How long does water weight last? Does your body get used to the amount you intake?

Hi ladies!!! Great to see alot of you from the previous challenge! I am all in for this challenge! I'm going to keep it simple and say my goals are to be in the 230s by Memorial Day - I am at 245.9 according to my last official weigh in on Thursday. I was up to 247 (nooooooo!!!!!!!!!) due to dreaded TOM water retention this morning but I am confident that it will go down in a few days, hopefully before my birthday!

PHAT I'm not a dr. but I've read that if you eat too little, your body can hold on to fat because it thinks it is starving. That may be why you are losing more when eating more - you're probably still eating a lot less calories than previously but still enough that, at your current height, weight, activity level, etc., that you are losing weight. I also sometimes get a whoosh after a high calorie day!

Fiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttt Hang in there, girl! Did you see my goal for the challenge?!? I am coming for you - 230s all the way baby! hahaha

Northern Nearly 100 lbs lost?!?! Wow! You are such an inspiration! I have a long way to go but hopefully I can say that (well close to that!) one day in the future. I'm not in a hurry, my real goal is fitness, weight loss is more of a side effect! :B

OhMyDogs Hang in there!

Eckina I think it depends on what you mean by water weight. Sodium can cause you to retain water and so can TOM. But if you just mean weight from drinking water, it should go down as soon as you, well, pee or sweat it out! I live in a desert and I routinely drink 7 or more liters of water a day and I don't think it has impacted my weight loss.

Thanks for the reply, If I drink 64oz or more in a day, I usually have a weight gain. If I skip a day of drinking water, I am usually at my normal weight or I have a loss. This is all while keeping slightly under my calorie limit of 1200.

Doing good today. I got in my two mile walk at lunch and my calories are in check. I should have a good measure on Saturday...yes it's Tuesday but I'm feeling good about today!!!

Good for you jiggle!

Megems-Glad your back, sounds like you have been busy!

I'm planting iris this evening and I am super happy to see my bulbs starting to come up. I needed to garden because I was cranky that I got on the scale and it is the same.....I'm not supposed to weigh in until Friday...kicking myself in the butt for getting on knowing I would not see a loss ..soooo digging dirt helps!

Exercised for 60min. Had 1322 calories, right on target so far. I'm still craving sweets after eating them for two days, I need to detox and get this crap out of my system!

Was so happy that I was able to go to the gym today and yesterday.

Yesterday I ran for 20 mins nonstop and then did the elliptical for 25 mins. I also did some ab, arm, and back strength training.

Today I did 25 mins running nonstop, 35 mins on the bike, 10 minutes on the stair stepper. I also did back and arm/chest exercises.I feel like I got a really good workout. Tomorrow is wallyball.... I should be down a few pounds thursday morning for sure.

Both my girl got shots today.... that was so hard. My 4 year old had those croc tears and everything. Tomorrow I work all day I hope they feel alright for daddy. I hear the MMR makes them sore for a few days.

Northern - I started my wieght loss journey on January 5th 2011. I'm aiming for a high wieghtloss goal for this challenge but if I even get close I'll be happy. I'm really hoping to run everyday.. You know I started to get stuck in the 180's and I started taking one Vitamin B12 1000mg everymorning, I think that may help with my metabolism but its also suppose to help with my borderline anemia. You will hit 5 pounds for sure... Hang in there. BTW Zumba sure is a work out.

I would like to add one more thing to my Memorial Day goal..... Quit smoking. I'm not a heavier smoker (one pack a week) but I would like to stop.

GOOD LUCK all with the next few days, I don't think I will beable to make it on.

Tracked all my food today and got in a couple miles of walking so I'm calling the day a success.

Nutritionally, I could have done better-- I started out well enough w/breakfast (banana and almonds) then devolved throughout the day into a few tablespoons of peanut butter for dinner. And more coffee today than is advisable, I think. Ay yi yi. But stayed well within my calories and did manage to make a couple good choices so I' satisfied. Ready for tomorrow!

TiredOfGettingBigger, I'm gonna go head ahead take some of that will power dust you've got

Trying to average between 1500-1600 calories per day, each week.
Yesterday was well below at 1350.

I'm under a lot of stress. When we got back from vacation, we came home to find my kitty near death from urinary obstruction. (Cat sitter didn't notice how sick he actually was). Ran him to the vet that day. He is still doing very poorly now that he is home. He stopped eating completely. I'm preparing for the worst. Feel really down. He is 10 years old. A very mellow big ol' Maine Coon who has the personality of sweet old dog. Not sure what will happen in the days to come. Giving him medicines and hoping for the best.
So felt too sick to eat.
Today, still not a great appetite, but ate my sons Dove chocolate Easter Bunny. (My first little boy is 2 and got way too much candy Easter egg hunting). I am an emotional eater for sure.

PHAT: I absolutely LOVE KFC. I can't step foot into that place or it's all over with. I love original recipe anything, the mashed potatoes with extra gravy, the biscuit with butter and honey, and the chocolate parfait. If I go there, I order exactly that. So I don't go there =0), or at least not in a while. My mom and I used to go there all of the time when we lived in the same state.

I'll need to do damage control from Easter as well. I didn't count calories on Easter. Went to a fancy shmancy brunch at the Fairmont in Sonoma, CA with gourmet desserts galore. Went way overboard because I tried them all. Me and my hubby were celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary along with Easter, so I justified the splurge. Probably won't do that again until the next big holiday.

Anyway, I am still very motivated, although it doesn't sound that way from the post above. Just worried about my kitty.

Tired: Quitting smoking as one of your goals?! That's awesome!!! That is such a great goal in itself. Lots of will power dust to you. =0)

Kifli: so sorry to hear about your kitty . As a fellow animal lover, I know how hard these things are. Hoping for the best!!

Tired: I was doing vitamin suppliments for a while, but I always forget to take them regularly. I should give it another try...can't hurt!

I did OK yesterday. I think I was around 1575 calories, but I was doing more random munching than I should have, so it could be more. Also did my 2 mile WATP, but it was kind of half hearted. Haven't exercised since Thursday, so it's been a little hard getting back into the groove. I guess I will just keep on keeping on!

Fit4Lyfe - I hope you knock that plateau OUT! Think about the whoosh you'll get when it's over to keep from getting discouraged! And there are a few meals that I can think of that taste as good, if not better, than skinny feels (at least once in a while!!)... evidently Kate Moss hasn't had real southern food.

TiredOfGettingBigger - Yes! Quit smoking! I'm rooting for you! I was a pack a day habit until June 25, 2010 -- quit cold turkey! I'm glad you're not a heavy smoker. I can't explain how much better I feel! (Although, when drinking heavily around smokers, I have a VERY hard time restraining myself and I've slipped twice since quitting. But I forgave myself and carried on. ) You can do it!

kifli - I hope your kitty is all right! I had a Maine Coon growing up. Hands down, the best breed of cat ever. (my mother has an evil Siamese, arguably the worst breed - lol.) You're in my thoughts, pets are such special family members and it's hard when one is sick.

scout83 - I'm a coffee and peanut butter fiend too! At least you tracked everything -- impressive! When I think I'm going to do poorly I just say SCREW TRACKING! And eat whatever.

P H A T - So awesome that you stayed within your calories! You'll be totally okay if you just drink water like you plan to.

NorthernExposure - Other than walking my dog up the street, I haven't really exercised in quite a while. I have a treadmill at home... but I haven't been on it in 2 weeks! I hear what you mean about getting back into the habit.

---

129.0lbs this morning. I squealed when I looked at the scale. And again when I got on 3FC and adjuster my ticker and added another bat to my signature.

But I ate way, way under yesterday, that might have something to do with the 2 pound whooosh. I was nauseous at dinner, but felt I needed to eat something, so I just had cheerios with sliced strawberries and almond milk. I felt a little better after that and had a bite of my chocolate rabbit that I've been eating slooooowly for the last few days.

Hope I can keep this up until Memorial Day! I want to be ridiculous hot on my vacay with the boyfriend! It'll also be our 1 year dating anniversary while we are in Pasadena, I thought that was cute.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE! Eye on the prize!

I think it's time I get back into the swing of things. Had some medical issues and lost my way a bit, but I need to get in control again. Damage has been done, back up to 264.5.

Goals:
pick a calorie level and stick to it
check in here every day, helps to keep me on track
aim to be 255 by Memorial Day.

*Waves*
Hi! This will be my first challenge but I thought it would be a fun way to get to know people, get extra support and stay extra focused on my weight loss goals. My current weight is 249.6. My goals:

*Track every day on Spark People
*Continue exercising 6 days a week
*Stay within my calorie range (1600-1650 daily)
*Keep my blog active (which helps with accountability)

Really looking forward to sharing this experience with you girls! Good luck to all!