January/February weight management challenge

[Catrin]

137 today I've been working my butt off, so I suspect water retention.

By the end of Feb my goal remains 132. I've GOT to get through this...

[goldfinch]

It is Friday! And a new year for the challenge!

I am 108.2 today. I am now in maintenance mode rather than having a weight loss goal. So, I guess that means I start off with a yellow square. My goal is to not exceed 110 pounds.

[SAMbike]

Thank you for organizing this!! I'm in. Starting weight: 116.5. Goal weight: 110.

[Giulianna23]

198 still..didn't lose any since last Friday but no workouts what so ever since then. Glad I didn't gain after the long Holiday weekend food ,alcohol etc etc.

My goal to the end of Feb is from 198 to 180. This time I am really going to work out like a beast at the gym. And I am totally getting rid of the rice pasta and bread.

[ehirsch83]

(1) in!

(2)127

(3) 123

and then no more weight loss! that will be 11lbs down from the last one and at goal

[yellow]

I'm in
Currently 129
Goal for March 2 is 125

[ny biker]

142.2 today. I guess I shouldn't have had that taco salad for lunch yesterday...

Goal remains 140.

Thanks!!

[Susan Otcenas]

137 today I've been working my butt off, so I suspect water retention.

By the end of Feb my goal remains 132. I've GOT to get through this...

Don't worry, you'll find your mojo.

I *finally* got my mojo back. After (too many) months of thinking about getting back on track and hoping to getting back on track, and expending energy worrying and beating up on myself for not being back on track .... I'm finally back on track! I've been scrupulously weighing, measuring, biting and writing for the last 11 days. Down 3.5 pounds already. :-) It's nice to see the hard work rewarded with a big bump at the beginning of my efforts.

I know it will slow down a bit from here (as it should) but that's OK. I can deal with it. Ever since Ironman Canada went from being "next year" to being "this year" it got a whole lot easier to ignore the treats, decline the desserts, take smaller portions, weigh my food, etc. I have ZERO doubt I will make my intermediate and longer term weight goals for this year. WW worked for me 3 years ago and I have every reason to think that diligently following it again will be equally successful.

[Catrin]

I think it is perhaps time to start weighing/measuring food. My diet is solid, but I may well be consuming more than I think I am. I write down everything I eat - and I mean everything - and it looks really good in Lose It when I look at nutrition splits and so forth. I am not hungry so I don't think the problem is not enough calories, and my thyroid levels are fine so THAT isn't the problem. I exercise most days...

So that pretty much leaves portion sizes and another good look at how much bread I eat. I love bread...and it may well be that I am eating too much. Portions aren't large, but perhaps they are larger than I think Time to get a food scale.

[VeganBikeChick]

Alright, I'm finally joining. I was ashamed to post my weight but need to be accountable. I'm slowly losing weight by cutting out processed foods and carbs (rice, pasta, potatoes, starchy things) and desserts (satisfying my sweet tooth with a piece of dark chocolate instead), bulking up on fruits and veggies, and drinking lots and lots of water and running. I'm 5'4; my highest weight 3 years ago was 212. Since then I've been fluctuating, but have been consistently weighing for the past 3 months and have managed to lose 15 pounds since my start.

Current weight: 175.4
Goal weight: 135-140.

If I get to my goal weight, it will be the least I've ever weighed as an adult.

[Susan Otcenas]

So that pretty much leaves portion sizes and another good look at how much bread I eat. I love bread...and it may well be that I am eating too much. Portions aren't large, but perhaps they are larger than I think Time to get a food scale.

Even after 3+ years of WW, I still use my food scale. Because, I find that when I get away from it for a while, portion size creeps. Now that I'm back on, I have two scales. One on my countertop at home, and one on the countertop at work. Everything gets weighed. Today I had a spinach salad for lunch, with 2 ounces of sauteed chicken. Not 1.5 ounces, or 3.2 ounces or whatever my brain thinks LOOKS likes 2 ounces, but 2-point-0 real ounces.

WW's points tracker will let you track a "medium" sweet potato, but really, do YOU know what that means? I sure don't. But when I weigh it and get 250 grams, I can put exactly that into the tracker and get an accurate point value for it. Then I know I stay on track.

Some people really rebel against the whole weighing and measuring thing, but I like it. It's very black and white. Concrete. No excuses. :-)

[goldfinch]

Even after 3+ years of WW, I still use my food scale. Because, I find that when I get away from it for a while, portion size creeps. Now that I'm back on, I have two scales. One on my countertop at home, and one on the countertop at work. Everything gets weighed. Today I had a spinach salad for lunch, with 2 ounces of sauteed chicken. Not 1.5 ounces, or 3.2 ounces or whatever my brain thinks LOOKS likes 2 ounces, but 2-point-0 real ounces.

WW's points tracker will let you track a "medium" sweet potato, but really, do YOU know what that means? I sure don't. But when I weigh it and get 250 grams, I can put exactly that into the tracker and get an accurate point value for it. Then I know I stay on track.

Some people really rebel against the whole weighing and measuring thing, but I like it. It's very black and white. Concrete. No excuses. :-)

I weigh and measure just about everything too. However, I am really good at guessing a half an ounce of walnuts because I have that every day and an ounce of cheese. Other things, like meat, not so much. I can be way off even after a year of weighing.

Catrin, I have this scale: http://www.amazon.com/EatSmart-Preci...6317442&sr=1-1

I like it because it is small, you can weigh in a number of different units, like ounces or grams, and you can put a bowl or something on it, zero it out, and then add stuff you want to weigh.

[Crankin]

I could never weigh and measure. I guess if I had to lose 50 lbs., I'd do it, but I'd be stressed. Portion size is an issue for me, so I just have made them a bit smaller. But, since I've already lost 3.5 lbs. in 5 days, I'd have to say it's portion size and too much bread, and maybe the fruit I eat. I've restricted myself to blueberries and I've had one apple.
It's really hard to satisfy myself with a teeny piece of whole wheat bread or none a day. I am hungry ALL DAY long, despite giving myself snacks of nuts, cheese, and occasional dried fruit, if I'm exercising. I am craving Luna Bars .

[ny biker]

I could never weigh and measure. I guess if I had to lose 50 lbs., I'd do it, but I'd be stressed. Portion size is an issue for me, so I just have made them a bit smaller. But, since I've already lost 3.5 lbs. in 5 days, I'd have to say it's portion size and too much bread, and maybe the fruit I eat. I've restricted myself to blueberries and I've had one apple.
It's really hard to satisfy myself with a teeny piece of whole wheat bread or none a day. I am hungry ALL DAY long, despite giving myself snacks of nuts, cheese, and occasional dried fruit, if I'm exercising. I am craving Luna Bars .

3.5 lbs in 5 days is a lot, especially considering your starting point.

I measure pasta, because otherwise I'd have no idea how much I'm putting in the boiling water. I count easily-countable things, like crackers and cookies. I do rough estimates when the label says the package contains two or three servings and I only want one. Other than that, I just try to be mindful of how much I'm eating. I read years ago that a serving of meat is about the size of a deck of cards. If a serving is 1/4 cup or a tablespoon, I stop and think about what a 1/4 measuring cup or a tablespoon really looks like.

But mostly, I make an effort to stop eating when I start to feel full, even if the plate still has food on it. And I try to learn from that, and make the portion smaller the next time I prepare that meal, or plan in advance to only eat half of it the next time I order it from a restaurant.