October Feathers Chat Thread!
 

How's it going with everyone!?! 1200 calorie daily goal here- up from my old 900 calorie goal. I can't imagine going back! I love my food!

This is the point I was really planning to exercise more. I should totally do something about that. If only it would stop raining!!!!

Yay for fall!!!

Originally Posted by kristip:
How's it going with everyone!?! 1200 calorie daily goal here- up from my old 900 calorie goal. I can't imagine going back! I love my food!

This is the point I was really planning to exercise more. I should totally do something about that. If only it would stop raining!!!!

Yay for fall!!!

Thanks for starting the thread, Kristi. :) Can really relate to not going back to a lesser calorie count. I've thought about adding back the Saturday fast, and there's a very strong "No!" in the back of my mind when I think that. :fr:

I think we had a very successful September, all told. Congrats, everyone - way to keep track! :carrot:

Yay, new chat thread!

Man am I looking forward to some scarfs, flannels, and riding boots for the next couple of months.

Must be strong on my trips though...
1st trip, weekend cabin getaway to an Oktoberfest town. Upside: full kitchen to bring food/cook it. Downside: Oktoberfest beer....and I like beer.

2nd trip, 5 day trip to SoCal to visit family, and try on bridal dresses. Upside: Cali has lots of healthy places like wholefood etc. Downside: eating out, because no fridge in hotel.

I have found a really great Dukan rosemary cheese bread recipe that tastes great and satisfies my carb cravings. I also found some pumpkin mug/pudding dupes that are yummy. My goal is find 2 more recipes this month to satisfy my fall comfort food cravings.

I've finally come to the sad conclusion that my body doesn't like wheat. I'm not allergic or anything, but eating it gums up the works like crazy and I feel so bloated afterward.

Last night I ate pizza for dinner (my son's b-day meal of choice) and I really shouldn't have. I feel kinda yuck today!

But in some ways this is a good thing, because I'm not numb to the effects of food on my body any more. I know what I need to eat to feel good, and I can recognise that certain foods make me feel bad. A step forward for sure. Now to just tell my mouth hunger that I don't need bread and pasta any more!

Raisin5Cookies, I understand your feelings about wheat, although for me it's beef. It's sits in my stomach and I feel bleck. And we're having burgers tonight for my father-in-law's b-day.

I also have issues with carbs. As in, either I don't eat any or I eat way too many.

Originally Posted by chubbysmall:
Yay, new chat thread!

Man am I looking forward to some scarfs, flannels, and riding boots for the next couple of months.

Must be strong on my trips though...
1st trip, weekend cabin getaway to an Oktoberfest town. Upside: full kitchen to bring food/cook it. Downside: Oktoberfest beer....and I like beer.

2nd trip, 5 day trip to SoCal to visit family, and try on bridal dresses. Upside: Cali has lots of healthy places like wholefood etc. Downside: eating out, because no fridge in hotel.

I have found a really great Dukan rosemary cheese bread recipe that tastes great and satisfies my carb cravings. I also found some pumpkin mug/pudding dupes that are yummy. My goal is find 2 more recipes this month to satisfy my fall comfort food cravings.

There are so many positive sayings about how planning ahead makes all the difference, but it's too early to bring them up in my brain...ack. Ah, here's a good one from BrainyQuotes:

Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning. - Churchill

This is, essentially, what you've done, but skipped the worrying and gone right to the good part! Sounds like you have an amazing season planned.
:yes:

went to gym Thursday half hr class it's Called cardio tai box but was all arms I then went bowling and have sore shoulders now.im going to try fat burning Pilates instead.my weight is being stupid and I'm at 132.i am toying with the idea of seeing a dietician or trying the make ahead meals thing..

Originally Posted by crunchymama:
Raisin5Cookies, I understand your feelings about wheat, although for me it's beef. It's sits in my stomach and I feel bleck. And we're having burgers tonight for my father-in-law's b-day.

I also have issues with carbs. As in, either I don't eat any or I eat way too many.

Oh, yes, meat is another thing I avoid. ;) I hope you had a nice b-day meal regardless!

Today I saw a few people who I haven't seen in a while; I got a lot of positive feedback about my weight loss and one woman literally ran across the carpark to catch me before I left to congratulate me! I was really taken aback, but in a good way!

My family Does. Not. Notice. The children go, "huh, your tummy is smaller," and my husband says I look the same as I did when we first got married (14 years and 5 kids ago!). That's sweet, but no, I don't look the same. :p So at least I'm getting some feedback from other people!

Originally Posted by Raisin5Cookies:
Oh, yes, meat is another thing I avoid. ;) I hope you had a nice b-day meal regardless!

Today I saw a few people who I haven't seen in a while; I got a lot of positive feedback about my weight loss and one woman literally ran across the carpark to catch me before I left to congratulate me! I was really taken aback, but in a good way!

My family Does. Not. Notice. The children go, "huh, your tummy is smaller," and my husband says I look the same as I did when we first got married (14 years and 5 kids ago!). That's sweet, but no, I don't look the same. :p So at least I'm getting some feedback from other people!

I'm glad you're getting amazing feedback from others! :grouphug: I got it from like one friend and one family member. Maybe they were worried I would lose too much, but I mostly have a history of not losing weight, and that definitely would not be an issue. ;)

Weighed in at 130 woot looks like my hard work is paying off.i need to try and only weigh in on Sunday's agai.

Originally Posted by HungerWerks:
I'm glad you're getting amazing feedback from others! :grouphug: I got it from like one friend and one family member. Maybe they were worried I would lose too much, but I mostly have a history of not losing weight, and that definitely would not be an issue. ;)

It is a touchy subject, I think, and as a rule I don't say anything to other people about their weight.

The moment when I decided to never mention weight to anyone else, EVER, was when I mis-overheard a conversation at a party and thought an acquaintance had lost something like 40kg before I met her. I gushed on and on about what a lot of weight that was! Yeeaaahh. She was talking about how she gained it and was most hurt at my comments. :( I was seriously looking for a hole in the ground to dive into!! :tape:

Originally Posted by HungerWerks:
There are so many positive sayings about how planning ahead makes all the difference, but it's too early to bring them up in my brain...ack. Ah, here's a good one from BrainyQuotes:

Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning. - Churchill

This is, essentially, what you've done, but skipped the worrying and gone right to the good part! Sounds like you have an amazing season planned.
:yes:

Thanks! I have found that early planning really helps me. Plus it taps into my natural Type A inclinations so that works too. I use the divider in my day planning to post all my meals for the week.

I actually got some feedback from co-workers these past 2 weeks on my weight loss. It seemed positive, but I hope they don't think I am wasting away or something...

Back to cooking, tomorrow is my birthday so I have a yummy lunch and light dinner planned so I can indulge in my healthy chocolate molten lava cake recipe in the pm. It really is so good, you wouldn't think it was low carb/low sugar.

Hi ladies I am new here. What diet are you all following to have lost all this weight? :)

I do a 16:8 intermittent fast, no processed foods or added sugar, low carb, vegetarian thing. I don't follow a set of rules as such, just figured out what works for me and then found out there were "names" for it.

Just low calorie! I was doing 900 (because I'm super short and petite boned), but have recently upped my daily goals to 1200 instead, but stick right around 1150 for the week on average. I use my fitness pal to chart and track, but only on my phone as an app.

My goal for the rest of this week is to stay off the scale until Sunday I want to go back to weighing in once a week.

Thinking of maintaining this month. Pumpkin rolls and spiced lattes and octoberfest beer oh my. Struggling to keep calories low enough to lose!

Originally Posted by skittlesfirehawk:
Weighed in at 130 woot looks like my hard work is paying off.i need to try and only weigh in on Sunday's agai.

Congrats, SFH! :hug:

Originally Posted by Raisin5Cookies:
It is a touchy subject, I think, and as a rule I don't say anything to other people about their weight.

The moment when I decided to never mention weight to anyone else, EVER, was when I mis-overheard a conversation at a party and thought an acquaintance had lost something like 40kg before I met her. I gushed on and on about what a lot of weight that was! Yeeaaahh. She was talking about how she gained it and was most hurt at my comments. :( I was seriously looking for a hole in the ground to dive into!! :tape:

I've had those moments, too. For weight, my worst was, IIRC, saying something about someone being pregnant who wasn't. :o I think the person you were talking to was probably a little relieved to hear that someone would think that she had lost weight.

Originally Posted by chubbysmall:
Thanks! I have found that early planning really helps me. Plus it taps into my natural Type A inclinations so that works too. I use the divider in my day planning to post all my meals for the week.

I actually got some feedback from co-workers these past 2 weeks on my weight loss. It seemed positive, but I hope they don't think I am wasting away or something...

Back to cooking, tomorrow is my birthday so I have a yummy lunch and light dinner planned so I can indulge in my healthy chocolate molten lava cake recipe in the pm. It really is so good, you wouldn't think it was low carb/low sugar.

Small, I hope you had a great birthday! :bday2you: :gift: How was the cake? :T

Originally Posted by Jackierenee88:
Hi ladies I am new here. What diet are you all following to have lost all this weight? :)

I'm just doing a calorie diet. Tbh, 1500 now, but will return to 1200 soon, maybe. :D Welcome to the Featherweight Forum!

:welcome: :wel3fc: :welcome2:

Originally Posted by HungerWerks:
Small, I hope you had a great birthday! :bday2you: :gift: How was the cake? :T

Thank you! It was delicious, so good I had it again last night ;)

Originally Posted by Jackierenee88:
Hi ladies I am new here. What diet are you all following to have lost all this weight? :)

I am amazed at how much weight some people in the featherweights have lost! I lost a little more than 20 pounds in around 4 months, and I look pretty dramatically different.

I have been following a low carb/low fat ketogenic diet that relies a lot on processed protein foods (Ideal Protein). I don't like the processed part, but it is the only plan that has worked for me in years & years of trying to lose "just a few pounds" which on me equals about 2-3 sizes (I think that is right... from ~size US 10 to ~ size US 4-6). The calories are quite low - usually around 750-900, but the protein is high and when done right I wasn't hungry. I was chipping away at the last 3 or 4 pounds... then...

I have been sick for the last couple of weeks, a chest cold, which made me ravenous. All dieting off! Binge-y behaviors back! The only foods I wanted were bready and/or involving honey??? Ick. I watched my weight and it was OK for a few days but today when I checked I was up nearly 4 pounds. Hoping at least a couple of that is water weight from the excess carbs...:stars:

It takes me more than a month to lose 4 pounds usually...Nothing to do but hunker down again :kickcan:

I just realized that I stopped tracking my food on September 3! I'm not sure what happened on that exact day - I had reached a low at that point of 132.8 pounds [which is only 3 pounds away from my current GOAL!]. Went away for the weekend and never got back to tracking. I still lost a little in September, one whole pound, but it was a lot of up & down.

Sadly I think for a while I HAVE to keep tracking. It's the only thing that keeps me from eating 8 tortillas or 4 English muffins in a sitting. OMG - when I weigh bakery bread it is shocking how many calories a slice has! OK, I have been sick for a couple of weeks, so I am cutting myself a little slack but still... it's not normal to jump right back into gorging on processed carbs.

I can't remember if most of you actually track your intake or not.

I hope I can get to the point where I can make good decisions without tracking everything, but for now: NOPE!

ALSO - OMG - How do/did you all get into exercising?!?

For me it is like dieting, it just "clicks" at some point but it is just not happening in the last few months. My inner child has dug her heels in and I am doing NOTHING. Which I am so opposed to philosophically, but so far I haven't been able to motivate. I have to figure out how to kick my own butt.

:kickbutt:YEAH!

Originally Posted by EmmaD:

ALSO - OMG - How do/did you all get into exercising?!?

For me it is like dieting, it just "clicks" at some point but it is just not happening in the last few months. My inner child has dug her heels in and I am doing NOTHING. Which I am so opposed to philosophically, but so far I haven't been able to motivate. I have to figure out how to kick my own butt.

:kickbutt:YEAH!

If you figure this out, let me know...because I still can't seem to get into exercise. I had to buy some new jeans because of weight loss...which kinda sucks a little because some of them I didn't even wear. It doesn't suck enough to make me gain the weight back though!

Shopping/walking and trying on skinny jeans is my weekend workout....I think I busted out some sit-ups mid week but yeah that was it.

Originally Posted by EmmaD:
I just realized that I stopped tracking my food on September 3! I'm not sure what happened on that exact day - I had reached a low at that point of 132.8 pounds [which is only 3 pounds away from my current GOAL!]. Went away for the weekend and never got back to tracking. I still lost a little in September, one whole pound, but it was a lot of up & down.

Sadly I think for a while I HAVE to keep tracking. It's the only thing that keeps me from eating 8 tortillas or 4 English muffins in a sitting. OMG - when I weigh bakery bread it is shocking how many calories a slice has! OK, I have been sick for a couple of weeks, so I am cutting myself a little slack but still... it's not normal to jump right back into gorging on processed carbs.

I can't remember if most of you actually track your intake or not.

I hope I can get to the point where I can make good decisions without tracking everything, but for now: NOPE!

ALSO - OMG - How do/did you all get into exercising?!?

For me it is like dieting, it just "clicks" at some point but it is just not happening in the last few months. My inner child has dug her heels in and I am doing NOTHING. Which I am so opposed to philosophically, but so far I haven't been able to motivate. I have to figure out how to kick my own butt.

:kickbutt:YEAH!

Hope you're feeling better now, Emma. Seems like so many of us are in the same boat - stopped tracking for a while and WHAM! the pounds creep back on.

My thing is I like to feel full, and that means four English muffins or whatever. "Serving sizes" crack me up - THAT is not a serving size, it's a BITE! So, yeah, can totally relate.

As far as exercise, I was FORCED back into it today. Was trying to get ONE-TENTH OF A POUND below last Sunday's weigh-in weight, which was 107.6. I

1. Scrubbed the outside of the house for a couple of hours. NO.

2. Did DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) for about an hour, then cooled down with yoga. NO DICE.

3. Worked on sanding some trim to ready it for painting, and walked around talking on the phone for an HOUR. Yay! Finally made it. :carrot:

So we'll see if I keep up with the formal exercising. I have so much to do around the house for the holidays, that I try to exercise doing that, instead of the other. I'd rather do one than both. :p

Originally Posted by chubbysmall:
If you figure this out, let me know...because I still can't seem to get into exercise. I had to buy some new jeans because of weight loss...which kinda sucks a little because some of them I didn't even wear. It doesn't suck enough to make me gain the weight back though!

Shopping/walking and trying on skinny jeans is my weekend workout....I think I busted out some sit-ups mid week but yeah that was it.

Trying on skinny jeans, or other skinny clothes, like cute little dresses, or a form-fitting shirt or pencil skirt - there's nothing like it! :D

I have been doing yoga daily for several months now - it's Kundalini Yoga, if anyone is familiar with it, and it's a lot more dynamic and exercise-y than other forms of yoga.

This weekend, I went to my first Kundalini Yoga & Meditation teacher training (woohoo!). Someone said to me that I don't look like I have five kids. I saw myself in the mirror, and I look like someone who could teach yoga.

I nearly cried.

Originally Posted by Raisin5Cookies:
I have been doing yoga daily for several months now - it's Kundalini Yoga, if anyone is familiar with it, and it's a lot more dynamic and exercise-y than other forms of yoga.

This weekend, I went to my first Kundalini Yoga & Meditation teacher training (woohoo!). Someone said to me that I don't look like I have five kids. I saw myself in the mirror, and I look like someone who could teach yoga.

I nearly cried.

That sounds like a wonderful moment to experience! :hug:

As for the yoga...
I have heard of it and seen it, but never tried it myself. I actually show the Frontiers "Worried sick" video routinely at work and it has a feature on Kundalini Yoga, meditation and the Relaxation response.

Actually meditation and yoga, or any mindfulness based practice DOES help weight loss, and there have been lots of studies on it. Stress throws your hormones/adrenals and metabolism out of balance, so making time to relax daily helps accelerate weight loss.

Went on vacation with the family! Had a blast, tried to be sensible with the calories, but still splurged. Time to get back on track!

I make it up as i go along.im ready to cry I'm at 135 today but yesterday I was 132 but I did have hibachi for dinner.not sure what I'm doing wrong.I need to figure it out and soon I have an event coming up in November and I wanna be 125.Im doing 3 days with trainer plus one day at gym.Im really trying to eat nothing but chicken and veggies.

Originally Posted by chubbysmall:
That sounds like a wonderful moment to experience! :hug:

As for the yoga...
I have heard of it and seen it, but never tried it myself. I actually show the Frontiers "Worried sick" video routinely at work and it has a feature on Kundalini Yoga, meditation and the Relaxation response.

Actually meditation and yoga, or any mindfulness based practice DOES help weight loss, and there have been lots of studies on it. Stress throws your hormones/adrenals and metabolism out of balance, so making time to relax daily helps accelerate weight loss.

Thanks! :)

I tried to kick my sugar addiction in the past but it wasn't until I started meditating daily that I found the grit inside myself to shake it off permanently. I definitely agree that meditation helps with weight loss, neurosis and addiction. It's powerful. One of the many reasons why I'm training to be a yoga & meditation teacher! :D

Originally Posted by Raisin5Cookies:
I tried to kick my sugar addiction in the past but it wasn't until I started meditating daily that I found the grit inside myself to shake it off permanently.

So interesting! I have never been very good at meditating - too much monkey mind! - but I want to get back into *trying* to make it a regular practice. There are just so many benefits.

I am still pretty off track. I think I have lingering fatigue from being sick and I haven't gone grocery shopping, planned any meals or figured out how to get to the gym or even go on a walk. It's exhausting just thinking about it.

Yesterday was a disaster. Dusting myself off. Hopefully I can get things back on track today :crossed:

Monkey mind is so true! What I love about Kundalini meditation is that it involves mudras and mantras so it keeps my monkey mind busy! :)

Originally Posted by Raisin5Cookies:
Monkey mind is so true! What I love about Kundalini meditation is that it involves mudras and mantras so it keeps my monkey mind busy! :)

I like to meditate daily, but haven't been as consistent as I would like to be lately. My style is breathe in, one, breathe out, two, breathe in, three, breathe out, four, up to ten, then start again. It's supposed to keep monkey mind at bay, but I often don't make it to "two" before I'm distracted, lol. :D

Another former sugar addict here as well! :wave: What helped me was a change in psych meds from SSRI to SNRI. Cut my cravings to a fraction of what they were in a matter of days, but obviously not something that can be recommended to others. :P I think there was something massively wrong with my brain when it comes to pleasure - not only did my cravings abate, but exercise makes me feel good most of the time. I guess it's a dopamine thing, that was messed up before?

Losing has become so hard for me! Before I could easily lose 8 pounds a month, or 6, but now I'm fighting every pound tooth and nail. On the plus side, every lost pound shows too. :) But heck, I'm only 8 measly pounds away from being in healthy weight - and about 12 from my former "skinny weight" - and I'm getting so inpatient! Was losing hope already but thanks to you chatters I'm thinking it's possible again. :)

Originally Posted by pigeon:
Another former sugar addict here as well! :wave: What helped me was a change in psych meds from SSRI to SNRI. Cut my cravings to a fraction of what they were in a matter of days, but obviously not something that can be recommended to others. :P I think there was something massively wrong with my brain when it comes to pleasure - not only did my cravings abate, but exercise makes me feel good most of the time. I guess it's a dopamine thing, that was messed up before?

Losing has become so hard for me! Before I could easily lose 8 pounds a month, or 6, but now I'm fighting every pound tooth and nail. On the plus side, every lost pound shows too. :) But heck, I'm only 8 measly pounds away from being in healthy weight - and about 12 from my former "skinny weight" - and I'm getting so inpatient! Was losing hope already but thanks to you chatters I'm thinking it's possible again. :)

Seems my pounds are not coming off without a lot of kicking and screaming. They actually seem to be going up a little, whereas before it was more consistently the other way. It's because I'm not willing to eat as little as I used to. I'm trying to eat earlier so I'll have a better weigh in the next day, at least, but that only works if the calories out are more than the calories in. :D

Originally Posted by HungerWerks:
Seems my pounds are not coming off without a lot of kicking and screaming. They actually seem to be going up a little, whereas before it was more consistently the other way. It's because I'm not willing to eat as little as I used to. I'm trying to eat earlier so I'll have a better weigh in the next day, at least, but that only works if the calories out are more than the calories in. :D

Yeah, calories in, calories out, can't really get around that. :P

So, I guess it doesn't officially "count" yet, but I bought some size 12 jeans from a charity shop yesterday and I can button them up! Haha. Muffin top ahoy, unfortunately, so they are not wearable out of doors yet, but STILL. This is exciting news. I've been in size 12 tops for a few weeks now, so it's fun to be inching towards the same size on the bottom half.

Went to a christening today and managed to stay on-plan during the party. There was only fresh fruit & veggie sticks that were available for me to eat, pretty much, but I did have some coleslaw and the innards of a slice of quiche and actually got full faster than I expected. Back to normalcy (and food of my own choosing) tomorrow!

That's so cool Raisin! :carrot: It feels so amazing to be down a size. Really makes the loss a concrete thing.