I find that weighing myself daily allows me to do instant course corrections when I start to drift.
I personally don’t want a daily weigh in. I try to eat healthy on daily basis. I go by a visual of my stomach and how pants fit.
Women should never compare themselves to men on weight loss issues, unless they want to be frustrated. Men in my groups have been 100# overweight and more. Change their diet and they lose. The women eat so much less, and it is a slow road. Men often never think about cream in coffee and types of salad dressings, while women have been conscious of these issues for years,
If you are good with Excel, you can do daily weigh ins and then calculate a 7-day moving average. That number will be more indicative of the weight trend than the daily number.
@BunsenBurner : Fitbit actually does that for you, if you log your weight using their app.
Good for Fitbit owners! 
I’ve known men who have lost 20 pounds or more just switching to light beer! It IS frustrating for women!
When I was in weight loss mode I switched out my IPAs for gin and diet tonics. I don’t remember what the calorie savings were but, over time, it added up. (I know, diet tonic, ick.)
I weigh myself every morning. If I’m up, I’ll be a little more mindful about my eating. If I’m down, I’m happy. Either way is good.
I recommend a high carb low fat vegan diet. Not only do you not have to cut out any calories for the day (you actually get to eat more) but with all the clean eating you don’t need to exercise often. 15 minutes of dancing should be enough. And if you are feeling it, maybe some squats. Do some rsesearch on it and visit youtube channels like kalel.
-IAmNotCreativ’s sister
Let’s try to keep this thread active. I admire greatly the folks in the “other” thread but they are hardcore, and that is fantastic, I admire and envy them.
That said, I cannot run, have never been able to run and have no intention of trying to run. I could not run in junior high school. I get so winded, it’s ridiculous. Later life and knee problems, no way can I run. Anyway, I try in my own “dummy” ways to do the best I can with diet and exercise so I appreciate input and encouragement from others like myself. We trudge forth and do our best, right?
I’ll have to check the Fitbit app to see what it does.
Good news, got the New Years weigh off and am down 6 lbs from when I started 4 weeks ago. Still have 14 to go, but it’s more than just water weight, I hope. At my age, losing 6 lbs in a month is not easy!
jym, CONGRATULATIONS! 6 lbs is a month is beyond not easy, and over the holidays, no less. You must be getting ready to head to the slopes and I bet you will burn even more calories. Be safe and enjoy!
Being sick must have had some advantage as I am now down the 4 lbs I had gained, but I suspect that has more to do with not eating than anything sensible. I think I’ll try to limit the carbs and increase the veggies/protein as I begin to eat more regularly…I have bathing suits in my future at the end of January, a good motivator!
“The other thread” has plenty more than runners! Bikers, class takers, walkers. Many do run but some don’t. I’ll only agree with the “hardcore” in that most of us ARE dedicated to the exercise portion of wellness in addition to trying our best at eating well (that said, we don’t deny many of us have a soft spot (literally and figuratively) for donuts!) - but, I think it is because of that dedication - exercising several times a week - that we have some success. The camaraderie can’t be beat!
Seconding abasket. By “hardcore” if you mean committed and disciplined, yes we are. That is why the thread continues to live on. We have people who have lost almost 100 pounds! We are a mix of competitive athletes and people who just started trying to ride a bike for fitness. We support everyone. We all have our failings and our slips, and no matter how “hardcore” we may seem, we face the same struggles of time demands, cold and dark mornings and fantastic sugary food all around us. We share a commitment to taking steps to improve our health and fitness.
I just talked to my mom friend who moved away, that is a MD. She talked about a plan where you do eat small meals but you mix up both your eating and your exercise - doing small amounts often (like 10 min three times a day). I can’t remember what was the book/plan name. She is going to try it. Said to be able for women and men to lose 20 lbs in a few weeks following. She gained 10 lb while her DDs were home, cooking and eating more - so she wants a kick start.
H just ate what he probably will eat as his sole meal of the day - a can of Stagg Chili (280 cal per serving, 2 servings in can, he ate it all) plus some Fritos. He does use powder creamer in his morning coffee.
He only has 13 more lbs to lose and then maintain. He will stay active running (or walking when his knee can’t take it).
I have to do daily, daily. 9 years ago (before Stage III Breast Cancer and 40 additional lbs of weight), I got to my goal weight (losing 30 lbs) and it took 26 months - daily morning short jog (walked then built myself up to where it would take under 15 min jogging the entire route) and watched carefully what I ate (quantity and calories) every day. My mistake was stopping the exercise and the weight came back on over the next 2 years. Then when I was going to start and stay exercising is when I found out about the cancer. My total weight was full pregnancy weight plus some - I now am at pregnancy weight, and want to lose 55 lb. I have a longer way to go, but I can follow a plan.
The main thing one needs to do as we age is to take in less calories and try to stay as active as possible.
One thing that may help - last night I made Knorr (Swiss) packaged soup. It takes time to cook it on the stove (1 liter of cold water, or maybe less with the US packaging) - you heat it to boiling, with stirring, then 5 more minutes. They have a variety - my friend says you can look up the calories (mine were bought some time ago in Switzerland, but probably on the US packaging). You know it can’t be a lot of calories because it is water with a small flat package of soup mix. I found it filling and satisfying.
Congrats on your health journey SOS and for working hard to get to where you want to be!
So what is your H going to do once he loses the weight and starts eating again? Stagg Chili and Fritos do not nourish one for the day! (not to mention the amount of salt that must be in that combo!) Any diet that requires a trick or gimmick that cannot be maintained for everyday long term living is not going to stick. It is simple, logical sense that he is losing weight now because he is not ingesting calories and he is also exercising - but if his caloric intake is going to eventually increase back to something more typical, then his weight will increase to a degree too. Can anyone argue that logic??
Till I’m blue in the face…no method of exercising or diet can be effective for the long run unless it is something you can maintain on an everyday, long term plan! ANY plan should allow for occasional treats, dinners out, etc. You can maybe kickstart, but half the time (if not more) kickstarting is too rigid and is what makes most people fall off the wagon anyway.
(also SOS, read the nutritional stats on that package of soup - I truly don’t know what it is - you may not be getting tons of calories from it, but what nutrition are you getting from it? Salt? Maybe it’s good for you - prove me wrong.)
I’d rather just eat healthy food, less of it and get more exercise.
H is an engineer (i.e. you can’t tell them anything) - I am a RN; my MD friend’s H is also an engineer.
My friend’s H had a little bleeding from his rectum some years back and didn’t tell her (now wouldn’t you at least mention something like that to your spouse, and especially if your spouse is a MD?) - it was during a time they relocated for his job. Well it turns out he discovered some time later that he had colon cancer (on the low end of the bowel) - which he did have successful surgery - she tries to get him to eat healthier too…From what I recall, she asked him about symptoms she noticed, and then he was treated - scary because at that point, she knew the time frame of when he had the rectal bleeding that he did not report to her.
H has 6 more years at work. This is what he typically does - no bfst. He takes a few pieces of fruit to work, or an occasional lunch meeting or lunch out. Then he comes home of course very hungry. I have suggested a hot bowl of oatmeal in the morning - in his mind, if he starts eating that in the morning, he will want to eat all day. As I said, if he had trouble with blood sugar levels, there is no way he could do what he is doing.
And H salts his food too (something I never do). H has family longevity, and more so if he do life a little healthier. I keep telling him I plan to outlive him.
H will eat some healthy things - salads. He ate green beans when I suggested it and he was hungry.
I do my way, he does his. I am with you @mathmom and @abasket .
I have no idea why H let himself go for a few months. Maybe he needed to do this almost period of fasting to remind himself to maintain better? Men are from Mars…
I will probably make another package of Knorr soup tonight, and he most likely will have some of that too.
I have been cancer free for 5 years now, but continue taking Tamoxifen (which does fatigue, and so my exercise level is less - but I feel protected with the Tamoxifen). I like the small meals, low fat, low meat, low calorie. I feel satisfied enough.
H is off this week on plant shut down. Driving me a bit crazy - he is eating almost nothing, but when I offer to prepare him something, he decides after I finished making mine…UGH. I had Knorr soup made last night (“Any of that left?” -no…) Since I had to go run a few errands, I stopped by Aldi’s, so didn’t make Knorr soup tonight. I had some chicken tortilla soup that I thinned a little with chicken stock. He ate his up “Any more?” - no (I wasn’t going to give him my small serving…). I got some fresh fruit/veggies at Aldi’s including a 4 package of corn on the cob (which he loves). I don’t eat it because corn is not on the ‘free’ veggie list. So I offered to cook him some and he had an enthusiastic “yes”. I bet it won’t take him but a few more weeks to get to his goal weight. But he is not super considerate of me (without even being aware of it) - I probably have it pretty good considering how his father treated his mother. However I just roll with the way things are going…I would be grumpier if I was on such a spartan eating plan. After I served him his corn on the cob, he said nothing so I said “you are welcome” and then he did say “thank you”. I have to try to bring up some consciousness of it…
jym, that’s a great start back!
My weight is still holding steady instead of dropping so I’ll have to try even harder to get back on track. I am getting back on my Wii fit most mornings for a warm up. My previously (2013) broken ankle has been feeling stiffer and stiffer so I splurged (per other thread) and am going for more physical therapy (per other other thread). Covered by insurance but new year so new deductible to meet so lots out of pocket to start.
Starting my new diabetes med today - the one that gives you pancreatitis; I still miss the one that gave you strokes that got pulled from insurance coverage. Hopefully now I can cut down on the other pill that gives me tummy troubles.
And if it ever stops raining I’ll try to start walking again - my new PT is a block from the beach.