Awesome! It's true... you have to find a balance. I firmly believe in working hard AND playing hard. The busier you are, the less tempted you are to mindlessly munch. That's what I tell myself when I'm suffering through overtime, anyway. Hahaha.

Keep us posted on your progress!

i just wanted to join you guys in this chat! not sure what it's all about but i wanna talk too

i've had a good food day so far, just finished supper and jello for desert and heading to the gym in about an hour , hope everyone else is doing well!

57.8 this morning after banana split time last night. I like to think that I am owning this. 127 is the lightest I've been since I was 10 or something.

I'm not sure if the soft stuff around my middle is true fat or a combination of leftover skin and flab from being heavier for a long time. What do your tummies feel like when you poke 'em? Mine is like a Jello Jiggler.

Krampus, when I bend over or do a "plank" (like in a push-up position), the loose skin on my belly just hangs down off my abs like a deflated balloon. It is pretty much a nightmare - the antithesis of the taut belly we all aspire to have when we get to goal. When I am standing straight, my belly looks much better but if I pinch the skin there, it is very soft, flabby and jiggly even though I now have "abs of steel" underneath. Since I'm at ~22% body fat now, I'm quite certain that most of this is stretched skin rather than true fat. It bites, but there you have it. I'm guessing that yours is also similar. I've been told by veteran maintainers that this loose skin does firm up somewhat, after you've been at goal for a few months, but that it takes time (way longer than the actual weight loss), and may never firm up as much as we'd like (like, if we had never been overweight to begin with).

On a more personal note, I did a torturous session of HIIT today (lord do I hate cardio). Give me strength work any day. But I know that switching things up is going to get me to my goal faster, so I'm committed to it at least 3 days a week for a while.

Sing it. I am such a strength training junkie, but cardio I had to force myself to love. Hang in there! HIIT can give me a little rush sometimes but other times makes me feel really crummy. But you're exactly right that switching it up is what might get you faster results. Good luck!

On a personal note, I've now officially hit 15 lbs. lost. I just figured out that one more pound will mean I'm exactly halfway to my goal!!!! AAAAA! I'm so excited!

Oooh, bother.

I just went out for burgers with a friend, and I'm feeling bad about it. I didn't get overly stuffed, but there's no denying the 1,000 + calories I just consumed.

How do you all balance your real/social life and your calorie counting/exercise/planned diet life?

I'm struggling with this part.

I'm fine when I'm working or home/alone, but get me in a bar or restaurant, and I just can't find a way to align these two trains of thought.

I did fine with portions today (didn't eat past the full point), but how do I enjoy dinners and drinks out without feeling guilt about the calories?

Is the answer more exercise?

Siiiiigh.

Nahhh!! Cardio is much more fun than strength training. All those endorphins! Strength training just hurts!

Oh, but it shouldn't HURT! At least not after a while! Be careful about your form if it hurts. Also, not just weight lifting is strength training. Yoga and pilates are also strength training, it's just that they use your own body weight to build muscle.

Cardio does release endorphins, yes, and that's why I've gotten to tolerating it. I guess my main problem is just dancey aerobics because I lack coordination, or finding ways to keep running from getting boring because it can be monotonous.

I think part of this depends on how often you do it -- and how much you consume. If you go 500 calories over once a week, that's not going to stop your weight loss. It might slow it down, but it's not going to stop it. If you go 1000 calories over, several times a week, then you are going to be in trouble, and you have to figure out how to go out and not over-consume or consider cutting back on social outing for a while. I don't like the idea of halting your social life for weight loss, but if your social life is completely incompatible with weight loss, cutting back (going out 2x/week instead of 4, drinking 2 drinks instead of 5) might not be a bad idea.

I don't think more exercise is the answer unless you're not exercising a lot to begin with. You don't want to get into a situation where you're trying to counter-act every slip-up with more exercise. Yes, I'll throw in an extra mile or two if I'm going to a party or out to dinner, but I can't out-exercise bad eating habits. I can eat more in 5 minutes than I can burn in an hour.

I have to admit, strength training is growing on me. I think I'm liking it because I started with a short workout (2 sets of 5 exercises) and now I'm itching to add more sets (which I get to do next week) so I can see some more results! But I loooooove cardio. I want to run every day and I am forcing myself to take days off because my feet hurt.

In other news, I'm gaining weight. Bleh. I was up to 125.8 yesterday, down to 123.4 today (what!?!?!??!). I can see a general trend line when I graph my weight -- it is marching upward, slowly and steadily. I was at 122 just a couple weeks ago, but then I bounced and haven't gotten back down. I've kind of decided that I'm not going to maintain where I was this past summer, between 120-121, but I don't want to go up to 126-127 because then I'm looking at some real regain. So I'm back on SERIOUS plan until I see 121 again, and then I need to re-assess my maintenance methods. I've been getting sloppy (not measuring, too many tastes and bites) and I need to recommit to eating super-clean at least 80% of the time. Plus, I don't want to go into the holidays at the higher end of my range.

FPSJ, I hear you on the difficulty of social situations involving food and drink. I budget my calories on days I know I'll be going out with people - super light breakfast and lunch and get exercise out of the way in the morning - but of course you can't always know when it's going to happen. Really nothing of value to help, but misery loves company!

I sort of count the weekends as "free" - my metabolism is decent enough where even if I eat 1000 calories over it'll be gone once I'm back on plan for a day or two. I also try not to splurge unless I really, really love the food I'm splurging on.

On nights I know I am going to be drinking a lot (1000 calories), I really lower my carbs. I find if I stay at maintenance (around 2000), and keep my carbs low (around 90g), I not only not gain, but can lose still. Your body burns alcohol before anything else. Then sugar (carbs), protein, and then finally fat. So if I am replacing my carbs with alcohol it evens out! Well thats the trend I have noticed anyways. My problem is resisting late night munchies! If I conquor that, I feel great the next morning - no matter how hungover I am!!

thesame7lbs, krampus, Diane042425-- Thank you for the words of wisdom.
I had a feeling that the exercise thing wasn't going to fix it. It's true, you can really eat more than you can burn in a remarkably short period of time


I usually find myself out for dinners/drinks about once a week (working every other weekend is somewhat a blessing in this sense).... so, I guess it's not horribly out of control.

I was able to avoid alcohol, and I chose a fairly simple burger, but it did involve fries. Maybe next time I can focus on only eating a few fries, instead of most of them.

krampus, it was in fact a sneak-attack dinner! I was leaving the gym and got a text from a friend. I decided it was good for my mental health to spend time with this person, instead of go home and stay in my calorie bubble.. hmph.

Dianne042425- I also have a horrible late-night munchie problem too. Aaaghh!
Glad to know you're still losing somehow.


One step at a time, I suppose! Thanks for the help

I couldn't disagree more. LOL! I LOVE LOVE LOVE strength training. I've loved it for 20 years. I enjoy cardio as well, but nothing gives me the high of lifting heavy weights. And I TRY to make it hurt. I am elated when I am a little sore the day after working out. After 20 years of lifting, it is hard for me to feel the burn. I really have to push myself to the limit and do all kinds of new and different things to feel it.

In my opinion, nothing transforms your body like weight training. Cardio burns fat and is great for heart health. And it can even build some muscle. But weight training can give you a bottom if you don't have one, an hourglass figure if you are a pear, and a more compact body all around. Weight training can give you what genetics did not.

As for out-exercising a bad diet, forget it. Seriously, no one knows this better than I. You cannot reach your goals by adding to your exercise to compensate for overeating. There was a time I exercised all day sometimes and even into the night. And guess what? I still weighed 129 because I still ate too much. I love exercise, so it sucks that I have had to face this, but it's true: exercise will not make you thin. It can make you healthy. It can make you strong. But it will not make you thin. Thin begins in the kitchen.

(BTW: It is generally held that, after diet, weight training is the most beneficial to weight loss, not cardio.)

Hmm.... I am intrigued.

Especially by this idea of turning my pear into an hourglass.

Perhaps I'll try focusing more of my gym time on lifting and see if this helps to challenge my body.

Would I focus on things like chest presses, etc in order to balance out my lower half, or should I also try and fatigue my lower half with the goal of toning?

If I continue staying on track diet wise for most days of the week, and combine this with more intense weight training, I think I might see some changes.

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

So I'm just a bit pumped. . . .
I've been getting physical signals that I'm physically fit. Whenever I don't workout until the evening, my body starts sometime around mid-afternoon feeling very blah and tired and I can't focus. But as soon as I go work out, I feel energized and focused and happy with life.
Cognitive restructuring, anyone?!?!?! So pleased that my brain is catching up to my body!