[getncontrol]

Gonnaloseit~~So sorry for you loss. {{{HUGS}}}

2frus~~YAY for you! What a powerful little salad. lol It's amazing how one choice affects many.

Originally Posted by lucky

I'm starting to realize that losing weight for health reasons is much easier than for pure vanity

You got that right! I've been realizing that as well.

I had a bang on day yesterday. It was such a great feeling going to bed knowing that I stayed right on track. I've re-done my calories and am starting to calorie cycle, I'm also getting rid of my free day. I still have one day though where my calories are quite a bit higher than the rest of the week. Have a great day ladies!

Gaylyn

[lucky]

Way to go 2frus! I agree with Daisimae - it is all about perspective!

Gaylyn, I've been cycling calories for quite a while now and I love it. It isn't because of the high calorie days either. I just find that I have a lot more flexibility in my planning and eating. I mean, sometimes I feeling I'm forcing down that 1500th calorie and sometimes I feel like I could eat a horse. It has been much easier to stay within a reasonable plan being able to work around the various types of days and events that I have.

This past winter my sister cleaned out her closet and gave me a lot of spring/summer clothes that were too big for her. I tried them on and, to my delight, they all fit. Then I packed them away. Well, last night I put away my cold weather clothes and pulled out all my spring and summer stuff. I'd forgotten about the things she'd given me. As soon as I saw them I was in a panic. I was scared they wouldn't fit now - but they did. Whew! But it did get me thinking about how much my attitude has changed over the past several months. When I first tried these clothes on I had just gotten into a size 8 and was well on my way to a 6. It was so much fun trying them all on. Last night was different though. I was glad they fit but it was more a relief that they did rather than excitement. That was a red flag for sure. The good news is that once I got everything in my closet I started to get that excited feeling back. I love spring and summer. I'm not going to blame the winter for my not being in a size 6 yet but spring and summer clothes are much more motivating than bulky sweaters. Not only did I hit the gym but the whole family went jogging when I got home. I've already been jogging this morning and I'll be heading to a step class in a couple of hours. Gosh, I love it when everything comes together and I feel this good. Now, if I could only find a way to bottle the feeling...

[srmb60]

The cosmos must be aligned just right! I feel good and powerful today too!
I haven't tried on any summer clothing yet. I did dream about a bikini last night.

[daisimae]

2Frus and Gaylyn: What exactly is cycling and how do you determine what you need? What system do you use to keep track?

[2frustrated]

Personally I use fitday and make sure my "weekly average" stays approximately 1800. But to achieve that I might have one day at 1500, then another at 2300, then 1800, then 1700... you get the picture? I've fairly much determined what I need by trial and error! I know 1600 is too low, I end up bingeing and I've tried to even things out over the week (my high days aren't as high as they used to be and my low days aren't as low...) which seems to have brought the overall average down. However, there's still a good 800kcals between high and low days!

I'm feeling good too (still!) I haven't been out for my lunch run - I was ringing bridal shops I've found a really GOOD one that I think will suit me... It's very city chic! I'm going to try it on Friday - I will get them to take pictures! Only problem is I might get a bit hot - it's 3/4 sleeves and looks like heavy material - oh and it's £1000 I might split the cost with mum, I really want to be able to pay for it myself though...

I usually have a good half hour/45 minutes to wait before kickboxing tonight, so I am going to go for a jog for a PROPER warm up - my back is a bit twingey so I think I need more than just a few jogs on the spot!

About the cosmos... As soon as the clocks changed I felt a click! I've got so much more energy now I'm waking up with the sun and it's still sunny as I ride home/to kickboxing The weather here is quite good too - the definitely makes a difference!

[lucky]

I'm with you on the time change and nice weather, 2frus. It has made all the difference in the world for me!

[getncontrol]

daisimae~~Calorie cycling is eating a different amount of calories each day to keep the body guessing. To figure it out I took my weight 150 and multiplied it by 11 to get the amount of calories I need to maintain my weight. The more active you are the more you need to multiply your weight by. I like to be conservitive in my esitmates. So, 150 * 11 = 1650 cals a day to maintain. I then multiply 1650 * 7 to get 11550(the number of calories I need a week to maintain.) I then subtract 3500 cals to get 8050 which is the amount of calories I need to consume a week if I want to lose 1 lb a week. I then took the 8050 and broke it down into 7 days of varying calories. Hopefully this is the kick in the pants that my body needs to get rid of these last 10 lbs.

Anybody else feel free to kick in their version of calorie cycling because mine is a work in progress.

I agree with the time change theory!!!! Feeling great!

Gaylyn

[daisimae]

Thanks guys...I guess that what I am doing with my WW points is a form of cycling. I use a low limit of about 18 points a day but have a bunch of "flex points" that I use when I want to treat myself. I usually use most of them on the weekend, hence 2 high cal days.

I like the concept and I am going to take a closer look at the details though. It seems very interesting.

[2frustrated]

I'm UP 3lbs! I'm dehydrated though, so I presume that's why! We are out of squash (kool-aid?) at home so I didn't drink anything when I got home after kickboxing.

My back is being a PITA - but I still ran for about 15-20 minutes yesterday, just before kickboxing, then did the class. It's not feeling too bad this morning but I'm sure I'll do something to wreck that!

Had a slightly high calorie day yesterday - 1995 I was aiming for 1600-1700, but when I got home I talked myself into having a BfL apple crumble! I thought it would satisfy me today - I'm always hungry the day after kickboxing! We shall see what happens!

[getncontrol]

2frus~~I'm sure those 3lbs are just water retention from lack of fluid. Hopefully today was a good day.

Today was the third day in a row that I've been right on track. It feels so good to be eating properly again. I had been allowing way too many treats.

[2frustrated]

I'm a sick frus

That BfL apple crumble did the trick - I didn't want to chew my arm off! But then I lost my appetite at about 2pm! I still came home and ate some chocolate though!

Scales are being more sensible now! We have squash in the kitchen, since we got our groceries delivered last night, we have 24L of squash to dilute! We won't be going thirsty any time soon! The fridge and freezer are bursting with good stuff to eat, although I forgot to buy spread and brown rice... I'm sure we'll cope!

Off back to bed. I'm sore.

[daisimae]

Happy Day....I went to WW Meeting last night and was hoping to have lost a lb or 2. To my utter amazement I lost 3! That put me in the frame of mind to tackle the coming week. I know that 3 lbs is a lot for one week and don't expect to lose 3 lbs every week, but it was a great start!

I've been giving some more though to this cycling concept and am going to use it to tweak my WW program. Thanks Ladies for your input...I learned something new this week!

[srmb60]

3 lbs is awesomely encouraging! Good work!
Poor jenfrus ... remember, ibuprophen is your friend
I just got a call that I'd won $300 certificate at a really nice butcher shop. $300 of free protein! Yes!
We aren't much for buying raffle tickets and so on but this is a big deal around here. There are earlybird prizes almost all year and then in July there's a dinner and dance and more prizes and you can win either a BIG tractor or a pick-up truck. Rural? yup!

[2frustrated]

WOOO! FREE MEAT! Great!

Still feeling pants - just fitdaying my gingerbread man and marmite on toast! Hope I'm better for wedding dresses tomorrow

Well done daisimae on 3lbs!

[getncontrol]

Congrats Daisimae!! You got to love those weeks!

whoohoo Free meat!!! Yay Susan!

I'm feeling so good I even did an extra session on the stair climber last night. What's happening to me???? lol