So after a couple of weeks of major stress eating and not exercising much, I was super relieved to see that I had only "gained" a pound (This could be normal fluctuation and not a real gain). I just got signed up for the local YMCA and have already been twice so I'm hopeful that I can stay on track and motivated for a while!

I'm living abroad at the moment, and my brother came to visit-- I hadn't seen him since 10 months and at the airport he picked me up like it was nbd

Family and friends are also visiting for the next two weeks and we'll be travelling a fair bit. I'll work out and track as much as I can and try to make good choices overall (esp for breakfast and lunch) but overall not be too fussed about it and just truly enjoy myself and the company.

So, I stopped logging because I felt like it was making me into a crazy person... I am doing conductor training at work and they bring us in lunch every day and after replacing a 83 lbs knuckle I just want to eat the lunch and not panic about how to log this weird stew thing that I don't even know exactly what's in it, etc.

But then I got a fitbit and it told me I was overweight.

So back to logging it is!

On the plus side, this conductor thing alternates between being REAL sedentary and REAL physical, so it's kind of nice that there's at least the physical part. And the fitbit is helping me track calories burned a LOT, so that helps me worry slightly less about being 100% accurate about logging the food properly.

Hey everyone! I'm kind of new to this group, but I thought I'd chime in on the check-in thread. My main goal in September is to find some stability. I moved at the beginning of the month, so I relied on a lot of takeout that could be eaten using a cardboard box as a table (fun times!). I also got diagnosed with hypothyroidism this month, which explains some of the intense fatigue and weakness (plus maybe some of my recent weight gain) that I've been experiencing. I'm starting on medication, though, so I'm hoping to feel at least a little better in the next month. So yeah, my September mantra is "get back to healthy eating and get lots of rest."

I am falling off the wagon. HARD. Or I fell of and am in denial. I just keep eating crap. I want to eat a salad but I get sidetracked and magically find myself eating a bag of chips.
I feel like I'm in a weird haze and I feel gross like my stomach is too full of junk to even think about eating but I can't stop thinking about eating.
Like I just ate chips so now my brain is telling me to eat something sweet to cancel out the salt.
I don't know if it's the season change, pms or the feeling that I hit 169 and now must sabotage myself.
I'm drowning.

Oh man. I can SO relate. I'm living this right now, too. I'm at 168, and officially, have lost 30 pounds from where I started a year ago. I've really stabilized at this weight for the past 6 months or so with some minor fluctuation, and I'm happier about it than where I WAS, but I know that it's not where I want to BE.

I know that one of my problems is that I'm a HUGE stress/emotional eater. And September has been a really tough month! My best friend moved half way across the world. I'm overwhelmed at work. I interviewed for a new job, and I haven't heard one way or another about yet (hopefully by the end of the week). Evaluating the relationship I have with my boyfriend - and if I get this job, will he move out of state to stay with me. I have a lot on my mind and I'm totally eating instead of truly coping with all of it.

I'm not really sure how to move forward from here. Part of this whole process is trying to deal with these bad habits that I have, or find a way of dealing with them that's much healthier, but I'm really not having much success right now.

Threatsofpizza - I wish I had advice and could steer you in the right direction, but the best I can do right now is commiserate. Maybe you just need some moral support?

You know what's good for a salty sweet fix? Canteloupe or watermelon with a little salt sprinkled on. Seems to do the trick for me, and salty crap is my weakness lately!

I am a total emotional eater and can completely relate. I find myself in situations all the time where I am FULL and feel gross and am still eating just because I'm stressed or tired etc. It's such a hard habit to get out of. I fell off the wagon pretty badly a few weeks ago and just got back on this weekend, it's a constant battle.

I've been pretty well off the wagon recently. I'll do well for a couple of days and then just be like, "To hell with this," and end up spending three days in bed mindlessly shoveling in whatever's easy to find. It's a combination of a bunch of stuff:

a) My aging, mentally ill mother moved in with me because she was homeless. We... do not get along, and I have a bunch of food issues that come to the surface when she's around. Part of that is coping mechanisms, part is the fear I have from childhood that she is going to eat all the food and I will starve again.

b) I lost my job, which was probably for the best, but I panicked and took the first new job offered me. Huge pay cut (supposedly with a raise after a month) and much more physically strenuous/mentally tedious work. I'm not feeling so great about this, and it comes with an almost total reversal of the schedule I had for the past three years. Hard to adjust my meal prep/consumption.

c) I suffered a pretty serious injury at the beginning of the month, and recovery is making exercise difficult. Compounding this is the loss of my gym membership, car, and workout buddy. (It's... been a long month.)

I regained two pounds and somehow managed to drop them again, so the damage could be worse... but I need to quit making excuses, quit feeling sorry for myself, and get this crap back under control. I'm never going to feel any better or manage any of this more gracefully if I can't even be bothered to care about what I'm putting in my mouth. Right? Right.

I'm totally with you on the one step forward, 2 steps back thing. I think I'm going to try to go more by a weekly calorie goal than daily. It's not that hard for me to eat well during the week on not a ton of calories, but on the weekends I want to just eat whatever (well, not totally but not worry about it as much) and also drink wine. Lots of wine. This weekend I overdid it, but I think if I plan better I will have enough calories left for the weekend that I can indulge myself some and still lose weight, albeit slowly.

Haven't checked in in awhile, so thought I'd stop by! I was a little discouraged this weekend because I broke down and bought a scale. I did good all week, exercised and was under my calories and all that good stuff. Stepped on the scale and nada...I didn't lose a thing. I didn't gain, so I guess that's a positive. Not giving up and gonna make more effort to do some walk/runs this week, and clean my eating up again. I've been lazy since school started and sometimes dinner is just whatever I can get on the table in a hurry before we start rushing off to ball games and band competitions etc. I think I've finally gotten the rest of the family on board with a cleaner diet, my husband wasn't too thrilled with his weight either, lol.

Hi everyone! I'm going to put my name on the list of those who are having trouble staying on track. I'll do really well for a few days, but then I get a case of the "screw its" and my eating goes to hell. I'm also trying to balance a couple of different medications that affect weight and mood, so my body feels all weird right now. I think I'll feel much more energetic once I get everything balanced, though. Here's hoping!

Hugs to all who are having a tough time. One day at a time...

My week has been neither here nor there.
Although I've not been gaining I have not been losing. On Tuesday I had a work event and a lot of photos were taken and I feel like I don't recognize my body. Like I can barely look at the photos. I know part of it is my own deeply ingrained issues.
I'm going to restart my more strict eating on Monday. I'm not going to binge or anything before hand which is what I would usually do but mentally I do best when I start something on a Monday.
I'm thinking about joining dietbet because well...money is a good motivator for me!
Anyone do it before?

I'm also intrigued by Diet Bet. If you join, let us know how it goes!

Your accomplished quite a bit already, 34 pounds is nothing to sneeze at. Sounds like you're on the right track with your mom and hopefully things will be a little less stressful for you. Maybe she'll pick up some good habits from you!

Two pounds down this week, I'll take it! That makes me four pounds away from my mini goal for 11/1/13, I can do this right??

You totally can! You're doing great!

Down a smidge this week. Started the Jillian Michaels body revolution last night...my muscles be sore today.
Will I do all 90 days? Will I end up with abs? These questions remain to be seen.
I'd settle for a smaller pot belly and smaller arm flaps.