Good morning everyone!

Kellost- That's awesome! I wish I could run... I lack endurance at that intensity.




Yesterday went VERY well! I was waiting for it all day and the weakness and fatigue I expected never showed. I had lots of energy and felt so in control. My husband was so impressed he started Fast5 today. :) Yay! I broke my fast at 5 with a nice big sliced tomato from my garden and then loaded the dishwasher. Not really ravenous like I expected. Has some pumpkin bread and went to the gym. Did 20 on the treadmill and 20 on the elliptical and then stretched and did a little bit of ab work. Picked up taco bell for dinner but did NOT overdo it because miraculously, I wasn't terribly hungry. Tried out the pumpkin bread I'd made earlier (a new healthy version) and went to bed.

I do plan to do better for myself than taco bell but I need to hit the grocery store something awful. We did a pantry challenge of sorts because we're about to move.

Hope everyone has a successful day!

Kellost, this kind of sums up how I feel about life these days. I don't know how often we conquer or fix things at all, and sometimes I think we are just banging our heads against a wall when we try. I'm starting to feel like it's all about management -- about working with what we've got, making the most of whatever a situation is, blooming where we're planted.

Changed, no need to apologize for a "journal entry." That's what we're here for! Sometimes putting things in writing, figuring out how to explain them to others, helps us process them and think things through.

AinsleyMom, good to see you! I have only done Pilates from FitTV, but it was definitely less mellow than yoga. I did my first yoga class at the gym yesterday and LOVED it! It was good to have the instructor to correct my form. My shoulders are killing me this morning -- all that downward dog I suppose. I will be going back for more tomorrow!

Yeah, I love going to yoga at the gym but it seems to much harder in a class... I guess we push harder? Peer pressure can be a good thing.

I'm still diggin this fast 5 thing. Doing well and down 3 pounds already!

Hey, Changed - you've got me looking into the Fast 5 thing. It's an interesting concept. I kinda did it by accident the last two days and it seemed OK. I just haven't had much appetite during the day recently. But I'd imagine it would be hard to do in general, like if I had to work in an office all day without eating. I have done that in the past when I was really busy but I always felt really shaky.

I did have coffee in the morning, with some almond milk, so ~ 20 calories. I don't know if that negates the whole fasting thing or just lessens it.

It's funny that he says that overcompensation is common at first. Wow! I think it would be hard to eat more than I normally do (let's say 1400 calories) in 5 hours. Not impossible, but I would have to be trying. Yesterday, I actually made myself eat more as I had literally only eaten 450 calories and felt fine. Waaaay too low. So I got up to around 1000. Still low. I'm curious to hear how it goes for you, so please update!

On to a different topic, I found a calculator today that determines what you will weigh at different body fat %s if you don't lose any lean body weight (which I think is nearly impossible, but anyway, for the sake of argument, the default assumption is 0 loss of lean body mass). When I had my body fat officially tested, it was 34.5% (um, yes:o ) and I weighed 150 lbs. If I go down to 25%, my weight should be 131. Perfect - my original goal was to be 129/130. If I wanted to be down to 20% (VERY unlikely, I was always more than 25% even when I weighed in the 120s) I would be 122 lbs.

I just found that calculator interesting, I hadn't seen that same prediction of weight based on body fat before.

Hi everyone, I hope you are all doing well and staying on track this week. I've found some crazy motivation this week, and I've been on-plan big time. Getting in lots of exercise and staying within my targeted calories! Woohoo! Let's hope this sticks for awhile.

My 13 year wedding anniversary is this weekend and my boys are staying with Grandma. I want so badly to go all out and eat off plan at a fancy restaurant, but I think I'm better off trying to stay on plan if I can. We will still go out, but just make healthy choices at dinner. It sounds so depressing when I type this, but my ever-tightening pants tell me that i've been over-indulging too much lately. I need to reign it in, and I kind of don't want to break the healthy streak I have been on. It so tough, but it seems like there is always an excuse to eat off-plan. Too many excuses=regaining the weight. Kinda stinks, but that's life, I guess.

Have a great weekend everyone! I'll let you know if I can actually pull off my plan to eat healthy on our anniversary!

Good morning Feathers and Happy Friday!

Kellost, happy anniversary! How nice for the kids to go to Camp Grandma so you get to go out, sleep late, etc ;). Here's an idea for dinner -- split an appetizer, choose a fairly sensible entree (even delicious steak/filet mignon is sensible as long as you don't go nuts on the sides), and then make a delicious dessert to eat at home. Prep it ahead of time, and make it special -- eat it in the dining room, by candlelight, on the china. It could be a tasty recipe from cooking light, or something yummy like poached pears in ginger sauce. I made roasted peaches that you serve over vanilla ice cream -- yum! Heck, even s'mores are only 140 calories!

I've gone to yoga twice this week and boy can I feel it! Especially in my shoulders and my quads. Today I'll go for a run when the sitter comes. I want to be sure to keep up my endurance.

I've been sticking to plan pretty well this week but I'm definitely having trouble with little bites and tastes while I'm making snacks for the kids or clearing their dishes. I know these bites add up -- especially when it's bites of peanut butter, baked ziti, etc. Tonight's menu: mushu pork (homemade). Can't wait to see if it's at all close to as good as takeout.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Kellost I think Amy had very good advice. If you split, youre getting half the calories and you dont even have to eat half if you dont want to! Steak, veggies and brown rice are healthy and yummy. There are options. Its just about being smart and not mindlessly choosing your foods. YOu can do it!!! Happy Anniversary!!

Well, I'm really digging it. I'm on day 5 and it's been extremely easy. Shockingly so. I feel really good all day but yes, I do get hungry once in a while. I just drink some water and it passes eventually. So far I'm down 5 pounds! It's 5 that I'd just gained in the last few weeks so I figured that part would come off fast. Off to update my ticker :)

Happy Friday everyone...

Down another LB! woo hoo. 124.5! Hopefully I don't hit a brick wall.. eek.....

Also, as I lose weight I have been thinking that I might actually be happy at 120 or so (maybe 115 is too much idk). I need some suggestions on mtng... ugh! I have no idea what calorie range to be at or anything..

Thanks :]

Just stepped in to say: I ran 40 miles in the last three days!!! That's a personal best for me. I started running in April and never thought I'd take to it like this.

I'm taking today off, but I'll be back to it tomorrow. And of course weight lifting, my true passion, will take place afterward. :)

Did something brand-new today--went kayaking up the Tennessee river with my sister and two friends. I normally struggle with doing new things (especially physical things, because I'm always the slowest/weakest/etc.), but by the trip back I felt rather confident! Plus, it's a gorgeous day here.
Although I had my first major diet failure last night (two scoops of chili and a very buttery corn muffin [plus two platefuls of salad] at a party), I am back in charge today--oatmeal and peach slices for breakfast, apple for snack, and a cup of pasta salad (rigatoni and a bunch of veggies [olives, mushrooms, broccoli, tomatoes, and cucumbers] topped with a little olive oil and lemon juice), a carrot, two small apples, and a banana for lunch (kayaking makes you super-hungry!). Today is my "off" day for exercise, but I'm hoping to get a little bit of pilates in tonight if I get enough homework done this afternoon.
Goodness, I keep writing a book when I post here!
Have a wonderful weekend!

Hi everyone. I haven't checked the board in 2 1/2 days, so it's kind of fun to read all the accrued posts from all the boards that I typically visit when I'm on. Sounds like many of you are doing well - staying on plan and getting in some good exercise.

I've been reasonably on plan (150 cal over my limit yesterday, but typically keeping it at 1300), and the scale is moving. My problem is that I seem to be less and less satisified with my body the closer I get to goal, and feel like goal is still a million years away. I have been eating for weight loss since February, and STILL have over 10 pounds to lose to arrive at what I set as my goal. And when I look in the mirror, I'm SOOO unhappy- still have a bulge on the outside of each thigh, my lower belly protrudes a good 2 inches past my upper abdomen, and since my hips have diminished, my waist barely curves inward. Coupled with all the loose flesh and jiggling, I can hardly stand to see myself naked. I fear this means that my true goal weight (the one where I would like what I see in the mirror) is probably closer to 110 than the 120 I set, which is even more demoralizing. I was 114 pounds halfway through 8th grade, so it doesn't seem sane or reasonable to choose a goal weight so low. So, am I developing body dysmorphic disorder? Are my self-perceptions becoming so skewed I can't see myself correctly? Is this my mid-life crisis (I will be 45 at the end of October)? For those of you who are maintaining, are you happy with what you see in the mirror, or have you just settled, because it's too hard to go any lower? And if you ARE at a "happy weight," is it higher than what you weighed in middle school? By how much?

Are you working out along with dieting? That makes a bigger difference than I ever give it credit for but I can look really good at 125 or really flabby at 125. I know everyone knows that it's recommended but if you're not lifting weights, give it a shot and you may find the results very dramatic.

But honestly, in that last few pounds your shape can and likely will change dramatically. When you're out of fat in one place your body will use it from others and you'll see changes fast.

It doesn't sound to me like you have BDD. I think we all have a pretty unrealistic idea of what is possible until it gets this close. At nearly 200 pounds I dreamed of looking like I used to... which thank goodness motivated me to start but years later and very close to goal I know that I will never look like I did pre-children. I'll look like a woman and a mother at a healthy weight... not like a strung out collage kid.

Today is day 6 for me on Fast5. Still on plan! Down to 129!!!!!!!! Wooohooo!

Neurodoc, I think you will see big changes over those 11 pounds you have left. I lost a total of ~16 lbs (depending on the day ;)) and I'm a a few inches taller than you, and the difference is striking. Love handles -- gone! Butt -- gone!

Alas, I am still pear-shaped. I lost a couple inches off my thighs, but they are still, IMO, too big for my body. Nothing to do about it. I don't even think lipo would help b/c so much of it is muscle.

What I'm trying to say is -- you have great changes ahead of you, and I think you will be thrilled -- but in the end, we've got to work with what we've got! :D