OhMyDogs: congrats on getting back on plan! I think it's the weather that's been making ppl feel off of everything. I wish you good luck on keeping to 1400 calories...you can do it!

Dorian5: I know your pain on the bf's not having a scale. When I first dated my bf, he didn't have a scale in his apartment for the same reason...then when we moved in together that was the first thing I told him we were buying! lol I catch him on it here and there checking. I know me not checking my weight often was a problem for me gaining back my weight. Good luck, and if your bf's employer took you out for dinner..then you can brush that one off...lol it's a free meal and you can't be rude


Fit4Lyfe: Congrats on making your goal! Thanks for the advice, I am adding veggies to all my meals, and I add more to my frozen meals cuz there is normally plenty of sauce. I'm sure i'll have more time comming up, i think it's the weather that's got me so tired, and I have a hour drive home with traffic so when I get home I just want to shut the world out! What do you consider to be normal for sodium count for frozen meals?


manders01: Amy's is available at my grocery store, so thanks for the tips and making the effort to search it! About your posts, from what I read, which I could be wrong, are you a binge eater? I only ask cuz of what I got from your posts, I was for the longest time and I joined the binge free challenges on here, great support group. It's good that you gave your self that free day and really got to see how your body reacted to it, now you can feel good about eating healthy. It's a daily process and just take it slow. I went through the same thing about a year ago, and I took a little break from logging, it was ok for a while because I was eating healthy and kept to a consistant routine...but the minute I noticed I was slipping..I didn't start logging and I should have. It got out of control and here I am today 24lbs heavier. So take a break if you feel like you have a good routine and if you notice your slipping, keep track for a week to see how things go, and if you need to tweak. Hope you feel better and keep fighting!

P H A T: I'm gald it's nice where you're at, it's rainny and crappy here and it's supposed to be opening day for us michiganders...I'm a Detroit Tigers fan so it's hard to enjoy the festivities when it's bad weather.




I'm about to leave work here in a few, enjoy my hour drive home and then figure out what i'm making for dinner. I was going to make fish and asparagus with veggies, but I will see about my leftovers too. I have my calories pre logged for the day in MFP and I have to tweak them a lil to be at my goal. It's hard to stay on track tonight, the bf is working late so it's just me for dinner and part of me wants to get some good carryout and vegg but I know that's not going to be healthy and I will regret it when I step on the scale tomorrow. So I will do my best to stay on track tonight and hopefully be rewarded by the "Scale Gods" tomorrow morning!

manders- I've been counting calories & logging exercise for almost 3 yrs. I'm getting darn sick of it too. I did stop for a few days a while back because my computer wasn't working. I estimated and stayed on plan, I gained weight from doing it that way. So I don't plan on stopping again!

I'm getting fed up with keeping track of everything that goes in my mouth! For the past week my weight has been fluctuating by 1-2lbs everyday. Up & down everyday is driving my nuts. It's like i don't know what to do anymore, I've been dieting & maintaining for 2yrs & 9 months. I still don't have this figured out, I've just about had enough. I was thinking that if I just stick to healthy eating, cause I do love everything I eat( don't miss fast food, frozen meals or anything unhealthy I used to eat), except some sweets, not all, that I will be ok. I still don't trust it even after all this time, the fear of gaining all the weight back won't let me stop counting calories. I'm so confused! My calories have been over limit everyday for 2 mo. straight, I can't get back to staying in my range. Maybe I'm getting lazy & weak, not having as much control as I used to, maybe not caring as much. Usually when that happens, weight gain happens too. I've done this 2 times before, when I get close to 2 yrs maintaining I blow it. I have to get my mental strength back! Today I went over my limit again, 1676( 276 over) Rode the bike for 23min. & I saw a 9oz. gain this morning. I'm slacking big time!

Sorry for the rant, had to get this off my chest.

Phat- Isn't it amazing how the weather can change your mood? I was so happy to see the sun last week!Today it was rainy all day and it made me a little grouchy....

Way to go Fit4Lyfe and Northern!

I got on the scale and it has not moved Oh well! I think I can still make my challenge goal if the scale moves again next week!

Manders (and others talking about needing a "break" from CC):
I know how you feel! Last summer I actually took about a 2 month break from CC. I have the summer off and am naturally more active and tend to eat lighter (all the yummy summer fruits, etc.) Anyway, I pretty much ate intuitively with some "spot checking" for cals here and there. Still did my weekly WI's to make sure I wasn't going too far off track. By the end of the summer I had lost about 10 lbs. Definitely a slower rate than what I had been losing at (remembring I started at 274 lbs that January and it comes off easier when you're that big), but it was really nice to know that I didn't HAVE to count caloires and I could still lose.

I'm thinking about doing it again this summer. I'm hoping to get to 174 (100 lbs lost) by the end of May, which would really set me up for a nice psychological break. I'd be happy with a modest loss by August, but even a maintenance break would be OK. On the other hand, I really do want to get to my final goal sooner than later....but it's a tradeoff I'm seriously considering.

Dorian: I'm glad I'm not the only one with weird TOM issues! (TMI WARNING)...This last cycle I had a few days of "pre" TOM....very, very light and thought it would come the next day, then it was another day, etc. Finally got the real thing and thought it would be over by about Wed night/Thursday morning, but it lingered (lightly) until Friday. Really long and drawn out for some reason? At least I seem to be getting it about every 4 weeks (like normal) lately. For several months I seemed to get it every 3 weeks. UGH!

Phat: It's finally nice up here today too! Definitely a boost to the spirit

GOD@MMNIT!!! I was doing so well and today I blew it. Big time. I ate over 2,000 calories today, including an ice cream sunday, BBQ chicken wings and a d@mn turkey sandwich I ate purely out of boredom...like WTF??!?!?! I am so mad at myself right now, this is why I am still overweight because I set myself up for failure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

UGH!!!

I just had to vent, big time. I am just upset I let myself pig out like that. I feel like...like a pig, really. I'm sorry if my swears offended anybody, I'm just upset at myself.

Fight harder next time. Everyone slips up every once in a while, I know I definitely do. You can do this if you really want to. Hang in there!

Fit4Lyfe: Its ok to vent that's what we are here for. Just pick yourself up and continue with a new day today I'm sending you hugs

Good Saturday Morning. Not as jubilant as last Saturday but feeling good. I only lost a 1/2 inch off my stomach area. Which made me feel good because it has been the most stubborn part of my body. I was hoping for a loss any where because my week wasn't stellar. So we have a new week approaching and we will get it done.
Ekicna - I agree with you. We all have times we fall off the wagon.
P H A T - Don't get angry with yourself or stay angry with yourself because it will get you discouraged and you'll quit. By my estimation I should have been at goal by now but I'm not even close. However, I'm closer than I was last year this time. There's a quote I used to hear when I first started...next year you'll be glad you started today...so start today doing your best and the results will come.
Norhtern - I think I didn't do the whole break thing right because my weight stayed the same. Not bad but not good because I'm farther away from goal. It could be that I wasn't eating the right food.
K15g15 - As long as the scale didn't move you aren't having to make up for a gain. So that is a victory as well.
Fruitlady - Get it off your chest and you won't reherse it all day. Makes it easier to move on.
JD - What's going on...Long time no see. What did you end up doing for dinner last night? Glad to hear life is good. The cool thing is once you get your rythum back you can get it done.
Dorian - My cycle is PSYCHO. I will have a light one for a few days, get a day off and then it cranks up with a vengence. Sometimes it's a light one for a few days and it's over. I never know what to expect. So I just ride it out. It was never regular (like onece or twice a year) until the year I got pregnant in 2007 after that it went mad.

Well now that I see how important it is for me to workout EVERYDAY and eat within my calories range EVERYDAY then I know what to do...so let's have a good week this week so we can get back to the losing streak.

jigglefree: HI! congrats on losing a 1/2 inch that's awesome! From what I see you've been doing amazing and i'm so proud of you . Things are going good in my life and the only negative thing is my weight. It's a sad price I had to pay but with how everything else is I can't complain, I just count my blessings. And thanks for the encouragement, I'm really trying to get back to how things were for my body and health wise.


So I did great last night! I came home and I baked salmon and asparagus, I used the Gorton's grilled salmon (in the freezer isle) and put it next to fresh asparagus (not frozen) and baked it, then I grilled in a pan, no butter or salt, fresh spinach and added to the Green Giant Healthy Vision veggies (microwave). There was enough sauce with the green giant veggies that I was able to add fresh spinach to it, and not eat all the sauce. All in all very healthy and easy for me to make. I was craving something sweet last night so I had a sugar-free fudge pop and that was it!

The "Scale Gods" rewarded me this morning...141.0! Still way above what I should be but a 2.4lb loss, 3.2lbs overall and 2lbs to meet my challenge goal. I'm going to do whatever I can to get back down.

today we have a very busy day, we are going to my sister's to help her hang up stuff around the house...her bf isn't as handy as mine so she asked us for help. then off shopping looking at some new bedding and maybe a food processor for smoothies and stuff! Then tonight we are having dinner with the bf's parents, which i'm a little nervous about because they may want pizza or somethign not healthy so i'll have to try my best to stay on track.

I hope everyone has a great day and I will check back in later!

Phat & Jiggle: I too feel your pain about not being at goal when I had hoped. My first 50 lbs came off so fast that I thought I would have lost the first 100 within the first year and I would be at goal this coming summer.

As I mentioned before, I chose to take a break last summer, so I knew I would not get to goal quite as fast. I got back OP in the fall, but after I hit onederland back in November, my weight loss has really slowed. 1lb/week is my new reality. I *knew* it would slow down as I got smaller, but for some reason I still pictured myself at goal (or at least in the healthy BMI range) by
this summer.

Now I'm shooting for 100 lbs lost by summer, which would still leave me another 35-40 lbs to my final goal. Don't think I'll even make that by the end of 2011 at my current rate, even if I don't take a break. But it is what it is. As Jiggle said, I think about where I was 16 months ago and my life has changed SO much. However long this takes, it's worth the effort. My only real regret is not starting sooner.

Phat: can I come down for some BBQ? That sounds SO good! Enjoy

Thanks everybody...luckily the scale Gods we're gracious to me and I weighed in at 240.8 this morning, only a 2-ounce gain, so I know if I'm good today and tomorrow (which will be hard since it's the weekend and I have a babyshower to go to today) Monday's weigh-in will be pretty good, just hoping to good at 240 even. Today is a beautiful day...so go out and play! (sorry, commercial I just saw)

Hi all- thanks to everyone for your advice! It has given me the motivation I needed.

Rode the bike for 21min, walked for 30min. and did some hills along the way, it felt great to get out again. The sun was out this morning, now it's cloudy again, glad we got out while it was nice. Doing good with calories, had a smaller breakfast finally. I'll be between 1250-1350 by the end of the day if I don't mess it up.

Good luck to all this weekend!

Thank you all for your comments. I appreciate the feedback as it helps me reflect upon myself.

There were two things that happened yesterday that I feel may help me move back to the right direction...

1.) I planned my lunch based on my need to get to the gym about two hours after eating (instead of the typical 4 or more with a snack thrown in). I had a broccoli and feta egg substitute omelette, light toast with spray butter and sugar free strawberry jam, light black cherry yogurt and an orange. It was delicious, satisfying and helped my have one of my better workouts in a while. It felt great to make the decision about what to eat almost instantaneously instead of planning, that I created a meal that was healthy but was still sooooooooo yummy and to know even without counting that I had selected something that I would not feel guilty for eating regardless of the amount of calories (even though I knew the approximate calories and that they would be under a typical lunch).

2.) I went out with a girlfriend last night and decided to dress casual. I decided to wear my favorite top. It's a horizontally striped top but somehow the stripes slim me. It also has a boat neck which shows off my collarbone (after being VERY self conscious of it when it first became prominent, I have come to accept it as a great feature). I looked like CRAP! My gut was bulging out. I ended up wearing a zippy hoodie over it to cover up the bulge.

I don't want to have to go clothes shopping for bigger clothes. I don't want to have to look at a photo from the past 6 months and wonder if I'll be that thin again. I want my workouts to kick my butt in the good way. I want to hit my goal. I want to look at myself in mirror and think, "I LOOK HOT!" Unfortunately, I don't think my brain has quite clicked yet being able to identify and work towards those items. But I think I'm close.

I also can't help but wonder if my letting myself be lax in the weight loss department is because I'm stressing about other parts of my life. Does my overwhelming need to fix those areas have my brain pushing weight loss to the back burner in order to not drive myself insane? Just another item to ponder for me.

PS Looking forward to my yummy dinner that I've been trying to make for several days but keep get derailed for various reasons: Lemon-dill baked fish, sauteed cabbage and zucchini fritters.

You're welcome! Hopefully you find some yummy options.

I could be but I don't think so. This is a very new occurrence. Even when I was overweight, I didn't do this. I would graze on Sundays when I stayed in all day being lazy but other than that, this didn't happen.

I feel like I can hop back on tracking soon, even as early as Monday or Tuesday. Just need some time to clear my head. I've already kind of accepted that I will be putting on some weight because of this detour. I'm sort of okay with that.

No need to apologize for the rant. But I wholeheartedly agree, it's my fear as well. And I know I'm not fearless enough to stop tracking for any extended period of time. I have a feeling that after a while, it would just mean the my thoughts, energy and worry would shift to not tracking.

Wow! Definitely kudos to you! I wish I had your strength but alas, as I mentioned above, I think my not counting would just become the thing I worry about instead of what I was eating. I need the strictness in my life. The problems of an anal retentative personality!