Chunkah, congrats! That is awesome!

LGW, yay for 5 lbs., nice going!

Congrats, ange, on holding to the new low, and good for you to try not to go too far on this. It's such a thrill to see the weight come off, it's kind of addictive. I went down to 113 initially but it wasn't a good weight for me - 120 looks a lot better, or so everyone told me. Old and scraggy here too.

Riestrella, I think it's smart to not pay too close attention to daily weights (though I do weigh every morning) but keep track of the averages - that is what really counts. During my main big loss, I drew up a graph to watch the progress and that was really helpful to see the overall downward trend, despite frequent little rises. Over the first 52 weeks, it turned out I averaged a loss of 1 lb per week, though in actuality the numbers were not that consistent at all.

I hope your painting by numbers comes today - is it actual paint or one of the diamond ones? I keep seeing ads for those and they look really neat.

A head torch is a great idea, I really could use one. My sweet husband brings out a big light from his shop, but walking around the yard, I have the flashlight on my phone to keep (hopefully) from running into random tools and stepping in the foxholes the dogs like to dig. I will seriously look into a lighted hat!

All of you with your hefty exercising are making me feel really lazy and guilty!

Only 6 days left in this month, let's finish off strong! Here's to those tricky scales behaving!

My goal this month is to weigh in at 132 by the end of the month, 4 lbs loss

July 1st: 136
July 9th: 135
July 19th: 133
July 23rd: 132
July 26th: 132

I'm holding at my month's goal, though a day and a half ago, the scale said 130 - I don't know why or how. I don't really "count" a new weight until I've seen it come up two or three days in a row anyway. But my sleep schedule has gone seriously wonky and this is messing up my eating schedule. Rie, I do pay close attention to what food currently irritates my stomach but it's just not been consistent. This is forcing me into intuitive eating mode, something that interests me anyway. If I really tune in, I can head things off before it's truly bad. Some days are fine and anything goes!


Ignore the ticker, it's not been updated - but I'm catching up!

Oh my goodness, what a busy couple of weeks. I used my daughter’s time at camp to reconnect with friends and I realized I have been doing a terrible job of maintaining a work-life balance. I’ve been doing much more socializing, but food and drink seem to go hand-in-hand with my socializing. Took an extended weekend vacation to Santa Cruz and drank more than usual and had eggs benedict and potatoes (the whole thing) at one of my favorite brunch spots. I was ok going into Sunday, hovering around 158 (+/-). Sunday I consumed too many liquid calories, but we did some serious walking (and dragging coolers and wagons through the sand) as well. Monday was brunch day, plus a day of walking at the Boardwalk. Overall it wasn’t horrible, but 3 days at the beach in the hot sun plus drinking equaled a gain. The scale indicates I’m dropping back to where I was, but this week might be the first gain I have to report since starting this journey in April. Note to self – let’s not do that again for a while.

Although I haven’t been posting, I’ve been reading – personals tomorrow!

14: 159
15: 157.8
16: 159.0
17: 159.8
18: 159.8
19: 159.0
20: 157.8
21: 157.8
22: 157.4
23: DNW
24: DNW
25: 160.4
26: 159.0

Hello, I’m new to the site and I’m new to starting the South Beach Diet again (3rd time since 2006). I started phase 1 on 7/14/18. I have lost 8 lbs so far. I started at 174 and down to 166. I don’t have an exact # I want to at, just want to fit in my size 10-12 clothes comfortably.

Rie - I've got a new project idea for you, if yours doesn't show today

Painting project

Way to go, Chunkahlunkah!

ange82much: maintain <119
boatingmommy: 8 lbs
Cattails: 4 lbs
Chunkahlunkah: 2.5 lbs
Frustrated2: 4 lbs
gardenerjoy: 2.4 kgs
Jeanex: 9 lbs
JenyReddy: 6 lbs
Lacerta: 7 lbs
LGW: 8 lbs
momtopands: 8 lbs
nicoley73: 6 lbs
opheliaphoenix: 5.6 lbs
PERUNNING: 10 lbs
Rainbow123: 4 lbs
Riestrella: 2 lbs
SnowMama: 8 lbs
Stefania: 8 lbs
Tesni: 6 lbs
TooManyDimples: 10 lbs
VickieLou: 10 lbs

gardenerjoy: you should turn Cattails, Riestrella, and boatingmommy red also. Sorry if I left someone out, but I know those three reached goal.

Jenreddy: you are making good progress now. That's almost 4 pounds down in 4 weeks. 1 pound a week is a good pace. Sometimes it just comes all at once for the month. I've found I tend to lose nothing for the first 10 days of the month and then whoosh for the last 20 days, even if my behavior is the same throughout.

Sunshine: Welcome and good luck to you. Great progress so far


Week Four
22: 234.4
23: 233.6
24: 235.4
25: 233.8
26: 234.2
27: 233.2
28:
----------------------------
Total Loss for Week Four:

So close to goal, but not quite yet. Tomorrow maybe. We'll see. But nonetheless, it was a new low today, which is always nice to see. Given my pattern this week, I will very likely be up tomorrow, but there are 4 more days this month, so I still have hope of beating my goal. I'd really like to see 232.4, so I could move my avatar to a 35 pound one, but I'll get there soon, even if it isn't until into August.

It was another good day. Got out last night and went for a walk with hubby again. I'm definitely not ready for 2x a day for a while, but I am enjoying getting out of the house to walk again each day. My ankle gets tired by the last 1/4 mile or so, but it doesn't hurt, just tired.

I'm not really that close to a new decade just yet, but I've started daydreaming about being in the 220s. I don't know why, but for some reason for me, the 220s are much less scary. Like I reach a point where I can say "I can do this" a lot easier than at higher weights. Honestly, possibly even more than the 210s or 200s. That sounds weird, I know, but hopefully being in the 220s this summer gives me extra motivation to really keep the momentum going.

Bad day yesterday! Disappointed in myself really. I ate a LOT of bread, almost a whole baguette's worth Just had one of those craving days and succumbed to it instead of resisting. I also had one extra snack/meal and it showed this morning! I saw 185.6 lbs on the scale. It upped my average to 184.6 lbs, so just a 0.2 lb gain, so I'm gonna do my best to be good today. It'll be hard, since I'm getting together with my friends tonight and that usually means snacking/drinking. I also have a workout to do today, so I hope that offsets any extra calories I might consume. However weighing again has definitely centered me and made me realize that when I have a bad day I KNOW it's gonna affect my weight, so hopefully in time I'll learn to avoid those days altogether. The feeling of progress is so much better than the feeling of a setback.

My painting by numbers finally arrived!! I spent a good 3 hours on it last night and I forgot how challenging it is! Here's a link to my progress so far! I even looked up how to blend colors to make it look nicer but I think I'll wait until it's done and see what parts could use some blurring! The original design is very fantasy themed so I don't think it needs too much blending, like a landscape picture might need for example. Anyway, I'm rambling, have a great weekend!

Week Four
23: 184.8 lbs
24: 184.8 lbs
25: 183.8 lbs
26: 184.4 lbs
27: 185.6 lbs
28:
29:
----------------------------
Avg Weight for Week Three: 185.3 lbs
Avg Weight for Week Four: 184.6 lbs
Total Loss for Week Four: 0.7 lbs

Lacerta - Brilliant. What a great measure of unit! Good news on your ankle not giving you too much trouble. Be sure to keep up with icing if you're not already! As for July being all over the place, it could be something like stress, changing temperatures, sleep cycles etc.

Chunk - Congrats on meeting your goal! What do you mean by post-procedure skin healing?

Cattails - I just found the kit on Amazon, truth be told, I think someone just took an existing kit shoved it in a bag and sold it back - but I'll go with it! Paints seem to be ok, colors are ok, I can always touch up any dodgy looking colors with new paints. What are the Diamond ones? I don't have a TV so I don't see ads! Oh yeah, you should definitely invest in a little head lamp! That would free up your hands to garden away. Hey, gardening is hard work, it's like a workout in itself! Congrats on reaching your goal, I hope the scale behaves until the end of the month! I hope you can figure out the issues with your stomach soon

ange - Amazing story! Those poor "zebras"

Lacerta - I swear we post every day at the exact same time! Haha! It's great to have a goal, but no need to feel disappointed if you don't reach it since you've seen some great progress. Sometimes it just take a little longer Sounds like your ankle is getting used to being used again after being "babied" for a while - if it's just sore then that's your muscles building up their strength again vs. pain which is related to injury. It's great you're listening to your body. My friend was super in shape and very competitive during her college years, then recently after months of inactivity she pushed herself too far and injured herself quite badly. It's important to ease back into exercise and listen to those cues. It doesn't sound weird at all! For me it's the 150's. I feel like I spent so much time being disappointed with myself in the 160's that once I pass that decade I'm gonna feel like I can reach my goal. Right now, however, I'm gonna be stoked to be back in the 160's! Funny how that works out.

Sunshine318!

Well, for the first time in several months I have made my goal! I also made it into a new decade! Hoping I can keep it! Back to work tonight so i'll be planning my meals/snacks to take to end the week with a loss!

Week Four
22: 241.2
23: 243.2
24: 241
25: 240.3
26: 240.5
27: 239.4 GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
28:
----------------------------
End of Week Three: 240.5
Total Loss for Week Four:

Hi all!

momtopands - That's wonderful news!!

Rie - Ha, sorry, that probably sounded rly odd w/o the background info! I think I discussed that before you came back. In mid June, I got a laser treatment done on my cheeks to heal old acne scars that I had on the side of my face. My doctor said the healing process will continue after the procedure for at least 3 months and up to 6 months. So I don't want to eat at too great a deficit while that's going on. I've also been trying to get in more protein than my usual to help with that. I've not been so good on that front the past couple of weeks, though. Sorry about the bread day yesterday! Bread can be such an easy food to keep eating. Been there! I bet that painting will look gorgeous when you fill it with colors!

Lacerta - I'm happy for you that you've been able to get back to your walks already and that you're so close to the 220's!

gardenerjoy - Thanks!

Jeny - Yay, congrats on the drop!!

Hi Sunshine,

Good to see you, Snowmama. I'm glad you've had time to enjoy with your friends. That's so important.

Cattails - Thanks! And I hope things get better with your stomach. I went through a similar issue, and in my case it's one of the main reasons I gained weight. I normally eat a lot of fiber, and that keeps me really full. But then fiber turned on me, and I went to a diet of refined carbs. Hello, massive weight gain in 2 years. So I know how damaging and frustrating stomach issues can be. Best wishes for health your way!

ophelia: You are almost back to starting weight for the month, way to go. Whether or not you get back to your low for the month in the next 3 days, the important thing is that you WILL get there, and fly past it. In my opinion, if you got to have a fun vacation and didn't gain for the month, that is a win.

momtopands: on making goal, great month, and you still have a few bonus days to lose even more. And congrats on the new decade

Riestrella: Yes, I'm figuring "a little sore, but ok the next day" is an appropriate amount of pushing. That's why I'm not doing 2x a day yet, as I don't think that would give it enough recovery time. Sorry about the Attack of the Bread Monster. They say "nothing tastes as good as being thin feels", but when it comes to bread, I'm not sure I always agree. But the important thing is that you recognize that it happened, and try not to let it happen too often. Once in a while is not the end of the world though. For example, I know when I have dinner at mom's house, I am always going to eat too much, as she is such a good cook, but I try to only have seconds of the healthier parts. Like this last time, I had seconds of asparagus and fruit salad. Also, I know I"m going to go over on calories, so I adjust for it, recognize it and try to have an extra good week after it happens to make up for it (and before it happens if I know ahead of time)

Week Four
22: 234.4
23: 233.6
24: 235.4
25: 233.8
26: 234.2
27: 233.2
28: 233.2
----------------------------
Total Loss for Week Four: 2.2

Still didn't quite reach my goal, but at least I broke the up and down cycle and wasn't back up today. I was quite happy when I stepped on the scale and saw I was the same as yesterday. I'll take that. I'm confident I will make my goal by month's end.

Did much better yesterday and managed to lose 0.4 lbs this morning thanks to being mindful. I made sure not to eat too much in the day because I knew I was going to be having an unhealthy dinner at my friends house. She made biscuits and gravy...which were not that good! I love her but she's not a great cook On the flip side because of that I didn't need to go back for seconds, huzzah! While I'm kinda disappointed to be seeing 185's again I have to remind myself that a) my average is still in the 184's which is what I wanted and b) my period is 4 days away so that's probably messing with my weight a little. My average did go up 0.1 to 184.7 lbs, so hopefully tomorrow's weigh in will keep it in the 184 lbs range!! Just gotta be good tonight and keep on chugging water!

I did my Tabata Power workout yesterday and I managed to push myself to "max out" later in the video. I do enjoy the format of writing down when you need to take a break, it allows me to push myself harder the next time I do the video. Those push ups though...I suck at them. My chest is weak, my wrists are weak, there's a spot in my right forearm that feels like it's tugging/tearing whenever I hold myself up... bad times! I just have a hard time aligning my hands to be underneath my shoulders, because again my chest is sooo underdeveloped, so whenever I place my hands a little further forward that's when I get all sorts of pain. I think my chest is getting stronger though, slowly but surely.

Today I'm gonna paint some more and then watch the Overwatch League finals with a friend. Anyone a gamer/play Overwatch? It's addictive!

Week Four
23: 184.8 lbs
24: 184.8 lbs
25: 183.8 lbs
26: 184.4 lbs
27: 185.6 lbs
28: 185.2 lbs
29:
----------------------------
Avg Weight for Week Three: 185.3 lbs
Avg Weight for Week Four: 184.7 lbs
Total Loss for Week Four: 0.6 lbs



Chunk - Ahhh I see I see! I think my friend was saying she was drinking tonnes of vegetable juices after she got a nose job to help with the scarring? And pineapple reduces inflammation apparently? I know it's not quite the same as laser surgery, but you never know, there could be some foods that'll help your skin while you heal!

Ophelia - Can't wait to hear what you think! I do the modifier track and even then I'm sweating by the time 30 minutes is up. I hope my painting will look good too! I'm having fun seeing it slowly fill out. Well done on avoiding Snacknarok! You're doing SO well in losing your vacation weight. Stay strong and you'll be back to your previous low in no time!

Lacerta - Bread is life, it is fact! Yeah, I think that's the thing with weight loss, it's just knowing that sometimes you're not gonna be on plan and to adjust your day accordingly.

Remained the same weight today which I'm ok with! I had a bit of a bad day with food: Oatmeal for breakfast, a granola bar snack, boat noodles from a Thai restaurant and a PB sandwich. The bad part was the noodles, which were great, but it was basically a ramen-type dish so it was extremely greasy, oily and salty. I knew that it would throw off my weight so I tried not to eat for the rest of the day and drank a lot of water, only around 8pm I got super hungry (I ate the noodles at 2pm) so I had that sandwich. Not the best thing I could've eaten, but I was at a friends house so I didn't have much choice.

That's the end of week four! I measure the week from Monday - Sunday, so that's why my weeks are a little different. I think my average weight for my "Final Days" will be a little high because my period is approaching and as usual I'm fighting off the weekend temptations, but I'm hoping August will be good. Overall my July loss so far is 2.6 lbs, which I've exceeded my goal by 0.6 lbs, so I'm happy! Now that I'm working out again, I think I'll up my goal for August to 3 lbs.

In other news, I entered a 5K! I'm not sure if I mentioned it in the thread before?! But I'm really excited! I invited my friends to join me and they were game, so 5 of us are going to do the race together! It's a Halloween themed one so we get this medal, it's so cool!

Week Four
23: 184.8 lbs
24: 184.8 lbs
25: 183.8 lbs
26: 184.4 lbs
27: 185.6 lbs
28: 185.2 lbs
29: 185.2 lbs
----------------------------
Avg Weight for Week Four: 184.8 lbs
Total Loss for Week Four: 0.5 lbs
Total Loss for July: 2.6 lbs

Riestrella: Pushups are terrible. I'm still doing extremely elevated pushups, off my couch. Best I can do so far. Part of that is that I'm weak, but part is the weight also. Much harder to push up 232 pounds than it would be if i was a healthy weight. So I'm hoping that by working at it and weight loss, at some point, my weight will come down as my strength comes up, and I will be able to finally do normal ground pushups. Also, good luck on your 5k. I've done a few of them before, but I always just walked. I think I jogged like 5 or 10 minutes of one years ago, but that's it. One of these days, once my ankle is fully healed and I'm another 10 pounds lighter, I'm going to start integrating running into my walks, and might run a 5k one day.

Bonus days
29: 232.4 (GOAL!!)
30:
31:
----------------------------
Total Loss for Bonus days:
Total loss for Entire Month:

YAY! Besides meeting goal, I reached 35 pounds down, so I'm going off to change my little birdie avatar.