<p>eddieodessa—congrats on your loss, that’s a lot in a short period of time. I’ve lost 28 lbs with WW since May. I even compared how “slow” my loss was in comparison, then reminded myself that we’re all different and slow and steady is good for me…</p>
<p>ema congrats on a start to a loss…good luck</p>
<p>I failed the five pound challenge, but if you count from the Tuesday, I’ve lost four pounds. I’m within half a pound of what I weighed in the beginning of August. No idea why my weight crept up all summer. This week is going to be bad. Wine tasting dinner tonight, wine tasting tomorrow, and dinner at a new vegan restaurant I helped design on Thursday. Ack!</p>
<p>My fitbit has finally arrived. Now just need to figure out how it works.</p>
<p>mom60, would love to hear that goes – am thinking of getting one, too.</p>
<p>Also considering a fitbit. Please do report back. Did you get the bracelet one?</p>
<p>EPTR, when you fall out of your groove it can be the hardest thing to get back into it. I let myself take a week or two off after I bought my wedding dress and got that stress out of the way (prior to going I was TERRIFIED I would look bad in all the dresses so it was a stressful occasion), and it took me over a month to get back into the habit. I just try to remind myself that if I can force myself through the first week or two, it gets easier and easier-- it is easy to get intimidated by how hard that first day back on the wagon is and convince yourself to give in even though it only stays that hard very temporarily. Keep trying and you will get it! It’s okay for it to be really hard and for you to be tired, but you can do it.</p>
<p>I lost just over 3lbs this week. I have been following my routine to the letter-- my calories are varying between 1200 and 1400 so I am a little more comfortable with the range, and it makes sense about not letting your body get too used to a low range. That’s something I want to play with. WW also recommends earning 28 activity points in a week and I am breaking my back getting 31, so I am considering cutting it to 28.</p>
<p>Tonight we have to eat pizza with my FMIL and naturally tomorrow is my real WW weigh in day. I am trying not to freak out… if I was good all week a slice of pizza or two shouldn’t kill me. But after so much struggle I am so afraid to do something to screw up my momentum. I am inspired by all of you and your persistence! I will try to focus on a healthy mind today in addition to body… it is not good for me to worry so much.</p>
<p>Congrats Ema! 3 lbs is huge. It sounds like you have found the right formula to kick into fat burning mode, so be extra careful on the pizza as it will give you a glucose/sugar spike and two hours later you will want to eat everything in site. To balance that, have a 100 calorie snack w/ some protein an hour before you get there (one half of a deviled egg, for example), make sure you have more salad than pizza when you are there, and if there are healthy protein options, sneak them in to balance the glucose spike. This will allow you to get right back into fat burning mode in the morning, and you won’t have lost your momentum you are on now.</p>
<p>I am merely trying to eat smaller, more frequently (5/6 times a day) and have increased my walking to a brisk pace for longer distances so I am sweating slightly, now up to 4 times a week. The fat seems to be falling off … finally noticed the looseness in my waistband and in my jeans.</p>
<p>I am listening to an audio book called, “Younger Next Year” while I walk outside. I was initially turned off by the corniness of one of the voices, but I had nothing else to do so kept listening, and now I’m glad I did.</p>
<p>It is explaining to me why exercise is important for overall health, which is what I needed to hear now that I’ve hit the big 5-0. It also talks about other things on the path toward optimal health, and it aligns surprisingly well with my health class, so I’m getting more motivated to eat right and exercise so that when I am 60, I can take any vacation I want and have the stamina to fully participate. I recommend this for anyone desiring to improve their health that is interested in a little more explanation of why exercise and healthy eating is good for you without getting too technical. I do not want creaky hips and knees in 10 years, and it explain how that will happen if you don’t exercise and eat enough good food.</p>
<p>Thank you, Alumother, for the encouraging words! I was really happy when this thread started (thank you, EPTR!) because I knew that this was the only way I could approach weight loss/fitness. </p>
<p>mathmom, I’m glad you liked the salad! I never use nuts on it because S1 is allergic, and I almost never have blood oranges or pomegranate seeds. I consider this salad a treat. The recipe makes a huge amount, and it stands up very well for a day or two, even dressed. </p>
<p>Ema, congratulations on the 3 pounds! That’s fantastic. It sounds like you’ve found the right balance. It’s too bad about the pizza, I know you’d rather not eat it at all but feel that you must. You have some good suggestions on how to minimize the damage and keep your weight loss going.</p>
<p>Ema, congrats on the three lbs. don’t be discouraged if the pizza causes a weight gain. It will be temporary. I know at least for me the salt in pizza causes me to retain water and I am usually up at least a few lbs for a couple of days after. go for the fresh vegetable toppings, avoid cured meats and salty olives.
I have used the Fitbit for 4 days now. I have so far just used it to track my steps. I bought the Fitbit1 I think it is called. It clips on your clothing. I have found it is easy to just clip it on my pant pocket with the Fitbit tucked inside. It is not noticeable. I have not tried the sleep monitor yet. A positive is that yesterday I was 2000 steps short of 10000 so I went out for a walk around the block. It is also encouraging me to head again this afternoon. I bought it with a 20% off coupon from REI so for what I paid I am happy.
I am once again reminded that I need to be vigilant about what I bring into the house. A impulse purchase of chocolate almond biscotti from Costco is a trigger for me. I have discovered that I cannot have just one. The same with some sark chocolate coconut Bon bons from Trader Joes. The good news is I am back where I was before my SF trip. I now just need to get back on a losing regiment.
Snowflake I am going to look for that book at the library. I know for me a huge motivator is that I want to be mobile as I age. I was thrilled that I handled the hills of San Francisco without huffing and puffing. That would not have been the case several years ago.</p>
<p>Checking in … How is everyone doing?</p>
<p>My health teacher said something that made a lot of sense. One of my classmates confessed that they over ate at a party and they were feeling bad about it. She said, “well, it sounds like you gave yourself permission to delay your path to optimal health. You define the path, which includes how fast you get there.” She was telling us to understand what it takes to get to a healthy weight, then decide how fast you want to get there. If you change your definition for what that journey is for you, then don’t beat yourself up for it.</p>
<p>What is your path and how quickly do you want to get there?</p>
<p>When I first posted on the other exercise thread I said I was going to eat a diet that I thought I could eat for the rest of my life. I knew it would mean that the weight would come off slowly and that the rate of loss would decrease with time. I was curious to see where I would end up. So far 33 pounds since Jan 2010. I’d love to weigh what I did when I got married, which is about ten pounds less than I do now, but I’m happy that I am where I am. I’ve bounced up and down a bit, but the general trend has been down. I wore a 10 to 12 when I started and can wear a 4 to 6 now. I’m in better shape, my blood pressure is great, and who knows maybe I’ll lose a few more pounds.</p>
<p>I’ve been avoiding this thread as last week I was out for either work or celebratory dinners every night and when I finally got back on the scale was almost back to where I started. At least I have been persevering with my running and at the gym and am headed back in the right direction. I ordered a new pair of running pants (my old ones are too tight in the waist :() and biking gloves to help me stick with it.</p>
<p>Snowflake, I read “Younger Next Year For Women” a few years ago and thought enough of it that I bought a copy for my sister. I’m going to take another look at it. If I remember correctly the authors advocated getting some kind of exercise every day, which I am trying to do (with one weekend day off).</p>
<p>Congrats to everyone, especially those who’ve been working on this for some time. I salute you.</p>
<p>Just stopping in to say I am thinking of all of you and I hope you are doing well working towards your goals! We have had no power the last 24 hours so I was not able to eat as well as I’d like, and I did gain a bit after my pizza adventure. But not so much so as to be alarming just yet, so I am continuing to chug along.</p>
<p>I have a friend at work who pays for weight watchers but doesn’t use it, paid for P90X but hasn’t used it. She always says “I’m going to start next week,” and she never starts. I am sorry that she’s stalled out so. We would do well to remember when we are struggling that, at the very least, we have started-- and is a huge obstacle that we have overcome already. Once we get into the thick of it it is easy to forget how far we have come.</p>
<p>Well done, math mom! And 1moremom, don’t let those parties and gatherings throw you off. Let yourself know ahead of time how many calories/fat/protein/carbs different kinds of appetizers have and allocate some to yourself. If you do happen to splurge, make sure you throw in some brisk walking to burn some off so you offset the extra “fuel”.</p>
<p>Ema, what a great attitude you continue to have. I am rooting for you!</p>
<p>Thanks for the encouraging words, Ema! And congrats on the weight loss!!!</p>
<p>Found this today so here is a little present for everyone.</p>
<p>[5</a> Essential Bodyweight Exercises (VIDEO)](<a href=“5 Essential Bodyweight Exercises (VIDEO) | HuffPost Life”>5 Essential Bodyweight Exercises (VIDEO) | HuffPost Life)</p>
<p>Bumping us up as we approach Thanksgiving.
EPTR- I am going to check that link out later this afternoon when I have a bit more time.</p>
<p>The Fitbit- I am happy I bought it. If nothing else I find it makes me move more. I have found unless I take several long walks it is difficult to hit 10000 steps. It has pushed me to take an longer route on my walk. It also have pushed me to go up and down my staircase a few extra times at the end of the day in order to get my step number up. Still haven’t taken the time to figure out the sleep function. I also don’t know what I will gain with sleep information.
Share some tips for heading into the next week and month of eating?</p>
<p>Thank you for posting that link, EPTR. Those exercises look great, and three of them are completely new to me.</p>
<p>We tracked our sleep for a few months before I lost interest in it. It was interesting to see how different foods, and different dinner times, affected sleep-- which it was, more than we realized. It was especially interesting to me as I have digestive health issues. It might be fun just to try, you won’t know what you will gain until you do! If nothing else it is kind of cool to see just once, if the fitbit maps your brainwaves like the tracker I was using.</p>
<p>Bumping this thread up.</p>
<p>Boy, I am starting to think that if I can just maintain my 27 pound weight loss between now and January 1st it will be an accomplishment!</p>
<p>This is getting really hard. I need to get back to tracking what I eat. Am still exercising, going to the neighborhood cheap gym now because it has just been so cold and windy. So walking on treadmill for 30 agonizing minutes, then using light weights and 20 reps on about 12 different machines. Hubby and daughter came last night. </p>
<p>So many lunches and dinners out and parties, etc. I am taking veggies and low cal dip for Thanksgiving. Also apple cider. Might make cranberry chuntney.</p>
<p>How is everyone doing? Any tips for me - what works for ya’ll this time of year?</p>