May/June Weight Management Challenge

[indysteel]

Someone please tell me that menopause will mean the end of monthly-water-weight-gain-for-no-good-reason. I've been doing this for 35 years now and I am beyond over it.

I sure hope so. My pattern of bloating over the last few years has been rather odd. Thanks to the Pill, I get my periods on a Friday. On Wednesday of the week before my period, I bloat up by at least 3 pounds. I then spend Friday going to the bathroom. By the end of the following week--when my period actually starts--I've bloated up again and usually spend the following Tuesday going to the bathroom. So, all told, my bloat lasts a week and a half out of a four-week cycle, no matter what I eat or drink or how much I exercise. This is unacceptable!!!

[sookiesue]

153.5 today.

Goal is 145 by mid-July.

[ny biker]

I sure hope so. My pattern of bloating over the last few years has been rather odd. Thanks to the Pill, I get my periods on a Friday. On Wednesday of the week before my period, I bloat up by at least 3 pounds. I then spend Friday going to the bathroom. By the end of the following week--when my period actually starts--I've bloated up again and usually spend the following Tuesday going to the bathroom. So, all told, my bloat lasts a week and a half out of a four-week cycle, no matter what I eat or drink or how much I exercise. This is unacceptable!!!

I also get mid-cycle bloat. Very annoying.

[solobiker]

I will be here again. Mainly for maintence..I have been going between 138-141. Hope I can stay there. I am changing the way I eat though because I think the paleo way was making me feel very jitery, decreased my memory and I was not sleeping well at all. I was eating paleo for several months ( probably 90 % paleo) and could not figure out why I was so anxious for no reason and my memory for simple things was gone. I did some research and it confirmed what I already knew.

So far after 1 week of eating more carbs I feel far better and have been sleeping again. My boss was telling me one of her co-workers at her old job had the same experience with the Paleo way of eating and had to stop. I know some of you strong paleo followers will say just eat more fruits and veggies to up my carbs. I tried that but still felt very anxious...like I was about to give a speech or start a race. I felt that way all of the time. After reintroducing rice and whole wheat noodles back into my diet I feel great and can actually remember my patients' names again.

Oh..my weight now is 140

[carlotta]

I should do this again...

Start: 172
Goal: 165

I have this crazy idea that I might see if I can enjoy/minimally hate running. We'll see how that goes...

[emily_in_nc]

I am going to sit this one out. The heat, and my ensuing lack of tolerance for running, is making me crazy, and I can't lose an ounce. I will still read the thread, and I might chime in from time to time, but it messes with my mind to have my failures documented in a spreadsheet. I can't seem to lose here, and even 1 lb. fluctuations in the wrong direction mess with my head when I have to' 'fess up to them here. It's hard enough in private.

[jobob]

Start weight: 145

Goal weight for the end of June: 144

Maintenance is going well. I was going to put 145 as my goal weight but then I figured it would be good to have something to aim for.

[Anelia]

This happens to me every year! In winter I am 112-113 and now I weigh 119! In winter I train short and intensive, in spring I did a lot of base (endurance) training: long hours, low intensity. Also in spring and summer I ride a lot and travel a lot. That means to hell with dieting and restrictions. I don't feel heavy, I am ok on the bike but I would like to go slowly under 115 again This is not going to happen because I'm afraid to lose power, and before and after every ride or race I recover by carb eating.
This is not fair and everybody tells me that it's not possible to gain weight if I ride this much. But the scale does not lie. I should be stricter in my eating and I should eat more protein and less carbs (especially sugar) and more raw vegetables.
Anyway, tomorrow I have a race, so I'm going to engulf on some pasta now.

[GLC1968]

I will be here again. Mainly for maintence..I have been going between 138-141. Hope I can stay there. I am changing the way I eat though because I think the paleo way was making me feel very jitery, decreased my memory and I was not sleeping well at all. I was eating paleo for several months ( probably 90 % paleo) and could not figure out why I was so anxious for no reason and my memory for simple things was gone. I did some research and it confirmed what I already knew.

So far after 1 week of eating more carbs I feel far better and have been sleeping again. My boss was telling me one of her co-workers at her old job had the same experience with the Paleo way of eating and had to stop. I know some of you strong paleo followers will say just eat more fruits and veggies to up my carbs. I tried that but still felt very anxious...like I was about to give a speech or start a race. I felt that way all of the time. After reintroducing rice and whole wheat noodles back into my diet I feel great and can actually remember my patients' names again.

Oh..my weight now is 140

Wow, that's really interesting. I'm the exact opposite. I was having memory issues before I went paleo (which are now resolved) and sleep WAY better now than I ever did on a conventional diet. Though, I'm not low carb. Not even a little. I eat plenty of fruit and potatoes (and the occasional white rice in sushi) so I'm probably not your typical paleo case.


OK, so count me in again. I'm at 151 still. This time, I'm going to actively try to lose weight. I'm cleared to swim, so there is at least one form of cardio that I can do now! My goal for the end of June is 144.

Thanks, Possegal!

[ny biker]

Potatoes on a paleo diet?

I do not understand this diet. Someone at work recently started it and the logic seems very twisted to me.

[GLC1968]

Yeah, I eat potatoes - most paleo people don't. Potatoes (unlike grains and legumes) don't have any substances in them that attack the digestive system. They are higher in starch/sugars, but as an endurance athlete, those are needed. The Paleo Diet for Athletes recommends things like sweet potatoes/yams and bananas as good fuel for longer endurance efforts.

Of course, my habit of eating them even while injured is exactly the reason I haven't lost any weight in the past 3-4 months. Great part of the diet when exercising a lot...not so much when mostly sedentary! Though, based on solobiker's experience, maybe they are helping me sleep better at least.

Paleo can be low carb, but it doesn't have to be. And like any other type of nutrition plan, there are some grey areas about what is good/acceptable and what isn't. Everyone falls onto the spectrum in different places. That's why some drink raw milk, some don't. Some eat pastured butter, some don't. Some eat rice or quinoa, some don't. Some eat potatoes, some don't. Some eat honey, some don't. It's not like 'you have to eat exactly this and nothing else or you will burst into flames, get fat, die tomorrow or shrivel up and waste away'...it's a guideline. Of course, some people are WAY more militant about it than others. I started out pretty strict and then slowly added in different things to see how my body reacted. How I eat now is a result of 9-10 months of experimentation and knowing that if I'm too crazy strict about things, I won't stick with it over the long haul.

Plus, people who are just starting out tend to be 1) more strict and 2) more vocal. (I certainly was).

[Blueberry]

I'm back in. Starting weight 228 (but if I made it through this without gaining significantly, it's all good!).

Goal to the end of May - Maintain. We're moving/have general chaos until then.

Goal to the end of June (for the spreadsheet) - 220.

[emily_in_nc]

Funny, right after dropping out of the spreadsheet, I had my lowest weight in months this morning!

Not sure if it will stick, but I'm pleased.