I'd like to join the little group here as well!
I really hope that finding some kind of community here will be helpful in terms of motivation for me to lose weight but do it the RIGHT way instead of trying to diet off all the weight at once...

TGIF Feathers!

Well the damage wasn't as bad as I thought...114.0 today (up from 112.4).
I can live with that...TOM is also still lurking around so maybe I'll see a drop in a day or two.

Tonight...wine and relaxing. It was a loooong week at work.

Personals later or tomorrow.

Welcome Nightbugs and PrincessSophia!

Check-in time: All four of my wisdom teeth were extracted yesterday. Last time I weighed myself was on Wednesday (110.8lb). I didn't eat anything from 10pm on Wednesday til 6:30am this morning (Friday). I've just been tired and sleeping. No pain though.. minimal swelling. I haven't had to take any pain meds. I've been eating pureed veggies, pureed sardines, plain greek yogurt, protein powder mixed with almond-coconut milk, mashed bananas, almond butter... I also picked up some canned salmon to puree, sweet potatoes, some lentil soup and low-fat no sugar added black bean chili. I can try eating cottage cheese tomorrow. I'll be eating all of my food pureed or mashed for a week or so. It isn't exactly appetizing but I'm stil trying to eat as healthy as possible. And I'm still tracking my calories. I won't be hitting the gym until I get home on Sunday or Monday. It's best to just let myself rest and take a break from activity anyway.

SO yep, wisdom teeth surgery while not fun was a lot less terrible than I thought it was going to be! I was up and walking around today. Went with my Dad to the grocery store. Might go shopping with my Mom tomorrow... we'll see how I feel.

Raaaagh, I had tons personnals and I lost it all. BLEHHH.

To sump up :

Maddie : are you still heading in the snow and the mountain for this ultra early engagement thing? Oh, and I hope you had fun with your friends last night! Oh yeah on the 131's!!!!!

TheBunneh : Aww, get better!!!

Olehcat : I love reading success story though, it is so inspiring, it gives me a little boost everytime! And for my colleage, for the bring your own lunch punch, I think just like you ; if you really want to lose weight but you are not willing to just do the smallest part as of bring your lunch... it's not like it will happen by magic or something.

PrincessSophia & Nightbugs : Welcome!

Bayzee : Not so much damages! Enjoy your wine and relaxing time!

Aidan : You must be happy that this teeth surgery is done and behind you!

***

Hi! Hit 136.0 this morning, but I don't mind, I had only rabbit poop yesterday and ate pop corn with some whit cheddar seasoning loaded in salt. I was pretty stable all week, I just hope I won't be stuck there for 1-2 weeks again.

I need to get my long run of the weekend done today but again, it's grey, cold and windy.

Nothing much plan for the weekend except cleaning the house through and through, our owner is coming on Monday night to talk about us not taking it again and she is talking with someone right now to sell the building, so we need to make it clean for some potential visits... Fun cleaning times ahead :P

Joss, you okay girl?

Have a great weekend ladies!

Well, I'm down to 112.2 today, lower than my pre-vacay week off. I think I dropped some of the TOM fluff and wine dehydration helped a bit I'm sure

Boring weekend....I was sooo tired this week and I plan on working out and lying around today.

Food cravings have tapered off, but I still feel pretty hungry. Calories are back up to 1400 this week, so I am grateful for that. But, it's not like I actually stayed at 1300 most days last week anyhow. lol!

I have finished 5 weeks of the 12 week cut/recomp (if I take out my week-off). I have made great weightlifting gains, but not a huge difference with the scale or belly. I plan on sticking with it, eventhough I am tired of eating in a deficit and trying to make good choices all of the time. This week was tough...and the weekend even harder.
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Joss... Hope thing are ok.

Aidan...I had puffy cheeks for a week when I got my wisdom teeth pulled. My husband wanted me to stop at McDonald's on our way home from his wisdom teeth surgery...He ate a full combo within 1/2 hour of leaving the office. Go figure!

Turbo...Are you moving or just if the owner sells? I hate the rabbit poop thing...when I eat junk, no rabbit poops! lol!

Ohlecat...I love reading transformation stories. I read a lot on bodybuilding.com eventhough I am not a member there. I love following the competition journals as well.

Krampus...I bet you are having a fun weekend with great company and food!

Thebunneh...I'm still coughing. It's been a month now. It's crazy! Hope you feel better soon!

Hi Feathers,

I've felt "quiet" lately, nothing exciting to report which is totally fine with me. Been eating like a monster (not really a monster but definitely not withholding) and have increased my lifts, especially in regards to pullups and dips which is awesome. Weight is in the 124s. I started reading "The Silmarillion" last night after hanging out with my folks - quiet Friday night without drinking - today is a relaxing day with my roommate playing music (we wrote a song this morning kinda) and going to the farmer's market and gym momentarily.

I went real hard on Thursday and feel like someone has beaten me with baseball bats with regards to almost every muscle group. I would be a liar if I said I didn't enjoy that - but I hope I'm able to get anything done at the gym today! I'm really bad at working through soreness/discomfort and tend to just say "screw it" and not push myself. Tomorrow I'm going to NYC because I have a training course for work on Monday in Manhattan so I probably won't end up making it to the gym for Sunday or Monday. We'll see.

Hope everyone's having a good weekend! I saw a guy with this shirt on at a diner yesterday - MADE MY DAY:



Bayzee Really glad to hear your recomp is going well - eventually the gains will taper off and you'll have to eat at maintenance or a surplus to keep them going, which is where I am now on a lot of my lifts. It's so confusing! Nicely done on the low WI though, you didn't gain a thing from your week off!

Turbo I had a freaking FOUNTAIN of poo today, I hope tomorrow/later today will be better for you on the poop front. The weather is so stupid and awful - you couldn't PAY me to run outside in this cold wind. Have fun cleaning and getting stuff done this weekend!

Aidangm Yikes, I probably need my wisdom teeth out but I don't waaaant to. Sounds like you're handling it better than many people do, though - no puking or swallowing huge mouthfuls of blood?

nightbugs Welcome! I hope this chat helps you find balance!

PrincessSophia Hello and welcome!

Maddie Hope girls night out was an awesome blast! Eating out when the only decent options are BORING and you can cook them better at home is the worst feeling. I know what you mean about rapport with heavy people - I was never even obese but I still relate to the feeling of being "fat" - but need to acknowledge that now as a non-fat person people treat me differently and I have "thin privilege."

olehcat Carry that "light" feeling with you and don't let it go! Transformation stories are really fascinating for me but I am too lazy to really TRANSFORM. My most recent "before" and "after" doesn't even look THAAAT different, just like some extra pounds fell off:

Hi everyone, this seems like a nice chatty thread!

I hope that maybe posting a bit about things will help give me some motivation to get started actually losing weight...I'm pretty stuck in an overeating rut at the moment! Like literally I go to the supermarket, buy food, sit at the cafe inside, eat and do stuff on the computer, then go back and buy more, repeat repeat repeat. Seriously, I feel like, who does stuff like that? But it's become a very very bad habit now!

I almost don't even know where to get started with all this. I want to lose about 20 pounds eventually, and it seems like so much...and then, all my usual weightloss methods I KNOW are not good, way too extreme, hence the rebound! So I'm pretty much looking to try something new....any suggestions, anyone?

Krampus I can definitely see a difference in those pictures! But still, both are absolutely gorgeous!

Oh, it also looks like several people here are into weightlifting? I kind of would like to give that a shot. I don't have access to anything but dumbbells, but between those and some bodyweight exercises I'm thinking about trying to make up some sort of strength training routine, along with getting back into running (which I used to do fairly often but haven't since putting on weight recently). So I'll be interested to read about what you guys are all doing there as well!

Bayzee :We had decided to move about 1 week before we learned someone might be interested in buying the place (it was already up for sale when we moved in). Hope you relaxed this weekend! And good job on being already down to your pre-vacation weight! that is awesome!

krampus : I loved The Silmarillion! A bit dense, but so good (once you remember all the names that sounds all the same). I love the guy TShirt bwahahah. Have fun in NYC!

nightbugs : You can do tons of things with dumbbells, especially if you are just starting. My lifting routine was only a dumbbell one for the first weeks. I started with some basic Squat w/dumbbells, lunges with DB bicep curls, shoulder overhead press, etc

***

Hiii. Up a little bit again today at 136.4. SCALE STOP MOVING THIS WAY, kthanxbye. I did eat a bit more yesterday, but I also ran 11k. I thought it would get even in the end, not fair :P

Did ton of cleaning this morning, boyfriend was supposed to clean the bathroon, he did not yesterday (busy playing videogames, you know, important stuff) and he ran his 1/2 marathon training today and he is coma right now. I'm currently at my lab waiting for some stupid medium to heat up, maybe he will have cleaned it when I get back? (YEAH SURE.)

Have a nice sunday ladies!

Hey girls!

Had a weird leg pain the other day...and without going into great detail, after talking to a nurse friend, she opened my eyes to a very unhealthy diet I have been on. It consists of drinking my chais more than eating food. I didn't think of it as starvation, but that's what I was doing. I figured if I hit my calories & ate a few small meals, then I was cool. Wrong. And my body let me know.

So, yesterday, I ate well. I had a grain & a protein in every meal. I had more fruit & veggies. I know I should have realized all of this, but I didn't. Which scares me a little. I was so intent on continuing to lose weight kind of secretly that I was far less concerned with eating to keep my body fueled & functioning properly. And hello! You can't get pregnant & maintain a healthy pregnancy if you are essentially starving yourself.

Anyway, I'm going to take some time today & really think about our menu for the week & have all of the essential ingredients for a well-balanced diet. I've pinned some great, healthy recipes that I want to try, so that will be the focus from here on out. I know it sounds stupid & I should have known better, but this is what it is. Thankfully, it stopped quickly & now I can make healthy choices that fuel my body. I feel really stupid, ashamed & embarrassed, but I suppose that's ok - it's in those moments where you decide to make a change or not, right?

Very quiet weekend. Didn't do much at all...just relaxed, worked out and did a few things around the house.

Didn't weigh-in today. I'm following Joss' lead and changing my weigh-in habits. Ideally, I'd like to be a "weekly" weigher, but baby steps...I'm going to do it 2x this week, instead of daily. This week Tues & Fri or Sat.

I've been putting a serious amount of pressure on myself this week about my weight and I'm starting to feel it. I'm very disappointed that I took a week off my plan. I know I needed it and I know it was fun, but it makes me think about how serious I am to actually stick with something.

I'm going to focus on staying within the calories my trainer sets for me, and stonger lifts instead of weight on the scale for the rest of my 12 weeks. I plan on continuing with the trainer after the 12 weeks, but want the rest of the weeks to really count. My "hard" season is approaching...patios, drinks, bbq's, camping, etc. I need to stay on plan.

_________________________________

Krampus...Have fun in NYC!

Turbo...I'm glad I'm not the only one with a significant other that thinks playing video games is work. lol! It's new to me as he just got into playing. I'm trying to be patient and understand the fun, but I just don't get it. Moving is never fun, but hopefully your new place will be better.

MaddieB...It's very easy to slip into unhealthy diet habits. Instead of focussing on just calories, try to focus on your macros (carbs, proteins & healthy fats). This helps you make better food choices. I try to have each at every meal. Low carb is not for me and I have not removed any food groups from my diet. Also, if you are not wanting to lose more weight, I imagine you are still eating WAY too little. Use on online calculator to know your maintanance calories and eat-up!

Nightbugs...Tons of good exercises are available with dumbells. Just google it and you'll find videos too, showing proper form.

hi, all,

I was supposed to go back to work after my spring break today, but we had a snowmegeddeon event yesterday and we are buried in like 10 or 11 inches of snow! So everything is closed. So yay, extra day of vacation.

So I've decided I'm not going to obsess about weight any more. In the last few days I have learned about two people around my age who have died suddenly and tragically (one FAR too young from a heart attack while on vacation with his wife and another from a car accident - and his story made national news, it's the story about the little girl who had to hike through the canyon near L.A. to get help for her dad who ended up dying, so awful and tragic). I did not know either of these people well, but one was the husband of the best friend of one of my friends and the other was a friend of MY best friend whom I had never met but heard tons about.

Anyway, these two incidents have really made me see how short and precious life is and I don't want to waste another minute angsting over my weight. I am going to focus on health. I hope that one will naturally mean I'll weigh less. For example, I plan to do a lot more exercising because it's good for me and it makes me feel good. I intend to make healthy choices at every meal the best I can. For example, for breakfast I had fruit, including a small avocado. For lunch I will have a salmon patty and some raw veggies. But I'm not going to waste agony and stress over this. I may not even weigh myself for a good while. I'm going to stop beating and berating myself up. I'm going to stop drinking so much wine because ultimately if I drink more than a glass, it doesn't make me feel good. Drinking ONE glass is part of life's pleasures and I will continue doing that. I will not allow myself to be unhappy during friends/family gatherings. I will just feel grateful that I have friends and family with whom to socialize.

Anyway, that's where I am right now.

I hope you all are doing well!

@krampus - you look fantastic in your pic!! Your arms look super shapely!

@Maddie - good attitude, focusing on health for the future pregnancy!

@Jossfit - I hope you're okay, you've been quiet a while!

@Bayzee -- good luck getting back into it after your break! That's always challenging, sounds like you didn't do too much damage, though, that's awesome!

@Turbo - I'm going to have to start keeping my place super clean because I'll be moving and the landlords will probably have to be starting to show people the place all the time for awhile! Ugh, and I'm so sucky at keeping up with housework sometimes, lol!

@nightbugs - welcome!

Hope anyone I missed is doing well!

Maddie : Aww girl! I think we all did something that was basically ''bad'' for our healthy at one point or another in our weight loss process. We all get in this mood where we feel we are so in control of everything and all... and we end up pushing a bit too much. (here is talking a girl who was burning over 1400 calories when race training last summer and was not eating ANY of those calories back, most of the time. Healthy Police almost came tog et me!) Don't be embarrassed about it. Focus on the fact that you are now making things better for you and your future little kiddo you're trying to produce big hugs to you!

Bayzee : Ahhh, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only woman who got a 13 years old significant other who plays video games too Good luck becoming a weekly weigher! Hope you succeed more than I did!

Olehcat : Arrrhg I'm not bad at cleaninnnnng. 3 months of duper cleaness coming along, yuk! LOL

***

Hi ladies! Quiet day in Feather land!

After my scale going up and up all weekend, I had a woosh this morning and hit 134.0 lbs. I had great poops and not rabbity ones in the last 2 days, yay, that probably helped this low WI. Which means I am past my first unofficial mini-goal of going back at 135, F YEAH. When I looked at myself in the morning, I thought that my tummy looked a bit flatter.. Great way to start a day.

I also had a great run, I hit an awesome average pace during my speedwork. I'm planning to hit the gym tomorrow to do cardio and legs workout. I did not do legs at the gym since 2 weeks (hello, snowstorm last tuesday). I'll probably want to die.

Have a great week, Feathers!

Hi Feathers!

I'm a BLIMP today - was 127.4 before a giant sh!t and the gym and 126.8 after running 2.45 miles in 20:00. Ate too much and didn't exercise all weekend. My friend I visited in NYC weighs like 5 pounds more than I do (and is 5'8) and eats like a horse. We had a great time going to stores on the Lower East Side trying on spooky dresses - I tried on a Medium dress at Trash & Vaudeville and couldn't get it over my butt and it was just TOO SMALL everywhere, and - TA DAAAAAAA - did not interpret it as me being inadequate, just that the dress was too small. Wow!

I feel like I'm entering the "acceptance" phase, which I'm happy about and also, ha ha, feel like I should feel guilty about not trying to be thinner. But seriously F that, life is good. My boss is back and there's lots to do at work again. He didn't die and he is in a good mood and I had another huge poop and I packed a great lunch for today - freezer veggies with okonomiyaki sauce, mango and daikon slaw, and a FATTY FATTY MCFATTY turkey burger (much less lean than Trader Joe's hehe).

Turbo WOW you skinny thing! You're doing so well and totally back in business after the winter slowdown. Nothing kicks off a day like pooping your brains out and liking your reflection - I'm glad you're in such a good groove with running and gym too. You are going to SLAY IT on leg day!

olehcat No use freaking out about your weight when there are more important things to do - like enjoying life and being thankful you haven't died in a horrible tragic accident - and snow to be shoveled, yuck. HOORAY for extra vacation day though, right?

Bayzee Summer is my hard season too. There are not enough hours in the day to exercise off all the BBQs and drinks and ice cream cones that are synonymous with summer. I am really impressed and inspired by your resolve to go the route of lift gains and less-than-lowest-possible calorie counts - I have faith you will get where you want to go!

MaddieBPhoto Did you get the gout?! Glad you are back on real food and planning out a nutritious lifestyle to help grow a little person in you. There's nothing to be afraid of, and seriously there are infinite recipes and dishes to try that are healthy and nourishing and WON'T MAKE YOU REGAIN ALL THE WEIGHT

nightbugs Weightlifting is seriously THE BEST - it gives you something to measure your progress by besides weighing yourself, and it forces you to eat enough of the right stuff because otherwise you just can't get the weights up and you feel weak. I started out with the beginner routines from www.stumptuous.com and sort of forged my own plans. I focus on free weights - doing compound lifts with some machines and isolation exercises. It has done WONDERS for my body image and completely reshaped my body - and now I maintain 123-125 eating 2000+ calories a day!

Lots of revelations going on here lately, and boy has it been quiet. I have been reading, but keeping my head in the sand because I am majorly ashamed of myself. I don't know why, but after I last posted, I went on a major binge, so my weigh in for this week for the competition was almost 9 lbs more than my previous weigh in. Seriously, I was so ashamed that I almost skipped weighing in, but I know it's mostly -- well maybe half -- water weight and that I can still place in the top 3. Right now I'm 4th with all that extra weight, and 3rd place and I are neck in neck. I am having trouble getting back on track though, I've been skipping workouts and being bad all around. All this triggered by my husband wanting to get takeout for our anniversary. He told me Wednesday night, and so I just threw caution to the wind and figured, I might as well eat everything that night AND on our actual anniversary, and I just haven't been able to get my head back in the game since.

I have ALSO been thinking that I just need to give up the scale, give up the diets and focus on healthy living. I know my issue with the weight gain is because I still feel the need to diet. If I didn't always have the intention of going back on a diet, I wouldn't feel the need to eat everything this very minute. So I am on damage control this week and next, so that I can hopefully recoup some money from my competition, but after that, I am giving up the weight loss obsession, and hoping that everything just falls into place on its own. Like, I know I had horrible eating habits before and all, but at least back then I wasn't packing on 10 lbs in a week. At least now that I have formed some healthy habits, I should be able to successfully have much more normal eating habits once I kick the binging to the curb.

Hope Joss is okay, it's weird for her to be quiet for so long.

JessicaB I'm really sorry to hear it's been so rough for you lately - I do firmly believe that dieting and binging are directly linked to each other and too much of one causes the other and moderation becomes next to impossible. Having a time-defined weight loss goal as a featherweight is a dangling carrot that often results in major setbacks - I remember dieting for a vacation in 2010 and having HUGE weekend binges and barely eating all week to try and break even on the scale. When you talk about "going back on a diet" how strict are we talking?

JossFit, Alex, Dorian, Dianne, pixellate, Aidan, TheBunneh, everybody else Hope you're all doing OK!