MFP set my calories to 1460 to lose 1/2 lb a week, and I lost 2 lbs! I'm thrilled, but I'm going to start eating 1/2 my exercise calories to slow it down. Don't want to lose hard earned muscle.

My dog, on the other hand, gained this week. I pushed him wth more exercise to lose weight, and he injured his shoulder. He's 20% over ideal weight, obese, and I'm sure that contributed. He's a skilled beggar, and I'm a sucker who can't say no. I feel so bad for letting him get this way. He's a latecomer, but I'm entering him in his own UAC. Eyeballing the food doesn't work doesn't any better for him than it does for me

Thanks to everyone in for all the interesting posts. I'm learning a lot, and I enjoy hearing how you're all doing. Congratulations to everyone sticking with the UAC.

realalize wrote: »

Am enjoying the discussions here. Thank you all for sharing your stories, struggles, experience, wisdom, and accomplishments. I feel I need to share and vent a little.... Forgive me for my ramblings. And thanks for reading!
I am proud I made it through a whole week on this challenge without having to use a "sick" day. At least, I hope I managed to record it correctly I'm just so discouraged with my weight. I am fairly active, have been increasing my cardio and strength training, and, according to my log, I should be losing, but instead, my weight just keeps creeping up. 3 kilos in one month! I could cut out a little bit more of the junk food, but for now am just focused on not exceeding my calories and not stress-eating. So I almost gave up again this week, because every time I weigh, it's the same thing... I know one day this number will drop. I am trying to rationalize it and not let the number dominate my thinking. At the same time, I'm not really encouraged by how my clothes are fitting since I also feel like a blimp. I have some female health issues (uterine fibroids) for which I am taking some pills (temporarily--it's only for 3 months and I've got 6 weeks left to go). This drug has some side effects, including weight gain. In the beginning I had more issues with the other side effects (hot flashes, sweating, vertigo, nausea), but now it seems the dominant one is bloating! It's like my body is in constant PMS-mode... I'm hoping that this is the cause of the weight gain, It would just be a relief if I could pinpoint the issue and not have to accept failure. Aside from that, I think I should revamp my eating...cut down on the carbs. Apologies is this is borderline TMI. And thanks for providing this space where we can come together for support and encouragement.

Hang in there! If you're medication causes water retention, you might be losing weight, and once the med is stopped, the weight will fall off. However, if it isn't all the medication, tracking every itty bitty bite, even condiments is necessary. I pick a lot, and when I logged accurately, I realized I was consuming so many more calories than I thought. Another thing that I seen written about on MFP is the "whoosh." You diet and diet, and your body clings to that fat, then all of a sudden it lets go. I've gone through this several times. However, given that you're going through health issues, just showing up here is a huge accomplishment! You are not failing, you are learning.

NSV for me today

I RAN not fast but I RAN

150 meters in total I done the 1st 100m then another 50 in celebration of not dying while running the 100

Slimpossible007 wrote: »

amazing work @craigo3154

I failed at maintaining .. I thought I knew everything .. and I clearly didn't ... in saying that I attempted to maintain before I reached my goal weight, I was kinda forced into the situation when my hubby took ill and I couldn't log as I was nurse maid ...

I'm sure you will do brilliantly and i look forward to hearing the ups and the downs of maintenance from your eyes

@Slimpossible007. Thank you.

It must be hard when your partner is ill and you spend more time on them than on you.

I will try post material on progress (ups and downs). Not normal for me as I am usually a very private person.

Transition to maintenance I am sure will be hard. I built my routine to be 100% sustainable (with little conscious effort). Most days I struggle to hit my calorie target while reducing, while maintaining it will be more. However I don't want to "fill up" on "junk".

I have learned a lot while reducing, I am sure there is A LOT more I need to learn. The dilemma when learning is discovering how much more there is to learn.

Things I have learned about me:

• I have always had a high protein diet, but I just was overdoing processed carb (which added about 1kg a year).
• Processed carbs do not trigger satiety (can eat all day and not feel full - ill, but not full).
• My lifestyle WAS too sedentary. I need to continue to make time to get out and do stuff.
• Between meal snacks were largely processed carbs and doing me no good at all.
• Snacks that were mostly carbs (near zero protein) actually made me heavier and weaker.
• I need to learn to rest or have low activity days occasionally (this is hard for me now as after exercise feels so good).
• Eating less sweet foods, my sweet sensitivity has increased.
• It is bad to eat when distracted (eg. watching TV, at desk at work). I can forget I have eaten.

Initial decision is to continue on current path until end of this month (two weeks). At 74.6kg, I am currently at BMI of 24.3, so only just in the normal range. I feel like there is more subcutaneous fat (under-skin belly fat) that can be safely eliminated (cannot see visceral fat without MRI, and that's the dangerous stuff). My visual estimate is that I am just am around 15% body fat.

A hard stop weight for me would need to be about 70kg (BMI 22.8). That is around the weight I was when I was at my best when competitively figure skating. At that time I was VERY active.

Tracking for me on MFP has been so easy. It takes time to set up common lists of foods, but once done it becomes so much easier. Mobile device barcode scanner is VERY handy. It takes minutes per day to track. I do not weigh everything (did a couple months ago). When I occasionally weigh things (to double check estimates), my eyeball estimates are still within 10% of the actual weight.

In truth, the maintenance/recomposition phase is slightly scary for me. It's a change to the habits I have set up. The payoffs for getting it right are huge, but it's the change that is the scary bit for a "J" type. Fortunately all my set habits are portable (can be done anywhere, home or travelling), require no equipment and do not preclude social situations (or celebrations).