Need to Lose 100 LBS -Robins Thread !

@Hansea47~What a fun soccer day! I love watching the little ones play soccer, they are so cute just running around with not a care in the world, they just want a chance to kick the ball. I remember my nephews playing like that when they were little - they both still play but I think they love ice hockey more now.

@RobinB~Great NSV yesterday, awesome walking both with Leslie and at the nature trail. I'm glad you didn't need 911 intervention. Don't worry too much about the calories at the festival - remember it was a special event, you don't go every day. Also you did a lot of walking to compensate for some of those extra calories.

@Kaye~Hooray for a new low!

@MrsFlint2013~Welcome, you found the best kept secret on MFP. Will find great motivation here along with making some great friends along the way, check back often.

AFM~OMG, I leave on my much anticipated cruise in 20 days!!! :bigsmile: Of course, I still don't have a swimsuit or shorts - I hope more summer stuff is in stores next weekend. For the newlings that have stopped by recently - I'm Kelley, I'm 45 and an accountant in the healthcare industry. I'm a transplant to a suburb of Dallas, TX from upstate NY 18 years ago and I it here! My mom grew up here so when my parents relocated back to Texas I followed them a couple of years later. I'm not married but live with a Maine Coon, Zoe, who adopted me a year ago - she is an absolute sweetie. I've been on this weight loss journey a long time, having lost over 100#, with a little way to go - I'm on track for reaching my goal weight by the end of the year. I owe a lot of my success to my trainer and to the friends I've made here, finding and joining this thread over a year ago has been great motivation for me. I look forward to being able to check in here every day.

Well, as usual lots to get done today - first up get shopping list done and get to the grocery store. But after coffee...:yawn:

Hi everyone!! Sorry I was MIA yesterday. Had plans to go outlet shopping with a friend near where my parents live. Then my mom called early yesterday to say my sister and BIL were bringing my niece over, so I hurried to get ready to go visit with them for a while before meeting my friend. It was a nice visit, but it meant no time to go to the gym or even take gunner for a walk. :ohwell:

Shopping was a lot of fun. I didn't find any clothes, but I did get 2 new pair of runners. At Saucony, I got a pair of white shoes with bright blue accents. Then we went to Asics and I got a cute pair of bright pink and orange shoes. They were each about $80 which is a great price b/c I have to get the styles with the greatest arch support due to my history of plantar fascitis. At the running store I would have paid $130-150 each, so very happy with my purchases.

Food was not good this weekend.:blushing: Friday I did well throughout the day b/c I was going to that fundraiser and had no clue what kind of food they would have. Well, they almost had no food--the were chips and salsa and veggies and ranch dressing. That was it. I ate some of the veggies and ranch, but it wasn't enough. The entire ride home I was mentally going through my fridge thinking about what I could eat when I got home--I was so hungry! Walked in the door and DH had ordered Chinese take away--I was so happy, but those calories (added to the cocktails) put me way over for the day. :grumble: Then yesterday I had lunch at my mom's and dinner out with my friend so I was over again. At least I made my protein goal on Friday, though I was miserably low on it yesterday.

I think my overage the past couple of days is, in part, a response to how I've been feeling lately. I've really got to say I'm getting discouraged with the lack of any change in my weight/measurements/clothing sizes. Overall, I have done pretty well with my calorie allowance. Even though I've had some days over, my days under have more than made up for it. I just did the math and to date, I'm at a 198 calorie deficit for the month. Even if there are some estimates that were off for meals out, etc, I should still be darn close to my calorie goal and well under maintenance since that allowance is for -500/day. I've also made my minimum 100g of protein 20 of the past 22 days. However, the scale isn't budging--I've just been hovering between 188 and 190 day after day. Last week, I was down near 188 for a few days in a row and had hope that I would finally drop below, but no such luck. It bounced back to 190 the next day. :grumble:

I weigh more right now that I did a year ago and that was before the stomach flu that put me down to 181. I'm really at a loss as to what to do. I can't imagine reducing calories, but maybe I need to do so for a few weeks. Should I try to go to 1200 net for a month? It would be tough, but I've done it in the past. Please keep in mind that I already tried increasing my calorie allowance last fall and that didn't help at all. Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated. My food diary is open to my friends so if you can't see it, just send me a friend request.

Sorry no personals right now. It took me awhile to catch up on posts, but I will do some later.

Groundhog Day Challenge:
20/28 days at 100g or more of protein

Grading goals:
1. x/71 Canterbury questions
2. re-read Great Gatsby DID MORE
3. look over Brave New World journal questions
4. x/ ? Gatsby journals

Exercise goals:
Mon--walk gunner NOT DONE + gym (circuit training + HIIT) DONE
Tues--walk gunner DONE
Wed--walk gunner NOT DONE (meeting ran late)
Thurs--walk gunner NOT DONE + gym (cardio) DONE
Fri--rest day
Sat--walk gunner NOT DONE
Sun--walk gunner+ gym (circuit training + HIIT)

Getting myself in gear for a nice long walk in the sunshine! This will be 4 days in a row!

Hello everyone. Missed yesterday due to unexpected weekend fun (that didn't put me over) but I came back to read all of the success stories and was very inspired. What a wonderful group to be in.

Sunday share: A lot of my life at the moment is dedicate to trying to sort out some summer options for myself, and those job applications are taking a TON of time on top of a challenging semester. Some exciting things are popping up, and I'm in the running for an internship with a UN agency in Trinidad and Tobago or Vietnam which is fantastic, on top of some options in California and Boston. However, as exciting (and good for my future) as that would be, there's a big part of me that's scared about moving out of the country again to a place where my exercise and food would be less inside my control for 3 months. I guess I'll worry about that when I come to it I suppose.

Exercise wise, I'm trying to get the courage to head into the weight room and start doing some strength training. I'm scared for two reasons: 1. I go to a small university and the weight room is full of extremely fit male athletes who I see on a daily basis and 2. I've got almost no upper body strength, so I'm scared to use free weights, and almost as scared to look silly trying out the machines. Oh well. I'll work up to it.

My calories have been going well, but I'm having a hard time balancing my uncertainty with the dining hall food with a sneaking suspicion that I need to eat more. I generally try to aim (by estimation) for my 2 pound a week goal of 1310, and then don't eat back my exercise calories so I can make sure any measuring confusion (I have to eyeball things, for the most part) or inaccurate calorie counts on the items the dining services does have info on don't ruin my progress. The real problem, I think is that though I'm not hungry I'm often tired, and my workouts are getting more intense. I rarely burn under 500 a day.

I hope everyone had a restful weekend. I'm off to go do a mountain of homework and summer applications, but I look forward to learning a bit more about everyone when I check back.

I don't ever remember having the winter blues before, but I think I do this year. Maybe because my life is boring and it's the same thing day in and day out. Work, drive home, eat, shower go to bed. Twice a week go to physio. Weekends, sit around looking at recipes, and shopping and cooking. Fun huh? I have friends, a boyfriend, a daughter, but I am quite a solitary person. I like my solitude, but right now it's just boring. Daughter is away at college, boyfriend works afternoon shifts and right now only has weekdays off, so I'm left to keep myself busy. Today I did my grocery shopping, laundry and cooked all my meals and snacks for the week. I've accomplished something but it doesn't feel so for some reason. I dread going back to work this week because it is supposed to get colder again, and I'm sick of putting on several layers of clothes and feeling like a big marshmallow. I'm not even looking forward to physio, which i did last year... I'm not putting as much of an effort into it.

But on the bright side, my hunger pangs have stopped since lunch and I ate under my goal today. I can't figure it out. The only reason I can think of is this sample soup from a health food company that I tried for lunch. One of my customers is a distributor and has given me a few samples. This soup was gross! It's like a serving of protein powder in dehydrated soup that you add water to. I've been eating clean for a while now, and I could taste all the chemicals in it. Awful... but it did keep me full until dinner.

Well, I'm procrastinating.. I should go. I have still have 30 push ups and 80 squats to do before bed.

OK, I need help. These hunger pangs are driving me crazy!! I haven't felt true hunger in years, and it really sucks. I am eating every 2-2.5 hours, I reach my daily protein ratio, and with each meal, good carbs, 12 cups of water, 16 trips to the bathroom lol. I'm stumped. I eat 1970 calories a day for a 1lb loss per week.( I'd really like to increase it to 1.5 but I can't) My BMR is 1762, TDEE is 2731. Any suggestions? Feel free to look at my food diary. Thanks

Tanya~I looked at your diary, are you using the macros that MFP guides you to use? Your carbs look to be set really high, MFP automatically sets them at 55% and I think its too high. For weight loss most dietitians recommend a spread of 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat. A lot of us here here use that formula - I think if you eat greater amounts of protein those hunger pangs will subside.

I use the macros from MFP.. 50/20/30 CPF I have a really hard time eating 20% protein, I have no idea how to get an extra 10% into my diet. I don't eat meat, but I do eat a lot of quinoa, lentils, yogurt, protein powder. I may have to retool my diet, I've always been a carbaholic so getting my carbs down is gonna be tough (I've cut out so much carbs already)

Thanks for the advice.

I'm just curious if you drink diet coke often? I don't know if it's the same for everyone but when I drank coke or diet coke I craved more food. I couldn't stand it ... I don't drink it anymore at all and I have almost no cravings unless I'm premenstral ...

Amy

Tanya- I hope you can find a new hobby for the rest of the year. Is there an activity you would like to try? If so, just do it with no excuses. Do yourself a favor and put your heart back into physio since it will help you in the long run improve your health. The soup does not sound good to me. Keeping you full until dinner does not your body is getting the nutrients that it needs to be satisfied. Do you eat raw veggies? That could help you reduce hunger pains and keep you full longer.

Cjen- I started the weight loss process at 40 (3 years ago) and I was at 268 lbs. You can make this journey happen. One suggestion that I have is to pick on thing and change it to something positive-drink 12 oz of water instead of a can of soda, make this a habit. Then you change another thing. You body will let go of the weight but don’t expect over night results. You weight will change daily and for a variety of reasons so don’t let a one day gain derail your attempts. Your diary is not viewable so I don’t know what advice to offer in regards to food. If you open your diary, we can comment on your foods to see if we can help. Are you eating protein or carbs? What type of carbs are you eatin?-Sugary foods or whole grains. All that will make a difference.

Rain-The fact that you are tired may be sign that you are not eating enough nutrients to keep your energy level up. Now that your workouts are more intense you may need to increase your food intake. Remember veggies are great food that can give you energy and also are low in calories. My trainer is encouraging me to eat more of them. Don’t be afraid of the gym. You can check at the gym to see if they have someone how to use the machines correctly and to help you get started. The internships sound awesome.

Humbleheart-Yeah, for 4 days of walking in the sunshine.:bigsmile: It is great to be able to get outside and exercise.

Jeanette- My tush still hurts when I ride my bike unless I have my bike shorts on. It is still to cold for shorts yet, so today was long tight pants to keep the legs warm. I hope you are able to get on your bike soon, just make sure the tires are pumped up from the cold they have deflated again.

Karen- I feel your frustration with the scale not moving since the scale has done the same thing to me, as I am stuck at 198.:grumble: I am also getting tired of the battle that is never ending with barely any results. I am thinking my body likes this weight and does not want to be any smaller. The only thing I can think of is that your protein may be high, try lowering it 5% and see what happens while increasing the good carbs. How is the sodium in your diet? The heavy lifting may also have an impact on your weight.

Robin B- Congrats on the walking and hitting the 2 mile mark:flowerforyou: , you had a very busy day. I also love the Renn Festival and I hope to get there this year.

Hansea- I can tell you that every scale is different, not sure why but they are. I have 2 scales at home and they are close but seldom agree. I brought a new last year and that is main scale.

MrsFlint-Welcome. It is great that your husband is doing this journey with you. :drinker:

Kelley- Congrats, on being so close to achieving your goal. You are right this group has always been supportive and an important part of my successes as well.

Tom, hope your cold goes away soon.

Today, was a great day for exercise as the weather was in the 50’s and the sun was out. I complete an eight (8) mile bike ride then a 30 minute swim about a half mile. This was important for me to accomplish, since it was the first time that I have combined biking and swimming during the same workout. The bike route had more hills than yesterday so that a good challenge. I need to more of these type of combinations especially if I want to complete a sprint triathlon this year. On the bike ride, I lost a glove that was in the pocket of my sweatshirt and did not realize it until I got home. Well, I decided to go look for the glove and ended up walking for a half a mile to a mile before deciding to turn around and head back to the car. On my way back to the car, I decided to drive into the park to search the main road. As I driving into the park, I found my glove. I could not believe it, the glove was sitting on the side of the road. I truly thought that I had lost this glove and I was wasting my time. Thanks to St. Anthony, I was able to retrieve the glove. I had just brought the running gloves in December so I wanted to find it. The best was that I did a little extra walking today to add to my exercise totals.

Exercise plans for this week
Sunday- biking and swimming
Monday- Trainer
Tuesday- Gym cardio but I also need to go shopping for a swimsuit.
Wednesday-Rest- Meetings after work
Thursday- Rest-class
Friday- Climbing
Saturday- Water aerobics.

Good Evening! I did get to walk today ....this time for 75 min. I am gaining some stamina to hold out for longer!
When I stepped on the scale this morning, it showed .5 pounds lower than ever before! Of course, it doesn't show that
now, but it was encouraging! that 250 number isn't coming up at all any more!
Hope all of you have a wonderful week!
Camille

@ushkii--great job meeting your goals this week!! :drinker:

@laurie--sounds like you are back at your regular active routine not that you're over that nasty sinus infection. Glad you had some good weather to get outside as well. We are still on the cold side (about 20 degrees below normal), but at least it's been nice enough to get some walks in with gunner. As far as my protein, I have my macro set at 30% but I never meet it. This month my goal has been to get a minimum of 100g and I would need about 125 g to meet 30% (with no exercise calories). I also doubt its my protein b/c prior to this recent goal, I was averaging about 75g/day. Since I just raised it, I don't think lowering it is going to do the trick. :ohwell: Oh, and I haven't been lifting heavy for at least the last month--I got kind of bored with it, so I'm back to weight machines as part of my circuit training. I do think I need to make sure more of my carbs are good carbs--I've been a little too free and loose with the sugary treats :blushing: , so I will definitely take your advice and start watching those more carefully. I know you've been stuck too--we seem to be struggling through this journey in tandem.

@tanya--I agree with laurie--that soup sounds awful! I know if you keep experimenting, you will find the right foods (good tasting foods) that keep you full. I find nuts do the trick for me. I also like kashi bars, smartpop kettle corn, and peanut butter. Finally, when I'm really hungry (not just bored hungry--which happens to me a lot! :laugh: ), I'll look at my macros before grabbing a snack and try to see which nutrient is low. If it's protein I'll grab a slice of lunchmeat or cheese; if it's carbs I go for a sweet potato or some popcorn, etc.

@rain--when I was in college I used to work out in the weight room and those big, scary looking guys were the BEST! They would spot me, give me advice, and sometimes even train me for free. I know it can be intimidating, but they will probably admire that you are working on your physical health and try to be helpful or at least encouraging.

@tammy--sounds like a great weekend!

@nettie--I think you might be right about the water. I tend to drink a lot of it without even thinking about it--I grew up drinking water, and it's my drink of choice with meals, so I don't pay a lot of attention to my intake. However, upon reflection, I have been drinking coffee in the mornings more often at school (we got a keurig and I love it!), and also more diet soda than in the past. I realized the diet soda thing last week and have switched back to green tea, but I think I need to start paying more attention to the water. As far as sodium, my intake is up and down and I really don't pay attention to it. I know it can affect my weight from day to day b/c of water retention, but I don't think it should have any impact on my ability to lose body fat. Since I have really good blood pressure and no other health issues that would be impacted by sodium levels, I don't tend to worry about it. Glad your plumbing woes are mostly behind you, and I'm rooting for you to get those hardwoods!

@tom--feel better!! :flowerforyou:

@kelley--woohoo for smaller jeans!! :drinker:

@robin--I really hope you get some answers! We will hold down the fort, but you will be missed! :flowerforyou:

@susan--Yes! That is the bar I'm talking about with the Zero-degree room where you wear the Russian cossack hats. I've actually never gone into that room, but I've had martinis at their main bar (which is iced over--very cool!).

I know I'm missing some folks, but it's getting late and I still need to watch Talking Dead. Welcome to the newlings! :flowerforyou:

AFM--I got no grading done, but none of it was urgent, so I will get it done during the week. It was kind of nice to have a weekend "off" of school. :happy:

Groundhog Day Challenge:
21/28 days at 100g or more of protein

Grading goals:
1. x/71 Canterbury questions
2. re-read Great Gatsby DID MORE
3. look over Brave New World journal questions
4. x/ ? Gatsby journals

Exercise goals:
Mon--walk gunner NOT DONE + gym (circuit training + HIIT) DONE
Tues--walk gunner DONE
Wed--walk gunner NOT DONE (meeting ran late)
Thurs--walk gunner NOT DONE + gym (cardio) DONE
Fri--rest day
Sat--walk gunner NOT DONE
Sun--walk gunner DONE + gym (circuit training + HIIT) DONE

Missed yesterday - It really helps me to read all your notes. I had a bad weekend. I ate terrible, chips, dark choc, diet soda. I think the only thing good I ate was a little turkey. I did stay under calories, but only because I didn't eat anything that was really good food for me.

I am also getting discouraged. The scale hasn't budged in two weeks. I hope after having a binge out I can get back on track to eating healthy. But, I haven't eaten my total calories allowed since I started. I measure my food. I usually get my 8 to 10glasses of water. How much sodium is to much? I have good blood pressure. I am having a lot of hot flashes. Do you think I should be drinking more water? I also don' t sleep much. Once I fall asleep it's good, just can't fall asleep.

Rain - I am pretty self conscience about my extra weight. I checked into a gym last week, had the tour. I talked to a trainer. I (he) said if I felt funny about being there right now, he would would help me figure out what I could do at home to start with. Then, when I felt more confident I could start going. I bought a resistance band in two strengths. He gave me several different things I can do myself with a door knob. Exercises I can do with cans and milk jugs for weight training. Just as a thought for you.

Best wishes to all of you this coming week. I hope you are all feeling better. I hope you all stay on track and keep your goals.
LL