ange82 - Yes, I'll definitely let you guys know how it goes.

More than the tedium, I just don't like the subtle but significant shift it creates in my relationship with food. I strongly prefer eating intuitively, but I personally can't do that as well when I'm counting bc I focus more on numbers. I've been stalled so long bc of adherence problems (one day a week when I eat well over maintenance) and lack of activity. The thing is, I know I'm overeating on the day I do regardless of whether I'm tracking the calories. What I need to do is stop eating so much that day, and I don't need to count calories to do that. I also know that I need to be more active. I have a pretty good sense for how much I need to eat day-to-day to lose, so tracking seems superfluous for me and like a side stress that's distracting my energy from other things. I'll still measure potential calorie bombs (like oils) to make sure I'm not grabbing too much, but I'm going to try to silent the calorie counter in my head for a while and see how things go. I think this will be easier for me in that it will feel more like my natural self. I think what's easiest though will vary by person and even vary at different times in a person's life. For most of my life, my weight's held steady in the range that I'm working to get back to. I gained this weight from extreme inactivity (brought about by a change in lifestyle and anemia) and eating more calories than my norm (brought about by a major change in my diet due to IBS). I'll see how it goes though! I'm totally open to returning to calorie counting, but I need this reset to feel more like myself.

nicoley - I think you're right that it all gets tedious after a while! I hope it'll help me to mix things up.

Welcome fit150 and congrats on your decision to commit to weight loss!

kfunk - Sounds like the zucchini could be the culprit. I hope it was just a blip and you find that experience doesn't repeat itself. IBS...It can cause a lot of pain even w/o bowel issues and, for me, foods that had never in my life bothered me, started to. I can't even express how happy I am that that's over for me! Anyway, I hope veg plays nice for you and doesn't do that again. Thank you for the popcorn suggestion! I do like it, and haven't eaten it in a long time. Congrats on the trifecta yesterday and even a lazy 30DS is an achievement; she's tough!

still 56.2kg this morning..... actually i'm sounding more grumpy than I am, because to be honest i'm excited to see 56.x on the scale every day, but it's just weird that I've been humming along nicely since January and the second that I hit my original target of 56 (which is middle-of-normal BMI for me )then I get this weird stall thing.

I'm not doing anything differently (other than two nights with 3x glasses of wine at the weekend, which shouldn't throw me this much) I've even attached my graph to illustrate what's happening now isn't what's happened before! All I want is to be in the orange box, but the scales are refusing to go there like a horse in front of a fence!! I wonder whether mentally I think i'm there and therefore the body isn't going to change any more (although i'm sure that mental attitude can't change this can it?) Or maybe because I've got that court case thing done at work and i'm not stressed about it any more?


Anyway, whatever, everyone else has plateaus and they just get on with life so I seriously need to stop whinging!

Lunkah- I can really relate to what you posted about calorie counting shifting your relationship with food. Even more than weight loss I am hoping that at some point I can have a “normal” relationship with food. I get stuck in a binge/starve type of cycle that is hard to break out of. Lately things have been good, but I know it can change in the blink of an eye. I can’t figure out what my trigger was that led me down this road but I do know that all the yo-yo dieting over the past 15 years didn’t help.
Is your overeating day when you are social, or will it happen regardless of whether you have plans that week? I like your idea of still measuring oils and other calorie bombs. Do you take an iron supplement for your anemia, or have you managed it with different measures? That is good to know about IBS, I assumed that you needed both symptoms. I am going to incorporate probiotics and beano like you suggested to see if that helps! My husband has developed food allergies to many different fruits and vegetables later in life. He said it started with the bad stomach pain and then graduated to an itchy throat and other allergy symptoms. I really hope that is not the case. I truly love veggies now and I will be P*ssed if I can’t have them!!

Ophelia- I think aiming for somewhere in the middle is a great goal for you! I think my range is 110-143, so I chose the very high end of normal to start, but I don’t know why! Do you think that all of your walking and exercise is helping your legs look firmer? We have the same body type so I am really curious! I laughed out loud at your “mom bod” comment because just the other day I was thinking that about my own haha!!

Ange- I think that we all start to second guess things when the scale stays stagnant. For me, if I keep on chugging the scale will FINALLY move. Then I relax and feel silly that I was worried, but when it happens again I go right back to worrying hahah! I have never in my life seen a graph that had a downward trajectory like that, holy smokes!! I should plot mine out sometime to see, but LOTS of up down, up downs would be visible. You are not whining at all, this is a part of the journey and we are all here to support eachother!!

Yesterday wasn’t as good as I was planning. I ended up working late last night and did not work out. I was pretty sore anyways, but tonight I will get back to it no matter what. I didn’t quite hit a gallon of water, but drank more than 80 oz and I stayed on track with my weight watcher points.

Nicoley and Fit-- Hiii!! I hope you are doing well!!

So at the end of the day yesterday, my inner calorie counter couldn't help but do a quick ballpark estimate of what I ate that day. I'm ok with that, helps me know that I'm not heading off track.


ophelia - Yes, for me, IE is the only way I could eat long-term and still feel like myself. I'll probably periodically return to calorie counting, but it's just not for me for extended periods of time. Congrats on your recent dragonfly, btw!

ange - I'm sorry the scale is stalling. You're at a great weight though! Congrats on your loss this year; you rocked it! It might just be a matter of time for any more weight to come off, since you're already at an ideal weight.

kfunk - Yes, the shift in how I was relating to food disturbed me a little. Not that it was anything extreme, but I started to see food more as calories rather than as primarily food. I hope so much that you achieve your goal for a change in your relationship with food. I think dieting in itself can alter that natural relationship (depending on the diet). My overeating day is almost always a night/day when I'm socializing. It's usually Saturday night after work or Sunday. I did once overeat on a Saturday night when I wasn't socializing, but I think that's bc at that point I'd already conditioned myself for Saturday night to be an evening of carelessly eating high calorie food. I don't usually overeat by that much on that day. I'm usually 4/500 calories over my sedentary maintenance (so around 1900/2000). A couple times I was close to 2,500 though. I think part of what's going on is that when I expend energy tracking calories during the week, I feel I need a fun, carefree break from it on the weekend. It's like the more energy I use tracking during the week, the more careless I want to be that night, if that makes sense. It's weird bc I'm totally ok with eating low calories during the week; I just appear to hate tracking it! So that's one reason I'm stopping counting, since I suspect it's become counterproductive for me. Thanks again for the popcorn reminder - I'm going to have that on hand for Saturday so that I can only do so much damage that night! Yes, I take an iron supplement for anemia. Regarding veg, it may have just been a one-off for you. I really hope that's all it was. Trust me, I understand how frustrating it is when veg turns against us! I'm sorry your husband is going through that.

Haha, i know! I've dieted a few times in the past, and it's never looked like that before either - the most impressive bit is the 2.5week holiday in Europe with no weighing, after which I got back home and was straight back on the trendline!! That's totally weird really. Guess the difference this time is that I've been completely consistent, and not gone off track on weekends or anything, whereas previously I've not been as strict for as long, or I've eaten more carbs. Less exercise this time too - not sure if that would give ups and downs?? Anyway, i'll take it because the constant progress has kept me motivated. Beginning to have a lot more sympathy for people with stalls though.

thanks Chunks
How was your IE today? Do you think you'll change the frequency of eating with this approach? Or do you just end up eating in pretty much the same way as before, but not stressing about the numbers?

Lunkah- thank you! I agree with you that dieting can alter the relationship. I do hope to see food as fuel in the future. I try to tell myself that not everything I eat has to be delicious and that seems to help. It sounds like you have a plan in place for when you do socialize so that is good. I think you are going to be able to maintain with absolutely no problems and that feels good, right?!? I am due for a physical and will have them do a blood draw, I suspect that I might be borderline anemic. Thank you, I hope you are right too; it happened 2 times in the past month and both times it was the exact same meal that did it. It just seems so cruel, I finally enjoy veggies and now I have to work around my body so that I am not in pain after eating them!

Ange- I bet that your consistency with no “cheat” days played a part for sure. I can’t count the number of off days I have had since starting 18 months ago. I am still very pleased at where I am at but I do think it would have happened faster had I reined it in a bit.

Yesterday I hit my gallon of water goal and also completed the 30 Day Shred, this time at a much more intense pace! I did go over in my WW points, but I had plenty of extra weekly points, so no worry there!

I'm back down to my month's low after being up for over a week. I hope this downward trajectory continues and does so more smoothly. I think it will, so long as I lay off my weekend banquets.

ange - IE is going well. Feels like taking off fancy attire and just being myself. I'll likely eat pretty much the same as before (with an effort to eat less on my party nights).

kfunk - I'm actually really into food as pleasurable nutrition, so I like for most foods I eat to be delicious. But fortunately I find produce delicious, so that helps. Looks like you do, too? I saw you mentioning fresh fruit in some thread recently, and I think that's another item I'll pick up for Saturday night. Yes, maintenance should go well. I'm great at maintenance but not as good at losing. If you find that you are anemic and your dr recommends an iron supplement, I highly rec ferrous gluconate. There are different types of iron supplements, but that's the one the body absorbs best. You'd think most doctors would know that, but unless they have a special interest in anemia, many don't. Oh no @ the two times veggie hit. I hope it was just the zucchini, better if it's just one culprit. Did you have a large serving of the assortment? For many people with these problems, a small serving of the same food(s) won't trigger a reaction. I prefer to eat very large portions of veg, but with some veg I have to stick to 1 serving or less or they still make me sick. I completely understand what you mean about the cruelty! Great job rocking 30DS, btw!

Lunkah- Yes, I love lots of produce now! Before I think I liked it, but I generally avoided it because I was filling up on junky food instead. I LOVE grilled asparagus with a little olive oil and salt and pepper, I will definitely make sure to eat that over the long weekend!! I love most fruit as well. My favorites are pineapple, grapes, bananas, berries, and melons. One of my absolute favorite treats are frozen green grapes, omg.. to die for!! Now that you mention it, I did have a big bowl of the veggies each time. That gives me hope that if I eat less of the foods that bother me it might not happen! Thank you for the iron recommendation, I will make sure that is what I get prescribed (or pick up) if I indeed need it. Thank you about the 30 DS!! I skipped last night because our schedule was chaotic and didn’t get the kids home and in bed until 9 (we usually shoot for the 7pm hour for bedtimes). And most importantly… CONGRATS on getting back down to your low weight!!!! I hope that the scale continues to reward your efforts!!!

Yesterday was not the best day, but I made several positive decisions that I am thrilled with! I ended up going 11 points over so now I am down to 21 weekly points. I think they reset on Saturday so this shouldn't be an issue. I did make my water goal, but I did not work out.

Does anyone have any plans for Memorial weekend? We are going to a birthday party on Saturday, but other than that we will be able to make our own family plans for the other 2 days! We do have quite a bit of lawn care to do, but want to make sure we don't work all weekend!

kfunk - Thanks, it feels good to be back down. It'll feel even better when I hit a new low. Mmm, grilled asparagus, that's one of my favorites too! I just had some a few days ago, and it was outstanding. You know, I'm not sure if I ever tried frozen grapes. I'll have to give it a go. Well done on the positive decisions. Related to the holiday, I have a party to go to on Sunday afternoon. I hope it doesn't rain because if it doesn't it'll mostly be outdoors. The heat naturally suppresses my appetite, so is an effective party-eating hack for me.

Have a great weekend, everyone! I don't know if I'll be posting again before Saturday night, which is when I'll be "tested" not to overeat while socializing. My game plan is to have fresh fruit and popcorn on hand. (The get-together will be at my place.) Guests usually bring high cal foods, but I'll fill up on mine. If I really want some of what they bring, I'll just have a taste. So I say now. *sigh* Be strong, self!!!

^ Test went great!

And that's even with someone bringing pecan pie, which I LOVE. After first snacking on my own food for a while, however, my palate just didn't want that flavor. I did save a slice for myself to eat today or tomorrow though.

congrats on passing the food test Chunks! It's good to know that a big social event doesn't have to equal food disaster!

I've had a reconciliation with the scales, in which they have been persuaded to resume their role in reflecting my hardline expectations, lol. I'm back on trendline! 54.7kg.


It just occurred to me this morning, that when you start on Maintenance mode they suggest you up your cals a bit, see if the loss slows, up them a bit more etc, until you stop losing, which makes total sense. Trouble is, this is also a common message and the same advice for if you've been on low calories but have stalled in weight loss and you want to bump-start your metabolism to lose quickly again. So if I start to increase my cals, which way is it going to go?! I'll accept the challenge as an experiment (in a couple of weeks, when i'm definitely in the wiggle zone) and report back....

lunkah GREAT job last night, I bet that felt good!!! How did the party today go?? I am hoping that we will both hit new lows soon!

ange You are too funny about your relationship with your scale! I am really curious to see how it goes with finding a calorie level that doesn't cause you to keep losing. I can not wait to get to that point!! Let us know what you find out!! I know its still a couple weeks out, but have you put any thought into what types of foods you will be incorporating in order to increase your calories?

Yesterday we went to a bday party and I did pretty well! I filled my plate with salad and then there was another type of salad with a mustard base that had a bunch of veggies. I grazed on strawberries and had a couple little pickles and 1 chip. I didn't have any cake and I had a really good cobb salad for dinner later. I was up a bit on the scale this morning and I attribute that to all the sodium in the salad (store bought).

Today I had a really weird day food wise. I ended up eating at more of a maintenance level than weight loss level. I had eggs and coffee like normal for breakfast and then ate a lot of watermelon while I cut it up. I got a HORRIBLE stomach ache again, the same type that I got with the roasted veggies. For lunch I had some mini rice cakes, 2 graham crackers with peanut butter and a sliced, warmed apple with cinnamon, pecans, small amount of brown sugar and 1 crushed up graham cracker. Then I had a HUGE dinner. Lots of salad, some asparagus, and steak with blue cheese. I will not be surprised if I see a significant gain on the scale tomorrow!

of course! I'm thinking wine will fill the gap

Seriously though, i'm loving the veggies, and don't miss sugar or pasta/rice etc, so really i'd just like to be able to eat more of the same, maybe the occasional sandwich (haven't had bread either this year) but I was also serious about bringing back some alcohol as I do enjoy it at the weekend, and have gone largely without all year).

Hope you figure out what's giving you the stomach cramps. Sounds like you've had some good healthy food this weekend (even if yesterday had higher cals than you'd like). Sorry, hadn't seen this thread before I asked how your weekend went in the other thread!

I’d like to join. 20 pounds will get me into the “normal” range, which is an important goal.

SW 163.4
CW 163.4
GW 144