Weird, I just looked for a 130s thread and it seems like the forgotten decade. Nothing in the first couple pages here, so I checked out the featherweights section. There's an active 140s thread and a 120s one, but no 130s.

Congrats again on being at your final decade! I still have plenty of escaping to do.

ETA: Apparently I'm blind. There's one right on the 1st page at Featherweights.

140.0 today

Woot! I bet by Monday you'll be in the 130's! I've been 139.4 / 139.6 the past couple days. So I'm there, I guess. And I am excited about it, but also scared, you know? Like- isn't the statistic that 80% of people regain all the weight they lost? I'm terrified of that. So I'm actually dreading hitting goal weight even though I'm also looking forward to it. I know how to lose. I have no idea how to maintain.

I have total confidence that you'll learn what works for you.

I've heard that statistic too, and it can sound disheartening. I suspect a major reason many people regain is they go back to how they used to eat. Or at least change their diet *too much* from how they ate while losing. Although large weight loss reportedly slows the metabolism for at least several years after its occurrence, I don't think that's what causes the regain for most people.

Maintenance is a lot like losing weight imo, just with more wiggle room for occasional feasts. Maybe an additional snack a day, or dessert a few times a week, or a couple more drinks on the weekend. The calorie difference between losing and maintaining often isn't all that much, so the lifestyle is pretty much the same. Losing one pound a week is a daily 500 calorie deficit. If someone's using exercise to help achieve that, that's an even smaller difference between their calories while losing and maintaining. Losing and maintaining are very similar lives. I think that's why so many people regain--they think of them as radically different, either "on" or "off" a diet.

Now the lifestyle when I gained...that was a whole other monster and one that would most definitely cause me to gain if I were to live it again. For me, that was no exercise, hardly any activity at all actually, and low fiber/high'ish processed carbs. I wasn't even eating that many calories, just a couple hundred more a day than I needed to maintain, and that life put over 40 pounds on me in two years. I have no desire to return to that. The change in my eating was bc of IBS and that's much better for me now , and the slothfulness was due to undiagnosed anemia as well as going from an active job to a sedentary one. I know going forward that I can't ever let myself get that inactive or I'll gain. Not to mention how unhealthy it is in other ways...

I suspect if you mentally frame maintaining as losing with a few hundred extra calories a day (and however you'd like to spend them), you'll find that losing has actually prepared you very well for maintaining.

My vacation begins tomorrow. I probably won't be back at 3FC until October. That's unless I have a 139.something weight to report tomorrow. I'm not expecting that though....had a high sodium restaurant lunch. Keep rocking the 130s!

Hi Eagle and any fellow 140-escapists out there!

Eagle - I'm back from my vacation and am up 2.2 pounds from my low last month. 142.2 today. Back to the grind! How are things going with you?

Hi! How was your vacation? Fantastic, I hope.

Only gaining 2.2 lbs on vacation is pretty good! You can lose that in a week.

Things are good here. I have been trying to get more exercise in. My energy levels haven't been great, so it's just been outdoor walking, but it's something anyway. My doc told me to start taking a multivitamin, and I do feel better since I started taking one, so maybe I was just deficient in something.

I hope I lose it in a week! That would be great. I ate at maintenance today though. Ugh, frustrated with myself for that. I haven't transitioned back to my usual macros. I always find it so much easier to eat at a deficit so long as I'm eating low'ish carb.

The vacation was indeed fantastic! I had such a good time. The only bad part was that it ended sooner than I'd like, flew by.

I'm sorry your energy levels are low. I hope the multivitamin continues to help. I can relate to fatigue issues. They're such a pain, can really interfere with your own will bc the body just can't keep up. I got mono when I was 9, and I don't think I ever fully recovered from that! Seriously! A couple years after it, I experienced another big bout of fatigue. Turns out the Epstein Barr Virus (which causes mono) kept becoming active in my body and causing symptoms in a way that at the time doctors thought couldn't happen. For a while, they collected blood samples to study me bc it was freaky to them. I've heard from a younger friend who had the same problem that doctors now know it can happen and don't treat it like it's freaky. Maybe my blood helped. Anyway, I've had fatigue issues ever since then. I have to live such a clean life--the right amount of sleep, regular exercise, healthy diet, low stress--to feel the same level of energy that others just seem to have innately. Just the way it is. So you have my fullest empathy and sympathy! I also know from having bad anemia last year that my general fatigue issues could be *much* worse. I hope yours get firmly under control.

My boss - 63 years old- started having a lot of issues and I finally asked, "Have you been checked for mono?" and she was like, "I don't have mono." Well, yes, she did. And same thing- it was a prior infection that had been dormant for many years that came back up. So I totally understand! Maybe doctors will eventually be able to help folks. And it may even explain my own fatigue- I had mono as a teen also. I should probably get tested, if the fatigue continues. Not that they can do much about it, but it'd be nice to know!

Sorry for the late response. This month's been really busy! I'm applying to doctoral programs and the deadline is approaching quickly, so I've needed to get to work. I'd been slacking on studying for the GRE, and there's a lot of other tedious tasks I need to get done too. I'm looking forward to to when this process is all over with! I don't anticipate that happening until late November, so I probably won't be around much until then.

I've been exercising far less than usual. Only about 3 days a week and just my short BBL workout. I'd like to get back into the longers ones, like 21 Day Fix. We'll see! That's not really a priority right now though. I'll feel ok with my efforts this month so long as I don't become a complete sloth.

Regarding diet...After my vacation, I had the hardest time getting back into the calorie counting habit. I did it for a few days, but then stopped. I'm back at it today and I'll be sticking with it. Funny how things just click sometimes and you can tell you're back in the swing of things. I kept eating way too much sugar after returning home (it probably didn't help that I returned home with so many treats!). I'm pretty much over sugar though, so cutting that down will help me stick to lower calories. I have to average around 1250 calories to lose.

I don't even know what I weigh bc I haven't checked it for over a week now. I feel like I'm holding steady though. I'll keep my calories where I need them for about a week and then check. I don't want to see what is now in case I'm higher than I think. That would just annoy me.

Wow, that's something that your boss had the same thing! I can understand why she was dubious at first since we tend to associate mono with the young, but that d@mn EBV sure can wreak havoc throughout the years.

I hope you're feeling more energetic and enjoying your fall!

Hey Lunkah! Wow, you are amazingly busy! I hope all goes well on your applications for doctoral programs!

I think it's understandable that the vacation derailed your diet for a bit. I'm on vacation currently, so my diet is also a little fast and loose right now. I'm not IF'ing the way I was- some days I eat three meals, others I still eat just 2, but sometimes the spacing is really far apart which throws off my fasting. I'm doing ok on food choices, but that's because this is a "staycation" and I'm at home. The whole point of the time off is to get moved to the new house. So I'm still eating the same stuff, which is helpful.

My doc encouraged me to start taking a multivitamin again, and the change in my energy levels has been amazing. I don't have low iron- I actually have high iron- so that wasn't the problem, but clearly I was in need of some nutrient that is in the multi. I feel much improved!

So was your vacation tons of fun? I hope you had a great time!

Hey Dee, I'm so glad the multivitamin's continued to help! In the past, I've noticed a B-Complex is the only vitamin that makes a noticeable difference in my energy levels. You've inspired me to go back to taking it. I don't know why I stopped.

That's great that you're moving into your new home, how exciting!

My vacation was so much fun that I even felt the post-vacation blues for a week or two after getting home. I missed it so much. Once I have all this application junk out of the way, I'm going to start planning a return visit.

I'm no longer feeling like a fitness slacker bc I did a 21 Day Fix workout today. Hoo boy, that was tough after not doing it for nearly a month. I'm so glad I did it before I lost even more gains I'd made in fitness! It's kinda sad how quickly physical progress can slip away.

Good luck with the move!

I gave in and weighed earlier than I'd intended. 141.0.

So I'm down 1.2 from what I gained on vacation (yay), but still up 1 pound from my low last month (boo).

I was pleasantly surprised! I feel more pudgy than usual, so I expected to still be at my post-vacation weight. I'm realizing the pudgy feeling is probably from my greatly decreased exercise this month. I'm not as compact as I had been, if that makes sense. Back to the 30 min+ workouts. I feel like I don't have time (with all my application tasks), but that's not objectively true. I could make room for it a few days a week. And exercise is important for keeping stress down, so that's definitely needed this month.

That is great news! To only be 1 lb up after just one week post-vacation- wow!

Way to get back on the workouts! I'm moving this week/weekend and hopefully will be in the new house next week. My goal is to get back into a regular workout routine once we are moved. Can't wait!

Well, I'm back, sort of. EagleRiverDee, I'm so glad you're so close to your goal!!

Quick update, I've mostly maintained for the last five-ish months. I've been pretty steadily between 148.5-149.5, which is only a bit higher than my 147ish average right before I paused. Good practice for maintaining, but now I'd like to go for the next round! Next mini goal--normal weight at 132 and change.

Now if only I can beat the hunger... I seem to stay right around 1600 calories per day, and if not, I'm just super hungry. It's weird; I managed happily with 1350-1400 all winter last year. I think I've put on a bit more muscle mass this calendar year, but not nearly enough to account for 200 calories' worth per day! Thoughts anyone?

Dee - That's great news! I know you've been looking forward to being able to exercise again for a long time. Are you in the new home yet? How's the settling in process going?

Princessroja - Hi, and welcome back! Well done with maintaining. I've gone through that, too, where I feel satisfied for long periods of time at a lower calorie level but then need higher cals or I'm hungry. For me, that sometimes seems random, like it's due to the body acting according to its own logic. Other times though--perhaps more often--it's due to the composition of my diet. When I eat a larger percentage of protein, fat, and fiber, I'm easily satiated on a lower calorie level. When those percentages and raw grams drop, I consistently need more food to feel satisfied. Has your diet's composition changed? What did you eat last winter?