Hi Feathers! Conga-rats on all your success - glad you're feeling better, Wildflower.

The stomach bug has incapacitated me for the last few days, but I'm OK now. I had to break my carb-restrictions with an upset tummy - it needed bread, crackers, and sports drink. But I'm ok with it - still floating at 134 this morning, and I'm healthy now (which is what counts).

I made "protein slop" for dinner/lunch; it turned out okay and it's so bland you can dress it up with anything. I just cut up 4 chicken cutlets, a 400g block of firm tofu, and 2 eggs, and mashed them up in a frying pan. Not attractive to look at, but it's very filling!

6 days later I'm back to the same weight I was last Friday, just at 130 or so. Really hoping to inch downward; it would be sad to make zero progress in a week.

Wildflower I am so happy to hear you're doing better and feeling less negative. Life isn't worth living if you feel miserable and like you're running on an empty tank of gas.

Hi everyone! I didn't weigh in this morning because I decided to not seem completely psycho by taking the scale to the boy's place. :lol: I am home tonight so I will know where I'm at tomorrow. I've drank a LOT of water today! I ate kind of late tonight (as in, I ate dinner at 10pm about 15 minutes ago) I hope that doesn't affect my weigh in much! I'm actually under my 1400 calories today, just wasn't very hungry.

Would really like to slide my ticker down and add a bat to my signature by Easter... Come on, 130lbs.

krampus hoping for you to see a drop too, I'm sure you're itching for 129.

Have a wonderful evening everyone!

ALSO -- I tried on some nice jeans today that I haven't worn in QUITE a while (years.) They buttoned and zipped! I will probably look good in them around 127ish, right now I got that muffin-top thing going on. But they're size 27, so that makes me happy! :D

Mayday, it sounds like you made great choices -- sports drinks always make me feel much better when I'm ill. That or chicken soup -- it's all about the sodium!

I'm thinking of starting intermittent fasting as an experiment in self-control, to switch up my plan (which is starting to become dull and harder to stick to) and because I find the research on it very interesting. I find that I'm eating unenjoyable snack foods (mostly parts of meal replacement bars) between dining hall meals and missing things I like because eating often is so hard on my schedule. As I get busier close to finals, it might be a better idea for me to just eat more, less often.

I've also noticed that my hunger cycle changes easily in response to behaviors -- I used to eat half my calories after 6pm, and this week I've been waking early at 7 am naturally and wanting to stuff my face immediately. It's odd to be so hungry in the morning (and inconvenient, in terms of access to food). So it may be possible to do this without a lot of stress (I hope).

Anyway, I'm going to try IF tomorrow by fasting after my early lunch at 11:30am until my Friday lunch at 1pm. Wish me luck!

Good luck with the IF, lackadaisy, and let us know how it goes! That idea continues to interest me, but I've gotten so used to eating breakfast. I'm sure I could readjust my hunger peaks and valleys, but it seems like such a leap!

Not entirely sure why I weighed in at 131.2lbs this morning... I'm hoping it's simply because I am (yet again) experiencing my TOM, even though it just ended a week and a half ago. I am on BC pills and I forgot to take both of them over the weekend -- I never would have guessed that it would start my cycle over after just having it. :mad:

Was hoping to be 130.0 even on Easter, but now I'm thinking I might have to be okay with 130.9. It's just a little frustrating that I was 130.6 last week. 130 is just important to me, because that officially marks my weight loss at 20lbs, and that feels special. :)

When I first started my weight loss journey, I planned on being 115lbs by May 30th. I didn't take in to account that it would be so hard to pry this weight off the closer I got to goal.

Now I'm just hoping that I can get to 126lbs by May 30th, and that it looks good enough on me for when the boyfriend and I go to Pasadena, CA... I would really like to feel at least a little confident in pictures from our vacation, and I'll probably need a bikini by then since the (uber fabulous) hotel has a pool.

It's funny how last night I was thrilled to button some jeans and this morning I feel like I'm house-sized, just because of the number on the scale. It doesn't help that the two chicks that sit with me in my work cube cannot possibly weigh more than 115lbs each, and both are a couple of inches taller. (Sometimes I still struggle with comparing myself to other people :rolleyes:)

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lackadaisy -- good luck with IF! I used to never be hungry in the mornings, and now I am ravenous when I wake up. I made a rule to eat breakfast at work, that way I can't go back to the fridge/pantry to eat more breakfast. Once my oatmeal/cereal/yogurt/fruit/whatever is gone, then breakfast is over. :)

indiblue -- can't wait to hear about your trip!

Have an awesome day, everyone. :hug:

Everyone is doing so great! Thanks for the continued support.

Clare - those rules make a lot of sense, I'll have to look him up as I've never heard of him before.

Mayday - glad you are feeling better! It stinks when we get sick as it is hard to stay on plan.

Krampus I completly agree that it's not worth being miserable just for a few vanity pounds. That's really where my mindset is right now. I know many people quote Jillian Michaels by saying, "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" but I am not sure I agree entirely. I think I am slowly accepting that I'd rather being unskinny and not hungry and crabby all the time.

My exercise plan is going along...yesterday I got up early before work and went to the gym to do a day of "New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women". It's a 6 month program for building strength that I am just starting. I did that and then ran a half mile on the treadmill. At lunch I went out and ran 2 miles outside, and after work I did a 90 minute Iyengar yoga class. Kept calories high (1800), but plan to drop them down to 1400-1500 today as I won't be doing weights.

OK, I'm just jumping right on back in after a few weeks away.

I ran the London Marathon last Sunday so, as you can imagine, with marathon training, I was not trying to lose any weight - I last weighed myself aboutr four weeks ago at about 149, but my clothes were loose so I figured I was losing fat but putting on muscle. I ate what my body wanted.

Got back from London and weighed myself Monday morning at 144.8, which was quite a nice surprise. Have been good all week and this morning was 143.8 so well on the way to a skinny summer.

My aches and pains are just beginning to subside so I might try running this weekend.

Robsia, congrats on the marathon! I watched the Boston on monday (and then I stopped for a donut on the way home :p), such a great accomplishment!

The past few years I've been eating every 3ish hours, but I'm not sure it's really working for me anymore. Might check out this IF thing... I've seen some intruiging ideas and data on it recently so maybe it's something to try. I'm off to do some research!

Robsia, I'm so impressed by your marathon!! It's one of my goals to one day run a marathon, but I'm still a long way from that goal.

Hour ten of my fast, and I'm definitely feeling hungry. I have to say, though, the fact that I know I'm fasting intentionally and not just depriving myself of dessert was great for resisting amazing double-chocolate cake from a decadent local bakery -- the kind that is 500 calories per thin slice -- at an event I attended this evening.

It'll be an odd-but-useful experience to sleep hungry, and with luck I will be sufficiently energized by "fasting mode" (and caffeine) to go for a run and Zumba class at dawn.

Annoying weigh-in this morning; ate totally clean all week long, keeping calories under 1500 every day (under 1400 every day except Tuesday!) with consistent if uninspired workouts. Weighed in at 59.1 kg; last Friday was 59.0 kg (130.3 vs 130.1). Going by how I feel, I guess you could say I feel about the same as I did last Friday but I'm considerably less excited about it.

Oh well, not the end of the world. I wish I had a pool or gym available to shake up exercise. Maybe I should just eat less?

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Congrats on the marathon Robsia! That is well impressive!

lackadaisy Report back on how literally running on empty goes!

parafilm I'm not an IFer but I tried it for a few days. I loved being able to eat huge meals on it. Maybe it will be the change you need to feel better.

Wildflower That's a whole lot of exercise; very inspirational! I can't wait to have access to a gym.

Dorian5 We are twinned in our "dammit, I wanted to get under 130" disappointment...you're surely not house-sized but I know the feeling. I had "planned" to be 115 by March 18 but um yeah. It never works out exactly how you want it...

krampus I definitely enjoyed the huge (450-cal) lunch I had earlier today. I also think this is necessary for me to jumpstart my loss as I'm stalled at 119.5 again after my dip into 118s.

Drinking tea right now in the dining hall, studying with friends who are eating bagels and amazing cookies (my favorite kind) right next to me. This is actually mildly torturous but I'm holding strong. Considering taking a couple cookies to break my fast tomorrow, but then remembered why I don't eat them: not because they're "impermissible food," but because they're very high in calories and not worth the exchange for other food I could have. SO.

But I think I need to leave and study alone and away from food now. Maybe in a library. Wish me luck!

Robsia The London Marathon is an absolute dream of mine! Well done :) I only want to run a marathon once (I think), and defo in London so all my family can watch! I bet the atmosphere was great!

Lacksadaisy I know what you mean about feeling hungry, sometimes it is nice. Since I've been eating only when hungry, I've felt hunger pangs I haven't felt in years. I eat as soon as I feel really hungry but to know I can still listen to my body is good!

It was an amazing experience, but it was very hard. Before I did it I had thoughts of maybe doing another one. Afterwards, it was "No way am I ever doing that again!"

And yet the 21-mile run I did in training was nowhere near as bad, and that is a long way in itself, with no crowd to cheer me on.

But I finished it, much as I desperately wanted to die from about 16 miles on, and here is the proof (a few pics): http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fb...0&l=bf72f5742c

You look considerably less tired than I did, and I only ran a half! Here is the proof (for a limited period only! Excuse the stupid face!) Be proud of yourself that you can look that chilled while running a marathon!

I felt really dizzy before class at 10 (hour 23) so I ate about 100 calories of half an energy bar. Feeling better, still hungry (which is good) and sticking it out through class and my planned workout before lunch at 1 pm.

Really upsetting weigh-in this morning at 120.0... I hate these fluctuations and how they seem to plateau every couple of pounds.

I'm a little tipsy, and posting here to report a very happy NSV - that I survived a birthday party with alcohol without drunk eating afterward. I have avoided drinking because of drunk eating, and I just didn't do it tonight. Calories were probably in the 2000-2200 range for the day so I'm not expecting to see a loss on the scale, but I am just happy that I handled tonight gracefully (and without too much liquor - 2 nice, small bourbon on the rocks because I'm so MANLY)!!! :)

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Robsia Very cool photos! You can't tell by looking that you felt like death. Congratulations again! A full marathon is incredible.

claire, your man is a supermodel and you look fantastic!

lackadaisy Fluctuations or whatever they are really suck. I'm stuck at 130 and will probably be up in the morning. Sigh. I hope you see more promising numbers soon.

Finished my semi-fast (I "cheated" with 100 calories of Balance bar at 10am) at 1 pm after a light workout -- 2.6 mile jog and a pilates class -- and had a fairly light lunch of tilapia, sauteed spinach, cucumber, and a small portion of froyo. Snacked on a cookie at 4pm (the kind I restrained myself from yesterday) and am having a fairly light dinner of veggies, tofu, and lettuce. Oddly, I feel satisfied on so little food, but I think it's because my digestive system shut down for about 20 hours.

I think IF might work for me -- though I'll have to be better about sticking to a full 24 hours next time to develop better blood-sugar-control. I think I'll plan on doing it Monday through Tuesday next week, and I'll definitely check in to let you girls know how it goes.

Weight was up about 1 kilogram after yesterday. I probably ate 20 dill baby gherkin pickles in addition to salty entrees, plus booze, plus going over loss calories, blah blah. I'm not going to freak out about it. Finally "went" and headed out for a pleasant 30 minute jog/run. Breakfast was plain yogurt and oatmeal with coffee and water.

So logically, I came home and felt great and decided to take self-timer photos to see how I'm doing. And sadly, the verdict is the same as always: I saw the pictures and thought "man, I have a SH!TTY body." I have no boobs, no butt, my waist is stubbornly disproportionately wide, and my belly shows no signs of going anywhere. If I grab all the fat around my middle between my boobs and my navel and tuck it under itself, only then do I have anything resembling a nice looking stomach.

Sorry for the pity party. Just having one of those stupid hypercritical moments, plus it's annoying I haven't lost any weight in a week despite fixing habits that needed changing.

Krampus, I totally sympathize with how you feel. I went shopping today and felt terrible about my body -- I suddenly didn't like my waist, my shoulders, the pooch of fat below my waist. Afterwards, I went to see a play and kept thinking about how thin the actresses were... and so on. My disappointing weigh-in this morning didn't make me feel any better.

But there was no need for any of that! We are our worst critics, of photos and in mirrors and in life. I received a shipment of clothes I ordered a few days ago afterward, and was heartened to find that 1/2 the size S dresses were too big, 1/4 were too small, and the rest fit perfectly. Most of my order is going back (of course), but the perfect dress I found reminded me that it's the clothes, not my body, on which I should broker no compromise.

Krampus and Lacksadaisy Maybe it was something in the air but I am having a self-pity party at the moment too. I compare myself to all my friends, the models in Cosmo, the models in the sports magazines I buy... Nightmare! I am now thinking I should be trying harder to lose weight, this is always the self-pity circle I get in... Diet --> lose a bit ---> like my body ---> compare myself to others ---> hate my body ---> diet. Gah!

But Daisy, good that you found a perfect dress!

Krampus - chin up!

Ate at an awesome "healthy" fast food place for lunch, but I felt a bit twitchy-neurotic about it because the item I ordered doesn't have nutritional info online. I got the breadless version of a 430-cal egg & eggplant sandwich and left half the hummus and the egg yolk, which according to proper subtraction would have me at 230 calories for the meal, but I KNOW that's not right. I absolutely hate when delicious, small establishments don't have nutrition facts available. It shouldn't matter, because large chains lie about that stuff all the time, but my control issues need that fake peace of mind...

Anyway, I'm just sharing that because I recognize it's unhealthy to be overstressed about portion sizes of healthful food, but it's one of those inevitable consequences of calorie-counting. Whether I ate 250 calories or 450, I wouldn't have killed my day, so I should just log a higher number and move on.

Happier news: found out after I ate that there was a 2.5k race sponsored by my school happening just half a mile away. I ran there just in time to start and, while I didn't even come close to a top finish, partly because I didn't know the course and held back a bit more than I should have, I did finish in the top half! And on a hummus-full stomach!

Well, gang, my 5K was today and I got through it (this was my first race!) but my time SUCKED. I'm so disappointed. However, part of this was not my fault. We've been having a lot of thunderstorms here lately, and while the rain stayed away during the event itself, it rained heavily all week prior and then even all night and morning prior, only stopping pretty much at our start time. This was a trail run through woods and fields, and the trail was absolute muddy messy soup in places! It was all a lot of us could do to simply avoid falling. Add that to the fact that I only learned that the path was a wooded hiking area a mere 2 weeks ago (up to that point I thought it was on the bike path near the event site, not in the woods themselves), and you can imagine that I was not exactly training in the proper way. I've been getting kickin' times on road, bike path, track, and treadmill runs for months now, like between 12 and 20 minute miles on average. I hypothesized I could finish the 5K in about 45 minutes max. Sadly, no, I was just over 50 minutes. I am beyond sad. Trying to stay positive and upbeat about it, but I can't help but be disappointed in myself. :(

Aww Kat - that is still a really good time for the conditions! Mud etc really slows you down. I know how you feel about being disappointed with your times, I am the same but I really think you did well all things considered. Besides, you know given the proper conditions you can defo do it in 45mins max. What about finding another 5k to do really soon to prove to yourself you can do it? Running really has upsides and downsides, best to get back on the horse as quickly as possible and experience the upsides!

[BLacksadaisy[/B] haha great that you randomly ran a 2.5k, ledge!

I have started on the Paul McKenna things, doing a lot of work on my body image at the moment. The CD gets you to visualise yourself as the person you want to be and make the image really vivid and then step into it. I haven't started on the hypnosis yet but I have trying to only eat when I'm hungry, and so far have been doing OK. I have really found I am hardly ever hungry, two meals a day maybe at most.

I started my triathlon training yesterday too. It isn't until 28th August but we are off on holiday for 3 weeks in August so I thought I'd get a headstart. Went for a 4.6 mile run yesterday (had to change my GPS to miles to understand the training plan), today an Easter hike with my bf's whole family and tomorrow cycling is on the agenda! When the Paul McKenna thing asks me to visualise the person I want to be, I always visualise two things. One of them is crossing the finish line for this triathlon, so fingers crossed!

Have a nice Easter Sunday everyone (mmmm I have a Lindt chocolate bunny waiting for me to bite its head off!)

Had a huge banquet dinner last night -- enjoyed myself with appetizers and risotto, but held back on alcohol (half a drink), dessert (fruit instead of creme brulee and cookies), and other dishes I knew would be condensed trouble. Estimated my calories at ~800 for the night and made it within my calorie budget for the day. And I weighed in at 118 this morning!

Binged last night, up 3 lbs this morning as a result. Not sure what triggered it?! Oh well, back to the regularly scheduled programming today. Instead of trying to "detox" or compensate I'm just treating today like another day.

Just a quick update, I've been MIA enjoying a fabulous weekend with the boyfriend. Drank WAY too much alcohol last night, had a gnarly hangover all day today.

BUT on Friday I got on the scale just for fun AFTER eating dinner and weighed in at 129.8lbs. I still can't quite believe it, and I know that I'll be up tomorrow because I just ate and ate and ate alllllll weekend long. But I have no doubt I'll be seeing 129 sometime this week. :) Good thing too, because the pool at my boyfriend's townhouse is opening next weekend, and we're all grilling out and getting in the pool. Looks like I'll have to get a bikini sooner than I thought. :o

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Krampus Good attitude!

Dorian Well done! Woo bikini time!

I had a lovely hike yesterday with my bf's family. I did eat schnitzel and potato salad, and strudel but I was hungry when I ate all of those things so technically it was allowed! The entire Lindt bunny (100g) I ate in the evening probably wasn't though, but hey, it was Easter!

Today I went for a 17 mile bike ride before breakfast and then weighed and measured myself. I listened to my Paul McKenna mp3s last night (my boyfriend took the piss) and I feel really chilled out about the whole thing. Really positive about my body today, which is nice! I am going to start a 3fc blog to chart my progress with intuitive eating and triathlon training I think, but under a different name because I wouldn't want my friends to know how obsessive I get... They would defo think I've lost the plot!

Today I have a picnic in the sun and then me and my friends are doing a 'Come Dine With Me' (TV show where each person hosts a dinner party and the guests rate it out of 10) evening but I don't have to cook! Bonus!

HAve a great day everyone :)

Good morning, feathers!

lackadaisy - great job on keeping what could have been a binge/splurge meal into something that you worked into your allotted calories!

krampus I like the idea of just eating normally after a binge instead of panicking and trying to restrict. I've read before that it's best to eat something small and light about an hour or two after binging to keep your metabolism up? (I don't know about your binges, but after mine I'm so full and uncomfortable I usually go to sleep -- probably the last thing I should do.) I also read back to your post about tucking your stomach -- I do that all. the. time. And all I can think is, if only my stomach looked this flat, I would actually be acceptable-looking. I understand, and I'm in the same place -- this up, down, all around weight gain/loss is a mind-f**k that is wearing me out. I hope you're feeling better about yourself today. :hug:

claire I have a chocolate bunny from my mother that is taunting me! I hope I can eat it slowly with a piece or two a day -- it's hollow, cheap chocolate and apparently the whole thing is 280 calories -- if I can manage to stretch it 3 or 4 days I'll be happy! Glad to hear you're feeling positive about your body -- and starting a blog!! Very awesome.

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I clocked in at a not-so-hot 131.8lbs this morning. I really don't think I had THAT many calories this weekend! What I ate on Saturday was maintenance... except then I drank a lot of alcohol. Like... a whole lot. Too much. Okay, I did have a lot of calories this weekend.

On Sunday I had 3/4ths of a Bojangles chicken biscuit (my hangover would not allow the whole thing to go down my throat) and my mother cooked Easter lunch (YUM home-cooked southern food), then the boyfriend and I had pseudo-Mexican for dinner (we went to On The Border.) -- I guess my hangover was better because I had a big ol' margarita. :rolleyes:

I'm hoping that some of that 131.8 is water retention for the RIDICULOUS amount of sodium I had this weekend, plus I couldn't manage to "go" this morning before weighing in. Hoping that tomorrow is better and that I can let myself slide my ticker down to 130lbs.

I've decided that my weigh in day should be Friday, since I perform beautifully during the week and then cheat on the weekends. I used to clock my weight every Monday, but I'm so heavy on Mondays! Fridays seem like the better choice. But truthfully, I've GOT to cut out this free-weekends thing that I've been doing, because it's seriously hindering my weight loss. I would really, really like to see 125lbs by Memorial Day, since that's the first day of my vacation with the boyfriend.

And can I say that I am completely DREADING this pool party nonsense this upcoming weekend? Swimsuit season snuck up on me! Ugh! I can't wear a bikini yet! :(

Hope everyone has a good Monday.

Good morning Feathers!!

Wow, it feels like it's been so long since I've posted in here! I have been intuitively eating and it was working out. However, my weekends have been wayyyyyy too crazy. Although I have been having fun, the drinking all day and all night every night of the weekend, coupled with the bad eating that goes along with that, has caused me to feel guilty and ready to start "dieting" again. Which basically just means being more mindful and calorie counting. I have been pretty good keeping up with my running 2.5 miles 4-5 times a week but as we all know, exercise can't outdo horrible eating. Therefore, I am back on the wagon of calorie counting and keeping drinking (without the bad eating) to one day a week. I am excited to be back! New goal is to lose 10 pounds by August 1! Short term goal is to be at 127 point anything (could even be 127.9), by Memorial weekend :D I am guessing I am around 132 right now. I will weigh in on Wednesday!

I haven't read all the previous posts of the April forum but I hope everyone is doing well!! Weight loss and even maintenance is a constant challenge! We can do it feathers :carrot:

All riiight, knocked off 3 lbs overnight. 131.4 this morning. I lucked out this time - in the past, binge weight has stuck for weeks! Yesterday I made a point to go for a long walk up steep hills at lunch and went for a short 2.5-3 mile jog after work. It's really annoying having to stop at railroad crossings when you're in the zone and going at a good clip.

The weather is really, really lovely here - about 70F/21C and sunny with a light breeze. Southern Japan tends to have about 3 weeks of "pleasant spring" between "long horrible winter" and "disgustingly humid summer." I'd compare the climate here to the Deep South in the US.

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claire ACK I am so envious of your life, really and truly! Strudel <333

Dorian5, *huge hug* It really, truly sucks sometimes, but we are still so much better off than 20 pounds heavier. I keep having to remind myself of that. I "count" Friday weights more than Monday weights for that same reason...weekends I consider a victory if I'm only up 2 pounds come Monday morning.

Hey Dianne! Nice to see you around. Weekends are my downfall too, even without drinking much. Intuitive eating was a bust for me; I've spent too much of my life overweight or yo-yo-ing to really be ready for that kind of change.

Hi everyone...I think I'm starting to see the light after several pretty down days. The past 6 months of dieting and starting to fail has really taken a toll on my self esteem. I feel like such a failure about everything and have just been so down about it all. Not to add, giving up on dieting the past few weeks has made me want to eat everything I've been denying myself since September....stuff I would never eat much of or care about is suddenly a huge craving that I'm binging on...I need to stop this before I start gaining what I did manage to lose back again.

FWIW, I am a huge perfectionist who doesn't take failure lightly, especially something I've always thought was manageable for me (weight loss). I suppose this is a learning experience in humility.

On the positive side..I've had the energy to work out, and I've been doing well on that side. I'm 4 workouts in to "New Rules of Weightlifting for Women", I've been getting a run or two a week in, and I've gone back to yoga now that my school schedule has changed to allow it.

I'm loving the weight lifting and the yoga again. Running is still...eh, It's okay when it's warm out but I really don't have anymore motivation for running in the cold. All this cold rainy weather has definitely got me down too, and knowing I have to walk to and from work in the 30 degree rain for the next week is really just depressing.

So, I'm a giant ball of sunshine. :) I think I might just start up one of those blogs here so I don't whine in this thread all too much anymore.

Keep up the great work everyone!

Hi everyone!

I'm new here, and I'm a senior in high school. My exercise is pretty good, I have physical activity that I count as a workout about 5+ hours a week. My eating though...formerly I developed bulimia, and symptoms of anorexia, but I never was underweight. This was after an entire childhood of binging all the time, though. However, even though that was a few years ago, I still have the issue of eating everything or nothing. I can't find a happy medium, and I guess I figured it was better to binge than starve? I don't know... So I'm here to develop a healthy relationship with food and along the way lose a good 25 lbs. I eat pretty healthily if you exclude my binges. So I will be working on drinking more water and eliminating binges, especially the afternoon urge :/ while making sure I don't start eating too little. 'Cuz take away my binging and sometimes I don't eat enough. Like I said, I'm black or white with no shades of gray...

So I'm sorry if it doesn't really seem like I belong in this thread, I didn't really fit any where else, so I hope to start my (hopefully short) weight loss journey here!

<3 lacey
stats on side

lacey marie - of course you can be here! I remembered the first ime I tiptoed into the Featherweights forum, worried I still weighed too much and still disbelieving that I could call myself a Featherweight. Been here ever since, although there was a brief foray into Maintainers - but I never really felt like I belonged there.

Dianne I completely understand your zig zagging between intuitive and dieting, I do the same thing!

Dorian You'll get there soon! Weekends are bad for me too, too much temptation. My worst nightmare is to be the boring one sitting in the corner eating nothing...

Krampus Haha don't be envious of my life, it is a complete chaotic mess at the moment! Relationship/friends side of my life is perfect at the moment, so logically the career/study/future side is a nightmare! So ist das Leben :)

Wildflower chin up! I think we all have periods like that, where everything is just mehhhh. Are you eating enough calories in your diet phases? Constant deprivation is linked with low moods. I don't want to bang on about it, but you should download the Paul McKenna CDs if you fancy trying something new. They really help with body confidence and the mental side of weight loss. I think they'd help even if you want to stick to calorie counting and not intuitive eating.

Lacey Marie Welcome!

________________

Today is my last day off work (boo! back to school tomorrow!) so I am going swimming in a bit, and then food shopping. Until the swimming pool opens at 12 I am stuck doing my student loan application. I am moving back to London to start a teacher training course in September, so I have to sort out all the loan / criminal record check forms. They drive me mental and remind me why I hate England, grrr.

As you can tell, I am not amused at having to go back home (I love my life here!) but if I don't train soon, I'll be stuck working as an unqualified teacher forever because I will never leave Vienna. My bf has plans to work in America within the next three years, so I can't do teacher training here (takes too long!). Also, the British training would be good in case I ever have to move back home for family reasons. Still sucks that I have to leave the boyfriend/friends/school/colleagues I like so much to go and live in stinky London :p

Hope everyone is in a better mood today!

Happy Tuesday feathers!

I swear, I really think theres something in the air. Actually, my mom was telling me about this "theory" she heard on the news the other day. We all know about the big 2012 and it supposedly being the end of the world. Well they are saying the way the planets are aligned right now (they shifted or something?) is causing everyone's moods/emotions to be out of wack. Supposedly its making us as a society feel very discontent. And it will continue to get worse until 12-21-12. Then we will have 100 years of peace after the planets "realign"..Guess thats what they are saying lol Just a fun random piece of info I thought I'd share. I always feel better when I can blame my weird moods and mood swings on something :lol:

Second day back on the dieting wagon. I love how good it feels just knowing I am back on the wagon. I feel like even just one solid month on plan could do wonders! Taking a break was def. needed. It was becoming too much!

Krampus Love how we are the same height, weight and live similar lives on the weekends hah :dizzy::D

Wildflower I am the same way! I am very affected by my surroundings so when the weather is rainy or cold, it takes A LOT to get me motivated to go out and run. I would much rather run in 90 degree humid weather than cold rainy weather!! I feel for you :hug:

Lacey Marie What a cute name! Sounds southern. Where are you from? You def belong in this forum and don't feel hesitant to ask any questions. I am sure there is nothing you could ask that hasnt been asked at 3fc over the years, so no worries!

Claire Oh im so jealous! London! Vienna! I want to visit !!

Claire - I did my teacher training in London also - many years ago. Where will you be training?

Thank you for the warm welcome everyone!

Diane I actually was born in Texas! We moved since then, but we're back here now. However, I learned to talk on the East Coast, so no accent here! And it's good to know I have another excuse for my being miserable other than "I didn't get enough sleep."

Dorian Don't worry, the sodium DEFINITELY had to do with the water retention hence the water weight...And I'm the same with the whole "weekend splurge" thing...and I agree, I have GOT to stop with that...

Claire Hang in there! I agree with Diane--I'm jealous!

Wildflower I've been there (perfectionist and failure), I know how it sucks :( But great job working out!! Every bit counts ;) And Claire's right, maybe try readjusting your diet? It may help... and the weather definitely sways your emotions! However, I do love running in the rain...just not when it's freezing ;)

Krampus I know what ya mean about the weather! And I should learn from you...I FREAK out after a binge!

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Well, today was okay... I had a really nice plan but I screwed up... It doesn't really qualify as a binge, but it wasn't smart. Leave it to me to do so on my FIRST day here :(

BUT I WON'T STOP!!! Tomorrow's a new day, and I just got to think of the future... I think it may help if I take the time to correct everything triggering my overeating...

1) I always eat after school. Every day, I'm hungry, and often I think to myself "It's just habit to eat as soon as you get home," so I wait. 45 minutes later, I decide to have a snack. But then once I start, I don't stop. Again, black and white, no gray :( And then I'm not hungry for dinner but I have to eat 'cuz my family gets paranoid that I'm not eating enough...
2) I need to start at the START of a week, not the middle... so I'll try to finish this week up okay-ish, and start the real deal Monday!
3) Weekend breaks... gotta stop. I think I'll just eat a bit of chocolate daily to stop cravings, like maybe a chocolate covered coffee bean? Best Easter gift ever!
4) DEHYDRATED! Enough said ;)

So I'm sorry if this seems a bit long, I can't really tell... YOU ARE ALL INSPIRING!!! Keep it up!

Well after a super nutritious dinner of salmon and veggies, I housed a brick of chocolate last night, putting calories just over 2000 for the day. Got up this morning and felt rough, went for a run, and the effects of the chocolate were definitely there. It was one of the worst ever and an uncomfortable reminder that eating well = exercise doesn't suck. On the bright side, after my run I was down in weight from yesterday, putting me at 130.7 lbs/59.3 kg this morning. And I'm wearing my German H&M size 34 (36 in France/Spain) dress without discomfort, so all feels right with the world.

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lacey marie Welcome to Featherweights! It can feel discouraging when you're all gung-ho about a new plan and mess up the first day, but if you don't let it get you down you win. Can you change your routine so that after school you're not home thinking about eating? Sometimes that makes all the difference. It's hard and I too struggle with binging from time to time. Hope you'll stick around for a while :)

Dianne We may be similar heights and weights but our shapes are so radically different! Glad you feel good about being "back on the wagon." I do too (when I'm not overeating, hehe)!

claire That does sound super stressful...I suppose everything sounds more glamorous when I'm on the other side of the world feeling homesick for the West and jonesing for a European vacation, ha. Stay safe in LDN!

Wildflower I'm so sorry you feel like you've failed, but you really haven't. Stopping dieting doesn't mean you've failed at anything. That's the same logic an anorexic person would use when they are upset they cannot weigh less than, say, 90 lbs. You are exercising and keeping your body in shape whether you're losing weight or not - please don't forget that! *huge hug*

Ugh. Broke off my fast early because my body was just NOT having it -- my cold is getting worse. Definitely lost control a little bit at dinner with a huge slice of lemon tart. I feel a bit ill from all the food I ate. It'll be okay as far as my daily total goes -- just under 1,600, not enough to actually derail me -- but I still feel sad about losing control after a few excellent on-plan days. It's from social anxiety (dinner with someone I feel awkward around for complicated reasons). I need to make sure that doesn't happen again.