Krampus Thanks -- I'm so good some days and so bad on others, it's hard to remember what consistency feels like. The last couple of days have been good days, that's all.
Skinnyelle It's funny how boy image changes even when our bodies don't. I feel like crap about my body today -- really horrible. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and thought, wow, my torso is incredibly wide and short, and that will never change. I look so FAT.
Rationally I know that's impossible (I weight the same as yesterday, stayed on plan, nothing else is wrong) but it's still hard to make it past that feeling.
Subject change: This deserves its own thread, but I also just wanted to mention that I am really intrigued by the NYTimes article about "habituation": basically, think about eating that brownie really hard, bite by bite, and you won't crave it anymore.
The science: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/science/14tier.html
Humorous account by a writer who lost 10 lbs in a month on it: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/di...gine-that.html
I just tried the "imagine diet" with a brownie -- I really craved one after thinking about the first bite, became bored by the fifth bite, required a Google image search to remember what brownies should taste like, craved one again after looking at pictures for 1 second, didn't care for them after much scrolling & looking for 15 seconds, and then found my attention directed to any stray non-brownie foods in the image results (e.g. ice cream) after that...
I don't know what I'd do with a real brownie right now but the idea doesn't seem appealing to me at all. Which is really odd. But maybe this technique does work?
Last edited by lackadaisy; 05-18-2011 at 10:52 PM.
Lackadaisy: Hmm, will have to try the habituation/imagine diet thing when the urge for bags of M&Ms hits. You're doing great, and congratulations about the vintage dress!
krampus: I've been kind of bored in my exercise lately. Thanks for reminding me that exercise DVDs would be a good idea right about now. You're getting close, you'll be back under 130 in no time!
Skinnyelle: Congrats!! You're doing so well! You already look pretty awesome, whether the number is 139, 130, or goal.
Lisa: How are you feeling at 1000-1100 calories? Do you do minimeals or 3 big squares?
Dorian: If it is a plateau you're experiencing, then no stress! It's part of the process. I know I was just cruising along from 187, doing my thing. I went under 160, then next thing I knew, under 150, so longer overweight. I was on top of the world! Then the 140s hit. I was stuck there for so long, it wasn't even funny. For a while I thought I was doomed to be 145. It had been a previous plateau spot of mine. I may have even spent 3-4 weeks at that weight. But I stuck with the plan, and, honestly, within the space of 2-3 days, I was down in the 130s! So don't give up, even if you feel somewhat discouraged. Just keep working your plan, and potentially readjusting it a bit, if you think you need to. I upped my exercise a bit (added either an extra day or extra time, probably a little of both), and it worked out. I'm sure it'll work out for you, too!
kat: really hope the maintenance break/week helps you out! Please take good care.
Mini: I'm sure you look awesome, whether the scale says 113 or 110. 3 measly pounds. You can still check in here and say how your maintenance is going, right?
Dianne: I've taken a couple of 'maintenance breaks' since I started losing. I was a little surprised to see that I didn't just jump off losing right away like I thought I would. But when I kept up the plan, the next thing I knew there was a jump downwards. Maybe it took a few days or even a week or a little longer, but it happened. The period could very well have something to do with it. Give it another week and then maybe reevaluate?
Born This Way: I really like your ticker! Adorable. I'm glad you're feeling better inside your body! It feels so liberating as the pounds fade away.
As for me, I've been a bit tired lately. A lot of people here have 'Frühjahrsmüdigkeit' -- basically a lethargy during springtime. Maybe that's what's going on. Or it could be residual stress from everything with my husband in April. He had emergency surgery on 3. April and stayed in the hospital for 2 weeks, and there he received a special diet from the dietitian. He came home and remained here for another 2 weeks. It meant extra work for me, of course, but I was glad to have him out of the hospital and to get to spend more time with him. I changed some of my shopping and cooking habits, but thankfully I was already cooking pretty healthy so it wasn't a huge huge difference. Occasionally I make 2 versions of a dish or the like, but mainly I try to eat what he's eating.
He went back to work a week or so ago and since then has been out of town on business twice (they didn't waste any time!) I worry a little because he's still not 100%, but the show must go on, I guess.
When he's not around I don't really prepare dinner like I should because I'm not used to cooking for one. I guess it seems sort of silly to me.
I crunched some numbers in the BMI calculator and found that my goal is actually an underweight BMI. Not really sure how I feel about that.
fivestone I am very glad to hear your husband is doing better, even if he's not fully recovered. Frühjahrsmüdigkeit is "Gogatsubyou" ("May disease") in Japanese and I suffered from it for 2-3 months last year. I hope you feel more up to speed soon and figure out how you feel about your goal number. Is it just because 110 is an even number? I think certain weights carry huge symbolic meaning but for no real reason.
fivestone Ah good old Frühjahrsmüdigkeit, basically every Austrian I know says they have that. I had it for a few weeks too, and am absolutely hsattered now but think it is the stress of work/study catching up with me.
lacksadaisy I enjoyed reading the articles, I love things like that. I might have to try it
I have been AWOL for a few weeks but I am back and also back on the diet because i've got to have an operation on my foot in less than two weeks and that will put me out of sport for months. NIGHTMARE! For the first time ever, I'm going to have to control my weight by obsessing about my food intake and I don't know if I can!! I'll start a thread about it in a bit...
fivestone: I definitely know what you mean about cooking for one. I just feel silly sometimes putting so much effort into just cooking for myself, why bother? But then I remember part of my whole goal with getting healthy to learn to love myself. So I just keep on reminding myself that its ok to spend 1/2 an hr to cook a beautiful meal for just ME. because I deserve it and should always take the time to take care of myself.
& thank you for the ticker compliment! And yah, I finally saw a difference when I looked in the mirror, so I was definitely happy! its funny though, the more you lose, the more you can really see where you still have extra weight. staying positive though!
About the BMI thing, really evaluate why you picked 110. I know for me to be technically "underweight," I would need to go down to the double digits!! weighing 99 lbs just sounds terrifying to me. but that is also largely dependent on my body type, I would just look weird & completely not like myself at that weight. think about yourself & your body, and what would really feel natural/healthy to you.
claire: I hope your surgery goes smoothly! Though you do work out a lot now, you also require more calories now because of it. your body will catch on soon enough that it is not needing as many calories to sustain you, and it'll eventually get a little easier to eat less accordingly. I would say, if anything, even if you don't think you'll be able to cut back on calories for a while, really focus on the nutritional content of what you do eat. that could still make a big difference in your health
lackadaisy: habituation? sounds crazy! so crazy it just might work haha. I feel like even if that tactic could temporary dissuade me from picking up a brownie, I would know in the back of my mind I never got my brownie...and could as a result end up eating something much worse (or more than one brownie) when I finally get to the point where visualizing just doesn't cut it
krampus: I LOVE yoga. something about really being able to feel myself in my body. Don't know what types of yoga you've tried, but I've been to a few cardio-focused power yoga classes, and they kicked my butt! (and probably a 1/2 lb along with it! ha)
After my fail last week (alcohol, food comas, etc...on more than one night) I was DETERMINED not to halt my progress again this week. I have been eating exactly 1200 & kicking some serious a** working out. One of my mini-goals was to hit 124, mostly because 24 is my favorite number. And I couldn't believe when I stepped on the scale today-I actually skipped it!!! I'm sure it'll bounce around a bit and I'll get to see that lucky number in the next couple days. but still! I went straight from 125.2 to 123.6. I'm sure it was a fluke, but hey, whooshes are fun regardless
Anyway, I ate very low calorie during the day yesterday because I knew the boyfriend and I were going out to a bar with friends and I wanted to be able to drink a little. I started off well enough with a light beer, but then we all noticed martinis were half off, so I had to order one of those... and then another... actually, that was all. I had 3 drinks. Not awful, but I could have had something lower calorie than pomegranate martinis. Then I noticed everyone was ordering dinner, and I didn't want to not eat and be -that- girl, so I ordered too. It was salad, but there was no way it was low calorie, since it was covered in grilled pears, candied walnuts, goat cheese, dried cherries, lemon thyme dressing... oh man, but it was yummy.
Even with 250 calorie martinis and 600 calorie salad I was probably around maintenance, so I'm not stressing it. We had a good time, and I weighed less this morning than I have all week (128.0lbs -- it's kind of infuriating that it would happen after a night of eating so much, but whatever.)
I think I'm ready to settle in and forget about this "I want to weigh this amount by this date" kind of thinking. I just want to lose the weight, I don't care how long it takes. I don't want to burn out.
On a side note, has anyone tried Arctic Zero? It's supposed to mimic ice cream, but it tastes more like a protein shake (and actually has a good amount of protein in it.) The entire pint is 150 calories. This thrilled me because the thought of eating a huge volume of ice cream is awesome (probably shouldn't be) - anyway, it's all right, I couldn't eat it out of the carton without sprinkling a packet of splenda over it. However, for use in a shake it was awesome -- I did 1/2 a cup of chocolate/peanut butter Arctic Zero (not quite 40 calories) 1/2 of a frozen banana (60 calories) and 1/2 a cup of almond milk (30 calories) and a packet of splenda -- it hit the spot.
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skinnyelle39 - You already look like a model in your avatar, you're beyond gorgeous. Congrats, too, on getting below 140!
krampus - Well, I used to do lots of cardio every day and then I starting cutting calories more when I didn't see it coming off, so I had no energy to exercise... now I'm at the point where I go for a 20 minute jog with my dog every day, that's it. And it's only because he's fat that I do this, he hates jogging but I don't want him to be unhealthy, lol. I think I'm going to try eating more and getting some more exercise in to see if maybe that will help with this rut I'm in, because I can feel that dangerous starvation-frame-of-mind creeping up on me.
lackadaisy - that article was interesting! But now I want a brownie pretty hard, haha.
fivestone - Thanks for the pep talk. You're right, I definitely think I need to stop whittling my calories down and focus on moving more! I've already upped my calories a little this morning by adding a piece of fruit (100 cal) to my usual greek yogurt (120 cal) and I feel more productive. And I threw some low sodium soup in with my lunch so it's closer to a normal meal.
Just checking in with everyone. I try to read ya'lls posts but I just havent been posting because I have been trying to get everything situated for the Sonography program. They dont tell you if you get in until the last minute so you basically have to prepare for everything ahead of time just for them to tell you that you didnt get in! lol jk! But its pretty stressful planning for something you have a small chance of getting into! Oh well, never lose faith right?
I have a question for ya'll thats off topic of weightloss. Since a lot of us are in our 20's I was wondering if any of you are feeling the mid 20's crisis situational depression? The thing that scares me is I feel it physically. So I am not certain that its depression or maybe something else? Although, I am convinced its my current situation. Basically, I have been stuck in a job for about 4 years where about 2-3 of those years have been spent with NOTHING to do ALL day long. It doesnt sount that bad, but if you have ever been a job like that for a long period of time consistently, you know what I am talking about. It has taken such a toll on my mind and stress level. Its to the point where my friend caught me rubbing my fingers together (a sign of brain understimulation needing to release its energy), because I have so much brain energy but not releasing it or being stimulated. I literally have an idle mind all day every day during the week. Anyways, I have found that not only am I extremely irritable and annoyed by EVERYTHING people do, but I have ZERO energy and am very weak. I havent been able to run because of it. Walking to the kitchen at work is SO much work. Feels like there is 100 pds on my back. I dont think its a health condition. I really just think its my body and mind being burntout after all these years. Has anyone else experienced this? Could it be the binge drinking on the weekends that cause this EXTREME weakness during the week? (I am 24 years old, walking shouldnt be hard )
Ok I am done lol
Dorian You AMAZE me with how quickly you got your weight down. Werent you just at 133 and now you are at 128?! That is incredible. I too remember how good I felt at 129. Its almost a bitter/sweet thing. You start feeling good so you may not be as motivated to be so strict. But we both would love to see how we look at 125 or even 120 right!? lol
Krampus So.darn.close. Oh I am excited for you! Think, just maybe 2 more days and you will see the 20's again!! Good job. I remember you were in a rut for awhile. Congrats on getting back on the wagon! How do you like yoga?
skinnyelle Congrats at hitting under 140!! First time in 7 years!? You go girl!!!!!
Lackadaisy You seriously AMAZE me. How the heck did you go on a booze cruise with alcohol and pizza and stay at 1400!? AND managed to work out?! Shoot, if it were me, the 1400 would have been in alcohol alone. Waa!! I wish I had your willpower. Regarding that article, I am one who craves something REALLY bad once I see it, smell it or hear about it. And i wont stop thinking/obsessing about it until I eat it. So I am not sure that would work on me
Fivestone Just out of curiousity, what are your wrist measurements? You must have a small frame. And thank you for sharing that about your plateau at 145; and now you are 113? That is amazing. Makes me hopeful for when I hit a plateau. I have never stuck with weight loss long enough to know where my "comfort" spot is. Last I knew, I was around 128 and still losing at a farely good rate. So who knows. I am guessing around 120?
Claire What does your normal exercise routine look like?
I think I'm ready to settle in and forget about this "I want to weigh this amount by this date" kind of thinking. I just want to lose the weight, I don't care how long it takes. I don't want to burn out.
That salad sounds amazing. I am going to have to try to replicate that. Yum! I think not having a set date for your weight loss goals is a good idea. So much pressure, and weight loss is so unpredictable. I have lost in really strange ways, a decent rate in the beginning, then slooooow in the middle, and then the last 10 pounds were lost fairly quickly. Undependable.
ARGHHHHHHH having an epic fat day today. I don't know why but I overate prunes last night (seriously, prunes?!), justifying it to myself by saying "this will help get things moving." Well, nothing is moving and I'm back to "twice a week" bathroom trips it seems, plus my weight is up despite not going over maintenance calories at all this week. I can feel a huge amount of "backup" just sitting in my gut. I am also wearing a self-conscious outfit today. Everything sucks.
Dianne Welcome to my life for the past 3 years. It is totally normal to feel insane and restless and depressed with such an unstimulating job. I don't know about the causal relationship between binge drinking and dimished energy during the week, but think of your poor liver!
Dorian5 I'm really glad to hear you've caught yourself in the "want to starve" phase and are working your way out of it. Goal dates are a good way to get burned out and discouraged. I am dealing with that now - I wanted to be 128 by one week from today, but I'm almost 132 today.
Krampus - stupid question but have you tried drinking expresso and then going for a run? Always does the trick for me (don't run where there are no toilets)!
Bornthisway - wow well done! I love the woosh!
Dorian - that salad sounds amazing, I am going to have to try it!
Ah it is so hot here today, it is amazing. Summer, yay! I am going for a swim in a bit, then going to see the doc to get my pre-op blood appointment.
I'm just cooking a random lunch of leftovers: asparagus, peas and runner beans with potato wedges and fish. Mmmm.
We had a dinner party last night and my friends wanted a British themed night, so I made fish and chips and my friend brought trifle. I haven't eaten yet today because I was so full, my stomach and digestive system hate me.
Official weigh-in day today, but I had no scale this morning since the boy's house was where I crashed. I will just have to weigh in tomorrow.
Ate ~1400 calories yesterday, burned at least 300 calories during my jog yesterday. Feel hung over today for some reason even though I didn't drink alcohol last night - must not have drank enough water.
Everywhere I turn people are trying to feed me! Last night my mother's boyfriend came up from FL and he brought Krystle burgers (little sliders like White Castle burgers) and he brought me some. I was strong and didn't eat them, took them over to the boyfriend's house -- where he has pizza waiting for me. UGH. I did end up with a teeny tiny slice of that, still counted it as 250 calories. My mother is the worst, she brings me chocolate and fatty food at every turn. I don't believe she has ulterior motives, she just knows how much I TRULY enjoy food - it's hard enough to say no when I really do want it, it's near impossible when I know saying no is going to hurt her feelings.
Getting stoked about my vacation, it's SO close! The convention in Pasadena is Botcon, which is a Transformers convention (my boyfriend collects those toys and whatnot) -- I bet I can manage to look skinny in pictures standing next to gigantic Optimus Prime.
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krampus - I can't use the bathroom ever either, no matter WHAT I eat/take to get things going. The only thing that makes it move is when I start eating high fat items. Like, if I ate a big mac I will be able to go that day. Since I'm eating fruit and salad and veggies and lean meat now, I barely ever go either. I'm sorry you're having one of those days, it's a pain when we work hard and our bodies don't reward us. Overeating prunes isn't nearly as bad as overeating pizza or chocolate or beer, so think positive!
Dianne042425 - Yes, I was 133 at the beginning of the month from overeating and water retention, but managed to wrestle it off quickly. I had forgotten that, so it was a little bit of a reality check about this stall that I'm b!tching about. Thanks for reminding me, I'm feeling kind of accomplished now.
aimeebell - I KNOW I want to recreate that salad too! I think with Laughing Cow in blue cheese flavor instead of goat cheese and using regular walnuts instead of candied walnuts and low fat/cal dressing, it wouldn't be so high calorie. It's nice to hear someone at maintenance relate to what I'm struggling with now, it makes me feel like I will be at maintenance soon.
claire - your lunch sounds so YUMMY and HEALTHY! And I love the British themed night, that's so cute! I absolutely love love love fish and chips.
BornThisWay - I'm sorry you skipped your favorite number, but how totally awesome that you a solid WHOOSH! Congrats!
Krampus Right there with ya sista! Im in a big ol sweater and baggie jeans and its 90 degress out!!! I must look crazy! Whatever, I dont caer how I look, I just want to feel comfortable
Dorian How long do you run for and what distance? Im curious because I always estimate around 200 calories burned on my runs but I like to be ultraconservative. Im sad. I miss my runs I just havent had ANY energy to do them..
Krampus, Dorian5, fivestone, Dianne042425 Thank you so, so, so, so, so much for being so complimentary. Reading your comments has LITERALLY brightened my day. I smiled at the screen as I came across them. They were just what I needed right now Ive been terrible with sticking to my IF goals the past few days. Why is it that as soon as your weight dips to an all new low you IMMEDIATELY become less strict with diet/ exercise when that is the time you need to become even stricter??? Ugh never fails. But today is a new day.
Lackadaisy That would never work for me!! The more I focus in on a food, the closer I am to just eating it. This morning I had to force myself to remove the thought of a McD's McGriddle from my mind or else I wouldve pulled into the drive through and ordered one . I could see how it could work for others though.
On body image... Its so crazy. I put on jeans now that Im almost 25 lbs lighter that I wore with PRIDE before the weight loss and wonder how I ever had the guts to do it then. Now, Im soooooo critical of the way things look and question if I really have lost the weight the scale says I have its really incredible to experience.
krampus I pigged out on some prunes yesterday too. I really think the body is craving sweets or carbs or something but your mind wont let you eat cookies or some other real treat. So prunes seem like the next best thing? I dont get it either....I had a super, epic fat night last night so I understand.
Dianne042425 I am in the EXACT situation with my current job right now. Ive been here just under a year and am beyond bored and becoming increasingly lazy because of it. There is very little for me to do ( despite the fact that my co-workers are considerably busy) and I am bored with the work I do have. I spend a ton of time on the internet which is how I discovered 3FC but that's not a good thing either. My boss is aware that my position lacks a lot of structure and stimulation and promises to become more organized so that I will have more concrete projects to work on.... but he's been saying that for months. You feel bad for complaining in a day in age where so many people are out of work but day-to-day its hard to just be thankful when you sit at a desk for 8 hours twiddling your thumbs. It almost becomes like a waste of time.
Last edited by skinnyelle39; 05-20-2011 at 11:17 AM.
Dorian How long do you run for and what distance? Im curious because I always estimate around 200 calories burned on my runs but I like to be ultraconservative. Im sad. I miss my runs I just havent had ANY energy to do them..
I just go with whatever the treadmill tells me, I switch between 3.5mph and 5mph until I get to 300 calories, usually almost 30 minutes (I have asthma and when I feel everything in my chest catch on fire I tend to have to walk for a while, lol) -- I've heard that treadmills overestimate calories burned, though, so I just don't count the walk/jog with my dog that I do earlier in the day and figure that it's at least 300 calories burned altogether. I underestimate/round down the calories I burn and overestimate/round up the calories I consume.
Start by just going on a walks again, and maybe that will start your running again? I love going on walks, I don't even consider it exercise since I like to relax that was and it's how I've started to get my boyfriend into losing a little weight.
You're doing great, and congratulations about the vintage dress!
You're right, I definitely think I need to stop whittling my calories down and focus on moving more! I've already upped my calories a little this morning by adding a piece of fruit (100 cal) to my usual greek yogurt (120 cal) and I feel more productive. And I threw some low sodium soup in with my lunch so it's closer to a normal meal.
I just havent had ANY energy to do them..
but that's not a good thing either. My boss is aware that my position lacks a lot of structure and stimulation and promises to become more organized so that I will have more concrete projects to work on.... but he's been saying that for months. You feel bad for complaining in a day in age where so many people are out of work but day-to-day its hard to just be thankful when you sit at a desk for 8 hours twiddling your thumbs
