"In people, dieting also reduces the influence of the brain’s weight-regulation system by teaching us to rely on rules rather than hunger to control eating. People who eat this way become more vulnerable to external cues telling them what to eat. In the modern environment, many of those cues were invented by marketers to make us eat more, like advertising, supersizing and the all-you-can-eat buffet. Studies show that long-term dieters are more likely to eat for emotional reasons or simply because food is available. When dieters who have long ignored their hunger finally exhaust their willpower, they tend to overeat for all these reasons, leading to weight gain."
Magistra, Good to see you again. My son has played and managed a minecraft site at one point. It's relaxing (&creative)for him too.
Riestrella, Glad to be on another one of your challenges. You have a lot going on in your life right now, don't forget to breath. Congrats on your greencard approval and move to Atlanta. Big stuff. Amazing 10k challenge. If you cando that, YOU can achieve anything.
K9, Hi, Assuming you have at least one dog? I have a lab mix and taking him on walks lately has been wonderful for both mind and body.
Hi flower, curvey and Rosin, nice to see familiar chicks.
Hello, Kosh, Vehue, Reecca and Wolfchan. Looking forward to losing (weight) with you.
Changes this spring include Reiki training and almost daily use/healing. I've added Dr Axe's daily newsletters - fabulous advice for dieting. Starting learning about and using essential oils in my life. So many uses including weight management. Eating habit changes include getting more protein daily and changing pm nibbling to rice crackers or dried vegies. Other than walking with my dog, I am gardening (which can mean a lot of walking) and riding my recumbent bicycle at night on occasion.
Trying to get good for life habits. I know I will feel better in a healthy weight range,
Well, my stress eating caught up with me . . . I gained this week.
Rie I liked that article. Thanks for sharing it! The important thing that I gathered from that article is that I should focus more on exercise. I always had that in the back of my mind, but I'm lazy and I don't work hard enough on exercise.
workinglikeadog - Great to see you! Thank you for the advice, I'm doing well at the moment. I think I've allowed myself to slow down and tackle things one little step at a time. I'm sure the move itself will be crazy, but if I plan wisely then I think I can overcome the stress! Sounds like you're getting some good advice, I'm always a supporter of plenty of protein and vegetable based snacks!
magistra - It's good to accept the slip ups and move forward with a positive mentality. Sit back and take a breath and jot down the reasons why you're gaining and not losing. It might seem rather patronising, but I find stating the obvious to myself can actually be quite beneficial. Once you have your list you can counter each bad habit with a good habit that you want to incorporate. When you identify yourself as performing a bad habit, whip out that list and see what you want to do instead.
I'm glad you liked the article! I thought it was rather interesting. I didn't like the way it was concluded, it felt rather one sided. But I did like the collection of studies it presented. Exercise is given a bad rep in the weight loss world, we focus so much on what we eat but having strong muscles will carry us through life and make sure we remain strong! Plus the mental benefits of achieving an exercise goal are exhilarating. Finishing the last 10K made me want to run more and get stronger! Eating less and losing weight on the scale is thrilling, but doesn't have that same power.
Thanks Rie! That is good advice. I love making lists so that's a nice organized way to think it out. I do think that "grace begets grace." When I do start exercising, it inspires me to want to do more of it.
Life Update: Packing has been going well so far. I always dislike how cluttered everything gets in the process of moving, I just spent a while tidying our living area so we're not living in a mess leading up to our move! I'm always overly organised in everything I do, so I've essentially planned to pack a room a day leading up to the move. Yesterday was kitchen day, we managed to fill a good 4 boxes worth of stuff, which to me is surprising since I thought we didn't have that much stuff after living with in-laws for a year! Today through Thursday I'm going to work on gathering all the knickknacks we've spread out over the house. Friday will be non-essential bathroom items day, Saturday will be non-essential clothes day then Sunday we'll be packing a travel bag for the road before finishing everything left including electronics. I really want to just be over and done with and get going in all honesty! I'm an impatient person at heart so once I know we're going somewhere I want to go NOW.
In a whirlwind decision the BF's Dad has bought a new car, he decided to do so on Friday and yesterday (Monday) he bought a new one. Not brand new, but practically new. I tell you this because we're getting his old car, a 10 year old BMW! It's 10 years old but only has 80,000 miles and he's selling it to us at an excellent price. We're essentially going to owe them the money when we can so it won't be as stressful as making monthly car payments with interest tacked on over the years. Having 2 cars is going to make life in Atlanta so much easier, there are a couple of running trails I wanted to run but would need a car for it. On the days where BF is working I wouldn't have a car, but not anymore! Woohoo!
Weight loss, naturally, has been on the back burner. I always advise those who are going through a stressful time to try their best but not to worry, so I need to follow my own advice. I'm going to go to my last Yoga class at my favourite yoga place today, then Thursday will be my last dance class. I didn't really make many friends so it won't be too hard to say goodbye, but I will miss the classes! I'm not sure how easily I'll be able to find a dance place in Atlanta on ClassPass, fingers crossed! Not looking forward to sampling all the studios all over again before finding somewhere I really like!
I'm back up to 167 lbs which is my starting weight, I'm quite happy it's not over that. The other day, however, I stepped on the scale and it was 169 lbs! Ahh, too close for comfort! Thankfully it was water weight.
I have also drawn up my meal plan for our first week in our new home! I can't wait! I've planned breakfasts, lunches, snacks and dinner. If I give myself too much freedom then I end up overeating but if I buy EXACTLY what I need then I know that I'll do well. On the menu is mango curry, miso salmon with vegetable stir fry, one night free to eat out and then cajun chicken wings with vegetable kebobs. I'm going vegetable crazy, but I actually can't wait because cooked vegetables are way more delicious than raw in my opinion!
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magistra - You're welcome, I'm always happy to help!
Ugh I added the gain from last week onto the chart.... that hurt. But I think I have fixed the issue and I am working my way back down. I am definitely feeling better and more confident that i got this lets hope I am right. 19 more lbs to go which i hope to see gone before July 12th!
Hip, hip, hooray! I found my balance again. I was stress eating and not exercising. I was moody and it took me a while to change my mood. I was lacking motivation to try. I also wasn't putting myself to bed. I was staying up late and falling asleep in my chair. I wasn't getting proper rest. Life is so complicated sometimes, but I'm paying attention now and eating correctly and getting some exercise, and proper rest. I am down a pound today and steadily dropping.
Rebecca I'm rooting for you! 19 pounds before July 12 sounds very reasonable. You got this! You can do it!
Hey everyone! Getting the truck loaded tomorrow and I'll be on the road Tuesday - Thursday. If I have time I'll do Week 5 charts tomorrow, if not, I'll do them on Friday. Sorry for the delay!
Sorry to have been MIA for a couple of weeks. I had a fabulous week in Germany but it ignited my passion for carbs in a big way, so the mighty thud you might have heard across the world was me falling off the waggon.....
Been back on track since Saturday, attacking it with a lowish carb diet (Harcombe), and I've lost 4lbs. By the end of the challenge I should be back into real losses, I hope!
I know I will feel better in a healthy weight range,
I just posted my weight for the week and see that my weight's going up, not down 
OKAY! Gotta reverse that!
I was stress eating and not exercising. I was moody and it took me a while to change my mood. I was lacking motivation to try. I also wasn't putting myself to bed. I was staying up late and falling asleep in my chair. I wasn't getting proper rest. Life is so complicated sometimes, but I'm paying attention now and eating correctly and getting some exercise, and proper rest. I am down a pound today and steadily dropping. 
. Have plan ready for this week, gonna do better!!!
