Oh ladies! Why do I do this? I hate weekends. I have marked in my measurements spreadsheet my calories for the weekend. I estimated about 2500 on Friday, 3000 on Saturday and 2500 yesterday :( I am guessing I probably gained back .4 pounds of solid fat. I havent weighed in yet. I wont until Friday when I know the water weight is down. So disappointed in myself.

Well Happy Monday! New week. New goals :)

Dorian Thats what Ive noticed too. When you first start on a weightloss journey, its the calories that really matter. But when you get down to the last few vanity pounds, its not just quantity, but quality of food! 25g of fiber is perfect in my opinion! Thats what I try to aim for. I usually only hit around 20g though..

fitmom CONGRATS on half an inch. That is SO exciting. Oh you girls are so motivating! Wish I could get this site on my phone; then maybe I could sign on every time I want to mess up on the weekends!!

Philana I always think homemade anything is much better than store bought. Its ok to treat now and then :)

Claire Vienna?! Oh, so jealous. I want to go there! And hey at least shopping is exercise :D

Helen While I am a FIRM believer in listening to your body and giving it what its telling you it wants, I dont think it is always true with food. Sometimes cravings are a result of dependence. For example, someone trying to cut out sugar in their diet because they eat too much of it and have for a long time. When they do so, their bodies will crave the sugar like no other. Actually, I eat relatively healthy now. However, when I drink, the next day my body goes CRAZY and craves only sugar. It just seems to not be able to get enough of it the next day. The body is a strangeeeee thing! But oh so interesting :) Love the dress! Go for it girl!!

Sumire You impress me with your workouts! I wish I had the energy to do all of that. Maybe I will once I get out of this ridiculous mundane desk job!

Have a great day feathers!!

Feeling guilty today, my one cheat meal turned into 3+ cheat meals and snacks. I inhaled chocolate like a fiend yesterday, ugh! I got to my mom's house to find she was babysitting my sister's kids last night, there was a box of Hostess brownies on the counter. I couldn't get the brownie out of the plastic fast enough. Then a handful of salt and vinegar chips. Then a few huge gulps of whole chocolate milk. UGH!! Lots of champagne and sushi and chocolate throughout the whole day.

Oddly enough, though, my dinner at Red Lobster Saturday night was lacking, I could barely eat anything because it was all so HEAVY and RICH! I was getting nauseous, I got to a point in the meal where I just wanted a vegetable that wasn't covered in sauce or breading or dressing, but there were none to be found. I had to change out my beer for ice water just to choke down a little more food.

I'm back on track this week and I'm staying the **** away from the scale if I can help it. I hope that I can manage to be back to my normal weight on Friday. At any rate, I know that my healthy whole-foods diet is making my body feel MUCH better than that other crap food out there.

Hope everyone is doing well -- personals later, feeling kind of down today. :/

I was almost afraid to confess that after the cookies yesterday I ended up going to the supermarket and buying a bag of chips and a can of coke. I just really needed it! But, I don't feel bad about it. And only one cheat-day (meaning about 900 calories on junk and 650 calories on substantial food) in about 10 days seems decent to me.

Guess none of us are perfect Ladies! ;) But it's a new week again, so here we go!

Between your post and Philana's I need to say no more. Had 2 psuedo off plan days this wknd where I indulged more than I should but nothing TOO bad. Like you said I just felt like I needed it.

But this morning I popped up at 5:30am and got it in at the gym and just enjoyed a delicious fresh fruit salad breakfast. Back on track!

Feel better hun!

Fitmom Congrats on the decrease!

dianne042425 Dont sweat it! Just keep going!

sumire Thanks for believing in me! :0)

Hey everyone!

I am right there with you all regarding indulgences and eating WAY too many calories. I think the key is that we're consistently examining why it happens, and getting back to healthful patterns sooner rather than later.

Dealing with a major heat wave here... going to run on the treadmill today and take a gym class! Poor air quality in this humidity, bleghck.

Keeping the goals simple this week..... focus on staying within calorie range, and complete workouts. The rest will follow. :)

Hang in there feathers!

Hi everyone! Not feeling good today, sick to my stomach. So my exercise plans went out the window. Has anyone else lost a whole cup size when they went hardcore with diet and exercise? I have. *raises hand* Now I'm a B cup - a full B but I'm not happy. Although it did give me a reason to go out and buy some nice new bras, lol. Oh well.

Dianne042425: I get my daily motivation from all of you, seriously. I need it...especially on the weekends. ;)

Dorian5: I can sooo relate to cheating on the weekends. I was surprised that I didn't this weekend. It helps that my hubby has joined me on my journey. We supported each other all weekend with our meal choices. Don't let it get you down, just move on and we're all here to push you towards the finish line. :)

philana: Haha - confess away, lol! You're right, it's a new week so onward and upward. :)

skinneyelle39: A half-inch might not seem like a whole lot but there was a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get it off, lol. Sounds like you had a better morning than me. A nice workout followed by a fruit salad are a great way to start the week off. :)

Erkkkkkkkkkk not doing well at all, been totally off plan all weekend and really all of last week. Virtually no exercise and I binged on chocolate yesterday. Gross! Cooked a healthy chicken/broccoli/sweet potato/mushroom lunch for today though and dinner shall be healthy and clean too.

It's crunch time. Every single dinner from now until at least August 1st is dinner "out."

O_______O

The scale hasn't moved in a week. I think I'm dropping my calories to 1200. I've been doing between 1200 and 1500 and 5 days of gym, 3 days of an hour bike ride plus some extra walks. But this is just too slow. I wanna be at 65kg by the 29th (my birthday). So 6lbs to go!

In a hurry here, so personals later today!

Hi! I joined the site around 10 minutes ago and just found this forum from Suzanne 3FC's post in Introductions. I guess this is where I'll be posting the most?

I actually had my first post in Introductions, and I'd love it if you could read it!
3fatchicks.com/forum/introductions/ 238479-man-i-love-my-butter-sugar-flour-eggs-but-do-i-love-my-waistline-more.html

So, just wanted to pop in and say hi. It's almost half past midnight now, and I'm going to go grab my third oatmeal raisin cookie of the day... hehe.

And then sleep. I think. :)

Fitmom It is great that your husband has joined you. That would make the weekends a lot easier.

SkinnyElle Good job getting right back on track. That is what matters the most. 5:30 a.m. wake up for the gym, that is dedication!

Philana Six pounds in 10 days is a pretty steep goal, even with low cals and all that exercise. I hope you get your birthday wish, but maybe it's time to tweak the goal a little bit to avoid disappointment?

Bakersdozen Welcome!

This has been such a struggle for me the last three weeks. I can't seem to drag my butt out of bed early to run, and though I am itching to run in the evenings, there is just no time before dark. The eating has been way, way off. No binges, but mindless grazing and snacks at the concession stand (which I banned myself from this baseball season), camp food and drinks, dinners out, and I even had McD for the first time in 7 months and KFC too, and NEITHER was anywhere near worth it. I am not eating as much or as badly as I had before I began being more health conscious in January, but I am inching closer and closer in that direction and it panics me a little. I worked too hard to go back to where I came from.
I stayed on plan yesterday, eating 1400 calories and running 2.5 miles in the sweltering heat, and braved the scale this morning...133. Why must this be so hard?

Morning feathers!

What is going on with me lately? I tell ya, whenever I drink, the consequences are for days. My sugar cravings are out of control for the next few days. I messed up again yesterday! Had 80 crackers and 7 big slices of cheese. Made my calories shoot up to 2000! OH well. New day and I am NOT messing up. I have got to get serious. I cant stand being moody and feeling my work pants a bit tighter..

Sorry, dont have time for personals today! But it seems we are all experiencing a bit of a bump in our journeys. We can get through it together! new day, new slate ;)

@bakersdozen: Hello and welcome!!

@Dianne042425: That's why I don't drink, lol. The sugar cravings grab a hold of me too. But don't let it get you down. Just continue moving forward. No regrets.

@aimeebell: Sounds like you are back on track. Good for you.


What's going on with me? My nine-year old son says he wants to do my HIIT cardio with me. My hubby says I should take him. He can time me or we can do some sprinting together. It might be nice to spend some quality mother/son time together.

Also, I'm implementing my cheat meal for lunch today - chili mac to boost my metabolism. I'll let you know how that goes. And I'm looking forward to going on my vacation this weekend.

We can do it, ladies!! :)

aimeebell - thank you! you are right! If I don't all at once drop 2 lbs again (like last week) - I'll change my goal. But, no worries. I am not so super focussed on the goal - but it would be really nice if on my 26th birthday I could be at healthy BMI again :D


I'm going to Harry Potter tonight, instead of the gym. I've been working out a bit too much that I decide to give myself a treat! However - the movies without buying junkfood - how am I gonna do that? I just had dinner - if I don't eat anything anymore I can still have a coke and be at 1.075 calories for today. So - maybe!

Hi everyone!

It seems like everyone has had a rough weekend, but looks like everyone is getting back on the wagon - good job!

fitmom My bra size has gone own too, boo! I was approaching a C but now I'm back in the B. It could be because I stopped taking the pill though!

My weekend was OK, and the beginning of this week has been acceptable too. I skipped lunch today because I was on a roll with revision for my big exam, so by the time I got home from the library at 4pm I was starving and had to fight the urge to eat the world. Luckily, we didn't have anything unhealthy in the house so I stuck with a peach, coffee and a 25g of dark chocolate (dunked in the coffee, mmm) and settled down to watch Family Guy. I've since read another article about human rights, and am gonna make a chicken and avocado salad with raspberry vinegar dressing for dinner and watch a film about the Dalai Lama, then have an early night. Revision and watching TV, this is the kind of rock and roll lifestyle a 25 year old should have... ;)

philana - I hide snacks in my purse when I go to the movies! Sneaky sneaky! Last time it was sugar free red vines, yum! (7 twists for 90 calories, I cut them into bites and put them in a sandwich baggie in my purse)

Definitely cheaper too!

YAY HARRY POTTER, I LOVED IT! Snape's story made my cry cause I'm a total nerd.

Lol! Dorian, i ended up sneakin' cheestrings and cookies in. Cheestrings for 69 cal a piece and the cinnamon cookies are 20cal a cookie, zo all in all I had only 170cal, and enjoyed it for almost an hour. You can tear those strings up in a million pieces, love it!!

Re: HP, NO SPOILERS NO SPOILERS NO SPOILERS PLEASE! I'm waiting until I can go see it with my dad when I get back to NY.

Diet-wise I'm ok, exercised (tae bo cardio DVD) for the first time in like a week yesterday and kept calories low. Today has been a BUSY day and my appetite is low/nearly nonexistent so I think I'll be fine. Weight went down about 3 lbs overnight (phew).

Today the school I teach at held a farewell ceremony for me. Somehow I had no problem holding it together through my speech (6 minutes of sappy yet heartfelt "be a good person" talk, all in Japanese, which I NAILED, who knew I had it in me!) and flower reception and hokey set-to-sad-music send-off. The lunch ladies gave me a really nice gift - bags of hot pepper powder (I always emptied them out when I used to buy school lunch!) and some adorable Klingon symbol-shaped fortune cookies!

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._2664331_n.jpg

Dorian5 That's a good strategy for the movies! It's pretty cool you've cleansed your body to the point where it rejects crap restaurant food, but choking down a meal sounds unpleasant. Nerd fist pump!

philana Your self control is really admirable, I can never keep calories below 1300 no matter what. HP > gym. Are English-language movies Dutch-subtitled in the Netherlands or is everyone proficient enough where it's not needed?

claire That salad sounds gooooood. Well done on peach instead of the world. If it's any consolation my rock and roll lifestyle will end soon; transitioning from "living on my own in a rice paddy" to "living in my parents' house" and downgrading on the independence front.

fitmom I love your positive attitude and all the threads you're making. You may be the key to reviving Featherweights! I'm glad you feel better.

Dianne I can't believe you counted 80 crackers, doesn't that take all the enjoyment out of guilt-ridden overeating? Booze has a similar effect on me, the next day is carbs ahoy without fail. You'll be on track and wearing looser pants soon though!

aimeebell Definitely relate to what you're saying about eating becoming sloppy and getting annoyed with how easy it is to regain. I've been struggling with that since...uh, Christmas. You're looking to maintain give or take a couple pounds, right?

bakersdozen: welcome, this is a great thread, hope you stay with us.

claire: haha on your rock and roll lifestyle!

krampus: good luck with all your meals out! I'm not good with "special" stuff. Mostly have to eat very little the rest of the day and hope it all balances out. It's not an ideal system.

Today I ran for 5 miles! It felt surprisingly good, so that's exciting. In not as good news, I think I ate 2800 calories. I bought chocolate chips to make cookies for a potluck, but then didn't have time to make the cookies. I will not make that mistake again. These chips are SO good. On the plus side, they are mostly gone now.

My clothes are fitting noticeably looser, but too many 2800 calorie days will turn that right around!

krampus - it's so much easier when I'm at work all day. I'm busy and we have a private kitchen with a fridge and I am basically the boss of the groceries here - so it's all healthy foods. Hahaha. We even have a little party tonight at the office and I'm making sure that next to fried snacks there is also some veggies and fruits with a nice fage-dip and hummus.

I just came back from my 3 mile run and I feel fantastic! LOL. I told my older son he can come with me when I do my HIIT cardio on Friday. He's interested in running and told me when he gets to middle school that he thinks he may want to join the track team. :D I'm so darn proud of him. :)

@krampus: Ah, that's so nice of you to say. I get my inspiration from all of you ladies. Let the revival continue!! ;) Thanks, I'm glad I feel better too.

And I'm getting set to leave for my vacation this weekend so many loads of laundry are calling my name. *waves goodbye*

Happy humpday !!

Feeling a little better about things. Yesterdy was the first day back "on plan". Well sort of. I didnt eat all clean. Finished off the cheese and crackers but kept my calories at 1300. My friend is doing the fasting where you eat 2 meals a day and fast for the remaining 18 hours or so. I decided I am going to try and do that 2 days a week. Eat until about 3 and then not eat again until 9am the next day. I tried that yesterday and it wasnt too bad. Has anyone tried this? Apparently a coworker of hers lost like 30 pounds doing it and still drank her wine every night!

Fitmom Have so much fun on your vacation! You know whats good about being a little obsessed with dieting? I actually look forward to house work like laundry because I know I am burning more calories than if I were sitting down :lol:

Philana UGH! You AMAZE me with your calories. It is SUCH a struggle for me to keep mine at 1300. I need to learn from yoU! Also, what cookies are only 20 calories each!?!? What is the brand?

Claire Girl, Im right there with you. That night you just explained sounds ideal to me! And were close in age (24 here).

My bra size went down a lot too. I cant believe it. I used to have nice firm full C's. I used to get comments on them all the time asking if they were fake. And now they are barely a b. Its pathetic lol Oh well, you win some, lose some. Literally haha

Krampus I think our bodies are similar in the fact that we gain water weight easily. But the good thing with that is, it comes off just as fast (as you saw with the 3 pound loss overnight). And yes I am that pathetic; I counted how many crackers were left in the box to find out how many crackers I ended up consuming lol

Ann Isnt that SUCH motivation to feel your clothes looser!? I cant wait to feel that again. Congrats!! Dont beat yourself up over the 2800 either!

Philana Good job on the movie snacks! The only reason I go to the movies is for the popcorn, so needless to say, I can't remember the last time I went to the theatre.

Krampus For struggling since Christmas, you have managed to keep your weight in check. I know you are often up 5 or 6 lbs after a bad week, but you always manage to lose it just as quickly as you gain! And yes, the goal is to maintain 130ish give or take a couple pounds, but a few more vanity pounds would be awesome. It's just that when I feel myself slipping, I panic a bit. I'm 35; I've lost and regained this same 35 pounds at least 6 times since I was 16 years old.

fitmom Good run! Once in awhile, I will take one of my boys along for a run. It is easier if I take them to the high school track because I outrun them (which I love LOL), not in speed but in distance. They have all been begging to run a 5K race with me, so I took them to a local free 5K run. They have all since decided that running is not for them LOL

Dianne I have considered intermittent fasting for maintenance, but for the morning hours instead of the evening. Let us know how it goes.

Well....I have two days on plan under my belt and am feeling better. The first two days are always the hardest for me.

Hi everyone!

Another day, another book to read during this, the most boring week ever!

krampus Yay for nailing the speech in Japanese! I gave a brief goodbye speech in German when I left my job here, but didn't plan it so I ended up being annoyed with myself for making grammar mistakes I wouldn't normally ;) Ahhh I don't wanna leave, do you? I'm looking for a flat at the moment and the whole of the area I am meant to move to is either a) lovely but out of my price range b) a complete slum. I wanna stay here!

ann Yay 5 miles :) Well done! I wouldn't worry about 2,800 calories. It is probably less than 800 over maintenance, and you burned that on your run!

Philana Haha boss of the groceries, I'm that here too (in our little family of two) Good job, because yesterday I was too lazy to buy junk and there was none in the flat, score! I second the question about TV in the Netherlands, do they dub? Every Dutch person I know can speak amazing English and amazing German, I am jealous! I swear when I have children I want them to grow up on mainland Europe (probably here) so they can learn a few different languages.

Fitmom Yay for your son following in your footsteps. My bf has already got dibs on our future children doing decathlons/athletics so he can coach them (poor imaginary children!)

Dianne I've got a great evening planned tonight, more human rights reading and then Breakfast at Tiffany's. This is what happens when your entire friendship group is made up of teachers. School holidays come, and poof, everyone is on holiday for weeks on end and nobody wants to play :(


On my side, scale was up yesterday and this morning, I have no idea why. The lowest I saw it last week was 67.4kg, yesterday it was 68.2kg and today it was 67.8kg. To be honest, after weeks of clean eating and weight training, I would like to see 66.something thank you please. Hmph!

amie didn't see you there. Well done for getting over the worst, it's all plain sailing from here :)

Dianne042425: It's so nice to hear that I'm not the only one who went down from a C cup to a B cup. I'm not alone, lol. I used to hear the same thing from people, they wondered if I had gotten implants, lol. I'm not as upset as I was a few days ago when I discovered that my bras were loose though. I'd much rather be fit and a B cup then frumpy with a C cup. :p I forgot that housework does burn a certain amount of calories. Luckily, I have my two sons to help me so it takes me no time at all.

Aimeebell: The high school track is near my house. I will definitely do that. I have a funny feeling that I might outrun him too, lol. He's built like a runner - really tall (as tall as my 12-year old nephew) and lean. Two days? That's great. Keep going.

Claire0412: Dibs on future children, that's so sweet. I remember when my hubby and I used to talk like that...a few eons ago, lol. But all kidding aside, I do feel a sense of accomplishment that he sees me being active and wants to try running. Children's eyes are always on you 24/7, that's for sure. My six-year old son cries that he wants to come with me too but I tell him that his legs have to get a little bit longer. :p Don't worry about the scale, sometimes the hormonal surges we have throughout the month can cause that. I weigh myself weekly - every Monday morning. I'm sure you will even out. :)

I'm back to calorie cycling and I have a new appreciation for those of you who stick to 1200-1300 every day. My lowest day of the cycle is supposed to be around 1225, so I did it Sunday, my off day from exercise... ARGH! I felt like gnawing on my own hand all day and was so tired--though the fatigue was probably due to my sudden drastic cut in caffeine (which I have seriously been overdoing lately, since I bought some tasty cold brew tea). Today is my high day, woohoo!, corresponding with pushup/pullup day.
---
krampus: Well done on the speech, and holy cow, those cookies crack me up! Hubby & I have been rewatching TNG episodes for the 5000th time lately.

ann71: Five miles, well done! I'm amazed at all you gals who bake desserts. I'm sure that dipping into the chocolate chips (or eating half the batch) would happen way too often for me if I ever tried baking.

Dianne: Good luck with IF. Seems there are a lot of people on these boards doing it these days--I think there is even a support thread or two somewhere.

aimeebell: Good job on the two days! Keep that momentum going. :)

claire: Isn't the scale obnoxious? Just gotta throw your hands up and say, whatever...

fitmom: Sounds like you & your son are going to have fun Friday, so cute.

Ann71: Hoow long did it take you to work up to 5 miles? Have you been running a long time? I can't even imagine running 5 miles at this point, lol. I thought I was doing okay with 3. I need to step it up. Haha I'm impressed. That's awesome. Sorry for all the questions but I'm a newbie when it comes to running.


Oh, and I forgot to mention (I have so much to say today, lol) that I did my 'cheat meal' yesterday so I'll have to let you know if that did rev up my metabolism or not. But I used lowfat mac and cheese and turkey chili, lol. I just couldn't allow myself to go full-fat. And last night I did my kettlebells and core work and I was sweating like crazy. I can tell my endurance is getting better b/c I did some jumping jacks between the kettlebell sets and I wasn't huffing and puffing, as per usual.

Then I discovered as I was doing my bent-elbow planks (my most hated exercise, ugh!) that only a small flap of skin on my stomach slightly below the navel hangs down now when I'm in that position. A few months ago, my entire abdomen would fall forward then when I stood up, it snapped back into place. You ladies know what I mean, particularly those who've given birth. It used to really annoy me. I'm so excited that most of it is now tight. I never thought I'd see that - ever. But there's always room for improvement. Tonight is my Pilates night. It's such a destressor once the kids are in bed. I'm focusing on the core today. Okay, back to folding laundry now. :p

Just got home from work - just want to answer 2 questions

Are english movies dubbed or subtitled? Well subtitled ofcourse! In france and germany they dub everything, it's horrible. And you also notice how they don't speak english so well. A lot of dutch are good at english because of several factors:
- it's a mandatory subject in school for 4 to 8 years (as are 1 or 2 other languages such as french of german
- a LOT of our tv shows are American/English because we are such a small country we don't have a big movie industry of our own
- we have quite an international focus, always have had (in the old days mostly being a country that traded a lot of goods and sailed all the seas looking for land to conquer -we had Manhattan for a while you know ;)

Oh, and on the cookies that are only 20 cal - it's these: http://www.appiehein.com/184-1028-th.../langetjes.jpg "Verkade - langetje" it's a dutch brand I think!

So, I read a lot of you don't manage to get around 1200 calories a day.
Just to see if I can inspire some of you I'll post a 1100/1200 calorie day here for y'all!

Breakfast: (total 112 calories)
1/4 of a fuji apple in tiny pieces - 18 calories
1 teaspoon of regular sugar - 16 calories
25grams of full fat Greek Yoghurt - 78 calories
(I eat this with a small spoon and just relish in the fatty yoghurt before I hurry out the door)

11am: (total 132)
A fiber cracker - 38 calories
1 tablespoon peanutbutter - 94 calories

Lunch: (total 274 calories)
80 gram huttekase (cottage cheese 'light') - 72 calories
1 bowl of watercress (with the huttekase and some pepper and salt) - 15 calories
1 slice of whole wheat bread devided in 4 pieces - 70 calories
1/2 a serving of philadelphia light cream stuff - 23 calories
1 tablespoon of peanutbutter - 94

Dinner: (total 542 calories)
1 1/2 tablespoon of olive oilt - 179 calories
1 cup of arugula - 5 calories
125gram ricotta spinach tortelloni - 358 calories

Snack: (total 109 calories)
1 stringcheese - 69 calories
2 cinnamon cookies - 40 calories

Total for the whole day: 1169 calories

This is on a day that I ride my bike to work for about an hour total. And if I go to the gym late in the evening and then hop into bed with just one egg or something I'm perfectly fine. When I go to the gym earlier - I need atleast 200 calories extra to feel good. One of the things that helps for me is just small portions of things and enjoy the taste of it and eat it slowly. I also don't drink anything other than water. Sometimes half a glass of apple juice. Hope it inspires any of you guys!

Wow, I'm amazed that you ladies have energy to do stuff with only 1200 calories. Gosh, if I ate only that amount of calories I couldn't keep up with my kids. I estimate I eat b/t 1400-1600 calories a day. I find when I cut my calories down, I felt so light-headed particularly when I went to stand up. Not a good thing. My concentration was also affected. Maybe I'm just odd but I need slightly more to make me feel okay. But everyone's different. I'm envious b/c that's just not me, lol. I also drink mostly water too and two cups of green tea.

fitmom - I couldn't do this a lot of days - but once or twice a week I'm fine, i notice no difference, if the other days are about 1400 calories. And also I am not as muscular as you probably are because I only started the gym about 2 months ago at a slow pace which I kicked up about 10 days ago - so I'm sure your body just uses it all up way faster than mine!

I'm also convinced the peanutbutter helps me with cravings! It's so yummy and it makes me feel all filled up and energetic!

philana: Thanks for the clarification. I was starting to feel like I was weird for needing more calories, lol. I forgot that lean muscle mass does need more fuel, I guess. It's funny that you mention peanut butter because I'm sitting here munching on apple slices with some peanut butter. It does give you an energy boost, I agree. That's awesome about the gym and all the exercise! :)

Ah fitmom I need more food too. The only time I've ever been able to stick to 1,200 is when I couldn't move off the sofa after surgery. It lasted all of a week. Either I have more muscle, or I have very little willpower. I think probably it is the last option...

I think it's the last option for me too, lol. I get the shakes when I go too long without eating as well. I know for me whenever I've severely tried to restrict my caloric intake for several days in a row, it's inadvertently backfired and my weight loss has stalled b/c my metabolism slows down. I don't even think I could calorie cycle either b/c I do a lot of running and HIIT which requires me to have my energy levels up otherwise I feel depleted after like five minutes, lol. But each to their own - whatever works for you. :)

I'm up three lbs. on the scale b/c of my TOM. Ooo, I hate that. I know it's only temporary but seeing the number move up is not a good thing, lol. Looking forward to when it leaves by weeks' end. My measurements haven't moved so I couldn't have gained. Ugh! Just hate being a woman - sometimes. :(

Somehow managed to be up only .2 kg after gorging myself last night at my dinner out. There's a dish in Japan called "chicken nanban" which is deep fried chicken breast coated in sweet and sour sauce with thick mayo/tartar sauce on top. Had that for dinner, and then split a jumbo parfait with 3 friends. All of us had huge distended tummies when that was over with!

Another dinner out tonight, and farewell heavy metal/80s karaoke with some coworkers. I purposely left my computer charger at home so I would run out of battery and go for a walk today. Need to sort out my transportation from JFK to home too, that's in OH JEEZ TEN DAYS. There's a lot to do and I'm just not stressing about it at all. I love my "Type B-minus" personality!

***

fitmom Hang in there, at least you know what's causing the scale spike! I get light headed from < 1300 calorie days too. Do you have low blood pressure as well?

claire Do I want to leave...it would be easier not to leave, but I also want to get back in touch with my roots. 3 years is a long time and there is nothing left for me to gain from this job (which is the best job a non-fluent Japanese speaker can get). Viel Glück! And don't worry too much about the scale <3

philana Ah okay thanks for answering that. I had a short time there where I thought I'd be moving to the Netherlands because my boyfriend's Dutch bandmate thought he found a semipermanent gig for them there, but no such luck. I've only visited Amsterdam but I really want to see other places in NL. And I love Dutch electronic music!

sumire With all the exercise you do it's not surprising 1200 is a tough range to stay at! I love TNG, almost done with the series for the first time. I can't believe it took me until now to realize its brilliance. Qapla'!

aimeebell I never really stopped moving and stayed steady in this weightloss process...I'm prone to yo-yo-ing too and I would like to STOP. I suppose I am sort of maintaining in the 130-134 range but I feel so much bigger than I did at 125-128. Nicely done on 2 days on plan :)

Dianne Yeah, I put it on and take it off really quickly. And it shows in my face super easily. I can't tell if that's mental or not but I have people confirm it by asking if I've lost weight on a "skinny face" day. As for fasting, I personally think it's easier to eat less if I just eat meals and not bother with snacks, so that may be why people can do well on an IF-style way of eating.

krampus: That's so funny that you mentioned low blood pressure because my late mom had it and so do I, lol. My pressure was: 110/70 which is normal for me. The only time is was 120/80 was when I was pregnant. Supposedly, your pressure goes up when you're pregnant but high for me was normal for everyone else. Every time I go to a new doctor, they always make a big deal out of the number and insist on re-doing it like three times. I'm always like, "no, it's been low and I feel fine."

JFK is where I'm flying out of on Sunday. Good luck with the trip home. Life's too short to stress out IMO. You'll get everything done in due time. :)

Thanks! I hate JFK but my company is paying for my flight there so I can't complain. Funny about the BP, I had a health check at work and the doctor told me to eat more salt. It was 89/54 or something, but I feel fine and never have problems.

Yay! Scale moved. I'm at 67kg/147.7lbs - so another 2lbs gone.
Slowly but surely! I think I'n gonna push myself to get off another 4,4lbs so I'm at my mini-goal of 65kg on my birthday. I REALLY want that! Oh, and I just realise it's already great because I lost 4kg, from 16kg to loose - so I've lost a quarter of my goal-loss! :D

I want a ticker! * pouts *

double post

sumire Yeah high days! I have respect for anyone who sticks to a certain amount of calories, so good luck. I am impressed with your strength training!

fitmom Interesting about blood pressure. Mine was always on the high side of normal, but since I've come off the pill and started low carb it is normal. Last time I had it measured (4 weeks ago) it was 120/80, which apparently is the ideal. Must be doing something right! I don't think low blood pressure is much of a health risk though is it? Unless you feel faint etc?

Krampus Danke! I know what you mean about the job, that is why I'm moving back too. I will miss my boyfriend and the friends I've made here terribly, and Vienna is the number one city in the world for quality of life (fact! 2010 and 2011), as opposed to London, which is a dirty, crime ridden, overcrowded (expensive) hole! I too am putting off arrangements/flat hunts/flights, but basically just because I don't want to move. Normally I am an organiser! Good luck with it all!

philana Wow! Slow weight loss is not something I'd attribute to you, you are melting the lbs away! Good for you!

I am off to see Harry Potter this evening. I don't like popcorn so we're all good on that front. I might have a white wine spritzer during though! I am being extra good this week because a) my bf is back tomorrow and we're going out for dinner with his parents b) my friend and I are going to a new guerilla bakery called Zucker und Fett (Sugar and Fat) on Sunday. If that name is anything to go by, nothing I eat will come in at under 1,000 cals... I deserve it though, because I've won my battle with university admin and I can do my final exam on 1st August, sooo fingers crossed at 13:00 GMT+1 on 1st August, I will be Claire XXXXX MA! Yay! Now to get back to revision.... Have a good day!