Welcome healthyginger! Wow, congrats on your 100 day accomplishment! 100 days can make a huge difference, I know first hand. Are you going to be starting another one?

The wooshes aren't over, you'll just get them when you least expect it! Great job with almost 3 weeks in the bag!

Welcome, Ginger! Happy to have you here!

Enjoynlife (my phone has learned your name - awesome!) - Congrats on day 18. I think the first three weeks are the hardest.

I am totally considering a variation of Angie's strategy. Started daily weighing again about a week ago, and am somewhat frustrated. Gone up the last two days because of low sleep, but I know I am on plan and working out hard. Considering monthly weigh ins.

I did not want to quit or cheat when the scale went up again this morning, though. I just put on my (getting looser) size 18 jeans, my medium (tight) sweater that emphasizes my best #ahem# assets, and thought about how great I felt after lifting weights last night. Part of me thinks it will help me be more patient and set me up for better maintenance if I go the monthly route.

Don't think I am ready, though. Thanks for sharing your success, though. I will definitely keep it in mind in case my frustration levels start to mount. :-)

I know I am building some muscle - or at least preserving it - cuz I can feel it. But I am also eating at a deficit, so I am not building a ton, more's the pity. :-) Sizing is stupid and random. But it still made me feel good that the sweater says medium! It probably is too tight for work, but I don't care! It's a complete office day, and I like the sweater! I don't measure, though, simply because I am WAY too lazy. I commend you for doing it, though.

Can I go off topic quickly? I just need some insight. I just started seeing this guy - J. I like him, and feel like I might come to really like him as we hang out more. But who can predict these things? This other guy, G, told me a few days ago that he was really into me. I told him I was unavailable, as I had just started seeing J. After one more invitation for a date, he asked if we could be friends. Of course, right? So I am still getting to know J, and still enjoying that, and still wanting to see where that goes. But I am kind of getting into flirting with G. That's okay, right? I have been married 20 years, and am newly-divorced. I have not promised anyone anything, and would not lie to either. But I like having the attention of two men. Guidance?

LaurieDawn - as long as you are honest and not deceiving anyone or yourself, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the attention of more than one man in my opinion. I'm not the conforming type (i.e. all these social rules and standards that society seems to live by) so I like to share and experience life with people and be free.....free to experience who I choose. I say live your life with no regrets.

enjoynlife - Not weighing for a long time also teaches me patience.....which is quite important to have when you're chugging along on a weight loss journey. I encourage you to "pull an Angie!"

LaurieDawn - I wanted to ask you about your weight training. How long have you been doing it? And have you been eating at a caloric deficit the whole time you've been weight training? I'm going to be starting with heavy weights next week and I've been researching about this whole caloric deficit/no muscle gains things. I like to hear from people's personal experiences though. How would you say your muscle gain has been thus far? Average? Below? Thanks for any info you can provide!

Thanks for the input on my off-topic question, Angie. It's just so important to me that I can feel good about myself, so I can't feel like I am just using someone because I like the attention. :-/

Lifting nutrition strategy. I offer all of this with the caveat that I do not precisely track calories, nor do I take my measurements.

I read New Rules of Lifting For Women. The nutrition info is really geared to women more concerned with body recomposition than those who have a lot of fat they need to lose. So I agonized about it, read a lot of bodybuilding nutrition information, read a lot of Alwyn Cosgrove's stuff, posted on a couple of boards, and finally decided that I really needed to prioritize fat loss. Which means calorie restriction. Which almost inevitably means muscle loss. It makes sense. People often describe lifts in terms of body weight. 'She can deadlift her body weight.'

But - weight lifting has tons of advantages even for those who simultaneously calorie-restrict, IMHO. First, it preserves muscle mass. Second, it is a good calorie burner. Third, the 'afterburn effect' lasts way longer than cardio. Finally, when my ex-husband texts me something infuriating and I want to engage in a long, brutal text war, I text him that I can't talk because I am at the gym. Then I take out my anxiety and anger there, and he's no longer on my radar if it's something dumb, or I am able to handle it better if it actually needs to be addressed.

I concentrate my calories for muscle repair work after I lift. I eat very few processed carbs, but I will eat fruits and veggies. I eat protein bars for convenience, but when I have time and opportunity to cook, I eat mostly chicken, egg whites, and fish.

So far, I have lost 51 pounds from about June 12 until today, so about 4 months, and I can feel solid muscle among too much fat. I also wear smaller sizes than before at this weight.

That's my experience with it. Hope it's helpful.

Good advice on keeping 'em separated, Enjoynlife! Flirting is kind of awesome.

Yes LaurieDawn that helps out a lot. I had been mulling over this in my head...trying to find the best way to go about it. I like to hear how others are doing with it as well. Thanks so much!

Awww, thank you soooo much!!! You are so kind! We are all in this journey together and whatever we can share to help each other get to our goals is what this community is all about. That's why I really love it here. I learn so much from others as well.

I'm committed!
When I decided I had enough of being overweight on Oct. 5th 2012, I actually made my own calendar, but it's for 18 months. On it I marked the 5th of each month with 1, 2, 3, etc. all through the year. I'm still figuring out my mini goals, other than my final of being down to my goal weight of 175. I'm hoping my goald will be sooner, but I figure approx. 5 lbs a month is do-able.
I've had a lot of stresses at work & with family matters the last few months. I'm going to do my very best not to let myself be derailed. If I get down to my goal before my "time is up" (on my calendar), I'll use the remaining time to keep myself on track & re-learn maintainence. (If you don't know, I've lost 100 lbs. before)

Enjoynlife - sorry I am just getting to this. You are right about lifting heavy. It may be 3 pounds for your mom. My understanding of heavy lifting is that you lift close to failure. It is a term meant to differentiate between the current recommendations and the whole 'toning' type of Lifting that usually consisted of high reps of very little weight. I am still a newbie, so I don't know about the Spartans program. I just choose a weight that is challenging, but still lets me use good form, then I lift to failure. The first time through a routine, it's really guesswork, which Is why I make sure to record my routines.

I have gone way off the deep end on Friday and Saturday. I woke up this morning bloated and nauseous. This is by far the worst I have done since June. And it's okay. I am up to 225.2. And back on plan today, not just for the weight loss, but because I genuinely feel crappy when I eat like this.

Good luck with the lifting, Enjoynlife. I really enjoy it.

Anyone mind if I join in on the one year adventure? I am basing my start date off the final go ahead from my doctor on Tuesday, so October 23 2012 to October 23 2012. I want to be healthy by the time of my major birthday vacation next year. I've been browsing through this forum and figuring things out. I haven't set my mini goals other than after my first 25lbs lost I am visiting the local massage school for a cheap massage

Stargazer and Mrs.TryingAgain - so good of you to join us!

I am officially back on plan, and fighting off cravings desperately. But I would rather fight them off after a slip- up than after a massive regain. So - bring on the white-knuckling, baby. I should have a good loss next week if I successfully stave them off, though.

Yeah Laurie, you're going to have a big drop next week and you'll see that those two days didn't make one bit a difference. Back in July, two weeks after I started, I went on a mini-vacation to Chicago and ate all kinds of food that weekend (including practically a box of fresh-baked cookies from one of my favorite restaurants...even a big mac meal from McDonald's on the road), and it obviously didn't hurt the rate at which I've lost weight over the long run. That's the beauty of moderation.