Indiblue, the dessert party sounds like fun. And it is so tempting to overindulge when there are a lot of desserts in the house.

It took me 2 weeks to lose just one pound.
I hope to lose another this coming week.

Have a great week, everyone!

:coffee:

day 36
 

Hi all!

I have not been doing much recently--my beloved cat disappeared--we believe eaten by coyotes--we found some fur. I have been really upset and not focused on weight.

However, I want to get back on this challenge--my kitty was very fit and I want to follow her example.

I am still down 5 lbs from the beginning, and I have 64 days to go--even if I lose 10 more lbs I will be much better off.

so here are my goals: I just checked my calender and it is exactly 9 weeks until xmas. I can easily lose 2-3 lbs a week when I am focused so I will set my goal for 20 lbs. My goal is to be 205 for xmas.

I will keep track of my food everyday, walk 1 mile 6 days a week, do calisthenics 3 days a week, and begin lifting weights on Nov 1.

It is so great to see how everyone is doing and hanging in there--you all are inspiring!

cheers

Sno

Snowbrocade, call your County Animal Control and see if they will trap the coyote and relocate it. So sorry you lost your kitty.

:hug:

I did see a coyote walk right down the middle of my road at dusk.
He was not afraid of us at all. Dogs go missing in my area also.
They are getting very bold.
:(

April that is AWESOME that the food part is the easy part for you!!

Jolina 1 lb in two weeks is terrific. I would LOVE to be at that rate. I haven't lost anything in weeks!

Snow I'm so sorry about your cat. We lost a pup to a neighborhood dog once- it's really tough.

Day 35

UGHHHHH. Again. Third day in a row.

I knew yesterday would not be on plan. I was attending a Diwali party by a friend's parents (I live in India). I KNEW this would entail a lot of food. The problem wasn't self-control, it was having to eat what was given to me, and eating more when the hosts told me they were upset about how little I was eating.

I don't care what many people on here say, I do NOT think in cultures like that it's polite to turn down food. We were invited guests to a family party of the most important holiday of the year and accepting the family's bounty is appropriate- turning down food is absolutely offensive.

So I ate- slowly as to try to look like I always had food- and didn't do terribly. But I still ate WAY more than I wanted to :(

This morning I went on a pretty good 45 minute run. I feel a little better. But I am NOT weighing myself at least for a few days.

I am going to start today a version of Eat to Live- nothing processed, tons of vegetables. I need it after 3 very, very off plan days and quite a stalled weight loss!

Snow, I am sorry to hear about your kitty. I know how hard it is to lose a loved pet. Hugs for you.
JOlina, keep up the good work. 1 pound is great. The scale is moving and thats all that matters. :)

I havent posted in a couple days, but I hope everyone is doing well. I usually weigh myself every other monday, but I joined a 5 pound challenge and weighed myself on thursday. I saw a 4 pound loss. Then comes today, my normal 2 week monday morning weigh in. Imaging my surprise when the scale was down another 3 pounds. I weighed myself a couple times to make sure it wasnt playing tricks on me. I weigh 219. Yay. I just officially finished 8 weeks total on plan and I am down 26 pounds. I have upped my exercise, and its working. I know the days will come eventually when I am not losing that much, but I am happy to be losing now, because I know from thanksgiving through new years it is going to be hard. Thank you everyone for having such a great support group. You have all helped me in my weight loss journey.

Everyone have a great day!!!

Day 37 :) and it hasn't always been easy because, just like you Indie, it's been a while since I've lost anything.

On the other hand,

Miatutu, congrats on losing 4 pounds. That's totally awesome!! Keep up the great work! :congrat:

Jolina, congrats on losing another pound. How great is that?!! I love it! :congrat:

Sno, It's so great to see you here!! We missed you! Sorry about your kitty.

miatutu congrats on the awesome losses!! Way to go :)
tyla If it's been a while and you've been OP, I bet you'll see a drop soon. I tend to lose in whooshes rather than incrementally.

Day 37: BACK ON PLAN!
Exercise: 45 minute run
IF: Started eating at 2:30 PM

Food (NOT calorie counting right now- trying a modified eat to live program)
coffee with 3 tbs milk + 1 tsp sugar
pumpkin & black bean soup
few bites of sauteed spinach
soy milk
sliced carrots & green peppers

1 serving almonds
pumpkin & black bean soup
sauteed okra
1 c soy milk
few bites of pie, few bites of cupcake, few bites of rice pudding (very, very small amount, not on E2L I know, but ok with it)

It's a bit scary not calorie counting, but I feel good about my food choices and hope I'll be able to get more on the E2L plan over the next few days.

Hey Ladies, I'm back at work today. Limping along after the weekend, scale was up 3!!! lbs this morning, but I know it's TOM, lack of water, and general increase in starchy food. Back On Plan and Exercise today!

Day 38 :)

Indie, I hope you're right about the weight loss. I'm going to try not counting cals today. That is such a scary thought for me. I'm so used to counting. How are you handling that?

Carly, glad you're back on track.

Indie, Can you explain the whole IF to me. Is it just fasting for a large amount of time, so you consume less calories, or is it so you can eat all of your calories in a shorter amount of time and feel fuller? I never heard of it before you.
I just looked it up. Is this only suited for people who lift weights?

tyla Halfway through the day yesterday I got so worried about my calories that I started counting them. Ended up at 700 cals- only 500 left for late afternoon and dinner. I DEFINITELY would have eaten more for dinner if I hadn't have counted my cals.

So.... I decided I'm going to stick to the Eat to Live guidelines but also calorie count. I think it's wayyyy too easy to overeat otherwise.

miatutu I LOVE IF. Basically yes, you eat all of your normal calories during a shorter window of time. So you can IF and not diet or IF and diet (restrict calories). Since I"m trying to lose a few more pounds I IF + calorie count. Since it's just about meal timing it can be combined with any other plan.

You are right that it's really common among lifters (heavy lifters, which I am not) because part of its benefits are theoretically mobilizing that last bit of stubborn fat. But it has wider health benefits that benefit anyone.

The idea is that eating consistently throughout the day, whether that's 3 meals from 7 AM- 7 PM, or 6 "mini meals" during the same range, etc- keeps the blood sugar high, 'fat-burning' hormones suppressed, and stokes hunger. Eating fewer, larger meals during a more restricted time period helps to manage blood sugar (good for diabetics and nondiabetics alike), hunger, etc.

I drink water and coffee during my fasted state and then start eating anywhere from 12 PM- 2 PM. I usually eat a pretty large lunch (40% of my calories) and get really really full! I have a few snacks over the next few hours (30%), and a very small dinner (30% usually).

For me, there are two major benefits to IF: 1) I find it MUCH easier to eat REAL meals rather than 6 200 calorie minimeals which do not satisfy at all and just make me think about my next mini meal. 2) It is SO much easier to know you CAN'T eat until 2 PM than to have to make lots of GOOD decisions about WHAT to eat. I don't know if that makes sense, but for me I just know that eating is not an option until the afternoon so I don't think about it. I love food and if I was "allowed" eat all day it would be a constant battle inside my head to eat the "right" thing. Tons of studies show that the more tough decisions we have to make during the day the worse our decision-making skills are by the end of the day... this is so true for me and eating right. If I just don't even have the option of making the decision for 50% of the day it makes the rest of the day so much easier.

I am focusing more on the psychology behind IF and not the physiology, of which there are many studies promoting IF's benefits. Good NYT article here: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/0...-heart-health/

Anyway, I'm a fan. Let me know if you have more questions. Also, there is an IF support group in the Support Groups forum on 3FC- go check it out for some FAQ :)

Day 38
IF: started eating at 12 PM
Exercise: 30 minutes lifting
sauteed spinach
sauteed okra
18 almonds
1/2 banana
1 apple

Dinner: family style dinner out with friends, I think I did ok.... a few bites of mashed potatoes, 1 small spring roll, 1 small jalapeno popper, about 1.5 oz of fish, a few garlic shrimp. Couple bite of a shared dessert.

No more dinners out for a while, thankfully... can work on eating more on an Eat to Live plan at home :)

Indie,Thank you for the info. I may give it a try. Some days I start eating at 6 am when I get up with the kids for school and it makes it hard for my calories to last all day. This may be a way to help me with that.

I just realized last night that I have lost more than 10% of myself. My starting weight was 245 and I have lost 26 pounds. I have 39 more pounds to go. I would like to be at goal by May of next year. Its looking like it could happen.

That's great Miatutu!
Scale back down to 190 this morning, lost almost all of the 3lb increase from this weekend, yay. Got my workout yesterday afternoon, calves are feeling sore this morning, but a good sore :)
Everyone have a great day!

Indie, I tried the "listening to my body approach" yesterday. At the end of the day, I counted my cals and ended up with 1200. So right now I'll give that a whirl. It's exciting and new. I have cal counting for back-up.

Carly, congrats on the 3 lb. loss!

Day 39 of eating right and exercising :)

miatutu you're welcome. I totally hear you on having ahard time making the calories last. I love looking at the clock at 2 PM and having all my calories left in the day! Mental tricks help keep me on track

[B]tyla[B] wow congrats!! That's exciting you were able to intuitively stick to 1200!

Day 39:
Exercise: Two 20-minute light walks
IF: Errr didn't really IF in the morning.
Food:
1 romaine lettuce salad + 1 chopped apple + 1 big scoop yogurt for dressing
1 c chickpea and kidney bean salad
1 c steamed cauliflower
1.5 roasted beets with mustard
1.5 c soy milk
1/2 banana

Then... well yesterday was Diwali, the biggest festival in India. Went to a Diwali party and ate a lot of nuts (ok) and Indian sweets (not ok). Roughly counted my cals and went over.

Grr. Was doing really well up until that point.