Helen I get what you mean! I've told my bf I'm trying to lose a bit of weight, and I use this board. Apart from that, nobody knows. Most of my friends are thinner than me though, and unless they hide it from me too, without dieting.

DianneWow the weight is falling off you! Jealous!

Krampus Don't worry, I'd take a diet break if I were you and maintain where you are now, enjoy your last weeks in Japan and start back up again properly when everything is less stressful. Good luck!

Dorian Do you have your free meal planned out? I have no idea what Red Lobster is, but I would go there if they served lobster, mmm. Glad your jeans fit, you'll look great! I love it when old jeans fit!

fitmom Yeah normally I hate running with other people, but I'm moving to a new area where I literally know no-one so I thought it'd be a good way to make friends! Go for it when you can, use the free time you'll magically have come September

Philana Yay! Great first week, well done

skinnyelle A detox every now and again sounds like a good idea! Are you slowly adding 'normal' food back, or did you go for it all at the same time? I did that once and got so ill!

Uni problems are looking up, so my stomach has got a bit better! I've had a great couple of days of eating clean, healthy food 3 x a day (additional snack at about 4pm if I'm starving). I did have a bit of Cadbury's yesterday evening. A British friend gave me a 200g bar, you can't get it here. I've made my boyfriend take it to work and if there is any left he can bring me a bit back in the evenings, hehe. It is way too dangerous to have that hanging around.

I don't feel like I'm on a diet anymore, in fact I'm eating the way I always have thought I should be. I'm trying to resist the urge to go on a crash diet to drop a few inches before having to bear my body in a bikini in 2.5 weeks (we're going backpacking around Turkey and Greek islands for 3 weeks). I keep telling myself it is counterproductive because I don't want to mess up the healthy diet I've got going on at the moment, but it is HARD!!

I also got the measuring tape out last night and pulled it as tight as it would go around my waist and hips. Apart from nearly cutting off circulation (!!), I discovered the lowest I could get in those areas (with literally hardly any fat) would be 26' waist and 36' hips. So I've decided that is my ultimate goal 36-26-26. At the moment I'm 36-27.5-38.5 so I've got a way to go.


Enjoy your weekend everyone

haha that is a good idea. I might try that with the tape measure!

Thats great you are feeling so good about your way of eating!

Skinnyelle Thanks, Im looking forward to relaxing And maybe a glass of wine..or two..

I'm 123.8lbs this morning - how exciting! I think the thing that has helped me the most this week is that I've made a CONSCIOUS effort to track my fiber and get more of it into my diet! I've never really paid attention to it before, but it all started when I came home from the store with some Fiber One cereal... I like putting half a cup of it on my Greek yogurt and fruit for breakfast.

The boyfriend and I are going to a local greek/lebanese restaurant for lunch today and they use fresh, whole ingredients. It isn't low calorie, but definitely delicious and healthy! I think I'm going to get a sampler platter with tabouli, felafel, baba ghanouj with whole wheat pita, and stuffed grape leaves. OMG, it's only 10am but I'm already drooling about lunch, haha.

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philana - I'm sorry about the scale! Ugh, that would make me crazy! I'm so glad to hear you stay positive about it! Congrats on your loss this past week, so proud of you! Great work!

skinnyelle39 - I'm totally obsessed with Harry Potter, haha. I was at Islands of Adventure 2 years ago when they were building it, haven't been yet! The boyfriend and I are planning on going for the Halloween Horror Nights thing they do in October (I LOVE anything horror) so we would be able to go to that park during the day. Fun! WOW that detox totally reset you, it sounds like it was just what you needed! Totally impressed!

fitmom - I'm going to have to second what philana said, it's not going to really be possible to nip in your waist if there's not much fat there, is it? That comes down to changing your body type, which doesn't seem realistic. BUT that doesn't mean you can't always be working on your health, your body, and your fitness! Just that you shouldn't be disappointed with yourself if you don't lose inches in your waist, you're doing such great work!

krampus - Just focus on your mental health right now, this transition/moving has got to be difficult on you! The last thing this board should cause you is GUILT! Just motivation. Hope you're feeling better soon.

Dianne042425 - I am obsessed with cottage cheese, I love it. And fruit. I love yogurt too! I really like dairy, but oddly enough only drink almond milk (not regular milk.) Anyway, sometimes when I put on weight quickly it comes off quickly? Or something it just depends on if you went to the bathroom before weighing in previously... so many factors! Just go with it! You're doing great!

claire0412 - I don't have it planned, I figure I'll see what I want when I get there! Red Lobster is like a seafood chain, they have lots of stuff. Particularly these buttery cheddar garlic biscuits that are 150calories a pop! They probably have crack in them too, because they are addictive. At 36-26-36 you will be a knockout, those are some sexy stats! Stick with your healthy LIFESTYLE instead of a crash diet, you'll look sexy in a bikini regardless!

Have a wonderful day, beautiful ladies!

Dorian OMGashhh! I am a FRUIT QUEEN!! I could seriously eat 239048290384 calories worth of fruit in one day hah I like dairy also, but I never really drank milk. Actually, when I went to a nutritionist last year (this was before I started eating healthy - ate HORRIBLE up until then). He said I was COMPLETLEY deficient in calcium! So I try to get that in my diet as often as I can!

That is SO great you are down again today. You are only like 8 pounds away from goal?? SO awesome!! How many grams of fiber are you trying to eat in a day? Do you count carbs or is your diet healthy carb heavy?

Dianne042425 - I don't count anything except calories, but looking back I averaged about 25g of fiber each day this week. I don't count carbs, but I definitely make sure not to eat a lot of bread/pasta/anything like that. Lots of good carbs in my diet though.

When I first started this adventure, I lost weight eating whatever the heck I wanted to as long as it was in my calories, and I lost weight.

Now, however, I eat mostly clean, whole foods within my calories and I have more energy to work out more and do what I need to do, and I look healthier and function better and lose weight more efficiently.

I'm sure I'll feel better when I can manage to get fake sweeteners/aspartame out of my diet as well. Work in progress.

UPDATE: I actually lost a half-inch in my waist. I measured myself this morning and I was so surprised b/c I've lost from my bust and hips but my waist wouldn't budge for anything, lol (the perks of being a ruler!). Anyway, I had my trainer friend redo my body fat with a skin-fold caliper this afternoon and it went down. I was at 18.2%, now it's 17.5%. I'm so excited b/c I'm almost at goal. It's not much but still it's progress, right? I think stepping up my running miles combined with some HIIT and the frequency of the cardio may have done the trick. Although I have doubts whether I'll be able to whittle my waist even more b/c that's just not my body type as several of you have pointed out. The focus is and has been a healthy lifestyle.

Sounds like everyone is doing okay. I can't individually comment b/c I have to make my two kids dinner. Sorry. I'm happy we're all here for each other in our journey.

Sooo, that tiny bikini I ordered came today, and it fits perfectly, I was so excited that I had to jump on and squeal about it. I look skinny in it in person but when I tried to take a picture to post, but I looked fat in every single shot, haha. Anyone else like that?

fitmom: NICE work! I'm so excited for you! Keep it up!

@Dorian5: It's funny about the tiny bikini b/c I have one I bought for my vacation next week and I thought it looked good. When I took a photo, I looked okay but nothing to squeal about. Maybe the lighting or the angle made a difference. Who knows?!? I also think maybe I should have tried it on an empty stomach not after eating so my stomach was not distended. Oh well. I'm still a work-in-progress - evidently. Good for you though. That's a huge accomplishment in and of itself.

Thanks -all- for the congrats on the weightloss. I'm just so annoyed, today I found out the scale at the gym is actually not working proper! ARGH. So, I checked my own scale by weighing my macbook (I know it's suppose to be 2kg) and it works just perfect. So - I'm sticking to trusting my own scale again. Which means I'm at 68kg/149.9lbs now still/again! Yay.

Dianne - I see the cottage cheese is to 'blame' for a lot of your proteine. That's GREAT. Because people here call me the cottage cheese addict. I introduced it to several people that are now a big lover of it. LOL. So, I'll put it into my diet again a bit more. I was trying out a lot of 'new' stuff this week and totally forgot about the cottage cheese.

claire - awesome trip! i love turkey! If you go to Istanbul you should definately stay in hostels in Sultanahmed. Nice backpackers area! Turkey is also great for good foods!

Dorian - I LOVE baba ganough and dolmadakia's. I sometimes make those myself. Speaking of which, I still have grapeleaves in the fridge. And rice. And greek yoghurt. I know what's for dinner here tonight! haha. I travel in the middle east a lot, and one reason I love it so much is the food.

fitmom - congrats on the waist! that is awesome just don't forget to be happy about where you are already at!


So I'm a tiny bit uhg because I was going crazy with The 100 Workout last night while it was suppose to be my rest-day. Oh well! I did just finally figure out what's in my fav noodle soup calorie-wise. I was looking at it the entire week thinkin "gosh I want one, but it's probably loaded with carbs and salt" which is true. But it's still a decent lunch for once in a while. (livestrong has a great trustworthy database! http://www.livestrong.com/thedailypl...ie-clear-soup/ )

Dorian I know the feeling. I took a picture of me in my (non matching) underwear so I could see my progress. Oh my god, no one is seeing it. I thought I looked alright until I took that photo.

Fitmom Yay! I bet your waist is tiny now!!

Philana Ooh we just booked our hotel in Istanbul (we're there for 4 days at the end of our holiday). I booked a 5* luxury hotel with a pool and spa as a nice way to end our holiday. It is our (first proper and) last holiday together until we have to go long distance, so we splashed out a bit. Vienna has a massive Turkish population, and I love buying Turkish food from the delis here, yum yum. I am looking forward to it!

My bf has just made me a new weights workout plan, which I've named Felix's workout plan because he's been walking around all week singing Kayne West's The New Workout Plan at me to take the piss out of my new found enthusiasm for working out at home. Ridiculousness aside, the plan is good and he has got all my upper body and core muscles covered. Tired!

For the rest of the day, I will call my mum, watch online coverage of Rupert Murdock's empire crumbling (with glee, mwhahaha) and then we're going out for a walk in the centre of Vienna and dinner. Have a good weekend everyone

Claire: Cadbury's chocolate is so difficult to resist, but you did well only to have a little bit and to send the rest to work with your boyfriend. It's also that you don't feel like you're dieting, just being healthy. I'll always remember an old flat mates boyfriend saying 'dieting isn't about eating less, it's about eating better.


Philana: well done on the weightloss, I think it's best to always use the same scale so you get an idea of what you're losing, so long as it's a reliable one.

Fitmom: You're so close to goal, congratulations!

Dorian: The restaurant you ate at sounds gorgeous. What did you have? I love good quality nourishing food, even if it does have a lot of calories, as it's good for both body and soul. Also, it's awesome about the bikini! I'll definitely show you a picture of my new dress when I get down, I've already chosen the one I want! Would be cool to see your bikini but don't worry if you can't upload it.

Skinnyvelle: the raw food diet sounds like a sucess, even though you didn't last more than a week. I think a week is pretty good going actually and would be proud of that.

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I haven't been weighing myself for a bit, as the scaled tend to depress me at the moment, but I am definitely feeling a little bit slimmer, which is good. I work at a cafe and I get a free meal when I finish my shift, but have been choosing healthy options (soup and oven roated vegetable wrap....delicious)

Last night though something weird happened. I was really craving milk, like desperate for it....no idea why...I'd been craving it all day and ignoring it but it just got really bad, so in the end I drank a pint (I know a whole pint of whole milk) and suddenly felt a lot better. If you crave something is that your bodies way of telling you you need it? I've been cutting back on fats and dairy lately...so maybe I needed the fat? I don't know...

I'm going to have a short run later today...haven't run for a long time as I broke my arm last year and just stopped exercising while that healed and then didn't start again....

oh, and here's the dress I want...see why I have have to be slim ...

http://www.asos.com/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=1591962

I'm struggling a bit today. The stores open in 3 hours, and I have it in my mind that I want either chips or cookies. I've had this thought since yesterday. I'm feeling a bit lethargic after so many days in the gym and a storm here where I am basically locked at home having the MOST boring weekend in ages.
My positive mindset is just not here today :P. I want this danged weekend to be over. There's tons to do around the house but my muscles hurt so I don't want to move.

Sorry for the big whine.

Update: I followed Claire's advise and am baking cookies myself. Not so much healthier than at the store, but this is a somewhat 'small' portion so there is no risk of me eating up a WHOLE pack of cookies or buying an extra bag of chips when walking in the supermarket. Now I can just stay at home and enjoy my treat!

Helen If you really crave something other than junk food, it normally is because you are deficient in something! Normally I crave chocolate (not just sweet things, CHOCOLATE!) and beef during my period, which I take to mean I need magnesium and iron. Some good quality chocolate and beef is always part of my period diet

If you think you might be deficient in calcium, I would drink low fat milk / yoghurt. I'm not normally an advocate of low fat anything, but low fat dairy tends to have more calcium and protein in.

Philana Sounds like you might be overtraining. If you want something sweet, why don't you bake something? This will a) give you something to do b) let you decide what goes into your body (how much sugar etc). If you bake muffins/cake then you can cut it into individual portions and freeze anything you don't want to eat! Lay off the gym for a bit and take it slowly

My boyfriend is away for the week now, and all my friends are on summer holidays, so my week is gonna be BORING! On top of this, I'm a teacher and it is the summer holidays, so I don't even have to work. Luckily (ha) I have my MA exam to revise for, otherwise all I'd do is eat and shop! I'm making the most of not being tempted by the bf's sweet tooth and will try to be really good until he comes back (Friday).

Have a nice Sunday

Happy weekend, feathers! Weight up again slightly the past couple of days (argh), after dipping back down. But I'm still quite sore from my last 2 workouts (2 days ago, pushups & pullups; 3 days ago, single leg squat extravaganza), so I'm sure I'm retaining water.

I'm becoming fed up with my stall (10 weeks with a half-pound loss, and that was 6 weeks ago, and I haven't seen that weight since! --and no, no measurement changes recently) and am going to start trying to blow through it. I'm cycling my calories now (but keeping at the same ~1500 range, which I don't want to drop if I don't have to, to fuel my workouts). Going to add some short HIIT sessions 2-3x/week. And--I feel silly--but I bought myself a mini stepper yesterday, to add some moderate steady-state cardio in the evenings at home. Previously I was just flailing around doing my own cardio moves, but I began to worry about bothering my downstairs neighbors at nighttime.
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philana: Belated congrats on the big loss! I like weighing at home--then I can weigh myself in the morning, before eating, no clothes, and I like the number much better then.

Dianne: Woohoo! Congrats! Don't question the loss... just be grateful.

skinnyelle: I agree with fitmom about the modeling-- get yourself an agent, stat!

claire: Love the tape measure thing! I did it myself yesterday and convinced myself that a 24" waist is quite possible, and it was good for me to see that my butt measurement really can't get appreciably smaller than 37". I tend to compare myself to other gals here and wonder why my hip/butt measurement (currently 38.5") is so big, but I guess it really is bone structure there. Anyway, that was fascinating, thanks! Good luck with the revisions & all, & keep your eye on that vacation!

Dorian: Yay for you & the teeny weeny bikini! I'm glad it's not just me with the photo thing-- I take sports bra/undies pics of myself every month to track my progress, and every month I'm a little dismayed when I see the pics. I just tell myself that the camera adds 10 pounds, haha.

fitmom: Well done! I'm hoping for around 18-19% bf at the end of my weight loss, so it's always inspirational to see other chicks who are there.

HelenInEdinburgh: I gave up 9 years of veganism in part because I was getting the most insane dairy cravings in the universe (like, "I am convinced I will literally die if I do not eat this giant block of cheese"). I do think that when our bodies have a serious craving, they're trying to tell us something! (I think in my case it was probably "give me calcium and vitamin D RIGHT NOW," since I was always bad about this with my crappy vegan diet.)