------------
So I missed the gym actually on Tuesday b/c there was an illness in the childcare program where I was planning to take my son so I could work out. Yesterday I went much higher in my net carbs, 39g, because I ate something with Splenda and didn't realize it had more carbs than I thought b/c of maltodextrin. I am going to be much more careful with my Splenda intake and keep it really low, and make sure I concentrate on Stevia and Swerve when I want to use low-carb sweeteners. Yesterday my weight went as high as 175.0 but this AM I weighed back down at a new low, 172.4. And I feel less bloated today which is good. Don't know if it was post-TOM weirdness or Splenda or both but the past two days were annoying b/c I was feeling bloated, retaining water, and also had some hunger/cravings that I had to fight. I ended up eating, for the past two days, close to my maintenance calories instead of a deficit. Today I feel more back on track, a lot less hunger and bloat, so hopefully I can go into the weekend feeling good, getting back to working out/being active and eating well. And I still am not doing a good job with my water intake. Someday... someday.
Just a quick check-in for me this morning as I have performance appraisal drafts due tomorrow to my supervisor and have barely started.
RunningRedHead: Thank you for the ice-cream recipe lead. Great job on your carb cravings! As of late I've only been able to string together two or three days of on plan low-carb eating and then fall off the rails. A combination of bad sleep habits, stress eating and lack of food planning lead to reverting back to old ways. Of course, it's all my doing and under my control so I look to no one but myself to change things. My brother is a huge Yankees fan, btw. He lives in Colorado now but we all are born and raised Nebraskans so I don't know how that happened.
PartTimeHippie: Your Bok Choy sounds Good luck with your volunteer project. I'm a big fan of anything that connects folks and makes a positive impact.
Okay, I'm off to review and write. I'll try to stop back in later if I get a chance. Wishing all a great day!
Last edited by curvynotlumpy; 05-11-2018 at 05:25 PM.
RunningRedHead: Long car rides are always more bearable with someone to talk to. The second best thing may be the soundtrack to a musical. (If the windows are up, nobody needs to know that I can’t sing. )
Martine: Glad you’re feeling better!
JazzFan: I’ve never heard of Swerve – interesting.
Curvy: I have on and off days myself. I’m trying not to sweat about it as long as I quickly get back on the wagon.
x x x x x x
After a day of hauling boxes, setting up tables, and dashing off to do other tasks for this volunteer project, I was exhausted and ready for a reward. Unfortunately, I then slipped up and made some bad choices at a fast food place. It's a good lesson for me to anticipate reward-seeking behavior so that I can line up some enjoyable-but-healthy options in advance.
jazzfan22: The high fat coffee (does that make it a fat bomb?) is definitely a game changer I think. I’ve been looking into the MCT oil. I kind of like the weird flavor of the coconut oil and I’ll add a tablespoon of HWC to it some days depending on if it tastes “empty.” I’m not really sure how else to explain it. Glad to hear your bump up settled down and you’re at a new low. You’re so close to a new decade, I know you can do this!
Curvy: Your description of previous attempts at low carb sound like mine in the past. I can’t explain it, but this time feels different (like it’s do-able). I think it’s because of the increased fat intake really provides satiety (once your gut gets used to the increased fat). Glad to know there’s another Yankees fan out there
Martine: I’ve had some really good luck with the scale so far this month Thanks, the game was great even though we didn’t win (it’s always a good time). Glad to hear you’re getting over your cold. I hope that things settle down for you after such a busy week.
PartTimeHippie: I agree with you about the music and conversation Glad to hear your setup for the project went well. Good thing about slip ups is that they’re a way to learn and it sounds like you did just that, way to go
I didn’t quite make it to my hydration goal yesterday (I was about a liter and a half short). I also went over my net carb goal by 6g (putting me at 31g instead of my goal of 25g or less). Plan for today is another PT evaluation to reevaluate my back as well as my hip, followed by a much needed trip to the grocery store and a local ranch for farm fresh meats and dairy products. I hope everybody has a fantastic Friday!
Kayla: You and another user named kfunk on one of my other threads have been my biggest motivators for finally hitting those water goals this week...so, thank YOU! And, congrats on hitting a new low for the year!
PartTimeHippie: It's been like a long winter, indeed! Here's to entering a "Spring" for us all...lol. I hope your upcoming volunteer project goes well!
Martine: Thank you! And, wow...what a busy week you've had, indeed! Hoping that you will get some time to rest and recover come the weekend. I'm glad you're over your cold, at least!
jazzfan: Perhaps the brunt of it was that random gain at the end of last week...hmm. I agree that cycles are definitely strange and can apparently wreak havoc on our bodies at almost any time during a full cycle! Congrats on getting a whoosh and hitting a new low, by the way!
Curvy: Good morning! Well, afternoon here now since it is lunch time while I am posting...lol. I hope you were able to get your drafts done yesterday and turned in today without too much stress!
-----------------------------------------
Weigh-in was down a bit to 181.8 yesterday and was down another pound to 180.8 today...finally down below where I got a week ago! I think doing better on the water this week has helped me get things moving more than anything else -- that, or TOM is just being very kind to me this month. Probably a combination of both. I hit my gallon goal both on Wednesday and yesterday...and, I actually did three of my big bottles yesterday, so that's actually almost a gallon and three-quarters for the day. (6.6L) So, I'm going to keep up hitting those gallons as best I can throughout the rest of the week and see what happens.
Week Two
08: 183.0
09: 182.2 - TOM.
10: 181.8 - TOM.
11: 180.8 - TOM.
12:
13:
14:
---------------------------- End of Week One: 183.2 Total Loss for Week Two:
Today our campus hosts a decision day for all admitted transfer students. Some have already committed to the university and others are still weighing their options between their acceptances. Hundreds of students and their parents are on campus visiting college departments, hearing from advisers and attending campus resource presentations. We've had an increase in traffic in our transfer center with lots of students and parents dropping in and asking questions.
RunningRedHead: Your day sounds well planned and productive. What's going on with your hip and back? I completely agree on your observations about low-carb. It really has been the only thing that has worked for me. I know it can again but I need to put together the other pieces of the puzzle with it. I'm in an interesting place in my life; I have endless discipline for other major areas but with consistent diet and exercise ?
PartTimeHippie: It's tough when we stumble but at least you stumbled on a day where your was high. I've said it before but cleaning, hauling boxes, moving, etc. is often better than traditional . Don't be too hard on yourself.
Martine: You have earned your weekend! I'm glad you're feeling better. I know that opening the new store is going to be exhausting work but will it be a steep learning curve? Sometimes the mental energy exerted can be equally taxing as being physically tired. I hope you're able to relax a bit this weekend.
jazzfan22: I had no idea Splenda could have that kind of effect! Good to know and good to see that the scale is moving in the right direction.
opheliaphoenix: on the scale drop! Whatever is bigger than a swoosh, you had it!
********************
Tomorrow I'm getting my haircut which I am so looking forward to. My hair is naturally curly and I'm growing it longer. However, it grows "wide" first before it grows long. It's slowly getting there but it looks all kinds of awkward. Oh, well, whaddya do?
Wishing everyone a great rest of your day and start to your weekend!
Last edited by curvynotlumpy; 05-11-2018 at 05:28 PM.
Hello friends! I'm back. Life got the best of me and I disappeared for a bit. I'm making my way back now. I've maintained my weight loss, but I'm still where I was in mi-February. Looking forward to hopping back on the wagon and losing the rest of my weight before the end of 2018. Hope you all have been well.
Casey: I think I’ve run across kfunk before and she is definitely a hydration inspiration! Thank you for the kind words Glad to hear you’re slaying your hydration goals this week Also, way to go on the drops this week! You’re killing it!!
SweetEpiphany: back to the thread! Maintaining is better than gaining Way to go!
Curvy: You got this (whatever you decide to do) It sounds like you had a very busy Friday! I love busy Fridays, as they go by more quickly and get me to the weekend faster. Enjoy getting your haircut; as a fellow curly girl, I have experienced your growing “wide first before it grows long,” description
Today’s plan includes waking up the rest of the way, getting ready for work (going to give myself a mani-pedi to complement my new tan [read: look where all the freckles run together to look like a tan]), cooking and preparing my food for the next two nights of work. Food-wise will be beef tenderloin and zoodles, small garden salads, all the avocadoes, babybel cheeses, hardboiled eggs, and tuna lettuce wraps. Oh and the wonderful 100kcal snack packs of natural almonds. And my water bottle. I don’t intend to eat all of this (although they fit into my macro and calorie goals), I just like to have options, it stems from being a very picky eater as a child
I made it to 5.5L yesterday and hit my goal of 30 minutes outside through a lot of errand running and playing with Loki. I think catching up on the hydration front helped with another woosh. Yesterday’s carb count was 29g total, 19g net. It just registered last night when I was doing some bullet journaling (goal setting/tracking) that I am now only 10.3 lbs away from being 25% to my goal weight I’m very excited. Even if there is a bump up back into the 270s tomorrow, I’m okay with it since I’m in a new decade today
Curvy: That does sound like a busy day...wow! And, thank you! I hope your haircut went well today.
SweetEpiphany: Welcome back!!! It's nice to see you again, and great work on maintaining during your hiatus...I agree with Curvy, that is a hard thing to do.
Kayla: Thank you! And, congrats on your HUGE whoosh!!!
-----------------------------------------
I finally got a little whoosh!
Weigh-in today was 179.0. It may bump back up tomorrow, so I might not be officially clear of the 180s yet, but I am going to be thrilled about where I am today, at least for now...lol. I did a 5 mile for the first time in a long while last night and also got in my gallon of water for the day, both of which I think did the trick to drop down into the new decade. Fingers crossed I will be able to stay under the 180 mark at week's end!
Week Two
08: 183.0
09: 182.2 - TOM.
10: 181.8 - TOM.
11: 180.8 - TOM.
12: 179.0 - TOM.
13:
14:
---------------------------- End of Week One: 183.2 Total Loss for Week Two:
Weight holding steady at 179.0 again today...and, considering that I didn't get a workout in because yesterday was my husband's last day in town before leaving for training for two weeks and the fact that I was up until a little after 7am this morning from driving him to the airport (over an hour away) before dawn, I am pleasantly surprised to maintain and not bump back up! Thankfully, since it is Mother's Day, the two older kids kept the youngest preoccupied this morning so that I could get a few hours of sleep before getting up for the day because they knew I'd been up all night with their dad...so, I just woke up about 45 minutes ago.
Speaking of which...Happy Mother's Day to any and all mothers and mothers-at-heart out there today! And, I hope everyone else is having a great day, too.
Week Two
08: 183.0
09: 182.2 - TOM.
10: 181.8 - TOM.
11: 180.8 - TOM.
12: 179.0 - TOM.
13: 179.0 - TOM.
14:
---------------------------- End of Week One: 183.2 Total Loss for Week Two:
Casey: It sounds like you had quite the busy day yesterday. With your nocturnalism today/last night, to the dark side (we have cake!) Congratulations to you on your new decade as well! Way to go on keeping your drop and staying in the 170’s, how exciting! Also, on the water intake
Happy Mother’s Day to all of you moms, mother hens, and dog moms out there
I’m down another little bit this “morning.” Water was at 6L yesterday. I did not make it outside yesterday (probably won’t today, either), however I did make my step goal thanks to work. Yesterday I was awake early enough that i was lucky and able to meet up with an old friend from out of town. We went to Starbucks (I thank them for being keto-friendly and delicious) and grabbed coffee before I had to head to work for the night. I made all of my food for work yesterday so I can take my time getting ready today. All i have to do now is get dressed and made up and make my coffee
SW: 277.3
5/7: 273.9
GW: 269
Stretch goal: 262
Week 2:
5/8: 273.9 (+/-0)
5/9: 272.6 (-1.3)
5/10: 271.9 (-0.7)
5/11: 271.0 (-0.9)
5/12: 268.9 (-2.1)
5/13: 268.1 (-0.9)
5/14: Total for Week 2: Total for May:
down to 271.9 and writing to y’all while I sip my coffee that took about two to three days to get used to without sugar and adding fat and milk instead of creamer. It’s amazing that only five days in I’ve noticed such a decrease in cravings. Normally when I’m around someone eating baked goods or candy or chocolate (yum!!) the “hunger” monster comes out and I feel out of control, but so far this week, that hasn’t happened at all. I know it’s early and there is still time or a chance for things to turn down a bad path, but I think I’m in a better headspace to deal with it if it does (e.g. I know that if I hit a plateau or bump up a little bit I just need to keep doing what I’m doing, not panic, and it will all work out). Plan for me is to finish coffee, clean out my car, and get stuff ready for another day trip to the city, do my PT exercises and then we’re off to the Bronx again 
Go Yankees
but this AM I weighed back down at a new low, 172.4. And I feel less bloated today which is good. Don't know if it was post-TOM weirdness or Splenda or both but the past two days were annoying b/c I was feeling bloated, retaining water, and also had some hunger/cravings that I had to fight. I ended up eating, for the past two days, close to my maintenance calories instead of a deficit. Today I feel more back on track, a lot less hunger and bloat, so hopefully I can go into the weekend feeling good, getting back to working out/being active and eating well. And I still am not doing a good job with my water intake. Someday... someday.
your carb cravings! As of late I've only been able to string together two or three days of on plan low-carb eating and then fall off the rails. A combination of bad sleep habits, stress eating and lack of food planning lead to reverting back to old ways. Of course, it's all my doing and under my control so I look to no one but myself to change things. My brother is a huge Yankees fan, btw. He lives in Colorado now but we all are born and raised Nebraskans so I don't know how that happened. 
Good luck with your volunteer project. I'm a big fan of anything that connects folks and makes a positive impact. 
And, congrats on hitting a new low for the year! 
I hope your upcoming volunteer project goes well!
Congrats on getting a whoosh and hitting a new low, by the way! 
Well, afternoon here now since it is lunch time while I am posting...lol. I hope you were able to get your drafts done yesterday and turned in today without too much stress! 
I think doing better on the water this week has helped me get things moving more than anything else -- that, or TOM is just being very kind to me this month. Probably a combination of both. I hit my gallon goal both on Wednesday and yesterday...and, I actually did three of my big bottles yesterday, so that's actually almost a gallon and three-quarters for the day. (6.6L) So, I'm going to keep up hitting those gallons as best I can throughout the rest of the week and see what happens. 
?
. Don't be too hard on yourself. 
on the scale drop! Whatever is bigger than a swoosh, you had it! 
It's slowly getting there but it looks all kinds of awkward. 
back, SweetEpiphany! Always good to see you posting. 
on maintaining your loss 
Not an easy thing to do.
And, I hope everyone else is having a great day, too. 
to all of you moms, mother hens, and dog moms out there 
We went to Starbucks (I thank them for being keto-friendly and delicious) and grabbed coffee before I had to head to work for the night. I made all of my food for work yesterday so I can take my time getting ready today. All i have to do now is get dressed and made up and make my coffee 
