No weigh in for me this week as I just returned from vacation. While I didn't eat terribly while away, I'm still giving myself a day or two before I step on the scale.

Alright, I am ready to get back to basics! I did actually maintain through July, so that was my goal and I met it.

2 days ago, I figured out the eating plan that I wanted to use - to make sure I am in a calorie deficit over the next 8 weeks. I am aiming for a 2 lb loss this week, and then a 0.75 lb per week weight loss (including knowing that i will have a pop-up during my August vacation) over the 6- or 8- weeks after that.

I did follow the eating plan this weekend and was 100% on track, except I did have 1 x alcoholic beverage and 1 x bowl of ice cream. Otherwise, I was on-track. And, I did MORE exercise than I planned this weekend because the weather was SO GLORIOUS.

So, I feel pretty good about my chances of success.

Got to my lowest last week and bumped up just a tad, but still on track!

SW: 246.5
CW: 239.9(-6.6)
GW: 230

I'm exactly halfway to goal. I'm not anticipating a loss this upcoming week. Since I'm moving on Thurs, I'll be having people over to feast and will also be eating out more often than usual. I'll keep calories reasonable, but they probably won't be at a deficit.

I'm also not anticipating a loss the following week. It may take me some time to stock my new place with food. In that case, I'll be eating out in the meantime. Even if I keep the calories in check, the sodium will have me retaining water like a cactus.

SW: 141.2
GW: 134

Week of July 02: 139.8
Week of July 09: 138.8
Week of July 16: 138.8
Week of July 23: 138.2
Week of July 30: 137.6

Week of Aug 06:
Week of Aug 13:
Week of Aug 20:
Week of Aug 27:

Week of Sept 03:
Week of Sept 10:
Week of Sept 17:

Finish:

After over a month of no cycle TOM arrived today. Crampy, bloated, sore and my weight is up two pounds. I can really see the water retention in my fingers. Back to square one for a few days. This too will pass

i'm working out at a mine at the moment, interstate, no weighing scales, so I can't update the spreadsheet today and i'm winging-it in Maintenance-land. The food here is pretty rubbish actually, especially since I largely try to avoid carbs. Everything here is pasts, potatoes, bread, pastry or fried stuff, and lots of red meat, and puddings, but not much veg, so it might all suit the blokey miners but i'm having a bit of a hard time getting both variety and healthy choices (there is a salad bar, but not very variable or inspiring). Anyway, i'm plugging away with what there is and generally sticking to my plan, but probably eating more calories than normal because it's a 12-hr working day and eating seems to be a good excuse for a break every now and then. So i'll just have to wait til i'm back home next Friday to see what the outcome of it all is. I had to drive in to town (5hr round trip) a couple of days ago, to get lab supplies, so I stocked up on a personal veggie stash at the same time, so that's helping me get my greens in at lunchtime at least.

ange82much! Sounds like you have a plan to get you through this stretch. Is your mining gig out of the ordinary for you or something you find yourself doing on a regular basis? The types of food you listed seem to be related to strenuous work and large calorie expenditure so you might surprise yourself at how well you do. Good luck!

I'm back home now and the Spreadsheet's updated. Although I maintained perfectly whilst I was away (yep I do these trips reasonably often Curvy) i'm having a bit of an indulgent weekend. Or rather indulgent sounds like i'm planning to eat nice things, when actually i'm picking at crap with no thought, so it's not great, but i'm feeling that I want to do this for a tiny bit to get it out of my system, and it's allowable (and i'm happy with it) if this is where it ends. After semi-splurging Friday and Saturday, I want to be 'quite good' with eating today, and 'good' for at least Monday-wed next week, which should keep me on track I think.....

I really truly thought I was going to have to post a gain this week for the first time. I don't think I've ever been so happy to post a 0.8 pound loss. Way behind schedule for this month's goal, but I have 19 days left in the month to get back on track.

Chunkalunkah: How did your move go? Did you survive?

Keep up the good work, everyone! Let's finish the summer out strong. Is it as hot everywhere else as it is here? We officially hit 110 on Friday, only 1 degree off the hottest temperature EVER for Boise, for any date.

Back down a pound from when I returned from vacation. I upgraded my Fitbit to the Fitbit Alta HR after I lost my previous Zip. I'm enjoying it and have found the prompts and the regularly updated data more motivational than I thought I ever would .

Well done, maintaining, ange, that's great news!

curvy - Congrats on the drop, and I know what you mean about being surprised by how motivating those gadgets can be.

Lacerta - I survived, but my bank account is taking quite the hit.
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I haven't weighed since Wed. (I count the week as being from Mon-Sun.) I think my low up to that point was the same as my low last week, so I'll enter that in the spreadsheet again. I don't currently have a scale. I was considering saving the $ and not buying another one. I'm maintaining two residences now. The one where I'm living now for school and my old place. My scale is back at my old place, and I'll be back there with it in December. Idk if I can wait that long to weigh though. Part of me likes just trusting in the process and letting the weight fall off as it does w/o monitoring it. But another part of me would like to see the numbers drop. Decisions, decisions.

Week 8 of 13 is wrapping up. Amazing how fast this summer is flying by.

Looking forward to seeing updates from everyone, especially some of you who haven't posted any for a few weeks. (hint hint). I'll be posting mine tomorrow.

Oh, and Mayday26. I see you posting on the spreadsheet and you are doing fantastic, whoever you are. Way to go.

Weight remains at 215 for the week. Lacerta, I was just thinking the same thing about the quick passage of summer as I stepped out into the cool, almost crisp morning. It's hard to believe that fall will be here before we know it!

This week, I lost the most weight I've ever lost in a week (4.0 pounds). Even more than I did the very first week, when all the water weight falls off. Not sure why or how, but this was a GREAT week. I've been doing some reading online, and for people with PCOS, it appears that cutting a substantial amount of sugar out of the diet can help fix insulin resistance (basically reset the body's ability to process sugar correctly, like normal people do), but it can take a few months to get there, so for some people, weight loss can actually accelerate once you reach that point.. I didn't know that when I started, but coincidentally, that's the biggest change I've made, is cutting out all of the snacky foods, and thus, a lot of the sugar. I'm also eating a lot less bread and drinking a lot less milk, both of which have sugar. And it's been 5 months. So maybe that is what is happening. I really hope so. I'd love to be able to keep this rate of weight loss for a while.

Hope to hear from at least a few of you this week.

Chunkalunkah: I know what you mean about trusting the process. For me, I used the scale at the beginning as a scientific tool (I did x yesterday and the scale did y), after a while, you start to see some trends, which helps you know what to expect, at least to a degree. But once you have it down how your body responds and what trends you need to stick with or avoid, the scale becomes more of an obsession than a tool. December isn't that far off. I think as long as you stay on plan, you could use this as an experiment to see how you do without the scale. Good luck to you whichever you decide.

To everyone else: We're over halfway through the summer. Kids are going back to school already. Don't give up. If you've taken some time off or fallen off the wagon, NOW is the time to check back in and start again. Don't wait another day.

Lacerta - Congrats on the 4 pounds; that's terrific! Your idea about reducing sugar helping with your loss rate sounds right on to me. Re: the scale...I'm still weighing what to do. The one I use is only around $25, so it wouldn't be that big of an expense to buy one for here at my school year apartment. I think I'll wait and see if I start to miss it. Right now, I'm ok with going by how my clothes fit.

curvy - A cool, almost crisp morning sounds heavenly! I won't be experiencing that in Texas for a few months. Fall is my favorite season, so I thank you for your post bc it at least let me experience that weather in my imagination.