Couple of ideas:

- Intermittent fasting. I LOVE IF- I don't start eating until 1 or 2 PM and I stop at around 8ish. In this way my first meal of the day (lunch) is very filling- 500 cals usually, and I don't even want to look at food until dinner. I eat a 500-600 cal dinner, maybe a small snack or dessert after that, and really don't want anymore. If I start eating even later (3 PM) I find I'm fuller even faster. I feel IF helps me feel like I'm eating WAY more than 1200 even when I'm not.

- Just go for a walk in the morning and walk in the evening. Or choose to walk/bike instead of taking a car/bus. I love multitasking, and if I can get in my commute AND exercise at the same time, well that's awesome. If you can't, no worries, just get in a brisk 20 minute walk once or twice a day.

- Buy a pair of resistance bands. They are SO cheap and you can really work on strength training with them without a gym membership.

- I personally keep exercise (the cals I burn) and eating (the cals i consume) totally separate. I don't eat more when I exercise. I just consider them extra calories towards my deficit.

- Eat fewer carbs. I find the lower my carb intake, the fuller and more satisfied I am. Yesterday I had my first meal at 2 PM and it was a smoothie with 3 tbs peanut butter, 1 banana, 1 scoop protein powder, and 1/2 c 2% milk. It was seriously DECADENT and around 450 calories. I was stuffed after finishing it and uber satisfied. I had a modest meal of veggies, almonds, and tuna for dinner and that was it. I don't do super lower carb, but I really feel 1200 calories is WAY more than 1200 calories when I cut out grains.

- Maybe take a diet break? Eat at maintenance for a few weeks. I know you want to get down lower, but maybe eating a bit more for a week or so will help take some of the strain off of dieting. (It also helps "reset" your metabolism.) I feel a lot of anxiety in your posts, and it sounds like upping your cals to maintenance may be a huge stress reliever for you. We will all have to learn how to eat at maintenance at some time, and it seems like trying out now may do a world of good.

good luck!

Hey feathers! I don't know what I weigh right now, it's probably not good, but after only one day of better eating I feel zillions better. I was in Michigan all weekend visiting family/at a funeral and completely lost the plot, going WAY overboard with indulgent dinners and whatnot.

Today I had a pretty sweet second date with a nice dude. He's going to serve in Afghanistan in a couple weeks so not much is going to happen, but we just like hanging out and talking. We had salads for dinner and met later for a drink - and a fruit and cheese board that was beyond delicious.

I'm so excited that it's fall. I'm completely adjusted to being back in the USA and making lots of plans, so despite my extra pudge I am satisfied with my quality of life.

Hopping in here as well. No idea what Dutchies do for Halloween, I guess I'll find out in a few weeks.

Regarding the goal number, I picked a nice round number in both kilograms and pounds (50/110). Once I get there I might adjust it downwards, depending on how I look and feel. I think my lowest weight in adult life was 45 kg (99 lbs), but since then I've gained quite a bit of muscle, so my overall weight went up.

Stoked to hear how well everyone's doing!

Ivonnely, that's some very sound advice from indiblue above, incorporating some (or all!) of those little tips might help you to lose fat and not the lean muscle mass you might be losing when you restrict so hard.

I am still working on prying off the weekend gain! 125.2lbs this morning -- damn, that beer gets me every time. But considering I was flirting with 128lbs on Monday, it's coming off pretty fast!

I LOVE autumn sooo much! The grocery store I go to has apples everywhere -- honeycrisps are my favorite! I have one as a snack for later today, I'm excited!

I'd also like to say it's been a WEEK since I've had a pumpkin spice latte and I am so proud of myself. Pretty sure they put crack in them, I'm addicted! But abstaining -- 200 calories for a tall skinny one! Sheesh. Maybe this weekend.

ETA: Pinkrunner, since you asked, I picked 115lbs for my goal when I joined because I thought I was 5'3" and that was supposed to be the "ideal" weight for that height. I have since then discovered I am 5'4" so I will probably be trying to maintain 118-122 instead.

Dorian, I hear you about those pumpkin spice lattes. I usually love pumpkin anything, and every year I await the sign that says those lattes are back!

Krampus, you can't go wrong with a military man! :0)

Indiblue, some good advice. Looks like you know exactly what you're doing. I know the advice was targeted to Ivonnely, but the rest of us can use it too. I noticed you said that you never eat back exercise calories. What if you burn more than usual, upwards of 1,000? That's always the problem I face. When I run 5-6 miles, I don't worry about eating back calories, but when I run 10+, I always wonder how much I should alter my calorie intake. That always gets me into trouble... I don't eat enough and the next day I'm starving, or I overeat. Any advice on that one?

Hope everyone is doing well. 15 days until I hear about my job... ugh!!!! I'm going crazy!

I bite the dust and got a fitness center's membership. I definitely won't be able to maintain it, but I wanted to they it out for a month.

I have a question for u girls who work out on the machines: is the number of calorie burned accurate?

On the side note, I saw a scale beside it when I was done exercising, I stepped on it out of curiosity. It was the type that you have to manually move the things to balance the scale. I never done it before but it's not rocket science and the scale said I am at 127 =_= that's when I had the look of doom on my face, I mean...what the ****? My scale at home said I am 123 TOPS on a bad day but 127? I didn't have my shoes on and I wasn't wearing that much cloth. I didn't eat much before my exercise so there shouldn't be any waterweight.

My morale is crushed and I am just really bumped out and grumpy atm

Edit: Crisis is gone! Turned out my scale wasn't broken, my cloth infact, did weight a giant 4 pounds. I honestly didn't think a pair of skinny jean and a tank top would weight that much =_=

Oh I'm totally about eating back calories if you are running a lot!! Or if you exercise and just KNOW your body needs more fuel.

I have been eating pretty low cals the past week (1000ish) + working out, which was really delivering results on the scale. But this morning I went to the gym to lift and got so fatigued and really couldn't do as much as I usually can. I usually IF and don't eat until 1 or 2 PM but I really felt I needed a protein shake after the gym at 9:30 AM. So I had it. Broke my fast, and that's okay. And I may go over calories today, and that's okay too.

I am always the one on the boards saying "DON'T EAT BACK CALORIES!" every single time. I usually direct this to people who are new at dieting and who consider hopping on the elliptical for 30 minutes equivalent to adding an extra dessert for dinner.

I think folks like you who probably are actually burning 1000 calories for 10+ miles (holy cow that's a lot of mileage!) absolutely need to eat back more calories. I've read that when are you running that much you actually aren't supposed to be running a caloric deficit. But I'm no trainer- I'd leave that advice to the running forums and running boards.

I guess for me personally I just try to stay at 1200 until I can feel it affecting my performance. I usually run 3-4 miles a few times a week, which is around 600 calories, but not like what you're doing. 1200 is usually enough. But if I feel like I really need some extra protein and healthy calories, by all means do I add some in

I clocked in at 123.4lbs this morning -- meaning my water weight is gone now! Wahoo! I don't have that gross bloated look anymore that I had all week. Weigh in tomorrow will hopefully be in the 122's.

Unfortunately, the first real (not preseason) hockey game of the season for our home team is tomorrow, hopefully I can keep calories to a minimum. Then a friend of my boyfriend's want us to go to the beer festival on Saturday (maybe I can be DD, I do NOT want to drink that much beer this weekend!) and on Sunday for the hockey game the boyfriend and I were thinking of going to a sports bar (not so bad, I can find something lighter on the menu, I'm sure)

Just going to have to work pretty hard this weekend to do maintenance calories!

---

Haha, it's those jeans man, they make a big difference! Very heavy! Hope you can keep it up at the gym!

indiblue I just started IF and I'm loving it! It makes my calories go so much further.
My window is 12-8pm right now but I might make it smaller.

Dorian congrants on being so close to your goal! I hear you about the pumpkin
spice lattes..I love them. Just added a pump to my non-fat americano misto..but
It wasn't the same.

Hi Ladies!

I have been sooo bad about posting and even worse in life in terms of diet and exercise. I think Im recovering from a food coma so to speak lol. Spent the past two weeks working out sporadically and eating whatever I felt like. Sigh... the past few months Ive been battling the same 10-15 pounds +/-. Every time I get close to goal.... well Im sure you know the story. I THINK Im back on track as of this morning but we shall see. I actually got a little bored with signing in and posting.. but Im starting to realize that it really helps me to stay accountable to check in here regularly.

Nice to see that everyone is doing well and there are so many new faces.

krampus congrats on the awesome new gig! Im loving PanAm and although I know the industry is not what it used to be that should still be an experience.

Lots of things to share

I started my gym membership.I am doing mostly high incline walking but I really want to get into running. Here's the thing: I dont know what I am doing wrong. I was never a runner,always last in my pe class. When I tried running yesterday, I couldn't run for more than 2 minute.I wasn't running fast, I had huge pain in my stomach area,and didn't consume food prior to excersizing.

How do you ladies do 2-3 miles of running? It seems impossible to me atm >.<

Since I have upped my food intake, I've gained 2lb, currently at 123 a little upset, but I don't want to destroy myself to be 120, maybe I am doomed to be in the mid 120.

I really hope running can help me burn more calories, I will keep running everyday to push myself further.

Ivonnely, you're not doing anything wrong. If you've never been a runner then you just need to build up your endurance. Start out by running an easy pace for two minutes, and then walk for a minute or two. Alternate doing that until it gets to the point that the running part is getting easier, and then maybe run five minutes and walk one minute, etc. Just be sure that you build up slowly because nasty things such as shin splints lurk if you do too much too soon. I've been running for 15 years and a couple of years ago while training for a marathon I got shin splints...and I had never had them before despite running competitively for years. I would suggest going to Runnersworld.com and looking at some of the beginner's forums. You don't have to post, but you can just read what others have done, and also read some of the blogs and information they have.

skinnyelle, I find posting here keeps me more on track too. I think it's just nice to know that others are in the same position. Since most of us are featherweights I assume we're at the point where people tell us "you don't need to lose any weight!" so it's hard to find support. At least that's how it is for me.

Yesterday was a frustrating day for me. I ate a healthy breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack....and then I ate some cake. A gigantic piece. I mean, honestly, my day before the cake was as close to perfect as I've ever gotten, and then the cake monster tapped me on the shoulder and that was it. If it had been a small piece I would have been okay, but it was gigantic. Probably 2.5 pieces shaped into one piece!

Just want to chime in here. I cannot believe how LITTLE I eat and how MUCH I have to exercise just in order to lose a pound. And then I have to pretty much eat next to nothing and work out for 2 hours 3x week just to maintain. Like - lettuce greens for breakfast, fat free soup for lunch, and beans and steamed vegetables for dinner. That is it. I don't think I can keep this up for a lifetime, but it's the only way I've been able to move the dial.

Hi guys!

Long time no see! I've been very busy with moving / adjusting to the UK / my first teaching placement / boyfriend visits. Nothing much has changed, still loving teaching and hating the UK. 9 months til I can leave and get back to civilised Europe. The good thing is my family live quite close by so I'm seeing them a lot more. Apart from that, the traffic and unhealthy lifestyles of everyone around me is doing my head in. Get me back to a country where cycling to work is a normal activity and not proof that you are 'hardcore' (i'm not!)

Anyway, my eating has suffered a bit recently and having reintroduced carbs for the week my bf was here. My stomach is playing up now so back out they go! I will be eating porridge for breakfast again now it is freezing, but that will be it for the grains. I weigh 68.2kg now, and I'd like to see 67.something before I see my boyfriend again (in 2 weeks). We'll see!

Good luck everyone

Hello feathers!
I have a question for those of you who have stalled and experienced a "whoosh" I'm especially interested in those who stalled at their lowest weight and then experienced a whoosh.

Is your whoosh followed up by another big stall and then another whoosh or are you experiencing continued weight loss after the whoosh unlike before when you were stalled?

I'm fighting water retention and bloating right now and I'm trying to get to my lowest again of 128. Do you guys think fighting against bloat and retention weight keeps us from being able to lose actual fat or do you think we have to wait until the bloat/retention is gone before our bodies will start losing fat again.

I've lost 6lb of the 12lbs I gained over vacation and it's taken 9 days. Is it naive for me to think the rest will also come off over the next couple of weeks and am I foolish to think the last 6lbs are also fake/from bloating and rentention?

Blissbunny- I know exactly how you feel! I eat super clean and work out a lot (3 miles a day, 9-12 total on the bike fri-sun plus lifting 3 times a week and a 30min cardio hitting video on sat and one 45 min interval cardio video on sun)

Staying away from grains and gluten helps and I also IF. I drink a lit of water as well but I feel like after a 3 week vacation I would be losing again but I'm fighting off bloat.

Hope everyone has a wonderful and successful October!