Weekly Chat 1/27 - 2/2

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Hi all!

Thought I would start a new weekly chat for a new week.

Today was a great LC day for me today, especially given that we were away from home for much of the day. I packed snacks and did really well at lunch out, so I am pleased with it. Water was challenging, but I usually get in about 100 oz./day so I'll pick that back up tomorrow. Not fun to drink water when you are in a cold hockey rink for much of the day! :blushing:

Hope you all had a good weekend! Take care,
Christine

P.S. I didn't know how it make this a "sticky post".
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Replies

  • WIChelle
    WIChelle Posts: 471 Member
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    Good morning everyone! Thanks for getting the thread started for us Christine! I know I couldnt do cold water in a cold hockey rink. Brrrr!!! Babeinthemoon will have to sticky it I think :)

    Wow I tell you I really struggled not to go over calories yesterday. I wanted to eat all day and was hungry all day. I ended up drinking a fiber drink before bed . It worked. I just ate 1 egg, 1 turkey sausage and a slice of spelt bread and a still ravenous. darn hormones!
  • UnoDrea3732
    UnoDrea3732 Posts: 342 Member
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    Good morning! I hope everyone had a GREAT weekend!

    Today is my first day on CTL and I'm actually really excited about it! I just have to get use to my new meals and then I'll be golden. This weekend, like every weekend, was a free for all and I think my Husband was enjoying it too much. Today is my HC day and I've made the executive decision to have my cheat day this Friday since we are going out to see some fight that night and drinking will be involved.

    One thing, is anyone doing off the plan workouts? I don't mind doing Chris' little 10 minute things but I would love to keep doing the elliptical or even add some Jillian Michaels DVDs.
  • LosingMyMarbles
    LosingMyMarbles Posts: 168 Member
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    Hi everyone! I'm doing my first slingshot this week... should be interesting!
  • jbdowns35
    jbdowns35 Posts: 352
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    Hi everyone! Today is day one of week 4 for me. I completely forgot I'm supposed to do the slingshot this week!!! Damn, and I already planned my meals out for the week, maybe I'll need to tweek it. I'm a little nervous about doing slingshot & not sure if I should. I've lost a few lbs, but nothing significant & for the most part just keep fluctuating up & down anyway. I know the slingshot is supposed to help snap me into losing mode, but I guess my mind just can't quite wrap around the idea of the extra calories every day. Ugh...should I, shouldn't I?? I guess if I'm following the CTL the way it's supposed to be, I should try the slingshot week!!! Anyone else get thru the slingshot?? How did it go??
  • losingmybehind
    losingmybehind Posts: 47 Member
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    Good morning everyone! Thanks for getting the thread started for us Christine! I know I couldnt do cold water in a cold hockey rink. Brrrr!!! Babeinthemoon will have to sticky it I think :)

    Wow I tell you I really struggled not to go over calories yesterday. I wanted to eat all day and was hungry all day. I ended up drinking a fiber drink before bed . It worked. I just ate 1 egg, 1 turkey sausage and a slice of spelt bread and a still ravenous. darn hormones!

    I have read that having fiber before bed helps with sleep....how was your sleep last night?
  • losingmybehind
    losingmybehind Posts: 47 Member
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    Hi everyone! Today is day one of week 4 for me. I completely forgot I'm supposed to do the slingshot this week!!! Damn, and I already planned my meals out for the week, maybe I'll need to tweek it. I'm a little nervous about doing slingshot & not sure if I should. I've lost a few lbs, but nothing significant & for the most part just keep fluctuating up & down anyway. I know the slingshot is supposed to help snap me into losing mode, but I guess my mind just can't quite wrap around the idea of the extra calories every day. Ugh...should I, shouldn't I?? I guess if I'm following the CTL the way it's supposed to be, I should try the slingshot week!!! Anyone else get thru the slingshot?? How did it go??

    I was scheduled to do sling shot week this week also, but I had a HORRIBLE weekend. We partied Sat night for hubz' birthday...all the foods we work so hard at NOT having in the house were all here!! Because of that, I'm moving my slingshot week to next week instead. I'm interested, too, to hear others who've done slingshot to see how it worked, did you gain any weight, was it hard to get back to low carb, etc.
  • jbdowns35
    jbdowns35 Posts: 352
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    Hi everyone! Today is day one of week 4 for me. I completely forgot I'm supposed to do the slingshot this week!!! Damn, and I already planned my meals out for the week, maybe I'll need to tweek it. I'm a little nervous about doing slingshot & not sure if I should. I've lost a few lbs, but nothing significant & for the most part just keep fluctuating up & down anyway. I know the slingshot is supposed to help snap me into losing mode, but I guess my mind just can't quite wrap around the idea of the extra calories every day. Ugh...should I, shouldn't I?? I guess if I'm following the CTL the way it's supposed to be, I should try the slingshot week!!! Anyone else get thru the slingshot?? How did it go??

    I was scheduled to do sling shot week this week also, but I had a HORRIBLE weekend. We partied Sat night for hubz' birthday...all the foods we work so hard at NOT having in the house were all here!! Because of that, I'm moving my slingshot week to next week instead. I'm interested, too, to hear others who've done slingshot to see how it worked, did you gain any weight, was it hard to get back to low carb, etc.

    Yeah, same here!!! We had a bit too much to drink Saturday night (although I did well during the day) and then Sunday I was a bit hung over & ate poorly. I did not brave the scale & don't really want to. I think maybe I will start slingshot next week too & just try to be very diligent this week & make sure I'm getting my workouts in. Still not quite feeling 100% today & I'm hoping to get in a decent workout later. My stomach is sore & I'm not sure if it's sore abs from a couple consecutive 6wk 6pk workouts (Thur, Fri & Sat) or if I'm feeling crampy from the poor food choices....Yeah, next week will be slingshot for me.
  • losingmybehind
    losingmybehind Posts: 47 Member
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    Hi everyone! Today is day one of week 4 for me. I completely forgot I'm supposed to do the slingshot this week!!! Damn, and I already planned my meals out for the week, maybe I'll need to tweek it. I'm a little nervous about doing slingshot & not sure if I should. I've lost a few lbs, but nothing significant & for the most part just keep fluctuating up & down anyway. I know the slingshot is supposed to help snap me into losing mode, but I guess my mind just can't quite wrap around the idea of the extra calories every day. Ugh...should I, shouldn't I?? I guess if I'm following the CTL the way it's supposed to be, I should try the slingshot week!!! Anyone else get thru the slingshot?? How did it go??

    I was scheduled to do sling shot week this week also, but I had a HORRIBLE weekend. We partied Sat night for hubz' birthday...all the foods we work so hard at NOT having in the house were all here!! Because of that, I'm moving my slingshot week to next week instead. I'm interested, too, to hear others who've done slingshot to see how it worked, did you gain any weight, was it hard to get back to low carb, etc.

    Yeah, same here!!! We had a bit too much to drink Saturday night (although I did well during the day) and then Sunday I was a bit hung over & ate poorly. I did not brave the scale & don't really want to. I think maybe I will start slingshot next week too & just try to be very diligent this week & make sure I'm getting my workouts in. Still not quite feeling 100% today & I'm hoping to get in a decent workout later. My stomach is sore & I'm not sure if it's sore abs from a couple consecutive 6wk 6pk workouts (Thur, Fri & Sat) or if I'm feeling crampy from the poor food choices....Yeah, next week will be slingshot for me.

    OMG, I was SO crampy last night! That's another great thing about eating healthy, when we DON'T, we pay!! I'm with ya for next week. :)
  • WIChelle
    WIChelle Posts: 471 Member
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    UnoDrea good luck on your first day :)

    Losingmybehind I think you'll do fine regardless of if you do slingshot late. We will all have those off days. as long as we keep plugging along it will be a ok :) I slept great but I was super tired having slept little Sat night as usual.

    JB I hope your poor tummy feels better soon! I had too much to drink Sat also. I've got slingshot next week. I am kind of looking forward to it. I've always seemed to lose better on higher cals but that was straight low carb so who knows. If nothing else it will make me appreciate the PB i will be missing more. maybe babeinthmoon can share how her slingshots went. I think it was Sarah that said she stayed the same.

    Losingmymarble let us know how it goes :)
  • babeinthemoon
    babeinthemoon Posts: 471 Member
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    Hi all!

    Thought I would start a new weekly chat for a new week.

    Today was a great LC day for me today, especially given that we were away from home for much of the day. I packed snacks and did really well at lunch out, so I am pleased with it. Water was challenging, but I usually get in about 100 oz./day so I'll pick that back up tomorrow. Not fun to drink water when you are in a cold hockey rink for much of the day! :blushing:

    Hope you all had a good weekend! Take care,
    Christine

    P.S. I didn't know how it make this a "sticky post".


    Christine... Thanks so much for starting the new weekly chat for this week!!! I was MIA on Sunday... just overwhelmed from all the great ideas I got at my conference.

    Please, Please, Please... if it is Sunday, and you don't see a new "Weekly Chat" already started... Please start one! I'll sticky it ASAP!

    BTW... Moderators can Sticky things. So, for now, that's just me. :wink:


    Great job on the LC day! Keep up the great work!
  • babeinthemoon
    babeinthemoon Posts: 471 Member
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    UnoDrea3732 said:
    Good morning! I hope everyone had a GREAT weekend!

    Today is my first day on CTL and I'm actually really excited about it! I just have to get use to my new meals and then I'll be golden. This weekend, like every weekend, was a free for all and I think my Husband was enjoying it too much. Today is my HC day and I've made the executive decision to have my cheat day this Friday since we are going out to see some fight that night and drinking will be involved.

    One thing, is anyone doing off the plan workouts? I don't mind doing Chris' little 10 minute things but I would love to keep doing the elliptical or even add some Jillian Michaels DVDs.

    Welcome to CTL!!!!!

    I have "always" done off the plan workouts. LOL. Let's see. My first 3 months or so I almost did 0 exercise. Totally off the plan. Then I started walking... and trying to incorporate the "shapers." That didn't work so well for me.

    In October I started running with C25K, and also started incorporating "jazzercise" workouts 1-3x a week. Since part of the jazzercise workouts uses weights, or is floor work with crunches, etc, I use it as my "shapers" workout and "Shreader" workout all in one.

    Qutie frankly I'm really surprised at how strong I have gotten already. Love it!

    Do what works for you with exercise. If you are already more advanced than what Chris suggests in the book, keep up with what you are already doing.... but with the focused effort of trying to increase intensity and length of workout over time.
  • babeinthemoon
    babeinthemoon Posts: 471 Member
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    @JBdowns... feel free to skip the slingshot this week if you already have your meals planned out. :) Just do it next week. Remember.. this is a diet framework... not a diet prison! :)

    Slingshot for me usally does a good job at jumpstarting the weight loss. I usually lose between 1 pound - gain 1 pound on a slingshot week.. but the week following I usually use the 1% I "should" plus any pounds I gained on the slingshot... and sometimes a little more than that.

    @LoosingMyBehind: By the time I'm done with Slingshot, I'm rip roaring ready for a regular "LC day." It is really wierd I know, but it is how things seem to work out for me. LOL

    I don't always do slingshot every 4 weeks. Sometimes I stretch it out further... it just all depends on how my month works out.
  • jbdowns35
    jbdowns35 Posts: 352
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    Hi everyone. Feeling somewhat better today, my stomach isn't as sore, but still not feeling quite 100%. I went for a long hike in the woods last night hoping that would help but I still felt crampy afterwards. I was starting to get worried with all the flu bugs going around, but this morning I think I'm feeling better.

    My husband sabotaged me last night. Usually after work I work out & then start dinner while he works out, but I guess he couldn't wait last night & while I was on my walk, he made venison burgers & peas - with butter on them. When I returned from my walk, he had a plate made for me. The burger was on a white bun with cheese melted on it. Ugh. I really didn't even want to eat it at all, but he gave me a bunch of crap - "it's venison, there's not much fat in it at all.....and I only put a little butter on the peas....." So, I ate it anyhow. I did toss the bun, but still wasn't too happy cuz I really wanted to stick to the plan diligently this week & to be honest, I didn't even enjoy the meal cuz in my head all I could think about was the fat from the cheese & butter on the peas. It was my HC day so the meat & peas were fine, minus the cheese & butter. Damn him. He usuually is much more supportive & doesn't make it a habbit of screwing me up. He isn't following CTL, but eats whatever I cook & enjoys it with no complaints.

    I stepped on the scale this morning & I was up 2lbs from my weigh-in on Saturday before my "free day" & my poor choices this weekend. It seems as tho this is the norm. I am having a hard time seeing a significant loss & I'm just starting my 4th week. I realize I need to be patient & I'm trying, but I think the weekends are screwing me up. I think this weekend I need to be much more careful. No drinking & really limit my glutony on free day. Then next week I will do my slingshot & see how it goes from there.

    To be honest, the free day is not all it's cracked up to be anyway. All week I look forward to eating something sinful & then when I do, it's just not as enjoyable as I expected it to be. I tried to eat a burger from Wendys on my free day & I couldn't eat much of it, it tasted horrible. The taste of the grease grossed me out!! And even ice cream isn't as delicious as it used to be. I guess my mind is switching into health mode. I'm craving things that are good for me & looking at food as fuel & nutrients. On my free day I'm eating bad foods because I think I can & I know I can't all during the week, so I think I need to eat what I can while I can & I'm finding out I'm not really even enjoying it. And then I feel like crap when I'm up again on the scale & feel like I just took 2 steps back. Not to mention I usually feel slow & sluggish & overall crappy after eating poorly on free day.

    So, this week I plan to put a little more thought into what I really want to eat on free day. Maybe I can trick my mind into eating something healthy, but is somewhat sinful too. Like a delicious whole wheat pasta & veggie dish but with olive oil & garlic sauce & cheese. Mmmmm....I think that will be what I shoot for this week. And I think I'll also stick to healthy options through out the day & only eat one sinful meal on free day, and maybe a small dessert. And to think the "free day" was one of the things that attracted me to the CTL plan & now I really don't even look forward to it that much. I actually look forward to getting back to my HC & LC days after having a free day.

    Anyone else feeling like this?? How are your free days going?? Are you seeing big fluctuations on the scale after free day?? I do have to add tho, that even tho I've only lost a few pounds, I am seeing & feeling a difference in my body since I'm working out. Clothes are fitting better, starting to feel some tone in muscles I forgot I had, starting to not hate how I look naked, etc. All in all I do really like CTL & I think I will be following these guidelines long term.
  • jbdowns35
    jbdowns35 Posts: 352
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    Holy crap, sorry, didn't realize I wrote a novel!!
  • ChristinePechulis
    ChristinePechulis Posts: 52 Member
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    I agree about "free day". I do splurge, but there are certain things I don't really want to eat -- that are too greasy or heavy. I just treat myself to things that I might not normally have during the week, like: a glass or 2 of wine, something sweet, a bagel with light cream cheese (I NEVER have those), but that won't kill my stomach.

    I also don't weigh myself every day -- so I don't weigh after my "free day". I know my weight would be up and I don't need to see that. I usually weigh once or twice a week.

    Anyway, LC day for me today. Just did my workout, though I had to modify due to some weird pain in my inner thigh/knee. Kind of feels like a "pull", so I didn't want to make it worse. I don't follow the workouts that Chris has in his book. I do my own thing and follow my own sort of exercise program.

    Just wanted to check in and say hi! Hope everyone has a great day! :smile:

    --Christine
  • WIChelle
    WIChelle Posts: 471 Member
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    Good morning! I have a very happy kid with no school again today because of the ice storm. I need it to meal so i can go birthday shopping for my mom! I think I may do the 2 cheats this week since we are taking mom out for her birthday tomorrow. I cant see paying for a nice meal out and eating a 3-4 oz piece of meat plain and 1/2 a plain baked potato or something. I'll see how I feel about it tomorrow. A salad might work too but i don't think they would have the low cal dressing. I need to make a cake also. I might weigh in tomorrow and let the mid week scale help me decide.

    Babeinthemoon~ you are really hitting the workouts lately!

    JB I personally wouldn't sweat the bit of butter or cheese. I eat some of the fattier cuts like pork steak and it hasn't seemed to do any harm. I think you will be a ok. I wonder if you might be seeing inch loss more than scale loss. Have you checked? You seem to work out hard which makes one hold more fluid as the muscle repairs. Are you checking that your free days fall around the 2400 cal range? I have found some of the stuff i really wanted wasn't as good as i thought it would be. Cadbury Min Eggs were that for me last Saturday. I did see a 3 lb gain after free day last week. It went away with 2 more oz by the next one. I know i probably went 1000 cals over the 2400 last freeday so i'll see what happens when I weight this freeday.

    Christine hope your knee feels better!

    I am not following any of the workouts in the book. I am doing no cardio due to my tendon issue. i am doing some strength on my machine ( no standing), a little pilates and calenetics. Nothings real strenuous.
  • LosingMyMarbles
    LosingMyMarbles Posts: 168 Member
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    I agree about the "free" days and things not tasting as good as they used to. Except for last week when nice Aunt Flo came to visit, I haven't had any sweet cravings. A sweet apple or other piece of fruit at breakfast is all I need now.
  • losingmybehind
    losingmybehind Posts: 47 Member
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    The first month on CTL seems to have a pretty significant learning curve. For so long I've followed low carb plans, and to have a plan that actually allowed them/encouraged them seemed almost too good to be true. Not used to eating them, I believe I have gone overboard with them. The good thing tho is that at the end of each week I've been able to take an objective look and see what happened, and make better choices for the week to come.

    All that to say that altho I got a great start, the scale showed me a gain of 5 stinkin pounds this morning which puts me only a couple of pounds down since the beginning of the month. I didn't do an official weigh in or measuring (will do so though on Friday morning for end of the month totals), so am hoping that this isn't going to be the final number. Head in the game and fingers crossed!!

    I was just reading an independent article about carb cycling and how great it is for losing fat whilst not losing muscle if done correctly. That is exciting to me! I admit I have questioned the feasibility of this program this month because of my overdoing the carbs, but in the long run I believe it's going to be worth it to correct that rather than switch. After all, I will take the overdoing carbs into the next plan if I don't figure it out now, right? :)

    I really want this weight loss. I mean I REALLY want it bad. I don't need it to be okay, I just have gotten to the point where my current body is just not acceptable to me...its not serving me well in any area of my life and is actually holding me back from pursuing some of my dreams. So, I'm buckling down, training my body to serve me instead of serving my body whatever it desires. Glad to be here where we're all working towards the same thing!! Such an immense help!
  • UnoDrea3732
    UnoDrea3732 Posts: 342 Member
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    Good afternoon!

    It's great to hear that everyone doesn't just follow the workout routine because honestly I'm not a fan of push-ups. lol.

    Christine - Sorry to hear about your knee pain. Take it easy!

    JB - Sorry to hear about your weekend troubles. I self sabatoge every weekend and it puts a huge damper on my weight loss. I was down 102lbs before xmas and it felt great but I did the typical self sabotage. It is taking forever to get this weight off this time around but I am determined.

    Well, today is a LC day and it didn't start off too great. My toddler decided that sleep wasn't in her agenda so I was up until midnight, woke up at 5am to realize that I couldn't eat because I needed to fast for a health screening test, and then I finally ate at 9am. I always eat within 30mins of waking, unless I am working out, so today seemed like a flop. The good news is that I stayed on plan - LC days are my favorite!

    Have a great rest of your day everyone!
  • babeinthemoon
    babeinthemoon Posts: 471 Member
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    @jbdowns: Yes, I always "gain" after a funday... when I actually eat on a funday. It usually takes me 2-3 days to "work off" the "gain"... but usually I'm at a new low by the next weigh day. December and January were the exception to this rule for me personally. I'm seeing changes in strength and sizes... but I'm just not seeing it on the scale. So I'm trying not to panic. :smile:

    Hubbies just don't get it sometimes. Mine still razzes me for my eating choices on days that I'm being a good girl.... but then razzes me on days that I decide to just "not care" LOL. So, I can't win with him. :)

    Also, I agree with WIChelle... Don't sweat the "small stuff." If you use a little bit of butter or cheese on something, and your macros are in good shape for the whole day, don't worry about it at all. If it did make your "fat" go higher than you wanted it to be... then, oh well. The next meal is a new one. Start over then. :wink:


    To everyone else.. You are doing great!!! Keep up the great work!!!!!


    Tuesday update from me:
    Today My hubby and I are hopefully finishing "dealing with" his unemployment paperwork, and once we actually get the phone call back, I'll try to go check on our "food stamps" application. I'm thankful that there is help for us when we need it, but in the meantime, it is still frustrating with all the waiting.

    So far I have not exercised yet today. I'd like to go to jazzercise at 4:45... but if I can't fit that in I will use the wii fit tonight. I didn't get a run in yesterday... I was just too tired!

    Food yesterday was a little wierd... and it looks like it will be a little wierd today too. I'm whittling down to the bare basics, trying to wait for the food help, so that I can buy fresh veggies and meat.... with out using too much precious cash that could be used for gas money. But that's okay. This is only a "season" and it will be over soon.

    Hope y'all have a great day!