You would think, but I'm in the same shoes as you and I think this happens to a lot of people. I haven't actually truly LOST in about a month, and I owe that 100% to good old fashioned lack of effort.

Today's weight is 126.2 lbs. I think maybe I can get a little lower tomorrow. I'll shoot for about 1300 calories and since I had ice cream yesterday, I'd like to hold off today.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!

(kinda)

I drank a lot last night so I was expecting the scale to show some dehydration but I was 119! Considering that the day before I was 120.8 that's a lot of difference. Regardless it was so nice to see it on the scale. I've drunk loads of water today to make sure tomorrow's reading is more accurate.

When I've managed to keep it around 120 for a week I'll post some goal photos. But I'm really pleased with the way I look. I always thought I'd want to go down a bit more. But definitely going to stay within 118-120 and NOTHING less.

Tomorrow will tell if I've reached the finish line or not...

That's awesome Dora! I am sure you will see a 'normal morning" 119 soon enough!


How long did it take you to reach your goal? Just wondering...Can't wait to see those pics, I am sure you look great!

YAY!! :cp:

Helloooo, ladies! I haven't been on the forum in a while, but I'm so excited to be back. I've had a lot of time to get my life back together, and I'm looking forward to jumping back into weight loss again. :) I've got 20 pounds to lose, but I'm already at a low enough weight that I feel like being back with the feathers is probably where I belong. Not too many people looking to bust out of the 130's. :)

CONGRATULATIONS DORA!!!!!!!!!!!! That must feel great! Are you gonna post a picture?

***

I'm CRANKY CRANKY CRANKY today. Weight is fine, same as yesterday. I ate about 1450 including a little dessert and did Tae Bo and 100 pushups again. This morning I got stood up for a Skype date by my friend in Germany so there's 30 minutes I could have been sleeping wasted sitting in front of the computer! Bought my usual Friday treat breakfast (bagel sandwich, 196 calories somehow) and was just unwrapping it and sinking my teeth in when my supervisor told me there was an assembly in the gym. OK, great, now I have to shovel it in with barely enough time to taste anything. Assembly was as expected completely pointless - students were told not to catch influenza and to bundle up in the cold, for f!ck's sake they are 16-18 years old and they already KNOW this! Think I'm just like a cat or dog and I get really cranky when someone interrupts my meals.

Wildflower - Hmm... technically I started the diet in April. And then I graduated in June and put a bit back on. Then in August I was down to 121 but started a new job and went up to 130 again. Joined the gym in October, started calorie counting again at the beginning of November. 3/4 weeks ago I was at 128. I've just been really disciplined.

So I suppose all and any of the above. lol.

I see you joined in 2005, what has your journey been like?

I'm about to go to bed (it's 12:30 am here) and just weighed myself 121.4... hopefully tomorrow will be a nice number.

I have been having a hard time the last couple of days. Between people giving me food and my cats medical emergency yesterday resulting in a late night my diet has been shot for two days. (My cat is o.k now).

I didn't go to the gym tonight because I was exhausted. I also didn't make a lunch which meant I had to buy something sodium laden at the cafe down stairs. Dinner was left over chinese (broccoli and chicken so not so bad).

Well I will do better tomorrow and that's all there is to it and instead of taking Thursday off from the gym I will count today as one of my days off.

YAAAAAAAAY, Dora! :cheer2::cheer3::cheer2:

And BamaGirl, it's good to see you here again! I've been thinking of you and figured you were super-busy with school. Hope you are well!

Ekicna, being sick and losing weight reminds me of "The Devil Wears Prada," where the woman says, "I'm one stomach virus away from my ideal weight." :D Hope you feel better soon!

I'm coasting along, not really enjoying my week of no exercise. My toddler son is driving me a little crazy so I went to the gym for yoga today. It kind of kicked my butt but not in a pounding-the-joints, pumping-the-heart kind of way. But ouch! I fell asleep at 8 last night, so now I'm going to watch BL on tivo!

I did join back then...not much of a journey though, just lots of up and down with my weight. As a child I was the tiny, I was a slim teenager at 114, but then the last few years of high school I went up to 140-150, and when I graduated I dropped down to 110 and stayed there through college until I was maybe 23, then at 128-130 for a few years...In 2005 was when my weight went up to 150, and at one point - for the holiday season - 160, an all time high for me. I diet down to 135 and then end up shooting back up to 142 all the time.

In the spring of 2009 (and 2007!) I was back at 135, and then started graduate school last fall and traded yoga classes for business school classes and also started living on coffee drinks and take out. My weight went up to 150 in a few months. I tried taking up running last Spring and that didn't do anything to control my weight, so here I am counting calories again.

I have notebooks full of food journals and weigh ins from years of my life.

I'm pretty determined this time, as I am getting married next year and I want to be pretty low for that. Then I'll probably get pregnant and have to start this all over again!!! lol, i laugh but so true...:devil:

Even with two very off days I saw 150 on the scale this morning which is good 3lbs to my Christmas goal and then 20lbs to final goal (wow 20 lbs seems really daunting!). I really need to focus on what I want and that is to be fit and healthy while I still have time and energy to devote to creating this type of lifestyle for myself. I need to stay on track keep motivated and drink lots of water.

Weight spiked this morning despite eating less yesterday than I did the day before. Whatever. I've started a new body-weight-only strength training circuit thingy in addition to my daily cardio + 100 pushups so I'm hoping I'll see nothing but good changes.

Even if I'm not losing weight, I feel better about myself when I'm doing all these things. I think that's the most important part of it all. I've conditioned myself to feel good about making healthy choices.

However, I'm still sat at the public terminal here at work for the sole reason that it is far away from the chocolate in my desk that I brought for the English club Christmas party tonight.

Where is everyone?!?!?!

Boing boing boing! That's the sound my scale's been making this week. 126.6, 124.2, 125.8, 124.2.

I've gone six days without running -- I start up again tomorrow -- can't wait! I've definitely missed the stress relief this week. Parenting an almost-2-yr-old boy is no small feat. I wish I felt more rested, but the aforementioned toddler is not sleeping very well. Hopefully I can sleep in one morning this weekend.

Need to finish up my holiday cards and Christmas shopping and start some menu planning for the week after Christmas, which will include multiple sets of houseguests coming and going. My head really starts spinning this time of year!

I have had a terrible week I haven't been tracking my calories although I feel like I haven't been eating enough rather than too much although i could be wrong.
I also have only been to the gym twice this week which is just terrible I try to make it there at least 5 times a week. I don't seem to have gained but I also no I haven't lost this is no way to meet my goal so I really need to buckle down and focus and stop being lazy!

I've been sick for the past week and a half and living on soy chai lattes and other weird foods as nothing sounds good.

Here. Here. Haven't had much to report. Had a few Christmas parties. Somehow this morning I was 120.6, which was pleasing as haven't been very disciplined. Plan is to keep exercising as usual and eat my calorie controlled meals whenever not doing anything else. Hoping to maintain in the range of 120-122 until New Year. And then after New Year move the maintenance range to 118-120.

Tonight is the final of X factor, so Domino's and wine! Tomorrow won't be so good on the scale.

Good luck feathers xx

Thanks Ciao!

I checked out your blog, your progress is just amazing!! Way to go gurrrrl!

Hey, all! I've been a little absent 'round here for a while, partly due to busyness and partly because I had the intestinal flu to end all intestinal flus earlier this month. I have just been weak and sick and otherwise feeling awful, and to top it all off I also slipped and fell on a slick, melted-snow covered floor and badly bruised and injured both knees, so weight loss priorities and working out and all other manner of healthy-living things got shoved to the sidelines as I tried to recover from illness and injury. :(

The good news is I'm finally all better and managed to lose absolutely no ground in my pursuit. (That's probably mostly because of the stomach flu, ha ha ha.) I'm at 131 and worked out both yesterday and today. I'm back at work. I'm feeling like my old self again. :D

So, anyway, I'm back with a vengeance, and though these events made it so that I missed my goal of walking/jogging 100 miles by December 1, I'm still planning fitness and weight-loss goals to accomplish by the end of the year. :)

Hope everybody is doing awesomely, and my apologies for not staying on top of this place to cheer everybody else on.

Because my weight loss efforts weren't going slowly enough, my weight bounced up nearly 4 pounds in 4 days, for no apparent reason. Literally, my low weight was 125 even (last week) and this week I went up from 126 to 129.2 (day before yesterday) in steps, and am still up near 128. What the ****??? No horrible binges, no TOM, no extreme weight lifting, not even major constipation. I am so disgusted I haven't posted on here for the last few days. Each morning I wake up, hoping it was water weight that I'll have lost again the same way I gained it, overnight. And each day, the scale taunts me with a weight that it took me OVER A MONTH to lose the first time. I keep telling myself that it's impossible to regain 3-4 pounds of fat in less than a week, but if I don't lose the weight again for a month, it doesn't matter whether it's water, fat or bricks - I'm still getting no closer to goal.

I am an intelligent woman with a great career, a terrific husband, annoying but fundamentally lovable kids, and terrific health. Why, oh why do I let the number on the scale influence my level of personal joy and satisfaction so much? I feel like my values are warped and I don't know what to do about it.

Sh!tty rainy Monday. I've hurt my foot somehow, think it may be an Achilles tendon injury. Nothing is creaking or popping so I'm hoping rest will make it go away. It had better, as I am now less than 2 weeks from my trip to Germany. Unfortunately walking is my only means of transportation to do most things - like go to work, which is about 2 1/2 miles away.

Weekend was as expected. Probably overate each day, junk, whatever. I'm going to focus a lot on strength training this week since I won't be running or doing much on my feet. More pushups, planks, squats, etc. I'm already feeling results from like, three workouts.

In cheerful news - found a thrift store in Fukuoka City with real thrift store prices - none of this $20 no-name "secondhand" BS that Japan typically does - and LO AND BEHOLD almost everything fits. I would have been very scant on options a few months ago but I'm sliding into tiny things I didn't think I could fit into.

***

*big hug* neurodoc, there always has to be some dumb thing that prevents people from having actual perfect lives. Fortunately your weight is such that it's not negatively affecting your health (e.g. morbidly obese) and you have all those other good factors to be thankful for and happy about - but I do understand the frustration that comes with not being able to break free of the scale addiction. Again, *big hug.*

kat999 Ouch! Sounds like you've had a rough time lately with the falls and such. I'm glad you're okay. While stomach flu totally sucks, it probably did play a role in your weight ;)

Ciao Are you cutting off arms and legs?! Seems you've lost all your weight in less than a month. Amazing! Tell me your secrets...aside from being 16 that is...

DoraUK Enjoy Domino's! I miss pizza.

Wildflower Get well soon. 'Tis the season to be sick.

thesame7lbs Enjoy running again! Even if you're running-around busy all the rest of the hours of the day, it'll feel great to run.

Aw, neurodoc, be kind to yourself! You're soooo close to your goal! Haven't we all around here kind of determined that the rate of loss slows down the closer you get to your goal? Just be patient, and do remember all the other great things you have going on!

Krampus, congrats on finding fun items while shopping! :D

Ciao, probably cutting out your school lunches is a huge part of your success. I can't believe how unhealthy school lunches are these days, at all grade levels. Not that it was much better when I was a kid, but it seems like that's gotten worse in the past decade or so.

I just wanted to vent a little bit about the month of December, the month where all the "happy holidays" collide with my "happy birthday" and results in a dietary chaos.

I have 2 holiday parties for work this week, 1 dinner with DH's friend that just snuck up on me and a pre-birthday dinner at a restaurant with DH (we couldn't get reservations on the actual date :( ). There is a third work holiday party that I am turning down because the date conflicts with one of these 4 events (I work at 3 offices so 3 different work parties). I wanted DH to cook me a nice dinner on the actual bday date but decided against it as there are just too many calories already going on this week. My parents wanted to take us out to eat for my birthday this week and out of nowhere, the in-laws e-mailed saying we should battle traffic 6 hours each way in the frigid cold to go out for a bday dinner with them THIS WEEK. I had tried the Cheesecake Factory's red velvet cheesecake back in October with my brother and thought I would like to have that for my birthday but I won't because I know that isn't the smartest move this week.

I've had to say no to everyone (including myself!) and would like to postpone all celebrations by a month. :(

Aw, ortho, you know you certainly COULD with the birthday stuff! After all, it's YOUR birthday! :hug:

Gooooooooooooood Morning Feathers!!

Wow, I feel like I have not posted on here in forever! :dizzy:

I have been a little MIA for a few reasons. There is at least one event every week with the holidays and making it virtually impossible to lose weight. With that said, I have decided to just maintain till the end of the year and sort of give my body a break. So far it is going well! I have maintained 129 on the nose with all the chaos! The only thing I am a little upset about is not being able to run as much. It is just simply TOO cold! :( Life has just been crazy with work and finals! I also met someone recently who has been a little distracting and hard to say no to when it comes to yummy dinners :o

I have been reading and I am in such admiration with all of you ladies who are successfully losing weight during this month. It truly is such a difficult time to not only maintain but lose! You ladies rock!

I look forward to jumping back on the weight loss wagon with ya'll in January!! :carrot:

Have a great day feathers!

Congrats on your maintenance, Dianne -- that's awesome! I know what you mean about the weather -- it's too cold and snowy here for running right now. :( So I've been mainly using the bike here at home.

Hope your finals went well and that you're enjoying yourself with the new person in your life!

I hit 130 on the nose today -- I'm happy and ready to hit the 120s real soon! My loss has really been slow lately, but I guess it's not reasonable to expect it to be as fast as before, right? I hope I'm not making excuses for myself. Maybe I should up my exercise just to be sure.

Yeah I just want to jump on the in-awe bandwagon at those who are successfully losing this month. I'm in a rough patch on accounta the foot injury. I have all this energy pent up from wanting to run and not being able to. And my weight is a monster, I was 130 when I weighed this morning. I am pretty sure I didn't gain 4 1/2 lbs of fat in the past four days but still.

I have been so stressed out this month. Today I went head-on with a couple projects that have been stressing me out and really causing a lot of fear and dread. Yes, they were as awful as I thought, BUT I only had two cups of chai (sugar and milk included - I don't drink chai every day). In the past I have been known to eat a dozen cookies while dealing with such things. I also stayed within my plan for the day for food. And I exercised. So the scale may have been a new high this morning, but I'm feeling rather proud of myself for weathering the storm.

Well, folks, in jumping back into my fitness regime this weekend after not quite a week away from it, I thought last night that I felt GREAT. Ha, was I wrong! My thighs do not agree today and are giving me that workout soreness I hadn't felt in months. Oh, my! It's not awful or movement-limiting at all, it's just different, since I'd gotten myself up to such a fitness level since July that the delayed onset muscle soreness was a total thing of the past. I now know taking this much time off is asking for some wincing the next day!

However, I am proud to say that I sallied forth and jogged four miles tonight. My original goal was to do 100 miles by December 1st, and obviously I missed that. I'm up to 92, though, and I think I'll be able to safely hit 100 by the end of the year.

I'm not looking forward to how my legs will feel in the morning, though! ;)

Foot is healing (I hope). Food was spot-on today, a couple bits of junk here and there but mostly vegetables. I really do dislike the rancid flatulence that comes from lentils and chickpeas but I live alone so I guess it doesn't matter.

Happy Tuesday Feathers!

Fivestone - Thanks for the well wishes. One more final to go! :) Wish I had a bike at home to run on. Actually, I would really enjoy a stair master at home. But budget is tight and cant afford one right now!

Krampus - You know most of that is water weight - if not all! I am sure after your on point eating yesterday you will be close to where you were before!

Pageta - I am alllll too familiar with stress eating. So I give you major kudos for not going crazy with food with all the stress and projects you are facing. I would say stress is my number one reason for binging and going off plan!

Kat - Good job on the exercise! I dont know how you are doing it in this cold!! I am so envious. I cant believe I would ever say this but I am craving running. I guess its true; its addicting!

Not much to report here. Just sailing along this wonderful thing called life! Hope everyone has a blessed and happy day!

Good job with the running, kat999!
Glad your foot's healing, krampus. Is your scale having battery issues? There's no way you're magically back to 130 overnight. Anyway, you've been hardcore motivation for me, since we're about the same height (I'm 165 cm).

Anyway... down to 129.6 today! Tested it after I woke up (on like 4 hours sleep), and then again when I got back from running errands. So happy to see the 120s, ZOMG! I don't think I've been 120anything since February 2007. It's about time I got back with the program, and I'll do everything in my power to keep from having to repeat the process. :)

YAAAAAY that's good news fivestone. I have an old analog scale but I ate so much food on Sunday that the sheer volume of it probably just sat there for a couple days. I'm back to 57.5 kg/126.7 lbs today after my on-plan day. The foot is healing, still hurts but I should be good to go in a couple more days.

I have been having a bit of a rough week. I started feeling ill Sunday night and although it has not turned into a full-blown flu or cold I am still feeling pretty awful. My energy is low and I keep having dizzy spells so no gym for me until I feel better. I am also struggling with my appetite because I am not hungry most of the time or when I am I lack the energy to make a complete meal. I know that not eating can be just as bad as over eating where weight loss is concerned so I am trying to make sure I am eating at least 3 meals.

On the positive side I saw 149lbs on the scale today meaning I have exactly 10 days to lose 2 lbs to meet my Christmas goal. I think if I can shake this malaise I am suffering from and get back to the gym it is totally do-able.

I am hoping that this is the sickest I get this cold and fly season because other than feeling like crap and the dizzy spells I have no other symptoms of a cold or flu which I think is pretty sweet!

Sorry for going AWOL, everyone!! I'm back home though, finals are over, and my life has settled down once again. Hopefully I'll be posting more regularly on here.

So I've been eating off-plan and relatively recklessly the past two days...I had to pack all my things from my dorm, including all my cooking stuff, so it was really hard for me to stick to my diet. On top of that, everyone and their second cousin wanted to have some kind of farewell dinner at school. I do realize that isn't really an excuse to eat whatever I want. I'm ready to get back on track!!

So I get home today, and I tell my mom that I haven't been eating well the past two days. Her response?: "So have you gained like 10 pounds?"

OMG. Do I look like I've gained 10 pounds?! I couldn't weigh myself this morning because I had packed away my scale, so that made me kind of anxious. The last time I weighed myself was pre-eating frenzy in the morning two days ago, and I was at 124.6 then. Tonight, after a solid day of eating, I'm at 129. I'm having a mini-nervous breakdown right now. I told my mom that she really can't say things like that to me. She did say sorry, and now I feel guilty for telling her that she can't talk to me like that, but I felt like it needed to be said.

Sorry for ranting, everyone!! My stress level is still a little higher than normal.

Veela - take care of your self, my cold/flu started that way over 2 weeks ago!!! I was flat out chilled and exhausted, that went to a sore throat, then I felt better for a few days, then BAM woke up a week and a half ago majorly congested and coughing and while it's eased up, it's still there and the exhaustion has come back. UGH, I can't believe i've felt this way for over 2 weeks! Like you, I had no appetite, so I having been drinking lots of tea/soups and whatever else I can manage to eat (mainly toast/crackers).

Feel better :)

Krampus - I hope your foot is healing!

I haven't been around much lately because of this virus and also I am not really staying to plan because of it. I am not eating over 1500, but I am not being diligent about counting and trying to eat whatever sounds good. I have pretty much determined that I am going to have to start "dieting" again on Jan 1st. I haven't lost more than a lb in the past month, so I don't even feel like I am dieting, but I am happy to maintain at this point with the holidays and all.

Oh well, January is another month.

Feeling better--finally! Two days of no exercise felt just so--weird. Like not showering or something. I just felt "off." :)
One more final to push through on Friday morning, and then Christmas break here I come!

Yesterday I had more than I should have, probably 1800 or so. Exercise was good, felt nice to be doing strength training stuff. I feel pretty happy that despite my bum foot (which is almost healed now, awesome!) I have still been exercising every day. Like Wildflower I haven't had any real losses in a month or more, but am maintaining. With vacation coming up and a probably 2-week back-to-redline post-trip detox, I'm not particularly optimistic about losing more juuuuuust yet - and I think I'm okay with that.

Fighting the urge to binge a lot lately. I'm at the point where I barely enjoy eating because everything I eat just makes me crave more.

I think I may have gotten the better of this illness. After 3 days of feeling like crap I feel like myself again today. I have been taking vitamin C, echineacha (sp?) and eating all the oranges and apples I can get my hands on.

I think I may have beaten it but there is a side effect I am afraid. Since I was lax on going to the gym last week (my cat was sick and had to go to the vet 3 times last week) and I have missed 2 days so far this week I find I have lost a bit of my fitness level. I am not sure if it is from the weird almost flu or lack of exercise but running and squats seemed so much harder today then they did before. I also seemed to get winded very easily which is not cool. I am hoping this passes.

Thank you for the well wishes Lilylover!
It sounds like a lot of people around her need to take care of themselves what with all the accidents and illnesses. Take care of yourselves feathers

Lilylover: I think you did the right thing by telling your mother not to say those type of things. I had to do the same thing with both my parents they used to say things like "should you be eating that" or criticizing my lack of activity because they knew I was unhappy with my weight. It turns out the ideas were coming from the right place but they didn't realize how hurtful it was to have them criticize me all the time.

Krampus: I totally understand where you are coming from. There are times when eating seems like a chore because I know it has to be so controlled. I also find that I can't let myself cheat even a little because it turns into a binge very easily. Don't give into the urge to binge because it really is a slippery slope and you know you don't want to backslide think of how far you have come and how good it feels.