It's Wednesday weigh ins! 2007-2022

[Rambler]

April 29 - 235
May 6 - 233
May 13 - 232
May 20 - 231
May 27 - 231

Nothing lost, nothing gained. I'm walking about 15-20 miles a week and running about 15 miles a week, and watching what I eat. Losing weight ain't easy...

R

[DangerMouse]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaronc879 If you're not already doing so, drink less soda and more water.

I don't drink soda at all, my main consumption of fluids is plain old water, so it's not that.

I don't think it is starvation as I make sure I do not go too long between fuel stops as I find I totally hit rock bottom if I go without eating. Normally I will grab a handle of nuts for a snack in the afternoon and some fruit at other times.

[simple girl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DangerMouse I don't drink soda at all, my main consumption of fluids is plain old water, so it's not that. I don't think it is starvation as I make sure I do not go too long between fuel stops as I find I totally hit rock bottom if I go without eating. Normally I will grab a handle of nuts for a snack in the afternoon and some fruit at other times.

DM, how many calories are you eating on average per day?

[Bestwifeever]

DM, you could easily be down 3 lbs. next week without changing anything, in my experience, so hang in there. Sometimes my variance is a result of eating what for me is too many of my calories at the end of the day (of course weighing in the next morning is disastrous in that case!) or too much salt or for me, not paying attention to portion size (what, this bag of popcorn has 3 portions in it, not 1? ).

[bruce1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever DM, you could easily be down 3 lbs. next week without changing anything, in my experience, so hang in there. Sometimes my variance is a result of eating what for me is too many of my calories at the end of the day (of course weighing in the next morning is disastrous in that case!) or too much salt or for me, not paying attention to portion size (what, this bag of popcorn has 3 portions in it, not 1? ).

This sounds like a copy of me.
Bruce

[freebird5825]

Quote:

Originally Posted by simple girl Thank you!! Cruises are so tough - it is a constant "all you can eat" attraction...uggh! You are definitely smart to try and lose weight before going and to exercise while on the cruise... ...Otherwise, I didn't restrain myself much.

I've done the math...
We will be active all day at 10 ports of call. 2 days at sea.
We have 5/10 days of getting up super early for excursions to ancient ruins, so I've decided I'm going to limit myself to continental (fruit and yogurt and some bread) breakfast on those days.
10 lunches are included in the onshore excursions with light to medium activity following.
So I have 7 breakfasts and 12 dinners to indulge myself on. And of course a midnight buffet may just have to sneak itself in there.
My thinking is
1. I weight a few lbs less than I was 6 months ago,
2. I rarely eat out,
3. I am doing a trip like this once in a lifetime, and
4. if I gain a little weight, oh well. I have lots of time to w*rk it back off.

How's that plan sound ?

[Dreamer]

I am 123.4 lbs. I guess I need to start keeping track, so I don't have to go back to see what I have been weighing. I have not been dieting or working out. I do try to watch what I eat and we walk some, but not consistently. I definitely need to do a better job at exercising. My short term goal is 115 lbs.

Sarah, I tried one Zumba class and thought that it was a lot of fun. I decided to sign up for the Zumba class through OLLI, where you pay one price for the year and can take as many classes as you want through the progam. Anyway, the class was filled and I did not get to take it through them. I heard that the class is very popular. I kept thinking that I should go to another place in town, but never got around to it. I need to get myself motivated. That Dance Track or whatever it was called above, looks like it would be a lot of fun too.

Freebird, that sounds like a good plan. A cruise is not a place to diet. You don't do it that often and you want to enjoy yourself.

Simple Girl, you did a fantastic job on the cruise.

Way to go to several of you guys. You are doing a great job. I need to get motivated.

[NotReady4Purple]

Holding steady for awhile. Oh well....

4 Oct 2008 230 (Pre-retirement; All-time high)
28 Jan 2009 220
4 Feb 2009 220
11 Feb 2009 219.5
18 Feb 2009 219
25 Feb 2009 - Vacation
4 Mar 2009 - 219
11 Mar 2009 - 218.5
18 Mar 2009 - Vacation
25 Mar 2009 - 218.5
1 Apr 2009 - 217.5
8 Apr 2009 - 215
11 Apr 2009 - 211.5
22 Apr 2009 - 211.5
29 Apr 2009 - 211.5
6 May 2009 - 210
13 May 2009 - 209.5
20 May 2009 - 210
28 May - 209.5

First Goal Met: 215 - 8 Apr 2009
Second Goal Met: 210 - 6 May 2009

Short Term Goal 200
Final Goal 140

[freebird5825]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotReady4Purple Holding steady for awhile. Oh well.... 4 Oct 2008 230 (Pre-retirement; All-time high) . . 28 May - 209.5 First Goal Met: 215 - 8 Apr 2009 Second Goal Met: 210 - 6 May 2009 Short Term Goal 200 Final Goal 140

What I see is an overall loss of 20.5 lbs, in spite of 2 vacations in the mix.
I'd say that calls for a round of thundering

[NotReady4Purple]

Quote:

Originally Posted by freebird5825 What I see is an overall loss of 20.5 lbs, in spite of 2 vacations in the mix. I'd say that calls for a round of thundering

Thank you! I want a sustainable loss so I know that slow and steady isn't bad. It's just not as fun as those weeks when 2 lbs disappear.

I've a cruise later this summer and I'm glad to know others have managed that too.

[simple girl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by freebird5825 I've done the math... We will be active all day at 10 ports of call. 2 days at sea. We have 5/10 days of getting up super early for excursions to ancient ruins, so I've decided I'm going to limit myself to continental (fruit and yogurt and some bread) breakfast on those days. 10 lunches are included in the onshore excursions with light to medium activity following. So I have 7 breakfasts and 12 dinners to indulge myself on. And of course a midnight buffet may just have to sneak itself in there. My thinking is 1. I weight a few lbs less than I was 6 months ago, 2. I rarely eat out, 3. I am doing a trip like this once in a lifetime, and 4. if I gain a little weight, oh well. I have lots of time to w*rk it back off. How's that plan sound ?

Perfect! Your math and reasoning appear completely sound...definitely have fun on the trip of a lifetime!!!!

BTW, did you say where you are going?

[Bestwifeever]

Agree that you've done great, NRFP! I'm impressed. Also, on our last cruise three years ago, I noticed the portions were not "American-sized"--you could have as many as you wanted but each portion was smaller than we'd see in a restaurant, and more often than not we were satisfied with them and none of us gained weight (shocking to me!).

My SIL was bemoaning how slowly she is losing weight compared to 15 years ago when she did a liquid diet, but acknowledged that slow weight loss shows you've been able to change your lifestyle and can keep going or maintaining (unlike what happened when the liquid diet stopped).

[simple girl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever Agree that you've done great, NRFP! I'm impressed. Also, on our last cruise three years ago, I noticed the portions were not "American-sized"--you could have as many as you wanted but each portion was smaller than we'd see in a restaurant, and more often than not we were satisfied with them and none of us gained weight (shocking to me!).

I agree, NRFP, way to go!

Bestwife, you are so right about the portions being smaller than normal restaurant servings. That is, of course, at dinner. If you go to the buffet for lunch and breakfast, it is soooooooo easy to overdo!!!! Having a few breakfasts and lunches in the dining room would likely help contain the calories better.

Also, one night I had the low calorie meal that was offered, but I didn't have the restraint to do so any other night. It is a cruise afterall...have to indulge some, for sure! It's all about doing it in moderation, if you can.

[freebird5825]

Quote:

Originally Posted by simple girl Perfect! Your math and reasoning appear completely sound...definitely have fun on the trip of a lifetime!!!! BTW, did you say where you are going?

I wanted to wait until someone dragged it out of me.
OK, OK...I'll confess.
Our pre-marriage ceremony honeymoon...note we're doing all this in reverse order.
12 day Grand Mediterranean, balcony room, excursions in Italy, Greece, Turkey, Monaco.
It took us over a year to save up for it, especially when gas was $4 per gallon last year.

[Notmuchlonger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by simple girl I agree, NRFP, way to go! Bestwife, you are so right about the portions being smaller than normal restaurant servings. That is, of course, at dinner. If you go to the buffet for lunch and breakfast, it is soooooooo easy to overdo!!!! Having a few breakfasts and lunches in the dining room would likely help contain the calories better. Also, one night I had the low calorie meal that was offered, but I didn't have the restraint to do so any other night. It is a cruise afterall...have to indulge some, for sure! It's all about doing it in moderation, if you can.

I usually dont control myself on vacations. I was gone for 21 days last time. Put on 8lbs Just finally got it all off. Oh well it was worth it

[freebird5825]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Notmuchlonger I usually dont control myself on vacations. I was gone for 21 days last time. Put on 8lbs Just finally got it all off. Oh well it was worth it

8 lbs over 3 weeks on vacation, constantly eating out, is actually not so bad.
Even better that you w*rked it all off before it became 10 lbs, which can turn into...you all know the rest of this sentence.

[DangerMouse]

I tend to eat a steady diet of 1200 calories a day and that's not 1200 calories of crap either. I do not believe it is water retention or salt as that does not change from day to day as I don't eat anything heavy in salt. Popcorn is never on my diet and I really don't eat much rubbish food at all. I am lucky as being a foreigner I don't really like all the American goodies - donuts leave a lot to be desired, hate American chocolate, don't eat any cakes or cream because they are too sweet, I don't even eat a lot of bread because it tastes so bad and I don't eat American sausages or bacon because it is too fatty. One of my favourite foods is potato chips but I also don't eat the American version of these because they are so untasty to me. So the only time I consume these is if I make a trip to the British store to stock up.

What concerns me is how my weight is sky-rocketing. When we moved recently, over an 8 week period I put on 8lbs, which is a lot when you consider I am only 5'4" and about 160 lbs. Earlier this year I conducted an experiment to see what it would take me to lose. I stuck rigidly to 1000-1200 calories a day and worked out 2 hours a day, and over a 14 day period I managed to lose 3 lbs.

I went to my Dr and she was not concerned as she said possibly this is the way I am meant to be. It does concern me as over the past 15 years I have gained 42lbs which no signs that it is levelling off. Even worse most of it is fat which makes me vulnerable to heart attack and diabetes which runs in my family. To look at me you probably would not say I look overweight, however I do fall into overweight with my BMI and with body fat of 30% I think there is some issue.

My plan of action is to start a food diary for the month of June. I am also signing up for boot camp which is 5 days a week for 4 weeks in June. I will also run my 5k 3 times a week. If there is no change I will have to go to the Dr to find out what is going on. I do need to find a new Dr as we moved 500 miles so it's something I should do anywhere.

[simple girl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DangerMouse I tend to eat a steady diet of 1200 calories a day and that's not 1200 calories of crap either. What concerns me is how my weight is sky-rocketing. When we moved recently, over an 8 week period I put on 8lbs, which is a lot when you consider I am only 5'4" and about 160 lbs. Earlier this year I conducted an experiment to see what it would take me to lose. I stuck rigidly to 1000-1200 calories a day and worked out 2 hours a day, and over a 14 day period I managed to lose 3 lbs. I went to my Dr and she was not concerned as she said possibly this is the way I am meant to be. It does concern me as over the past 15 years I have gained 42lbs which no signs that it is levelling off. Even worse most of it is fat which makes me vulnerable to heart attack and diabetes which runs in my family. To look at me you probably would not say I look overweight, however I do fall into overweight with my BMI and with body fat of 30% I think there is some issue. My plan of action is to start a food diary for the month of June. I am also signing up for boot camp which is 5 days a week for 4 weeks in June. I will also run my 5k 3 times a week. If there is no change I will have to go to the Dr to find out what is going on. I do need to find a new Dr as we moved 500 miles so it's something I should do anywhere.

DM, you and I are the same height (I'm almost 5'4") and roughly the same age. So we should have about the same caloric needs. I would be as concerned as you are about that weight gain and the significant difficulty you are having losing weight. I would definitely check with your doctor to make sure nothing medical is going on like hypothryroidism.

If nothing medical is awry, then my thoughts are that at 1200 calories your body is likely going into starvation mode and your metabolic rate has dropped (your body is trying to conserve calories/energy). I read somewhere not to go below 1300 calories for very long (for our height), as this could happen.

Last year I lost weight on about 1400 calories while exercising vigorously 3-4 days per week. It was slow (1# some weeks, other weeks no weight loss), but it did happen. So 3# over 2 wks really isn't bad at all. It's just that you were dieting and exercising to the extreme to achieve that.

Recently I have overindulged and put some, but not all of the weight back on. I should be able to maintain my weight in the 120's with about 1500-1800 cal per day (I think), but obviously I went over that too many days in a row! When you are short, you have to eat less than others. That really stinks but it is a fact that I am working on accepting.

That boot camp sounds pretty intense! And you plan to run 5K 3x a week on top of it? Wow. Now that sure is motivated!!!

Hang in there DM!

[Kronk]

1/23: 196.8 17.1% body fat.
(snip ...)
7/30: 191.8 16.0%
(snip ...)
11/12: 195.2 17.1%
12/03: 198.2 17.8%
1/07: 200.6 17.9%
2/04: 199.4 18.4%
3/04: 201.8 17.7%
3/11: 201.2 17.3%
3/18: 202.0 18.0%
3/25: 196.8 17.3% *diet week
4/01: 198.2 17.3%
4/08: 198.4 17.0%
4/15: 200.8 17.3%
4/22: 194.6 16.6% *diet week
4/29: 197.2 16.8%
5/06: 197.4 16.7%
5/13: 198.4 17.4%
5/20: 198.8 17.2%
5/27: 200.0 18.2%

Goal: 190.0 15.3%
Highest weight: 260 (May 2001)
Lowest weight: 190 (June 2007)

Better late than never. As expected, I ate a lot of food over the memorial day weekend. My fat percentage was much lower today, though the weight was more or less steady.

Yesterday I took down the guest bed and turned the former guest bedroom into a workout room. Got a TV/DVD in there, weight bench, hex dumbells from 5-40 pounds, chin up bar, resistance bands. Need to reorganize things a bit to get the exercise bike in there. But, see, this reduces the number of excuses I can come up with.

A couple of weeks ago, I purchased a set of e-books, Fat Loss Troubleshoot-Bodybuilding Diet-Metabolism Fast. Not exactly frugal for $77, but I'd heard some good things about it. Much of the information was stuff I knew, but there was enough new stuff as well that I was glad I read it. One of the e-books focuses on metabolic issues (Metabolic Repair Manual). That one focuses on the exact issues that DangerMouse is having -- low caloric intake with little to no weight loss. Something does seem fishy with a 1200 calorie diet.

[DangerMouse]

Seems like I have been operating under out of date advice and 1200 calories is too low for my height. Thanks to SG, I have been directed to a website that has shown I need to increase my intake.

So I'm going to start consuming more calories (which isn't actually that much of a hardship) and hopefully that combined with my workouts will see a change over the next month.