At Goal & Successfully Maintaining. So Why Am I Doing This All Over Again?
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springlering62 wrote: »BL dragged out a sweatshirt. “Got a chill”, he said apologetically. “Can’t seem to shake it.”
And so it begins. The cold!!! The bone numbing cold! Also known as WLAF. Weight Loss *kitten* Freeze.
Yes. It’s a real thing.
That sensation, from the inside out, that you will never, ever be warm enough again. That, while you’ve slimmed down, the world will never notice because of the extra layers you’re piling on. When socks become your best friend. When you seriously consider wearing gloves to bed. When you catch your SO jealously eyeing your fleece bathrobe.
Fire up the kettle for some hot tea. This may be with you for a few seasons, and still crop up unexpectedly later on.
Get in the habit of carrying a sweater to restaurants, meetings etc.
Stock up on bubble bath for those nights only a hot bath will save you.
The best supposition ‘round these parts is that you’ve lost a layer of insulation. Your metabolism has changed. Something’s up. Many people here report experiencing WLAF.
On the NSV side, it’s proof you’re progressing. And maybe all those shivers burn calories?
My work partner, who is a fellow about two months older than me, lost somewhere around 100 - 120 lbs maybe 10 years ago and is NEVER warm.
Since I am a menopausal female who is never not-warm, this has led to many amusing conversations.
Him: "Is it cold in here or is it just me?"
Me: "Dude, I'm not the best person to ask...."
Him (wearing jacket indoors): "I'm not going anywhere, I'm just cold."
Me (two fans running in cubicle): * glares silently *
He's convinced that weight loss permanently messed up his body's thermostat.
Interesting because I work with a guy that says he lost 100 lbs (before I knew him so at least 13 years ago) and we go through the same thing. Our offices are adjacent and share a thermostat. Thank god he has been working from home throughout the pandemic and I don't have to blast two fans in my office ...I dread that he might return to the office.
Edit: sorry I didn't realize I was responding to such an old post - can't get used to the new format.2 -
springlering62 wrote: »BL dragged out a sweatshirt. “Got a chill”, he said apologetically. “Can’t seem to shake it.”
And so it begins. The cold!!! The bone numbing cold! Also known as WLAF. Weight Loss *kitten* Freeze.
Yes. It’s a real thing.
That sensation, from the inside out, that you will never, ever be warm enough again. That, while you’ve slimmed down, the world will never notice because of the extra layers you’re piling on. When socks become your best friend. When you seriously consider wearing gloves to bed. When you catch your SO jealously eyeing your fleece bathrobe.
Fire up the kettle for some hot tea. This may be with you for a few seasons, and still crop up unexpectedly later on.
Get in the habit of carrying a sweater to restaurants, meetings etc.
Stock up on bubble bath for those nights only a hot bath will save you.
The best supposition ‘round these parts is that you’ve lost a layer of insulation. Your metabolism has changed. Something’s up. Many people here report experiencing WLAF.
On the NSV side, it’s proof you’re progressing. And maybe all those shivers burn calories?
My work partner, who is a fellow about two months older than me, lost somewhere around 100 - 120 lbs maybe 10 years ago and is NEVER warm.
Since I am a menopausal female who is never not-warm, this has led to many amusing conversations.
Him: "Is it cold in here or is it just me?"
Me: "Dude, I'm not the best person to ask...."
Him (wearing jacket indoors): "I'm not going anywhere, I'm just cold."
Me (two fans running in cubicle): * glares silently *
He's convinced that weight loss permanently messed up his body's thermostat.
Interesting because I work with a guy that says he lost 100 lbs (before I knew him so at least 13 years ago) and we go through the same thing. Our offices are adjacent and share a thermostat. Thank god he has been working from home throughout the pandemic and I don't have to blast two fans in my office ...I dread that he might return to the office.
Edit: sorry I didn't realize I was responding to such an old post - can't get used to the new format.
It's nice to know I'm not the only one!
I'm having to constantly remind myself that the SO is low carb now. At this time of year my impulse is to gift him all his favourite candy treats and I can't do that this year. I also know he has no "off" switch, he can NOT moderate, so it's not like he can even enjoy a little bit within his carb limit and put it away for another day.
Maybe I'll just have to channel my impulse into buying him a stock of keto snack bars or something.2 -
Maybe I'll just have to channel my impulse into buying him a stock of keto snack bars or something.
Lololol. I just ordered a couple cases of Nugo bars for BL. And me, if I’m honest. They’re like crack.
This year, we’re giving each other full body massages for Christmas, instead of food or some trinket that’ll wind up in a drawer. (He was banned from ever buying jewelry again after he bought me the identical pair of earrings three years in a row. The heart was generous, the memory, faulty.)
I’m heading out of town tomorrow for a couple of days, to visit our oldest, who is expecting. Me and the other Grandma-to-be are going together to see what we can do, if anything, to help prepare.
Have left BL with a fine store of healthy meals he’ll enjoy.
He’s already planning to restock my “salad drawer” before I get back. Is he good or what?
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Have fun! When our oldest was pregnant with first, we flew to visit for the weekend & to see if we could help put crib together, etc. Ended up having baby that weekend..6 weeks early..but both were fine & we got to see baby before we came home.5
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springlering62 wrote: »BL dragged out a sweatshirt. “Got a chill”, he said apologetically. “Can’t seem to shake it.”
And so it begins. The cold!!! The bone numbing cold! Also known as WLAF. Weight Loss *kitten* Freeze.
Yes. It’s a real thing.
That sensation, from the inside out, that you will never, ever be warm enough again. That, while you’ve slimmed down, the world will never notice because of the extra layers you’re piling on. When socks become your best friend. When you seriously consider wearing gloves to bed. When you catch your SO jealously eyeing your fleece bathrobe.
Fire up the kettle for some hot tea. This may be with you for a few seasons, and still crop up unexpectedly later on.
Get in the habit of carrying a sweater to restaurants, meetings etc.
Stock up on bubble bath for those nights only a hot bath will save you.
The best supposition ‘round these parts is that you’ve lost a layer of insulation. Your metabolism has changed. Something’s up. Many people here report experiencing WLAF.
On the NSV side, it’s proof you’re progressing. And maybe all those shivers burn calories?
My work partner, who is a fellow about two months older than me, lost somewhere around 100 - 120 lbs maybe 10 years ago and is NEVER warm.
Since I am a menopausal female who is never not-warm, this has led to many amusing conversations.
Him: "Is it cold in here or is it just me?"
Me: "Dude, I'm not the best person to ask...."
Him (wearing jacket indoors): "I'm not going anywhere, I'm just cold."
Me (two fans running in cubicle): * glares silently *
He's convinced that weight loss permanently messed up his body's thermostat.
Interesting because I work with a guy that says he lost 100 lbs (before I knew him so at least 13 years ago) and we go through the same thing. Our offices are adjacent and share a thermostat. Thank god he has been working from home throughout the pandemic and I don't have to blast two fans in my office ...I dread that he might return to the office.
Edit: sorry I didn't realize I was responding to such an old post - can't get used to the new format.
It's nice to know I'm not the only one!
I'm having to constantly remind myself that the SO is low carb now. At this time of year my impulse is to gift him all his favourite candy treats and I can't do that this year. I also know he has no "off" switch, he can NOT moderate, so it's not like he can even enjoy a little bit within his carb limit and put it away for another day.
Maybe I'll just have to channel my impulse into buying him a stock of keto snack bars or something.
I find that fancy nuts makes a nice low carb indulgence.1 -
rheddmobile wrote: »springlering62 wrote: »BL dragged out a sweatshirt. “Got a chill”, he said apologetically. “Can’t seem to shake it.”
And so it begins. The cold!!! The bone numbing cold! Also known as WLAF. Weight Loss *kitten* Freeze.
Yes. It’s a real thing.
That sensation, from the inside out, that you will never, ever be warm enough again. That, while you’ve slimmed down, the world will never notice because of the extra layers you’re piling on. When socks become your best friend. When you seriously consider wearing gloves to bed. When you catch your SO jealously eyeing your fleece bathrobe.
Fire up the kettle for some hot tea. This may be with you for a few seasons, and still crop up unexpectedly later on.
Get in the habit of carrying a sweater to restaurants, meetings etc.
Stock up on bubble bath for those nights only a hot bath will save you.
The best supposition ‘round these parts is that you’ve lost a layer of insulation. Your metabolism has changed. Something’s up. Many people here report experiencing WLAF.
On the NSV side, it’s proof you’re progressing. And maybe all those shivers burn calories?
My work partner, who is a fellow about two months older than me, lost somewhere around 100 - 120 lbs maybe 10 years ago and is NEVER warm.
Since I am a menopausal female who is never not-warm, this has led to many amusing conversations.
Him: "Is it cold in here or is it just me?"
Me: "Dude, I'm not the best person to ask...."
Him (wearing jacket indoors): "I'm not going anywhere, I'm just cold."
Me (two fans running in cubicle): * glares silently *
He's convinced that weight loss permanently messed up his body's thermostat.
Interesting because I work with a guy that says he lost 100 lbs (before I knew him so at least 13 years ago) and we go through the same thing. Our offices are adjacent and share a thermostat. Thank god he has been working from home throughout the pandemic and I don't have to blast two fans in my office ...I dread that he might return to the office.
Edit: sorry I didn't realize I was responding to such an old post - can't get used to the new format.
It's nice to know I'm not the only one!
I'm having to constantly remind myself that the SO is low carb now. At this time of year my impulse is to gift him all his favourite candy treats and I can't do that this year. I also know he has no "off" switch, he can NOT moderate, so it's not like he can even enjoy a little bit within his carb limit and put it away for another day.
Maybe I'll just have to channel my impulse into buying him a stock of keto snack bars or something.
I find that fancy nuts makes a nice low carb indulgence.
That's a really good idea for a treat gift, and not one that would have occurred to me since I'm not a nut eater.
Must look for these Nugo bars too. I have no idea which ones taste good and which ones taste like sawdust but "like crack" sounds like a solid recommendation.
The silly man bought two liters of eggnog without checking the nutrition label. "And how many carbs in a serving of that stuff?" I asked, knowing full well it is loaded with sugar. 41 grams. And now I have to complete his heartbreak by demonstrating how small a 250 ml serving really is... no, it's not a full drinking glass, it's more like half of one.3 -
@ythannah the Nugo dark chocolate mint is our favorite, but the dark chocolate coconut is as good or better than a mounds bar. Both are 200 calories and the size of a full sized candy bar. Everyone is sold out of the mint except the Nugo site itself. If you Google, you can find a coupon code for the initial order. Sprouts has them if you want to try one prior to committing, but all our local Sprouts have short supply.
There’s an Almond nog that’s lower cal but I haven’t bit. When I was a kid we had home delivery straight from the dairy, one of two dairies in the country that was allowed to sell unpasteurized milk. Their creamy thick eggnog was the pinnacle, and nothing will ever compare, so I don’t even bother. We kids were allowed about half a cup each, per holiday season.0 -
Feeling 😎 with myself.
Packed a peanut butter sandwich, carrots, radishes, a donut, and a serving of chips for the flight. Even with a second lunch, due to the three hour time change, managed to stay fairly close to goal, even with some foods I don’t normally eat (Ethiopian, fancy Ramen).
Didn’t eat the donut and had it for breakfast with some jerky, as it was actually the lower cal / higher protein option versus what the hotel had on offer.
Will decline the airplane Biscoff next time. Not worth the calories. 😂
Amazing how our mindset changes when we start thinking.
(Ask me again after we visit See’s Chocolates, though!)
Going for a run on the beach while SIL surfs this morning. Am genuinely looking forward to that. Have never ever run on a beach before.
I did not know you could hear coyotes howl at night in CA. That’s just wild. Makes me feel better and much less stressed about the coyote prowling our urban east coast neighborhood. Everyone ignores them here, so I guess I can, too.4 -
Other than making sure the cat comes in at night, we don't worry much about the coyotes here. Enjoy your run on the beach! I find it incredibly difficult to run in the sand.1
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springlering62 wrote: »@ythannah the Nugo dark chocolate mint is our favorite, but the dark chocolate coconut is as good or better than a mounds bar. Both are 200 calories and the size of a full sized candy bar. Everyone is sold out of the mint except the Nugo site itself. If you Google, you can find a coupon code for the initial order. Sprouts has them if you want to try one prior to committing, but all our local Sprouts have short supply.
There’s an Almond nog that’s lower cal but I haven’t bit. When I was a kid we had home delivery straight from the dairy, one of two dairies in the country that was allowed to sell unpasteurized milk. Their creamy thick eggnog was the pinnacle, and nothing will ever compare, so I don’t even bother. We kids were allowed about half a cup each, per holiday season.
I'm in Canada but I did find a Canadian Nugo site so I can definitely order them here.
As for eggnog, I tried this stuff last year on a whim (okay, it was marked down) and really liked it. Not thick and creamy but good flavour.
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I'm starting again after reaching my goal weight, but then I gained weight over two lockdowns and back at my highest way. I've gained and lost 30 pounds around six times since my early 20s. As I start again, I'm realising that I could easily blow my day's calories in a snack or single meal!7
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Re: coyotes. I grew up in the country and once came face to face with an entire pack of coyotes while trying to rescue a dog which had been hit by a car. Unbeknownst to me they had been circling the dog waiting for it to die. I flung my arms out wide and shouted at them and they all ran off. So, yeah, keep cats and small dogs indoors at night, but don’t be too afraid of them. My husband and I have heard them howling right next to us on night trail runs, which is a little spooky, but not risky.1
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Read the comments about Nugo bars. I'll have to locate some and try them.
I have experimented making my own protein bars. Started a thread here asking for other's input and suggestions. One of the respondents pointed me at Kirkland's (Costco) brand protein bars. She said they were as good as Quest bars - and at less than a dollar apiece - she had stopped making her own. I tried them and have never looked back. 20 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber. That is my work week breakfast now.1 -
Tis the Season!!!!
Let’s talk Ups n’Downs.
Welcome to the holidays, my friends! Or business trips, birthdays, weddings etc etc. all of these things can play havoc with your daily weigh in.
I started thirty days ago at 133. Bounced up to 140 following a ten day visit by youngest, who wanted all the nomnoms she can’t get living in Europe (we’re talking Chikfila, TexMex, Little Debbies). She left, I went back to plan and it came back down within ten days.
Today’s high of 138 is courtesy of a trip to see the eldest who is pregnant (never try to out eat a pregnant woman!) and also a transcontinental flight.
Am I in a panic?
NO!!!!!! Fluctuations in weight are a passing thing. Even really big ones. Sudden weight gains can happen for all kinds of reasons outside of that plate of Christmas cookies, cheese plate, or holiday wine.
Carbs from an unusually large meal can add a few immediate pounds. I know, right? How can you logically eat an extra 2,000 calories when it “takes 3500 to make a pound”, but gain four pounds?
Cabin pressure from a plane or even being cooped up in a car for a lengthy drive can send weight shooting up. That bowl of salty snacks, plate of hours deouvres, or bowl of umami pork ramen can do it. Constipated? Yup. Monthly cycle? Check. Muscle soreness from a new workout can add several pounds. That booster shot I just got that’s making my arm swell) Yup. Surgery or stitches. There’s so many things that can make your weight spike anywhere from a few ounces to many many pounds.
One of the biggest surprises for me has been stress weight. That’s right. Stress weight. A job issue, the kids, death in the family and the resulting chaos. You’ve hardly eaten anything because of a stressful situation and yet your weight is mysteriously climbing. (Short version:) Your body creates cortisol as a response to stress. Cortisol can make you retain water like crazy.
So instead of panicking and beating yourself over the head, look at your diary. (You are logging honestly, right?) What did you do that’s different? What’s happened in the past few days that could have affected you emotionally or mentally?
Don’t fall off the bus because of a blip of a couple of pounds. Just go back to what you were doing. It works.
“Punishment eating” (and I’ve been there many a time) doesn’t accomplish anything. Shrug your shoulders, keep calm and carry on.
And enjoy the occasional holiday treat or get together. It ain’t gonna kill you.
(And totally totally OT. Five Guys has made it to Germany. Daughter has overheard the complaints and posits it’s struggling because those crazy fun Germans don’t get the concept of “Yay!!!!! extra fries dumped in the bottom of the bag!!!”. They think it’s sloppy and disorganized, and are shunning the chain as a result. Not to mention that burger and fries for two is in the realm of $50 bucks when a nice dönner meal is a fraction of that. Ouch. Choose your reason. Anyway I think the extra fries thing is hysterical. Cultural differences and all that.)17 -
Warning: long post!
BL is not a fan of the scale. He goes several weeks without weighing in. That’s fine, I can see he’s still losing size.
But this morning he was upset. He weighed in and was up nearly two pounds from his last weigh in several weeks ago.
He was talking the talk of cutting calories and “exercising more”.
😱
Remember, if you’re seldom hitting the scale, you’re not getting a true picture. Any number of things can cause a temporary weight spike (see post above).
If you’re not weighing regularly, particularly at same time of day, in same state of dress or undress, pre meal or post poopy or whatever your habit is, you're not getting a consistent picture. (Ladies this especially applies to you. Are you weighing around the same time in your monthly cycle? No? Well duh!)
Sunday is donut day. He had a honking big Apple fritter which is a carb monster - even though it’s well within his calorie limits.
He also had some of my protein smoothie last night.This particular powder makes me bloat like roadkill. (Yeah. I’m cheap and I’m trying to finish it off.) It could easily have done the same to him.
If you’re plateauing, there’s many factors to consider, but the elephant in the room is your logging habits.
I have tried to stay out of his diary to give him privacy, and to develop some accountability. I’m happy to give advice, but I ain’t his momma.
But, since he was concerned, I had a quick delve into his diary.
Yikes.
Inaccuracy after inaccuracy.
He’s been copying my meals verbatim, even though I clearly tell him his potato and steak are several ounces larger than mine. And I have cream cheese or Nutella on my pancakes. He does not.
Silly mistakes like those make the whole diary a house of cards.
He also, somehow or other, found a generic entry for “Fajitas 300 calories” and out that down for the giant sizzling restaurant platter he devoured Friday night- many Friday nights, in fact. That’s several thousand calories right there.
In fact, he seems to have found the absolute most generic, home-cook recipe entries for most the meals he’s logged.
So tomorrow we buckle down on logging.
The other fun thing he mentioned was a hopeful “maybe those two pounds are muscle I’ve put on”.
Folks! Unless you are doing some pretty serious weight training, you are very likely not putting on muscle weight, and if you are, it’s a very slow process.
That’s not to say his choices of exercise are bad (I’m overjoyed he’s doing more! That Apple Watch has been super motivating for him!!!) but they are more cardio. Cardio is not a muscle building activity.
It’s been very interesting to hear him assuming many of the misconceptions I see other MFP users sharing here, and making the same mistakes we see in others’ diaries.
“Exercising more” is not generally a solution, unless you exercise little as it is. BL already does about an hour of walking, and an organized class per day- occasionally two classes. If you’re not losing weight and are already exercising, please don’t pile on more exercise to try to “kick start” additional loss- unless it’s something you genuinely enjoy doing. Over exercise can have the same result as under-eating: an eventual “F This” followed by quitting. Rather than adding more exercise, clean up your weighing and logging.
One last thing, with his weight loss, he needs to recalibrate his goals. This will reduce the number of calories he gets per day, since he’s lost about 10%’ish of his starting weight. Have you updated your goals and calories lately?
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So many common mistakes and misconceptions, luckily you're there to help!
I cringe when I look at my food diary from when I started my weight loss. So many horrible entries and I don't remember ever thinking I needed to improve my logging, it somehow magically and gradually improved (luckily!) to my current 'anal' logging 😁4 -
I forget how much over processed garbage and the quantities I used to eat. Just logging (honestly!) makes you realize what foods are worth it and which aren't. Food scales are so vital to being honest with myself. And I'm learning to guesstimate when I'm not eating at home and make better choices. You can try to fool yourself, but neither set of scales lie!2
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I was resistant to weighing myself regularly too. It is so second nature to me now, I don't even think about it. It is the FIRST thing I do every morning - no big deal (I mean, I have to pee anyway, I might as well weigh myself while I'm there, right?). The daily stream of weight data is SO HELPFUL to know when I'm on track, and when my body is being weird.
Ugh.. That demoralizing feeling he must have had with seeing his weight "go up"! Poor guy. Good thing he's got you to help him.
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springlering62 wrote: »In fact, he seems to have found the absolute most generic, home-cook recipe entries for most the meals he’s logged.
This was the SO's biggest pitfall when logging also, choosing the most attractive (lowest calorie) entries over the more accurate ones.
It was a huge disaster for him since he works away for two weeks at a time and eats all his meals in a cafeteria so he was stuck with guesstimating anyway. But he was determined to make those numbers fit his goal, regardless of what he'd actually eaten.2 -
springlering62 wrote: »In fact, he seems to have found the absolute most generic, home-cook recipe entries for most the meals he’s logged.
This was the SO's biggest pitfall when logging also, choosing the most attractive (lowest calorie) entries over the more accurate ones.
It was a huge disaster for him since he works away for two weeks at a time and eats all his meals in a cafeteria so he was stuck with guesstimating anyway. But he was determined to make those numbers fit his goal, regardless of what he'd actually eaten.
Truth!!!!!!!
I roll the other direction. I try to choose the highest calorie version of meals out so I have a buffer.4
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