Continued on from here: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/feat...s-chat-20.html

Hurray, was hoping someone had started this new thread by early this morning, starting us out right in February, whoo hoo!

I'm in a pretty good mood today, despite being hit-by-a-truck exhausted. My weight was down again. I should tell you that two days ago, I weighed in at 147. Today I am back down to 144.8 (which is close to where I was before this horrid weekend eating of last weekend). Definitely some water weight, hopefully a tad of real weight, too.

Wow, so much news. So, I think, if I get approved okay, I'm going to buy a little house this summer!! I've never owned property before in my life, as when I was married, we had a very mobile life, never staying in one town long enough. My dream is to have a small, cottage-like bungalow, cozy and sweet, not too expensive, easy to care for, etc. Anyway, I'm so excited because I met with a realtor yesterday and he gave me all kinds of helpful and hopeful information.

As for weight loss, I am working very hard on getting rid of my former attitude of reward and punishment when it comes to food. Like this morning I had 2 oreo cookies, which I NEVER have, much less for breakfast. Well, because it's Friday and I deserve something more exciting than my usual healthy breakfast, right? Usually that just sparks an entire day of over-the-top indulgences for me. Especially with the mentality of, "Well, I didn't start out perfect today, so might as well just start fresh tomorrow, eat like there's no tomorrow today!" So, NOW, I'm working on, nope, 2 cookies in this package are 140 calories. That's not great, but it's not a deal breaker for the whole day. I can still have a great rest of the day, plus go running after work, and probably lose weight tomorrow, although I AM supposed to go out tonight, although I might cancel -- it's SO COLD here today. The point is, Friday doesn't have to turn into a run away binge fest just because I decided to have cookies for breakfast. Well, stay tuned, we shall see if I can manage it. I will have a LOT of mines to get past. It's a special meeting day today, and in the morning people usually bring tons of snacks. Then it's one of those rare days when I can go out for lunch, so there's that temptation. Also the potential of going out tonight.

@Wildflower, I continue to be impressed with your steady weight loss. You eat so healthy! So let me get this right, you have a green smoothie (as you described) for breakfast, veggies and hummus for lunch, and sweet potato/veggies for dinner. You said that was a light day. What would be more typical? That meal sounds yummy (LOVE hummus), but it sounds so light (and also one that would leave me ravenous most of the day, grr, I think I need more protein in general). I am interested because I used to be much stricter when it came to being a veggie, but I just have slacked off so much with that lately. The half marathon that I signed up for is part of the Illinois marathon, and it's getting more and more famous. The reason being is that it's a qualifying marathon and the terrain at the marathon is VERY flat. So it's ideal for making personal bests.

@Krampus - wow, Quest bars. Jossfit mentioned those, too, and I have the feeling there was a discussion about them earlier that i'm blanking on. What are they exactly? As for your cabin away, haha, I know if I'm around a skinny person who never eats, it makes me not eat either because I don't want to look like a little piggy in comparison or to have people think, "huh, that's why she's so big!" whereas, ironically, if I'm around people much bigger than me, I tend to eat tons more than they do and I'm sure they're thinking, "Wow, she can eat all that food and still be small! How?" LOL! No, I'm not obnoxious and I don't do that on purpose, it's sort of just what happens.

@Turbo - I can never NOT weigh myself every day. I mean, I try, and I have gone through times when I refuse to weigh because I know it's bad, or maybe a few weeks before a vacation when I know it will only piss me off or stress me out, then I'll take a break from the scale, but if I'm in weight loss mode, I cant' resist looking at the daily numbers! (Also, I don't want to miss a spectacularly good number that might happen randomly in the week!)

@Jessica - I can never just eat one slice of pizza, oh gosh, that's why I rarely, rarely order it. I always think I'll be perfect and just take one slice and be satisfied, but nope. I think like Krampus said earlier somewhere, pizza is one of those foods where I want to eat until I literally can't eat any more. It's dangerous food for me! And I'm excited about the half marathon! I'd like to have signed up for the full, just to say I've done it, but the time that I'd need to put in for training is not realistic this winter/spring.

@Jossfit - This is what is so admirable about you. (Sorry, I tried to quote something you said and had a fail moment). I love how you have just a zero debate once you're on a program. It's not an option to do otherwise than follow the plan. The closest I've EVER come to that was 10 years ago when I did Atkins for the first time, and I lasted about a month. I would have lasted indefinitely (I enjoyed that way of eating, I had dropped my desire for all sweets, I wasn't living near relatives like I do now with all kinds of temptations, I didn't drink alcohol at all then - hadn't started my wine habit-- etc.) The only thing that ended up sabotaging me was a roommate that I had while my then husband was overseas for a short time. She would whine and break me down about sharing food with her when she had gone through the trouble. I just got tired of telling her again and again what I couldn't eat. It broke me down. I feel silly in retrospect letting someone else do that to me, but ever since then, I haven't even been able to last a month at something like that before someone else influences me or I get tired of not being able to have wine/treats, etc. So yes, I am hoping to become influenced by you and your awesome motivation/determination.

As for my half-marathon, I did the same one last year, which was my first!! I was soooo proud of myself. I did have to stop and walk a few times, but I was okay with that, and I finished in around 2 hours and 30 minutes. I'm hoping to beat my last year's time, but it will have a lot to do with the weather. Last year, the weather was cool, ideal for running, but it could just as easily have been 90 degrees!

@Alex - I LOVE your manifesting goals for your weight. I need to come up with some of those. I agree with someone else (Jessica?) who asked whether you had other goals that were not weight-related. I know I have tend to have some in the body/weight/health realm, my writing, and how I interact with my family/friends usually. It's so awesome that you are thinking so hard about that and planning. Let's make 2013 our great year to get slender and strong!

@Bayzee - I hear you about the regret of not "having a better body earlier". I am 42, and I sometimes despair and wonder if the time has passed for me to get the best possible body for me. I know that can't really be true, but it's just so much harder now.

@Dorian - I hope you hear very soon about the job!!! It's so crazy to be on the edge like that. Over five years ago, when I was still married, my husband out of the blue got a job offer overseas. It was CRAZY the planning we had to do and yet so much was uncertain because we had to wait on his work permit before we could make specific plans to move. So that was a crazy stressful time. But exciting, too.

Turbo - LOL I hear you on the scale thing... we all seem to go back and forth and set rules for ourselves but it seems like whatever ends up happening is what suits us best. You might not weigh EVERY SINGLE DAY but once a week isn't enough for you either. No bid deal, right? Just weigh when you feel like it!

Oh no, I'm sorry about your pie mistake with putting too much sugar in it! Did it make it taste too sweet or make it set up wrong? Baking is such an exact science a lot of the time, so little mistakes like that don't just mess with taste but with the whole process.

My husband can eat whatever the heck he wants to also, and generally has no real care for food. Sometimes he'll go all day hardly eating and some days he'll eat like a pig-face-man (I don't know what a pig-face-man is...). Last night I spoke to him and he was getting food from "Panda Wok" which is, for some reason, what he calls Panda Express. He's a weirdo. He's still super hot though so whatever works I guess!

Good to see your hip is feeling better! Thank you for asking about my foot too; yes, Burn the wart! LOL that sounds so gross... it does feel 90% better and hasn't been limiting my activity but both of my feet still get a bit tender from having not done too much running for a long time. I have a massage on Sunday so I'll have her hook up my feet extra good this time.

Olehcat - Thats exciting news about buying a home! Neither my husband nor I have never owned a home and we wanted to buy when I moved out there, but it's going to have to wait until he gets back from his deployment next year. I'm very excited at the idea though, and want what you want; something small with personality, not too much upkeep... just nicely decorated and lovely.

I don't know if I am an 'eat Oreos for breakfast' kind of gal, but I TOTALLY get where you are coming from. Its the idea that yes, you CAN have a bit of whatever and still eat well the rest of the day/weekend/week, whatever. For me it's TOTALLY mindset, and I love that when I'm in the zone I just don't want to eat badly and toss it all away. I can have a little something something and fit it into my day and be fine with that. I regularly (several times a week -- not on this program of course) have chocolate, marshmallows, things like that in my meals and I don't feel any anxiety at all about it or like I have to eat more. The other ladies around here can attest to my love of putting chocolate in my breakfast foods and putting pictures of them on here.

I'm flattered that you think I'm motivating! I haven't felt that way the past few months, but thats a huge part of why I committed to trying to push my physique to the next level with this program; to get my head out of my @ss! LOL
If seeing me stick to a pretty restrictive diet (no wheat, dairy, artificial sweeteners, processed ANYTHING, fruit, etc.) helps you in ANY way, it is worth it to me.

Wildflower - 5 pounds in a month is great! I'm so happy too, because you were pretty bummed about that water retention and were worried you wouldn't end up showing a loss for the month. (Gee, that sounds like someone I know...)

I hope you can do the same this month! LOL I don't think you're losing it about the scale weight and your floors... that would frustrate me too. I think it's more important the differences rather than the actual number, so as long as you find a relatively stable surface and always weigh on your scale you should be able to accurately track your progress.

Awesome NSV with your clothes too!!

Yes, I'm happy my trainer upped the intensity of the program a bit. If nothing else I feel like something should start happening so that in and of itself is somewhat reinvigorating.

My hubby and I have our things we spend on; I spend on my fitness related things whereas he likes to build guns, buy snowmobiles, and have fun man-toys. Like you and your husband, we see things as things that enhance the quality of our lives and are an investment. Even his 'toys' are things that get him out and keep him active so it's still fitness related in my book. We'll spend a bit more to buy grass fed beef but we also have a huge freezer full of wild elk and salmon from his family in Alaska and Montana... doesn't get much better than that.


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Well ladies, I had a bit of a revelation that I HOPE will help me get the scale moving again;

I had asked Wildflower if she had added anything new to her diet that might be causing water retention, and Krampus had mentioned that her BF is allergic to Stevia... and then it hit me this morning; I DID change something in my plan the day before I started seeing the scale go up!

I normally use Truvia brand sweetener but switched to Stevia In The Raw brand last weekend. My weight started climbing back up on Monday. It dawned on me that, while it's a long shot, I might be having some sort of issue with the sweetener causing water retention.


I am going to switch back to the Truvia starting today (though I already had it in my coffee and my oatmeal this morning) and see if maybe that will help things. It won't hurt, at least, and I prefer the taste of the Truvia more.


I also heard from the hubby that he MIGHT still get the two weeks of leave in May! Whoot! I am excited because the timing would be great and I'd be able to see him for a week or so and not be as restricted by this current plan. Wish us luck... things have been changing a lot.

Hello feathers!!! I know I've been MIA for while. I have still been working on weight loss, working out and being healthy! However I I have been going a little overboard on the weekends. This past weekend I did much better but still started the week heavier then my Saturday weigh-in. We shall see what the scale reads tomorrow or Sunday. I have game night tonight and don't plan to go over my calories but there could be some bloating from eating stuff that someone else made. In the workout world I am proud to report that I can do one full real chin up!!!! I have been working on them with assisted pull up thing at the gym and I have a pull up bar at home and can finally do one from a hanging position unassisted. Super stoked!

JossFit I hope that switching back to your regular sweetner helps with figuring out what might have caused a spike in you weight. Though the change to you diet and workout plan from your trainer sounds like it might get the scale moving! I'll be sending good vibes that your hubby's schedule works out so that you two can see each other.

olehcat Wonderful for you being back down to 144.8! Trying to find a calorie range and a menu plan can be hard and frustrating. When I first last weight back in 07 I did slim 4 life, which now has a different name. But I bought a cookbook that they sold and it helped me so much.Now I just try to get creative and eat lots of veggies and protein. I have posted different menus with calorie counts on hear before. If you are interested in seeing any of them let me know.

Alexis Finding shoes or clothing or anything for that matter that you have enjoyed but misplaced somewhere is amazing! I love when that happens.
I know that many of you posted things the last couple days but I feel overwhelmed in going back and trying to catch up! I hope everyone is doing well and will try to respond more frequently to watch everyones progress!

I will officially declare myself back at pre-vacation weight...I was 114.5 today. I'm feeling way less bloated with TOM on its way out!

Sorry...don't have time for personals but I will be back tonight.

SOOOOOOO Pizza Wars was an absolute fail, think only four places were there and one had run out of pizza an hour into the event, long lines with like 20 minute waits...reminded me a lot of BACONFEST in the summer when all the vendors ran out of bacon, except Baconfest was at a beautiful riverside park in summer and Pizza Wars was in a sh!tty concert venue with nothing else to do. We stayed for 5 minutes - I gave my two gross-looking postage stamp sized slices to my BF and friend's bro, and then the four of us went out to dinner. I had eaten 500 calories and lifted weights in the AM so I was like FREAKING OUT LOW BLOOD SUGAR HUNGRY and went a bit overboard at dinner, but it was great and now my desire to eat chocolate PB anything is gone.

I am making my BF leave for cabin weekend at 6:30 tonight so I can go to the gym after work. Made a healthy lunch of chicken and veggies with some parmesan cheese and sent my dinner leftovers to work with my BF. We got "special" caramels from a friend of a friend that are so stinky I can't imagine they will taste good at all. I am excited about getting to know the other couple better and doing some woodsy walking.

Still haven't had anything higher than 2/5 in ages. Today was a solid 1/5 and I weighed in at 123.4.

Bayzee Congratulations!!! It was the pasta that brought the scale down, hehe.

Domlacha There you are - CONGRATULATIONS ON THE PULL-UP, I still cannot do one from a dead hang at all. That is no small feat of strength! Glad to hear you are continuing along the good food and good exercise path!

JossFit Maybe that is the solution - I believe the BF's reaction was to Truvia Crystal Light, not sure if he's had Stevia in the raw. I hope a visit is in the cards in May with your husband - you deserve it for being so patient and adaptable (and awesome)! I only have 2 capsules of each thermogenic, not sure if that's enough to move past the "jittery nausea" onset side effects? I suppose I'll try it someday, but not today.

olehcat Quest bars are super high fiber protein bars that are better tasting than other protein bars I've tried. Not sure where they are sold in stores so I order them online. They come in a million different flavors and instead of sugar or sugar alcohols most of them use stevia. You must be SUPER EXCITED about your little house - I hope you get approved and can become a property owner! That's super thrilling. And glad to read you're talking yourself down from "bad start = BAD DAY" - that's hard to get past but when you talk yourself out of a binge you realize that an imperfect item in your diet has pretty much no effect on anything.

Wildflower Awww yeah 5 lbs lost in January! I also was 5 lbs down from 1/2 to 1/31 (didn't WI on 1/1 but I'm sure it wasn't pretty, I ate poutine on New Years Eve at 2 AM)...puts things in perspective even if we're mad at the scale now. Interesting science project with the 40 lb dumbbells you had going there - I guess your scale just hates you. Take what it says with a grain of salt! :P From what I've seen Hydroxycut took the ephedra out after 2009 when there was legal action taken and now uses other stuff.

TurboMammoth I can't not look at the scale, hence why I am a daily weigher...you are super close though and you know you're eating better than over Christmas holidays, and the mirror is probably reflecting that! It's weird to me how 139.8 feels 20 lbs lighter than 140.0.

JessicaB Sorry about the pigout, I felt that way last night when I had half my sandwich and all the sweet potato fries, and then my roommate ordered dessert (a HUGE piece of peanut butter/chocolate cake split 3 ways) and instead of stopping after a couple bites I destroyed it. Sounds like good poo progress is being made with your daughter - I hope yesterday is just a fluke and she continues to keep going regularly. Old habits can die hard.

Aww, what a bummer! You weren't super pumped about going anyway though, so I'm sure you were happy to have saved the mediocre calories

Yeah, been there! If I go too long without eating (which is rare because I am like ALWAYS prepared) I get HANGRY (you know, hungry + angry) and have been known to freak out. There have been a couple of times that my BFF or hubby have had to throw food at me.

Meh, choke em down anyway... it'll make getting to know the other couple easier and the woodsy walking a lot more fun!

I feel like I haven't either! Ugh! Maybe this weekend I'll get some quality stars... haha

I don't think I have any allergies but, it's worth a shot at this point. You mentioning that was basically just the lightbulb moment when I realized that I HAD, in fact, changed something in my diet. I know it's grasping at straws but there might be some correlation.

I really hope I do get to see the hubby in May! I know he'll work it out so that we see eachother before he goes for sure, but ideally it will be when things with me are a bit more flexible and he's off work, not stressed and trying to do a ton on things at once.

Yeah, I say stash them in your gym bag and use them when you need a boost. I don't get jittery or nauseated from thermogenics but if you do I would be careful.

http://www.questproteinbar.com/store...p?idCategory=2

Joss ~ *fingers double crossed that your hubby still has his leave* You guys have earned some face time, for sure.

Will be interested to see also if the sweetners have an effect on your loss. Here's hoping for that, too!

You're right that we only see a snippet of peoples' lives via this forum, so again, I apologize if my comments were completely off the mark. It sounds like from what you've said, this period of "classic yo yo" you've been going through over the past few months was out of character for you in the context of your entire history with food and I think that was the part I was missing.

I totally understand that feeling of wanting to be able to do something that requires extreme discipline that not everyone can do. (hello, special forces?) I also remember you saying that you and your coach have designed a plan that will transition you into maintenance, so it sounds like you're well prepared to transition out of this period of being strict.

And of course, we filter everything through the lense of our own experience, so maybe I was drawing comparisons from my own experience that were unwarranted.

And (heeheehee) on a slightly unrelated note, can I ask what digestive enzymes you're taking?

I found these on a google search, but have no idea how to go around choosing this type of product. Does MORE enzymes make them better?

Turbo I think I'd have a hard time not weighing regularly too. A few months ago, I thought it would be a good idea to take a scale break for a while, and I tried to hide the scale. It didn't take very long for my husband to roll his eyes at me and ask where the scale was. I guess he weighs himself pretty regularly too, even though he doesn't really worry about his weight.

Joss I'm not sure if it came across the right way or not, but I actually do admire that you hold your health in high regards and are willing to spend that money on health related things. I do my best to make sure my family is eating healthy meals, but protein powders & bars, etc, seem just too expensive. I've thought of buying them, but I figure I can get my protein elsewhere anyhow. But I am hoping to buy a treadmill soon. I've been using the world's crappiest elliptical for the past year (seriously, it was probably like $200 brand new), and I've been dying for an upgrade. I think I've proved that I'm committed enough to buy new fitness equipment, but I still haven't been able to bring myself to shell out the money. My husband is looking at buying a motorcycle, and there's a ton of upfront costs, aside from just the insurance and monthly payments, like all the riding gear, and doing a motorcycle course so that the insurance is lower. So I told him that if he's spending all that money, I'm going to buy myself a treadmill. Heck, he's getting a whole motorcycle, so I should feel free to indulge myself a bit more. The motorcycle though, is supposed to be an incentive for him to quit smoking, and I agreed to let him get it if he quit ages ago, but he has yet to start trying. He does know that I'll be mad if we fork out all that money and he just keeps smoking, so I hope he's still committed to doing it. Sometimes my daughter talks about pretending to smoke cigarettes, and I've made it very clear to her that it's not even acceptable for her to play pretend with that. I'm hoping him quitting will help set a good example for her, at the very least.

Great to hear you might get to see your hubby before his deployment after all. And with regards to the change in sweetner, you'll probably never know if that was the problem. If ... when the scale starts moving again, it'll be hard to know if you were retaining water from the switch in sweetners, or if it were the changes to your program that got things moving again.

Wildflower Yes, my husband's birthday is this weekend.

Actually, I don't think many people get their rabbits fixed, but it's probably more common for a neuter rather than a spay.. the vet said they don't do rabbit spays, only neuters. We only have the one rabbit, but he had started marking his territory, and mounting the cats, so we figured we had to fork out the money for it. He's completely litter trained (rabbits are actually very easy to litter train), so we didn't want to have to worry about him spraying on the floor when he's been doing so well with it. I never have to clean up after him after he's been running around, and I'd like to keep it that way. Had I know about the expense when we looked into getting a rabbit though, we probably would have gone with a female.

olehcat House shopping is so exciting! I love being a property owner, mostly because of building equity rather than paying someone else's mortgage, but my rental places just never really felt like a home to me, because I wasn't willing to put money into making them the way I wanted them to be when it was just a temporary thing. I enjoy having the prospects of projects to be done that make my home feel better to me.

And way to go on getting back on track so early in the day.

Domlacha Congrats on the chin up, that is awesome. I'd like to get a pull up bar for my place, just so that I can know where I stand with things like that. I did a chin up once when I was at the park with my daughter, but it wasn't from a dead hang (nor could I do it from a dead hang due to the height of the monkey bars), but I remember being very excited.

Bayzee Congrats on being back to pre-vacation weight, and so soon after your little indulgence

krampus Like Joss said, at least you weren't really looking forward to the pizza wars anyhow. Have fun at the cabin

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So we're starting to get back into dangerous territory with my daughter's poops. Last she went was Tuesday morning, and I brushed it off a bit just hoping that she didn't need to go Wednesday (I know sometimes I don't go every single day), but it was pretty obvious this morning that she has to go, and just doesn't want to (she didn't go pee when she woke up, which is a sure sign... when it starts to get bad, she doesn't want to sit on the toilet at all). I'm just hoping it doesn't ruin the weekend, and that I can get her to go tonight.

My parents are going to have her over for a sleepover tomorrow night, so we'll have a bit of couples time for my husband's birthday. It was mainly just so that we could go to a movie, but the movie starts when my parents are at church, and my daughter likes going to church with them. Then when I talked to my dad, he asked if she was sleeping over, so I gave her the choice. So now we'll have a good chunk of time kid free, which is nice. We will still get to celebrate together as a family, as we're going to pick her up after the movie and go to the restaurant together.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Wildflower : 5 lbs in a month, that is a bit more than 1 pound a week! That is an awesome result! Congrats, lady!

Oh don't worry, I tried pretty much every single place in the house for the scale LOL. For my hip, actually, I did nothing specific LOL. I saw a physiotherapist this fall for a feet issue twice, and I couldn't afford to go back for the hip. So I took a 6 weeks break in december/beginning of January and now I'm starting the running again slowly while trying to strenghtening my body and the legs, I'd figure it wouldn't hurt! What you are saying about yours is confirming my plan a bit, I like that

olehcat : Seriously, you are having amazing drops lately! You are all having such good arguments on going back to daily weighing LOL I'll maybe try another week for a weekly WI and if I am still not happy, I might go back to the daily.

Don't forget to take some time for you this weekend to rest!

Joss : As I was saying to Olehcat, I might give another try for a week of weekly WI and if I'm still not happy, I might go back to daily WI. I was used in the past at WI only once a week (I did Weight Watchers for about the first 30 pounds that I lost) and they were working on a once a week thingy. I think I started to weigh daily when the loss was not as consistant that it was for the first 30-40 pounds ; I guess it has a lot to do with doing more a maintaining/losing than just losing 100% when I was overweight... Oh well! I'll see

The lemon pie is actually still really good. I guess it was a good recipe to mess up with the sugar recipe ; the pie, when you use the correct amount of sugar, is reallyyyyyyy lemon-y and sour, which is great. With the added sugar, it is just a bit sweeter

Panda wok! That is cute heheheh! I really hope you can work this out with your hubby so you can see each other!! Okay, I saw that you wrote to Wildflower that your boyfriend has some family in Montana and Alaska? Alaska? That is sooo cool. I so want to go there, there is tonnns of awesome hiking trails to do!! Did you ever been there?

Domlacha : OMG congrats on the chin up! I have to start training to do those, I want to do a Spartan race and they say that you should be able to do some chin up... How long did it take you to be able to do one?

bayzee : You skinny thing! Way to go!

Krampus : Oh, so sad for Pizza War! It is true that between 140.6 and like 139.8, there is almost no difference.. But this decade is KILLING ME lol. Have fun walking in the wood this weekend!

Alexis & Joss : Digestive enzymes? They sell stuff like thay? I really had no idea. I was curious and went to look at the website and there was so few scientific informations I got frustrated LOL. I guess I am biaised, having a degree in Cell Biology where I worked specifically on the digestive tract LOL

Jessica : Ah, you posted while I was writing! I really hope your daughter agrees to go to the toilet... that must be such a stressful moment. Sending best vibes your way!

***

OH WEEEEELL. Still 140.6 this morning. At least it is not going up, we had a meal of pasta with chicken and light alfredo sauce last night, the WI could have been worse. Luckily we still had some green salad to cut a bit the portion of the pasta. After WI (and taking my breakfast) I had a 4 stars. That was awesome, after having like a 0.3 stars (yes yes, 0.3) yesterday. I really have a cycling pooping thing going on.

I did a workout on my yoga mat before eating lunch... a little 20 minutes to get things moving! I was still sore from yesterday session a the gym so I was not feeling like pushing it.

I was not really excited about the leftover of omelette we still had in the fridge for lunch so I scrambled it, put a bit of light mayo in it and ate it as an eggsalad on a grilled english muffin. It was so small but I'm so full. We are having chili with chorizo tonight and I am so excited, I was liking beans before starting dieting and now they are my favorite thing in the world, I could eat them every single day.

We don't have big plans for the week, we'll maybe go to the movies, we received a gift card for Christmas and we did not go yet. The movie place we got the car don't have much movies in english and it is really annoying to us, we don't like to watch movie that got translated... It's gonna be fun arguing which movie we are going to see

JessicaB ~ *hugs* Such a stressful situation with your daughter. Hoping that she'll be able to let go of her fear of the poo!
Re: goals - I have a whole SLEW of other non-weight/body related goals, but I posted those because I felt like they were the most applicable and all the comments got me thinking about how I really want from my body this year. I was actually working on my "Incredible 2013" planner last night (last day of January!) and am in the process of breaking down all the big goals into smaller action steps, ranking them in order of priority. It can get a bit overwhelming with ALL the areas I want to work on, but slow and steady wins the race.

Turbo ~ Ooooh, I didn't know that your specialty was on the digestive tract! Fascinating!!! Do YOU have any advice on regulating "digestive issues" (aka- dealing with the bloat/gas- tmi). Hurray for putting some distance between you and the numbers.

Krampus ~ OMG - I have a HORRIBLE track record with thermogenics. They worked great for awhile, but the last time I used them before a workout, I looked down and could literally SEE my heart beating through my chest. Nearly gave myself a panic attack and had to stop mid-way through to regroup. Scary stuff, man.

Sorry that pizza wars didn't work out, but it sounds like you have a great weekend to look forward to. Lol - I didn't know that they made "special" caramels. Thaaat sounds interesting, too.

Dom ~ Welcome back! Wow, a chin up! That's a huge accomplishment! It takes all my strength just to hang there, so woo hoo for you!!!

Wildflower ~ lol - you're not "obsessed" with your scale, you're just thorough. I'm thinking of you as I try to make my after work yoga class tonight. It has been TOO LONG!!!

Ohlecat ~ We ARE food twins! My breakfast looked a LOT like yours this morning... The challenge is always to walk that line between moderation/depravation/overindulgence. I'm also trying to walk away from the idea of food as reward/punishment.




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Just got back from a midmorning breather/walk.

one of the exercises from the 2013 planner was to make a list of "Things to do when Everything Sucks". She provides some examples.
My list looks like this:
1. Go for a walk
2. Smell vanilla (her suggestion is to smell lavender--either works)
3. Stretch
4. Do a silent scream
5. Have a drink of water
6. Eat something living and green

I wouldn't say that everything sucks... but I'm on the bottom of the wheel right now. Found out that yet another one of my candidates didn't work out for a job (she didn't want to do the travel). Oh, well. Onward and upward.

In food news, this is my simple
5 Point Manifesto for Living and Sustainable Loss.

1. Keep cut-off (the out of bounds marker)
2. Emphasis on whole, unprocessed, living food!
3. Drink Water (I aim for 80-100oz per day)
4. Yoga every day.
5. Check In! Be accountable

That's it. No food plans, no work out logs. Lol - a simple plan for simple people. I haven't been doing yoga, which is a big factor in general sanity for me. Hoping to get to a community class tonight, actually. Hurray!

Alexis : Yes, I did my master project in a department working on Intestinal disease, which was awesome I had many classes on physiology of the intestines, although not much informations on nutritions, except when we saw the digestive enzymes... So I don't think I could really help on some advices on the bloat/gas. Although, the big question that come into my mind with the commercial digestive enzymes is if they are able to go through the stomach and still be functionnal. Enzymes activy can be super specific to the pH, and there is big changes between the stomach and the intestine... It just got me wondering Unfortunately, those kind of product don't make much of science informations available online

My degree got me a whole new vision on some stuff though, for exemple probiotics that might not do all what they claim to do. Papers got out in the last years saying that the bacteries used in popular branded probiotics yogurt were in fact massively used in the pork industry, to help increase the mass of the porks. I remember the seminar that was talking about that, everybody in the audience got :O

Hey, everyone!! Long time no post here. (:

We got back from Japan a couple weeks ago, but since then I've been busy being lazy, haha. Currently though I'm on a little mini-vacation back in Oklahoma, staying with my parents for a couple weeks (alone! hubby's still at home) and suddenly felt motivated to come check out the forums again!

Long story short----

1. Japan was FREAKING AMAZING. So many great things there, but best of all was my in-laws. They are a huge family of all sorts of distant relatives but very tight knit. I especially love my mother and sister in-laws.... That plus all my husband's friends, it is just such an awesome community over there. I really could go on and on about all the things I liked about it, but that'd take forever, so suffice to say, I loved it! And (kind of) therefore....
2. We're MOVING TO JAPAN IN A FEW MONTHS! I personally haven't been that thrilled with living in Vancouver for a while, my husband neither, and I think especially since he found that I functioned so well in Japan after all, we've decided to move back there.
3. Therefore I am no longer taking uni classes (no point, since I was only doing it to get residency), and husband and I have both been just kinda hanging around, doing a bit of part-time work and odd jobs, me mostly going to the gym every day (OK, well, I go to the sauna, which technically is inside the gym, lol).

In other news, my eating behavior is much improved since the trip, very low stress. Weight fluctuating wildly as usual but at least steady always somewhere in the 110's! After not exercising basically at all the whole month we were in Japan and realizing that I didn't automatically turn into a blob even then, I've also become super much relaxed about my workouts. All in all, many improvements!

The one thing is though-- I am fully owning up to being binge-eating-disordered. I was trying to play it off as being normal for a while, as I sort of had it under control, but I admit now that it's just not normal at all and it's something I've gotta quit! I guess I'd forgotten how bad it is since being married and living with my husband (naturally having to refrain from binging due to not wanting to be around my husband when I'm super huge stomach bloated and gassy and nauseous, not to mention not wanting to binge in front of him!) but in the few days I've been back at my parents' by myself, it's been one four-day-long binge. No kidding. I instantly reverted right back to my old ice cream bucket habits with no restraint. Yeah, I'm thin and can stand to gain weight, but it's getting to the point now where I'm physically just tired of shoving food in my mouth anymore, and my stomach's been unhappy about 24/7, and I'm just ready to stop this. Obviously, I hadn't actually gotten any better....it was just that I physically COULDN'T binge with my new living arrangements and therefore didn't. As soon as I was "set free," I've gone right back to where I started.

Annnyyyway, sorry that got long. Hope all of you guys I remember from a couple months ago have all been well, and I look forward to catching up!! (:

I had an amazing lunch!!! I just had to share it was so good. I made egg dish, kind of like a frittata with mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, and avocado mushed up with spicy salsa on top, heaven.

Turbo so cool that you studied cellular biology! Smart lady! Maybe your weight will be down a bit tomorrow after your 4 star. Good luck with the movie.

It feels like it has taken forever to be able to do the chin up, but I would say I put more energy into the last 4 to 5 months. I've been doing a lot to not just work on my upper body strength including my back and arms but also on my lower body to help decrease my bodyfat.

Krampus Lame about the pizza wars put at least you got to have a much better dinner! I bet the caramels will still do the trick , have a blast at the cabin!

[BJessicaB][/B] That is terrible about your daughter not liking to go poop. Some kids have a hard time with it, hopefully it'll get easier. I actually bought my pull up bar for like $20 at TjMaxx or marshalls, way cheaper than at the store. Its really nice to have at home because I don't feel so self-conscience when I'm just trying to see what I can do. Get yourself a treadmil they are good investments, I own one and love it, especially when I'm being lazy but feel like I need to get a workout in. I walk on it while watching tv shows on the internet!

Mottainai Such exciting news!!! Sounds like moving to Japan will be good for you and your hubby. It is also good that you have learned more about yourself and your binge behavior, I'm sending strength your way!

I haven't had a new meal idea in a while so I had to share! (short personals....)

This is tilapia with dill and garlic, mixed a zesty hot slaw I made using bagged coleslaw mix and apple cider vinegar. I topped with cubed avocado and it was amazingly delish!



Domlacha - I love egg dishes like that! I'm planning something very similar for dinner on Sunday.

Congrats on the chin up! Your first one is so exciting

Mottainai - Wow chicka, lots of changes for you! I'm thrilled you had such an amazing trip, you're moving, AND you're dealing with your binge issues!!
Any plans for treatment?

Alex - Everything you said makes total sense so I can see where the original inquiry came from. In case you had any concerns; I was in no way offended and actually am glad I got the chance to explain all of that not only for you but for anyone else who might be wondering!

Turbo - LOL you referred to my husband as my 'hubby' in one sentence and then my 'BF' in the next... haha people are going to think I'm married with a man on the side! Yes, he was raised in Alaska and his mother lives there still. His parents are divorced and his father has a ranch in Montana. I haven't been to either place but he wants to take me to Alaska but wants to wait until summer. Since he'll begone this summer it will have to wait a bit.
His whole family (cousins, father, uncle, brother, etc.) and he own a huge cattle ranch collectively outside of Boulder Colorado, so there is lots of ranching and stuff in the family. I've been to the place in colorado many times.

I'm glad the pie turned out!

Jessica - I absolutely was in no way offended or put off by your comment regarding my fitness budget, no worries! I was just explaining that it's really all I have to spend my money on.

I think a new piece of fitness equipment would be a great investment for you! (But hey, I'm biased... ) I bought my own treadmill a few years ago and I wish I had looked longer because I know now that I spent too much!

You're totally right; if I DO see the scale start moving I won't know if it was the Stevia in the Raw or not... but I don't care! LOL I'll be happy to see it move! I like the Truvia anyway, but picked the other stuff up just to try it. Meh.

Ugh... your situation with you daughter SUCKS! I really hope shes able to go. Is she taking the Miralax still (was that the one they gave her?)

It sounds like a nice weekend otherwise though... enjoy that cake!!