Lisa : gald to hear you lost you gain! yay for you!

Dorian : I'm in the same boast as you for the ''loving to cook/hate fake butter thingy''. I received the Julia Child French receipes cookbook for Christmas and Oh lord, that woman loved butter LOL Althought I feel that I don't tend to over eat when it tastes good, like I don't have the feeling to eat more food to compensate for a ''blah'' taste. Great new picture, btw!

philana : don't be too hard on yourself, you're doing amazing. And it's normal that your body is changing since you've taken up running! You might not loose that much, but your body will sure feel different.

Hi feathers!

I am slowly loosing the water weight.. it feel so good! My tummy is less and less bloated.

Being a bit depressed (by the gain but also having a rough week at the lab) I ditched the run and abs routine last night to watch (and cry) in front of The Fox and the Hound (don't judge me).

I have an gym hockey game tonight and planning to run tomorrow... they are forecasting 0 celsius degrees (or 32 F), gonna be a perfect weather for a good run :) Let'S shake this up!

Have a good day feathers!

Turbomammoth - Great work! Feels so good when the bloat comes off!

Philana - Low Carb works for me and I run too. I stick close to the SBD diet and find that there are lots of options. This morning I had "ricotta muffins" which are basically eggs, ricotta and sweetner made in muffin tins. They are very filling. To get in fiber SBD allows most all veggies and beans. I also eat berries too.

I weighed 128.4 this morning. I haven't seen that number since November! woot woo.

Tonight we are going to sushi - yikes - i usually leave bloated from the salt. I am going to stick with seaweed salad and some yakatori instead!

Hey guys, thanks for the well wishes. Doing better now because I got through my stressful day. A couple more to go in the close future, but I'm going to worry when the time comes. :) I went to the gym today and did a moderate 6 miles with some surges thrown in, and did a lot of sit ups and push ups. Push ups are really my weakness and I'm looking to work more on arm strength. I need to lift more. Also, my weight has yet to go back up. I'm still not counting it as an official loss. Perhaps if it's still off in a week I will, but I still think it was fake loss.

LoveSweets, nice work on the 128! I love seeing a number I haven't seen in awhile!

Turbo, I'd never judged! I am an emotional zombie for most things, but when it comes to animals I can cry at the drop of a hat. I've cried at the fox and the hound, not to mention oliver and company, homeward bound, milo and otis, marley and me, and (this one's really pathetic) hotel for dogs. Anything with dogs turns me into a soggy mess.

Philana, I've never tried low carb but I generally hear pretty good things about it. Unfortunately I'm really big on bread-type things, but everything I eat in that respect is whole wheat so at least it's got a little nutritional value. Good luck with the plan!

Pinkrunner - I hope your stressors go away soon!! That sounds like a good work out :)

LoveSweets - Congrats on 128, that's my dream number so I'm pretty jealous ;)

Philiana - I'm considering trying low carb too, not cutting it out totally but eating way less then I am now. I eat waaay too many carbs..and that could be a reason my weight has been stuck for 3 months.

Today I worked out 45 min hard on the elliptical and some leg exercises, but I ended up a little high on the calories since I ate half a cup of ice cream after the gym! Eek..ended up at 1650...not good.

Turbo - Sorry to hear you're feeling down! What kind of lab work do you do?

pinkrunner, I’m glad you’ve made it through some of the stress! I cracked up when I read the list of movies during which you’ve cried – I’m the same way! Seriously, I cried during Madagascar. A G rated movie. It just made me so sad when the lion started thinking about eating his zebra friend. I still haven’t lived that down. I was in high school, and my friend, who always loved to do other people’s make-up, had lathered on half a tube of liquid eye liner before we went to the movies, so I ended up walking out of the theater with giant puddles of tar-like goo covering my face. Kind of hard to pretend you didn’t cry when you look like a child took a permanent marker to your face.

LoveSweets – congrats on the new number! I hope you enjoy your sushi tonight. I love sushi. Definitely one of my weaknesses!

Turbo, I hope you enjoy(ed) your hockey game at the gym! Sounds fun. Is the 0 degrees forecast warmer or colder than usual this time of year where you are? I miss 0 degrees … it’s regularly been minus 25 (Celsius) here the past few weeks.

Dianne, glad you whooshed! I guess my weather explanation didn't exactly apply to Floridian winter!

Philana, I totally agree with you about rain. Rain is the enemy. Especially cold rain. Anyways, congratulations on all these new running milestones. You’re going to be in great shape very soon at this rate!

Krampus, I’m still in Finland, but I’ll be moving to Massachusetts by the beginning of July. I’ll miss Finland, but I will definitely not miss the winter weather. I’m sure you’ve talked about it on the board before, but how are you readjusting to life in the States?

General update:

I don’t mean to be melodramatic, but I think that certain body parts have ceased to function normally due to the cold. I cannot even remember what it feels like to actually be completely warm all over. Sometimes I even take showers to try to warm up, and the parts of me not completely immersed in water are still icy to touch. All of this makes me feel sluggish and reluctant to do anything that doesn’t involve lying in bed with three blankets pulled over my head. Not so great for weight loss. I wish that I could meet winter in a human incarnation. Perhaps then I could reveal my awesome, hither-to-unsuspected battle prowess and vanquish and banish it. In my current state of fitness, however, it’s more likely that a personified winter would merely push me over with its pinky and then sit on me, rendering me helpless. Much like it actually is doing. (Are wild metaphors the precursor to hypothermia-induced hallucinations?) Honestly, if I just maintain until spring arrives, I would be totally fine with that. Perhaps I shouldn’t have eaten those three brownies at work, though …

Anyways, weekly weigh-in showed a little gain, but it’s hard to know how accurate it is. I’ve been using an old scale at work, and it’s a little difficult to get an exact reading. I’m also hoping that my winter clothes are adding a pound or so to my weight. Perhaps it’s wishful thinking, but with several layers, you never know! I think I’ll have to get a personal scale in the near future, though.

Hope all’s going well with the rest of you feathers!

pinkrunner : Thanx for not judging LOL I'm a mess when it comes to animals movie. I can't even think about the scene where the old widow carry the fox away and take him to the forest without having tears in my eyes LOL

Lisa : I'm finishing a master degree in cell biology. It's rough right now at the lab, I have a lot of stuff the do and there's a trainee who always following me like a puppy... but I'll live through it ;) and for you being a bit over calories, at least you had your training, so you can be at 1650 instead of 1800. :) it's a great thing to focus on

Nienna : 0 degrees is definitely warmer that it should be. there's forecasting -15 to -20 on sunday, the day of my long rung training.. I'll think I'll push through a bit more tonight so I can do a shorter one on sunday LOL Hang in there for the cold issues :hug:


***

It's fridayyyyy! Finally! I'm exausted. I'm just going to relax this weekend, cook a bit, work out and enjoy the break.

I'm proud of me, the boyfrend was insisting so I would go with him at at pub tonight to have a beer and then out to dinner with some friends of his job (a girl who used to work with them is coming in town for the weekend) and I said thanx, but no thanx! I realy wanted to avoid restaurents. I'm doing really good this week with the food and I wasn't feeling like crashing that by going to the pub + dining out... I rather go for a run, cook myself a good little diner with a cup of wine and relax at home :)

Have a good friday everyone! :)

Hi Feathers,

This morning I was 129.5 on my boyfriend's scale and 132.0 on mine. I have noticed that my scale is 3 lbs higher than the scale at my parents' house and 2 lbs over the one at dude's house. Either way, progress in the right direction, eee! Today I'm wearing a vintage size 6 pencil skirt with a white shirt tucked in and I feel good in it.

Nienna Dude I totally understand what you're going through with winter. When I was in Japan it wasn't dark like it is up north, but my apartment wasn't heated and I would just shiver and wish for summer all night every night. It actually forced me out running just so I could be warm for an hour or so. Life back in the US is ok, job hunting while working a dead-end job, new relationship and new friends which keeps things fresh. I recently moved out of my parents' house which was a nice step.

LisaTcan Well done on the exercise, also 1650 isn't so bad - I consider it a "great" day if I eat that little or less, haha!

pinkrunner I am glad to hear you're feeling less stressed these days, certainly a good thing. Pushups are such an easy way to get fit up top but somehow it's really difficult to stay steady with them and get to the level where you enjoy them! I cry at animal flicks too. ;)

LoveSweets Mmmmm yakitori. Congrats on 128! That's my "very happy" weight. I am a sucker for sushi as well. East Asian people are so skinny but their food is SO salty!

TurboMammoth You know, I prefer running at 0-10 C temperatures too, keeps me moving quicker so I don't get cold. I'm glad you feel less bloated lately. Slow but steady!

philana Let me know how low-carb works for you. I am far too lazy to track macronutrients - I just try to avoid obvious danger zones like granola, piles of starch, and sugary drinks.

Dianne I couldn't tell you how many calories are in it since I don't count, but it's definitely under 500 for a big pile of veggies and chicken!

Dorian5 Your cooking adventures sound delightful - I'm sure a lot of the gain will fall off. Sodium is a wicked thing, it's not fair how things like chicken soup can be sooo salty.

Hey guys!

Krampus, 129.5! That's awesome! I love moving into a new "decade". Yes, my problem has always been my scrawny arms. I've always had muscular legs and don't worry about them, but my arms are pathetic. A few years back I was doing 200 push ups on the days I did strength training and I can't imagine that at this point. :dizzy:

Turbo, great job turning down the fatty foods and beer! I think alcohol is such an easy way to consume calories, esp. when there is food involved. I know that when I drink I get extra hungry :)

Nienna, awwww, Madagascar! I liked that movie, although I think I was able to maintain composure during it (although, given that it had animals, I may not have). I know ahead of time that I can't go see any animal centric movies in the theater because I would risk the same as you. Haha at least the theater was dark and no one saw your eyeliner until after and then you can flee to the car! I also know how you feel about the cold. It's been really bad here too and there are some days that I really drag getting out just to drive to the gym. How is your diet? I know sometimes when I'm not eating enough I get excessively cold, but then again, if where you are is simply that cold, it probably has nothing to do with that. Try to stay warm, I feel for you!

Lisa, 1650 isn't too bad, especially considering you worked out! I'm sure you still had a deficit at the end of the day. Nice work on limiting yourself to half a cup of ice cream. Man, that's something I need to work on!

I woke up slightly sore from yesterday, and that makes me pretty happy (it's a good sore). Hope everyone is having a good week, finally Friday!

It's frigging early here and I have to hurry because I have a SUPER BUSY day today. So more news tomorrow, but I think the low-carb is working for me. I just dropped 2bs! YAY!

Philiana - that's great!! That's really motivating me to do low carb.

Pinkrunner - good job on the great workout out and being sore! What is your work out plan?

Krampus - congrats on your loss!! Yay for being below 130! I bet you look great in the vintage skirt, I find vintage clothes are so tiny. I once had to buy a size 14 50's skirt which would really have been more like an 8-10.

Turbo - ahh!! That's cool! I'm waiting on my acceptances for grad school right now. I often turn down a night out to stay in, it helps me get more work done and helps me keep my calories down.

Nienna - I'm in Canada so I totally understand how you feel about the cold! I hate it so much. Although this year hasn't been that bad here so I shouldn't complain.

Dorian - I'm finding your body confidence inspiring!!

So i've been eating really well the past week and went to the gym twice but my weight is still stuck!! I'm getting really frustrated, I'm hoping to start weight lifting next week and maybe cut carbs a bit? I'm eating around 1500 calories a day and I suppose I could cut that down...ugh I'm just tired of this rut! This is always where I get stuck, my body doesn't seem to like to go any lower than 135. I don't want to accept it though!!

LisaTcan - what are you eating? I noticed when I eat mostly vegetarian food, my weight would not drop. is this the case for you.

Last night we went out to dinner and stuck with low-carb eating - but i ate too much! Today I going to eat very little as we are going out to dinner again tonight! Sticking with the low-carb thing is working and makes me way less bloated!

LoveSweets - I do eat a mostly vegetarian diet, I was vegetarian for a long time and gave it up last year but I still don't get anywhere near enough protein. I'm really trying this week to cut down on my carbs and eat more protein.
I just had a goat cheese omelete and a salad for lunch so theres a start!

UG I forgot my lunch (a yummy chicken salad) home today -_- So for lunch I had some Fiber One, a few pistachios, and a small granola square....thankfully I'm not STARVING, 'cause I'm not getting home until maybe 7 pm ;___;

Nienna: Cold sucks! I hate cold. I hate it so badly. Haha. If there's one thing in the world that I complain about most it's the cold. When I was in Iran for travels in the middle of summer and ti was 45degrees Celcius, omg.. I was so happy. It was the first time in my life I hadn't been cold in 2 whole weeks. Haha. Where do you live that it is so cold?

Turbo: Sounds like a good decision for you then! Is always great when you feel in control like that!

Krampus: LOVE your style! Can't wait to feel confident enough in my body to wear a bit more of the clothes that I thikn are cool. Mostly vintage stuff. And your weight is my most maintanable weight ever since I was an adult. So hope to be there soon and feel good at it. I will shoot for lower, but I know how 128/129 feels.

LisaT: You can do it! Stick with it! I'll post about my low-carb thing below.

--
I started low-carb a few days ago. Not atkins style with induction and all, but just dropping carbs down to 50-60g a day. I saw a pretty rapid drop that I had been waiting for so long, that it's really great. And what has helped me so much is that my cravings are just gone. People have been offering me candy and cake and luxury lunches the past few days and I've been able to say no. Yesterday was a really busy day with a big congress and lot's of friends. And the only reason I said yes to a few pieces of candy was because it didn't look like dinner was anytime soon and I was through my mini bites of baby bell and beef jerky. Ended up having baileys instead of dinner because people wanted to go to a pub. And I don't drink but in social situations I always feel those eyes on me, I just order a glas of baileys whcih I love and hold it forever. So. I didn't go over my carbs or my calories but it was just horrid to get enough food in. I thought I was prepared but social situations bring you to someplace with no healthy food and there's nothing to do. Wha. Then I was emotional about something a friend of mine pulled and I was about ready to buy a bag of chips and Dr. Pepper but instead had another beef jerky and cola light. But it was just an UHG day eating wise. Anyhow - I am happy I stuck with it, because otherwise today would be hard.

What I find hard is that if I can't have carby-food, I don't care much for food. So I set myself on 1200 calories a day, and I don't mind it. But I feel like it's maybe a bit too little. 1200 calories are hit so fast after some cheese, nuts and fatty meat stuffs. Don't know what to do. I don't wanna eat more. I feel good, only a bit tired and I am dropping weight. But I eat little, and calorie wise it's not so much either. I just don't know if it is a healthy approach of not. What would you do?

Oh, on the upside. I got lots and lots of compliments on how good I looked.

Philana, must be nice to get compliments on how you look! Hard work paying off! I know that 1200 calories is too low for me- I don't lose on that, or if I do I stall almost immediately. However, if you feel good and it's working for you, I'd say keep at it. If you start not feeling well or your stall, then maybe think about upping your calories. But I always believe that you should do what works for you as long as you feel good and it's healthy :)

LisaT, I worry about protein too so I make sure to be more conscious of it. I also know that unless I'm having a bad day with a lot of junk, I usually don't get enough fat. On days like that I put some olive oil on something to get the fat grams up there. Sometimes it's hard to keep track of everything :dizzy:

I've finally posted a loss. It's been a week, I've been eating pretty well, and the scale said 126 yesterday morning. That is up from the stress loss I had earlier in the week (as expected), but still down from my standard. 7lbs to go... Once I hit 122 though, I'm going to re-evaluate. I may just stay there. I'm feeling pretty comfortable right now, but still would feel better with a few more pounds lost.

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!