Ugh, I hate overnight weight gains! They are so demoralizing. Good for you for being rational and recognizing that sometimes it's due to water retention/TOM, etc. I need to keep this in mind instead of freaking out.

Haha, I'm definitely freaked out. But I also have a paper due at five and meetings all day... so I'm prioritizing my freakout. So many sources of stress, all I can do about my weight gains is just hope the math works out in the long run, right? :)

wow- I connect to this so much. I live in Vietnam and look like a whale compared to all the Vietnamese teachers I work with. I am so embarrassed to take a motorbike taxi because the drivers always have such a hard time with my weight. I am normal to thin in the states, but here I just stand out like a fat blob. does a number to ones confidence when you walk into a store and they just tell you they can't help you...I guess it spares me the embarrassment of struggling to try stuff on.

I guess I should re-introduce myself. I recognize a few of you from December when I attempted to start back up here, but failed to fully get back on program.

I lost 12 pounds this time last year with the help and support here. Gained 2 back just before my wedding this summer, and have managed to gain back the other 10 in the past few months. I really want to get back on track, but it is hard. I finally am settled into my new home found a gym, and am getting back into cooking, which is one of the ways I lost last year.

I am loving all the talk about binge eating. It is such an ugly thing to talk about and often ignored and too embarrassing to admit to. I have been a binge eater on and off for my whole life, even leading me to 8 years of bulimia. I consider myself past bulimia, but still fight urges to eat and eat and eat from time to time. Such a strange thing for our bodies to do when we are mentally uncomfortable.

It looks like alot of you are taking control of your feelings, good for you! Good luck and I hope to see you around this forum!

Good morning ladies! I made a thread re-introducing myself, but I'll say hello here too! I stopped coming in september because graduate school was too demanding for me to even touch my computer at home! But I also realized that I need this support, even if it means that I don't visit until the weekends! Luckily I've been able to maintain my weight with the chaos that school has given me, and I've been able to exercise every day so I can burn off my daily stress!

I had a nice bowl of cereal with a banana and now I'm sitting here digesting and waiting for the student rec center to open at 11.
Yesterday at 7pm I weighed in at 134. I'm normally a morning weigher, so hopefully the scale will be lower today!!

maenad: I agree how great it is that everyone's talking about binge eating. It's good to talk about especially since it's a picky subject for us all. I know personally for me, if I admit to my binging, it makes me less likely to do it again because it's out in the open. Now it's come to the point that I'll be bored, open the cabinets and then say "what the heck am I doing? I'm not hungry!" and just grab a cup of water.

and to everyone talking about the fact that dieting can take over someone's life, I agree!! I borderline obsess over dieting every day. It's a bad thing, but on the other hand, if I don't think about it and be conscious about what I'm doing, I don't live a healthy lifestyle. It's a win lose situation :(

krampus and maenad, oh the plight of the Southeast Asian stick figure! I am not Asian but I live in South Asia right now and I used to live in Cambodia. I was the only Westerner in my office in Phnom Penh and so I got a little leeway for being curvy, but I still was definitely laughed at when I was trying to pick out a dress to wear for our bosses wedding (girls in the office: "no, you can't wear these cambodian dresses, you are too thick!")

That said, I also gained a lot of insight into the- ok yes I'm going to generalize like crazy here- Southeast Asian female mind though. Girls would pick through no more than two or three spoonfuls of rice and a few sips of broth at lunch. They were amazed I exercised at all ("Aren't you afraid of getting fat?"- as in, not being a twig and having muscle definition) and constantly wearing the tightest clothes to show off their tiny figures (maenad, you know this all too well with the áo dài!).

I would like to lose a bit of weight, but I wouldn't give up a healthy body for the complete paralyzing these women face from peers, mothers, aunts, etc to be anything but underweight. Not that every Cambodian, Burmese, Vietnamese girl has this mindset, but the pressure they face socially is incredible, far beyond what we face in the US in my opinion. krampus, I imagine the same is true in Japan as well.

It's so hard to keep mentally healthy amongst this mindset, but my best wishes to you guys to keep sight of what is actual important! We can do it!

Thanks to you guys for sharing your experiences in Asia. I'm sorry that you're feeling the pressure to live up to a certain body type. Sometimes I wonder where we'd all like to settle physical if social pressure weren't an issue, you know? I'm not sure I know the answer for myself. I'd actually probably gain some weight.

Have any of you guys noticed that your tastes have changed throughout this process? I don't meant the whole "wow, I don't even crave any more junk food!!11" because I know that doesn't happen for everyone. I just feel like personally, I don't even know what I like to eat anymore. I've mainly been subsisting off of ham and cheese toast and cucumber salad with balsamic vinegar lately. (And sometimes bacon-flavoured chips or salami sandwiches.) I keep trying different things, but there's not a broad spectrum of stuff that appeals anymore. Maybe it's related to the funk I've been feeling lately. Some days I can barely get out of bed. I'm on a new depression med (not associated with weight gain, thank goodness) so maybe it will help soon. I still make myself exercise, though, so that helps, I think.

A couple of my friends have gotten on me about my size lately. One was particularly amusing because she's convinced that I weight like 100 pounds. Like, I weigh more than that, I swear. I guess it's hard to have a good concept of actual weights... I know everybody would win a prize off me if I had to work in the "Guess your weight" booth in the state fair; I am that bad at guesstimating. Maybe most other people are, too.

indiblue - Thanks for your insight. I guess I have made myself believe that the Vietnamese women are naturally that thin, and it really isn't true. They have sometimes even more social pressures to remain thin. Just last night I saw a pregnant woman (about 8 months) who still had small sticks for legs and arms. Every woman gains at least some weight when they are pregnant...how thin was she before?

I am also a white woman here, so I really don't think that women look at me and judge my weight the same way they do to each other because my whole bone structure is so different (wide hips, huge but, thicker legs). However, they are quick to ask me if I am pregnant, a question that I get almost everyday here, usually by total starngers.

I'm Chinese-American, and actually petrified to go back to China because of this -- I know I'll feet like a fat cow next to 100-lb girls my height. I can accept from a distance that I'll never fit into cute Asian clothes but it's harder to accept when I'm actually faced with shopping in Shanghai... I didn't know it was so bad in Southeast Asia, but apparently so.

Trying to stay positive in the face of awful menstrual weight gain: I think my tummy is slightly more toned than it was last week! ... Today marks the third week I've been on this plan, and it has been HARD so far, and I am terrified that the next few days will be even harder. My chocolate cravings are so bad that I've had two brownies in two days (luckily allotted for in my calorie count, esp w the running I've done).

It gets worse: I just talked my parents into ordering Protein Bakery cookies for me because they looked SO DELICIOUS. Any other day, the promise of 5g of protein per 130 cal cookie would not have been a good reason at all... I mean, the same 130 cals in egg whites = 28g of protein, so.... :p Anyway, I'm just being ridiculous and PMS-y... tomorrow is another day. Hopefully one without brownies...

maenad, like you, I thought SE Asian women were just small-framed and didn't realize how much of it was social pressure until I lived in Cambodia and saw it day to day with my petite coworkers. I think it's a combination of both naturally small-framed women AND a lot of social pressure. I did have some Cambodian friends who were 20-something females, small framed, and a little curvy- probably about my size when I lived there- 120-125/5'0-5'2- but that was definitely considered 'bigger'. It's terrible seeing the health risks they take (no exercise/very low calorie intake) due to social pressures to conform, but then again i'm sure people say the same thing when they come to the States.

fivestone I hear you on the junk food thing! I used to love candy (Twizzlers, Sour Punch Straws, etc, mmm) but I find myself not craving it as much since I've been watching even more strictly what I eat. I also like you got into a funny food funk a few months ago where I holed up in my room and ate the same dinner every night: fruit smoothie and popcorn. Not really the most well-rounded meal, and definitely not good night after night. It was weird. I'm sorry to hear it's been what sounds like a difficult time. I hope your meds help. And good for you for continuing to exercise, one of the most important boosts to mental health.

lackadaisy, does something like a small piece of dark chocolate or a cup of homemade hot chocolate (skim milk, a few scoops of sugar, a few scoops of unsweetened cocoa powder) curb your chocolate cravings? I am a huge chocolate (esp brownies!) fan and I find sometimes one of the above lower calorie and lower fat options sometimes does the trick.


An update on my end... so my boyfriend and I hosted a poolside brunch today with some friends so I was snacking on lots of savory cheese things alllllllll day! 133 right now, which means hopefully if I can just have water and a salad for dinner I'll still wake up tomorrow at 131... No weight drop expected but at least I won't gain. Urg, hopefully the next pound will come this week. Such a slow process!

This is such an interesting discussion -- it's making me thankful for being allowed to exercise! I love the muscles I'm developing. I don't love that my 'fat pants' fit again from the swelling in my thighs, but hopefully that will go away. :)

indiblue, your suggestion of dark chocolate / light hot chocolate is definitely smart. I used to eat whatever I wanted during my period so I never really thought of these prevention techniques -- but I tended to eat to much dark chocolated when I had it around back then, so I'm a little worried about that. Then again, I now keep TONS of snacks in my room and the logging thing is still keeping me fairly accountable despite it.

I bought running tights and a sports bra today -- pricey at $80 together, even on sale, but it was my 125lb reward and I'll be darned if I let this bloat keep me from celebrating what I've accomplished so far. Even if it's only 3.5 lbs, that's still 1 lb/week. I'll take it.

133 today!!
My friend texted me asking if I wanted to run with her, so I ran for 30 minutes and did the elliptical for 30 minutes. I feel great now! My muscles have been so sore this week from the mix of zumba, running, and starting up weights again. Eh, pain is gain and it'll wear off soon! The beginning is always rough.

I bought valentines day cookies for the girls in my program. I love having 28 girls to bake for. I love baking, but I hate being the only one eating the food, so this is a nice change! I got chocolate chip cookie dough and the cute sugar cookies that have hearts in the middle.

No valentines celebrations for me, just studying for a test. Nothing beats a hot date with a larynx on a sunday night. Blech! I am going home next weekend for my best friend's first fitting of her wedding dress, so I'll get to see my boyfriend then. He says he's going to plan something romantic but I bet he's forgotten about that by now hahah!

lackadaisy: woo hoo for celebrations! Who cares if it was 80 dollars, it's a reward that means something to you and that's absolutely priceless!! congrats on the progress!! Also, Extra has this mint chocolate chip gum..it tastes just like the real deal! that always curbs my chocolate cravings.

I overdid it in Seoul. Had an amazing time but it was ridiculous, probably ate around 5000-6000 calories a day, and went to bed stuffed and feeling a bit poisoned every day. My weight is up something like 7 lbs since Thursday. Just ridiculous.

krampus, I'm both jealous and appalled. But you know, hard to avoid that around good food. Totally fair. At least half of that has to be water weight, so you'll be back down to your true gain of maybe 2-3 lbs soon, don't worry. All-day elliptical marathon time?

I did a yoga class today that I thought would be basic relaxation stuff and turned into something like flow yoga halfway through. It was a little scary but also great -- suddenly my 100-calorie "workout" became a real 300-calorie workout, almost as good as a slow jog. At least that's how I'm logging it, because, as they say, daammmmnnn. I'm SORE.

I'm more appalled than jealous. Everything that seems like a good idea at the time doesn't seem like such a good idea when you can't button your suit jacket. Oh well, nothing I can do now other than not keep doing it. I've caught a gross cold and it's raining and snowing outside so I won't be running today, but I'm planning on having modest meals (since I can't taste anything, why bother eating any more than I need for sustenance?) and doing Tae Bo/body weight exercises after I get home tonight.

Krampus: Isn't Korean food fairly salty? Maybe much more sodium than you're used to is part of the culprit... if so, a tonne of water with your exercise could be helpful.

Otherwise, sorry you're having scale woes, but at least you're able to kick back and have a fun time... and ultimately that's more important than seeing a specific number on a scale. :)

It's 11 pm and I feel... no chocolate cravings! Weird.

On the other hand, I really want that second Boca burger. This is a weird hunger that feels like real hunger, but to be fair I've eaten a roll and another Boca already since dinner... hmm.

I think I'm going to listen to my body on this one and assume it needs the extra protein. We'll see?

Good morning from the eastern hemisphere! Hope you are all well and had a good Valentine's day. My boyfriend and I have been on a Top Chef kick lately so he tried to make a creative dish that he conceptualized without a recipe. ("Don't come, in, I'm plating right now!" hahah). It turned out tasty, but more importantly, it was super low-fat with lots of fruits and protein, which he knew I would like. It was really, really sweet! Yay for all the supportive family and friends out there.

Lackadaisy, good your body was craving boca burgers instead of Hersheys kisses, haha. One boca is what... 90 calories or something? Certainly a good size for an evening snack. Hope it did the trick and curbed the cravings. :)

How is everyone's week going?

indiblue, Bocas are 70 cal each -- I ate two. Haha.

I'm so glad you had a great Valentine's day! That meal sounds so yummy. What a great way to celebrate responsibly.

My day started off well, and ended up... well.. a bit disastrous, to be honest. I had an excellent morning: went for a run, bought amazing snacks at Trader Joe's, ran up 12 flights of stairs, stayed on-plan eating whole foods ALL DAY. And then I sprained my ankle badly walking to class, and in one second, all was lost. I spent the evening mopily eating carbs (cake, cereal, tangerine, dark chocolate, frosting) -- about 500 calories worth or more. I won't be able to run for more than a week, and walking will be tiring and difficult. Cardio will be near impossible. My fantastic friends came with me to the university health center, but of course that was a disaster -- it took THREE HOURS and the visit didn't help me at all.

At least I'm now wearing an air cast (brace) and have crutches. I'm going to be crutching around to try to keep up my cardio and weight loss. I'm mostly just horrified that I may not be able to run as a burger after all... going to work really hard on core strength & other non-running things for now, but it's such a huge setback.

Oh noooooooo! I'm so sorry! I have had a hip injury for the past year and haven't really been able to run more than once a month so I feel your pain. Running is one of the most effective weight-loss exercises for me so it's really frustrating for me to not be able to do it. I always talk about yoga on this site, but that really has been what I do to keep fit and it works well. I hope you aren't in too much pain and that you have a really quick recovery.

And yes, student health centers suck!

Finishing today off on a mediocre nutrition but decent calorie note. I wound up having "agepan" (fried bread) which is pretty much what it sounds like - a processed piece of bread coated in sugar and grease - and some chocolates from a teacher. The good news is that I'm finishing the day off right around 1500. Exercised (Tae Bo Cardio video, 50 pushups, 100 crunches, 10 bird dogs on each side, planks, about an hour total walking) and had a small salad (one "head" each of spinach and mizuna aka "potherb mustard") with chicken and a little sesame oil for dinner since I'd pretty much eaten my day's calorie allotment at work. Feel less gross and 100% more in control.

Daisy - Sorry to hear about the injury! All you can do is wait it out. There are loads of exercises that will make you sweat without aggravating your injury. You're doing really well though, I'm sure this won't be anything but a tiny blip in the big picture.

Indiblue Where are you located again? The Top Chef idea sounds like a lot of fun - what did he end up making?

Krampus, it sounds like you got a ton of exercise yesterday! And you stayed at the right number of calories. Well done.

I just did my first pilates workout video. Whew -- that was harder than I expected. We'll see how this crutching-and-hopping-all-day thing works out. I feel my triceps getting strong already. :p

indiblue, do you have recommendations for yoga poses/routines that do not involve significant force on the ankles? I've done vinyasa and dabbled in bikram before, but I cannot think of how to attempt this without being able to do downward facing dog, warrior, etc... any of the classic resting positions involve stances and both feet. ;)

krampus I am in India right now. Arrived 7 months ago (wow time flies...) with the bf and we will be here another year and a half. I was pretty impressed he wanted to cook a whole meal without recipes and going off of his own inspiration, haha. Some were hits and some were misses. He did a basic bruschetta with jalapenos (hit), pomegranate/mint/cucumber/lemon salad (BIG HIT!!), and sauted shrimp with green mango sauce (eh.... kind of a miss). I of course cooked for him a Mexican chocolate cake with chocolate ganache icing, following a recipe of course lol, to make up for the calories he would have missed had he only eaten the super healthy meal he prepared. Like all guys he has a crazy metabolism and would be seriously malnourished if he ate only what I ate! It's a little hard sometimes because I have to cook things and keep things around for him with a lot more fat and calories, but then I have to resist them.

lackadaisy, camel pose, boat pose, shoulder stand, plow pose, fish pose, crow pose, and bow pose don't require putting significant weight on the ankle. Handstand or headstand, either away from the wall or against the wall for as long as you can hold it is great for core and upper arm strength. Warrior 3, half moon, plank/chaturanga with one leg, table/bridge pose/wheel with one leg, and tree pose all only require one leg. You could put together a decent strength-building routine at home with some of those. I've had to rely on them when I can't put weight on my stupid hip! :)

I don't know how much mobility you have, so maybe yoga would be better in a few weeks when you are easing back into running and can put weight on your ankle but just shouldn't be running on it. Or maybe it will provide an alternative to repetitive free weights. Either way, I know how frustrating it is to not be able to exercise when you're injured so will be thinking about you as you recover!!

Indieblue, thanks so much!! I've just taken all those down and will be looking them up soon. They look a little intimidating, but I tell myself that you could do these with your hip, of course I can do them with this temporary little setback of a sprained ankle.

I am wearing a brace under running shoes and hobbling around campus today -- on crutches, but I am SO tempted to just walk. But this is what I do every time, and every time I sprain the ankle again later... so I'm allowing it to stay immobile for now. But it stinks that I was in so much pain yesterday and none today (except soreness in my triceps, lol), and yet I can't run!!! I'm so antsy :(

I know I posted this elsewhere, but I'm just so excited I can't stop. Eleven days of vacation—with cruise food everywhere 24x7—and I came back half a pound lighter!!!! Yay, me!!!! I ate really healthy except for two "cheat" meals—which actually were also healthy except for the desserts—and always, always took the stairs. I also went to the gym and signed up for physical shore excursions. And it all paid off, despite the fact that I had a glass of wine and sometimes two every night with dinner. I'm so thrilled!!! :)

krampus, I'm so glad to hear that you are feeling more in control. Sometimes the first step really is to get the calories under control. Then you can tackle the sugar. One thing at a time. I totally feel for you; I have been there many times.

Still feeling good, down a kilo this morning from yesterday which was nice to see. The sugar mania has faded into a dull and manageable dormancy. I'm really glad I'm one of the lucky ones who doesn't gain/retain water during TOM because that's the last thing I need this week. I do feel strangely zen in terms of moods considering TOM should kick off today - I may have gotten that rage out of my system on Monday.

I feel a newfound zeal for healthy eating and weight loss that I haven't felt since before Christmas. My mom is coming to Japan in a month and I told myself I would weigh at the very least 5 lbs less than her when she gets here. If I make it happen (which I can, and have been capable of doing so all along), it will be the first time in our history of mother-daughterhood when we are both thin at the same time. I was looking at some photos from our trip to France in 2008 and boy that's a bit embarrassing!

That's AWESOME to hear, Petite Powerhouse! What was the best experience you had on the cruise, if you had to pick one? I am jonesing HARD for another vacation, even though I just got back from mine on Sunday.

indiblue India, cool! It does take a superhuman amount of control to resist eating to match your eating buddy (in this case, husband) but you seem to be doing a great job. Everything you guys cooked/baked sounds absolutely fantastic, especially that salad!

lackadaisy Pilates is serious business! I remember trying it once pre-getting-in-shape and gave up right off the bat because it was too hard. How's your ankle feeling now?

Krampus, I'm so glad you're feeling better and committed to health again! This year is going to be great, I promise!

The ankle is feeling better -- my triceps hurt like **** but I guess that's my strength workout for the day, right? ;)


I just decided to adjust my weight loss goal today, from 1.5 lbs/week to 1lb/week. It means postponing my intended completion date a whole month, but I think for now I have to do it. It's too hard to bully myself about the 1,150 cal/day "net calorie" goal -- even though I usually make it with exercise, that goal is just this thing over my head, like I shouldn't eat that much in case the exercise doesn't count.

And now I worry that all the exercise I was getting will be impossible with my ankle, and I'm getting a bit exhausted by all this, and I really need to work on my thesis instead of having intrusive food thoughts all the time or thinking "oh **** I have to do 60 minutes of cardio today or I won't meet my goal." That's just unhealthy, and I don't want to think to myself, "I can't eat this, I have to be thin, I'll eat it when I'm thin."

I think the intrusiveness & obsessiveness of this behavior actually got worse during TOM because the cravings were so bad and I had to be so careful with self-control and there was NO scale feedback at all. I'm starting to lose the water weight now, but I still hate the idea of getting addicted to weight loss and battling my own hunger.

So I guess this is a psychological thing and I'm writing here to keep myself accountable: my new net calorie goal is not 1,150 a day but 1,400 a day. It should slow my weight loss down by six weeks, but now that I feel like I have the tools to happily eat about 1,300 a day without feeling deprived, I think this is even a level I could stick with for life. It's a good feeling.

lackadaisy I think that's a good idea - 1,150 is really really strict and I can see how it would easily take over your life. Keep us updated on how it works for you. I can't even begin to describe how much easier 1500 feels than 1200.

I was getting a bit twitchy around noon and wanted to eat my lunch x 1000, so I went for a 50 minute round trip walk to the post office and chatted on the phone. I got a little sweaty and forgot all about feeling "hungry." Small victories. Now lunch is gone and I feel satisfied, even full. I do have a really weird habit of reading Lonely Planet restaurants sections while I eat lunch.

Yay Petite Powerhouse and krampus! Successes for both of you! Incredible willpower, Petite, I'm super impressed. And krampus, it seems like your Korea weight is coming off very steadily. Future is looking bright for you guys :-D

krampus, the willpower that living her in India requires is CRAZY. The food here is so calorie and fat packed. I think just a simple lunch of a few tablespoons of veg korma and some naan has got to be upwards of 600 calories. Serving sizes are enormous. Even harder to battle are the social requirements when locals invite you over to eat at LEAST 2-3 PLATEFULS of food. Otherwise, you offend the lady of the household. Most of the women here are definitely overweight and except for among the very rich there's no concept of calories/fat/dieting. Once we were invited to someone's home and I put a tablespoon of every vegetarian (I'm veg) option on the table, ate it slowly with steamed rice, and got chastised by the wife because I hadn't eaten enough of her food. I had to get seconds of everything and she still wasn't happy. I went to bed feeling so full and awful and I think gained a pound just from that meal :-/

Also krampus, I just saw your funny habit of reading Lonely Planet while eating lunch. I LOVE Lonely Planet!! I just got my Lonely Planet Bhutan in the mail- am hoping to go in April. Mmmm..... momos....

lackadaisy, your adjustment makes a lot of sense. Regiments are more likely to work if you are happy with them, not if you have to do them begrudgingly. Sounds like you have set up a plan for success.

Lackadaisy Congrats on recognizing an obsession before it become too much! I think you are going to make it the long haul :)

Krampus Doesnt it feel so good to be back on track and feel more in control of life. I hate the times when things seem so chaotic and just plain shi**y! Good job on getting back to the routine!

Petite WOW! What an awesome accomplishment. I dont think I have ever met someone that can go on vacation and LOSE weight lol Impressive my dear!!

Finally back in the 120's. Working on being at 117-118 by Cindo De Mayo!

Have a great day feathers!!

lakadaisy - Sorry about your ankle, I hope you stay off it and it heals up soon!

PetitePowerhouse- good work on the cruise! Half a pound is really good! I have never been on a cruise but I have heard there is just so much to eat!

Krampus & Indiblue - It is so nice to here from both of you. We all are living abroad and have such different experiences, but still can come together here to ***** about size/customs/food issues in our respective countries. I remember last year when I was dieting in Istanbul, Turkey and I just felt so alone dealing with the high calorie foods and different cultural standards. Indiblue - the Indian customs sound hard to deal with, but delicious! Indian food is one of my many weak spots!

This week has been pretty tough. I was mugged for the second time in three weeks on Sunday. If getting my bag stolen and being pretty shook up isn't bad enough, My husband and I have been arguing for the past three days about it (he is accusing me of it all being my fault) I know it is just his way of dealing with something upsetting and out of his control, but it really makes me feel bad/over eat/binge drink/get in a bigger fight.

HOWEVER, on a better note, I went to the gym yesterday and took a killer 4.5 mile run and feel good about that. I stepped on the scale and I was up a half kilo from last time I was there. Sucks, but I'm making an effort to get back on track.

maenad Ugh, how is getting mugged your fault?! Sorry things are rough with your husband. You didn't get hurt or anything did you? I know a few people who have been drugged and either raped or mugged in SE Asia; hope it doesn't happen again.

Japan is pretty drastically different from India or Turkey. I'm not sure how I would handle living in a culture that isn't obsessed with weight loss, since I've only ever spent time in/traveled to places where "thin is in" - USA, Western Europe, Japan, Taiwan, Korea...

I'm down 0.3 kg on the scale, which means I'm finally back (technically) in the 120s. Really excited about my planned food for today - oatmeal with yogurt and raisins for breakfast, apple for a snack, salad with beans/cheese/raisins/strawberries/sesame oil for lunch, omelette for dinner.

maenad I'm really sorry about the mugging. Being a target of crime sucks in your own country and it's even more disconcerting and upsetting abroad. Hope they didn't get away much and glad that you are safe.

SEAsian food of all kinds are MY weakness, and I LOVE me a good bowl of pho. I would probably be in big trouble weight-wise if I lived there. Maybe it's good we are in our current respective places, away from both our weaknesses :-D

krampus YAY! I thought it would come off pretty quickly! Looks like you can change your signature now ;) ;)

Krampus: Luckily I was fine and managed to stay on my bike despite the shake. My husband is just very worried about me, and never wanted me to drive here, but I insisted on getting my own bike and learning to drive. I can't rely on him to drive me everywhere! Things will cool down once he calms down about everything.

Your food plan sounds great! I'm going to make a fruit salad for breakfast once I can peel myself off the computer, Mexican for lunch (burrito for the hubby and a salad for me) and pasta with tons of broccoli for dinner.

Bikes are essential in SEAsia! I mean yeah you always run a risk, but my moneybelt (including passport, debit card, etc) was stolen from my bag sitting on my lap (no joke) when I was at a restaurant in Thailand a few years ago. Things happen and the independence and mobility that having a bike happens is critical if you are going to be living somewhere for a while outweighs the risk, IMO.

I totally agree with you IndiBlue. I was feeling so alone before I got my own bike. Even though I don't drive it everyday, just knowing that it's there is really important for me. I need my freedom! You just have to be smart and NEVER carry anything with you. It was only my work bag (school books and papers), but it was of course the ONE day that i had my wallet with me because I was going shopping after work. The wallet was cheap and had about $40 in it, an ATM card and an ID card.

O_o Looks like I'll be staying in the cushy world of Northeast Asia for a while here. I'm a notoriously bad purse-dangler, it's only due to luck that I haven't been pickpocketed or anything.

Today I ate a little more than I wanted to, but it was all GOOD food except for a negligible (less than 20 calories most likely) piece of chocolate. Calories about 1550.

A question for you, feathers, do you ever just have miserable fat days where you look down and pinch an inch and are convinced you're every bit as fat as when you weighed more than 25 lbs over your current weight? I was doing an exercise DVD in my underwear as I always do and I suddenly felt like my thighs had expanded massively overnight and was super self conscious about jiggle. It was so bad I almost cried mid-workout but I chalk that up to it being Day 1 of TOM.

Ah, I have fat days ALL THE TIME. As in, right now. My ankle hurts worse than last night -- I optimistically fell asleep without my brace -- and it appears my adjusted plan (I ate 1450 yesterday) put me at a 0.2 gain. Now every bit of me wants to cry from pain and I am just feeling fat all over.

When I squeeze my belly together in the front, it makes an ugly sponge face! :p ... yeah, fat days absolutely stink. I know I look marginally better in my workout clothes than I did five pounds ago, but it's definitely not worlds of difference yet. Motivating myself is hard for such incremental changes.

I have this a lot too Krampus. Even though I have lost 14 lbs, I have barely lost any inches - I saw an initial 2 inch drop in my waist measurement right after I began dieting, and when I measured the other night I think my hips are finally down 1 inch. But because I've hardly seen those numbers change it really makes me wonder if my weight loss is "real" or not. I mean, it has to be because the scale changes but I don't know where it is coming off of...

One the plus side, I've had some classmates/coworkers comment on my weight loss. But nothing from my friends/family. I suppose it's easier from the people who see my every day (coworkers/classmates)?