October Feathers Chat!!
 

Hi everyone,

No one had done this yet so I thought I'd start off the chat for October! Everyone is welcome :)

So I am now stuck at 141, I'm getting really frustrated. I'm thinking I might cut calories or carbs, I've already cut out alcohol and that didn't help. My wedding shower is in 10 days and I am still 6 lbs above where I wanted to be. I've been doing an hour walk and an hour intense workout every day and I thought that meant I could eat 1500-1600 calories..but maybe not.

Feeling your pain Lisa, I'm stuck too! I'm on BCP so I don't really get bad PMS symptoms, but I'm due for TOM soon so I'm really hoping for a whoosh, even though it's not likely to happen. I really don't have time to get in workouts at the minute either, but I'm walking a lot and fairly active during the day (running around after children!) and I've been on plan. Come on pounds, pretty please!

My laptop is still in for repairs too, it's a big chain place that have got it, no idea when it's coming back as I haven't heard a thing. It's so frustrating as I have a lot of work to do, but have to try and get it in when my BF isn't around so I can use his laptop. /rant

Hope your October is having a better start, feathers!

Hi everyone!

Wow -- October already! Time to decorate for Halloween. :badbat:

I had a great run yesterday, one of those rare days where a good pace felt easy (as opposed to Monday, when I had to push-push-push just to run 45 secs/mile slower). Then I woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. This aging thing is not for the faint of heart. My DH always says that you need to move to get over exercise soreness, so I walked the kids to school (1+ mile round trip) and then walked to the grocery store. I'll walk to pick them up, too. There's a couple good hills so that's good for my rest day!

LisaT, I feel like that plan should absolutely be working for you! It would be crazy if you had to eat fewer calories than that. Maybe a whoosh is near?

Leaves, I bet you'll get one, too. I feel like it takes the lbs some time to catch up with our good behavior. :)

Hello to everyone else -- I hope you are all having a good day!

Hello Feathers,

First off - thanks so much for the birthday wishes! And also a very belated Happy Birthday to you, olehcat! :woo:

I've been doing great these past few days. I'm eating healthy, I work out (even started jogging again, wahoo!) and I drink lots and lots of water and green tea. However, my weight doesn't seem to wanna drop, at all. I'm very impatient right now though I know I'm doing everything right.
And then today I started getting really bad peepee-pain. I knew it was a UTI since I tend to get them rather often but then stomach cramps followed and to top it all off - TMI!!!!!!!! - I have bad diarrhea. Is that why I was up by almost a pound this morning? Maybe, I don't know. But I'm feeling horrible right now. I don't wanna call out of work because today was actually my first day back from being off for 2 weeks and I obviously seemed perfectly fine all day long. It would look bad if I called now and said I was sick and plus my doctor's office is closed tomorrow.
Well anyways, other than the UTI and stomach pains I've been doing well. I probably won't make my weekly goal of 142.8 lbs by Oct 8th but that's okay, as long as I know I'm staying on plan.

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I meant to do personals but I can't stop running to the bathroom, I'm exhausted :(

@Hoopty - Aw, sorry to hear you're not feeling so hot right now. :( Hope that clears up quickly for you, and takes a couple pounds with it, too. Kudos on the good eating and working out - that will show results soon, I'm sure!

@olehcat - Happy belated birthday to you! Glad you had a nice day!

@thesame7lbs - I hear you on the aging stuff - I'm still working on finding the right balance of exercise that will keep me strong without killing me!

@Leaves - Fingers crossed here for a whoosh soon. :)

@LisaTcan - Sorry about your frustration - is it possible you're losing inches rather than pounds? With how much you're working out, sounds like you are in terrific shape! Try not to stress about it, and enjoy all the wedding stuff; this is a time for celebration!

I went clothes shopping yesterday for the first time in a long time; didn't even know what size jeans to look for so I grabbed 8s and 6s - most of them were baggy! Wow...I ended up with a size 6 and a size 4. WTH, FOUR?! I've never, ever in my life been able to wear a 4. I keep checking the tag to see if I just dreamed it, lol.

We had to let Rosie go on Monday. She was just looking worse and worse over the weekend and didn't show any interest in eating on Sunday, just wanted to curl up near somebody. It was peacefully done and she's at rest now, spirit free to roam. We miss you, princess.

Hope everybody has a great weekend.

:hug: I'm so sorry about Rosie Cattails, glad she's at peace. Losing a pet is awful, take care :) Also congrats on the size 4!

Cattails, I'm so sorry about Rosie! :hug:

Hoopty, UTI's are the worst! I hope you are feeling better!

:wave: to everyone else!

So this is me today :tantrum: My weight is trending upward again and it is so frustrating. I've been eating really well and running a bunch. I know fluctuations are normal -- I know my loss so far has been like a pogo stick going downstairs (each new low followed by a bounce UP and then going down down down to a new low only to bounce UP again, but an overall downward trend) -- and it is TOM to top it all off! But i am frustrated and tantrum-y nonetheless. I will gut it out and drink lots of water. Not much of a mantra but it's all I've got!

Hope everyone else is feeling better than I am today!

Hi feathers!

Had a pretty good weekend, did lots of biking with my fiance and hung out with some friends, I've also been perfectly on plan all weekend - thesame7lbs I totally feel your pain I'm still stuck at 141 but I just got my period so I'm hoping to see a whoosh soon. You described it perfectly! It's totally like a pogo stick going down stairs. I'm going to Toronto for 2 weeks to visit my family so I won't have a scale or be able to go to the gym but I'm planning on sticking to my calories and being as active as possible. Hopefully I'll be down when I get back!

Good evening Feathers,

LisaTcan - Glad to hear you had a good weekend! Hopefully you'll have a big whoosh once TOM is over (unlike me this month, grr...). By the way, I moved from Germany to New York to be with DH in 2012 and didn't work because I wasn't allowed to at that time. I was bored, frustrated and started getting depressed because I didn't know anyone and I missed home so much. I tried to make the best of the situation and reminded myself that I should be happy that I'm with DH. I had to go through that for a year until DH and I moved back to Germany. Needless to say, I feel much better now and I appreciate everybody and everything around me so much more! Jeez, didn't mean to make this sound so horrible but all I am trying to say is that I can kind of relate to your situation right now! I think I failed a little, didn't I? Oh man.. :D

Leaves - How's your laptop? I hope they managed to fix it for you!

Thesame7lbs - You're absolutely right, UTI's are the worst. I get them several times a year, gah :( I know it's frustrating but you've been on plan and seem to be doing everything right. As long as it's a downward trend, I think that's all that matters. Hopefully you have a big whoosh as well, who knows? I hate patience but unfortunately, it's key.

Cattails - I'm so, so sorry about Rosie. She is in a better place now, that's for sure! :hug: Wow, look at you, a size 4! :eek: I haven't worn a size 4 since I was 13? Lol. Congrats!! Oh and - good luck Niners!

Hello to everybody else, hope you're all doing well! :wave:

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Well, I felt so sick Friday night/Saturday morning that I called out of work. I literally sat on the toilet until 3 o'clock in the morning and almost cried because the pain was unbearable. I took some pain meds and eventually fell asleep because I was so exhausted. When I woke up Saturday afternoon I felt much better. The UTI-pain was still there but it wasn't half as bad and thankfully, the stomach pain/diarrhea was gone. I was craving salty foods like crazy though I'm not the salty kind of girl. I'd pick chocolate, cake, ice cream and cookies over a bag of chips any day. I knew it was because of the diarrhea, obviously, so I had a few stuffed grape leaves and a small handful of chips. My weight was down to 143.8 lbs that morning (from 146.4 lbs the previous day, I think?).
Today, I weighed even less, 143.2 lbs, and the pain plus diarrhea came back. I am going to the doctors first thing in the morning because I can't take this anymore. Give me some antibiotics or something, I just want this to go away!
I managed to eat healthy for the most part and even worked out after the Packers game tonight (they won, woohooo!!!). So, I'm just hoping the doctor will help me fix this stupid UTI/stomach virus or whatever the heck is going on down there so that I can focus on shedding those pounds.

Wow, I feel weird for using the word diarrhea so much, but I can't beat around the bush, I needed to vent, sorry! :dunno:


Happy Monday everyone!

Hoopty - Yup, that's pretty much the exact same situation I'm in! And to be honest it really sucks, I have days when I'm so depressed I just sit in my pyjamas watching Law & Order all day. I don't think you failed! You stayed a year and you were way further from home than I am, at least I can go home and visit. I also left a pretty good (although only .6 full time) job to come here. It's nice to know someone understands this situation! I have made friends with some of his co-workers wives so that helps. It really does make me appreciate how much I love Toronto and my network there,

I really hope we'll only be away a year.. I hope your doctor gives you something and you get better soon, it sounds awful!!

Hi everyone!

I'm back. Again! Hey at least I can say I'm persistent right? :D

Here again for the millionth time. I figure statistically one of these times it will stick :devil: Good to see some familiar names on here! same7Ilbs and Krampus glad to see you two in here!! Where has the time gone? Can't believe 3 years has gone by!

I have managed to not lose weight AND to gain 4 pounds more than where I started. So I sit at 142. But, Im motivated and I am going to try very hard to get to goal by 2/1!

Just wanted to pop in and say hi. Hope everyone has a gret Monday!

WELL I'm carrying around 3 lbs of bloat/sugar/booze/snacks after a big weekend of celebrating BF and another friend's 30th birthdays. Out on the town Friday night, hiked up a mountain in the mist and rain Saturday and camped surrounded by bears (bear poo everywhere). We made a fire and cooked and drank and sang and played instruments and made merry. In addition to our pack of 10 friends, BF's sister and her boyfriend came, as did his friend from Australia who happened to be visiting in the US. I went too crazy with presents again this year and got BF a FLYING LESSON in addition to some other things.

Work is NUTS, conference is the day after tomorrow and we are totally not ready yet. My roommate's turning 28 on Wednesday which happens to be Day 1 of the conference, and I got her a slow cooker and a ticket to see Fitz & The Tantrums and Capital Cities locally at the end of this month.

The weather forecast calls for tornadoes - I'm not too worried but I know my parents are, since they lost a bunch of trees from a tornado in July. I hope they'll be ok :\

Dianne So happy to see you back! How have you been? What's new? Have you found a job you don't hate?

Hoopty Please take care of yourself, what did the doctor say? I hope your symptoms are finished soon :( F&#K UTIs, they are a scourge from the deepest depths of the fiery underworld.

LisaTcan Glad you had a good weekend with lots of biking and you're going to be able to go to Toronto soon and see people!

thesame7lbs Sorry you are seeing fluctuations going the wrong way - think about that great run you had.

Cattails RIP Rosie, I am so sorry to hear of your loss ;_; Clothing sizes do keep getting bigger but don't forget that we are getting smaller, too ;)

Leaves Good luck with the laptop repairs, mine is nearing the end of its life and I'm dreading replacing it!

Hey, everyone!

I had to make a new account because I couldn't for the life of me remember my password or my email address to the last one, but anyone remember me? It must've been over a year ago that I was on here. So much has gone on since then, but anyway, I'm back because I remember I had such a good experience here on these forums.

To (re)introduce myself, I'm in my 20's, currently living in Tokyo with my husband. We moved over here several months ago and have been living in the big family house with his mom until just this week that we're in the process of moving into our own apartment for a couple years. My husband's working as a computer engineer, and I'm.....looking. I enjoy being a housewife (and eager to be a mother soon!) but I'm also looking for a part-time job to do here as well. My Japanese is not quite "business" level so it's a bit difficult, but oh well!

The reason I got back on this site is, obviously, because I'd like to lose a little weight. My attitude towards exercise and food and my lifestyle in general has undergone such a radical change lately. I used to be very obsessed with working out and eating "clean" and being as skinny as possible, but recently I'm much much more relaxed. I love cooking and eating and going out, and I love a lot more food here than I did back overseas. Working out is not such a big thing here either, so I've become adapted to the non-gymming and don't do much exercise other than walking around shopping and such. I've also belatedly discovered alcohol, lol, and have been enjoying drinking quite a bit. All that has contributed, not surprisingly, to weight gain. It's not all bad- I'm much happier than I was when I was super controlling and rigid. But, I know I could do a little better for myself just in terms of health, and emotionally too. Moving abroad has certainly been stressful, and I'm a major stress/comfort eater, so there's that too.

Anyway, just getting out our scale after moving, I weigh a bit over 130 (23% BF) where I was closer to 110 (and 15% BF) a year ago, and ideally I think I could shoot for somewhere in the middle, 120-ish, and be both happy and healthy. Just gonna try and cut the drinking down to the weekends maybe, and make lunch a meal replacement shake when I'm alone and not eating anything exciting anyway. I'm not hating on my body like I used to, or thinking that being super skinny is anything magical and the only way to live a happy life. I'm pretty comfortable dressing my body (even being quite large by average standards here) and getting naked too. Just want to make some small improvements, not being in a big hurry.

Nice to meet you guys, and hi again to anybody who is still on here from back when I last was!

mottainaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii so glad to see you back! :D

It sounds like you are truly happy, finding balance and adjusting well to living in Japan. I am so so so happy to see that - I think for most people a somewhat relaxed approach to diet/exercise is the most sustainable one. As for stress eating - it happens - but at least they don't sell half gallons of ice cream in Japan.

This is gonna sound f-ed up and weird but I often think about how glad I am that the worst binge eating episodes occurred in Japan - they don't make it as easy as it is here in North America, that's for sure.

Welcome Mottainaii!

I can't place whether I remember you from before or not, I also took about a year off from this site and came back recently. I'm in a similar position to you, living in a different country for my husband-to-be's job (he's also a computer programmer/designer). Congrats on loosening up about your eating habits and good luck getting your 10 lbs off!!

Krampus - Your weekend sounds so much fun!!

Well, clearly I didn't do a very good job "gutting it out" on Sunday and boy did the scale punish me. Hopefully it will come off all week and then Friday -- I leave for a long weekend in New Orleans. That's certainly not going to help matters! I have no intention of trying to "order the healthiest thing on the menu" or stay on plan in NO. That city is all about the food. My one goal is to stop eating when I'm full. No matter how good something tastes, there is no point stuffing myself and feeling miserable. So there's my goal for the weekend. Until then, though, I need to stick to plan!

Dianne, hello!!! What great timing that we are both back (I just came back about 6 weeks ago (I think?) to take care of some tenacious regain. :p Good to "see" you here! I have thought of you often and hope that you are well!

LisaT, I'm so happy for you that you get to go to Toronto for 2 weeks. You must be excited! I imagine it's a nice time of year there (though DC is pretty nice in fall, too!)

Hoopty, I hope you are feeling better!!

Krampus, what a wonderful weekend! And flying lessons -- what a nice GF you are!

Mottainai, I am so jealous of anyone living in Japan! I lived in Okinawa for about a year, but my favorite memories are of traveling to Tokyo and especially Kyoto.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Not much to report over here. Just the usual water loss in the beginning. Thats always fun; you get to see the scale go down so easily :D But Im sure my tough days are ahead. Day two today out of 115!

Same7 Amy, was it? So funny we came back at the same time! I've actually thought of you often as well. Wondering how you were doing with the weightloss, running, family, etc. Was it Maryland you are from?

Krampus Flying lessons!? How cool! Such a great GF. How long have you two been together now? I see your lows; in the teens!!!! That is INCREDIBLE! Do you think its the weight lifting that helped? I remember when we first started here together :)

Montaiin I dont believe we were ever on here at the same time? Unless you changed your screenname! Oh well, Hello! :wave: And congrats on having a new found attitude on eating!

LisaTcan I know Ive seen you in and out of here too ;) Hope its going well!!

Thanks for the welcome, everybody. Glad to be back! I don't know, for some reason the community here is really fun and helpful for me, especially these chat threads.

I've had some health scares and other stressful things with moving this past week or two, and that led to a lot of comfort/zone out eating, so I'm feeling quite bloated. I haven't woken up hungry for breakfast for a long time, and I really miss that! Ate too much again today, but now that things are settling down, I'm really going to try and break the habit I've gotten into eating all day. /: And doing a lot of loose dress-wearing for a while yet! My reasons for dieting are many, and aesthetics is actually near the bottom of the list, for once in my life.

I've also come to terms with the fact that my body honestly might not be happiest being as skinny as I would like. No one in my family is thin at all, lol, and I was pretty average growing up until I became anorexic and all that stuff happened. I was really in denial about it before, but just seeing what's happened as I've loosened up has kinda convinced me. Totally letting off the reins, eating whatever, not exercising, not only do I no longer crave binge eating like I used to and am no longer obsessed with food all the time, it seems like no matter what, my weight really doesn't budge above where it is now, around 60-62 kg. It's just very, very stable here. And that's cool.

Dianne Nice to meet you, enjoy that first whoosh. (;

thesame7lbs Wow, I want to go to Okinawa sometime too! What did you live there for? I like your plan for New Orleans. No reason not to enjoy the food, and it's just more fun when you stop eating way past fullness anyway, right?

LisaT We've got a lot in common! Where did y'all move to/from?

Krampus Hey girl! I definitely remember you. So true, bingeing is way way harder in Japan. Yeah, I'm definitely way more relaxed, and surprise surprise, that took care of most of the binge eating too. I'd rather be easygoing and happy and having fun eating with my husband and family and whatnot and be a little heavier than be like I was, crazy skinny but also crazy anxious all the time!

Hi everyone!

So I'm at 139! It's really exciting to break 140..it's also giving me hope that even though I'm losing really slowly I am losing and I just have to stick with it. I'm flying to Toronto tomorrow morning and I'm so excited! A little worried about the weight loss though as I won't have access to a gym and my family has terrible eating habits. I'll try and do by best.

Dianne - Enjoy the whoosh!! I love it when that happens. What plan are you following?

thesame7lbs - I'm sure that's just water weight, I wouldn't worry about it! Have so much fun in New Orleans!! I've always wanted to go there, I here it's amazing.

Montaiin - We're from Toronto, Ontario and we've moved to Washington, DC. Not as far from home as you I bet! It's still hard though as I'm not allowed to work in the US on a dependent visa. I think you've got a really great relationship with food now! I went through a similar thing a few years ago when I was recovery from an ED and I stopped caring about what I ate or what I weighed and I gained a fair bit of weight and stopped binging and obsessing over food. Then I was able to go back to eating better and lost some weight without being obsessive about it. Like you though I've realized I'll never be skinny, which sucks but it is what it is.

LisaT, congrats on the 139! :broc: You've earned it!

Mottainaii, my husband is in the Navy, and he was stationed in Okinawa. We really enjoyed it there. It was before we had kids so I traveled with him and/or with friends: Bali, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, and mainland Japan. Such a great experience!

Dianne, we moved from MD to CA two years ago. Family is good, I'm still running, but I took a few months off for an injury this spring/summer -- and gained roughly a pound a week! Coming back here really helped me buckle down. How are you? Are you an ultrasound tech now?

Krampus, lol on the challenges of binging in Japan. Mochii, anyone?

Hoopty, thinking about you and hoping you feel better!

:wave: to anyone else reading or visiting!

Hello everyone,

So yeah, my doctor told me that I had an UTI. I have to take antibiotics for 10 days but I'm already starting to feel much better. I don't have to go back to work until Tuesday so I've been spending these past few days in bed basically doing nothing (which is terrible, I should do something..)
Breakfast and lunch have been healthy, dinner not so much. For example, last night I had about 3 handfuls of chips, marzipan potatoes (funny name, it's just small balls of marzipan) and German whole-grain crackers with dark chocolate on top. I'm trying not to stress over it but I told myself - no more of that stuff until Sunday since it's game-day and usually my "cheat day".
I also haven't been able to run since I'm too scared I'm gonna pee myself, not literally, but the urge to go to the bathroom every couple of minutes just makes it impossible. I did buy a nice new pair of thermo running tights, though. Been looking for them all over the place since it's starting to get really cold out but most of them are just way too expensive. I bought a pair for 19,95€ (about 27$), good quality ones too as I like the brand, as opposed to 50€-70€ for Nike or Asics - and they fit perfectly. Can't wait to run again!
I weighed-in at 145.2 lbs this morning but I'm sure most of it is really just water from all the salty foods I've been eating.

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LisaTcan - I would sit inside all day and watch movies and shows, too. It was horrible. And on top of that we didn't have our own place - we lived with the in-laws who I did not get along with AT ALL. At least you've been able to make friends, that's always a good thing! Congrats on getting to the 130s!!! Have fun at home and enjoy every minute of it :)

Dianne042425 - Hello! :wave: And good luck on your journey. Don't the 140s suck?

krampus - Flying lesson for your BF? Say what? That's awesome! How was day 1 of the conference?

Mottainaii - Nice to meet you too :wave: Why is everybody in Japan? :D I wanna go too!

thesame7lbs - Waahh, New Orleans? I'm jealous! Enjoy!!!

Happy Thursday! Friday is tomorrow. Wooo!!

I decided not to weigh myself this morning becase I had banana chips and oatmeal late last night (darn bf is always late night snacking). So I didnt beat myself up. Just decided not to weigh becuase I know it would should a gain. Not much to report over here. Just been planning my sisters bachelorette, focusing on losing weight and getting my realtors license!!

Monttain I can SO relate to the "loosening the reins" cure. Its amazing what our minds can do to us. The minute I start a diet I feel intense anxiety. The second I let myself just live in moderation, I am so much happier and relaxed. Life is too good and too short!!

LisaTcan :carrot::dizzy: Congrats on getting into the 130's!! When you said "although Im losing slow, Im still losing" reminded me of this blog I found years ago about a young girl and how she lost over 100 pounds just by being CONSISTENT and never giving up with her diet. She didnt even focus a lot on exercise (not saying not to, thats very important) but the point is, she hit many stalls and plateus. Her story and pics are amazing! Its great motivation. Here is her blog: http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com/mystory

Same7 Cali?! Ive always wanted to visit there. What made you all move? Sorry to hear about the injury :( And yes I am an ultrasound tech! However, I am just doing it part time due to scarcity in that job industry. But I love it. I am currently working on getting my realtor's license. I love real estate! Always have since I was a kid!

Hoopty Oh my a UTI?!?! I hate those. I have gotten some pretty bad ones where I bled!! Ekk! Take care of yourself and try not to stress! Yea 140's suck. Ive never been here before and I dont like it :devil: But I think I entered into the 130's today so Im praying it was just water weight :)

Well I hope everyone has a fabulous day!!!!

Hello feathers, my laptop is fixed! Back for personals later, just wanted to check in :)

Our new apartment is pretty much cleaned up! I spent a couple hours yesterday putting more things away. We shipped a bunch of boxes of our stuff over from Canada, and we'd just been keeping them unopened for several months while living with my MIL. It's like Christmas opening them again, lots of stuff I'd forgotten about, lol. We just need furniture and appliances. And I've been doing it all myself so far, and I have no idea what to do with all my husband's wires and cables and parts, so they're still in the boxes.

Had a protein shake for lunch and an average breakfast and dinner, and no drinks, yesterday. Did a lot of walking around too.

Leaves- Welcome back/nice to meet you!

Hoopty- Sorry to hear about your UTI! That sounds really awful. ):

Diane- My husband's a night snacker too for sure! It's really cool you travelled around a lot (although I'm sure it wasn't fun having a spouse in the navy sometimes too). I hope to do some Asia traveling now that we are over here too.

Lisa- I know all about visa problems and such. My husband and I lived in Canada for a year, and he's from Japan and me from the States, and we just had problem after problem after problem. Congrats on your slow loss. That's the way to go! Have fun back in Toronto!

hi, everyone! I disappeared for a few days and THEN (stupid me) forgot it wasn't September anymore and didn't look for the October thread and just thought you all were being VERY quiet. :D

Personals this weekend, I think, the best that I can, at least -- don't have time today, but just wanted to say hi and sending all my good luck vibes all your ways!

In exercise news, I joined our local Y and am taking Body Pump (YES, I've finally got my strength training going after so many months of hemming and hawing about it (apparently I suck at doing strength training on my own)) and I am running a few times a week. Have been counting calories with no real goal, mainly staying around 1400-1600, depending on exercise and mood. Today I made the mistake of trying to eat some frozen veggies just to get in some more veggies and because I have like four bags of this particular veggie mix and was determined to start eating it. So I added some curry sauce and well, let's just say I was underwhelmed and there was zucchini in it and I don't like zucchini, and I like cauliflower, but not the huge clumps that were in this mix. Eh, so I didn't really like what I ate, so I didn't finish it and ate some oreo cookies instead. Win! Well, the good news is that I was still under 1600 cals. :)

Great to see you guys!

Morning feathers!

So, after pigging out on snacks on Saturday night, I felt achey and shivery with stomach cramps all of Sunday and then I was sick last night. Feel like I was punished for the snacks! Feeling better now though, just having some plain porridge and seeing how I do. Getting ill is like, easy weight loss! (Although it all comes piling back on when you're better I find! :( )
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Dianne: Welcome back/nice to meet you!

Krampus: yikes, tornadoes sound horrible, hope everyone is okay! Sorry things are so manic, how was the conference in the end? Flying lessons sound super cool!

Mottainaii: Hey! Nice to meet you too :) It sounds like you have a really good thing going with self-appreciation, way to go! Wish I could feel the same about my self, I can only ever see the bad bits :( So jealous of you out there in Japan, I'd love to go there one day!

Lisa: YAY NEW DECADE! Congratulations! Hope it's sticking for you :) Hope you're having fun in Toronto!

Thesame7: my BF runs a charity that helps orphans in Cambodia. I mentioned the idea of going to Bangkok next summer and now he is all 'oh yeah, we can spend three days there then a couple of weeks in Cambodia!' argh! How is it? I can only ever find horror stories on the internet and I think BF's judgement is a bit clouded!

Hoopty: really sorry about the UTI, it sounds horrible. Hope you're feeling much better very soon! Those marzipan potatoes sound delicious :)

Oleh: Glad you're back! I always find frozen veggies to be outstandingly 'meh'. They're always squishy and always, always have peas in which I hate. I don't blame you for the oreos! And you were still under, so that's good :)

Have a good week feathers!

Hello Feathers,

Well, in a minor (perhaps major) miracle, I weighed in this morning after a long weekend in New Orleans and weighed... exactly the same as the day I left! I can't really wrap my head around how that much restaurant food, wine, beer, cocktails, etc, are not showing up the scale. I suspect I may see it later this week.

Leaves, I loved Cambodia and am so glad we went. We were there in 2001 and the country was just getting on board with tourism. We stayed in Siem Reap (home to Angkor Wat and many other ancient temples) and the only western hotel was the Grand Hotel D'Angkor (very pricey! We stayed at La Noria Guesthouse and loved it). Now there are lots of western hotels, and I think it is generally much safer. We didn't go out at all after dark, but I think now there is much more freedom for Westerners to move about. I would look into the weather during the summer, though. It is the rainy season (both there and in Thailand) and that could affect your ability to travel, see the sights, etc. We were there in April and it was insanely hot.

Olehcat, Body Pump sounds great! Good job on all the healthy exercise.

Mottainaii, I always love the feeling of being unpacked and getting everything organized in a new home!

Dianne, SO snacking is always such a temptation/general pain-in-the-butt. The other day my DH came home from work and immediately made a bagel with Nutella and inhaled it. He then proceeded to eat his way through the pantry. And ate a full dinner. And never gains a pound. sigh.

Hoopty, I hope you're feeling better!

Hello to anyone else reading -- have a great day!

Wow, things have been crazy over here lately. Probably not the best time to try and diet, hah. We've been busy getting everything moved in, then it was a holiday weekend, and a typhoon yesterday so my husband got to take off work some last night and this morning. And today is hubby's birthday! And then I'm also doing job hunting stuff, got an interview Saturday.... Anyway, lots of eating out, lots of treats, no exercising, etc.

Personals tomorrow when I've got a bit more time on my hands. (:
Hope everyone's week is going all right!

Happy Wednesday!

Not much to report over here. I started out this "journey" again with the intent of keeping my calories at 1300 a day and 2 days a week at 1800. I find it just drives me too crazy. So I have been eating in moderation. I have noticed that I am coming in around 1500 calories but my carbs are really high :?: Around 200. I would like to cut that back about 70g to 130. So we will see :)

Mottain Congrats on the new apartment! However, I am confused by your last personal to me? I think maybe youre confused :D I dont have a husband in the army and have never been to Asia. Would love to go though ;)

olehcat Are you finding yourself losing on 1600 calories? How many calories do you burn a day in exercise?

Leaves I HATE the awful feeling after eating a horrible day. It always gives me that much more motivation to stay on plan and get healthy :)

Same7 Yea, my bf is pretty much the same. But I think Ive got it figured it out. Yea sure they burn more because they have more muscle. But I dont think they have miracle metabolisms. My bf is very good at not binging or over indulging. But if he does, he can afford it becuase he only eats 3 times a day. I on the other hand eat allll day lol At least 5 times a day!!

Womp womp I've definitely blown up a pound or two and I haven't been able to poop right. Grrrrrr.

Work is busy but I'll be back soon for personals.

hi, guys!, Finally rehit my minigoal after an embarrassingly long time over 150. I might have this thing now. I'm trying my best to exercise almost every day, including running, walking, and doing Body Pump at the Y. My calorie count has changed up a bit.

@krampus - *waves*

@Dianne - to answer your question about the calories, yes, I do lose if I eat 1400-1600, BUT only if I don't blow it on the weekends, which has been a big problem the last few weeks. SO my solution is to start eating 1200 during the week or any day when I don't have anything special going on and then that will allow wiggle room for those other days, especially with the holidays, my niece's birthday , a few Halloween parties coming up, etc.! Man, it's HARD to eat 1200 calories, though. I can't believe so many people eat that amount day in and day out for months on end! It's not the hunger at all, but there's absolutely no room for mistakes or extras!

@Mottain - wow, a typhoon! No fun. I used to live in Florida and remember those days of ack! hurricane! And I am so envying your moving to Japan life! ;)

@thesame7 - wow, there's no WAY I would weigh in anything good after a weekend in New Orleans, lol, all that delicious food! Good job!

@Leaves - oh, man, my stomach does that to me when I overindulge in crap, especially when it involves frozen pizza! Yeah, fully agreed on the vegetables. Bleach, maybe I'll just make a blended veggie soup with them or something!

Hi everyone!!

I've been totally out of my normal routine, which includes coming on here, so sorry for the lack of posts. I don't have a scale here so I have no idea what my weight is but I've been struggling with some overeating and other bad behaviours since I've been here. My family is very chaotic and stressful and they are terrible for my mental health. I'm going to be staying with friends this weekend so that will be lovely!! I had my convocation for my MA yesterday so it was nice to walk across the stage and get my diploma after all my hard work!!

I'll try and come back for personals later. Hope everyone is well!!

Hi all, hope your week is going well. Sounds like lots of exciting changes happening for some. I'm quite boring in comparison so I really enjoy reading about your adventures!

Been having a rough week, stupid arthritis flaring up, making me miserable and unable to exercise. So I've been trying to occupy myself with distractions, mainly helping my youngest DS get set up for a new pet lizard. I think my body's calming down now, thankfully. Felt good to get out for some walking today.

On a more positive note, the scale has been showing me 119 the past several days - woot, I'm a teen again!

Take care, feathers, and have a terrific weekend.

olehcat - Congrats on meeting your mini goal!!

Krampus - Do you still work for that non-profit?

Dianne - I find 1300 calories impossible. I bet you'll still lose at 1500 and probably enjoy yourself more!

Mottainaii - A typhoon!! That's crazy!!! Congrats on the job interview, let us know how it goes :)

thesame7lbs - that is AMAZING! Maybe you walked a lot on your trip or something??? Good for you, I'm really hoping for the same result when I get home next week.

Leaves - Yay for fixed laptop!! Hope you feel better soon.

Hoopty - I can't imagine being isolated and living with my in laws!!! Glad you got the UTI diagnosed and you're starting to feel better.

------------

So I'm currently in a weird place, my fiance's tech start up got 10 million in venture capital and he got a gigantic raise and stocks (whatever that means) so our future is looking pretty good. But...his success is making me feel even worse about not being able to find a job, which I know is stupid! We're getting married, we're a team..but I'm finding it hard. AND I don't have a scale so I'm feeling really unsure of where my weight is at. ANYWAYS! My wedding shower is tomorrow, I will update you all as to how it goes!!

Happy Sunday!

Krampus Do you weight lift still? Are you still doing intermittent fasting? Whats been your strategy? You seem to be very successful!

Lisa Yes 1300 is VERY hard!

Olehcat Thats the plan I used to do when I lost weight two years ago. It worked well for me. But now I just cant seem to get back on it :/

Hi Feathers,

Had a crazy weekend. The high point was eating four slices of pizza at a bonfire Friday night, the low point was getting extremely p!ssed off at BF for getting too drunk on Saturday and sleeping on my own couch that night, and somewhere in between we made up and raked leaves for my parents on Sunday. I also watched UFC fights at Hooters in anger Saturday night with friends. The main event (Velasquez v Dos Santos) was BLOOOOODY!

Somehow all this overeating/stress has resulted in a scale drop. Seems illogical...

Dianne Happy MONDAY (yuck). I still IF and lift weights! Try to eat a lot of protein and vegetables and not too much bread/pasta/rice though that hasn't really been the case this past week.

LisaTcan It's hard to watch someone close to you get showered with opportunity while your own situation remains unknown without getting jealous/feeling weird. *hugs* How was the shower?! I am still at the same nonprofit org.

Cattails I'm really sorry the arthritis is making exercise impossible. It's the stupidest cycle - being injured makes you sad, exercise relieves sadness and some cases of depression, not being able to exercise = pent up energy. Glad you're a teen and finding distractions, though!

olehcat Very happy to see you're managing a routine and not feeling overwhelmed! :D

mottainai Are you and yours OK after the typhoon?

thesame7lbs Not gaining on vacation to beignet, gumbo and hush puppy land is a pretty MAJOR win!

Leaves Hope you feel better now! Conference went quite well actually. I feel good about it.

hey, feathers!

So some non-scale victories for me: It's been a month since around my birthday when I restarted my weight loss journey for real. In that month I have lost 5 pounds (gotten back to my minigoal), lost 3 inches, and feel a LOT more fit. I took some pictures this morning and they show a noticeable difference between last month and today! Also, a woman at the Y yesterday told me she thought I looked very fit. As for exercising, I am doing running/walking, some zumba, and some body pump (strength class). I do take a few rest days. I'm trying to eat very light Monday through THursday so that I can enjoy the weekends more. This does slow down my loss (the fact that I enjoy my weekends). But if I could have a five pound loss every month, then I would still make goal by some time in the spring.

@krampus - eating pizza by a bonfire sounds absolutely divine, actually! ;)

@dianne - I think I'm finally really back into my plan, but oh my gosh, it took MONTHS to get back into it for real. I don't know why it's so hard!

@lisa - thanks! Good luck with the job hunting. That WOULD feel weird. For me it's felt really weird when my ex-husband got this huge promotion this past year. I felt a bit weird about it, especially since we're no longer married and I won't benefit much from it.

@cattails - 119!!? Wow, how great! I will die of happiness if I ever get to the teens. ;)

Hope everyone has a great Friday!

Hi Feathers,

So there was some drama but overall my shower went really well. The decor was beautiful and I got some really lovely gifts, the highlight was a beautiful wool blanket my friend knit for us. I'm excited to fly back to DC on Sunday to my finace, my cat, and warmer weather (it's freezing in Toronto!!). I'm also looking forward to weighing in and seeing where I'm at after two weeks on vacation. I went dress shopping yesterday with my mom and fit into all size 6's!! That was a pretty great NSV.

olehcat - great job on all those NSVs! I feel like dropping 5 lbs a month is manageable and a good rate for us with not a ton to lose. Nice to hear you understand about the job thing..although I guess I should feel happy because I will benefit from his success.

Krampus - sorry about the fight with your BF but the pizza and bon fire sounds fun!!

Happy Weekend everyone!

Hello Feathers,

I've been doing pretty well with food and calories - exercise not so much. When I work I'm on my feet all day plus riding my bike there and back but that's pretty much it. I worked out one time this week but I'm gonna attempt to lift some weights in a little while before I shower.

We celebrated my Mom's birthday last Saturday and I ate tons of cake and chocolate (both Sat + Sun). So my weight went up but it has slowly been going down again. TOM got here yesterday and I have a slight feeling that my weight will be up tomorrow morning, hopefully I'm wrong.

---

olehcat - Wow, I'm so glad to hear that you're doing well! Congrats on finally getting back on the right track :cheer:

krampus - DH watched the Velasquez fight and couldn't get over how crazy it was. In fact, he showed me the highlights about a gazillion times, lol.

LisaTcan - Size 6? That's awesome! :) You gotta be soooo curious about your weight, heck I would be too. Do you think you gained anything?

Cattails - Having a pet lizard must be so cool, I've never even really seen one before. Congrats on being in the teens!

thesame7lbs - I hope that, despite of your gain, you're feeling well. Sending you a :hug:

Hi Feathers,

I haven't been posting much because 1) it's been a busy couple of weeks, and 2) because I am being a great big featherweight loser, and not in the good weight-loss kind of way. Two weeks ago I was firmly at 127, which is a happy weight for me, and knew that just another week or two would on plan would give me a couple of pounds buffer. But did I do that? No. I stopped tracking my food (mistake #1) and had too much wine and beer (mistake #2) and watched the scale creep up, up, up without an ounce of gumption to get back on plan (mistake #3). Today I'm at 130.4 and why? I wish someone could explain to me why I let this happen. And then fix me. I won't even go into the whole issue of why 3 pounds seems like such a huge life-or-death ordeal for me. Because that's clearly ridiculous, too.

/frustrated rant

Cattails, I'm sorry to hear about the arthritis. What kind of lizard is your son getting? I like critters.

Olehcat, way to go! It seems like everything clicked into place and you're on the right track!

LisaT, I'm so glad your shower went well. That knitted blanket sounds lovely -- personal gifts like that, things that can't be bought, are always so special.

Hoopty, when you're on your feet and biking back and forth to work, you're giving your body plenty of exercise. It seems like getting a handle on food is paying off -- congrats!