Good news for me this morning. I am finally back to 127.

It has been a 2 week bumpy ride up and down the scale.

Ms - Glad to do a little dance for you also!!

for MS and danni ... We're doin' good Feathers, let's keep it up...

Thanks, danni and Ilene! It's so refreshing after a hideous showing in (parts of) February and March.

I'm down a touch more today. I'm not sure how long this will continue since the daily losses have gotten smaller, but I'll take for however long it lasts! Tomorrow will be interesting with all meals away from home, two of them at other people's houses and one at a garden expo. The upside is I should be able to overeat since I'm pretty sure we'll be busy all day. It's a day for good choices and portion control. Then I can get back on my normal food plan. It's become a bit of a security blanket for me. I wonder how I'll handle it when I switch to the higher calorie days (still only 1500). I started planning for it, but I should be more thorough since that structure clearly works for me. I switch to that next week. Time to plan!
Today should be a full day since my dad is coming over with his tiller so we can get more work done in my yard...more grass seed to plant and a flower bed going in today. Next week I'm hoping he's going to bring me a load of mulch to start making it look even nicer. So much to do, so little time!

Bleh. I am up to 122 (holding steady for a few days), and I think it's here to stay. I didn't work out yesterday, but I need to do p90x plyometrics today. It's ridiculous. Suddenly, I feel so big. This is why we shouldn't weigh ourselves every day. I am paranoid that all of my bodily changes have undone themselves already. It's a bit paranoid, but I feel like even a few days of not exercising causes changes that take a month to get back.

Lab - Hope this is only a short term detour for you. I just had a rough 2 weeks. I got down to 127 and then went back up to 131 - finally back to 127 today but very nervous about staying there. So I understand your feelings this morning. I am trying to let my body find its own happy weight - but I hope it wants to get lower than 127.

I'm sending you a little heat - to get you back on track! Good Luck.

Hi Ladies!
I'm baaaaaaaackkkkkk! I was quite naughty over the weekend, eating and drinking what I pleased and generally enjoying myself. I was shocked when I weighed in today to a small loss (which in all honesty is probably because I didn't drink enough water yesterday, but hey, I'll take it!). I picked up a new recipe to try, it's a Hungry Girl recipe!

I need to get some new recipes to get excited about, seems like I do best when I have a plan and have something new to look forward to!

TGIF Ladies!!!

Thanks for the encouragement. I am glad this Featherweights forum exists, and that you guys understand.

Hey gals. I've been staying off the forums for the past week because:

I hate. I hate. I HATE T.O.M.!

(You're supposed imagine Dennis Hoffman in a big wig with a hook on his hand saying that).

It's that pre-TOM week again, and the pretty 126 has shot back up to 127.2 and Will. Not. Move. Plus I feel bloaty and sore and my hunger levels shot through the roof. Last night was torture; the boyfriend was having chocolate chip cookies and I had to do deep breathing exercises to stop after just two. I went to bed starving despite those cookies, a quarter of a personal watermelon and an enormous cup of frozen grapes. It wasn't a binge--those cookies only pushed me up to 1800 cal. for the day--but it was very unusual.

The regain especially doesn't make sense since I've started running about half the distance of my daily 3 miles. I thought upping the exercise would poke the number in the other direction!

Danni - If you are 127 today, you broke through your brick wall!!

My brick wall is 140. Haven't *really* broken through that number in more than a year now... But for now, I've decided not to weigh myself again until May 1. So I guess until then I can think I weigh anything I like... I pick 135. Yes, I feel like I weigh 135 today It's a good, good day!

Anyway, I am just on the verge of starting running again. You guys have inspired me so maybe it will be today. I am going to go through Couch to 5K again, possible trying to run faster if I can. I loved it and it provided the structure I needed. After I finished last December, I fell off the wagon and haven't run since Jan/Feb.

Ready, set... GO!

Hi all I'm new here, and inspired by everyone. Just started this week...so far so good...but today is my birthday..planning on going out...not going to go over so well with my plan..

Hopefully I can make good choices and not feel too guilty about it!

*sigh* I remember when I used to worry about drinking too much...now I worry about eating too much. Where has the time gone!

McMommy and

Emma - You made me really laugh out loud!!! That's a great idea. Let's all just pick a number and throw the scales out the window.

Yes I guess I did get over that wall - but it's back there staring at me.

I am so tired today and not in the mood to do anything, but I commit to you to do a 3+ mile run after work. A girlfriend is meeting me for a night of dancing so that should be fun.

I went jeans shopping this week. TWICE. I bought a pair of Old Navy size 8 skinny jeans. I wore them today and noticed these skinny jeans I bought were baggy and falling off. Literally, I could put them on and off without unbuttoning them. So I ran to the store & got a pair of size 6 skinnies. They pinch a bit on hipbones, but they fit well enough.

I know I wasted some money, but I really wanted a pair of jeans that fit. And it felt like a nice reward for my weight loss.

Congrats to Ilene, Danni, and Ms. for the losses! That's so awesome! You are doing it, girls! Keep up the good vibes!

Tkm...hang in there girl! We all go through it and it's never fun! I did read once that if you can find ways to stay on plan during TOM, you are likely to see big losses afterwards.

Emma......believe me, if I can finish Couch to 5K, you can too! I honestly never would've believed I'd be able to run 3 miles, but I am doing it now on a regular basis! It's crazy. I'm running my first official 5K race in May. Just believe you can do it, and you will! Good luck to you!

Lab....try not to focus on the scale as much, if you can. I know it's tough. I am one of those who weigh in weekly, but I know not everyone can do that. It helps me to focus on just being healthier rather than numbers, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't care about what the scale says. LOL

Hey Silverstar! I love cooking and finding new recipes! If you find a good one, share it with us. I've been on a Hungry Girl recipe kick lately myself. I love just about every one of her desserts that I've tried. Her shakes and smoothies are great. Her chicken taquitos were also good, as were her knock-off version of Planet Hollywood's Cap'n Crunch chicken. I'm trying one of her recipes for Pumpkin Oatmeal this weekend.

Welcome JW and MC!

Motivated chickie: Size 6 Skinny Jeans??? Yippeee!!!!!! Now that's something to celebrate!

As for me.......I'm cooking my little heart out lately. I made a low-fat white chicken chili and also a red chili with lean beef this week. I made extra on purpose to have lunches/quick dinners of chili in my freezer. I also share some meals with my mom, who recently had a heart attack. She has been following a much heathier lifestyle lately and so I cook for her also, when I can.

For any of you looking for recipes, I, myself, have been mostly trying to adapt favorite recipes to make them healthier. Like I try to take fat/calories out of some favorite casseroles or pastas. Swap white pastas for whole grain, and those types of adaptations. One person I always like is Rachael Ray. A lot of her recipes are actually pretty well balanced with lots of veggies and appropriate amounts of protein. She also uses fresh herbs a lot, which add tons of flavor. The only problem with her recipes is she uses lots of oil. I cut the oil way down (i.e. from 3 TB of EVOO per recipe to either 1/2 TB or 1 TB). Usually the recipes still work great, even with less oil. I especially like all of Rachael's Asian dishes..stir frys, etc. Tasty!!

I'm staying on plan all weekend. I'm pretty determined. So I'm going to keep reminding myself of that if and when the Snack Monster tries to attack me!

Today I am at 126!

Will it stay? Am I dancing in the kitchen? You bet I am.

Kellost - you made me hungry, I think I will do some cooking today.
I know having my salad fixed ahead of time sure helps me not grab something else.

Have a great day feathers.

I stayed on plan yesterday, but I overdid it with exercise. I did a 3.5 mile run, danced for two hours, and walked about 6 miles. At the time, I felt fine and enjoyed the moving around. But this morning, my legs are saying, "What were you thinking?" I had planned to run 3 miles today, but I think a rest from running is in order. I am going dancing tonight in NYC, which is a good low-intensity workout.

As for eating today, I am going to a BBQ and I'm looking forward to having a meal there. The people having it will have vegetarian and gluten free options so I may have some good choices. I plan to make one plate with protein/meat, vegetables, and a bun or some bread. I'm undecided about dessert- probably I will have some, but I might substitute it with another hi carb thing like potato salad.

Hope today goes well. And I appreciate the daily accountability I have with this thread.

Have a good weekend!