Anyone in the 110s (and below) trying to maintain or lose?
110s? 1teens? Not sure how to write it. All I know is that I'm under 120, and I'd like it to be my 'red line' weight. I'm wondering if there are some folks in the same boat with me, and I didn't see any other 1teen threads, so...
YES! I'm in the one-teens, and I'm trying to lose 10 - 12ish more pounds. I'm glad you started this thread! I'm finding it really difficult to stay on plan lately, and I've been bouncing around between 116 and 118 for the past three weeks. Hopefully this thread will encourage me not to eat so much chocolate all the time.
How did you pick 120 as your red line weight? I still haven't decided on mine, which I guess means that I mustn't have reached it yet.
How did you pick 120 as your red line weight? I still haven't decided on mine, which I guess means that I mustn't have reached it yet.
Hmm, good question! I think it's just that 120 seems like the point where I started to feel like, "OK, I'm gonna keep losing, but if I had to stay this weight forever, I think I could deal with it," in a way that I didn't feel about previous weights. And since I've lost down from it (just a pound, but still), I haven't had to diet down to a stalk of celery and a glass of water to achieve that, and I have a pretty active lifestyle, so it's realistic.
If the tone of my lifestyle changes (losing mobility for some reason or another), then I'd probably have to adjust my expectations, but for now, given where my energy expenditure and metabolism seem to be, I don't think it's a stretch. 110 might be pushing it -- I'll have to see -- but maybe my end "goal" will be a range of 115-119.
So far so good this weekend! I woke up really motivated to keep things clean, and I have. We spent time with friends, and our hostess loves making cake and made one with a sort of cheesecake topping. I had barely half, if that, and I didn't feel deprived at all. Dinner wasn't very heavy -- great big salad with pieces of pork (hey, I love my other white meat, and gotta get my protein.) The bell peppers in the salad were awesome.
Oh! But I did stop by McDs and get an ice cream cone. Husband suggested it as a treat, and given that I was out shopping and moving around, and the calories and such on an ice cream don't seem incredibly ridiculous, I figured I'd go for it.
I killed it on the stationary bike today, though, and got some dancing in. So all in all I'm good. Even with the ice cream and cake, I'm actually not sure if I got all my calories in -- but some days I get more, some days less... it all evens out.
Also! I know some people swear by this throughout the whole process, but I just started keeping a food journal. It sort of helps me keep in touch with what I'm feeling before and after I eat, and hopefully it will help me from falling into compulsive overeating behaviours that have gotten me in trouble in the past.
I'm currently 113 pounds, aiming for 110. I've been trying to get there for the last couple of years. For the longest time though I just couldn't accept the fact that to get the last few pounds off I would have to drop my calories down to an uncomfortably low level, at least temporarily. I had a lot of anger over this because my first thirty pounds came off relatively easily. They came off very very slowly, but didn't I have to eliminate any foods, or exercise every waking moment, and I never felt deprived.
Everything was great until I stopped losing weight and entered a two-year stall. I thought many times about calling goal but deep down I knew I would not be happy with myself if I didn't at least make a final effort to lose my last five pounds.
Since November I've eliminated all sweets and treats. I eat between 800 and 1000 calories a day divided into two meals and I exercise two hours a day. I know this sounds extreme but it is what I have to do now to lose weight.
I have four strikes against me when it comes to weight loss: I'm female, short, over fifty and on the edge of menopause, and only one thing in my favor, my very active job which gives me built in daily exercise over and above my personal workouts.
No problem! I knew there had to be someone around here wanting to be under 120.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Magrat
Since November I've eliminated all sweets and treats. I eat between 800 and 1000 calories a day divided into two meals and I exercise two hours a day. I know this sounds extreme but it is what I have to do now to lose weight.
Have you noticed yourself feeling deprived or lacking energy? If so, how do you manage it?
Hope you guys had a good weekend. Mine was OK, and now my husband is up in Munich for a conference today and tomorrow. I love him dearly, but it'll be nice to not worrying about cooking for both of us and getting pressure to try to eat more.
I'm getting more regular with my food journalling and I'm finding it very helpful... wish I had done it more regularly long ago.
I've maintained 108—just barely under 110—for more than a year. I even managed not to gain weight on my cruise earlier this month. I count calories and eat clean most days.
Last edited by Petite Powerhouse; 02-21-2011 at 11:42 AM.
I've maintained 108—just barely under 110—for more than a year. I even managed not to gain weight on my cruise earlier this month. I count calories and eat clean most days.
Does anybody ever give you a hard time or try to sabotage you over your weight?
I notice you've talked a lot about exercise, especially strength training, and how it's helped you. Do you exercise every single day? I intend to stay active, but I don't know if 6-7 days is realistic for me long-term... 4-5 days would be better for me to try and pull off, though.
Hello! I'm new here. I posted an introduction in the What's your story sticky.
I'd like to join this group. I'm at 118 and looking to get down to 110. I've struggled with crash dieting so I'm going to take it slow. I'm going to try to see if I can lose weight at 1450 calories a day. Has anyone else had lost with a similar plan to this? I've never eaten this much while trying to lose weight but I'm tired of yo-yo-ing.
I'd be curious to know what amount of calories others here are eating!
One other question: what exactly is "red line" weight?
Last edited by mari9; 02-22-2011 at 01:00 PM.
Reason: "red line"?
One other question: what exactly is "red line" weight?
The "red line" weight is basically the weight at which you will you go back into weight loss mode should you ever hit it again. Since weight isn't completely static, we're all likely to fluctuate a bit even once we hit goal. Creating a "red line" weight that's a few pounds above goal weight gives our bodies a flexible weight range but also provides us with a predetermined red flag that will remind us to be mindful of our eating/exercise habits should we start to gain weight.
shefontaine, I know what you mean about being short. Even a difference of a few pounds is noticeable on me. Being short and having such a small frame is both a blessing and a curse.
fivestone, thanks for answering my question about your red line weight. Your answer helped me confirm that I haven't hit mine yet. I mean, I know that it wouldn't be devastating or horrible if I remained at this weight, but reeeeally, I'd much rather not and would feel a tad unhappy if I were forced to maintain now. I'm glad that you're finding the journalling helpful. I feel like I should try it, but I'm of two minds about it. On the one hand, I've heard so many people say that it's helpful and even that it's hard to successfully lose/maintain without a food journal. On the other hand, I haven't been journalling up to this point, and I'm actually pretty aware of what I eat each day. Is the journalling actually making you more aware of how much you're eating? Has it helped you to cut out anything in particular?
Magrat, if you don't mind me asking, what sort of job do you have? I like the sound of anything that keeps you (generic you, not personal you) moving throughout the day. I don't really get a ton of exercise in during the work day per se, but I am on my feet tons, which is probably helpful. Well, that and the walk to and from work.
petite powerhouse, do you find that it's difficult to maintain or are you on auto pilot at this point?
My week's not going badly by any means, but I'm still not losing. That may or may not have something to do with the cake and popcorn that I ate yesterday. The teachers' room is my downfall!
What have you ladies done to lose the weight? I'm very interested....
Sorry, I forgot to answer your question in my last post! I've sort of been calorie counting. I say sort of because I get a free lunch every weekday at work, and I'm not exactly sure what all goes into it. It's pretty healthy, so I just try to keep my portion sizes reasonable. At home, I calorie count. I used to jog 5-8K a few times a week and bike a little as well, but that died off once winter set in. I've tried to replace this with ice skating a few times a week. I live about 2K from my work, and I don't have a car, so I pretty much walk everywhere I go, which helps a lot.
Have you noticed yourself feeling deprived or lacking energy? If so, how do you manage it?
Only all the time. I hate doing this, but nothing else has worked and I am running out of time. This may be TMI but I haven't had TOM for seven months. If I go another five months I'll be in menopause and everything I've read, heard about, or personally observed, says that menopause makes it all but impossible to lose weight and that most women gain a bit no matter what they do. Some women gain fifteen pounds. Fifteen pounds would take me all the way back to chunky. I can't let that happen, not when I've fought so hard for so long. I need to lose the weight pronto to create a safety margin in case of a future unavoidable gain.
In the meantime I'm tired and grumpy and thinking about food all the time. I drink black coffee like it's water and water like it's about to be outlawed. I avoid the breakroom at lunch since it's the meal I skip and it's too hard to sit there while everyone else is eating.
My diet is a trimmed down version of an exchange plan. Every day I have one serving each of fruit and dairy, and two servings each of vegetables, grains and protein. That averages out to about 900 calories.
The thing I miss the most and constantly crave is dark chocolate. My bedtime eighty calorie piece of dark chocolate was the very last thing I cut from my diet and I feel like a tantrumy child because I can't have it.
I wish I had gotten my act together and lost the weight twenty years ago when I had plenty of time.
Magrat, your diet seems brutal. You've probably already done this or thought about it, but have you spoken to a nutritionist or a doctor or a trainer? Maybe someone who works with weight loss could suggest some sort of technique that doesn't make you tired and grumpy so often. Or maybe you could tweak your diet so that you still eat the same amount of calories but feel more full? I know you've already experimented and have probably settled on this knowing that it's the only way to lose weight, but I just felt bad reading about your struggles. I hope that you see some progress soon!
In other news, I was excited to see a whoosh on the scale this morning! I hope I don't undo it when I go on holiday Friday.
fivestone, thanks for answering my question about your red line weight. Your answer helped me confirm that I haven't hit mine yet. I mean, I know that it wouldn't be devastating or horrible if I remained at this weight, but reeeeally, I'd much rather not and would feel a tad unhappy if I were forced to maintain now. I'm glad that you're finding the journalling helpful. I feel like I should try it, but I'm of two minds about it. On the one hand, I've heard so many people say that it's helpful and even that it's hard to successfully lose/maintain without a food journal. On the other hand, I haven't been journalling up to this point, and I'm actually pretty aware of what I eat each day. Is the journalling actually making you more aware of how much you're eating? Has it helped you to cut out anything in particular?
In other news, I was excited to see a whoosh on the scale this morning! I hope I don't undo it when I go on holiday Friday.
First things first, congrats on the whoosh!! Where are you headed to for holiday?
As per your questions... personally, I didn't keep a food journal all this time, and obviously I still lost the weight, anyway. But what I'm doing now isn't the typical "food eaten/calories consumed" journal. I also write the time I'm eating, my feelings before eating, any anxiety, and then my feelings afterward. Emotional eating had a lot to do with me gaining the weight in the first place; I don't want that to happen to me in the future, and some of the slips I was having with food made me nervous that I'd slip up and fall back in that direction. So the journalling is about helping me separate my food from my feelings -- I journal a bit before I start eating... not just record what I consumed after the fact. If you're not much of an emotional eater, though, then the way I do it might not be the thing for you. Whatever you're doing seems to be working very well for you, though!
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Originally Posted by shefontaine
Me! I'm not a "teen" yet but was for most of my life. Since I am so short, the smallest amount of weight I gain is so noticeable.
What have you ladies done to lose the weight? I'm very interested....
I'm gonna quote myself from my "Goal Photo Album" post (my original goal was 125, which I reached on 1 January):
I kind of established some rules for myself -- one is that exercise was, and is, an absolute non-negotiable. I started off just walking, and then going to a walk/run or run on some trails around here. I live in some really beautiful surroundings, so it was really appealing to want to get out and be in the scenery and take in some fresh air. Later on I added Dance Dance Revolution on the Wii to keep things interesting, and later I added the stationary bike in lieu of so much running because I live in the Alps and we've had a fair amount of snow, so my usual trails just aren't passable and the sidewalks are sometimes iffy with the ice and snow.
(More recently I have also done cross-country skiing, which is a great workout...)
I had a regular schedule, with at least 3-4 days of exercise a week, if not 5-6 times, and sometimes twice in a day. I did at least 30 minutes, if not 45 minutes to an hour or more.
I also tried to focus on having an active lifestyle in general. I'm fortunate enough to live in a place where you can take trains, or just walk to get to the store or other places (bank, post office, etc.) I wouldn't include things like this in my regular exercise calculation so these worked out as extras. I've gone from being quite the couch potato to being active... it seems like I'm always moving. Even when I'm on the couch or just chilling at home I seem to always being in motion, unless I'm specifically concentrating on relaxing. Sometimes randomly whilst watching TV I'll just do some situps and pushups, or if a nice song comes on the telly or my playlist whilst I'm during housechores, believe me when I say that I'll break out into a dance! I'm sure things like that didn't hurt!
Food took a major overhaul in my life. I've been married since September 2009, and before then, I rarely cooked. I started teaching myself and learning some recipes a few weeks after our wedding... but definitely when I started getting my diet plan together, I realised that I should really step up my game a notch in terms of cooking more nutritious meals for my husband. I gathered cookbooks and recipes online as well and started experimenting, and I also started being a lot more careful about my purchases.
I use olive oil for 95% of my oil-based cooking (and use it sparingly). I use a tonne of whole foods -- way more of that than anything processed. I do a tonne of stir frys and experiment with different veggies... sometimes I use lean meats, and sometimes I do it as hearty vegetarian. I really try to make the best use of herbs and spices to load the flavor in there without a bunch of extra calories and such... My husband absolutely LOVES the stir frys... he grew up eating a lot of hearty, fatty traditional Austrian and Italian meals... I do a variety of dishes, and I've been able to take some of the traditional ones and update them healthily. I'm happy to say that my husband has also lost over 30 pounds since May!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mari9
I'd be curious to know what amount of calories others here are eating!
Hi, Mari! Welcome!
I'm getting anywhere between 1500-1900 cals a day, depending on activity and my desire. I could probably lower my calories if I wanted, to lose more, and I like having room for that because it makes me feel like it's realistic for me to lose more if I want.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nienna
Magrat, your diet seems brutal. You've probably already done this or thought about it, but have you spoken to a nutritionist or a doctor or a trainer? Maybe someone who works with weight loss could suggest some sort of technique that doesn't make you tired and grumpy so often. Or maybe you could tweak your diet so that you still eat the same amount of calories but feel more full? I know you've already experimented and have probably settled on this knowing that it's the only way to lose weight, but I just felt bad reading about your struggles. I hope that you see some progress soon!
Magrat, totally agree with Nienna on this. I understand that you want to be in control of your weight before menopause sets in, but your diet sounds hardcore. Obviously, only you can decide if it's worth it to you, but it sounds like an awful lot to go through. Could any of it be related to hypothyroid or a similar condition?
=) Thanks for the welcome! It's nice seeing your calorie levels- many people have set there's lower than I'd like to. I'm fitting habitual crash dieting so I'm keeping mine higher than what I normally do to lose weight. Hopefully I can lose at this level like you can!
Today was nice. I saw a three pound shift downward! Most of this (if not all) must have been related to my ending TOM, but still its good being closer to my goal.
How is everyone else doing?
Magrat- I agree with the other poster's. If you can find another solution to reach your goals that leaves you with more energy, it may be best. Not just for your energy levels and emotions, but health too! I'm sure you already know that though. Is there anyway you'd be comfortable adding more servings of low calorie raw vegetables? It might help out without slowing your weight loss. I've never counted calories of most raw vegetables and its never gotten in the way of my weight loss in the past. Maybe it would be true for you as well.
Anyone in the 110s (and below) trying to maintain or lose?
