Britt's 30th Birthday Challenge! (September 22 - January 21)

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  • brittdee88
    brittdee88 Posts: 1,874 Member
    edited October 2017
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    Day 10: 10/1
    Weight: Unsure
    Yesterday's RBPM: 82
    Yesterday's diet goals: success!
    Yesterday's lifestyle goals: N/A

    Unfortunately, I was up all night writing a paper and have just now awoken. I usually weigh in at 8:30, so today's won't be accurate. I will continue on with protein-packed foods today. Since I have a very busy week coming up, I am planning to make a bean, quinoa, and Beyond Meat chili that can last all week that will have lots of protein. Hopefully this theory will work out for some loss. I'd love to hit ~152 by Friday.
  • tlblanksfit
    tlblanksfit Posts: 1,573 Member
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    October 2
    39 Days to Maintenance
    Maintenance Goal Weight: 144 pounds
    Today's Weight: 154.1 pounds

  • brittdee88
    brittdee88 Posts: 1,874 Member
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    Hi, everyone:
    I don't want to just disappear, but after the hurricane, a lot of classwork has been piled up due to the 3 weeks we lost. I still have the same amount of work but much less time to complete it. I don't think I will be able to log in as frequently, so I am committing to checking in once a week on Fridays with weigh-ins and my success with my goals for that week. I still want to complete the challenge, but school is a major priority for me right now. I will be back on Friday.
  • Brendalea69
    Brendalea69 Posts: 3,863 Member
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    It's ok Britt, we understand and I hope you catch up with all your classwork soon, good luck this week with everything o:)
  • minigrrll
    minigrrll Posts: 1,590 Member
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    Good luck with all your classwork - I know how it feels to be under piles of work, that's for sure!!
  • amflautist
    amflautist Posts: 941 Member
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    Britt, your aims and your determination are truly inspiring!!!
  • tlblanksfit
    tlblanksfit Posts: 1,573 Member
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    Hey Britt, how is everything going?
  • brittdee88
    brittdee88 Posts: 1,874 Member
    edited November 2017
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    Hey everyone! Sorry I have been away SO long. School has really been kicking my butt!

    Quick check-in:
    I am no longer vegan (LONG story - devastated and don't really wanna get into it), and I have been eating super crazy while busy. I have been following a keto pescatarian diet for the past 1.5 week. Had GREAT success my first week until I went on a camping trip and went overboard on s'mores. And then I have been off track for the past two days during midterms. Well, I am back!
    Last I checked, I was 155.2 (of course), and I am sure I am more than that now after these 2 crazy days. I will be returning to 2-3 square meals a day with no snacks, but I will be having a weekly OMAD when I allow myself anything I want during my meal regardless of carbs (a small nod to @Brendalea69). I know I will eventually get down to daily OMAD, but for now, I am focused on one day a week and that is all I can handle. I will check in here on my OMAD day to hold myself accountable and check in with you lovely people.

    @tlblanksfit: entering maintenance soon, right? Doing well?
  • blambo61
    blambo61 Posts: 4,372 Member
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    brittdee88 wrote: »
    Hey everyone! Sorry I have been away SO long. School has really been kicking my butt!

    Quick check-in:
    I am no longer vegan (LONG story - devastated and don't really wanna get into it), and I have been eating super crazy while busy. I have been following a keto pescatarian diet for the past 1.5 week. Had GREAT success my first week until I went on a camping trip and went overboard on s'mores. And then I have been off track for the past two days during midterms. Well, I am back!
    Last I checked, I was 155.2 (of course), and I am sure I am more than that now after these 2 crazy days. I will be returning to 2-3 square meals a day with no snacks, but I will be having a weekly OMAD when I allow myself anything I want during my meal regardless of carbs (a small nod to @Brendalea69). I know I will eventually get down to daily OMAD, but for now, I am focused on one day a week and that is all I can handle. I will check in here on my OMAD day to hold myself accountable and check in with you lovely people.

    @tlblanksfit: entering maintenance soon, right? Doing well?

    If you eat an earlier meal, make it a low carb one like a large salad with some cheese and meat. I found I will maintain well doing that but will gain if anything goes. Good luck! Most of any weight you've gained will be food weight. Don't freak if the scale is high right now, stay to a reasonable diet and it will be mostly gone in 3-days.
  • tlblanksfit
    tlblanksfit Posts: 1,573 Member
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    @tlblanksfit: entering maintenance soon, right? Doing well?

    I am a week away from maintenance. I could be doing better. I had a not so good week this past week and I am now back up to 154.6. This past week I have struggled to get back to OMAD and have been eating 2 to 3 meals each day.

    For this final week, I am determined to get back to OMAD because OMAD will be a big part of my maintenance and I don't want to go into maintenance struggling.
  • brittdee88
    brittdee88 Posts: 1,874 Member
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    blambo61 wrote: »
    If you eat an earlier meal, make it a low carb one like a large salad with some cheese and meat. I found I will maintain well doing that but will gain if anything goes. Good luck! Most of any weight you've gained will be food weight. Don't freak if the scale is high right now, stay to a reasonable diet and it will be mostly gone in 3-days.

    Thanks, Bob! I was planning to have that for lunches so I'm happy to know that works!
  • brittdee88
    brittdee88 Posts: 1,874 Member
    edited November 2017
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    Weighed today to see where I am after all that mess: 159 - I am actually REALLY happy that my body is seeming to stay put in the 150s even with crazy eating. It sucks because I always seem to get stuck in the 150s, but I guess the silver lining is that I most likely will not see the 160s again.

    I have abandoned keto because although I was satisfied, I just know that it will not work long term. My fiancé is Puerto Rican, and we eat a lot of Caribbean food that is absolutely NOT low carb. I know our future together will include lots of family get-togethers, and I just don't want to set myself up for failure. It's funny because I tried to "moderately" add carbs back in during a trip to Puerto Rico 3 years ago after being keto for months, and that was the beginning of the spiral to gaining back the almost 50 pounds I lost. Puerto Rican food will be plentiful in my life moving forward, so it really makes NO sense to think I will stick to keto religiously. Carb weight regain is so quick and substantial, and I think that would really throw a wrench in my maintenance.
    Also, our relationship has already been improved just by my re-inclusion of fish because now we can order from the same places if we eat out, and we have gone back to cooking together at least one night a week. I don't think I realized just how much intimacy is involved in cooking and eating meals together. I don't want to go back to the way it was by restricting my diet anymore (beyond pescatarianism). I want to continue to eat carbs, and I know OMAD is the only way I can really make that happen without calorie counting.

    I'm toying with making breakfast my OMAD and just changing it to later meals as needed for special occasions. I have always been a breakfast skipper, but when I have had it, I do enjoy starting my day with a nice meal. I have been reading a lot about the metabolic benefits of eating a big breakfast, and because it's my fiancé's favorite meal, we will get to spend weekends making big breakfasts together like we did when we first started dating without it impacting my weight loss goals. I miss those, and I am looking forward to that again. I also know that if I eat enough at breakfast that I am definitely not hungry later.

    Unlike when I made this thread, I am not looking to make anything complicated anymore. I have exactly 11 weeks until my birthday and a lot of weight to lose, but I want to take things one day at a time and let others emerge organically as I go through the process. I don't know that I can lose all I want in these 11 weeks, but I will be entering maintenance on my birthday no matter how much I weigh.

    I ate today around 9:30. It was a decent-sized meal but not enough because I hadn't decided fully what I was going to do, but luckily I can sleep most of today. I will be ready tomorrow with a nice big breakfast, and I will be posting here from now on.
  • tlblanksfit
    tlblanksfit Posts: 1,573 Member
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    Britt, it sounds like things are coming together and you have a solid plan going forward. I am sure you will do fine as you seem to have a positive attitude and a good plan that has proven to work and will work for you. You will do fine.
  • minigrrll
    minigrrll Posts: 1,590 Member
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    Sounds like a great plan... Kind of where I'm at myself - not making things complicated and just letting whatever happens, happen. The only thing I really do is fast and then have my one meal a day, I don't really worry about what I have for that meal (well, it clearly has to be very delicious!). I'm a naturally healthy eater and it sounds like you probably are too, so I think it will all come together, as you say, organically...
  • brittdee88
    brittdee88 Posts: 1,874 Member
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    @tlblanksfit @minigrrll thanks, ladies! Not eating enough bit me in the butt, and I ended up having another meal about 12 hours later when my hunger and headache became unbearable, but I am prepared for my big breakfast tomorrow.
  • Brendalea69
    Brendalea69 Posts: 3,863 Member
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    I love breakfast too and I eat it all the time, my OMAD meal last night was waffles and maple bacon venison...Enjoy your breakfast anytime you choose :)
  • minigrrll
    minigrrll Posts: 1,590 Member
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    I love breakfast too and I eat it all the time, my OMAD meal last night was waffles and maple bacon venison...Enjoy your breakfast anytime you choose :)

    I keep meaning to do this and then always forget by the time dinner rolls around. I think I need to put a note on the fridge and maybe have breakfast for dinner on Friday or Saturday night this week...
  • brittdee88
    brittdee88 Posts: 1,874 Member
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    @Brendalea69 mmmmmmm! I LOVE waffles!!!
  • brittdee88
    brittdee88 Posts: 1,874 Member
    edited November 2017
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    I keep flip-flopping, but my new plan is exactly what I need. My best friend is following a traditional weight loss plan with MFP, and I have decided to join her because I really need the support. Doing this alone is just not working. This community is absolutely amazing, but I need someone I can call at 2 AM to talk me off the ledge. Having an eating disorder just complicates things. So we are calorie counting together, which is actually very easy because I eat on campus during the week, and there are calorie counts available for everything. We both began yesterday and are both already feeling more successful doing this together. I dropped 1.6 pounds overnight by sticking to my calories and eating 3 meals without any urges to binge.

    On the weekends and for events/special occasions, I am going to follow OMAD because I know it works, and it's incredibly convenient. This way, I can enjoy my big breakfasts with my fiancé every weekend without having to worry about calculating recipes, and I can also attend events where there is homemade food or food without available calorie counts. These are what put me off calorie counting in the first place because breaking all the recipes down or trying to eyeball measurements for the purpose of guessing calories became really complicated and annoying.

    This seems like the best of both worlds: eating 3 square meals a day completely stopped binges for me and OMAD provides effortless weight loss without counting and the benefits of fasting. I firmly believe that this is what I can and will stick to after all of the changes and experimentation, and this seems like a very reasonable structure for my lifestyle moving forward.

    Thanks for your continued support, everyone! You are all gems.
    I will post my weekend/special event OMADs and Monday weigh-ins here.
  • Brendalea69
    Brendalea69 Posts: 3,863 Member
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    If that is what works for you then you should do it, and I'm glad you're still going to check in :)