Hi everyone. Do you mind if I join?

I am Amanda, I started my weight loss journey on March 14, 2007~best decision of my life!! I weighed in at 170lbs-- at 5'1" that is far from pretty! So far I have lost around 15-16lbs. I made my first mini goal (158lbs, BMI under 30) on 05/02. I'm currently working toward my second mini goal which is 145lbs. I don't set a time line for the goals because I don't want to be bummed if I don't make it. When I get there, I get there. This week has been pretty discouraging. My weight has been yo-yoing like crazy. Yesterday I was down to 154.6, this morning I was back up to 155...it's been like that all week. I know that's not a huge difference but it's a first for me..it's not steadily going down like it has been. I also know it's normal but it doesn't make it easier to deal with when it happens.

I look forward to getting to know you all.

It is best not to weigh every day, that way you will not see the normal flucuations.Try weighing once a week. It will save your sanity, believe me , been there, done that.

Bargoo is right, your weight fluctuates from day to day. I think it is OK to weigh yourself every day if you realize that and don't look too much into it. But, I would pick one day during the week, say on Monday, where you weigh yourself and you count that as your weight for the week and compare it to last week's weight. and

Thanks for the replies.

Bargoo, I'm too obsessed to NOT weigh in daily. LOL!

Lori, that's what I do. My official weigh-in day is tomorrow. I've just never had a whole week of fluctuations like I have the past week where my weight is literally, up and down from day to day. I do understand that fluctuations are normal, I'm just worried about hitting the dreaded plateau, which I know is also normal and can't be prevented. I am NOT giving up though!! Even if I do eventually hit a dead end, I WILL get through it.

Us? Mind if you join? Pfft! Welcome here.

(And good luck on your weight loss! We may approximatively have the same amount ot lose--I'm 5'1" as well, and even though my highest was at 165, I wouldn't be surprised if I actually did reach 170 at some point right after the Christmas foodfest, before I actually dared to weigh myself again. XD)

As for weigh-in day, once a week seems pretty enough. Every day would probably be more useful when going into actual maintenance, so that you can keep track for some time of your body's natural weight fluctuation (ovulation, TOM, whatever). Come to think of it... Here's something that might be useful: I switched my weigh-in day to Saturday morning. Sat/Sun are the days I'm the most likely to get invited somewhere and not necessarily have healthy food options available. Thus I prefer to 'get rid' of the weigh-in before that, so that I know I have a whole week to get back on track if needed--and I also don't have that panic attack come Sunday evening thinking "Ohmygod ohmygod I've eaten a slice of pie yesterday I've blown it all I'm so lame I'm so <insert more self-deprecating and irrational crap here>". And no kidding... it works.

Thanks for the input Kery. I've thought about changing my weigh-in day because I tend to not be so good on the weekends sometimes. Weighing in on Wednesday only gives me three days to get back on the wagon. It would be helpful but I didn't want to mess the 'cycle' up. I may do it anyway. I think Fridays would be perfect weigh-in days for me.

I'm really not sure how much I weighed in the beginning. I bought a screwy, cheap scale and it was SO inaccurate...said I lost almost 10lbs in less than a week! I took it back a few days later and exchanged it for the one I have now. So, my "beginning weight" is the first weight I got with the screwy scales. The first reading with the scales I have now was right around 169. Truth be told, it could've been higher than 170.

I have a question for you since we're so close, if you don't mind answering. How much did you have to lose before you could SEE a difference? I can FEEL a slight difference in the way my clothes fit and such but I see nothing changing. Even in pictures, I can't tell anything is happening. And my stomach, not my actual waist line but my 'problem area' doesn't seem to be going ANYWHERE!! Please, tell me it will eventually start to disappear?!

Doh! I don't know if my perception is skewed, but I've always had a hard time to see the difference myself (after having been overweight for something like 15-20 years, I suppose it's kind of... logical?).

There IS a difference. My old pants are very loose and I had to buy new clothes, my face is way leaner, my bra size has shrinked (not in cups thought), I can snap my regular, favourite belt on the 4th hole instead of the 1st or 2nd one, I have more energy than before and fly in the staircase instead of dragging myself ... but it is nevertheless hard to see myself as a slimmer person. It's also due, I think, to the fact that all my 'before' pictures were on a HDD that died last year, so I have absolutely nothing left to compare the 'now' to, except pics from high school if I find them again (I was about 160 lbs then I think).

But the results ARE noticeable. Other people just happen to notice them way before I do, because my mind is still too uses to the old me. I'd say... people I hadn't seen in a few months noticed the first 10-12 lbs drop, in any case--although they may also have noticed it sooner if we had been around each other sooner. Before that, I don't know; it was probably more evident in the face and arms than anywhere else, but things may slim down very differently depending on the people.

If your stomach is your problem area, it may unfortunately be the last part where you'll lose. I have the same problems with my thighs/buttocks (ugh, the horror, still), because it's where I gained the weight first and foremost; conversely, the puffy face was the first thing to go, as it was the very last place I gained. It WILL go eventually, just not as fast as one would wish. Unless someone can point me to a solution to make this happen; I sure would like to grab it fast in that case!

Hope this helped, even a little.

Hm, reading this again, I realize it may seem a little disheartening...

The thing I should add is: there WILL be changes, and they WILL be noticeable. Just be prepared to see other people notice them, but not you. Not immediately. It takes a while to get used to our new bodies.

Thank you Kery. Your post wasn't disheartening in the slightest. My perception is also a bit skewed when it comes to self image. I know that deep down I will always think I am fat. It doesn't matter how 'skinny' I get, I'll still see fat. I guess I need to work on that, huh? LOL!

On a good note, I think I figured out what my problem was over the past week. I think I was retaining due to a lower water intake. I drowned myself in the stuff yesterday and woke up to 153.6lbs!!

I'm in the 153lbs range! Wow!! I haven't seen that number in over 4 years!

Today being weigh-in day, that's more than great! LOL! Now let's just hope it sticks!

That's a great thing, seeing a number we haven't sen in years!

(I never have the water intake problem, since I've always been a big drinker, but now that you mention it, I think it makes sense.)

I have NEVER been a water drinker. Literally, NEVER! I was a coke girl all the way...until 2 months ago. LOL Just to show you how bad it really was, I was getting 600-900 calories a DAY just from cokes! I quit those cold turkey and switched to water and, occasionally, diet coke. I still have to force myself to drink water though. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE it now but I still can't seem to drink ENOUGH...I struggle to get 40-50oz/day. I start feeling bloating and icky after that.

Anyway, now that I've rambled on AGAIN the point is I wasn't even getting my 40-50oz/day the past week so I think that had a lot to do with my crazy fluctuations.

I used to be the exact same way! I could down a 12 pack of Coke in a day with little difficulty! I also quit cold turkey, and it's probably been 6 or 7 months since I've had a single Coke (although I do have the occasional sip from my fiance's glass at restaurants, but VERY rarely). I've switched to Coke Zero, which kills my cravings pretty quickly, or Diet Coke when I can't find Zero. And I drink TONS of water... sometimes up to 4 L in a day