indiblue- I got in to this rut of feeling terribly guilty about my treat, so much so that I started skipping them, but then had to remind myself that the chance of me falling on my face was pretty high because I was depriving myself of a dessert once per week and I'd be much more likely to end up going on a binge. Plus, this is a good lesson for me.....it's important that I learn how to eat one portion of a dessert instead of going crazy and eating over half the cake.

That's a really healthy way of looking at it. I stressed out because I was having lunch last week with a friend and we ordered pizza. Turns out I was able to eat one slice plus a salad. It's good once you realize it's you who has control over the food, not the other way around

LADIES!! You will never guess what?? Today I'm down to 130.8!!

But, I am not going to get too excited, because I usually weight first thing in the morning when I wake up. Today I got up and went for a 4.3 mile run, came back then weighed myself. So I'm a little bit aware that it could just be the sweat... But whatever, I'm taking it an running, excuse the pun... Scales are going away til next Sunday, I NEVER want to see 132.2 again!

I hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend!

X

Cat86 that's awesome you broke away from 132.2!

I was 139.4 again...I haven't seen 138 for a week now, and I've been pretty good this past few weeks about sticking to 1200-1500 calories. This is getting really frustrating.

Question for you ladies -do you believe all the hype about being under stress causing weight loss to stall? I know there were periods of my life where I was so stressed I wasn't eating regularly and lost weight...but I've been really stressed the past couple months and sticking to plan yet not seeing anything. I know, I probably just have to eat less, but I go to bed hungry every night as it is and the thought of cutting back even more doesn't exactly appeal to me.

Yay Cat, inspiring!!

Wildflower -- I have been there with being good and no reflection at the scale. And then eating less never seems to do the trick. I recently purchased a BodyMedia FIT device to get a better idea of how many calories I am actually burning. So far it is helping me to understand my input/output. It's not cheap but I appreciate the information it provides.

Cat, soooooooooo glad to hear you seen a loss today!

Yay, Cat, yay!!!! I'm so happy for you!

To answer your question about stress and stalling, I don't really believe all the hype. Yes, I think stress in one's life has been proven to provoke weight gain, but that type of stress tends to be regarding larger issue- financial problems, being overworked at the office, marital issues, exams at the end of a semester, etc. Just because I am 'stressing' (or worrying) over my weight each day I don't think equates to being in a really stressful point of my life in general. That's just my opinion though, nothing to back it up

That said, it's always better to be calm and relaxed about as much as possible, so I'm not saying worrying over weight is ever a good thing.

--

From my end- ok DEFINITELY a loss today! Finally! I weighed at 130.6 when I woke up, which was definitely a loss down from the 131.2 or whatever I was yesterday morning. After drinking my morning Slim Fast I... ahem.... used the restroom, so I know if had I waited to weigh myself until after using the restroom and before eating breakfast like I usually do I would have weighed in at even less. Yay!! Makes me want to work extra hard today and look forward to tomorrow's weigh in.

Well, I guess I should have clarified - the stress I meant was life stress. I try my best to control it but lately it's been too much. I'm working at a demanding job - which I am okay with, I even love it some days - going to grad school - which I am also okay with, even though I hate it most days - but I am also planning a wedding. And with my tiny bit of limited time, the wedding part is pushing me over the edge as my desire for a small, simple ceremony with a meal following in a private room of a fancy restaurant is being very ill received by my future in-laws. To them, small is not a wedding, it's just an every day get together and it's become quite the ugly argument between us over the past month. I think they've FINALLY accepted that I'm not the big wedding type, that I don't have 300 friends to invite, that I don't want all that money blown for one day and that's just ME and who I am, not some sort of insult to them.

But anyway, no one wants to be bored with wedding drama, so I try to only limit my rants to a few close friends. :P But I wonder if all this stress is hurting my weight loss...as, well, it's going nowhere. And it's been tough, which stresses me out more.

Sigh.

TinyDancer - good suggestion, I've looked at these before but they seem to get mixed reviews. So you are happy with yours and feel it's accurate?

I see them on Amazon for about 169...but don't you also have to subscribe to a website each month? Or is that optional? Can the device be used without the website, or is the website for tracking purposes?

I might just get one of those...I've also been eying a Garmin Forerunner and I probably wouldn't want to buy both...it tracks your miles/speed/heart rate when you run outside. Not quite the same but an expensive fitness tool that I believe can somehow be used to calculate calories burned.

Good work INDIBLUE! So close to the 120s!

Thaks for the clarification, Wildflower, sorry I didn't catch it before. I haven't been reading posts closely this morning, I think I'm a little ADD right now!

Anyway, wow it does sound like you have a lot on your plate. Congratulations on getting married! I *would* agree that stress if not adds weight could also be a source of a stall. I've read too much on this hypothesis to not believe it. Do you have any opportunities to relax and regenerate, like taking comfort in a hobby, taking walks outside, or meditating?

If you can't change your stress, I suppose at least focus on what you *can* change. As you (and the world haha) know I was stalled for a while. I hear you on the going-to-bed-hungry thing. I was so depressed when I would be hungry at the end of the day and still be the same weight, or actually feed my hunger so I'm not starving and then wake up with a gain. However, in the past few days I've significantly cut portion sizes and made other changes in habits I was holding onto (grazing). I have also spaced out the portions I do eat so I don't get so hungry and, albeit, cut back a little on the intensity of my exercise. Also, when we are on such restrctive calore counts (mine is 1200, I'm sure yous is pretty low too) we have to be super careful about where our calories are coming from so we don't spend them on things that don't give us energy. Maybe simple changes, like perhaps substiuting a sweet potato for a baked potato, or eggs or fish instead of carbs, will increase your nutrients without having to up your calories?

It's too early to see if that's what is working, but I have two consecutive days of loss so I think it only helped. I'm going to move towards cutting way down on Diet Coke and increasing protein.

Not saying I know the key to conquering plateaus- hey if I was I wouldn't be on these boards every day. I think plateaus SUCK but I also think there's something we can always do better. Or, just wait it out until the stubborn body chills the heck out and lets go of those next few ounces Definitely hope you and I both see good losses soon. You definitely deserve it!

Thanks Indiblue. I think I might be losing it seriously guys, I saw 139 on the scale this morning and started crying.

I know that there is probably nothing wrong with my metabolism, etc and I just need to eat less. It's just so hard to do that. I stick to 1200-1500 calories a day. 1500 is okay, the lower 1300 days are tough. I'm hungry a lot from them, or I don't feel my stomach growling, but I get light headed and nauseaous feeling.

I know I need to cut back and stick to 1300 more than 1500. I also probably need to exercise more than I do. I haven't had a ton of time for that lately with everything I have going on. Oh well, it is what it is. You're right Indiblue, I need to focus on what I can change/control and let the rest go. Good advice.

Awe, Wildflower. Are you getting some complex carbs in there to help keep you fuller for longer? Just a thought.

Hmmm...I think I am? But it's easy for me to cut calories by cutting back on bread so I try to replace breads with veggies/fruits. I generally always eat a bagel, toast or oatmeal for breakfast, lunch is a salad (although today was a sandwich) dinner varies.

Something to really look at...I'm about to post what I ate in the accountability thread. Today I was pretty hungry but got good amounts of carbs/protein/fats. Feel free to take a look and let me know what you think.

Yes wildflower, I too would substitute complex carbs with fruits and veggies. Or protein. I am a carb lover to the max who never ever considered cutting out carbs. Especially as an Asia-phile whose diet often centers around rice, I often just ignored the whole carbs issue. When I saw no change on the scale and was STILL hungry at the end of the day, I started reducing them, replacing them when possible with eggs, a big salad, a small wedge of cheese. I think it works. Maybe for breakfast try eggs or a small smoothie instead of toast?

I was at my wits end last week and early this one when I started making even more strategic choices about what I was eating. At our low calorie intake it's so hard, but sometimes you strike the right balance between actually eating what you need to get by on this low calorie range and still nourishing yourself in a healthy way.

I think I mentioned this in another thread, but I'm moving my big-calorie meal from dinner to lunch. It ensures I'm getting the calories I need for the part of the day I need them most.

And guess what- I just saw 129.8 this morning!!! Will be keeping my fingers crossed for you guys- I know you'll be there so soon!