Mottanai...I'm with you on this one. This is just my opinion, but I think a lot of people start dieting (seriously) because they have had enough of feeling and looking NOT at their best. I think people want to eat and be healthier (that's why they start dieting), but in the end, we all just want to look better...for whatever reason.

For me, it's looking good in a bikini..which I don't. Too much belly! Lol! My dream is to put on any bikini I want and not feel self-consious. Doubt it will ever happen! lol! I need to get "Joss abs" surgery..she has my dream abs! LOL!

Yes, I doubt it's uncommon. It's just that, OK, so once I've gotten where I have, where I do feel great about my body, that motivation no longer applies, unfortunately, because I've already attained it, you know? Wanna look better --> eat good, lose weight --> wanna look even better --> continue --> finally look great --> ???
Anyway, I think that's my problem!

Hmmm..."Finally look great" means to me that I can:

-focus more on losing body fat then the scale and maintain for a long period of time
-eat clean
-not go on crazy binges
-eat unhealthy foods without guilt and in moderation
-continue a vigorous exercise program
-not obsessing about carbs, calories and crazy fatloss plans

WITHOUT IT FEELING LIKE WORK OR FEELING DEPRIVED!

Then, I will know "I feel great" about my body.

EDIT: It's almost wine time my feather friends! Cheers to Friday!

I see, yeah, that sounds very reasonable!
Unfortunately, my "feeling great about my body" didn't really include any of that. I feel like I going more literally, simply "body shape looks and feels good," rather than including kind of the actions and habits part.

I'm posting from my phone so please forgive me for not using the quote feature.

You still need to do the things you did to lose weight in order to maintain it, and maintaining can be difficult because of that. My desire is not just to maintain but to keep progressing and that isn't necessarily a WEIGHT thing so much as it is a physique thing. There will always be more fine tuning no matter how far i progress.

As an aspiring fitness professional my body will be my calling card and will help me to bring in new clients. That is a direct financial motivator as well!

Aside from my professional motivators though, it's just IN me... I can't explain it. Being able to put on any clothing and feel confident in it, feeling strong and fit in my own skin, looking good in photos... those are secondary effects. I don't know... something just propels me to always be better, feel better, and as a result I think I look better.

Isn't that the whole thing? When our actions and habits are consistent and in check, the body will look good. When they're not, we gain and and try to get back on the game plan.

Joss...EXACTLY! Improving fitness goals, body parts etc...is a challenge within itself. And I'm starting to think it's "In Me" more now too. I just want to do it because I feel better about myself when I do..physically and mentally. I know I will "fall off the wagon" on my trip, but I hope to get right back to it on Jan 4th when we get back. I've set a 60 day challenge for myself to continue this path. I'm tired of yo-yo dieting and to me, that's when I will be happy; A lifestyle rather than a diet plan!

Alexis : I loooove receiving DVDs, so I hope my brother will enjoy receiving some Hope you’re feeling better. Drink a lot of water!

Krampus : This 7 layers dips sounds GOOOOD. I don’t know why, I love dips. Any kind of dips.

Joss : Might sounds crazy but I don’t like the Dunkin donuts much. But I do agree that there is a difference resisting in the way ‘’I’m not stopping to get some on the way’’ instead of ‘’I’m not stopping by this DESK to have some.
Don’t know yet about the baking... I maked muffins yesterday, so I think I’ll try to eat a bit of those before baking something else But there is the fact that I might bake something if we go eat at my cousin’s place tomorrow... LOL

Jessica : You seem to have it all planned out for you dinner with the husband! Have fun!

Mottaini : It’s okay to let go of the stuff that is going on in your head!! I’m quite impress that you are able to be so downtoearth with you overeating in such a rational way... When I overeat, it’s like ‘’I eat all the word bouhouhou’’. And you are so not the only one being scared of the pregnant thing : my biggest fear is having all to lose the weigh after this.. That is going to be horrible lol (I'm not even talking about what it is going to be like WHEN I will be pregnant, all this hard belly growing on you is so disturbing to me)

***

Just got home and I am EXAUSTED. I’m just so happy to be cuddling with the cat on the couch, watching youg-brad-pitt-fightclub-abs on tv. I spent the afternoon with a friend that just moved in town and then drive 3 hours there-and-back to attend this wake funeral thing. The boyfriend is out for his job party and they are doing karaoke. I wasn’t invited so I only hope he will destroy ALL OF HIS KARAOKE SONGS. Bwahaha.

My eating was also all over the place today.. It’s not that bad but I’m expecting a gain tomorrow. I did not poop today and feel dehydrated, my pee was still really yellow tonight. Plus I’m pretty sure the food did not help... I had a big oatmeal cookie and a latte in town and brought myself a 100 g bag of chips for the way back... At least my dinner was only a WW English muffin w/PB and an apple.

For your questions about motivations, mottaini, it got me thinking and realized that... oh well, I guess I’m pretty vain too LOL I think at the beginning when I started to lose weight, it was 100% vain : all my friend had lost a tons of weight and I was the only fat one in the group. I just wanted to look good.

But now that I can look good in clothes (I’m still not super hot as I would like to be naked/or bikini), I really appreciate working out on my fitness and eating healthy, especially since I took on running. So I guess now it’s... probably... 70% for the look / 30% for the healthy & fitness LOL (still an improvement from the previous 100/0%...). It’s still hard to keep focus though, because looking thin is muuuuch more easier than looking fit. Sometimes I just don’t know if I can pull out all the efforts it needs.

Good morning Feather Friends! I'm up way too early for a Saturday. Haven't been sleeping well this week and it's starting to tick me off. I LOVE my sleep and need it.

I need to thank Red vino AGAIN for my 115.0 weigh in this morning. Yay again for dehydration! The scale actually said 114.8 once, but then jumped to 115. TOM is on the way so I doubt it will stick.
Krampus...I thought about moving the scale to the carpet, just to see some lower numbers! LOL! I actually have TAPE on the floor to mark the scale spot. Sad, but true! It's only because I want my weigh-ins to be consistent and my husband moves the scale all of the time. The tape did not go over well with him! LOL!

Plan for today...coffee, workout and clean the house! I'm going to brave some shopping after dinner. I love shopping, but really hate the crowds this time of year.

I checked my weight today and I wish I hadn't! I know there is nothing I can do about it but I'm hoping it is a fluke... somehow I'm up 2 pounds from where I was before Thanksgiving and back into the 120's. 118 was my 'red line' weight and now I'm 120.8?? Crap.

My eating was sort of all over, I'm sore, and my face is breaking out so maybe my super unpredicable TOM is making an appearance.

Well... here's hoping I see a 'whoosh' for next week!

Morning ladies! After my worry about over-eating while OOT, I was actually under by 100 calories yesterday... Woop! I'm sure I'll make up for it in the next two days until I go back home. I did pack some of my own food in a an insulated lunch box to bring down with me... Pre-measured ziplocks of grapes, apples, yogurts, my 100 cal popcorn mini bags and diet hot chocolate... It sort of makes me feel like a crazy person but the peace of mind is worth it.

I'll catch up on personals when I get back!

Morning, Feathers!

I have another exam this morning...almost done....

I've totally crashed and burned these past three days. Totally and completely. Exam craziness, awful sleep, and of course, the bad eating. Probably the worst days of binge eating I've had this year, no kidding. I was planning on going clothes shopping once we got to Japan, and now I definitely need to--except it's for larger ones, not smaller!! And then to top it all off, this morning I tripped and fell and messed up my knee, so I can't even walk, much less exercise....just stuck feeling very stressed and bloated and uncomfortable and gross....

Though I feel like THE WORST CRAP right now, in a way, it's good-- definitely a wake-up call. Yeah, I had some awesome success losing weight, but if this inevitable break happens, it's not worth it. I can justify keeping binge-like-eating in my routine to the ends of the earth when it's working, but then this happens. Am I just kidding myself that I can keep doing it? It's very confusing. /: I've been able to be honest with my husband about everything I'm struggling with with eating and body image, which has been great. I'm also getting a good hard look at my priorities.....

Basically I'm so ready for a vacation. Taking a break from school, and also taking a break from working out (well, at least the amount I can't do since I can hardly move my leg!) and dieting and obsessing about being thin...just going to hang out and try and enjoy the other parts of life a little bit more, since I just have gotten quite overly obsessive with just being skinny lately, unfortunately. At least I can see that now!

Sorry, no time for personals again, exam is literally starting in 10 minutes and I've got a 5 minutes walk, haha. Love to you all!

I saw this ecard online and I was ''wow. this is pretty much the 3fc thread chat'' LOL

Have a good saturday ladies!

Turbo-That card is awesome! Who doesn't love young Brad Pitt!!!!!!

Mottainai-OMG I totally forgot about an exam once, I made it there an hour into the exam, that was tough. Glad your professor was understanding and that the exam went well. Sorry to read about your binging and not feeling great. My motivation to workout is that I want to be strong. I am also an actress, usually just for fun or when a cool play drops into my lap so to speak. I have been particiating in theater for the past 17/18 years. I am at a point where I would like to get more serious with my acting, the competition is high. And there aren't a lot of roles for black women so I figured I should try to look my best.

JossFit Keep working hard and making those fantastic meals and you'll get back to where you want to be. I bet its just period bloat.

JessicaBGood job on the drop, staying on plan really helps that water weight drop off! That sucks that the lingerie didn't fit, at least it wasn't because of something you could control. Some companies make things impossible small.

I don't have any kids. I have assisted two of my cousins during the births of their children. I also have a large family there are a lot of little ones!

Kakers Glad the bank is working with you and your hubby!!! That is not any fun at all.

*****

Well I am at 149.4 for day two which is awesome considering that I went out for a holiday party last night, lots a food and booze. It was a lot of fun. They set up a casino for us all and you could win prizes at the end. I did have a great workout beforehand which I think help not present a gain today. We'll see about tomorrow.

LOL Turbo, love that. Yes, that is this chat...

Happy Saturday all! I made this deliciousness for lunch today;



It's 3 Trader Joe's turkey meatballs (cut in half) plus some fire roasted tomatos, tomato sauce, italian seasoning, garlic, and shiritake noodles. It's hard to see, but there is also shaved parmesan cheese on top. It's melting though so it just looks like more noodles. It tasted yumtastic.

So... as I posted earlier my weight was way up from where I hoped/thought/wanted it to be. I honestly think its a bit of a fluke! I got a massive headache during my workout and my eating was all over the place yesterday, so I'm wondering if I wasn't retaining some water due to dehydration and extra salt yesterday. Not only that but I have been lifting quite a lot and have been decently sore.

Today I did a somewhat lighter workout, drank a lot of water, and I'm going to try again tomorrow morning and see if it's any lower. If it is... awesome. If not, well, I'm not going to stress over it.

The important things are that I still look good right now, my lifts are up, and my clothes fit. I actually got the dress that I ordered to wear on Christmas and a pair of ITTY BITTY jeans in the mail yesterday and honestly looking at the pants I didn't think they were going to fit! They're from Express which uses like super vanity sizing, but they even looked tiny. They're a size 2 stretch skinny jean so they have some give but I was still a little skeptical. They fit PERFECTLY though! I was so happy! My dress fits and looks great too, though it is a lot more forgiving than the jeans.

Anyway, we'll see what happens tomorrow but even if it's still up I'll just try again next weekend and hope it's lower.


EDIT: So, I just spoke with my husband and he told me that he doesn't feel like drinking over the holidays. He usually get hammered on Christmas Eve at the Ranch party and spends Christmas hungover. I'm actually not only excited that he won't be hungover and can actually enjoy Christmas with me, but I feel like it takes some pressure off of me. I will be easier for me to eat well and keep some excess calories at bay if I'm not trying to keep up with him (or snacking while I'm waiting for him to get tired of partying so we can go to sleep.)

That also means we don't have to go out on New Year's Eve, and I can get to the gym on Christmas if we feel like going! Yay! I guess I just feel like I have more wiggle room now to indulge LESS if I so choose. If I don't start losing some dang fat soon I will probably be choosing that very route... haha

Domlacha - I've noticed that a lot of ladies don't experience a gain when they expect to after a night out, and the common culprit is the alcohol! Dehydration will definitely do that, so don't be upset if you are up tomorrow when things even out a bit.
It sounds like you had a great time!

Turbo - Yep, that's us! Have a good weekend!

Mottainai - Glad the exam went well for you. I hope that going to Japan gives you the break you need to get things sorted out a bit. It can be so hard dealing with those issues, and it seems like every other day there is a new idea of how to deal with them! Relax, enjoy your trip, and enjoy your time with your husband!

OhThePlaces - Nice job! Hope you're enjoying yourself.

Bayzee - Congrats on the weigh-in! Only 1 pound to hit your goal right?!