Lacerta Glad to be back. I missed this group and the support it gives me. My weight did swing up and down between 239 and 244 during my absence but thankfully I didn't do too badly. I'm on 1.1 lbs up from my lowest so i'm very glad about that!

ange82much The new place is actually great! It's a bit bigger but my electric bill is staying the same( a huge concern for me). There are some minor issues being dealt with like leaking sink and toilet but thankfully nothing major. I am actually going to be hosting the fall festival for my homeschool group next month and i'm very excited about it! This place is on lots of land so there's plenty of space for it! I've never hosted before but everyone is being very helpful and bringing lots of tables, chairs and it's potluck so I don't have to deal with food. It'll be a new, and I hope positive, experience!

Snowmama Shockingly I am all unpacked. This is the first time I have moved when my kids were old enough to help out. I have 2 teens, 13 and 15, and since I had to work so much, 48-60 hours per week when I normally work 24, they literally packed my entire house except for my room. And it didn't stop there, they also unpacked the whole new house within the first 2 days! The only room not done was mine, though my daughter did unpack all my clothes and put them away. I am so proud of both of them I can't describe how easy this move was. I've never experience such a thing and they were rewarded amply by both myself and my mother!

Well I finally did my first workout in over a month this morning and I can say that I really missed it. I am back to stay! I am looking forward to being a part of this group again and hope we all get ourselves on the right track! I'm up a bit but i'm sure now that i'm working out again and focusing on being back on my eating plan it will come off and more!

9-13 240.3
9-19 241

Week Three
15: 223.4
16: 222.2
17: 221.6
18: 222.0
19: 221.6
20:
21:
----------------------------
Total Loss for Week Three:

I'm still just hanging out here. I've been reading up a lot of plateaus and set point theory. From what I've read, it is common to have a plateau of anywhere from 1 month to 6 months after losing 10% of body weight. I've lost 17% so far, so I'm guessing that is what is going on. Frustrating, since it is messing with my goals I'd set, but if it is part of the process, I have no choice but to wait it out. Fortunately, it isn't really a hardship for me. I'm still eating at a calorie deficit every day and I'm not overly hungry. I think I will track my calories more closely again for a while. One of the articles I read on set point theory said that if you've reached a point where you aren't making progress, one thing to try is to GRADUALLY increase your calories until you reach the edge of maintaining/gaining, then back off just a bit so you are eating the most calories you can without gaining weight. Maintain that for a while, so your body knows it isn't starving. Then when you cut calories again, the weight should come off. So I'm going to track closely again for a while so I know right where I am if I decide to do that.

ETA: I just plugged all my activity and food numbers in for yesterday, accounting for every last bite. I ate around 1800 calories, including the snickerdoodle I had at the office. That is a little more than usual. I actually felt quite full all day yesterday and went to bed feeling kind of full still. I believe I've been averaging more like 1600. But putting in all of my activities, walking, sleep, sitting at my computer, etc, yesterday, I burned about 2500-2600. So that was still a 700 calorie deficit. I believe that is less of a deficit than an average day, usually, I've been closer to 900-1000. Tracking for a few weeks again should tell me more accurately. But even if I was averaging 700/day deficit, I should have lost around 4 pounds this month, instead of the maybe 1 pound I have actually lost. So yeah, I think my body has gone into starvation mode (which is weird since I'm rarely hungry and still eating quite a few calories), so I'm going to try gradually eating more healthy calories and adding in a bit of strength training to see if I can raise my metabolism back up a bit over the next couple of weeks. I think September is just going to be a write off on the scale, but if I can break through this plateau, it will be a month well spent.

SW: 279
GW: 273

1: 279
2: 278.5 (have been on 279 for a week so I was due some kind of move)
3: 278 (still losing ovulation water weight)
4: 278
5: 277.5 Did 60 active Fitbit minutes yesterday and concentrated on eating protein and veggies
6: 278 Did no active minutes yesterday and only 3500 steps so not surprised there was a bump today
7: 278 Did 39 active minutes yesterday hauling my bags of slate and walked 5400 steps, but still no drop... My official weigh-in day is Saturday so I'll see what happens then.

Total loss after Week One: 1 pound
.................................................. ..............................

8: 278.5 Did 33 active minutes and 6200 steps yesterday, but 1730 calories with lots of bread, so I'm guessing that explains the bump.
9: 280 Did 85 active minutes and 11108 steps yesterday with lots of hills and steps so I'm not surprised that I'm retaining water. I'll do a moderate amount today and drink lots of water.
10: 280 Still holding onto water, which is annoying, but at least I know it's not a real bump.
11: 278.5 Back down, which is a relief. Hopefully the downward trend will continue.
12: 278.5 No change, but it's been a slow couple of days exercise-wise. Yesterday I was out with my dad, who has dementia and limited mobility so we walked but slowly and not far.
13: 278.5 Still no change. My calories and macros are OK so it's either the lack of exercise or hormones. It'll move eventually!
14: 277 Well, that was a nice surprise this morning! I haven't changed anything so it's just consistency and waiting out the water retention.

Total loss after Week Two: 2 pounds
.................................................. .........................................

15: 277 I didn't expect another loss after such a big drop yesterday, but I'm glad that it stuck given that Saturday is my official weigh-in day. However, I've just shoveled down a plate of butter chicken and naan bread so I'm expecting a 10-pound gain tomorrow!!
16: 277.5 Just half a pound of pain after my Indian yesterday. My total calories were actually fine (1335) but the salt, sugar, and bread were bound to have an effect.
17: 277.5 No change today. That's OK but I'm wondering whether my habit of cramming in steps before midnight is causing me to retain water that's still there when I weight in the next morning. No idea, it's just a theory.
18: 276.5 A bit of a bump. Yesterday I made sure that I'd finished my active minutes by 6pm. No idea if that had any effect.
19: 278 I don't often laugh when I see an increase on the scale but this was entirely predictable.

Yesterday I went to complete my postgrad registration and to do a recce of the building where I'm mostly going to be based. The whole university slopes up from the centre of the city and my building is right at the top, amusingly next to the sports centre, as if anyone would need it after trekking up the hill. I'm not fit in any way and I'm still building up my steps on the flat, never mind a slope. Then I had errands in three totally different parts of the city before meeting a friend for dinner in yet another area. By the time I got home my legs were throbbing and this morning even my fingers were swollen with water retention. I ended up with 85 active minutes, most of them cardio. I thought it would be more but I kept stopping to look around/do errands so I guess that's why. It's going to be so much fun hurrying up that hill every day!

Lacerta I’m really making a focused effort on the protein. I’ve found that Safeway has frozen chicken breast tenderloins that are small enough to cook quickly, without having to deal with fresh chicken. And the quality is good. That’s my go-to, with various seasoning/flavoring. 45 lbs lost in 6 months is no joke. Stay on it, you’ll continue to be rewarded with results.

Chunkah If I don’t get to do a regular workout, I’ve been doing a high intensity sprint at the end of the day. It’s 15 minutes or less, but enough to make me sweat. I know it makes a difference because I run hotter through the next morning. And I’m still hungry. Lol. Nice work on the new low – I’m looking forward to seeing 135!

Newlyn I’m high-detail, so you’re speaking my language. I also have an excel spreadsheet, one tab for daily weight and one tab for weekly, with the delta between days and weeks. I track macros, calories, measurements and activity through MFP and my Apple Watch. I should take more photos to track changes visually, but I hardly ever feel like doing that. I love information, and having it really allows me to track trends and adjust when needed. Congrats on your progress this month! Look forward to more updates.

Momtopands Slow clap for raising helpful children who step in when needed. Those are the little (big?) things that make my heart happy in my own life. You’re brave hosting an event at your place! I turn into an anxious mess when I host. Lol.

15: DNW
16: 151.6
17: 151.0
18: 150.8
19: 151.0 TOM

Went out to dinner last night for my birthday, had a little bit of a cheese-bread-balsamic-chili abomination and two glasses of wine with my steak salad. Oh, and a couple of bites of chocolate cake from my favorite dessert diner. I didn't go too crazy, but still over my usual. Went running on Monday, pushing myself a bit.

GOAL: Averaging under 1400 daily calories each week
Week 1 Average = 1395
Week 2 Average = 1365
Week 3:
Sat 9/15: 1391
Sun 9/16: 1497
Mon 9/17: 1372
Tues 9/18: 1081
Wed 9/19: 1495 [Might've been less. I ate out and prefer to overestimate calories.] (running average = 1367)
Thurs 9/20:
Fri 9/21:
Average =
..............................
There definitely won't be any exercise today--bad cramps.

momotpands - That's wonderful that your move went so well! What great kids!

Lacerta - Bumping up the calories for a while is a great call.

newlynn - at the sports centre on top of the hill. What is postgrad? Is that study beyond the bachelor's level?

SnowMama - A belated Happy Birthday wish to you!

Added SnowMama. Did I miss anyone else?

ange82much: maintain 112-117lbs
Cattails: -4 lbs
Chunkahlunkah: average under 1400 daily calories each week
darius: -10 lbs
Fungirl28: - 8 lbs
gardenerjoy: -1 kg
kelijpa: -2 lbs
kfunk6113: -8 lbs
Lacerta: -5.8 lbs
Newlyn: -6 lbs
opheliaphoenix: 5.2 lbs
Raining: -5 lbs
SnowMama: -5 lbs
Tesni: -4 lbs

September goal: -1 kg (reach 98.0 kgs)

1: 99.0 kgs
3: 99.35
4: 99.5
7: 99.2
20: 98.85

Snowmama: Happy Birthday

Newlyn: I look at that having to climb the hill every day as a huge benefit. I always feel disadvantaged in the health department in that I don't have stairs in my house or my workplace, so I have to go looking for them if I want to climb some. Exercise you can get by going about your day is a great thing.

momtopands: Sounds to me like you raised a couple of great kids. Glad the move is over with and you can get back to normal life.

Week Three
15: 223.4
16: 222.2
17: 221.6
18: 222.0
19: 221.6
20: 220.2
21:
----------------------------
Total Loss for Week Three:

Finally, a whoosh. This is by far my new low, and the first time I've seen anything in the 220.x range. In fact, this puts me into metric Onederland (under 100kg, Yay! ) and so close to a new decade. We'll see tomorrow if I get to keep it or if it is just a fluke. I ate more calories again yesterday, around 1800, and drank a bunch of water. I was up 3 times in the night to pee, so I'm sure this loss was all water weight. No idea why I was hanging onto it for so long, but hopefully it stays gone. Going to make sure to get lots of water again today.

SW: 279
GW: 273

1: 279
2: 278.5 (have been on 279 for a week so I was due some kind of move)
3: 278 (still losing ovulation water weight)
4: 278
5: 277.5 Did 60 active Fitbit minutes yesterday and concentrated on eating protein and veggies
6: 278 Did no active minutes yesterday and only 3500 steps so not surprised there was a bump today
7: 278 Did 39 active minutes yesterday hauling my bags of slate and walked 5400 steps, but still no drop... My official weigh-in day is Saturday so I'll see what happens then.

Total loss after Week One: 1 pound
.................................................. ..............................

8: 278.5 Did 33 active minutes and 6200 steps yesterday, but 1730 calories with lots of bread, so I'm guessing that explains the bump.
9: 280 Did 85 active minutes and 11108 steps yesterday with lots of hills and steps so I'm not surprised that I'm retaining water. I'll do a moderate amount today and drink lots of water.
10: 280 Still holding onto water, which is annoying, but at least I know it's not a real bump.
11: 278.5 Back down, which is a relief. Hopefully the downward trend will continue.
12: 278.5 No change, but it's been a slow couple of days exercise-wise. Yesterday I was out with my dad, who has dementia and limited mobility so we walked but slowly and not far.
13: 278.5 Still no change. My calories and macros are OK so it's either the lack of exercise or hormones. It'll move eventually!
14: 277 Well, that was a nice surprise this morning! I haven't changed anything so it's just consistency and waiting out the water retention.

Total loss after Week Two: 2 pounds
.................................................. .........................................

15: 277 I didn't expect another loss after such a big drop yesterday, but I'm glad that it stuck given that Saturday is my official weigh-in day. However, I've just shoveled down a plate of butter chicken and naan bread so I'm expecting a 10-pound gain tomorrow!!
16: 277.5 Just half a pound of pain after my Indian yesterday. My total calories were actually fine (1335) but the salt, sugar, and bread were bound to have an effect.
17: 277.5 No change today. That's OK but I'm wondering whether my habit of cramming in steps before midnight is causing me to retain water that's still there when I weight in the next morning. No idea, it's just a theory.
18: 276.5 A bit of a bump. Yesterday I made sure that I'd finished my active minutes by 6pm. No idea if that had any effect.
19: 278 I don't often laugh when I see an increase on the scale but this was entirely predictable.
20: 276.5 Aaand back down again.

SnowMama Happy birthday! That sounds like a great dinner, and it was your birthday so you have to celebrate! Yeah, measurements are enough for me. I don't think I could bear photographs.

Chunkahlunkah Hope you feel better soon... Yes, postgrad is anything above a bachelor degree, so it could be a postgraduate certificate (60 credits), postgraduate diploma (120 credits), Master's (180 credits) or PhD. I'm doing a Master's in Public Health.

It's been a hard month. I'm not going to make my goal his month but I am showing a general losing trend.
I have been working on trying to count calories etc after I returned from the fitness camp on Sept 1st.
I'm getting everything under control but it is difficult.

September 2018 Weight Loss Challenge
Goal: 10 lb

Date Weight lb
-----------------------
8/31 296.0 START
9/07 295.4
9/08 294.6
9/10 295.2
9/17 296.4
9/18 295.8
9/19 293.6
9/20 294.4
9/21

I seem to be bouncing all over the place but i'm fine with it for now. Hope I get to keep the whoosh!

9-13 240.3
9-19 241
9-20 238.5

GOAL: Averaging under 1400 daily calories each week
Week 1 Average = 1395
Week 2 Average = 1365
Week 3:
Sat 9/15: 1391
Sun 9/16: 1497
Mon 9/17: 1372
Tues 9/18: 1081
Wed 9/19: 1495
Thurs 9/20: 1570 [Might've been less. I ate out and prefer to overestimate calories.] (running average = 1401)
Fri 9/21:
Average =
..............................

I went out to eat yesterday. My calories were probably a little less than what I'd estimated, but I always prefer to err on the high side with restaurant food. It sucks to have spent so many calories when I wasn't even that hungry or able to enjoy the food (cramps kill my appetite), but it was a social thing so that was good. I should be able to stay under my limit today with no problems since I'll likely be working on a paper until the deadline. What a sad Friday!

newlyn - Congrats on the program; that's great! I also thank you for the credit rundown. I hadn't known until then that the UK and US use different credit measurements. Good luck in school this year! Is your program 2 semesters a year, or is it structured differently?

darius - You're heading in the right direction; well done! I think it's natural for weight loss to slow a little after losing a substantial amount of weight in such a short period of time. Hang in there! Calorie counting is a learning process, and you'll have it down soon.

Lacerta - Yay, congrats on the whoosh!

momtopands - Wow, what a drop!

As I suspected, the whoosh was an outlier, but that's ok, i'm still not up!

9-13 240.3
9-19 241
9-20 238.5
9-21 240.3

Chunkahlunkah: I hate that, when I get invited out to eat in a situation I can't or don't really want to say no to, but then have to eat something I don't really enjoy, just because it is the best option available. Sometimes the mental health aspect of getting out with friends and socializing is more important, though. So good job working on your mental health yesterday.

Momtopands: I know that feeling well. Hopefully you get a whoosh soon that you get to keep.

darius: With as much weight as you lost last month, a stall was almost inevitable. Stick with it and keep up the good work. As you said, you are still moving downward.

Newlyn: Your bump up days are lower than before, and your down days are lower than they were. So even with the bouncing around, you are definitely trending downward. Keep at it.

Week Three
15: 223.4
16: 222.2
17: 221.6
18: 222.0
19: 221.6
20: 220.2
21: 219.8
----------------------------
Total Loss for Week Three: 2.2

OMG. Not only did I get to keep yesterday's whoosh, I'm even down more. I think I've officially broken free of my plateau. And LOOK what my 2nd digit is! I'm into the teens. So excited. Still not sure I'll make any of my goals this month, but just seeing this 219 is a huge motivator.

September goal: -1 kg (reach 98.0 kgs)

1: 99.0 kgs
3: 99.35
4: 99.5
7: 99.2
20: 98.85
21: 98.9