March/April Weight Management Challenge

[Possegal]

Next two months of our weight management challenge!


Let me know
(1) if you want to join in
(2) what your weight is on Friday the 9th of March(or whatever day works best for you)
(3) what your goal weight is for the 4th of May - if you want to, if you don't want to set a goal like that, then no worries.

I'll post the link to the chart later in the week.

[Catrin]

I am in again, I need all the accountability that I can get :)

134.4 again...and would like to be 132 by the end of the challenge. Surely I can manage to loose THAT :o Looking forward to the resting metabolic rate test + visit with sports nutritionist afterwards.

(I know, I know, it isn't that simple and I want to lose body fat not muscle, but it is still frustrating)

[goldfinch]

I am in again for maintenance. I am afraid to leave the challenge! I need the accountability. Anyway, I am exactly 104 today and want to be within three pounds of that weight at the end of the challenge. So, you can put me at 105 for the goal, which is where I have been primarily sitting at for the last few weeks.

[tulip]

I'm on doctor's orders to reduce my cholesterol, so I'm eliminating refined sugar and most grains, and increasing veggies & fruit, to see if that will help. My brother was very successful when he did the same thing. See What Did You Eat Today thread for a longer explanation if you want.

Losing weight is not my goal, but it will probably happen as I could stand to lose 8-10 lbs if I want to be really lean. I bought a scale--first one in decades--so I might as well record what happens here.

137.4 today. I expect to be about 10 lbs lighter in a couple of months as a result of this effort. So let's say my goal is 127 for kicks.

[Gypsy]

I'm in again!

My goal is 160 lbs (again!).

I weighed in this morning at 163.8 lbs.

[Crankin]

I'm in only for maintenance... I weigh exactly 105 today and want to be no more than+/- 1 lb. of that on May 4th. I find the weigh in does make me feel accountable to you all, and makes me aware of when I want to eat things that aren't so great. Not telling DH I am doing this again, because he is now -3 lbs. under his goal weight, mostly from a lot of cycling to work and being more stringent than me on his portions.
On May 10, I am leaving for my former exchange student's college graduation in Colorado, so that will be a nice time to end.

[jobob]

I'm here for maintenance too! Like goldfinch & Crankin, I really appreciate the accountability.

My WW weight in yesterday was 146.8 ... wearing jeans*. :cool:

My goal for the end of the challenge is 145 (but if I stay under my WW 148 lb goal I'm a happy camper)


*The rule for making Lifetime at WW is to maintain +/- 2 lbs of your goal weight for 6 weeks after you make goal. It's not entirely clear to me how much leeway there is, that is, what happens if I'm more than 2 lbs under goal after those 6 weeks. But my home scale agrees really well with the WW scales (tho mine goes to 0.5 lbs), so if it looks like I might weigh in at less than 146, I'll wear jeans to the weigh-in. I could also drink a lot of water beforehand. Yes, I'm gaming the system for the next few weeks. Silly, I know. :D

[SAMbike]

I'm in again too... I've managed to gain back every ounce I lost - so depressing

starting weight: 117
Goal: 110

something's gotta change

[GLC1968]

I've been waiting for this thread!

My goal this time around is to NOT gain anything. My weight numbers won't make much sense with a heavy cast, splints, swelling etc adding to my body weight, but it'll be a guideline.

I'll weigh myself tomorrow as a baseline since next Friday will be the day after surgery and I'm sure my weight will be out of whack.

Again, my goal will be to hold steady and not gain anything during my forced period of relative inactivity.

[Catrin]

{{{GLC}}} doesn't sound like fun :( Hang in there!

[five one]

136 this morning. Aiming for the illusive 129...again.

Thanks, Possegal, for continuing to maintain the spreadsheet.

[ny biker]

I've been waiting for this thread!

My goal this time around is to NOT gain anything. My weight numbers won't make much sense with a heavy cast, splints, swelling etc adding to my body weight, but it'll be a guideline.

I'll weigh myself tomorrow as a baseline since next Friday will be the day after surgery and I'm sure my weight will be out of whack.

Again, my goal will be to hold steady and not gain anything during my forced period of relative inactivity.

I actually lost a lot of weight after the ankle surgery. The painkillers did such a job on my stomach that I couldn't eat. Eventually I gained it all back.

I weighed 140.4 this morning, which is about where I've been for the past week. My goal is to maintain at 140.

Really I would like to lose a couple more pounds, but for now I'll just aim to not gain back the winter weight.

[emily_in_nc]

I'm conflicted about rejoining since I failed miserably during the last challenge (actually gained a lb!) and putting my failures out here publically made me feel even worse than I did when I kept them to myself. But ultimately, I decided to jump back in because this forum will force me to weigh in even when I don't want to, and I am hoping that by upping the running as I have been doing lately, I will be able to take off a few stubborn lbs. I am eating out a lot more here than when I was living in NC and working, and that is definitely my demise; I have NO willpower at restaurants or when having a cocktail or two out with friends.

I'm going to up my goal a little as I think my previous goal was unrealistic for my life here, and I do know that my legs are more muscular than ever from running and cycling everywhere, since we are car-free, so I am hoping that will allow me to weigh just a bit more than I used to and still feel reasonably lean.

So, here goes. Today's weight: 108. Goal: 105

Thanks Possegirl!

[Susan Otcenas]

After several weeks weighing 138.5-140, my weight has suddenly bounced up again, which I find discouraging. I'm hoping it's just water weight, but it's been the same several days in a row. Boo hiss. Anyway, I'm back to 141 again. Sigh.

Put me down for 135. Maybe this month I can underpromise and over deliver... :o

[solobiker]

I'm also here for maintenance. My weight fluctuates between 138 and 140. With the warmer weather heading CO's way I will be doing a lot more riding outside which may increase my hunger/desire to eat more:p This way I will have to try to stay focused on the clean foods. Good luck all with your goals!!:D

[GLC1968]

After several weeks weighing 138.5-140, my weight has suddenly bounced up again, which I find discouraging. I'm hoping it's just water weight, but it's been the same several days in a row. Boo hiss. Anyway, I'm back to 141 again. Sigh.

Put me down for 135. Maybe this month I can underpromise and over deliver... :o

Stupid sushi! ;)

[GLC1968]

I actually lost a lot of weight after the ankle surgery. The painkillers did such a job on my stomach that I couldn't eat. Eventually I gained it all back.

I weighed 140.4 this morning, which is about where I've been for the past week. My goal is to maintain at 140.

Really I would like to lose a couple more pounds, but for now I'll just aim to not gain back the winter weight.

I'm *really* hoping to avoid any painkillers more potent than ibuprofen. I don't handle narcotics well. :(

[Becky]

I was 132.5 this morning. My interim goal is to get under 130, but let's say 125 for kicks.

Interestingly enough, my scale at home reads ~ 2 pounds more than the scale at the gym, which tells me I'm already 130. For the sake of consistency, I'll stick with the home scale for weigh-ins.

[azfiddle]

I was 116.0 this am. All week I was way up- exercise and something we ate made both the scale go up for me and the DH. I'm about to start my spring break for 2 weeks, with lots of time to ride... but not always easy to balance the fueling and snacking ...

My goal is still 112 again eventually, but 114 for the two months of the challenge.

[limewave]

Please add me. I was 156.5. My goal is 148.

Thank you!

[yellow]

I'm not playing this time around. I need to focus on training now, and will maintain or possibly lose as it builds in intensity. I'll probably come back in the fall! Thanks, Posse! http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Nature/star-042.gif

[gnat23]

For the accountability! Sure, I'll try again.

Start for 3/9: 144 (I've been in the mid-140s for freaking ever)
Goal: 139.0 (seems like a nice doable number)

-- gnat! (dusting off the old WW stuff, hoping this next week with the inlaws doesn't hurt)

[channlluv]

I'm a little late chiming in - sorry, Possegal, for adding to your ToDo list, and feel free to ignore this until next week.

I weighed 224.4 yesterday.

Roxy

[GLC1968]

Heh, forgot to post! I weighed in on Saturday. I'm hoping that my splint and foot swelling weighs in the neighborhood of about 3 - 4 lbs since I"m at 151 right now.

Therefore, my goal is to weigh 151 lbs (or 147-148 without anything on my foot) at the end of April. :)

[klesko]

I am in again too. I find it very frustrating that I know exactly what to do, and I am not doing it, although I have done well over the last week or two. I am doing a duathlon this weekend, 3 upcoming centuries and a sprint triathlon in April, so exercise is not a problem. I really just can't eat as much as my 6'5" very lean fit machine husband. I have been married to him for 27 years - you would think I could get this simple concept through my head! Anyway, thanks so much for doing this and I am starting at 147 and want to end up at 138.

[Catrin]

Wow, I've lost close to 3 pounds in 3 weeks after having been stuck for months - I was down to 132.6 this morning! It must be from mixing it up with the new class. Probably just water weight but you never know. Sure I had two rides this weekend, but they weren't exactly long distance rides!

My resting metabolic rate test was moved to tomorrow morning - as it turns out the trainer in my new program is also the one who conducts the test (the only one who does), so this will be interesting. My appointment with the nutritionist isn't until Friday morning, but I may try to reschedule that for tomorrow as well.

Interestingly enough, I've been eating more fat in my diet recently - hmmmm

[Susan Otcenas]

Stupid sushi! ;)

No such thing as stupid sushi. Sushi is therapy!

[Susan Otcenas]

-- gnat! (dusting off the old WW stuff, ...)

Yup, me too. I'd gotten lazy about this (again!) even though I KNOW it works when I stick to it. I buckled down again this week and am already seeing results. Hoping (no, that's wrong, EXPECTING) a good weigh-in this week. :-)

Susan

[Melalvai]

FatCyclist has started yet another weight loss challenge--this time with a forum like ours (http://forum.fatcyclist.com/index.php). Of course his forum isn't as cool as ours. For one thing, the majority of his readers are male. For another, he doesn't have our awesome moderators.

[tulip]

I won't be weighing in tomorrow as I am away from my scale. Just put me down for the same as last week and I'll pick it up again next week.

[jobob]

146.4

[solobiker]

139 for me. Holding steady:)

[Becky]

133.5....up a pound :(:mad::confused:

[Crankin]

105.4
I've been pretty much holding the same pattern since I got to my goal, but when I came back from vacation, I decreased the amount of carbs back to where that was when I first started losing,because I had regained all of the weight. I lost it quickly.
Until I started doing longer rides and a running program. I am hungrier than normal on those days, so I have to just plain eat more. Trying not to eat a lot of Luna Bars. I was using those as snacks every day, at work and when riding, and I was kind of addicted.
One of my interim goals is to not have my glass of red wine so many nights a week. It's actually helped me lower my cholesterol, and one glass isn't exactly a substance problem, but it's extra calories I don't need every day.
I find fueling for exercise and maintaining my weight a little tricky, but I need to experiment more with different things to eat while riding.

[SAMbike]

112.4

finally starting to do something right, much due to all of the support on the forum! It's awesome to be able to hear how others are doing and share my own experiences. Now need to keep the focus on the goal.

[Catrin]

133.2 today, and I will take it. I think the slightly lower weight the other day was just water.

I've a meeting in about an hour with a sports nutritionist and this will be an interesting meeting. Armed with bod-pod and resting metabolic rate information will aid in the discussion. I suspect that I don't get enough calories on exercise days (which are most days) and I need to change my fat/carb ratio but I've not wanted to make changes without qualified advice. I've too many health issues to change things easily - blood sugar has been rock solid for a good period of time now :)

[goldfinch]

Friday the 16th I am at 104.3 which is about par for me lately. I am happy because I've been off the bike now since Monday, I have company, and we are eating bigger meals together. I haven't kept a calorie count because of the difficulty estimating when going out and eating other people's food. I'll go back to formal counting at the end of the month.

[Tri Girl]

Hey Posse- can I join in? I know I'm a couple weeks late, but I've been debating it for a while. I was such failure last time, that I was reluctant to join in this time. I would like to try again, tho.

My starting weight is 166

While I didn't lose any weight in the Jan/Feb challenge (in fact, I gained a pound), my cholesterol dropped 30 points in those 2 months from all the dietary changes I made. I'm happier about that than I would have been with losing 10 lbs, but I'm still not thrilled the scale tipped upward. My doc was about to put me on a statin, but I convinced her to give me 6 months of drastic dietary changes to see if that would help- and it appears it is helping. She wants me to lose 30 lbs, but that's not going to happen. In order to get below 150 I have to turn to drastic, unhealthy, disordered eating (with all the cycling/running I do) and I'm not going to do that. She doesn't get it, but that's OK with me.
My goal is to get to 150 and maintain it for life (which is still about 15 lbs too heavy according to charts, but I don't care for those charts anyway). For the end of this challenge, my goal is to get below 160.

Thanks,
Tri

[Susan Otcenas]

138.5 today, which makes me very pleased. I had a rock solid Weight Watchers week, stayed at or slightly below my point allocation every day (base points plus activity) and managed to avoid indulging in my usual temptations. It helps that I've rid the house of all those temptations (nuts, nut butters, speculoos, crackers, etc.). Can't eat it if it's not here. And, I had only one latte this week, on a day when I had plenty of points in the budget for it. I generally prefer not to drink my calories, but an occasional latte won't kill me.

This weekend will be a test of will. Dinner at a friends tonight, (wo)manning a rest stop for my cycling club tomorrow, and brunch plus a St Patty's day party on Sunday. On the bright side, I have a full calendar of training each day, so hopefully I offset any small slip ups I might make when in the presence of corned beef....:D

[azfiddle]

116.2 - looks like a little turnaround again for the better. (and boy do I mean little!)

I have been a little sloppy about tracking this week but I've been on spring break with fantastic weather and have ridden almost 200 miles since last Saturday. The next few days will be tougher - busy St. Pat's performing, crummy weather and a mini-vacation away to a resort in Payson (courtesy of my wonderful daughter!)

Crankin- I feel like I am constantly struggling with the balance between fueling and trying to lose weight now.


Melavai- I saw Fat Cyclist's post- I think I'm too close to my goal weight to participate, although he always seems to organize cool prizes etc.

[five one]

I've decided to stop weighing in weekly and will post at the end of the challenge. I find the natural fluctuations up and down 3-4 lbs just creates unnecessary anxiety. I have a pair of slack that are just a wee bit too snug. Those will be my gauge until the end of April.

[Gypsy]

163.8 lbs.

Remained steady over the last week.

I'll take over the weight gain.

I went back to my nutritionist because this whole exchange plan thing wasn't working and I'm back to counting calories and doing the whole 40/30/30 with the macros. That's sitting a lot better with my body than the previous plan.

[Tri Girl]

I've decided to stop weighing in weekly and will post at the end of the challenge. I find the natural fluctuations up and down 3-4 lbs just creates unnecessary anxiety. I have a pair of slack that are just a wee bit too snug. Those will be my gauge until the end of April.

Smart woman!! Me too!!! I find the scale makes or breaks my day- as stupid as that is. It can make me feel confident and strong one week and like a total flop/failure the next. And I hate that. I asked my hubs to hide it from me until the end of March, then again until the end of April. I can't take the weekly emotional/irrational beatings I give to myself. I'm trying to love me no matter what my size, and that's taking time. I don't need the anxiety of the scale to help. I will weight April 1st to see if there's any change for March, tho.

[emily_in_nc]

107.5 today -- not what I was hoping, but we did have a couple meals out this week with friends, and truth be told, I haven't felt very motivated for awhile. I think this heat is getting to me. I feel lazy. :(

[Crankin]

You're not lazy, Emily. I would find it difficult to be stringent in your situation; it's like you're always on vacation! I have difficulty balancing the fact that DH and I are serious food people who love to cook and go out to eat, but need to be more careful as we age.
Just last night I commented that I am sick of the recipes from my low glycemic cookbook. It's a 6 week program and I've made all of the dinners that I like. Today I made my grocery list for next week's meals and I did takeout one of the Cooking Light cookbooks I've used a lot. All I could see was rice, sugars, starch in the recipes, although overall, they are healthy. I chose a couple that I can change up a bit because it's time to do something different. But, all of those small changes are what is keeping my weight down.

[Possegal]

I'm getting caught up - hopefully won't take me too long. Let me know if there is any problem with the link.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkxMKcttLKvTdHBfdzN5VUNELWtxWUxyQ2NaM0NSN0E#gid=0

[Possegal]

Hey Posse- can I join in? I know I'm a couple weeks late, but I've been debating it for a while. I was such failure last time, that I was reluctant to join in this time. I would like to try again, tho.


It's never too late for folks to join in!!

[emily_in_nc]

Thank you for doing this, possegal -- you're the best! :p

[klesko]

145.2 this morning. I did o k this week, not great.

[jobob]

thank you for doing this, possegal -- you're the best! :p

+100! :)

[ny biker]

141.2 this week.

[GLC1968]

A little late weighing in. It was difficult to do without jumping onto the scale (and potentially breaking it!), but I managed. 154. Considering how tired my right leg is from lifting this new splint, I'm not concerned. I don't doubt for a minute that it is significantly heavier than my old one. My foot is also insanely swollen, too.

[Crankin]

I feel like I'm falling off of the wagon. Way too much eating out and wine. Funny, how this coincides with a huge increase in exercise.
And the next 2 weeks are restaurant week, where we have 4 reservations (3 dinners and one lunch). Weight's only up a bit, but might not check it tomorrow.

[GLC1968]

Just thought I'm mention that I lost a lot of muscle weight that year I was on crutches, and had to work hard to regain it. Careful about dieting now. Seriously.

Yeah, I'm not actively trying to cut back as much as I am trying to avoid indulging in self-pity eating! My goal is to remain as active and fit as I can (allowing that all my cardio conditioning will be gone, of course) while not getting fat. I know the scale is not the best tool right now, but it'll have to do. I just don't want to get into a habit of stuffing my face in order to make myself 'feel better'...since we all know how well that works, right? :rolleyes:

[limewave]

I can't believe I forgot to weigh-in on the first week! Egads!

And I have a race this coming weekend. It's my policy to not weigh in the week of a race. I don't want to add stress because I'm up a pound or something.

[klesko]

I know others have observed this too, but I gained 2 pounds today and my body fat dropped 6%. My feet were so swollen I could barely get my bike shoes on today for a recovery ride. I know this is because I rode 100 miles on a tandem yesterday, did a short duathlon Saturday and swam 800 yards Friday. I am pretty sore and tired, and definitely overdid it, but had fun! I hope in a couple of days the water weight will disappear (at least it better!). It is strange how much water can affect body fat too. Tomorrow is yoga and stretching - I am going to try to eat a little less than normal and stay hydrated.

[Catrin]

I am not going to weigh in for a few weeks - my nutritionist convinced me that I need to eat more calories and I am sure that I will gain a initial few pounds until my body is convinced that it no longer has to "horde" nutrients as body fat...but if I see those pounds increase I am less likely to continue with it...

I may check in again in a few weeks, we will see :)

[Possegal]

I can't believe I forgot to weigh-in on the first week! Egads!


No worries - folks can weigh in every other week, every 4th week, beginning and end, whatever works for them.

And when folks join without a week 1 weight, I just put in whatever their first weight was, just because it needs a week 1 weight to calculate weight lost.

But it's all flexible. It's about helping people, not sticking to strict posting deadlines. :)

[Crankin]

105.4, same as last Friday.
I feel like it's getting a bit harder to maintain at this weight; before, the weight was falling off. But, I've had a few restaurant meals this week, which I had to work hard to take off.

[SAMbike]

113.2

Hmmm... wrong direction

[jobob]

146.2

And I made Lifetime status at Weight Watchers. :)

Thanks in no small part to everyone who participates on this thread for your support and encouragement and accountability!

And many, many thanks to Possegal for running this challenge.

I'm so jazzed! I've been on WW twice before (both times online, didn't reach goal either time), and this time around I decided I was going to attend meetings, reach goal and become a Lifetime member come hell or high water. :p

As a Lifetime member, I can attend WW meetings for free and get free access to their online e-tools, just so long as I weigh in once per calendar month and I'm no more than 2 lbs above goal at that weigh-in.

So now I "just" need to keep the weight off. :eek: I'll still be participating in this challenge; I need the accountability!

[tulip]

Well, I'm up a pound at 138.4. I give up sugar for this??

[Becky]

131.5, after several days of traveling and dining out, no less.

[ny biker]

143.4. WFT? I admit, I had some fried food while my parents were in town earlier this week. But I didn't have *that* many calories.

[emily_in_nc]

106.5

Next week will be tough because we're traveling Mon-Fri and will be eating a lot of restaurant meals. Even though we have a lot of hiking planned, I am sure I'll still gain, and I won't be able to weigh in Friday morning, so will just skip next week's weigh in and jump back in the next Friday!

[Catrin]

Ok, so I avoided the scales for a full week - which is something like a miracle for me. The planned weigh in at the gym for my body-fat loss group was painful.
This morning I-just-had-to-get-on-the-scales.

133.2 :)

I feel like I've been eating massive amounts of food this past week and like I am eating every 5 minutes but still haven't been able to hit my caloric goals yet - but am much closer. Obviously one can't just jump 400-600 calories daily at one fell swoop!

[Crankin]

I wonder why my weight has settled at 105.4. It feels like a weird # to me.
I'm exercising more and my weight is stable. DH is continuing to lose :eek:. However, he is riding longer commutes to work and has been doing significant mulching. I also think he is eating less carbs.

[Catrin]

I wonder why my weight has settled at 105.4. It feels like a weird # to me.
I'm exercising more and my weight is stable. DH is continuing to lose :eek:. However, he is riding longer commutes to work and has been doing significant mulching. I also think he is eating less carbs.

Why does that seem an odd weight Crankin? Just curious...tell DH that carbs aren't bad, our body does need them...though I am sure you've already had that talk.

[solobiker]

138 for me which I am happy with. I keep going between 140 and 137. Can't complain..last year I was close to 160.

[GLC1968]

Back down to 151 today. This is with the heavier full lower leg splint, too. Apparently my swelling has reduced significantly, yay! I'm also way more regular than I was last week too. :p

Next week, I'll be weighing in with my new hard cast on, so that'll be interesting. Today I'm taking measurements and body fat readings to track going forward. I don't know why I didn't think to do this 3 weeks ago, but whatever. Weight will be all over the place but measurements and body fat don't lie. ;)

[emily_in_nc]

I wonder why my weight has settled at 105.4. It feels like a weird # to me.
I'm exercising more and my weight is stable. DH is continuing to lose :eek:.

As long as your DH is weighing on the same scale, it must just be a very stable setpoint for you (and a fine one at that!)

A friend down here told us a story about one year when she and her DH brought their digital scale down in their suitcase -- they spend 6 months here and 6 months at their home in the US every year. She weighed herself often down here and was surprised to see the scale unchanging week after week. That would be a huge red flag for me, especially since she knew she was eating a lot more fattening food.

When she got back to the US and weighed on a different scale, she realized she'd gained 13 lbs. The scale they brought down had apparently broken and gotten "stuck" at her last weight!

But doesn't sound like that is the case with you. I just wish my scale weighed in single tenths of lbs. rather than 1/2 lbs, so it would be a little easier to track my weight fluctuations without them looking quite so significant.

[goldfinch]

Forgot to post my weight yesterday, it was 104.8 .

For the past month I have been doing an experiment with running a weighted average. I weigh myself everyday first thing in the morning. It is surprising how much my weight can vary from day to day. Weigh-in day, Friday, it was 104.8. Today, Saturday, it was 102.6. My weighted average is running at 104.2 right now. On a slight loss trajectory of a quarter pound a week which is basically flat. Which is fine with me.

[goldfinch]

146.2

And I made Lifetime status at Weight Watchers. :)

Thanks in no small part to everyone who participates on this thread for your support and encouragement and accountability!

And many, many thanks to Possegal for running this challenge.

I'm so jazzed! I've been on WW twice before (both times online, didn't reach goal either time), and this time around I decided I was going to attend meetings, reach goal and become a Lifetime member come hell or high water. :p

As a Lifetime member, I can attend WW meetings for free and get free access to their online e-tools, just so long as I weigh in once per calendar month and I'm no more than 2 lbs above goal at that weigh-in.

So now I "just" need to keep the weight off. :eek: I'll still be participating in this challenge; I need the accountability!

Congratulations! Now that I am trying to maintain my weight I really see the value of the continued support.

[Catrin]

It amazes me how much our weight can fluctuate over the course of 1 day, for me that is usually 4-6 pounds :eek: I HATE that...

[Crankin]

Emily, I don't think my scale is broken. My weight fluctuates during the week, but has ended up at that number on 2 Fridays in a row. I was around 106.8 most of the week.
Catrin, it's not that DH eats no carbs. But, I eat more fruit. He seems to lose weight by doing household/outdoor work tasks, like the mulching, that I just don't do. Heck, the only household task I do is cook!
I'm just pissed that he can get his cycling miles in by commuting and I can't.

[emily_in_nc]

Emily, I don't think my scale is broken. My weight fluctuates during the week, but has ended up at that number on 2 Fridays in a row. I was around 106.8 most of the week.

It's funny, Fridays always seem to be a higher-weight day for me, for some reason. Weighed 106.0 on Wed, Thurs, and today, but 106.5 on Friday. No real reason other than fluctuating water weight, I'm guessing.

[Catrin]

Ah, I understand now. I remember the agony this winter of having my scales read exactly the same weight for something like 11 Fridays in a row? It changed throughout the week but always on Friday mornings...

I was pleased to see the same weight this morning though, I've been worried about side effects from eating more...I know it is for a good reason but still! I tend to weight on Sat rather than Fri because of my workout schedule. I am normally retaining water Friday morning from a hard workout on Thurs evenings...

[ny biker]

Obviously one can't just jump 400-600 calories daily at one fell swoop!

I could do that easily...

[Catrin]

I could do that easily...

I THOUGHT that I could, but when you aren't hungry it is easier said then done - my body was accustomed to doing all of that activity on 1300ish calories a day... (more like 900-1000 net). She really likes my diet, just insists that I need to eat more. I am starting to succeed ;)

[goldfinch]

I THOUGHT that I could, but when you aren't hungry it is easier said then done - my body was accustomed to doing all of that activity on 1300ish calories a day... (more like 900-1000 net). She really likes my diet, just insists that I need to eat more. I am starting to succeed ;)


Your body sure did a good job of adaptation! I find it interesting that you weren't hungry. I still battle hunger all the time. I ate roughly 1200 calories a day for about 8 months, then upped it to 1300 as my activity increased. Now I am running close to 1600. I was hungry at 1200, hungry at 1300 and hungry at 1600. I am surprised though that I seem to be doing fine with the increase in calories. And I enjoy having the extra to eat.

I sure would like to have the body fat and nutrition analysis done that you had done. I am not sure what my body fat is running now. My rough guess based on the army calculator which uses height and weight, plus neck, waist, belly and hip measurements is about 28%. I still need more muscle as compared to fat. I don't know if I run artificially high because I have too much extra skin around the belly, from birthing children and my large weight loss.

[Crankin]

I am pretty much hungry all of the time, too, unless I overeat, and then, 3 hours later I'll be hungry again.
On some days, I have to just forget about my hunger, which is what I've trained myself to do. I eat 3 meals a day, with at least one snack, so it's not like I am starving myself.
I'd like to have that nutritional analysis and body fat done, too, only to see if my Tanita scale has been lying to me for the past 10 years. I take the body fat part of the scale reading as a "range," and I'm not concerned, unless it gets above a certain number, which it rarely does. One thing I notice, is that since I lost the 5 pounds, my body fat is consistently at a lower number. I think that may be the running I'm doing.
I wonder how someone with body fat as low as mine can still have such nice saddlebags, despite all of the weights, circuit training, etc I've been doing for the past 6 months. It's definitely a genetic tendency, but geez, I can't work out any more than I do.

[Catrin]

Your body sure did a good job of adaptation! I find it interesting that you weren't hungry. I still battle hunger all the time. I ate roughly 1200 calories a day for about 8 months, then upped it to 1300 as my activity increased. Now I am running close to 1600. I was hungry at 1200, hungry at 1300 and hungry at 1600. I am surprised though that I seem to be doing fine with the increase in calories. And I enjoy having the extra to eat.

I sure would like to have the body fat and nutrition analysis done that you had done. I am not sure what my body fat is running now. My rough guess based on the army calculator which uses height and weight, plus neck, waist, belly and hip measurements is about 28%. I still need more muscle as compared to fat. I don't know if I run artificially high because I have too much extra skin around the belly, from birthing children and my large weight loss.

Apparently I need 1600-1800 on REST days, and 2000 on workout/ride days. This approach allows me to not have to worry about "net" calories...and on long ride days whatever I consume on the bike or in the 1st hour afterwards doesn't "count".

My body fat is a bit high, right at 33% and that is all belly & boobs. THAT is nothing new though the belly is far smaller than it was 90 pounds ago, but haven't had any luck moving the needle there in the last year. Sports nutritionist said that is because my body thinks that starvation is around the corner so it won't give up those fat stores without more consistent fuel.

I've been strength training for quite some time, but I am coming to think my previous trainer was more focused on "toning" rather than actually building muscle. Considering the shape I was in 2.5 years ago when I started with him that was certainly a valid and proper approach - but that needs to change now :) He did hit my legs pretty hard, but there are so many different ways to get there. To be fair I HAVE had a couple of injuries with...protracted recovery periods. That has an effect as well.

[gnat23]

144.0 for me.

SUPER CONGRATS jobob for your success after all that hard work!!! Looking forward for your tips on maintenance now!

-- gnat!

[klesko]

I think I forgot to post Friday - 145.2. I am going to lower my calories by about 500 calories a day and see what happens. I read something about how it is harder to lose when you are fit, or that you stop burning so many calories when you are fitter (more efficient) than you did before. I was losing steadily last year at the same average calories I am eating now and now I am barely maintaining.

[Catrin]

I think I forgot to post Friday - 145.2. I am going to lower my calories by about 500 calories a day and see what happens. I read something about how it is harder to lose when you are fit, or that you stop burning so many calories when you are fitter (more efficient) than you did before. I was losing steadily last year at the same average calories I am eating now and now I am barely maintaining.

That seems a pretty big drop all at once - why not try it in increments first? You don't want your body to think that it isn't getting enough food...

[azfiddle]

116.8 on Friday. I just can't seem to get back beloww 116 lately. (and during the week it was over 117 on a couple of days.

[Possegal]

More updates!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkxMKcttLKvTdHBfdzN5VUNELWtxWUxyQ2NaM0NSN0E#gid=0

[Crankin]

Possegal, I think I wasn't clear with my goal. On the spreadsheet, it says 106, but it's to maintain 105 (and if I get to 106 it's a sign I have to change stuff).

[solobiker]

Early weigh in for me..138.

[jobob]

145.8 :)

[Becky]

129.5 :D This is the first time that I've seen less than 130 lbs on the scale for quite a while. I bumped my net daily calories up by ~150 calories, theorizing that my body was "hoarding", and it seems to be having the desired effect.

[Crankin]

104.8
I started adding in a few more snacks and promptly had my weight go back to where it had been and stabilize.

[limewave]

156.5. Blah! I guess my body does not want to move right now. I have been intensifying my training lately. I'm sure if I keep plugging away the dial will start moving in the right direction soon . . .

[Susan Otcenas]

Surprise surprise, 138.5. Again. :o

My coach is starting to bump up my running quite a bit, now that my IT band is healing (not out of the woods, but getting better.) Nothing seems to take it off me like running, so maybe that will be the trick, assuming I can keep my appetite under control. Big assumption.

[ny biker]

142.8. Really hoping this is a side effect of the stronger asthma meds.

[goldfinch]

101.6

Really down quite a bit in the past few days. No exercise to speak of either as I am on a trip. I haven't counted calories on the trip because eating out makes counting too unreliable. I feel like I have been overeating, but I might just be feeling the worry that I might overeat after religiously counting calories for the past 16 months.

[emily_in_nc]

Unlike goldfinch, I gain like crazy on trips. Just back from a five-day one and can feel my clothes tighter on me. We did a lot of hiking, walking, and scrambling all over a cave, but still ate more than I burned, I'm very sure. We had hoped to rent mountain bikes, but the place that the Lonely Planet guide said rented them no longer did.

I'll get back to my usual routine and weigh in next Friday.

[azfiddle]

116.8... again. I was lower yesterday but am dutifully reporting on my weigh in day.

[Catrin]

134 today....though I promised not to look at the scales for a month!

[SAMbike]

112.4 this morning...

[Gypsy]

164.0

I'm firing my nutritionist.

Following her plan has kept the weight going up or kept it steady this high and my A1C is out of control and I use a glucometer and my blood sugar it out of control.

I have a follow up appointment with my doctor next week because she's concerned about my lab work.

I need to go back to what was working before. I've been losing weight for while now, on my own, without this nutritionist's intervention and I should have kept following what worked for me -- trial and error, with a lot of self-education from the interwebs.

I'm annoyed, can you tell?

:mad:

[gnat23]

Up! to 147.0 -- go go gadget salt shaker, I'm guessing.

This month's issue of Bicycling has some interesting worksheets about bodyfat percentage and what that does to your race weight. Which is something I hadn't thought about for a few years, and maybe my ultimate goal of 120 lb is going to be freakishly hard if my *lean* weight has now gone up to 109. Hooray, Crossfit?

-- gnat!

[GLC1968]

151 on the nose, again. Weird, actually. I even made my husband weigh himself to make sure the sale was working. It's so incredibly rare that I weigh the exact same thing this many weeks in a row!

Oh, and this is with the new hard cast. It'll stay on for the next few weigh-ins, so I'll get a consistent read going forward.

[Crankin]

104.6
Same pattern every week. Between 105 and 104 on Friday, weekend comes, weight goes up to 106.? or a bit more by Sunday night, from what I consider to be "normal person's eating." The rest of the week, it goes down.
I am happy with my maintenance plan. Before, I'd be close to 110 by the end of the weekend.
Passover starts tonight. Usually, I lose weight during Passover, from lack of eating bread and lots of fruits and veggies. This year, the dietary restrictions won' be much different from my normal eating. I am a bit worried about the high glycemic matzah, but, hey, it's only a week.

[goldfinch]

104.2

I have been traveling yet still weighing myself everyday in my experiment with tracking moving averages and doing a trend analysis. I trended up all week, which is not a surprise as I have had little exercise and lots to eat. The last three days I cut down the amount of food so I can nip the trending up in the bud.

[jobob]

146.2

Now that I'm on Lifetime I only need to weigh in there once a month. I might still be posting my weekly weight using my home scale, I still need your collective eyes peering over my shoulder. :o :D

[Possegal]

Updating, updating, updating. :)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkxMKcttLKvTdHBfdzN5VUNELWtxWUxyQ2NaM0NSN0E#gid=0

[Susan Otcenas]

138

[emily_in_nc]

107.5

Wrong direction, but traveling is killing me -- too many restaurant meals despite MUCH exercise. Hoping once I can get back to running I will trend the other way again at last.

[ny biker]

141.6. Better than the last couple of weeks. I went back to the lower dose of the asthma meds two days ago -- hoping it will not be necessary to go up to the higher dose again in the future.

[solobiker]

Hanging in at 138. I am prettty happy with that since I was traveling last week and did not exercise nearly as much.

[azfiddle]

Weird week! Monday I was up at least 2.5 lbs, to over 118 (salty dinner Sunday?) but went down every day, until today when the scale read 114.8. That is the least I've seen for a year! It may not last, but I'll take it!

[Gypsy]

163.6

New diet is working. Doctor agrees I need to fire nutritionist.

[SAMbike]

114 this morning

[Catrin]

134.2 this morning.

I think that I am changing my target weight, for now, to 134. I am working to build muscle and am also in a body-fat loss challenge...and I am not supposed to be weighing right now anyway. However, I can't help it :o

I will be in on the next challenge, but more for accountability than actual loss. I either won't pick a target, or approach it from a maintenance perspective. I HAVE gained close to a pound since starting the extra calories - but is that from eating more or from building muscle? The bod-pod evaluation in a few weeks will show if I've lost body fat (crossing all fingers and toes on this one). Then again, less than a pound increase can be water weight...

[gnat23]

Back to 145.0

But I hit a new personal record on my clean lift: 75lb! Woot!

-- gnat!

[Catrin]

Back to 145.0

But I hit a new personal record on my clean lift: 75lb! Woot!

-- gnat!

Awesome! In a related note, am pleased to report that 240 pounds on the squat machine now seems LIGHT :) No way could I do clean lifts, not with my neck, I think that is much harder than what I do on the squat machine.

[GLC1968]

152.3 and now I know the scale is capable of reading something other than 151! I'm ok with this weight, too...it IS TTOM, so a little bump is to be expected. I'm wearing work pants today (as opposed to yoga pants or hiking pants) and they still fit fine so I'm satisfied.

[Becky]

I'm late to the party, having been on the road for Easter. 133, and I'm chalking up to TTOM.

[Catrin]

I am pleased to report that my weight this morning was back to 133.2, so the apparent gain was indeed water retention from working out. This does make me more confident about the increased caloric intake...while I've not lost anything yet I won't know until the Bod Pod what is actually happening to my body fat percentage. I am actively trying to build strength so I am probably sabotaging myself by expecting to lose pounds - what matters is that body fat percentage.

[klesko]

I am going to post today - 143.8. I have been out of town (we took a long weekend and did a century in Charleston, SC on the tandem - avg 21.2) and now I have relatives visiting. We are having a lot of fun riding the tandem and have a long tandem ride at the end of the week and a charity ride on Sunday. I have also been doing some running and swimming to get ready for a Sprint Triathlon. My activity level is fine, and I am really hungry! I have been working to get my portions down and yesterday when my husband offered me a cookie I asked him if he wanted to lug that cookie around on the back of the tandem - he took the cookie back LOL.

[limewave]

I'm actually down this week! 155.5

I know weigh-in isn't until Friday, but I forgot last week (again!) and I'm going to Chicago for the weekend.

[Giulianna23]

Havent signed into the forum for a while ..lots of things going on...still trying to lose weight without really dieting but working out every day..Trying to eat healthier but still eating junk maybe every other day like chocolate, french fries and pizza for example... but I do not abuse it ....thats the good thing!! and whenever a eat that type of stuff that not going to help me lose any weight I do it like at my lunch break or early in the day.
Well..slowly but I am getting there... I started at this forum with 205 if I am not mistaken about 5-6 months ago maybe...I am down to 190.
I started going to the gym and changing my eating habits back in Sept 2011with around 225 pounds. My Goal is 165 -170 trying to get there before my vacation trip in late July. .....Yes I am going to Spain !!

Would love to drop at least 4 pounds by the end of April.

[Catrin]

"Officially" weighed in this morning at 133.2, and the next three days are going to be totally outside of my norm in both exercise and diet so this is my weight for the week.

[Possegal]

Adding in some updates.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkxMKcttLKvTdHBfdzN5VUNELWtxWUxyQ2NaM0NSN0E#gid=0

[Crankin]

105.0
Pleased that I made it through Passover, with one day left and no extra weight from matzah. I miss my measly amount of whole wheat products right now.

[goldfinch]

104 on Friday the 13th.

Been flipping around quite a bit in the past week.

[Becky]

132. Mrrf.

[limewave]

I weighed in at 154 this AM. Have a feeling it has something to do with the ride I did yesterday. :rolleyes: We'll see if this lasts.

[jobob]

145.0

I'm at my climbing weight. I guess that means I should go climbing. :p :rolleyes: :D

[ny biker]

141.0

[emily_in_nc]

107.0

Been bouncing around between 106.5 and 108.5 for the past couple months. Really hope I can sustain a downward trend now.

[solobiker]

139 for me.

[Susan Otcenas]

138. The Whoopie Pies I made for a staff member's birthday are not helping the cause.

[GLC1968]

Mmmm, whoopie pies!

I'm going to weigh in and do my measurements tomorrow, but today I am wearing a pair of my slimmer jeans (they actually fit over my cast!). I was really worried putting them on this morning since all the pants I've worn in the past 6 weeks have been more forgiving but...they still fit the same. Phew!

[jobob]

Yay for being able to put on the slimmer jeans! :cool:

[Gypsy]

163.6 lbs.

Steady. Not increasing, which is a nice result. My fbs is getting better too. And yes, still back to my "old" style of eating, which was a lot healthier than what the nutritionist recommended.

[Possegal]

A few updates.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkxMKcttLKvTdHBfdzN5VUNELWtxWUxyQ2NaM0NSN0E#gid=0

[Crankin]

104.2
This week, my weight was between 106.8 and the above number. Lots of riding (with accompanying nutrition), soft serve ice cream, and more carbs over the past weekend.
Going to experiment this weekend. No Luna Bars or any of the other things that usually happen on the weekend.

[limewave]

157

[goldfinch]

102.5

Within the range of maintenance. High calorie intake this week, averaging about 1700 a day.

Here is my April chart, it illustates how our weight can flip all over the place on a day to day basis. I weigh exactly the same time of the day under the same conditions (after peeing, undressed). The red line is the moving average. My moving average right now is 103.5.

https://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/HackDiet?q=chart&s=42387WF02579KQJF059K0F9WKQKGG4623GFJ9JG3&m=2012-04&qx=4W28&HDiet_tzoffset=unknown

[Catrin]

102.5

Within the range of maintenance. High calorie intake this week, averaging about 1700 a day.

Here is my April chart, it illustates how our weight can flip all over the place on a day to day basis. I weigh exactly the same time of the day under the same conditions (after peeing, undressed). The red line is the moving average. My moving average right now is 103.5.

Thank you for this, it really does help to see how much our weight can vary over a short period of time. Personally, I've learned to not weigh the day after a heavy workout or hard bike ride because of water retention. These days I am trying only to weigh after a rest day - preferably two in a row (though 2 consecutive rest days rarely happens).

[channlluv]

With all the posts this week with Goldfinch's and others' stories, and Grits' post about getting back on the scale after avoiding it for weeks, I decided I'd get back on the bandwagon, too.

Three weeks ago I started a temp job at a university. Long days, pretty stressful. Some days I brought lunch, but I got sick of sandwiches every day. The turkey was salty. The pita chips were salty.

Yesterday, I tried a salad at BurgerKing. Oh my god, the grilled chicken was so salty it literally burned the inside of my mouth. My gums are still raw. It was gross. I had forgotten why I quit eating there.

My clothes are fitting tighter. I've lost most of my fitness, what little I had.

I got back on the scale anyway: 219.2

I think that's a good bit lower than where I was a month ago and it shocked me. I actually got off and got back on to check it. I have to think I've just lost that much muscle. I'm a lot flabbier today than I was a couple of months ago.

But it's a starting over point.


Roxy

[Tri Girl]

well I haven't lost any weight on the scale, but 4 weeks ago I bought a dress for our annual Shakespeare Festival at school, and it was TIGHT zipping up the back (like: I had to get help zipping it up). Today I put it on for the festival, and zipped it up myself with no problem. So even though I'm not losing any weight, maybe this weight training is doing me some good. :D

I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY trying to not get on the scale anymore, because those fluctuations just either ruin my day or make me a crazy person. Things like clothes fitting better are what I'm trying to go for. I refuse to "diet" anymore. I'm eating healthy 85% of the time, and I have a small sweet every single day. I will NOT count points, calories, etc any longer. I am a vegan and eat well at most every meal. If I lose weight, great. If not, I'm going to stop hating myself for it. I can fit into 10/12's so I guess I'm going to be OK with it. Plus, my monster quads and glutes are NOT getting down into single digits ever again I fear (I need them too much for running and cycling anyway). ;)

I taught a class this semester to 8th grade girls about having a good body image and loving yourself for what you are. I guess I absorbed a little of what I taught them. I'm not saying I don't look in the mirror sometimes and say to myself "you look like you're 7 months pregnant in this outfit", but I have those days less frequently. I even took down 2 full-length mirrors in my house (I kept the one up that for some reason is like a funhouse mirror- it makes me look thinner). Part of my problem is that I feel good in my clothes, but then see myself in a mirror and the negative self-talk starts. I took away the mirrors in my house so I don't have the chance to rip myself to shreds. I'm almost 40- it's time I stopped beating myself up and started loving me for who I am- thunder thighs and all!

[jobob]

Here is my April chart, it illustates how our weight can flip all over the place on a day to day basis. I weigh exactly the same time of the day under the same conditions (after peeing, undressed). The red line is the moving average.

Yes!! Thank you for posting this, goldfinch.

We're living breathing moving organisms, we eat and drink, we sweat and eliminate body wastes -- and let's not forget the effect of hormones (triggered by fertility, exercise, stress, etc), illness, medications, you name it, on all these processes.

With all that going on, it's simply not reasonable to expect that we'll stay the same weight day in and day out, or lose that weight in a perfectly linear downward progression. We can control plenty of variables at our weigh-ins (as goldfinch mentioned), but the reality is, our weight is going to bounce around some day-to-day, despite our efforts. It's the long term trend that matters.

[jobob]

145.2



Things like clothes fitting better are what I'm trying to go for.

Heck yeah. :cool:

[ny biker]

141.8.

For two weeks I was on double-dose meds for the asthma (4 puffs/day), then two weeks back on the regular dose (2 puffs/day). I gained a few pounds of water during the double-dose, and lost it a couple of days after going back to the regular dose. Unfortunately, I'm starting to feel the inflammation come back in my lungs. So yesterday the doctor told me to try 3 puffs/day to see if that would open my lungs up without causing side effects. We shall see.

[ny biker]

With all the posts this week with Goldfinch's and others' stories, and Grits' post about getting back on the scale after avoiding it for weeks, I decided I'd get back on the bandwagon, too.

Three weeks ago I started a temp job at a university. Long days, pretty stressful. Some days I brought lunch, but I got sick of sandwiches every day. The turkey was salty. The pita chips were salty.

Yesterday, I tried a salad at BurgerKing. Oh my god, the grilled chicken was so salty it literally burned the inside of my mouth. My gums are still raw. It was gross. I had forgotten why I quit eating there.

My clothes are fitting tighter. I've lost most of my fitness, what little I had.

I got back on the scale anyway: 219.2

I think that's a good bit lower than where I was a month ago and it shocked me. I actually got off and got back on to check it. I have to think I've just lost that much muscle. I'm a lot flabbier today than I was a couple of months ago.

But it's a starting over point.


Roxy


Are you all recovered from the surgery? Losing fitness sucks, but sometimes can't be avoided.

Can you bring dinner leftovers for lunch? Or cook up a chicken breast at home and make a few salads with it?

[channlluv]

Hi, NYBiker. Thanks for asking. Yes, I'm physically recovered from the surgery. Mentally and emotionally I am feeling pretty fragile, but that's a whole 'nother story.

I do need to cook enough at night to make leftovers for lunch. I just rarely have leftovers. I'm a good cook and DH and DD have good appetites. :)

Roxy

[ny biker]

Hmmm, maybe you could set the "leftovers" aside before you put dinner on the table.

It took a long time for me to recover emotionally from ankle surgery, and that was just ankle surgery, and it was planned in advance. I think the anesthesia can really mess with your head, and when you mix in pain, uncertainty, lifestyle upheaval, etc. it can really take time to get back to feeling normal.

[emily_in_nc]

I had a terrible night of sleep and totally forgot to weigh in this morning! I will weigh in tomorrow instead.

[Becky]

128.5.

[goldfinch]

well I haven't lost any weight on the scale, but 4 weeks ago I bought a dress for our annual Shakespeare Festival at school, and it was TIGHT zipping up the back (like: I had to get help zipping it up). Today I put it on for the festival, and zipped it up myself with no problem. So even though I'm not losing any weight, maybe this weight training is doing me some good. :D

I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY trying to not get on the scale anymore, because those fluctuations just either ruin my day or make me a crazy person. Things like clothes fitting better are what I'm trying to go for. I refuse to "diet" anymore. I'm eating healthy 85% of the time, and I have a small sweet every single day. I will NOT count points, calories, etc any longer. I am a vegan and eat well at most every meal. If I lose weight, great. If not, I'm going to stop hating myself for it. I can fit into 10/12's so I guess I'm going to be OK with it. Plus, my monster quads and glutes are NOT getting down into single digits ever again I fear (I need them too much for running and cycling anyway). ;)

I taught a class this semester to 8th grade girls about having a good body image and loving yourself for what you are. I guess I absorbed a little of what I taught them. I'm not saying I don't look in the mirror sometimes and say to myself "you look like you're 7 months pregnant in this outfit", but I have those days less frequently. I even took down 2 full-length mirrors in my house (I kept the one up that for some reason is like a funhouse mirror- it makes me look thinner). Part of my problem is that I feel good in my clothes, but then see myself in a mirror and the negative self-talk starts. I took away the mirrors in my house so I don't have the chance to rip myself to shreds. I'm almost 40- it's time I stopped beating myself up and started loving me for who I am- thunder thighs and all!

My cousin and my sister have no mirrors in their homes, except for a medicine cabinet mirror. It sounds like you are doing just fine.

Unfortunately, if I do not want to blow up to well into obesity I have to count calories. But whatever happens I also am done beating myself up over my weight too.

[solobiker]

Hanging in at 138 which is fine by me. Just trying to maintain.:)

[klesko]

145 this morning. I wish I was losing, but am happy with maintaining (as opposed to gaining :)

[Possegal]

Updating
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkxMKcttLKvTdHBfdzN5VUNELWtxWUxyQ2NaM0NSN0E#gid=0

[emily_in_nc]

Ooops, I finally remembered to weigh in today: 107.5

I seem to have found a new setpoint about 4 lbs. higher than my pre-Belize weight. I am not thrilled with it, but with the lifestyle down here, it may not be realistic for me to get back below 105. I would like to get TO 105, but we travel a lot and eat out much more than we used to. Heading out of town again this week Tues-Fri. so I am not hopeful for a good weigh-in this week either!

[GLC1968]

I'm travelling, so I won't be able to weigh in this weekend but I wanted to update my info. I'm at 152 which while close to my 'goal'...my goal is off. I got my cast off, so 152 without it is actually too high.

I've gained 4 lbs in the past 8 weeks (since my injury). I guess that's not all bad considering that I've done basically zero intentional exercise. I have clearance to swim though, so starting tomorrow...that all changes.

I hope to be down a pound by the last weigh-in of the month!

[Crankin]

104.4
My first week since January 1st where I didn't gain over the weekend. I went up a little on Tuesday/Wednesday, but my weight was just more stable overall. I did go out to eat last Friday night, but in general, I've been eating out a little less. I've mostly cut red meat out of my diet for awhile, until I get my cholesterol re-tested, so that may be part of it.
I'm going to the Cape later today, so there will be plenty of eating at restaurants, but some riding, too.

[tulip]

135.

I was very disciplined regarding eliminating breads, pastas, rice, and refined sugar in March. I've relaxed a little in April. I went on a 12-day bike tour and stayed in B&Bs, all of which served amazing biscuits, so despite 50- mile days, i didn't lose any weight. Now I'm back to a more normal routine. I've managed to stay away from sugar; it was so very hard to do for the first two weeks but now it's not a big deal. And I feel great.

I was a bit optimistic in March, but I expect to be at 130 by the end of May.

[Becky]

129.5 this morning. But I did see 126.5 on the scale at the gym yesterday ;)

[Catrin]

137 :mad: ( However, I was the exact same weight last night and I've had multiple HARD workouts this week, so I think my body is retaining water. That is the only reason why I think it wouldn't be lower in the morning as that is the normal way of things.

I also had my Bod Pod early this morning...and while my weight is a little lower than when we did it at the start of the challenge, I've lost 3 pounds of muscle and gained 3 pounds of body fat :eek: :( It certainly isn't for lack of exercise! My trainer thinks it is likely due to still not getting enough calories (and my body turning to muscle for energy), the wrong carb/fat mix, or both. I also pulled back on strength training a bit when I started this metabolic training class - and while the class has been good for me in many ways, I need to add more pure strength back into the mix I think. Off to contact my dietitian...

As I look back through my logs, it is also true that I NEVER hit the caloric goal she set for me on exercise days... :o

Added:
I just talked with the dietitian and she chided me for not hitting the caloric goal she set - since we are not worrying about "net calories" she said this makes it even more important that I hit that goal given the nature of my workouts. She also reminded me that my body adapted to quite restricted calories over almost three years at my current activity level and that it will likely take a few months for it to really adjust to finally getting enough. I did not gain weight according to the Bod Pod, so I can't see any reason not to continue to follow her advice and my blood sugar levels seem fine, though I've not had an A1C for awhile....

[goldfinch]

104.5

I've been overeating this week.

[ny biker]

140.6 for two days in a row.

[solobiker]

139..up 1 but it could be from uhm....hormonal reasons. I am just happy to be pretty much maintaining.:)

[Susan Otcenas]

139. Phooey.

[azfiddle]

I just didn't want to post last week because the scale was up in the 117's again after getting lower for a while. And I rode a lot last week. But today I was 115.4, so maybe things are really finally going back down again.

[klesko]

I was 142.

[Catrin]

135 this morning, so I should have waited until today to weigh. Let's go with this weight as my "official" weigh in.

So how does water retention show on those bod pod machines?? The muscle decrease is still a matter for concern - which more calories should address, but perhaps the extra pounds of body fat was actually water???? time for research.

[GLC1968]

Caitrin - I believe that the bod pod can tell the difference between fat and water. Water counts as lean mass, so keep that in mind!

[Catrin]

Caitrin - I believe that the bod pod can tell the difference between fat and water. Water counts as lean mass, so keep that in mind!

Noted, and I am unsure if I REALLY lost a full 3 pounds of muscle mass - I would think that I would notice that in my activities? I don't know, my trainer's advice seems good - he just advised me to wait a few months and then get another one to compare the results and to stick with the course - & to succeed this time at meeting those calorie goals. If water really does count as lean mass, then it is possible that I was retaining more for the first one than yesterday.

They also told me that they saw a lot of this same thing during the same body-fat loss challenge/metabolic training last year and think it is due to restricted calories. This was a very different kind of workout than I've ever seen and certainly forced my body to do things in quite different ways. It does seem feasible that if I wasn't eating at the right times and the fuel wasn't readily available to my body then it probably did turn to muscle for fuel - but 3 pounds in 10 weeks does seem a bit high - but what do I know?

[goldfinch]

I think hydration may effect bodpod results. Body fat is partly water. Muscle is partly water. Bones are partly water. Water is in everything. That said, there is more water in muscle than in fat. For example, a person who has a fat percentage of 40% will have less water weight than a person who has a fat percentage of 20% but who is the same weight.



Factors that may affect accuracy of the Bod Pod

Hydration status and increases in muscle temperature can adversely affect calculation results
Also, it is imperative to breath normal, remain still, and keep hands in lap while being assessed by the Bod Pod (any slight movement or change in breathing pattern may affect results) http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwfit/bodycomp.html

[Catrin]

I think hydration may effect bodpod results. Body fat is partly water. Muscle is partly water. Bones are partly water. Water is in everything. That said, there is more water in muscle than in fat. For example, a person who has a fat percentage of 40% will have less water weight than a person who has a fat percentage of 20% but who is the same weight.



Factors that may affect accuracy of the Bod Pod

Hydration status and increases in muscle temperature can adversely affect calculation results
Also, it is imperative to breath normal, remain still, and keep hands in lap while being assessed by the Bod Pod (any slight movement or change in breathing pattern may affect results) http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwfit/bodycomp.html

Ahhhhh, so if I were partially dehydrated (this happens more often than I care to admit), then this might well have skewed the results a bit. Interesting - and I've been searching the internet for this kind of information. I was told not to have anything by mouth for 3 hours prior to the test so I didn't . Thanks!

[emily_in_nc]

107.5

We were traveling 4 days this past week (Tu-Fri) and ate tons of yummy food, so I'm not too upset about that. Still really wanting to get to 105 by the end of May as I'm traveling to North Carolina to see my folks on June 3, and I know my mom will be food pushing to the extreme!

[Tri Girl]

163
Not as much as I'd hoped for, but it's 3 lbs less than I started out at and I'll take it. I'm hoping that this time, if I lose SLOWLY that it will actually stay off. I'm happy with 1.5 lbs a month. Maybe that way it won't come back like it ALWAYS has. ;)
And if I keep it up, 1.5 lbs a month adds up; by the end of the year I can be 12 lbs lighter. :)

I have noticed my clothes are getting looser from all the strength training, so even if the scale isn't dropping much, the proof is in the waistband. ;)

[Catrin]

Bod Pod revisited...our coach asked me to re-do the test this morning and I did. We did it at the same time as the original, and I had on the exact same clothing. I couldn't compare all of the results until tonight as I had to get to the office and didn't have time for him to dig through the computer.

I already knew from this morning that I actually lost 4% of my body fat - didn't gain 3 lbs body fat after all. I also gained a bit over 3 pounds of muscle from the original. That is more like it!

We are unsure what happened Friday, a new person conducted the test, that may or may not be related, perhaps the calibration was slightly off. Considering I feel better and stronger than before (and can certainly do quite a lot more) the results from this test makes more sense.

So....never mind. Obviously the new diet/calorie guidelines are working for me - though I am still going to tweak timing...

For the next challenge I will pick a maintenance weight, that seems wiser at this point than trying to "lose" while trying to build muscle. Competing goals...

[goldfinch]

Good news Catrin! These results make a lot more sense, given that you were feeling good and felt no loss of strength.

[Crankin]

105.8
Not sure why I am up a bit. I was very happy with the fact that I weighed only 106.2 after my weekend away last Monday and I quickly went down to 105. I have been trying to eat more vegetarian meals, to get my LDL down, but I am feeling it limits me. It's not that I don't like tofu and beans, but I also like to eat a wide variety of foods and it's hard to eat semi-Paleo and veggie. I have been eating chicken and fish a bit, but I think I am going to add some other red meats back in 1-2 days a week. When I don't have that, I eat more whole wheat pasta and bread.:mad:.

[emily_in_nc]

107

I can't seem to break that barrier. Was 106.5 yesterday but back to 107 today, which is a typical pattern. I seem to be stuck in the 106.5 to 108 range. My ideal weight for my very small frame is 102-104. However, considering I have been taking a break from running due to the intense early-season heat, I really shouldn't complain. I am starting to get back into weights and doing more yoga at home (since I only take class once a week) to make up for the lack of running. And still cycling in the heat, of course.

Since I go to the US for a week on June 3, I am really, truly hoping to get to 105 by the end of May, but given my pattern, it's going to be difficult. It's only a couple lbs, which I used to be able to lose SO easily when I was younger, but it's gotten a lot harder as I get closer to menopause. I feel like I am eating a moderate amount and very healthfully, and I hesitate to cut calories too much lest my body go into "starvation hoarding mode".

[Crankin]

Emily, I found that "mixing up" what I eat, decreasing fruit and breads, and adding veggies helped me break my own barrier. I still cook and go out, but there are things that are just more "once in awhile" than before. I suspect my caloric intake is not much different than it was before and is probably higher than others, but this is mostly working for me. I didn't realize how much my eating had changed, until last weekend, when presented with the breakfast at the B and B, I freaked. The breakfast was a very small amount of plain yogurt (probably whole fat) and good fruit, a strawberry muffin, and a couple of meat filled little pastry things. We were leaving to go on a longer ride and despite eating most of my Luna Bar before and during the ride, I was pretty much bonking by the time I ate lunch. Not enough protein and I skipped the bad carbs as much as I could.

[goldfinch]

Still 104.5, but trending up slightly. Averaged 1800 calories per day. Too much! Backing off a bit.

[ny biker]

107

I can't seem to break that barrier. Was 106.5 yesterday but back to 107 today, which is a typical pattern. I seem to be stuck in the 106.5 to 108 range. My ideal weight for my very small frame is 102-104. However, considering I have been taking a break from running due to the intense early-season heat, I really shouldn't complain. I am starting to get back into weights and doing more yoga at home (since I only take class once a week) to make up for the lack of running. And still cycling in the heat, of course.

Since I go to the US for a week on June 3, I am really, truly hoping to get to 105 by the end of May, but given my pattern, it's going to be difficult. It's only a couple lbs, which I used to be able to lose SO easily when I was younger, but it's gotten a lot harder as I get closer to menopause. I feel like I am eating a moderate amount and very healthfully, and I hesitate to cut calories too much lest my body go into "starvation hoarding mode".


FWIW, I'm pretty sure yoga and weight training burn fewer calories than running. I think even cycling burns fewer calories, since it's not weight-bearing.

I'm at 141.6 today. Was at 140.8 on May 1. Water...

[Breella]

If there will be a may/june I'd like to join in.

[Catrin]

I will also join up again for the next challenge, I just need to determine the best approach for maintenance.

[goldfinch]

I will also join up again for the next challenge, I just need to determine the best approach for maintenance.

Ditto.

I have been doing maintenance since January and am still trying to find the best approach. :)

[Crankin]

I'm afraid to stop reporting here, as I feel the Friday weigh ins keep me accountable, even though I'm just maintaining now. So, count me in for May and June, too.
DH has lost another couple of pounds, without much work. I think for him, the first challenge was way more of a change in eating habits than it was for me and now he is being very strict about it. He also eats a smaller lunch than me, most days. On the other hand, he eats some stuff I just don't go near. Waiting for the comments when I don't eat the pizza at the staff meeting on Tuesday.
I'm feeling a little off today, so I wonder if that's why my body is almost 2 lbs. heavier.

[solobiker]

Hanging in at 139. I will be back for the next time too.:)

[emily_in_nc]

FWIW, I'm pretty sure yoga and weight training burn fewer calories than running. I think even cycling burns fewer calories, since it's not weight-bearing.

Oh, I'm very sure of that. But my weight is the same as when I was running. When I was running 3x a week, I wasn't doing any weight work at all, and I realized I needed to get back to that, as muscle increases the metabolism. I have been lifting for years, but I always had access to a free gym at work and lifted 3x a week. Once I got here, I only had access to our makeshift weights (sand in milk jugs -- 1/2 and full gallons), and I lost the enthusiasm for it. Now I'm back to that because I haven't been able to bring myself to run -- it's been unusually hot even for Belize. Even bike rides are hard, but since my bike is my car, I have no choice but to ride daily (thank goodness!)

Crankin, your points are well-taken. I don't eat much bread as it is, but I could probably drop the 2 lbs. just by cutting way back on fruit. That is very hard to do here in Belize, though, as there is so much lovely fresh fruit available here (and mango season has just started -- my very favorite). There are fewer nice vegetables available here than fruits. Since I want to eat locally as much as possible, my diet has shifted to be rather fruit-heavy, and that alone probably accounts for the several lbs. I've put on since arriving here. Chances are, if we were to go back to the US, those lbs. might go away since I'd be back to eating my typical one serving of fruit a day instead of about three!

[klesko]

I was 143 yesterday and we left early to go out of town. I am still struggling with portion size. Part of this is my 6'5" husband who is skinny and eats more than twice as much as I do. It is hard to put a small amount of food on a small plate while he eats 2 servings on a platter :) The other day we went out for dinner and I ate a bite of the appetizer (he ate the rest), a bite of his dinner and gave him half my dinner, which he ate. He worried that I did not get enough to eat, when that was more than enough.

[Becky]

128. This makes me happy.

I'm in for May/June.

[jobob]

145 on the nose. And off my butt. :cool:

[Catrin]

134.5 this morning. Since I am still working on building muscle, I need to decide what "maintenance" is. Replacing fat with muscle does make us gain a little so I need to decide if I should choose a weight to stay below...thinking about it.

[azfiddle]

I'm in for May June. It helps keep me focused.

116 this week

[GLC1968]

151, again.

I'm in for May/June, too. Now that I can finally add back in some types of exercise, I'm looking forward to actively shedding some fat once again.