Weight Loss Buddies - Spring 2012 4/10/12

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Laura - If you got to 178 once, you can do it again! We all fluctuate a few lbs each day depending on hydration, whether we are full/empty, fluid retention, etc. If helps to weigh your self at the same time each day to keep from going crazy.

Alexa congrats on the loss last week! That is great.
Do either of you track changes in pants/dress sizes or percent body fat? I found that the pants-o-meter was more satisfying than the scale when I was first starting to lose. Tracking percent body fat is depressing, but I think I have to do it now anyway.

I am at 143.8, so up another lb. At least it is down one lb from what I weighed yesterday morning. Vegetable soup is a miracle dinner!

I had a couple of really great workouts this week, and they don't mean that I deserve ice cream... I did 60 minute yoga classes on Sunday and Tuesday, spin class on Monday, 60 minute run on Wednesday, and got lazy Thursday and Friday. I beat my elliptical distance record at the gym on Saturday, then played in the pool with my daughter for a while. It is normal for me to gain a little weight as I settle into a workout routine, then drop weight fairly quickly once my intake and output get balanced. I am feeling a little rotten after spin class today, but I hope it won't slow me down much.

Good luck ladies!

[alexa5]

I agree with Teresa, Laura You can get there again, and sometimes hitting it means you are almost there but your body isn't quite convinced..but is on its way. Mine works like that sometimes.

Good luck with all of the exercise, Teresa....that is great!

I weighed in a little up today at 158, but that means I have officially lost 5 lbs since I started WW online, so that is good. Plus I think the 158 was more of a water retention/timing issue, even though I weighed in at the same time as usual. I am hoping in a couple of days I will see a difference like last week. my body doesn't seem to understand my weigh in day

I have done fairly well I think.... I still have treats, but that is a must for me, and I have so much less than I used to, which is the biggest victory...

[alexa5]

Teresa.... I know you mentioned tracking/not tracking some in this thread. So bringing the topic back up.

I find after 3 weeks tracking points isn't feeling necessary to help me know what to eat/how much, etc. All 3 weeks I ended up with almost identical weekly points left, used similar daily points, earned similar activity points, etc. I think I know if I have a huge lunch, I should take it easy at night. Instead of having some ice cream every night like I used to, I now eat it only on my light eating days. And I know on weekends that is when I splurge the most but only have 2 meals in a day versus 3.

I have never been into journaling/writing things down/tracking, and I am starting to wonder now if I should just try this without the online tracking. I know there are many times that I cheat a bit on the points anyway because some items they consider to be far more points than what it should be. Like cheese...they must hate cheese because if you get anything with cheese it has a million points, but for me that is often the protein in my sandwiches as I prefer not to eat a bunch of lunchmeat. So I am not really taking in tons more calories....just eating something that they consider to be a large number of points.

And then one thing I decided this past weekend, is that I hated feeling like I couldn't eat at night if I ate a less than healthy lunch. I think now I am going to make myself eat something good, even if it is just a piece of toast, as I don't want to feel like I can't eat. Once I feel deprived too much I get annoyed.

So, I think I am going to try this week with just following the basic plan but with no tracking and see how I do. Is that where you are now with it?

I forgot to let you know that the pants thing is a great measure...I can tell a big difference already that some pants/shorts aren't tight like they were 5 lbs ago

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Hi Alexa,
It is a little late, so I might reconsider parts of this in the morning.
I gave up tracking because tracking is simply not in my nature. It is a huge effort on my part. That said, it works. I lose when I track. I gain when I stop. I have to be incredibly detailed and honest for tracking to work for me. It might be that the discipline of measuring cups and scales is more important that actually writing it down. I use a guideline similar to yours most of the time, and it keeps me in a +/- 5 lb range. The problem is that I only want to be at the bottom of the range. I think I can get away with it if I am working out 60 minutes every day and going longer and hard a few days each week. If only I had the time to run off every indulgence instead of working insane days (that aren't yet over).

It can be to stay low on points if you are avoiding meat at meals. Lean meats are low in points, and vegetarian proteins are higher. I LOVE cheese. Love it. But, I have to stay away from it to lose. It is one of my primary weaknesses. I felt kind of weird putting low-fat laughing cow on a sandwich, but it is pretty good for one point. Soft goat cheese is similarly low in points/calories for its deliciousness. Skipping meals does not work for me at all. I get evil when my blood sugar crashes, so my family really appreciates if I have something for dinner. I wake up too hungry the next day if I don't. I just go over a little if I have to. I look at my points/calories as a weekly thing. I might screw up one day, but there is always tomorrow.

The only downside to the pants technique is when you shrink out of all of your good work clothes. My credit cards are on fire, and I am about to meet my first tailor. I guess I shouldn't whine about that.

[alexa5]

That makes sense. I think in my case I realized I eat so similar each week whether dieting or not, it seems silly to record it as if I didn't know what I was eating or that recording was changing anything. I think it was good to do it for a few weeks to know that I was staying within my daily/weekly/activity points, and now that I know that there is no point to be going online to record it.

I love cheese too... Luckily I can eat it okay, but I just mainly have it a couple of days a week on my sandwiches, or if we make something for dinner that has some cheese on it. I am big fan of dairy, and though I do eat some meat, I probably get more of my protein from dairy on most days.

So, we will see how it goes....I guess the key thing is that we are both putting thought into what we eat/how much, etc, and that is really the key thing.

[tree]

Hi Ladies,
I hope you are both doing well and kicking butt! I had kind of a rough week, but I am down about one half pound. I weighed 143.4 this morning. I wound up in the doctors office having a conversation that I really didn't want to have on Monday, so I moped all week. My husband talked me into getting out for a bike ride yesterday, which was really nice. I have to go on an "all refined, all crap" diet for the rest of the week. I can't believe that I used to eat this kind of stuff regularly. It seems so strange after a few years of eating whole, healthy foods. At least I get real pasta out of the deal.
I am going to try to get a few more workouts in this week if I can keep my stomach in check. Work is still kicking my butt. I hope I have the sense to get out a few times anyway.

[alexa5]

Sorry to hear about your week....I hope things go okay for you

I weighed in at 157, so down another lb...6 total. I am hoping that I will see a little more loss late week--my body doesn't seem to understand weigh in day, and chooses its own day But my clothes feel much better and I know I am doing a pretty decent job. And the no tracking is going nicely. I know I ate about the same amount without tracking it, so I will probably just keep not tracking food.

Have a great day!

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Thanks Alexa! I go in for testing tomorrow, which requires a 24 hour fast and full system clean out. At least I should lose some weight after this...
I probably shouldn't give in to my ridiculous craving for waffles tomorrow afternoon. I am buried in work, feeling pretty bad, and completely obsessed with the idea of waffles. Lots of waffles... I hope you all have more self restraint than I do!

[LauraBeck12]

Down to 178.2!
and i have not been running or going to yoga as much because i started a new job.
I would like to lose one lb this week.
I will run tomorrow and friday do yoga on Saturday.
Slowly but surely!
Thanks for all the support ladies! It really helps!

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Laura, Congrats on getting to 178! That is great! I hope the new job is working out well for you.
I cheated like crazy this week due to the doctor ordering a fast, so I am down to 140.8. Yay! At least I got something good out of the deal. I also avoided getting diagnosed with any new medical issues, which is also a good thing. I have my hands full with what I already have. I moseyed around the Denver Promise Walk route on Sunday, then did some more walking around in the afternoon yesterday and today. I am going to try to start up "real" workouts again tomorrow.
I hope you ladies had a great weekend. Good luck this week.