Hi all. Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. Been a busy week. I'm finally (crossing my finger) breaking this plateau I think. I have my vacation in 25 days and really want to see some loss before then. I haven't caught up reading everyones posts yet. But will do that here in a bit.

Diet has been good with the exception of one night and pizza . But working out and running has been great! I have hit 5 days a week two weeks in a row now.

Working on painting the house presently which has been fun but time consuming. Especially when ya throw in work and trying to cook good healthy meals!

I'll catch up on what's going on in all you ladies lives lately now

Congrats to all the plateau busters!!!! This is so inspiring.

I was stuck, stuck, stuck for about a week, and now two pounds this week just fell right off. I'm so excited! 12 down total! Yeehaw!

I can't wait 'til I'm eligible to get a signature on here and I can get a little ticker thingy. *hee hee*

I wrote a long post last night but my comp crashed! Boo..
Anyway let's see if I can remember

kat999 - it's called Diet Chef and it's based in the UK. So far I am really enjoying not having to think about what to eat! Also the foods not too bad, nothing that a bit of seasoning can't solve anyway...

thesame7 - I completely understand and that's why I am doing it now. It's the last time in my life when I can be completely selfish and I only have to worry about what I'm eating. I do have a boyf but he's still at university so I see him once a week tops and I can have a cheat night then!

Dianne - congratulations! I am so glad that the weight is going down. I know you were getting a bit frustrated. Yea I def think you can get down to 130.5... no harm in trying anyways...

I weighed in at 124.6 this morning, which means my avatar of lost 10 pounds is finally valid (again) woooo.

I need to go do some housework, hopefully I will lose some lbs in the process.

AAAA! 134 this morning! Good grief, when I bust through a plateau, I bust through a plateau like a CHAMP! Thirteen pounds gone since I was at my highest weight. Thing is, I probably haven't been going as long as I'd like with some of my workouts. I wonder if my plateaus were due to overtraining. Any other feathers think they're exercise junkies? I just think working out is fun, I love the endorphin rush, and maybe I overdid it recently.

One thing I am being more mindful of is sleep. I read a study this week that people who got 8.5 hours of sleep and were on a weight-loss regime lost more weight than people who got only between 4 and 6 hours of sleep. I've been trying to go to bed earlier and earlier this week, so maybe that helped, too.

Hi everyone!

I've gone completely off my rocker this weekend. Yesterday was a massive failure (but a GLORIOUS WIN). I think I need big decadent days like those to remind me how great eating healthily feels. Anyway, none of it was a waste as far as I'm concerned - Oktoberfest German beer and currywurst, the best cheeseburger I've had in Japan, and a delicious chocolate parfait sundae with corn flakes in the bottom (sounds weird, tastes great). Maybe the dancing I did for a couple hours at the club burned off the equivalent of one beer.

Congrats on everyone for busting through those damn plateaus! Before my Oktoberfest fiasco I was at 59.2 kg which is just over 130 lbs. A HUNDRED AND THIRTY POUNDS! 2 lbs away from my all time low weight of 128!

I think I can get to 59.0 kg by next Saturday if I work hard at it this week.

Kramp- Congrats on hitting 130!!!!!!! You are doing great, even with a slip up! We all have those in one form or another from time to time!

Congrats Krampus for reach 130 and the weight loss so far. 25 pounds is so impressive!

I've decided that I need to incentivise myself with little treats. I know I only have 5 pounds left but the last 5 are always the hardest.

So I'm currently at 125. So I thought:

122: New pair of trainers (which is UK for Sneakers, I think)
120: New pair of heels
maintain between 116 and 120 for 3 weeks: £100 shop ($160)

I know it should be a month but I'll need some clothes to show off the bod for Christmas parties and such.

Also has anyone use Reebok easy tone, the commercial mesmerises me so much, I just want them. Are they any good?

Dora- I think the Reebok shoes depend on what you plan to wear them for. I bought the ones that are designed for running (run tones). They were horrible. Made my legs go numb. Every time my foot hit the ground I had shoot pain up my legs for day! Needless to say I returned them immediately!

ooo - that's no good.
I don't do a lot of running so I was thinking of the traintone ones for classes/gym. But then again I shouldn't really buy into hype and the already-thin models who are in the commercials, lol!
Would def like a new pair though, had mine for a while and new exercise gear I find always gets me excited about working out.

Been good today even though I was hungover, I was completely on plan. Hope it shows on the scale tomorrow!

Dora- I used them while doing 30 day shred and I liked them for that. I think they would be okay for walking as well. Without a doubt they worked different leg muscles for me but I do not think they would make THAT big of a difference in terms of toning like the commericals claim.

Hey ladies, I took a new core class at my gym that totally whipped my butt today- I've never had soreness on the SAME day as a workout before, and it makes me afraid of how I'm going to feel tomorrow. Anyway, it's all good, since I really want to bring my fitness up a few notches before the onset of the holiday season- I'm convinced that the more lean muscle mass I have, the better chance I have of developing a better metabolism. I really, really want to be able to maintain my weight (eventually) on ~1800 cal/day, instead of the 1600 cal I needed prior to initiating this diet. And that will be an uphill struggle since I will eventually be 40 pounds LESS than I was when I needed 1600 cal/day (but I was totally sedentary at that weight).

Congrats to all the small victories I've seen posted in the last few days- kat999, DoraUK, krampus, ma26 and Dianne042425 (I'm sure I've missed someone- sorry).Here's hoping you all keep the momentum going- and pass some on to me!

Best to all,
Andrea

Hi Feathers,

I blew it AGAIN. I wish I could say "no" to competitive pizza eating but everyone I was with is thin/healthy. I feel disgusting - not from the weight gain, but just because it's as if my insides are clogged up with grease. Back up to 132 this morning. Nothing but prunes, fruit, veggies, tofu and yogurt today. I'm really looking forward to eating clean this week and getting back to where I was when I was so elated about hitting 130.

kat999 - great work on the plateau busting! I bet you feel way better getting more sleep.

LindsB - thanks for the (undeserved) pom-poms!

Dora - you're so close! you can do it! where will you be spending your 100 quid? I love Topshop, wish we had it here but I'd have to go to Singapore or HK.

neurodoc - sometimes feeling the burn can be really satisfying. I'm hoping the same.

Good Morning Feathers!

So this weekend was def. another challenge as I knew it would be! Saturday I went straight to Tampa from class for my sister's 25th birthday. Beach bar, boat rides, ceviche dinner, and bars after! It was a challenge to keep my calories in moderate range! I planned out ahead of time what I was going to eat/drink/etc. I didnt stay exactly on plan but I still did a decent job and I didnt gain! Shew! I estimated about 2,000 on Saturday with food, alcohol, and the little cheats I slipped in. My macronutrients were on point though! Maybe that helped with not gaining weight. However, I think I may be hitting a plateau. Stuck at 132. I am not even close to getting discouraged though. The only thing I am starting to feel discouraged about is exercise. I really DO NOT enjoy it. I dont even really enjoy running anymore. I dread it. I planned on starting my 30 minute running, pushups and abs routine today and stick with it 6 days a week till the rest of the weight fell off. But when it came to it, only did 20 minutes of running. Bleh! Wish I could enjoy some type of exercise. I dont just want to become a smaller version of me, I want to RESHAPE my body

Changed - Did you hit your goal of 125 by Sunday?

Kat - CONGRATULATIONS! I have noticed that when people hit a platea for a few weeks and even a month, when the weight does finally start moving downard again, they lose a good amount! Thats what keeps me inspired during plateaus. Its not that the body isnt losing, its adjusting, and then plop; the scale goes down!

Dora - Fabulous idea on mini treats. My problem is, I treat myself all the time for being stressed with school work and trying to lose weight lol so that wouldnt work for me. Good luck - you are so close!!!

Krampus - get your head back in the game and you will be right back to 130. You know what you have to do and you KNOW you can do it!!

Neuro - thanks for the cudos! I truly believe weight lifting is so important for your metabolism and weight. You are going down the right path my friend! I just wish I had the motivation to start lifting..

So I called my doctor and got my height/weight for the past 12 years. hah I was curious to see what my weight and heigh was when I was 12. Sounds silly but that was when I was comfortable with my body. Really comfortable. I actually liked it then! I actually had "long lean" looking legs! That is also when I fit in a size 00! Obviously I was shorter and younger, but its a good yardstick. Anyways, I found out I was 5'1.5 and weighed 100 pounds. So I figure if I add 5 pounds to each inch that I have grown, then that will be a good weight for me. I must sound crazy lol So that puts me at around 120 exactly! I knew that was going to be a good weight. Just thought I'd share that lol

Have a great day feathers!!

I did not. 126. (but I haven't gone to the bathroom in 2 days lol never know) I'm only losing about a pound per week right now but honestly, I haven't been trying. This week I'm all business and I plan to get as close to my goal as I possibly can even knowing that I'm very unlikely to make it to 120. No baking, small servings and 30 day shred every day. I actually haven't baked anything in the past week or so which has been a challenge for me but I'm proud of myself for sticking with it. I made my kids carmel apples yesterday and i'm going to have to go back to the store for more of those honeycrisp apples today. I LOVE THEM! They're like guilt free desert.

In other news, I'm really frustrated today. I've been waiting since JULY to get a thyroid antibody test. Got it drawn a month ago finally and after calling the immunologist for the results 3 times, I finally got someone to call me back only to tell me that the stupid lab never sent off *that* test. I've had chronic hives for almost 2 years and this test is the last chance I have to finding a cure. Otherwise, they're leaving my Dx as "chronic autoimmune hives" because so far I have not tested positive for lupus or any other autoimmune disorders. I'm hoping I can get another lab slip and have it done again today so that they might have it back by my appt on Wed. (thanks for letting me vent- lol)

Honeycrisp apples are my FAVORITE! I've been eating them the past couple of weeks!