June Feathers let's chat...
 

Hi there,

How is everybody doing in June? I am a little upset with my weight at the moment, but trying to stay positive and keep going.

I lost from 140-132lb by counting calories, then decided to try intuitive eating to lose last pounds…didn’t happened for me, thought I maintained with zero effort.

Then I decided to switch to low carb to lose last few pounds. Great success! In 1 month from 132-129 lb…left to cottage with hubby for long weekend, eat some bread, 1 ice cream, 1 fish and chips and came back home after 4 days with 135 lb and realization that I can’t low carbing my whole life as I married to Italian man who cooks, so it is basically road to divorce if I will skip all his pastas and bread….:lol:

I tried different diet plans because calculating calories takes too much time, but here I am back on truck with 1,200 cal /day and run for 30 min on Saturday and daily walks for an hour….no easy way out for me.

Any ways, welcome to June and good luck with weight loss to all of you!

Happy June!

Good luck with those last few, onthedietagain! I'm sure it will come off eventually. I could never do low-carb. I love bread too much! Then again, I'm here because I loved everything too much... :P

I'm still hanging out at 138ish. I'm hoping to get myself out of the 130's this month... It's so hard to believe I'm just 18 lbs from my goal weight... still.

Those last few are for sure hard, but persistence will pay off. I had to get creative, too, to get off the last few pounds. I also could never do low-carb (like atkins or SB) but I do try to keep my carbs to under 100g/day. Not always easy, but does allow for bread if I want it.

I'm back under 120 (119.6 this morning) so I guess my week-long crash diet worked. But I can't run on oatcakes and pina colada forever, lol.

Just popping in to say :congrat: to all of you who did well in May... and that I HOPE June is a better month for me than May!

I have to figure out what is going wrong for me. I am in maintenance/slow re-gain mode. I am 6 lbs up from my low at the end of March - at around 145. Ugh. Actually, most of what is going on is pure laziness. I plan and I don't follow through. I let myself get too hungry then eat whatever is quick, NOT whatever I had planned that requires some preparation. I say I'm going to go running "later" and then I'm too hungry/it's too hot/I'm too tired, etc. etc.

The main problem for me is that I know what I should be doing, but I'm not doing it. <sigh>

I'm working on meal-planning (by the week) and an exercise schedule that is hard to weasel out of.

Extra motivation: I am going on a hiking vacation in July and I need to be able to keep up with my (all younger and more fit) travel companions!!

I hope June is fantastic for all us feathers! I'm not even setting a goal except to follow through with all my great plans :D.

Did you all hear that? That loud BOUNCE sound? It was my scale -- getting down to 126.6 yesterday just to BOUNCE back up to 128 today. Grrrr!

Might have had something to do with that big shrimp boil on Monday night. :o

Today was a rest day so tomorrow I will hit the road to get rid of that pound... and maybe a few more so I don't keep BOUNCING over my goal weight.

Danni, at the end of the last thread you said you were hanging on by a thread. You can do it! You know what to do... you've taken a bit of a break... now you can take a deep breath and re-commit! We're rooting for you!

And good luck to all you feather out there. Let's make June our month!

the same - that's a good name for this moring. we are at the same number - 128. I did hear a strange sound - good luck on bouncing back down the scale. I did hit 126 a month ago - but that is when I bounced back and got stuck on 128. Yesterday was my low day. I have been fighting that scale going back up. Like Emma I know I am doing it to myself.
But after I posted I felt better and pulled the stepper out of the corner and worked all day to get 10,000 steps. I did it and feel much better today.

So I am going to try for another good day. I have accepted staying at 128 for the summer. I bought size 8 capris for my vacation and they are not tight at all - even a little loose in the waist. I gave away all my 6's about 2 years ago. So some toning up and a few more pounds and I'm good to go.

I am so glad for all the friends I have met on this website. Posting everyday - happy, sad, or mad, is what is going to keep me on this lifelong plan to be and stay healthy.

I got a :hug: when I needed one --- so I'm sending you one too --- I know you're there --- come on join in!

:wave: hello girls, so sorry I am MIA from you wonderful Feathers... I read the thread every day but don't always have time to post... You are all an inspiration, I did not do well in May :tantrum: only myself to blame though...

Here's to June :fr: and Summer :beach: ...

Went to see Sex in the City 2 last night with DD we liked it... I love the fashions, not that I would ever, ever wear those types of outfits, but they sure are fun to watch...

Hello all, it's Joan, slinking back after an unsuccessful May. No, I did not reach my Memorial Day goal. I attended my special event squeezed into a Spanx as usual, looked chubby in new dress I had to carefully shop for. Hate the way I look in the photos. Bleh! I'm so sick of this.

Funny thing is, I do feel I've cut back significantly on the eating and bingeing since spring. In my youth, that would have been enough for me to drop ten pounds in a month. Now, at 50? All it does is prevent me from gaining MORE weight. Oh well, got that going for me at least.

Back on the horse, let's ride!

Hello everyone.

the same7lbs - ha that made me chuckle out loud. Embarrassing for me. :o Don't worry you know that you can reach your goal now. And soon 'the bounce' will settle down to around 127.

I feel like I'm sabotaging myself. I am so close and yesterday I went out drank loads and to top it all got a 2am burger and fries!

I want this, so why am I being so stupid? The burger was good though. The scales was kind to me this morning, I only put on .2 lbs. Maybe it's a fan of burgers too? That or all the dancing paid off.

Boo. The 12th is plenty of time to lose 2.2lbs.

Hopefully we won't be featherweights in July we'll be maintainers!

Good Morning,
127.5
2 days of being reasonable about eating - working my way back to being better and shooting for good and then on to great!!!

Much improvement in mood this morning.
This is my last day of babysitting the grandsons - school is out.
Leave for 2 week Texas vacation on Sunday.

Joan - I hear you about the "harder to lose when your older" part - so true!

:crossed: Hope we all have a good day!

Danni, we must be on the same path... I'm at 127.6 this morning! Glad to see the scale moving in the right direction again.

I find myself spending an inordinate amount of time thinking about this pound here or that pound there. When the scale goes down, I wonder, am I dehydrated? When it goes up, I think, was it that salty meal, or did that bread make me bloat, or too many diet sodas (I read this whole article about things that can make you bloat -- I had them all on Monday), or did I just not really lose that pound in the first place? I know I'm not eating enough calories to gain, so it drives me a little bonkers -- even though I know that the body is so complex, weight loss (or even gain, for that matter) is not a simple equation or a straight line.

Decided to start working some ground flaxseed into my diet. Omega-3s and all that. Had some on my cereal and it didn't affect the taste, or maybe it was even better. I'm going to bake some banana bread later and will mix some in.

Also broke down and ordered a food scale last night. Lurking on the maintainers forum, I faced the fact that this is not a project with a start date and an end date. A start date, yes (April 9, 2010!) but it really never ends. While I hope to be able to loosen up on the calorie-counting eventually, I know I will need to be strict, especially December-February. Hopefully next winter will be our last cold one (ever!) as we are seriously thinking of moving to San Diego next summer. Yea!

Hi girls .... i will join you all this time around.

Well I am 5 pounds away from my goal, I do not know yet were I will like to maintain , can either way 129 - 125 or 125 - 120 , but before i make my decision i have to be at my goal.

I star this week chalean extreme , i want to lose 2 more inch on my waist lol.

Bye

Haven't posted in a while--I'm doing okay. Didn't have a super great loss for May--right around 6 lbs. I know I'm doing it to myself--I've upped my average daily calories to about 1700-1750. I'm just getting so tired of being in weight loss range, and I'm working out so much I feel like my body is genuinely hungry. I want to be eating to fuel my body so I can enjoy all of this awesome health and fitness I've earned, and not be cold and tired and having to turn down outings with friends that an extra 300 calories would let me enjoy. My body is looking awesome--I'm in a size 8 and wearing a bikini, and getting compliments all the time. I just want this last little bit off of my belly.

It's hard because it seems like you ladies are all soooo close, less than 10 lbs. away, and I still have a good 10 lbs. to go. The temptation to stop and just let my exercising shape my body is so strong! That being said, congrats on those of you that are doing so well :) I can't imagine being ONE POUND away from goal! What a rush!

I'm hoping to get back on track during June. I can't say for certain how much I weigh at the moment because I'm actually too scared to get on my scales and find out! I've gained so much over the past couple of weeks (whilst I had no access to my scales to warn me as soon as I started gaining) I want to be down to 130 lbs by the end of the month, and I think I'm a maximum of about 140 at the moment. I'm not one for crash diets but I'm hoping to get pretty intense this month. If I can get down to 130 lbs I'm only 10 lbs away from my goal weight, and that would be great!

Stella --- Don't be discouraged with only 10 lbs to lose... I have a good 15 and I'm having a heck of a time losing too :hug: hang in there... I also want to add that exercising alone will not reshape your body you need to have a good food plan because food is 80% of the equation... I tried it, it doesn't work :lol:

Ilene, I mean changing pounds of fat to pounds of muscle! It definitely makes a big difference on my body, especially since I have never really been in shape before. I'm much smaller at this weight than I was before.

Oh, I see, I completely understand ...

I guess what I'm getting at is I don't really give a darn what the number on the scale is--heck, I'm already much heavier than most people would be at my dress size. I have more of a goal body/goal size in mind really than weight.

Doh. Just typed up a witty, interesting, confessional, sensational, gripping, post then hit a wrong key somewhere and it disappeared.

Can't possibly do it again.

Anyway, i've lapsed a bit recently and haven't dared get on the scales for a couple of weeks.

But on the other hand i've been doing regular running and regular gym (but somehow by about 8pm i manage to convince myself that i 'deserve' some chocolate etc, which i clearly don't because i know my waist is going the wrong direction.)

Anyway i'd like to get back into losing-mode but could do with a bit of a kick to get me re-started.

Anyone else the same? Or anyone want to buddy up for June and pm me and we'll motivate each other to get back into more accountable eating?

Well girls I just did day 4 on my chalena extreme and them I went 40 running/ jogging .

So I had a good day.

I hope I everyone is doing OK.

Do we post or loss or something each week or how do we do it.

:welcome: wfonseca :wave: you can do whatever you like... post your successes daily or weekly... most of us are so happy and proud of ourselves when we have losses that we post them when they happen...

Good Morning,
Hanging in at 127.5 today. Have not been to gym lately. Promise myself to get back on exercise program when I return from vacation. Will probably walk alot but know how my body also needs the strength training.

This is my 6th month on my new life plan to be healthy. Working on a life plan and not a diet has been a great change in my life. I have lost 15 pounds and I am eating alot of healthy super foods. I had a great report on my last trip to the doctor (he said to keep doing whatever I was doing).

Now I have kind of got stuck around 128. I make good choices most of the time. I have kind of slowed down on the exercise and have started having some snacks at night (munchies with movies instead of real hunger).

But I am not throwing in the towel. I am proud of the progress I have made and will continue my journey - one day at a time. I don't mind being at 128 this summer ---- I just refuse to lose those same 15 pounds again.

:carrot: Make sure you give yourself credit for every good choice you make!

I've heard this before, but I don't get it. How can what you eat matter that much more than exercise? Can you please explain? :^:

It's just impossible to out-exercise really bad eating habits, because even very intense exercise burns maybe 500-600 calories per hour, and realistically the average person can only work out maybe 2 hours a day. That's a 1000 calorie deficit, which if you're eating badly is pretty easy to overcome, especially if you are eating badly every day and exercising 3-5 times a week.

What also matters is the types of foods you eat... I know for myself, and hearing from others also, that if I eat empty, highly processed calories, I will not lose weight even if I'm eating 1500/day... Also when eating a highly processed diet I have no energy and feel very lethargic and tired... Good natural unprocessed foods, veggies, fruits, lean proteins, even the right fats and oils, give you the proper nutrients to fuel your body for exercise and daily activities...

You know, speaking of paying attention to the kinds of foods one eats, I've decided to take a new approach and see what happens. I'm going to give myself free reign on fruits and veggies (within reason) and monitor everything else. Maybe that combined with upping my workouts will shake some of this weight loose...

Someone on here (I think someone who posts on Maintainers) has in her signature, "You can't out-exercise bad eating habits." I love that quote. For years, I tried to do just that. I eat basically healthy food, but if you're not paying attention, that extra helping of pasta or that Starbucks scone (480 calories!) will quickly outdo all of that good exercise. I trained for and ran a half-marathon without getting below 132 lbs, but once I started counting calories I busted through that plateau (though I'm hovering just below it :().

I also believe that whole foods, things that "remember where they came from," are better for our bodies, and that when we eat things our bodies "recognize," we have an easier time processing our food and have more energy and less by-product or waste in our systems. Not that I'm perfect at this -- I love a diet soda or an oatmeal cookie creme sandwich as much as any girl -- but I'm working on it.

Bama Girl, I was thinking about trying the same thing, but I don't think I could stay "within reason" on fruit. I love it too much! I became almost delirious in the produce section at Whole Foods the other day -- peaches, nectarines, pluots, oh my!

At 128.6 on the scale today (boo!) but had a nice NSV when I smoked my husband on a run this morning. Sure, he hasn't been working out 5x/week like I have... but he is one of those lean, incredibly-athletic types. He ran his first 10K when he was 8 years old -- in under 60 minutes! Whenever we've run together, he has to slow down for me, while I nearly die trying to keep up. Today was the opposite! Oh, and he only slept about 5 hours last night. But still, did I mention -- I really really outran him! :D

I can definitely go overboard on fruit, specially bananas they can set me up for a binge... Oye we can't win...

Oh, I know what you mean. That's definitely why I am adding the within reason part there, and really trying to focus most of that on veggies. Luckily for me, I am not a banana fan unless they are frozen and dipped in chocolate and that does NOT count as a fruit. =P

Congrats on your NSV, thesame7lbs! I look forward to outrunning my guy friends eventually. :)

128 again this morning. One more day to pack before we leave for Texas.
My goal is to stay under 130 by the time I return in 2 weeks. But 2,000 miles of riding is alot of sitting and snacking. I should really be ready to get back on plan when I return. :dizzy:

Stay cool - we are talking 90's here in the South this week.

Hey, Feathers :) Since last month I've reached my pre-summer goal a few weeks early! I'm now down to 135.8 as of this morning :cheer: :cp: !!! My goal is to be maintaining between 120-125 by the end of the summer/beginning of the school year. I'm off to run 2.6 miles!

-Elana

:bravo: ElanaRose

122.5lb for me. This is absolutely amazing. After 2 weeks of not daring to get on the scales and eating all sorts of stuff that isn't too healthy, i've lost about 0.5lb!

I have been exercising lots more, but that normally makes me put ON weight.
So maybe i was just dehydrated etc, but still, it appears that i've not put on weight and now i'm motivated to be good with the diet again. Hurray!!

Isn't weight-loss a tease? You try really hard and go nowhere, then get grumpy and have less discipline, but then don't pay for it.

Why can't it just be that you lose in relation to the effort you put in?!

(I guess this happens over long-term, but not over a period of weeks it would seem).

I know this is SO delayed... :P
 

I know this is so delayed, but I might have a solution for you :D I come from an Italian family as well, so I know how you feel every Sunday when the family comes over and mom makes spaghetti and meatballs with sausage and homemade marinara. So what I did a few weeks ago is that I asked her if she would get some ground chicken and make baked chicken meatballs. My 90 year old grandfather and 85 year old Calabrian nana even liked them, and they're sometimes hard to please :) Plus, instead of pasta, why not slice up some zucchini into slivers and steam it? It has similar consistency to a thick noodle, and you can even put a little bit of sauce on it! A restaurant near me makes it, and I get it every time I'm out there with my family :p

:yay: ElanaRose! Congratulations on your commitment and your success!

After being at 128.8 yesterday, I am at 126.6 today. Yep. Down 2.2 lbs. I know I'm not dehydrated because I drank a ton of water yesterday (suspecting the 128.8 had something to do with water retention). I'm in the middle of my cycle, and I actually have more trouble with bloating now than I do during or just before TOM. I do drive myself crazy trying to analyze every pound gained or lost. I need to be a little more zen and just roll with it. :yoga:

Ange, I've often found that a couple bad weeks don't usually set me back. For example, I'm not usually up on January 5, but by February 15 I'm in trouble. I wonder if it's that our indulgences aren't always as bad as we think, or if it has to do with how long it takes our bodies to process calories and figure out where and how to store them. Is it a few days? A few weeks? I don't know, but I've always wondered.

Danni, have a great trip! Texas in the summer -- I sweat just thinking about it...

Hope everyone has had a great weekend!

Hi Feathers!

I haven't posted in awhile, but I'm right there with most of you in needing to re-commit myself to eating right. I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm almost back at 130 after hitting my goal of 125 a few weeks ago. It's my own fault, but it totally stinks to realize how crazy diligent I need to be to keep the weight down. I'll admit to eating ice cream sometimes with my kids, and Chips once in awhile when I know I shouldn't. Other times, I eat too much of healthy things, like Grape Nuts. Sometimes, it has to do with dining out and just eating more than planned. Regardless, the scale is up, and it's kind of depressing. I want to get my weight down before my trip in July, because I know eating healthy will be a real challenge then. Good luck to all of you who are trying to get the pounds off in June.

I'm sorry, I was thinking it, but since I was posting as I was running out the door it didn't make it to my fingers. When I said that I didn't get how what you eat was more important than exercise, I meant eating 1500 calories of junk food as apposed to 1500 calories of whole grains, fruit, veggies, etc. I find that when I stick to my diet very well, the weight loss slows after a few days. Its actually very frustrating! I really lose better when I'm cheating as long as it's not too much. I know you can't eat 3000 calories a day and expect to exercise that off. I guess that's what was meant by what you eat is 80% of the equation. :o

Woooo! I finally lost a pound! 137.0!

Hey, I'll take it...

I hope everyone had a wonderful week last week. :)

Hey Bama Girl, a pound lost is a pound earned! Congrats!

Kellost, you can do it! It's hard to have a deadline like a vacation, but think how much more relaxed you'll be about eating on your vaca if you have a little "wiggle room."

We leave for a week on the 19th, just the five of us at the beach. I should have a lot of control over what we're eating -- with three little kids, going out to dinner isn't exactly a relaxing treat, so we will eat in a lot. However, it is vacation, and what would a beach vacation be without gin & tonics? (Diet tonic, of course!)

Today's my "rest" day -- just the usual parenting exercise -- but I might do some curls, presses, etc to work on my shoulders. All those bare summer clothes, you know! :p

Hope you all have a great day!