I felt REALLY good about yesterday. I did a 30 min run that I felt good about, and ate at 1150 cals. Lunch was a SlimFast shake, boiled egg, homemade bran muffin, apple, and orange. Dinner was one slice of pizza and my go-to faux "bibimbap" sald: shredded red cabbage, carrots, celery, with rice wine, soy sauce, sriracha, lime juice dressing, a crumbled up seaweed sheet and a sunny side up egg on top. Sorry I always describe it when I eat it, it's just one of my favorite meals these days and I get so excited about it :P. Dessert was a frozen mashed banana.

Anyway so I felt wonderful about everything, woke up this morning feeling leaner than usual and then weighed myself. 129.8. Say what! Up 3 lbs! After already fluctuating upwards a lot last week and then finally getting back to 126.8 on Friday! Are you kidding!!!!!

I have no idea what happened. The only sodium yesterday was one slice of pizza that I know did not cause 3 lbs of water weight gain. I just had upward fluctuations last week so once I settled back down I thought I'd see a little bit of a drop, or at least a hold-steady. NOT another massive fluctuation upwards.

I'm not deterred though. I feel much, much smaller and leaner and I know my food choices have been good. Will power on.

kat Thanks for the info on the gloves. I really will look into getting some!

xty Urg, so sorry to hear about the little gain. I'm sure it is just a blip and you'll be back to your usual weight (or lower!) in a couple of days. What did the detox spa involve? It sounds interesting.

lackadaisy hiking!!! I love hiking! I haven't been in so long. I also surprisingly eat less on days I work out. This is a recent phenomenon. I've often been very full after about 900 cals on days with 2.5 mile runs, 20 min bike rides plus strength training. It's bizarre.

I really loved reading about everyone's use of weights -- I'll be completely honest, I've never used a weight in my life. Nor have I worked out in a gym, I have a home treadmill and some DVDs covered with dust, that's about it. I think I worry about people looking at me while I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing on a machine? I don't know, the thought of going to a gym fills me with a little anxiety. Definitely an obstacle I would like to overcome.

At any rate, my super weird TOM is pretty much over and I clocked in at 132.2lbs this morning. I'll take it.

lackadaisy, your hike sounds totally awesome. I've never been on a hike, but always knew it was something I would definitely enjoy.

indiblue that salad sounds amazing! And good for you for not letting that weird little "gain" shake your willpower.

Dorian, home workouts are a great way to get fit without gym anxiety. I've done gyms, yoga studios, and home workouts, as well as outdoor fitness things like running and hiking, and I tell you I have the most fun working out to videos, personally. But for some people, that's deadly boring. I just like variety, and DVDs can give you instant variety on the cheap.

Everybody's on the hiking thing, so I'm off for a hike today. Whee! I need it. DH and I had pizza, wine, and cheesecake last night. Oy. Fortunately, I'd logged a four-mile run yesterday and ate very light early in the day, but after a point in our evening out, we both stopped logging our calories out of sheer embarrassment. *heh* Hence today being our plan for a long hike.

I'll tell ya, though. Even though I know I'm going to pay for all that great food later in the week? Sometimes splurging is downright fun. I'll never not be a foodie, but hopefully once I'm maintaining, I'll always remember to keep it in moderation. Even with this splurge, I was making higher quality choices than I might otherwise, sticking with vegetarian pizza and in smaller quantities than I might have inhaled in the past, and eschewing chocolate and crazy amounts of other fillings with my cheesecake.

Started the day off right with a jog and grocery shopping for super healthy raw food for the week. Spent the rest at a weird bubble-economy space themed amusement park with friends and went out to dinner at Hard Rock Cafe to celebrate a birthday. All of us ate a rather disgusting amount (er, typical American restaurant portion) of food. I realized tonight that I don't really like burgers and fries much at all. I spent my whole dinner staring wistfully at my friend's chicken fajitas with veggies and guacamole.

I noticed that all of us, save one, have put on a few pounds since the holidays. My friend whose birthday it was mentioned that she felt "like a dog that needs to be walked" and is getting back on the health/exercise wagon, which may help keep me motivated. I need to be kind to my body this week since I'm doing a 6+ hour mountain hike on Sunday.

kat999 Excellent point about making better choices and being pickier about what foods are worth splurging on! That's something I need to really instill in myself. Glad to hear you were able to enjoy pizza and cheesecake without feeling badly about it.

Dorian Nice work on the lower weight!

indiblue How you feel > what the scale says, I'm glad you were able ot keep that in mind. You're doing really well and I bet you look fantastic.

lackadaisy WHAAAT 2,300 calories burned on a hike? That's great! Snow sounds like a big challenge. Where did you go if I may ask? And yes, like you I am hungry the day after a big workout or long run, but am less hungry the day of than I would be on a rest/sedentary day.

kat, I completely agree that it's important to still enjoy and love food. I consider myself a "foodie," but for me that means appreciating new and unusual foods, not the same-old greasy, sweet things. Not that I don't appreciate those foods, too, but I'd rather go for the unusual dessert over cheesecake or ice cream every time.

Just now I had a HUGE breakfast of three crepes with different kinds of preserves (including Nutella), an egg-white-and-veggies frittata, green beans, and spinach salad. Like I said, I'm always starving the day after a lot of exercise... doubt I'll stay on-plan in caloric volume today, but hopefully I'll stay on-plan with still getting enough protein and veggies and making good choices. But crepes are so rare in the dining hall that I had to indulge.

Agreed! Life's too short not to enjoy a "fattening" meal now and then. My daily diet is pretty healthy, but I love socializing and going out to eat with my friends. I'll always love big breakfasts of french toast or going out for pizza or burgers. Sometimes I get worried about all the calories, but the fact is that as long as it's in moderation, it's not really going to make me gain.

I'm at 127.6 today-- which is exactly where I was last weekend. I was sure I'd gained weight this week because I didn't eat very well, so I'm happy to see the number hasn't gone up. Phew. Still hoping to have a good week and edge closer to 125.

I am really feeling great lately! Since feathers really can't share because we'll upset people, I can at least post my little joys here and you guys will understand.
1. I lost 17 pounds in a year
2. I am now at a great weight for my height
3. People are starting to make "you are so skinny" comments to me (which disappear into thin air around 125 lbs.)
4. My high school jeans, which I could not pull over my thighs last spring, are now loose!
5. I look thin in all except one honeymoon photo. In the unflattering one, i am wearing a dress that is billowing forward in the wind.
6. I feel like I can sustain my current eating habits forever.
7. We have started trying to have a baby!

Kwinkle - awesome NSVs!

I now fit into some of the clothes from freshman year I thought I'd NEVER fit again... and more tellingly, I don't fit most of the interview skirts I bought for last recruiting season (spring & fall). Which means that even though I weigh 5 lbs more, I am about the same size as I was 16 months ago!! That for me is a huge victory.

My eating has been all over the place today... already at 1300 before dinner, including a chocolate bar, lots of nutella, and crepes. No PMS and no real cravings, just SO hungry. I need to make better choices tonight, but I think I'm going to let myself "go" today... the calorie burn from yesterday does need to be replenished. Can't let the body think I'm starving to death.

Edit: Okay, dinner was full of poor choices. At least I limited myself to about 2oz of orzo, but between bread, pasta, chicken AND salmon, and three mini-desserts, I am (1) STUFFED and (2) over 2,000 calories for the day. I'll chalk this up as my first semi-intentional "cheat" day since my intense workouts began three weeks ago. Hopefully my body will absorb this as a good thing and not go up by three pounds tomorrow... though I'm kind of worried that it will.

To clarify, I have *not* had any vigorous workouts. I have seen my trainer, but since Im in a decent amount of back pain we have been taking it super light.

Yesterday I ate a little less, in a smaller eating window, only about 30g carbs, tons of water and <1000mg sodium. Today I weighed in down a little but still 129lbs. Applying same plan today as yesterday and hoping for the best.

lackadaisy - glad to hear the hike went well, sounds amazing. Such endurance you have, rad!

indiblue - 3lbs?! Love that you arent letting it get you down, I should learn from your example. Sodium can hide in sneaky places like pizza and you did mention soy sauce in your dinner…

Dorian - I should try more home workouts and w00t on lower weight!

krampus - Yay for healthy raw food shopping. And its cool you and your friends are on the same page with goals…that can really help.

More incentive to make good choices with eating - I feel like garbage this morning and for a few hours had crazy carbs cravings. I ate a few unplanned crackers that were sitting out but they totaled less than 200 calories. Brought veggies and a bunch of plain chicken breast for a "detox" lunch - and it's noon and I'm not even hungry yet, so that might not get eaten for a few more hours.

I can't think of anywhere except here I can post this without feeling guilty, but dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe really drove it home for me - it's NO WONDER Americans are so fat! Nothing on the menu except for the side veggie/salads without dressing was even remotely close to healthy, and the portions were so huge and everything was slathered in butter or cream. We shared an appetizer of nachos and after one bite I felt a freaky kind of euphoric feeling that should NEVER be associated with food.

It really drove home the "fat/sugar/carb combo = CRACK" point that has been made numerous times (often by kaplods) throughout the site and on health articles in the news. I have felt that euphoric feeling before...while fooling around with party/stimulant drugs in college. I couldn't differentiate between the first time I took ~drug A~ and that first bite of nachos last night. Luckily for me, we split a small order between 6 of us and I purposely went to the bathroom to avoid eating too many.

Speaking of the bathroom, that meal really upset my stomach. That's a good sign in my book - means I've adjusted to healthier, cleaner eating.

***

kwinkle One day, ONE DAY, I will make a post like yours. Congrats on your hard work paying off and on what sounds like a very happy beginning to your marriage! The photos NSV in particular is a very big deal!

lackadaisy You'll be right back on plan in a jiffy, you're very disciplined and very serious about your lifestyle. I definitely relate to what you said about choosing interesting/unusual foods over played-out greasy staples.

xty I read your post in Maintainers; really hope your back pain bites the dust ASAP and you are able to return to a pain-free existence without seeing more bad news on the scale.

kat The splurge sounds really delicious. How did the hike go? I'm with you on that philosophy- I love the taste of food and there are times when the benefits of enjoying in a gastronomic experience far outweighs the vanity ounces I may gain from it. I don't subscribe to the "diet= deprivation" perspective; one splurge meal every few weeks is not going to impact my weight loss significantly.

krampus We have a Hard Rock here too and it's really crazy to look at the menu. Fortunately since I'm in India the menu includes veggie burgers (many Hindus are vegetarian) so that's good. Still, I have to ask for no sauce and remove the bun when it arrives. Every time I go into a big chain restaurant back in the states I think the same thing you do... how can most Americans NOT be fat with these kind of restaurant choices available...? My parents taught me common sense nutrition growing up- no junk food, homemade most of the time, fruits and veggies are the only snacks allowed except on special occasions, etc. I'm grateful for being brought up in that kind of household. But a lot of people are not modeled good eating habits, do not have health or PE classes in schools, and grow up with meals at Ruby Tuesdays, Chili's, TGI Fridays, etc galore. It's a set-up for health disaster.

Also I love your new avatar pic!!! You look so lovely!

lackadaisy Mmm your breakfast sounds awesome. It seems like you needed a higher calorie day after your all-day intensive hike. Even if the weight spikes tomorrow it should level out after a couple of days.

kwinkle YAY!!! You sound truly happy about where you are in life. It's a good reminder for the rest of us that you lost 17 lbs in a year. That's a very healthy steady speed and we who are only looking at week-to-week gains/losses need to keep the bigger picture in mind. It DOES take a long time to lose the vanity pounds and we need to be patient. Thanks for modeling that for us!

Is this going to be your first baby??

xty Nice job on the eating yesterday! <30 carbs is impressive. I ate that and more in just one apple yesterday ^_^

--
I don't know what happened yesterday with my wonky 3 lb gain, but it's now gone. 127.0 now. It may be a problem with the scale, or just a fluke (xty, I did have soy sauce in my salad but it was only < 1/4 tsp, so I'm still not convinced yesterday was water weight). Whatever, it's gone now.

My birthday is this Friday (25!) so I'm hoping so much to be back at 126 (I know, I said I would change my ticker... I'm still dragging my feet ) and have at least one job call me back for an interview by then. Most of the jobs I've applied for close this week or last so it's reasonable to expect to hear something in the next few days if I'm selected for interviews. It's been a difficult last month or so I really, really would like both of these badly...

Well, most Americans ARE fat, so there you have it. I grew up with a fairly average American diet...lots of meals out at chain restaurants (my parents are on a first-name basis with the wait staff at Ruby Tuesday, haha!), takeout, and some of my fondest memories are of eating Hershey's Miniatures after dinner in a motel room by a lake on family vacations. I don't blame my parents - growing up they ate plenty of processed food but were too poor to eat out, and they were both thin or athletic all the way into their adulthood. It has been hard watching my dad go from musclebound athlete to sad and obese; he has a real problem with food addiction and restaurant overindulgences.

Hope you get your birthday wishes indiblue and thank you for the compliment! I know you won't be posting your face up here any time soon but I'm sure you are a stunner

Weekly weigh-in: 120.8 today... Sigh.

It's only a number, but what a demoralizing number... definitely staying on track today. I have a run planned later, and I just know that after last night, I wil have no problem staying off dessert and refined carbohydrates for at least a week -- the hot, full, almost-feverish feeling of a sugar high was a lot less fun than I remembered. So maybe that's the lesson to gain from this.

I hope you don't feel *too* demoralized, lackadaisy. Spikes happen after bigger calorie days, restaurant meals, etc. You needed the calories and there's nothing wrong with a bigger dessert every now and then. I've just started to brace myself for at least a two-pound gain when these happen, expecting them and recognizing that they are temporary and not an undoing of the work of the last month or so.

Understandable that you don't like the physical feelings associated with eating too much refined carbs/sugar and want to modify that behavior for health reasons, I just hope you beat yourself up too much for the number you see on the scale. You're doing so, so well!

Hike yesterday was amazing! It was short, but I tracked it on my new hiking app (am nerd!) and had a blast. I think DH had a tougher time, because he gets a little tired in the sun, so I think I may try to find him a hat.

Krampus, your new avatar is so cute!

Interesting stuff everybody's talking about the American obesity crisis and restaurant food. Our big splurge night on Saturday included dessert at the Cheesecake Factory, and it was kind of amazing noticing (not judging, just noticing) other diners' choices relative to their apparent physicality. Contrast that with a pre-hike stop at a healthy smoothie/juice bar for breakfast yesterday, and we saw tiny people in fitness gear. There ARE delicious healthy food options out there. We're just not trained to look for them.