Krampus, I don't know how easy this is to find, but I've lately been loving using Greek yogurt as one of my main forms of protein. I have a "power breakfast" every morning with yogurt mixed with honey, blueberries, and some high-fiber cereal. I feel like a million bucks after that concoction.

Not sure about Greek, but there is plenty of regular plain yogurt around and I definitely make a point to eat lots! I miss Greek yogurt with honey an awful lot here. T_T

I really hope you can find some, Krampus! Greek yogurt just packs so much more oomph than regular yogurt, although maybe it's just the overly sugary taste of regular that I can't stand. Probably I'd not hate regular plain yogurt. I just think major brands of fruit flavors put way too much stuff in there that seems unnecessary.

For my own progress today and this past weekend, I've gone back to cleaner eating and good amounts of exercise, but I'm at yet another plateau. I was losing at a fairly good rate there for a little bit, what would be equivalent to about 2 lbs. per week, but now I'm back down at a rate of only about 1 lb. per week. That may not seem like a big difference, but it's equivalent to reaching my goal around holiday time versus not reaching it until spring. I am incredibly, incredibly impatient as a general rule, so this is not sitting well with me. I know all the right plateau busters, including patience, and I'm switching around my cardio/strength/flexibility workouts from a ratio of 1/1/1 to 2/1/1. If that still doesn't work, I'm upping it to 3/1/1 and so on. But good grief, I hate getting older. I seriously would have already gotten halfway to my goal if I were doing this in my twenties at this level of effort and intensity.

I must admit I haven't been counting my calories to the very last, I've just been estimating and doing portion control combined with clean eating and consuming very little meat. Ugh, do I need to go that route, too? Calorie counting and writing down everything I eat and so on? I suppose I will if I need to. *sigh*

Top of the morning to ya feathers!

Changed - congrats on making it to 127!! VERY exciting news. I cant wait to see that on the scale!! I estimate I will be there the beg. of Dec. Waa!!

Krampus - Dont get discouraged. You are not beating this plateau alone!! We will do it!! And we WILL be at goal by Christmas

Well, this weekend surely was a test for me! And I say I passed with an A-! Woo!! Friday I went to my sisters boyfriend for game/wine night. Although I did have a few glasses of wine, I resisted the EXTREMELY yummy smelling halloween cookies they made. Then on Saturday, the family celebrated my sisters birthday and went to Kobes for dinner and had cake and icecream at the house! Kobes was a success!! I resisted the noodles and rice and had the chef cook my chicken and veggies completley dry! I have never been able to do that at Kobes. That was a NSV for sure! I had a teeny bit of my moms cake (its the best cake in the world) but it was equivalent to the size of one cupcake. THEN we went to a kids Halloween party and talk about temptation. Cake, icecream, candy, all sorts of deserts, cheese and dip, alcohol, you name it; it was there. And I didnt crack! Only had a half a glass of wine and went home. My cals with all that temptation that day only reached about 1650! I was very happy with that. Thennnnnnnnn on Sunday we went to a bbq resteraunt. My absolute weakness. And guess what?! I got a grilled chicken salad with lite ranch on the side and a side of baked beans! Cals that day only reached 1400!

Sorry for all the detailed info of my weekend but I was faced with a lot of temptation and didnt get off track too bad! My goal is to stay under 1300 but on these occasions I am happy if I stay under 1800 with my macronutrients in reasonable range.

The hard work is paying off! After 3 full weeks, 133.8 this morning! And this is without exercise. Yahoo!! Running starts this week till the end though; Eekk!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. More temptations this coming weekend and Halloween weekend but I know I can handle it! yippee!!

Have a marvelous Monday !!

You did great Dianne! And I'm with ya on the BBQ. <3 Congrats on 133!


Lets see... this weekend- I got a Wii Fit! I'm excited to try working out on it today. It told me I don't need to lose weight, that my BMI is 20.00. NOT! Anyway, yesterday I was actually 126 but today 127. My mom told me on ichat last night that my collar bones were too obvious and that I should stop trying to lose weight but my thighs are still rubbing together when I walk so I think not.
I made some pumpkin cookies this weekend that were so good I probably ate 10 of them but I had turkey breast meatloaf for dinner which has like next to no fat and low cal as it gets so I just let myself go nuts. lol Right now I'm drinking my black coffee and boiling a huge pot of garbanzo beans to make some roasted red pepper hummus today. I hate packaged hummus but mine is so yummy! Have a huge container of cut up veggies waiting for it.

We might get the first snow of the year tonight so otherwise my day will be spent knitting a hat for myself and my 5 year old since I gave his from last year to my little nephew who just moved from Tx to RI. He needed it bad. lol Might have to sneak in a trip to the yarn shop for something snuggly

Congrats on your hike! It sounds like amazing. We're living right in the foothills of Pikes Peak and Rocky Mountain front range and there's just nothing quite like it.

Thanks Changed! It was a really nice hike, but I hope to build up to much more challenging ones, eventually leading up to hiking Mount Fuji this coming spring. I've never been outside Denver Int'l Airport in Colorado but I imagine it's beautiful up there. Also, homemade hummus is a dream come true...I miss hummus!

Dianne - WOW, that's something to be PROUD of! Glad you survived a weekend of feasts without overdoing it.

I'm back down from my sodium overload on Sunday. A bit "blocked up" but I can't take a laxative tonight because I have classes all day tomorrow. Been drinking a ton of coffee, tea and water as well as eating "bio" yogurt which is supposed to get things moving. Had bok choy for dinner last night too. I hate this!

Ugh, I have IBS so I feel ya.

You should be able to find the stuff to make hummus there. I don't really have a recipe but I make mine to taste and as healthy as possible.

soak overnight, rinse and boil garbanzo beans.
I prefer to put them in the blender instead of the food processor but either way... and then I add-
salt
a drained jar of roasted red peppers
a handful of garlic cloves
about 1 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
juice of 2 large limes
a small handful of cilantro
1 tbsp EVOO (but for a whole bag of beans... minimal fat)

Hi Feathers,

I have been reading but not posting. A busy couple of weeks for me here.

Kwinkle, congrats! Exciting times for you!

Kat999, I think the single most important thing to learn is how to get back on board after falling off. Very few of us can live our whole lives without some sort of event or vacation or something where we want to indulge. And that's fine! As long as you get right back on board afterwards and keep on keepin' on, there's nothing wrong with that. Every time we wake up in the morning and get back with the program, we are practicing and using a skill that is crucial to maintenance.

Chelsey, congrats on surviving temptation weekend! You are getting stronger every day my friend!

Changed, yum! pumpkin cookies! I am planning on baking some pumpkin bread in the next day or two. I have a yummy high-protein recipe.

Krampus, the things that come to mind are edamame and seafood. Simple grilled or baked fish can be so yummy. I love this recipe from Real Simple. Is yakitori the skewered meat? I can't remember what it's called -- you know, the little skewers. Like Thai satay. Yum and yum and lean protein!

I'm hanging in here, just trying to maintain. I am having some serious problems with a new candy counter at my local supermarket. ~sigh~

I love reading all your updates!!! Sometimes I need the kick in the pants to be reminded there are others out there going through the same thing I am. I don't have anyone in real life to talk to this about - my friends are all super-fit, naturally thin or have a lot of weight to lose and I feel like a fool blathering about my last 8 lbs.

SO - I am headed to dieting hinterlands for a couple of weeks: visiting family. Seriously. It is truly a dietary nightmare, and my goal is to be down 2 more lbs by the end of the month. I need a PLAN. So here it is:

1. I am starting Couch to 5K again, not sure if from the start or what, but it gives me a structure and I will have access to a treadmill everywhere I am if the weather is not cooperating
2. I'll do some yoga, go to a gym, etc. when I can. My gym is nation-wide so I think I can find it in the towns I will be, yay!
3. I do mostly South Beach, so I am thinking to go on the low-carb side of things for every meal I can control and then just avoid bread/rice/fried tortilla chips etc as much as possible when I am out and at people's houses. I think I have to JUST SAY NO to cookies, crackers, chocolate, etc. I have no control around processed carbs!!
4. I'm going back to calorie counting as best I can. That really makes me re-consider that second glass of wine
5. I'm going to go shopping as soon as I get there for stuff I can eat, I'm making a list as I think of things

That's all I can think of. Structure and "rules" are the only thing that gets me though danger situations while I am still trying to lose weight.

. I have my work cut out for me.

EEEEE! I got back on the wagon a lot better the past two days, and now I'm FINALLY down another pound. Thank goodness!

I think I'm still averaging only 1 lb./week, which is still slower than I'd like, but at the same time I know the numbers are still going down. My wedding ring is loose, which is both annoying but also a way I can tell things are actually happening!

Amy - Yakitori, that's it! I'll have to get myself out there in the fish aisle at the supermarket, I'm a big fan of salmon steaks. Thanks for the recipe link!

Changed - Thank you for the hummus recipe!

EmmaD - Stay strong! Visiting family is ridiculously difficult when it comes to being "good" especially if it's relatives you haven't seen in a long time. You can do it!

I'm back down under 60.0 kg and yesterday I had a wonderful run. Ran 45 minutes without stopping to walk or getting tired or anything. A big first time and breakthrough! I got so excited I probably posted about it in 5 different threads all over 3FC, Twitter and Facebook. Haha.

Feathers, I'm in a really bad place this week. Since getting back from London, I have just NOT been taking the calorie counting seriously enough, and it shows- I am PARKED at 132 pounds, nearly 3 pounds over my pre-London weight. I can't really call it a plateau, since I'm averaging 300 calories more per day than I was prior to London, and I guess that's the difference between maintaining and losing for me (my sh*tty metabolism again).

Every day, I swear that I'm going to be on plan, under 1300 calories, and every day, I get so hungry (and sorry for myself) in the late afternoon and evening that I eat food that was not on my plan for the day. I hate that my self-esteem is in the gutter over such a trivial thing; I am NOT my will power. But when I look in the mirror, that 3 pound gain seems like 10, and I just hate myself for not continuing to lose weight like I have been for the last few months. Help!

Neurodoc, please don't beat yourself up over this! Do you drink a lot of water? Maybe you just need to integrate a new behavior into your daily routine when you start to get that late-day hunger. Either drink some water or choose a snack that's still satisfying the urge to eat while not really doing anything one way or another to your diet. For me, I will often take some extra baby carrots for lunch and not eat them all during the day, then eat them instead when I get home. Since it was technically part of my lunch that I "held back," I don't feel like I'm eating something extra or even bad for me.

Another idea would be if you're trying to satisfy a sweet tooth to have some flavored herbal tea. It'll take a while to brew, won't have a significant caloric content, and will be aromatic enough to maybe satisfy some of your sensory input needs that food late in the day is providing.

Happy Hump Day Feathers! (Is it weird that the phrase "hump day" still weirds me out?"

Emma - BRAVO for making a plan! We've all been there and know how tough it can be to diet while visiting family and we are all well acquainted with our little voice friend that says "oh this wont make that big a difference" "Oh I dont want to hurt their feelings" "Oh I want to be in the fun". Yep, were all BEST friends with this little guy! But dont give in! The way I see it is, turning down cookies from a family member could possibly offend them but they will have forgotten all about it within an hour; whereas if you eat it, YOU wont be over it for days! (in my experience) Also, when getting rid of the last 8-10 pounds you have to be more strict than you normally would. Just know that when you reach goal and learn to maintain, you will be able to accept cookies and enjoy treats with family again (in moderation)! Just a temporary no no for now

Katt999 - Congrats on losing the pound! You arent giving yourself enough credit - 1 pound a week is GREAT for a featherweight!! It takes some feather weights months to lose a few pounds!

Krampus - 45 minutes non stop?! Thats awesome! That is actually my next goal with running. Currently, I can only go for 30 minutes non stop. Actually, you know I dont know if thats all I can do or all I want to do lol I tend to get bored with running :/ I am on my 4th week of dieting and still havent got the motivation to get up and exercise. I think I will start to incorporate exercise starting the 5th week (second month) and maybe that will help to kick the weight/fat faster!

Neuro - I used to have the same problem. I would try to stay under 1300 and would just get so hungry. As cliche as this sounds, it really does come down to the foods you eat. I dont care who you are, if you are at your weight, and are eating around 1300 calories, your body is not going to feel starved. That is enough fuel for it! Unless you are exercising 2 hours a day, I cant see why you would be feeling hungry all the time. When I got really hungry and couldnt seem to satisfy that hunger, I would eat fiber; that really fills me up! Just some thoughts..

Todays one of my older sisters 25th bday!! We are celebrating this weekend in Tampa - another obsticle to conquor. But I have faith I can do it! I am starting to weigh myself more than I would like. I told myself in the beg. of this that I would only weigh every 2 weeks. Now I find myself weighing every other day! Good news is I am down .6 pounds from Monday. 133.2!

Have a great day Feathers!