Weighed in at 315# this AM (312# after my cardio) which means I only need to lose 20# by Halloween.

Diet is still 1,700 Cal/ Day M-F and 3,600 Cal/ Day Sat-Sun.

So far so good, but in the past my resolve tends to dry up at around 300#.

NSVs: I HAVE A 'HEALTHY' BMI!!!!! 24.8 Yea, its juuuuuuust barely within the 'healthy' range, but I'm counting it.

Also, I have been trying on Halloween costumes, and I haven't had to try on any "plus size" costumes. Granted, I'm still in the L & XL categories...but still. This is the last year that I'm going to have to try to find a costume that covers my paunchy tummy/jiggly arms/whatever else.

Next year I'm going to be able to try on and rock any costume I want. =)

Awesome work everyone!
I indulged today.. ended up have a caramel macchiato from starbucks, beef stew, a few homemade buttermilk biscuits with butter and a few glasses of wine. A perfect ending to the-beginning-of-fall-weather evening!

I did do the circuit training and I walked about 1.5miles total today. Not too horrible!
See ya chicks later!

66.35miles down, 183.65 to go
I don't think I'm making the miles.. we will see how close I get though!

Warning: long! things got out of hand!

RobertW: if you feel like your resolve will start to dry up, then make your plan less-strict. You'd still lose on more calories. Then when you feel resolve again, you could lower them if it helped. But, it sounds like you are more 'prepared' for this weight loss attempt - you simply know much more than before.

tinneranne2: congrats! Did you find a costume? What is it?

tdiprincess: I love fall food, fall clothes, fall weather, everything too! I celebrate it too.

As many of you know, it is October-fest (Oktoberfest) here in Germany. So, we met up with a few others to celebrate. I had already done a little calorie research before I left..... I had about 600 left for the day, so I had:

a small piece of whole grain baguette (really 1/4 of what the others were eating)
a bratwurst with mustard
an october-fest beer - and not the huge ones, half of the huge - everyone else there was drinking the HUGE pitcher and eating french fries from holland with mayonnaise!

My calories, even though I felt like I barely ate, were 6 - 650. The beer alone was 200cal. But, I mean, you have to drink the Oktoberfest beer!

I had to skip jogging on Friday evening - TOM is still a bit too demanding at this time. We have new jogging trails planned for this weekend that I'm excited about.

Now that I really count, I know exactly why I could not, without calorie counting, get past 170lbs. If I were just eating normally like the others, I would have scored around 1500 for dinner alone.

The thing with calorie counting is it really helps you see the truth of how you were living. I can no longer blame my heavier weight on a slowish metabolism - scientifically, I was eating more calories than I was burning.... I see that now.

I feel like I'm uncovering a lot of things about myself since I started calorie counting. Like I have a terrible time not snacking when I'm bored. I will also snack as a way to avoid work, procrastinate. I also use snacking as a way to stay awake if I feel tired in the afternoon from working (which NEVER helps anything, I still feel tired).

When I first started this journey at the end of August, I never dealt with this problem and simply replaced the food with coffee.... until I started to fill the ill-effects of too much coffee.

Anyway..... is anyone else uncovering these somewhat 'hidden' truths about themselves through calorie counting??? I never realized I was using food in an emotional way before - I never knew I was an emotional eater.

I have been MIA for more than two weeks and have had successes and failures for sure! I have after 3 weeks lost another pound.

Northern- I can feel your pain...I;m just inchin' along.

Unna-Sounds like you did great at Oktoberfest, I have had the same realizations at different events on my calorie totals. No wonder I needed to loose 80 pounds!

Sooo I have always weighed with my clothes on, usually jeans, shirt, and socks. I am so desperate to say "I did it, I have made goal!" That I want to start weighing in my underthings so I will be that much closer....Pretty lame huh?

Oh well! My NSV for the week is that I went to give blood and my blood pressure is 92 over 62 which is much better than a year ago!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Hey ladies (and gentleman)!
Hope everyone’s having a great weekend. Mine’s been really good. I had a busy day yesterday, but stayed OP and got in an hour long walk. I should be OP today and I’ve planned my walk too. It’s cold here this weekend and my parent’s have gone to their cottage with their dog, so I’ll be walking on the treadmill today. I love walking outside, but it always feels like a bit of a treat to go for a walk and watch a tv show that I like at the same time (I don’t usually watch tv otherwise, so it gives me an extra incentive to get exercising ).

K15: Another pound down and you’re getting so close to your goal. Congratulations! And I always weigh in my underthings anyways, so I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. In fact, it could be more accurate cause you’re not weighing your clothes
Unna: Good job staying OP while enjoying the Oktoberfest fun! I’ve had so many realizations about myself through calorie-counting. One of my main realizations was just how much food I used to eat that I didn’t really enjoy. I never ate at restaurants a lot, but I’d probably still go to a casual place and get a breaded, deep fried chicken burger about 5-6 times a year. And I never actually enjoyed them. When I’m counting calories, there’s just no point in eating food that I don’t really like. I’ve ended up learning a lot about myself through this journey.
Tdi: This cold weather makes me want to curl up with a blanket and good book and indulge in some yummy (warm) food too. It’s just something about the fall.
Tinner: Congratulations on the healthy BMI!! That’s so exciting!
Robert: Congratulations – you’re doing great! You seem really dedicated, so I hope your resolve will stay with you all the way to your goal. And maybe having this challenge will help too (it always helps me, since I know I have somewhere to be accountable)

I hope everyone is having a nice and relaxing weekend!

Sunday: Jogged 7km (45min) followed by 30 min. yoga. My calories were around 1500 because I woke up late and combined breakfast and lunch.

I think I'd like to change my calorie range a bit. I'd like them to be no more than 1700 (my upper limit) and closer to 15-1600 a day. I'm still struggling with procrastinating snacking that keeps my calories at the high end. I'm putting together a focused plan for this week, to avoid unnecessary snacking. I really need to modify the behavior - it is only hurting me.

Btw, on a more positive note, I love eating the local seasonal fruits and veggies - I am loading up on pumpkin, tart apples, pears, plums, fresh potatoes..... anyone else enjoying the wonderful fall food?

I am at 149 right now and i am working out 6 days a week , mostly cardio and a bit of strength training, I want to be able to use the eliptical but for some reason i can only manage about 5 minutes on it i have no leg muscle at all lol. So i have been sticking to the treadmill doing either 2 miles or 25 minutes whichever happen first! Anyone have any tips to get me going on the eliptical? Do i need to strength train my legs? Im fat on top with skinny legs and no butt lol

<3 good luck to everyone on hitting their goals by halloween

so everyone what is your goal by halloween?

Hi all, sounds like you all are doing wonderful!

I'm still hangin in there w/ maintaining. Since I added more variety to my diet( 3 mo. ago), it rarely seems like I'm trying to watch my weight. I've been eating higher calories everyday for the past week, can't seem to stay close to my goal everyday. So I've been maintaining at the higher end of my preferred range ( 114-118) I don't like feeling this heavy, yet sometimes I can't stop eating when I should. So, it's getting tougher to keep doing this after 26mo, but I know i have to.

Sparkle & K15: Thanks for letting me know I'm not alone in my snail's pace!

Lazygirl: you are not living up to your namesake

Unna: Oh, you totally have to have Oktoberfest beer. That's pretty much required, isn't it?

Speaking of fall...we had a wonderful "end of the season" camping trip this past weekend. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the fall colors were stunning. I will try to post some pics when I'm at home one of these times! I did OK on food and pretty good on exercise (took advantage of some of the hiking trails in addition to the ATVing we did.) The only thing is I may have had a couple too many Kahlua hot chocolates!

Another busy week. It will be challenging getting my exercise in the next couple of days due to evening appointments and other running around we're doing getting some home projects done before winter. I did NOT schedule anything to conflict with wed. night zumba though, so at least that's some "me" time I can look forward to

Well, hope everyone is having a good Monday so far!

Tinner: great job on the healthy BMI!!

OK, so I'm back from Vacation...I'm sad to say I did NOT calorie count at all while away! I was bad too!!! But I'm not gonna fret over it...today is a new day AND i'm back OP!!! I will eat good today and then tomorrow, it's back to the gym (gotta get unpacked, go to the grocery store, & do laundry tonight)...

I can't believe it's October already!! WHERE HAS THE YEAR GONE?!?!?!

I'm back from a long exhausting weekend. The services were very sad and I hope not to go to another one anytime soon!! One good thing, I saw my mom and she looks AMAZING. She had a stroke in December last year and in January of this year we didn't think she would make it. Well she is doing magnificently!! I got lots of props for the weight loss but kept myself reminded not to get off task because I still have more to go. I didn't loose but I didn't gain anything. That's a milestone for me because I usually eat all the tasty food that I see and have a 2-3 pound gain.

My NSV for last week was I'd lost a total of 5.25 inches in ten days but I would like to add the fact that I just maintained while I was gone. So far my eating is going well and I plan to get on the treadmill this evening.

Today's Nugget: Be an INSPIRATION!!! Continue to work on your plan and when someone notices or asks how you are doing it tell them your story. Remember to tell them about the hard days so they know those are coming and they will not get discouraged and quit. Celebrate with someone on the progress they're making. You'll feel good about you and it will also encourage you. Someone is watching you!!

Hi all! It sounds like everybody had a great weekend! Whether OP or indulgent !!

I had an indulgent weekend, but by Sunday had slowed it down a bit. Today is back to normal 1400 calories and some water! I actually think I may try for 1300ish today and maybe tomorrow. Then back to 1400 Wed-Friday.
I need to get better about setting a limit during the weekend for calories. I seem to just not count some weekends and it really slows down my progress. I think I may put an 1800 limit into effect for Saturday's and Sunday's with a non-counting day once a month.
I need to think about it and figure it out.

Otherwise, it was a very fun weekend despite the junky weather. It was cold and damp! But, it is supposed to be a good weekend ahead of us. Hubby and I are going backpacking Saturday and Sunday. This will be our first time. We're going with 2 others. We will be doing about 10-15miles of hiking over the weekend. I'm really excited!!

I also did meet my goal of circuit training twice last week! YAY!!! At least I'll meet one of my goals this time around! I'm thinking about bumping my lb goal to 150 since I'm at 155ish right now. (I didn't WI from the weekend. Giving me a couple days to get rid of the bloat). I think 5lbs is doable by October 31.

Anyway.. off to get some more cleaning done and exercise. I think I'll circuit train today and maybe do some dancing as well.
Have a great nite chickies!!

I don't take the weekends off, instead, I carry calories over to the next day if I went over my limit. If you make it a goal to carry over any extra calories to the next day, it really stops you from mindless eating. I find it also keeps me accountable insofar as I don't think "I did bad today, I'll do better tomorrow" - which is not a good idea for me....

Anyway, this weekend we had very pretty weather - yesterday we jogged 6km and then I did yoga for 30 min. I ate between 1650 - 1700.

Thanks for inspiring chickies!

Hi! I know I am joining this thread very late, but I have only just switched to counting calories, and I would like to cement my committment by joining a challenge. I have no wl goals for this challenge, but for me, I just need to get the ball rolling. So, my goal is to faithfully count calories every day from today until Oct 31. That in itself will be a true challenge! I have a BMR of 2150, so my daily goal is around 1800 cal. I know this sounds like a lot, and hardly a diet at all, but believe me, I am used to eating WAY more calories - even at just one meal - never mind the whole day!
I could sure use whatever advice and support you all are willing to offer - I've been checking out the threads, and have already found some amazing tips and tricks, and a whole boatload of inspiration! Thanks!