Not setting any goals viz pounds to lose like I did in July. So my goals for August are:

1. Continue counting calories
2. Exercise for at least 45 mins a day, 6 days a week
3. Remain optimistic that I will reach goal weight/size
4. Treat myself to something new every fortnight for staying on plan

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i would like to add two other goals:

1. learn to say "no" and understand that i don't have to eat it all today, i can have some next week. in a sense that, i don't always need to get something extravagant when going out to eat, because right now i am in a situation where going out to eat sometimes cannot be avoided. when eating, i would also like to stay more aware of my hunger signals.

2. start running again in august. 2-3x a week.

assuming i make my goal of 224 for this month for august I would like to lose 6lbs getting me down to 218. I would like to stick to my calorie intake each day.

This is really inspiring!

My goals are 1) to keep counting calories/staying on target, 2) to continue to exercise 3-4 times a week and 3) to not weigh myself between July 31 and Aug 31.

i am stuck.

i've been at the EXACT same weight for the past 3 days. something's up.
like, to the .2 same weight. i'm assuming it's the joy of having a uterus, and will be expecting a whoosh. =)

unfortunately though, i mistakenly bought midieval times tickets for my mother for her birthday, and tonight is the night. i have done the calorie count, and the meal is about 1500 cals. Clearly not okay.

i am okay with about a....500 dinner.
literally, that leaves me with the soup, the spare rib, and maybe the garlic bread if i get adventurous.

THE CHICKEN IS 723 CALORIES!! seriously?
i can't even work that one into lunch tomorrow- how frustrating.
i will be good today, and tomorrow i will see a drop. RIGHT SCALE?

My goal is 10 for august and to work out 5x a week! Really excited to get going even with my vacations to boston and california... we can do it!

Great thread!

1) I would love to lose 5 pounds in August.
2) Stay dedicated to calorie counting even when school starts.
3) Begin cycling again at the gym.
4) To only go on the scale once a week.

i ate the chicken. TOTALLY ate the chicken.
and the ribs.
and the soup.
AND the slice of garlic bread.

BUT said no to dessert (probably for the first time in my life).

also, saw a nearly 2 lb drop on the scale (presumably due to losing water weight from not having to sweat it out at yoga)

i was definately at about 2100 cals yesterday, even though i try to keep it under 1700 on yoga days, and about 1500 on off days.

wierdddd body, wieeeerd.

stimkovs - goodluck with the intuitive eating. I have been doing that the past 3 months and gained maybe 2bs or so, but that's mostly what you will gain when you eat less strict. Everytime I got back on a weightloss-mode it dropped down those 2lbs quite fast. I felt it was quite easy. For weightloss I need to really focus/count though, but I am very close to goal so that might be why.

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As to my goals, well.. be on plan again. The past year I've been on plan for maybe 6 months total. The rest of the time I try and maintain because I just dont wanna count calories and I can't lose when I don't count. I don't gain when I don't count, which is a good thing. So, if I could work hard and drop 5lbs I am gonna be very close to goal. And then I can focus on exercise goals more.

So, counting calories is all I have to do really. That's how I stay OP and the lbs start to drop. 1200 calories for a week, and back to 1500 after that. 1200 to kickstart, 1500 because that's easier to do.

that's an awesome idea actually.

i'm trying to keep a couple of "calorie check" days and just plug it in and see that i'm still eating where i should be, but when you do your "kickstart weeks" do you find yourself full of energy? do you plan your social committments around it?

i find that when i have super low days, im pretty much almost bedridden due to lack of energy lol

I'm really liking the idea of a kick start week. I may work that into my August goals.

I am traveling the first week in August and a lot of the food will be out of my control. But I can control the portions and have choice over what I say yes to and what I say no to.

My goals for August are:
1. To continue calorie counting, even while traveling.
2. Stay within my weekly calorie budget.
3. Walk the dog at least 4 times a week (after traveling)
4. Weight at most 262 by 8/31, which will be 25 lbs total lost (approximately a 6 - 7 lb. loss for August.)

I actually just posted this in a thread about "mini goals" but since mine were all for august/first weekend in September I guess they fit here!

My mini goals are pretty short term;

Goal #1 =Get my workout and diet focus back (just got back from my honeymoon and though I'm "on plan" I'm not kicking butt like I was)

Goal #2 = Get weight back to 116-117 pounds (Was 114.8 before the vacation, and no idea where I am right now... I'll weigh in on Saturday for my weekly check and go from there)

Goal #3 = Keep diet clean/on plan until next vacation (in 5 weeks)

Goal #4 = DO NOT do like I have done the last two visits to see my husband; I eat decently during the trip but then end up massively overeating/binging on the trip home. I hate leaving him and I medicate with food... it's the ONLY thing that still makes me do that!

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Philana, Stimkovs - I'm doing a bit of a "kickstart" as well to get off a bit of the honeymoon bloat and weight. I generally keep calories in the 1200-1300 range for a few days before taking the next week or two slowly raising them back up again to maintenance.

Oh not at all! But then I think for your height super low days would be about 1500 right? Or even a bit more? It would be the same if you with your height ate 1200 as it would be for me to eat 800 or so. I'd be tired too I think.

As to social activities, they just go on! This weekend is my bday and I have a lot of meeting-up-with-friends. But with one friend last night we had a small picknick and I asked him to prepare healthy food which he did (tuna and leafy salad, couscous with cucumber and feta and some bread with tzatziki, YUM!) and we just had sheesha (waterpipe) with apple tabacco. It's not healthy but I LOVE it and it has no calories. LOL. I saved some calories for dinner and decided to walk everywhere so even if I went over 1200 some it matters none to me. I don't count it on those kinda days. Today I go to the beach with a friend for a long walk. I am gonna bring my own drink and some cucumber and mandarin that I put in the freezer for a bit first. So we do't have to sit at a terrace and order stuff, or when we do I only order a light icetea or something.

Basically for me social activities are either active or when they are passive activities with food it's mostly healthy food. It's not like my friends want to go out and order big meals anyhow. We all love some bread with hummus or a salad from all our trips to the middle east. This mindset also comes from trying to not spent too much money because Uni is friggin' expensive LOL

joss first and foremost, can i just say how BEAUTIFUL and HAPPY (like you could poop a unicorn type of happy) you look in your new display? like, its AMAZING. congrats, so many congrats, you're such an inspiration!

i am more then certain you can get your food thing together! and good luck on your weigh in. it's amazing that you have it figured out to what makes you get "snacky". i actually had the same epiphany last night. i had to cancel a date that was supposed to happen today because i just...realized i wasn't ready. we all know how that ended.but the thing is? what i medicated with, the quantity calorically, and how i felt after it, i maybe ate between 1000-1200 extra (that's me being very generous- it could be as low as 700, i dont track these things) then i skipped yoga, and went to bed as early as i could, but with that, i realized a couple of things. 1. im not ready. 2. i don't want to be ready, and 3. things just need time.

so, with my realization- this snacky thing you're doing- it needs time, and with time, even if it's baby steps of gradually eating LESS to have that feeling. baby steps.

philana - really? i try to go for about 1600 on all days of the week, workout or no workout, then again it might also be the cause of all my issues. because i consume SO much water during bikram, and you sweat out like, 2-3 lbs in a practice usually, your body just HOLDS all water for the next 10-12 hours, so it's often hard for me to get an accurate weight unless it's the morning after a day off lol plus bikram calories burnt are impossible to calculate so i just assume it's 500-600. but then again, i have this nasty habit of over calculating calories in, and under calculating calories out haha.

you're also really lucky that your friends are active and happy and healthy! i had a group of friends like that when i lived in Ottawa, but the thing with toronto, there's so many things to do, and a lot of the culture here revolves around food, carby food, and drinks. i try to resist really hard, but you know...seeing food and not eating it is a huge issue lol