nope did not weigh myself this morning. Will avoid the scale for another week, I think! I think it will take at least that to get rid of any damage done this weekend! Really, it all started on Thursday night when I made this huge pile of mac and cheese (homemade) but oh so yummy and I ate too much of it. Then Friday was a crap eating day all day long between McDonald's at lunch (even though I only had a few of the fries) and two "out" meals essentially in the evening (the Thai noodles and tapas with friends). Then yesterday I just couldn't pull it together just yet and had a lot of crappy food during the day. Then went to my parents' for dinner and had more wine than usual. Ugh. So yeah, my body finally put its foot down and I had stomach cramps ALL NIGHT. I think that was the few small squares of pizza leftover I had right before bed (and that's another thing, I normally don't eat ANYTHING after I finish my evening meal and the last two evenings I ate stuff late at night right before bed, no wonder my stomach hates me right now!)

So even though I spent (TMI ALERT) a lot of time on the toilet this morning, I knew my weight would be WAY up, even if it was mostly water weight. So why put myself through that. I can see my stomach jutting outward so I know that the weight part would be bad.

So I am highly motivated to be on plan today and in fact feel good about it. Had my eggs for breakfast. Protein and fat for breakfast is my go to for success. It satiates me for a long time and no urge to snack.

@thesame7pds - hi, welcome! I love San Diego. One of my best friends used to live there and because I have family in the LA area, I used to visit pretty frequently. I miss it! (AND I miss the ocean big time because I used to live in Florida). And 120, that's where I want to go, too. My ultimate dream weight is 110 or so, but I'd be VERY satisfied somewhere in the 120s... And I will definitely share as I work through this!

@LisaTcan - yes, we can do this! I am ready to hop right on today and I hope I remember the stomach pains I had last night when I want to indulge too much again!

@Cattails - well, as for the forbidden foods, it's complicated...It's sort of like, I do allow myself to have treats as stuff comes up, like a birthday party or a wedding, etc., but if I let myself have it any time, I really will, as evidenced by this past summer where I was having treats EVERY day and ordering Thai noodles (my big food addiction, haha) almost every other day instead of maybe once a month, which would be reasonable. So I try to keep myself pretty strict during the week and then loosen up a little on the weekend and allow myself some stuff I don't allow during the week, but for some reason, I just lost control this past weekend. I am working on this! I want to have a more normal relationship with food, that's for sure! Thank you for the cheer on!

Happy Sunday to you all!

Ugh olehcat I'm totally in the same space as you I didnt stick to my plan yesterday and I'm up two lbs this morning!!! It's so infuriating!!! I'm starting to have that feeling that maybe I can't get any lower and shouldnt even bother trying. I didn't even eat that much..I was at like 1900 calories.

Olehcat: just started training to be a music teacher. Had my first session today- lots of introductions to lots of things, and so much listening! Looks like it's gonna be a tough year. I totally understand about birthday dinners, I just have to accept that they happen. I always intend to be good and just have a little, but end up pigging out!

Thesame7lbs: Hello and welcome! Good luck with getting back down, but don't feel too bad about not getting so low- 120 after 3 kids seems very difficult!

Lisa: Yep, just started! Isn't it crazy how much sodium can affect us? I always wonder if other people have this problem? Doesn't seem to bother my boyfriend or my dad!

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Such a headache from not eating very much today But back on plan now and had a big dinner with all the leftover calories so feeling pretty happy I've even got enough left for a piece of chocolate tonight, yay!

Hello Feathers,

I had a great weekend -- two baseball games (Friday with just DH, Sunday with kids) and a beach day on Saturday, plus a nice 5-mile run yesterday, about 1.5 miles of it on trail (which I love but have been avoiding due to injury). Miraculously stayed on plan at both baseball games (by eating lightly so I could have a hot dog + beer at one game and a soft-serve cone at the other).

LisaT, I know those 2 lbs are discouraging but they are *not* from eating 1900 calories yesterday -- just some sodium or something else throwing you off. Don't give up!

Leaves, I like saving during the day for a big dinner, too. Enjoy that chocolate! What ages/type of music will you be teaching?

Hi everyone,

Well I'm still up 2 lbs today, I'm due for my period and feel bloated so I'm hoping I'll eventually drop. I'm going to try and stick with my plan. I've also way upped my exercise which could have something to do with it. I went to bootcamp yesterday and It wasn't as bad!

Thesame7lbs Thank you for the support! Just what I needed. You sound like you had a fabulous weekend! Good job staying on track at the baseball games.

Leaves I used to be a music teacher! That's so funny, it was really fun. I went back to school for public health though.

@olehcat - Okay, I see - that sounds very sensible: limiting certain foods rather than outright forbidding them forever. Well, I think the big mental game of weight loss/management is figuring out what works for each of us, so every little thing you can figure out about yourself is a very good thing!

@Leaves - Being a music teacher seems like a really rewarding job, very nice.

@LisaTcan - Yeah, exercise really causes a lot of fluctuation, I find, but is so worth it.

@ thesame7lbs - Welcome, and love the name.

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This is not a good day/week/month for me. One of our senior cats is ailing and probably not going to be with us for much longer. Ugh, it's so hard to see a family pet deteriorating like this and having to decide when enough is enough. After seeing the vet again today and not getting any good news, I capitulated to eating a handful of tortilla chips and a handful of Fritos. Hm, I guess that's not so bad, but I don't like to see myself eating junk for comfort - that is a slippery slope I really don't want to go down.

Sorry for the downer. Hope everyone is having a pleasant week.

I've definitely been bloaty lately, although not weighing. This has overall not been good. It's been REALLY hot here and so I haven't been running. Even running indoors on a treadmill is not okay when there's a high of 98 F. The place isn't air conditioned and well, it's just as miserable as running outside. So I'm taking a break until this (hopefully) final heat wave breaks. Also that means that I don't meet my walking buddy for walking outside after work. So really, I'm going to blame the heat for my lack of exercise lately. But part of it is is also a motivation problem because I feel like I'm not seeing success in weight loss. Whenever I do see some success, my schedule gets off and I sabotage it.

@Cattails - I'm so sorry to hear about your cat. It's so weird, I've just heard from about 2 friends recently about ailing cats, too, so sad.

@LisaTcan - good luck getting rid of the bloat! I know it's really hard to do that time of the month! I am on medication that gets rid of TOM for me, but I remember the days when I'd put on 5 pounds sometimes in the week just before!

@Leaves - ooh, good luck with the teaching training! I'm a reading teacher and we often have a lot of trainees at our school from the local university!


I'm probably going to ask this somewhere else, too, since there're only a few people here, but I was wondering...for those of you who successfully lost your weight and are mostly maintaining now, what were some typical days of food for you during weight loss mode? Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks.

Hello everyone,

Long time no see! I've been struggling to get back on track after the huge hormonal chaos I had to deal with. My "diet" for these past few days consisted of Nutella, mug-brownies, croissants, chocolate, cake and Nutella. My cravings actually went away once I started taking the BCP again but it's the "I can eat whatever I want" mentality that got in my way. No sorry, I got in my way.
Today's my first OP day so far. I wasn't gonna hop on the scale because you know...I just knew what to expect, but I somehow did it anyways. Well, I got 2 numbers for you. The first one from this morning before breakfast: 146.something lbs. YIKES!! Then I weighed again after breakfast because somehow my body decided to get rid of so much water (I literally peed every 10min): 144.8 lbs, STILL YIKES!! I knew I had gained a couple of pounds because my clothes have started to become much tighter on me which is not cool. I've also been feeling really depressed and mad due to my horrible relationship with my parents. Not using that as an excuse for my poor eating habits, just trying to say that I feel like crap mentally as well.

As far as exercising goes, I thought "why work out now when you just ate tons of crappy food, you just ruined it all anyways". Pretty stupid, I know, but at least something clicked in my mind last night at 10pm and I lifted weights for about 40min. Needless to say, I felt great afterwards.

So that's about it. I will try my hardest to get back to where I left off before all of this happened which was our anniversary on August 17th (wow, can't believe I've been off track for THAT long!). I weighed 137.0 lbs that morning and I want to see that number again as soon as possible and then make my way down to my next mini-goals.

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olehcat - I feel you! Bloating is no fun, neither are sky high temperatures. Have you been able to get rid of some of the water? I've heard that avoiding carbs helps!

Cattails - I'm so sorry to hear that your cat is not doing well Sending positive thoughts your way!

LisaTcan - Wow, bootcamp sounds like fun! I've always wanted to try it! You're probably gonna have a big whoosh once TOM rolls around especially if you already feel bloated now.

thesame7lbs - Sounds like you had a terrific weekend! Congrats on staying on plan and also on the 5-mile run. You must have felt so accomplished afterwards!

Leaves - I can't believe it's fall already, either. I absolutely LOVE this time of the year, it's my favorite right after Christmas How have you been doing?

cantgetenoughchoc - Congrats on losing 6 lbs so far! You're already so close to your first mini-goal if you've not already achieved it by now. Keep up the great work!

Krampus - LOL that gif! Awesome! No big changes on the horizon for me, just gotta get back up and dust myself off, I guess. How was your weekend in CT?

Hi Feathers,

Not much going on for me, just trying to keep up with the kids' schedules and find low-cal things to cook for dinner that everyone in the family will like (impossible, but I keep trying). Ran 4.5 miles this morning, felt great. I think my plantar fasciitis is almost completely resolved, thank goodness.

LisaT, that new bootcamp is probably causing some water retention as your muscles recover. That whoosh will come!

Cattails, hugs! I still get teary when I talk about losing my dear old dog, and that was 6 years ago. It is very difficult to have to choose when to say goodbye.

Olehcat, I will send you some good weather. Our heat wave just broke and I hope yours does soon! Hot weather makes exercise so miserable and maybe I'm crazy but it makes me feel chubbier. So maybe a break in the weather will give you a whoosh, too!

Hoopty, I'm almost scared to know what a mug-brownie is because I'm guessing it could be my undoing. Hormones wreak havoc, don't they? But it sounds like you're feeling better and the weight lifting was a good choice.

Hope everyone has a great day!

So I'm back down two lbs today, I'm hoping that I can drop to 140 by the beginning of next week because I really want to make my goal of being at 135 by my wedding shower on October 19th. I have a dress that is just a little bit too tight!

After bootcamp today I went into this sandwich shop called Jimmy Johns to get a soda water and impulsively ordered a vegetarian sub for lunch. It was delicious but had a ton of mayo and I knew it was not good for me! I can home and checked and it had 620 calories :O I'm going to have to have a light dinner tonight.

@cattails - I'm so sorry to hear about your cat, losing family pets is very tough. I think a handful of chips really isn't that bad though. I totally get not wanting to slip into emotional eating though.

@thesame7lbs - thanks I'm sure it will come! What are some of your low cal dinners?

@Hoopty - Nice to 'meet' you, I'm sorry to hear you're having such a hard time!! You can get back on track though - 137 is kinda my immediate goal too

@olehcat - Sorry you're bloating! I'm sure the woosh will come. And yeah this heat wave is terrible, I think it was over 100F here in DC. At least my gym blasts the AC all the time so I could still go. I'm so ready for sweater weather

Ahh I'm disappointed and I know I shouldn't be...
I haven't lost any weight this week. I weighed myself during the week to find I put on a pound... then watched it slowly come back off. And now I'm the same weight as I was last week I really had wanted to get to my first mini goal (just 1 more pound) before this weekend as I'm going for a boozy weekend with my old uni friends and I know it will be impossible to diet with all the meals out/takeaways and drinks we'll be having! It seemed to be coming off so nicely as well! And the lack of progress makes me more inclined to eat the bad stuff... it's not that I've done anything too bad but my calories are about 1500 most days (still exercise 3/4 times a week so my net is around 1200kcal) but the calories aren't necessarily healthy calories I know its best to lose it slowly but it makes me feel like all the healthy eating is pointless! I miss my chocolate (Although I still have a chocolate bar everyday :P ) Just wish I could see some kind of progress on the scales!

@hoopty - Nutella sounds absolutely marvelous right now!! Heaven! :P But well done for exercising afterwards. It would have definitely lessened the impact of the muffins

@LisaTcan - 5lbs in 5 weeks... definitely do able!

@ohelcat - Don't complain about the heatwave... over here in the UK autumn has just hit us and it's awful. I miss summer

@cattails - sorry to hear about your cat. I know that pets can feel like members of the family. We had to put our dog down last summer. It was such a hard decision and we did keep him going for longer than he should have (for selfish reasons to be honest) but only you can know when the time is right. It will be hard, but it's for the best. I hope your cat isn't suffering too much.

@leaves - I wish I could learn some self control so that I had calories left over for chocolate cake at the end of the day! Altho I had a piece of chocolate fudge cake the other day for someones birthday. I've always loved cake but I don't think I ever appreciated it as much as I did then! It's been FOREVER since I've had cake! Yummmm. I love it far too much for my own good :P

Thank you, everybody, for your kind thoughts and words. Rosie has suddenly begun to eat more (she's been basically starving herself), so we hope that she is going to rally - fingers crossed here. The vet thinks she probably has cancer somewhere in her abdomen, but we can't know for sure without spending a LOT of money that we just don't have on more involved tests. But miracles do happen, so keep those good vibes coming!

@Hoopty - I was thinking about you on Sunday; what a game, huh? Glad to hear you're hormonally getting settled at least, that's a big help.

@thesame7lbs - It is a challenge cooking for a family, that's for sure. I cook what I want and tell the others to fix for themselves if they don't like it! Incidentally, they've all slimmed down a bit.

@LisaTcan - Isn't it awful how the seemingly healthy 'vegetarian' entrees can be so high in calories?! Grats on the 2 lbs., here's hoping that dress is just perfect on the 19th.

@cantgetenoughchoc - Keeping even is better than gaining! Hope your weekend is fun - time enough to tweak the diet next week. I know it's hard sometimes to keep on, but healthy eating is so worth it for so many reasons other than just losing weight. You're doing a good thing for yourself!

@olehcat - I hear you on the heat thing. Often when it's too hot here, I'll end up going for a brisk walk at night with a flashlight, but it's just on my driveway (it's a 1/2 mile long) and I take a dog or two as well so it's pretty safe. I imagine your humidity is pretty high and that makes the heat that much more uncomfortable, doesn't it?

In response to your question, oleh, here's a typical day of eating for me:
Breakfast: 1/2 cup cottage cheese with a 1/4 cup of chopped fruit
Lunch: Greek salad: 2 cups of romaine, 1/2 a carrot, 2 tomatoes, 1/4 of a cucumber, 1/2 cup of kidney beans, a tablespoon of kalamata olives, 2 tablespoons Greek dressing, and 2 tablespoons of feta cheese
Snack: 1/2 an apple or banana with a teaspoon of almond or peanut butter
Dinner: 1/2 a chicken breast and as many veggies as fill me up, stirfried with Szechuan seasoning
Before bed: 1 oz very dark chocolate
Beverages: water and unsweetened iced tea

This has been typical of me for the past year, and still is now that I'm maintaining. A lunch salad with plenty of protein is really my main meal, I guess. If I find myself getting a little hungry before I'm really ready to eat, I'll have an extra piece of fruit or munch on a cucumber. As you can see, I don't typically eat any bread, rice or pasta (probably once or twice a week I have a little), and my diet is pretty low sugar; this is really satisfying for me, though, and keeps my body feeling and running well.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Oh, Feathers, I am getting lazy with my BLT's -- bites, licks and tastes. This is especially hard because I spend a lot of time prepping food for other people, and it's just so easy to have a little taste of that peanut butter or help finish a peach or snag a miniwheat (frosted, of course!). Not good for a calorie counter.

Cattails, good to hear your Rosie is doing better. I've been there with the sick, elderly pet and the expensive tests -- and I must say, we usually hold off. There is only so much you can do for them when they pass a certain age.

Cantgetenough, I have a girls weekend coming up to and I just know I will come home a few pounds up -- but really, that is part of the fun of it!

LisaT, I was ambushed by a restaurant meal the other day, too! A beautiful salad with baby kale, quinoa, chicken, a few almonds and a smattering of feta... and 800 calories! For light meals, my favorite cookbooks are by Ellie Krieger, or recipes from Real Simple magazine (most of theirs are not low-cal but each issue usually has a couple, and their website is great). I try to squeeze in as much seafood as possible since it's so light. Tonight we had grilled shrimp with a glaze of orange marmalade + a bit of grainy mustard, served over arugula. Steamed carrots on the side. My husband and kids had some pasta on the side, too, but I skipped that. I usually skip the rice/pasta/potato part of whatever I make them. My husband is skinny and the kids are skinny + growing, so they all need it! Baked salmon and fish tacos are favorites. Turkey burgers (I use whole wheat sandwich thins instead of a bun) or grilled portabello mushrooms. Roasted chicken -- I skip the skin. Lots and lots of steamed and raw veggies at dinner.

Off to watch Project Runway (oh, guilty pleasures!)

Good Friday morning, Feathers!

I feel good because I dropped a few pounds of bloat. But still higher than I was when I hit my first goal *sigh*. Oh well, if I play my cards right, then I should get back down in a few days. I really got careless this past week. It's not like I stuffed myself or ate junk per se, but I didn't restrict myself and I ate stuff like bread again (which I had been taking out of the equation for a bit). And not even good bread. I was eating crappy grocery store bread like a hamburger bun. Ah, well. Also I was making some REALLY yummy Thai noodles (trying to get that take-out taste but making it at home). And I did a very yummy version of it, but it wasn't QUITE good enough but I still ate a lot of it. Also had a birthday party for a friend on Wednesday night. So yeah, that explains the overeating and bloating. And still no running. I will restart tomorrow when I think it's supposed to be gorgeous as far as the weather (no more heat). I did have a vigorous game of table tennis yesterday, though!

@thesame7 - haha, I like that term (BLTs). I can't imagine how to keep from that when you cook for other people! And yes, when it's really hot, I feel more "swollen" I think our heat wave has finally broken. It's supposed to be much cooler today, yay!

@Hoopty - oh man, that must be so frustrating, to hit 137 and then go up. I can sympathize, as I hit 137 er...two years ago and then it's gone up since then. And I used to complain bitterly about 137. I will be ecstatic when I hit 137 again, haha. You can do it, though. You are aware of what's going on in your head, and that's a major step!

@Cattails - thank you for your food response! I absolutely LOVE hearing real stories of what works for people. I agree on not eating a lot of the pasta and bread products. My body feels so much better when I don't! My lunch is really similar to yours! I often make Greek salads for myself (I add pepperoncini peppers, too) to take to work. I hope your kitty continues to rally!

@LisaTcan - yes! I am looking forward to crisp autumn weather! I think it's supposed to be way cooler today and so I'm excited! ;D

@cantgetenoughchoc - I hear you so much on how if there's no progress I do tend to go and eat the bad stuff. You're so close to goal that it's bound to go a lot slower at this point, alas! And I will cheerfully send you that heat, lol! I think it may have finally broken and we might be into my favorite season of the year (I LOVE early autumn when it's still warm but not too warm and the leaves start changing color).

Hi Feathers,

Wow, it's quiet around here! Is everyone too busy exercising?

I'm feeling a little frustrating, like I should be losing faster. It's hard to stay on track day after day and then bump UP or stay the same. I did have a bit of a whoosh -- and then a bump part-way back up. Boo. I am very susceptible to going off-plan when my weigh-in is too high -- that whole, "This is not worth it! If I'm not going to lose anyway, I'm going to eat this [fill in the blank]!" My mantra right now is, "It's just math." As in, if I stay on plan long enough, the calories and sodium and digestive flow and hormones will work themselves out and I'll see a loss.

I've been running a bit more. 5 miles on Friday, 6 on Sunday, 6 on Monday. The Sunday-Monday was the first time I've run back-to-back days since my injury and my foot is a little sore, but should be OK in time for Wednesday's run. I thought I'd attach a picture from one of my favorite running routes. I ran here on Friday. So yeah, I feel blessed to live in San Diego!

Olehcat, I'm glad you beat the bloat -- and glad to hear your weather is cooperating and you'll be able to run again!

I hope everyone's having a good week!