Planning and Chat March 23rd - 29th
 

Whoops, I forgot to start a new thread and posted on last week's. I C&P-ed my post:

WTG Michelinwoman!! That's really good going.

Well, I was chuffed to find this morning that I was only up 0.2 after Mothers Day yesterday.

I had a small bar of chocolate that DD1 had bought me for my present (along with a stuffed bunny rabbit - bless. She's only 7 and has been saving her pocket money!). I also treated myself to a bar of chocolate at lunch time as they were on 3 for £1 at Tesco. So one for DD1, one for me and one for my OH, which he proceeded to leave in my fridge as he hardly eats chocolate!

Then yesterday afternoon we were all going out for a meal - my parents, me and my OH, my 2 kids, HIS parents and my sister and her four kids. It was very nice. We didn't eat till 4pm so it was either a late lunch or an early dinner - lol! But I had forestiere chicken which was grilled chicken breast with mushroom and white wine sauce with button and forest mushrooms served with fries and baby carrots. It was delicious! And for dessert I chose profiteroles and when they came there were two HUGE profiteroles both the size of a saucer!! Filled with whipped cream, and served with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. I polished off the lot!

But then I had nothing else all day so that was basically all I ate all day, so that's not too bad actually.

But I have to be good now till Easter. I know my OH has bought me a Baileys egg as I saw it in his back room! Normally I would buy myself one, but I won't this year. If I'm to be 9 stone by August, I can't be pigging on Easter eggs.

I'm going to try an experiment this week. I've loaded up on veggies for the day and am going to attempt the week with zero empty calories (read no candy and no alcohol). I've really got to get back down into the 140's this month.

I did that again! Even after last week thinking I killed the thread and failing to notice the new one. Doh. My challenge for today is that my colleague bought me some chocolates. Now I can sometimes allow myself a certain portion without going mad I've decided not to have ANY just to prove that I can. I calorie count on about.com and I'd like to get my weekly average closer to 1500 (Thursday and Friday were BAD last week).

Well, I've been on a bad pattern these past few weeks of gaining on the weekend/losing during the week. This past weekend, though, I'm blaming it on TOM = huge water retention & mad food cravings. But I am setting the goal in advance to have an ON-PLAN weekend next weekend!

Anyway, I once again am a pound & a half or so above ticker...which hopefully will drop off by morning...and then I will be a GOOD Susan, all week long!

Lol - I think I am getting a little too dependent on the scale! I not only dropped the water weight from TOM this morning, but also an additonal .2 lb - and it is CRAZY how good a mood that .2 has me in! This is the lowest my weight has been in a couple of years - I think it was early 2006 the last time I saw the 130s - so it's a really exciting place for me to be in. I am just looking forward to dropping a few more pounds, to the point where even if I retain a bit of water, that middle # will still be a 3!

Can you believe I was chuffed that I weighed 137.5 this morning (slightly false low I imagine) only to find out that my bf had weighed in (I asked him to for comparison) at exactly the same WEARING HIS DRESSING GOWN. He's 5ft10. Hmmm any tips not to accidentally diet ones bf?

Lol. My husband weighs the same as I do, is 2 inches taller than me, & eats everything in sight. It's just not fair, is it?

It's not fair...but at least we don't have to worry about going bald? (Most of us?)

My boyfriend is 6'2", and weighs about 11 1/2 stone (around 160lbs). I'm 5'7 and weigh about 10lbs more! Weighing more than a tall, broad-shouldered man feels horrid, I can't wait until I weigh less (not too far off!). Even if it's just one pound, I'll feel so satisfied, haha!

Having a bit of a frustrating week... I've been completely sticking with calorie-counting and have stayed within my limit, but haven't dropped a single pound on the scales. Another thread on the forum made me think that I think I might be retaining a lot of water. I know I should be losing fat right now. I also know I eat a heck of a lot of salt - without journalling any of the salt that I've added to food during cooking or after serving, my fortnightly average is 2,200mg per day. I almost never eat pre-prepared foods, but I add a lot of salt to stuff during cooking, and I'm so scared to think of how much sodium I'm actually eating. Do any of you ladies think this might be making me stall at this weight? I drink plenty of water, but still... sodium intake is crazily high.

How long do you feel like you have been "stalled" for? I often see the number on the scale stall for about a week, then I suddenly drop 3-4 pounds in 2 days, then a week of no movement, etc. The sodium might be causing you to retain water, which can prevent a loss from showing on the scales, but it doesn't keep you from losing fat. I'd just wait a bit, maybe up your water intake, & see if it flushes out.

I've been the same weight for 8 days. I know that's not a long amount of time for some, but it's just the first time I've ever experienced my weight stand still like this, so I'm a bit baffled and not sure what's causing it.

I'm hoping it does what you say and just drops a few pounds over a day or two, it's encouraging that that has happened for you! What you've said about still losing fat is the thing that's kept me going, I've felt rather discouraged (this morning I woke up thinking I was definitely going to be lower on the scales, and I wasn't), but at the same time I've been thinking that I know what I'm doing must be having some effect, even if it's not apparent in my weight. I'll try and cut back on sodium a bit and up my water intake, and see what happens!

I was also wondering - when you reach your first plateau, do you find that your weight loss is always a bit of a struggle after that point, or can things get back to being a bit more regular again? I know that it can become more of a struggle the closer you get to goal, but I'm still pretty overweight for my height, and I hate the idea of having to fight for every pound, as I'm wanting to lose at least 20 more. I've read elsewhere on the forums that people often hit a standstill around 170/160lbs, and I wonder whether weight loss can ever be regular and steady (even if slow) after this point, or whether it's just plateau after plateau until the goal is reached!

Well...I guess it depends on if you consider a week or so a plateau! I don't; this is just the way my weight loss happens. I have never been up to 170, so can't speak for the stall that some appear to experience in that zone. I've been up & down between 160 & 120 more times than I care to count... This time around, I've had two of what I'd consider to be "real" stalls (i.e. went a couple of weeks perfectly on plan, but not dropping weight), & both times was able to break them by switching up my macronutrient ratio - I continued to eat the same # of calories, but lowered my carb intake & upped my protein.

Loss DOES happen slower as you get closer to goal - but that is only to be expected!

I've been about the same week for the past month. I'm bouncing between 141.5 (which is .4 above a healthy range for my height and is driving me crazy) and 143.2 since the last week of February. And it sucks to be doing everything right foodwise and not see any results. Just stick with it. I think my own plateau has an end insight, thankfully. the scale still hasn't moved, but i've lost another 3/4s of an ich from bust, stomach, hip and thigh measurements. that's from each of them, not total. I think sticking to my gym 2 times a week plan is what's really helping.
I also eat way too much sodium. I'm trying to cut back.

I kind of like the UK version of weight....10 stone sounds so much better than 149 pounds....I'm just going to start saying I weigh 10 stone. Maybe I'll start a trend in the US :)

Thank you for the advice, ladies! Still on a big fat stall, 10 days now. Grr! Oh well, it's not doing me any harm, and I know the scales will move eventually! Su-Bee, I think I'll try your advice regarding altering my macronutrient ratio. Generally I think my diet is quite carb-heavy (50-60%), I find it incredibly hard to eat enough protein! I love to eat meat, poultry and fish, but being a university student, I'm rather broke and often end up trying to make the meat I buy go further. I'll try and increase my intake and cut back on carbs a bit, and see what happens.

michelinwoman - I'm in the UK and prefer our system too (using stones and pounds), but I guess it's just what I'm used to - I agree, I prefer my weight in stones too!

Tinycities, you could try maybe adding things like beans & lentils to up your protein ratio if the cost of meat is a problem. I particularly like lentils, since you don't have to soak them overnight. A bowl of lentils w/ salsa is pretty high-protein, high-fiber, & quite filling!

I've been playing with the same 2 pounds for the past few weeks - I know it's because each weekend, I've gone off-plan for a meal or two; at this point in my journey, that results in maintenance! Yesterday, my day was quite high on calories, but all clean, unprocessed, whole foods - today I'm going to try to keep the clean eating, but drop the calories back down a bit. We're going to the theatre tonight, & I'll probably also try to work in the calories to have a glass of wine there (I find that wine doesn't bother me, as long as I work it into my calorie limit for the day).

PS - Robsia - every time I come into this thread, I start craving that fricking Bailey's egg! And I've never even HAD one (I don't think they're available in Canada). But it sounds so good that I've started considering asking my cousins from the UK to mail me one for Easter!

Su-Bee~how I wish I were back to the same old 2 pounds over and over!! When I first started working with my DH, I weighed 138ish. I'd flucutate from 139 to 137 during the week and then go back to 139 by the end of the weekend. Now I just want to get back to the 140's.

Ok, so I've had this goal that when I got below 140, I would forego the shirt & wear just a sports bra to yoga (the way all the cool girls do... ;) ). I know everybody in yoga class is too focused on themselves to remotely care what I look like in my sports bra, but my tummy is my least favourite body part, so I'm self-conscious nonetheless.

Even though I've been bouncing around the high 130s - low 140s since March 14, today was the first day that I'd planned to go to yoga that saw the scale hit the 130s. So I did it! :) And it was okay - I didn't look great all the time; there were some poses where I caught myself in the mirror & was like, "Oh my god, what a huge fat roll!" but there were also other times where I was pretty impressed that I could see the outline of my ribcage. The unexpected benefit was that I found myself really focusing on sucking in my tummy, even in poses where that wasn't the core emphasis.

10-ish pounds to go... :)

Hi fellow chickadees,

I am wondering if I can post here now...LOL..the term "featherweights" has intimadated me for a while now..

I am almost to goal (I think)..my thighs have been a disappointing experience but just recently I measured and they did go down a full inch--now @ 21 in. at largest point..I am running most everyday (3-4 miles) and also doing JM 30DS 2-3 times a week...I also am into the Bollywood Dance DVD's and some belly dancing..

I haven't been this weight since college and would like to go a little lower--possibly another 10 pounds. I have dropped my goal from 164 to 155, to 150, and so on. BMI wise, I am still fine for quite a ways--maybe to 120 or something. Does anyone know anything about the yoga that is done in the heated rooms? I have a teency friend that swears by it. I feel like I need something more to get me "over the edge" if you know what I mean.

Thanks.

Hi ThighsBeGone -

At 2 pounds from goal, I think you MORE than qualify as a Featherweight!

Re. the hot yoga, this is the yoga (& basically the only form of strength training) that I've practiced regularly for over a year now. I LOVE it! However, like any other exercise, this alone will not cause weight loss (especially this close to goal) without substantial attention to diet. My weight, while maintaining this yoga practice approx. 6x/week, has gone from 149 - 157 - 138 due to dietary fluctuations. I do find that my muscles, while still defined, look longer & leaner, rather than more bulky, as they did when I was lifting weights as my strength training.

Hope this helps!

PS - I just measured my thighs - they are ALSO 21 in. at their largest point, & I consider myself to have a chunky torso mounted on two skinny bird legs! So...while I know everyone's body is different...your self-perception may not be quite what others see when they look at you!

Funnily enough, I have just measured my thighs too and they ALSO measure at exactly 21". I still consider mine chubby but not as chubby as they used to be. I have a measurement chart but it's on my other computer but I have a funny feeling they used to be about 26" when I started to measure, and that wasn't my heaviest weight - so I can safely say they've gone down somwwhat.

Anyway, :welcome: thighsbegone - you are DEFINITELY a featherweight!!

Well, my danger time is about to begin - off to my OH's shortly for the weekend. At least he now possesses a scale with batteries in it so I can keep track - I did find it a help last weekend to be able to weigh myself, otherwise I cheat.

Let's just hope I am still 135 or less on Monday morning!!

Thank you Robsia and SueBee. Thank you for letting me know your thigh measurements too. I feel a bit better now since we all have similar stats. I am thinking to lower my goal to 130 just to see what happens with the thighs. I have always coveted long, lean limbs. I am wearing skirts that hit right at knee and those that hit just above the knee--I feel like they do look nice on me now. I am not looking to wear a mini--it just isn't me, but I would like to look nice in shorts and swimsuits for the warmer season.

SuBee, I hear you on the warm Yoga thing. I was thinking of adding it to the running routine I already have in place. Absolutely my calorie intake will remain the same.

Robsia, good luck w/the scale. I am so 'In touch" with the whole relationship to the scale!

Just curious, what calorie intakes do you each shoot for--mine is 1500. I do not take out for workouts or whatever. I run every day, and make sure my calories stay below this--so I don't allot for calories the way some do.

You should definitely at least give the hot yoga a try - I think it is kind of a "love it or hate it" thing!

I shoot for 1400-1600 calories / day, although I'm far from perfect! I don't eat my workout calories back. My workouts are between 1 hour & 2 hr 30 min per day - this is a combination of hot yoga & elliptical. Right now, this is all I do, but I'm looking to replace some of the elliptical time with outdoor running as the weather gets nicer.

Note to self: measure thighs tonight.

Originally Posted by alinnell:
Note to self: measure thighs tonight.

I dunno. All that gets me is knowing my thighs are the same size a lot of people are calling huge, only I didn't know they were huge :dizzy:

I just got on the scale...back to 152! I'm not moving my ticker until Monday though...hopefully it will be back down. I'm confused. I have not went over my points...actually, I've been eating very little. The only major difference in diet is I have been replacing my usual egg and toast for breakfast with 1 slice peanut butter toast or a vitamuffin top. I haven't measured my thighs...but that isn't my problem area. I'm all middle....I have a 32" waist!

okay...I just measured my thigh...19.5", but my waist was 34.5!!!!!

I'm an apple shape too, Michelinwoman! I love my body (I think my thighs look great at 21 inches) & would happily move into maintenance, EXCEPT for my chubby tummy! I'm just hoping this last few pounds comes off the middle - then I'll be all set!

Hey I am new here and.... uhmmm dunno where to start. I guess my weight qualifies me as featherweight, and my goal also. DOnt be scared, look at the height too ;-)
Its a horrible day. I have lost 4 pounds over the last week, I was quite sick with a cold....
but it looks I lost mostly water - I woke up today with a very dry mouth and a thirst.... mama!

Since my fridge was totally empty and I dont like drinking something that isnt either fridgecold, has bubbles or a little taste I went shopping (via bike, I am a good girl)

I came home with almost no food (still not hungry, havent eaten alot while being sick but I still dont have appetite) but with about 20 litres of different drinks.... mineral water, coke light and all that jazz.

Actually I wanted to allow myself a small beer tonight (cause its saturday night! and I havent been eating a lotta calories!). But I was standing in front of the beer (its goooood german beer!) and did not want it.

What´s up with me?

Carrying 40 percent of my bodyweight home per bike was an adventure, I drank about a liter instantly..... and another one later....

Thirst is gone, weight is up, appetite still not back.....

strange, I am the kid of 2 cooks, I LOVE food?

What is WRONG with me?

Umm, well......

Lillie

Hey all, I am back from vacation with the in-laws also known as the "eat until you feel like puking" fest. :p Strangely my weight is still bouncing around the same range.

Oh..thigh measurement - I dont know what mine is right now but at the smallest mine were 22" They had actually gotten down to 21, but I am one of those that DO gain some leg muscle and I run a lot and lift and I have very solid legs.

I have no hips though. My waist at its smallest was 27" and my hips were 34

Thigh measurement = 22". We're not going to measure my tummy. We'll just leave it at that.

I hurt my foot last night (long adventurous story that I don't want to get into). Suffice it to say that after 45 minutes icing it and drinking a glass of wine didn't help the sleep much and today I doubt I'll be able to get a shoe on. Looks like I'll be skipping my treadmill workout for the next week. Limping.....

Oh, you poor thing! There must be something in the air - I fell down the stairs last night & wrenched my shoulder. It is not swollen, but is pretty painful & keeps popping - I'm thinking I probably pulled a ligament. Fortunately it's upper body, so I can still do my elliptical workout!

OK - I hate my bf's scale!!!

Last weekend it measured me at the same weight as mine. This weekend it measured me at almost 2 lb heavier than mine! How does that work? I know I didn't put 2 lb on overnight.

So now I'm in a grump. But I am still being good - I figure when i get home I can get my 'real' weight - or at least a weight that I like the look of - lol!

I wonder if 21" thighs look differnet on someone who is 5'7" vs. someone who is 5'5" - it's all about proportion isn't it?

Right now my stats are: 34.5 - 26 - 37. Looks fine but that doesn't take into account my jelly belly which sits neatly below my 26" (when I pull the tape tight) waist. That is the only part of my body I am still unhappy with - the belly. The thighs are still a bit wobbly and it would be nice to see 20" or even 19" but I can live with 21" - but the belly has to go!!

Originally Posted by Robsia:
I wonder if 21" thighs look differnet on someone who is 5'7" vs. someone who is 5'5" - it's all about proportion isn't it?

Well...I'm 5'3" and I seriously doubt I would ever get into the teens on thigh measurement.

Body shape & height do make a huge difference. I remember my measurements were 34-27-36....way back before I had my daughter.....I didn't have any fat at all on me, but a 27 waist. I look fine at a 30 waist...just how I'm built. Right now, I'm all tummy, back fat and boobs :D. I actually can't wait to get those babies back down to a B-cup....so much more comfortable than D!

p.s. got back on the scale this afternoon....149! WTH?

Trying not to eat the house down as dinner isnt ready yet. I WILL be in goal calories today dangit!

Originally Posted by michelinwoman:
I actually can't wait to get those babies back down to a B-cup....so much more comfortable than D!

Can we do a transplant of some kind? I'm already down to an A! :dizzy:

Originally Posted by Drina:
Can we do a transplant of some kind? I'm already down to an A! :dizzy:

You can have mine!!! Seriously, why noone has invented boob-to-boob transfusions is beyond me...they would make a fortune!!!!

Well, I don't really want to mine to go down any further - I am in a 34D/C. I've always had big boobs (usually 38DD but I've been higher) and these are quite nice tyvm! I feel almost normal at last!