@ Rosie and Raynn..... :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad:

yup, that's me today. TOM needs to be shot, the scale needs to be set under a post pounder for demolition, and water retention can just go screw itself.

That's all I have to say today.

Fully agree.. I hate TOM

thanks to all of you for the kind words

I actually feel guilty writing about it here and being a downer, but it seems that ALL of us needed to get it out this week:blushing:

For the record, TOM and I have been "over" for about 10 years now and when I read your posts I say "TOM, COME BACK!! I promise, I'll never say a bad word about you again!!":laugh: :laugh:

So, last night I was visiting family and was actually quite pleased with how I looked, which totally pissed off THAT girl (you know, the one in my head that gets me down) and made her go crying home to her mommy!!:bigsmile:

So THERE, you mean girl!:smokin: .

hey ladies...checking in! Some of you saw my post on the boards saying "i'm on the verge" a few days ago...I was having a terrible day and was totally on the verge of saying screw it and slashing cals. OBVIOUSLY I'm not going to do that....just wanted to give you all a head's up....here's my post from today in that thread....

You guys are seriously all so great! Thanks for the encouragement, the tips and then relating to me! It seriously helps! I think what I've decided to do is change my activity level to moderate 3-5hrs per wk (on scooby) instead of the level of 5-6hrs strenuous that I originally had it at and then do a 15% cut which for me is 1950cals per day. I work out 5-6 days a week for usually about 50 minutes total. I do a combination of heavy lifting and then short cardio sessions (20 minutes on either the bike eliptical or treadmil). I have been doing about 1900ish since Monday (so really only a few days) but I already feel better and the scale this morning showed a .2 pound loss. I know that's really nothing but honestly that's THE first time it's even THOUGHT about going down since I started my reset and then cut process over 3 months ago. Maybe 1950 (about 15% cut) is my sweet spot? We'll see in another few weeks!
I will never...ever. EVER go below 1800-1900 (and even THAT is pushing it) again!!! I know far too well the effects of not eating enough...been there.done.that.not going back! I am really only maybe 10 pounds from my goal weight an honestly don't care much about scale weight anyway so I just need to find that sweet spot were the fat starts to melt and I can see more tone/muscle/definition and less fat. I will NEVER stop lifting and I will definitely never starve myself again! I have one pair of size 6 jeans in my closet that I use more as a gauge than anything else. I'm terrible at measuring bc I can never seem to get it in the right spot every time and I HATE the scale so those jeans are my "goal". I know I'll get there....someday. Thanks everyone!

that is great news to finally see a drop! awesome on the loose clothes too, feels so good when things start moving in the right direction after waiting so long. Good work!! ...and Happy Friday!!

I soooooooooooo hate water retention.... I love how you can instantly bounce up 2+ pounds when the retention hits, but that coming off, it goes in .2 increments... Grrrrrr

Congrats on finally seeing a loss seobstar!!

TOM is starting to leave so Im hoping in the next day or two the retention will leave in more than .2 increments. I have two more workouts in stage 4 and then Im on a bit of a rest break for my friend's wedding next week.

Ive completed a week using my fitbit, and I wish I could say I have a better idea of where I am, but I cant yet.. the stupid thing has a bug in it, with the sync to MFP and its giving out double activity readings.. so I have a few days where it has me burning double what I actually did.
However even with that, the average for the week has my TDEE around 2700, which is about 100 less than the scooby site. Im not overly concerned since its still giving me a 300 cal deficit for my cut.. Ill wait and give it another week with fitbit and see what next weeks cals average out at and then see what are my options. Not too concerned as 100 cals isnt a huge deal..

I was debating taking my measurements today, but Im not sure it would be worth it since im still bloated. might wait until im on my rest break next week and see what it shows.

Still have lost nothing. My ticker should be updated, just can`t bring myself to do it. 5 months on MFP and nothing. 3 months after reset and nothing. 4 months of strength training and no weight lost.

Now for the good news. I did throw out my scale. Waited two weeks to weight and have gained 2 kg in the two weeks. How? I quit drinking? _?? My measurements are down if only infintesimally, like .2 cm some places. and I really don`t care what the scale says. How can I care, it never says what I want it to. Will be on a weekly weigh in schedule from now. And that number has no power over me. Ok just a little, fleetingly.

I gained definition in my chest, good. Stomach is still just as fat and jiggly as ever. Thighs still rub, it might be my imagination but they rub a little tiny bit less than before.

I`m going to trust my good feelings because it has been a rough five months.

Have a good body builder diet going on, lots of energy, and a little less reaction to stress than before. I am intuitive eating now for two weeks. I was so sick of counting calories and not losing anything.

All told feel pretty good, don`t look too much better but oh well. Too bad my goal was to look better. I guess I`ll have to change my goal to living better.

Fugettaboutit.

This was so uplifting to read. I love your mentality. I know it's hard when you seem to be doing everything right but yet your body just will not respond the way you expect it to. I am going through much the same sort of thing. My body is freaking out and I've been gaining on what SHOULD be a weight loss amount. I can't make sense of it and stress only magnifies the negative hormonal state that contributes to weight gain. ((Sigh)) I guess we change our goals, be patient, or some combination of the two. Best of luck to you.

Well, after 6 weeks of cut I'm finally on a losing trend. I lost another whole pound since last week. I'm going to take a rest week starting tomorrow and eat my TDEE all week (without exercise factored in). My clothes still fit the same and I have not measured yet and I'm a bit afraid to. Don't want to do anything to mess with my good feeling right now.:laugh:
I hope to see another loss next week!
Hugs to those of you who are struggling with the mental game. Hang in there!

Hey everyone... like I said I would, I'm reporting in with my results from my 2nd week of cut
Also, like I said I would, I did EVERY little bit of exercise I planned on doing and ate incredibly healthily, exactly at my calorie goal almost exactly ALL week... and I'm down about .2 of a kg. (I think about half a pound)
yay!!!!! I know it's only a tiny bit of progress... but l'm happy

A little NSV: About a month or two ago I watched an advertisement for the 'brazilian butt-lift' workout DVD... and the ad includes this thing called 'the pencil test' where you stand up straight and place a pencil under the crease in your bum. If it gets stuck under your skin/fat and stays there it shows that you have little muscle and a lot of fat in your butt. If it falls down, it proves that you have strong butt muscles, and a 'lifted' butt. Out of curiosity I tried this, and was disappointed to find that the pencil got stuck there under a big hunk of flab, proving I had a saggy bottom (sorry if this is TMI haha!!)

Today, after a month or two of doing many intense Jillian Michaels workouts, all through my metabolism reset and after, (which include many leg and butt exercises, squatting, lunging etc) I tried the pencil test again... and guess what, it fell down!! I couldn't believe it at first, so I re-did the test a few times, but the pencil just would not stay. I'm so happy!! My arms are also getting quite muscular, from all the push ups and plank exercises I've been doing too. This is the first bit of physical progress I've seen in ages, and it obviously shows that I'm building muscle. Next weekend I'm gonna take my measurements and see if I've changed in any other places.

I'm happy with my progress, even though it's only a little- it means a lot Keep going everyone, it's all worth it in the end. I've struggled so hard for so long, and now it's just starting to pay off.

bump

This is the update thread...ok....TOM is over...almost 2 months into this (EM2WL) ....same 2 pounds lost and gained. I am being patience but this SUCKS!!! Just needed to vent and wish everyone a happy labor day

At this rate It will take 10 years to lose my last 30 pounds...feeling discouraged but hopeful at the same time!

Crystal - I hope the test results give you some insight this week.

I am still hanging in. I just finished Stage 4 of NROL and I am now on a rest week. And perfect timing since we are involved in our friends wedding this weekend, and have lots of time needed for that.. So I will give it a few days or so, then take my measurements and weight and see where the real number is..
Im still super pissed at the unexplained bloat again.. but trying to just go with it and hope a Whooosh is upon me soon.

Its definitely not the Cut progress I was expecting and I would be lying if I said this wasnt killing me to have basically no results 6 weeks in. But I know somewhere the other shoe has to drop, right?