September/October weight management challenge

[Catrin]

I can't edit my post, I guess there is a shorter time limit now - that's ok. I wanted to say that I am very close to being my lowest weight since I was something like 18. One more pound and I will be there. I am more concerned with my body composition right now though, and there are starting to be signs that things are changing - though my body fat % is still too high. My lowest weight since this fitness/weight loss journey began in 2010 was 128.4 in August 2011 - right before I was out with a series of over-use injuries.

Crankin - I hear you about figuring out how to change bike fuel approach. Since going Primal over a month ago this has been my biggest challenge. I think I've got it basically figured out, though tomorrow will be the first serious test of that. Right now small amounts of nitrate-free organic jerky and/or macadamia nuts and dried unsweetened cherries seem to be working just fine. "Salt Stick" capsules for electrolytes though I don't worry about that unless it is a ride >90 minutes. I am trying to eat well before the ride, and it is easier to eat more before a ride in cooler temps - at least for me it is.

[tulip]

129 today. Whoo!

[Becky]

128. I did see 123 earlier this week....

[gnat23]

144.2. Maybe my scale is stuck.

-- gnat!

[emily_in_nc]

107.5 again, same as last week. Not happy with it, but I had been 108 the last two days, so I will take it. It's amazing how much just a small fluctuation affects the way I feel about myself. I was in a huge funk the past two days since I the 108 is very high for me (I was 103 when we moved here in August 2011), and I have no one to blame but myself. Not eating poorly or too much, but I am sitting at the computer way too much and not getting enough exercise.

I also blame Belize's HOT HOT HOT September, though. Even the locals are saying it's the hottest one they remember. When it's already 86-88F by 7:30 am with full sun and humidity between 75-85%, it's just impossible to motivate myself to do anything outdoors. Last year this time I was running 3 mornings a week (and complaining about it being 79-80F...I would give my right arm for that now!)

I have been trying to pump up the indoor workouts with weights and a mixture of mat Pilates and yoga, but my yoga instructor is out of the country, so I'm missing those 2x a week two-hour workouts. I THINK she's back next Wed., so I may get to go to a practice on Thursday. Crossing fingers!

I also think there's very likely some hormonal changes at play. I am in perimenopause, but when we moved here, I was having frequent cycles (like every 22-26 days). Now, I seem to have moved into the next phase, where my cycles are lengthening to 40-60 days. It's quite a blessing in many ways after feeling like I was *always* on my period over the past 5-6 years, but I think my metabolism is probably slowing as well. My mother and her mother both gained a ton of weight at menopause, and that scares me a lot. But they were completely un-athletic, so I am hoping I can avoid their fate if I can just get my butt into gear with exercise. Once we move back to the US and I can get myself into some cooler weather, I am sure I will be much more active again, and then maybe weight maintenance will be easier once again. But I suspect at this age, and with menopause approaching, it will never again be like it used to be, where I could easily lose 2-5 lbs. just by cutting back a little here and there.

Sigh....

[Blueberry]

I'm at 229 today. See the doc this afternoon, so hopefully can start medicating the underactive thyroid.

Emily - any more news on moving?? Have been thinking of you PM if you prefer!

[Crankin]

Emily, I started riding as I was in the worst throes of perimenopause (the last 2 years). I got my first road bike around the time I had my last period. When I started riding in 2000, I weighed about 118-122 (if you can believe it), basically from being burned out on the exercise I had been doing for 20 years. I had gotten myself down to 110 a couple of times when I was heavier and in peri (basically for my kids HS graduations). I wasn't inactive, but it wasn't enough to neutralize the effects of hormones. I also changed the way I eat quite a bit in late 2003. I had been riding for 3 years, one year on a road bike, and I weighed about 107. At first, I was pretty happy with that weight, but I really wanted to get down to around 105. I've had to change up what I do in terms of exercise, every so often and modulate my grain intake even more since then. I just can't slack off. Given that I still enjoy red wine and chocolate and I go out a lot, it's OK, but now I can't stop going to those boot camp classes....