Hello folks

I hope those of you who had Super Bowl parties too attend weren't thrown too far off course. I didn't attend a party, just went to a friend's house. She often has a lot of candy and treats around but I did fine.

Of course still not seeing any loss since well over two weeks ago but as Slashnl says nothing to do with that but carry on.

goal4agirl, cardamom is a bit like cinnamon in that it pairs nicely with sweetness but I am not sure I would say it is sweet on its own. In fact when I put cardamom in my coffee it sometimes makes me want to add a little sugar, so it might not do what you want! I am normally a black-coffee sort of person, no sugar, but with cardamom I'll often stir in half a teaspoon of sugar as well.

Daily Bread - It is tough to stick with any plan under stress like that and I imagine a plan like IP is even harder to adapt to being away from home and out of your normal routine. Good luck and good strength with being back on your plan.

Carter: We hosted a Superbowl party here yesterday. I did great and stayed on plan, but even eating in proportion, that stuff has metric tons of salt so I weighed in a little heavy this morning from water retention. Eating really clean today to make sure to get an excess salt out of my system.

I feel very discouraged today. Its week 2 for me and Monday is my weigh in day. I didn't lose any weight this week and I simply do not understand.

daily average calories burned: 2869
daily average calories consumed: 1556
daily average defecit: 1313

according to my math, I should have lost about 2.5 lbs.

Help. I am so frustrated.

Allison, there are a couple of things to keep in mind here.

First of all, as much as we would like our bodies to be clockwork linear machines, they simply are not. The processes that govern the production and use of energy in the body are complicated and poorly understood. You have to average over much more than a week to deduce anything meaningful about how many calories you are burning. (Where did you get that calories burned number, by the way?)

Second, and more important, your calculation at best adds up to 2.5 pounds of fat burned. But your weight at any given moment depends upon more than just that. Fluid swings can be as much as 5-8 pounds and can easily mask way more than a week's worth of fat loss. And fluid swings depend upon a whole host of factors both within and outside your control. Sodium intake, your hydration level, weather (yes, weather), changing the amount of carbs you eat, changing the amount or kind of exercise you do, hormonal cycles, viral infections, and many other factors can affect the amount of fluid being held in your tissues at any one time.

The bottom line is: One week is simply not a meaningful time scale on which to measure weight loss. If you expect a visible weight loss every week, and let yourself become upset and frustrated every time that does not happen, you will make yourself crazy. It sucks, but the only thing to do is to be patient and stick to your plan. The question is not "Do I weigh less than a week or two ago" but "Do I weigh less than a month or two ago?" That is the only sensible time scale on which to look for measurable weight loss.

Hang in there.

Carter, that was well said! We all need to remember that it isn't an exact correlation like we would like it to be. Time and patience are hard to come by with this journey. Just have to keep moving on!

Thanks carter. I get these numbers from my bodymedia fit. Its supposed to be the most accurate measure you can use. You're right though. I know that my body isnt a machine and as much as people say "calories in calories out" its not just straight math on a graph. I really think maybe I should weigh myself once a month instead so I don't get so wrapped up in the number.

The other side of this process is how you feel. When I eat better, I feel better. It has nothing to do with my actual weight but how all the crap foods affect me. I get bloated and sluggish. My focus also gets all fuzzy.

Granted, I am very affected by sugars and simple carbs but this is plus side of eating right for me other than just seeing the scale move. Try to be aware of the other positives so the scale isn't the only thing you have to look forward to.

Good morning folks.

Allisonm - There is nothing wrong with weighing less frequently if you think it will help you. I prefer to weigh more often because it makes each weigh-in less important, if you know what I mean. Suppose I weighed once a month and happened to hit a day of an upward fluctuation!

What I like about daily weighing is that it lets me learn my body's patterns. Over the several years of my weight loss process I learned that, assuming I stay on plan, I tend to have a whoosh week where I lose 3-4 pounds, then a slight bounce back, and then a pretty flat +/- 1 pound time that lasts about 3 weeks. It is an annoying pattern but it is so consistent that it helps me get through those long flat periods. Right now I haven't seen any loss for 3 whole weeks and it helps to think that whoosh is coming.

How are all you regainers/relosers doing today? I am pissed off and fired up. I want to get back to where I was.

Hi ladies, I am back. I am ready to buckle down and get this weight off - again! My son is getting married in August, and I want to get as much off as I can by then.

Has anyone used My Fitness Pal? I am not very good at techy stuff, but I am going to try to download it onto my phone.

Hi everyone! Made it back to spin class this morning. I took off a couple of days because my knee was hurting. I hated not going to work out, but I also don't need a big injury. But it was better today and it felt good to be back. Although I could tell that if I didn't get back today, I would have started having trouble getting back into it. I don't need to fall of the wagon now. It is a slippery slope!!

Allison - I think once a month would be tough to wait for, but if you can do it, that might be a really good answer. Much less focus on numbers, more on staying on plan!

XLMuffn - I am so with you!! It just is better to stay on track. I do not feel as good when I'm not eating right and not exercising. It makes me feel really slow and heavy. Just those two days of not going to the gym made me feel less on top of things and I could feel the apathy sneaking back in.

Carter - Living for the whoosh!!! I hope it comes to you soon. I think we all need a boost every now and then. Hang in there and stay pissed off!!!

Judy Lynn - I use FitnessPal. I love it! I think it is the best way to track food and exercise. I've looked at the forums some, too, but the folks on there just don't seem as nice. I read them for a laugh and to get some ideas, but I don't post. I have it on my phone and that is so helpful! I am not sure how to add friends yet, but maybe we can do that!

Have a great day everyone!

Hey everyone. Just getting back on the boat here. I've been plateauing like crazy since I restarted when it was so easy last time to break 200. The 5 pounds are driving me crazy. Then again, my feast during Superbowl might be hurting me still. Getting back on track is what matters most, right?

Hey All,

Jumping on board with this thread as my first post in who knows how long. I was rocking along and reached a 98lb weightloss, maintained for awhile trying to get to that magic 100lb number and even more so, to onderland, and then decided to gain back 28 lbs over the holidays. I lost most of the weight in 2012 and last year was a real struggle, as I was just tired of worrying about what I ate.

Anyways, I reached my max 'allowance weight' of 235, the weight where I promised myself I would let be the cutoff point to get back on track. So here I am. Slightly reluctant but mostly determined to lose the 28 lbs I've regained and continue on towards my 170 goal.

Glad to be aboard with the rest of you! 3FC was a consistently uplifting way for me to stay on track in the past and I imagine this won't be any different!

Hello folks.

Good to have you here, LebenAlles, triptriptrip, and Judy Lynn. Let's kick this regain and get back to what we know we can do.

Judy Lynn - I use MyFitnessPal. I don't live and die by its recommendations - especially when it comes to estimating calories burned - but I use it for daily tracking of my calorie intake.

LebenAlles - Good job sticking to your threshold for you getting back on track. I wish I had been able to do that back when the threshold was the top of my maintenance range!

On the subject of fluctuations, daily weighing, and patience, I have inexplicably bounced back up to 180 today and it's making me slightly crazy. I was thinking well, if that whoosh doesn't come soon, I'm going to have to look at my plan and see if I'm doing something wrong. But I'm not. I can't think of what it might be, where I am undercounting calories or anything like that. I'm doing exactly the same thing I was doing the first time I lost this weight. I think I just need to remind myself how excruciatingly slow that was.

I will say that if there is a silver lining to this breakup (and I hate to call it a silver lining because the breakup sucks and I would give my eyeteeth to get her back) it is that "I haven't binged since she broke up with me" is a streak I have found the discipline not to break. Every time I think about binging I think, "Don't let her leaving be an excuse to binge. Just don't." For now, almost a month in, it seems to be working. So I am grateful for that, at least.

still want her back though

Hi all! Looks like we have some new voices here! Great news! I almost had a slip up today. I woke up slightly later than normal and I just didn't want to go to the gym. I kept going back and forth in my head and finally made myself go. I can't make it an option, or I will find all kinds of ways to not go.

We're having a weight loss contest here at work. We're putting in $20 and then at the end of 7 weeks, whoever loses the biggest percentage, takes the whole pot. I'm kind of excited about it. I'm competitive, so it will help me stay focused, I think. Weigh in is Monday. (That will be the worst part because then one person will know my real weight. But what the heck, I'll survive the humiliation!!)

LebenAlles: Wow, you have done so well! I'm sure once you get going again, it will all fall back into place and you'll get it off. Keep posting and we'll all help each other.

Trip,trip,trip: You are so right! Forgive the past mistakes and getting back on track is the most important thing!