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  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    How do you only eat 100g of octopus?
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    I just have to laugh. This morning instead of heading out for my nearly 2 hour walk I decided to take it easy and hit the elliptical for a quick 30 and go back to bed. I have been in a 1500 calorie burn for 3 days straight and today was meant to be another physical day in the yard. Among other things I have some large and potentially dangerous holes in key traffic where the tree segments came CRASHING down. So I planned to get a couple of buckets of dirt to fill and fix some other areas in the yard. By taking it easy this morning I should have been able to save myself 3-400 calories of burn and take it a little easier today.

    The weather has been calling for rain starting late TOMORROW. It is raining this morning. So the chances of doing hard work in the yard are minimal.

    When they call for rain here it hardly ever happens. When they don't BAM.

    I still need an easier day today but best laid plans and all that...
  • Dante_80
    Dante_80 Posts: 479 Member
    edited October 2020
    NovusDies wrote: »
    How do you only eat 100g of octopus?

    That is how much the can had in it so...no choice, no problems! :D
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    Good lands! I am NOT eating at Olive Garden again!

    My sister wanted to go to Beckley yesterday and I hadn't spent time with her in a while, so I agreed to go with her. Found the blue jean skirt I needed and I spent too much money in JoAnn Fabric but hey, I found the material I needed to make the stuff animals I plan to make for my niece and nephew for Christmas, some patterns I liked, and the material for this amazing coat out of the costume section, though it will be fun to do since I have to match the plaid striping, something I've never attempted before.

    Anywho, we decided to go to Olive Garden for dinner. I stuck to the unlimited soup and salad, had them hold the house dressing on the salad and bring me fat free on the side, stuck to 2 servings of the dressing, filled up on salad and unsweet tea, kept myself to 2 breadsticks, and had 2 bowls of soup - the fagioli and the minestrone.

    And the scale jumped 4 freakin' pounds this morning!!!!! FOUR!!!!! Ye gods, how much sodium do they put in their food?

    *laughs*

    I know its water weight and I"m not truly freaked out but I was rather disturbed to see the scale jump back up to 224 lbs after being under 220 all week. IT will come back off, I know.

    I also really need to get some activity in. I haven't done anything this week at all. Monday was driving all day, Tuesday I was just blah, likely from Monday, especially as I got home late and didn't' get enough sleep; Wednesday was church, and yesterday I ended up shopping with my sister. So I got some walking around in for that, but not nearly enough (and while I love those boots I wore yesterday and how they make my feet look narrower, boy do they make my legs and feet hurt after a while!). I doubt I get anything in today, unless I can get an elliptical session and cardio session in today - the best friend plans to call this evening, and you know how long our phone conversations go lol ON the plus side, I should get some serious NEAT in while talking to her on the phone for 8 hours straight; I pace the house while on the phone!
  • AlexandraFindsHerself1971
    AlexandraFindsHerself1971 Posts: 3,106 Member
    I thought I was the only phone pacer! It frustrates the cats; they want to sit down and nurse on my shirt while I talk (at least the one does) and instead I walk around.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    Dante_80 wrote: »
    NovusDies wrote: »
    How do you only eat 100g of octopus?

    That is how much the can had in it so...no choice, no problems! :D

    I have never had it from a can. I usually eat seafood at lunch which is my heaviest meal of the day so my normal potion is 12-16 ounces.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    The nice thing about a scale milestone, @bmeadows380, is that you get to have it several times. lol

    I don't suppose it is any consolation that the same meal would have probably been double the water weight for me. I think I would do cartwheels down the hall if I had a 4 pound uptick for a change. Mine have been RUDE for a couple of months now.
  • amart4224
    amart4224 Posts: 345 Member
    I'm so proud of myself for not wimping out on my walk this evening. It rained all weekend and with the fallen wet leaves covering the path, it was pretty slick footing. A little voice in my head (or a little devil on my shoulder?) said "This is a reasonable excuse to turn back now - you don't want to be treading carefully all FOUR MILES of this trail." But I pressed on and completed those 4 planned miles 😁
  • AlexandraFindsHerself1971
    AlexandraFindsHerself1971 Posts: 3,106 Member
    Very abruptly today, my jeans which fit fine and maybe even a little tight have begun to sag noticeably in the back waist area. This is a good thing.

    An annoying thing, because I hate a saggy back on a pair of pants, and I am usually curvy enough that that's not a problem, but a good thing.
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    I was able to get a 6 1/2 mile walk in this afternoon, the first time in over a week. And boy, do I love having those extra calories back!

    lol

    Water weight from last week has my scale screwed up this week; because I gained 4 lbs water weight, my happy scale trend weight popped back up above 220 lbs, but I'm refusing to let myself get upset over it; it will come back off!

    Now to enjoy my creamed chicken and biscuits (though I only have 1 biscuit and the other is a piece of low calorie toast lol)
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    So happy to swim the past two days...the pool was closed four days last week and I actually missed working out!...
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    *sigh* The scale has been very unforgiving in the last 2 weeks, right when I really, really didn't need the stress from that, either.

    After bottoming out 2 weeks ago at 217.9 lbs, the stupid scale has steadily been increasing ever since. Why is it that when I get close to a goal, that's when everything seems to fall apart? I"m up to nearly 224 lbs now, and while some of it is water, I guess not all of it. I know I've been unable to stay under deficit at all in the last 2 weeks; the drive to munch is killing me along with extremely low willpower against it. But I had thought I was at least sticking to maintenance calories; I guess not. I'm also not getting nearly the activity in that I was; yesterday was the first walk in over 5 days, and with the yard work winding down, there isn't a lot of opportunity to fill in other activity in place of that walk.

    It doesn't help that my mood has been especially low the last several days; Sunday was the worst I'd had in a long time, and I pretty much just slept the day way in between church services. Today is not much better.

    I know TOM is right around the corner; in fact, even though the calendar says Friday, I would have sworn it would have been this past Sunday in how I felt, though my luck, my body which is being very contrary lately, won't start when its supposed to and this puffy feeling will linger.

    The size 7 rings I bought and was wearing without any tightness are tight and I can't get them on, which I know indicates water weight. But 2 weeks of that stupid 6 lb gain just leaves me frustrated. All I did was up my calorie deficit from 750 to 500 to slow down to 1 lb/wk! But I was having trouble sticking to it before that. I"m trying very hard not to keep snacks in the house but its amazing how creative one can get when the desire to munch is killing me. And this weak will against an increased hunger drive (which isn't really hunger, but is just "brain" hunger) is worrisome because we're getting into the holidays.

    It just gets me down because I was celebrating finally achieving that 220 lb milestone and now I've been back above it consistently for 2 weeks now, which has my trend in HappyScale back up above it, which is the direct opposite of what I wanted for the rest of October. It just leaves me feeling like my victory lap was premature and that I didn't really hit that goal after all. Or that I've went and messed it up.


    Meanwhile, I did reach out to a counselor through a program at work and spoke to her for the first time yesterday; I've got 4 more company paid sessions, so we'll see how it goes. I know I have terrible thought patterns; figuring out how to fix it after having those patterns deeply ingrained is another thing all together.


    I've been getting more sleep the last several days, but it isn't helping. Friday night I slept a good 8 hours or more; Saturday night the same, then came back for a 2 hour nap after dinner. Sunday night was restless as I expected it would be because of the nap, but last night was over 7 hours, and I only remember waking up once, but I'm still dragging today. Course, my mood today is pretty low, too, so that shouldn't surprise me.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    Started training for my 2 day hike. I put 16 pounds of weight in my backpack this morning. It was harder work, obviously, but it was not a hardship. I noticed it more the first mile.

    I just found out that someone died on the trail we are doing just last month. It is a reminder to take it seriously even if the odds of success are highly favorable. It is labeled strenuous but it has a fair amount of moderate portions.

    I will pack my backpack this weekend with the actual things I am taking to check the weight. I doubt it will add up to more than 16 pounds since we are hiking to an inn that will provide meals and the ability to refill water for the second leg. I will need to take some protein bars and probably some hard candy. I was looking at some of the trip reports and the average calorie burn for the 10 miles is 1700. That seems about right. I burn close to 600 in 5 miles on paved roads with some hills. That adds about 250 more for each way on the hike. I do not want to burn more than 700 without adding some additional fuel or I risk feeling bad.

    The concerning thing is that we leave after church and drive close to 2 hours away. That puts us starting the hike at about 1pm. Since the time will revert back to standard time before then, that gives us 4 hours to get there before it gets uncomfortably dusk/dark. That *should* be an hour more than we need but the hike is through thick canopy and if it very cloudy or raining that window will be shorter. I will carry my normal clip-on walking light and my tiny backup emergency flashlight but I really do not want to use them.

    I am pretty excited. If this works out I will work out a 4 day trip for March or so.
  • amart4224
    amart4224 Posts: 345 Member
    Hang in there, @bmeadows380 give yourself some grace and know that this is a temporary bump in the road. My TOM has been screwy the last couple of months and I've been attributing it to the diet as I know any stressors, physical or otherwise, can cause changes in my cycle. Maybe after you get through this month your body will start cooperating again. The unanticipated gains can be so discouraging but look back at how far you've come! It's only a matter of time before you see those losses again.
  • emmyjaykay
    emmyjaykay Posts: 83 Member
    @bmeadows380 I'm also retaining a lot of water right now. I'm wondering if maybe it has something to do with the swift cold spell that we're getting or it could be that I'm doing new/different things while working out or just a cycle thing. My scale has been up a couple of pounds from my all-time low for over two weeks with TOM in there messing around and a couple of days eating at a smaller deficit. It's definitely frustrating and I imagine even more frustrating when you're further along in the journey the way that you are!
  • AlexandraFindsHerself1971
    AlexandraFindsHerself1971 Posts: 3,106 Member
    Well, if it's any comfort, I am retaining so much water I can feel it when I close my hands. I attribute it to the fact that we're having a week of rain and occasional thunderstorms, which is a fibromyalgia trigger for me, and that TOM is either just around the corner or a week away, who knows, but more near than far. (Gosh, I love perimenopause....)

    I did not weigh this morning because I didn't want to get naked. So I don't know how bad the bounce is, but given that the size above the size I'm in in jeans is uncomfortable, and my hands are swollen...gotta be at least five pounds up. Hopefully I'll spend the weekend letting the water out.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    bmeadows380 wrote: »
    My Starting Weight:
    ~375 lbs (01/01/2017)
    My goal:
    180 lbs
    Milestone:
    215 lbs
    Current Weight:
    223.1 lbs
    Loss this Week:
    +2.1 lbs
    Total Loss:
    -151.9 lbs

    What's Working/What Needs Work

    *sigh* Well, here's adding another 2 lbs to the gain last week with me being up now 5 lbs from the lowest recorded weight 2 weeks ago. I guess not all this gain is just water, though I am still carrying water weight as TOM signs have started showing and I'll be starting some point between now and tomorrow, hopefully. I know, I know - I shouldn't let this get me down, but the last several days especially, I have been struggling very badly with depressed feelings, and this setback on the scale is NOT helping matters at all.

    its a vicious cycle, you know? My will power is down, I'm falling prey to brain hunger and find myself snacking. Most days out of a week, I"m into the red and over my deficit level. And even if I'm still in the green, the drive to munch is there saying "it won't hurt to be over a little." But then when I do get into the red by just a little, my brain then says "well, you've got a deficit, and you are already in the red anyway, so what's a little more? You can go to maintenance at least."

    and then some days, I find myself over maintenance levels. There is a part of me that is hitting the red alert, panic button and is screaming at me inside my head to stop! This is NOT how to handle this! Get a grip! And all sorts of other things trying to stop this dangerous slide backwards. However, I can't seem to stop it; the apathetic side of myself is sabotaging that warning voice, which then sets off Ms. Critical who snorts and tells me "see? we both knew you'd choke at the end; that's your usual MO isn't it?"

    I really do try to ignore Ms. Critical, I do, but the last week especially, my mood has dipped down into depressed levels to the point where I actually pretty much slept Sunday away not because I was physically tired but because I needed to get away from the depressed feelings and my mind was just tired. When I"m in this sort of place mentally, my defenses against Ms. Critical are very weak and her arrow shots hit their mark.

    The problem is, that just makes the depressed feelings worse, which makes me feel even more tired, which in turn leads to a weaker will power, more snacking, more self-criticism, and so on and on and on.

    *sigh*

    Next week I'm scheduled to go on another camping trip with the friend. I'm really hoping this one gives me a break and I can get my head back on right because the way I'm feeling now is getting to the point where its affecting my day to day life, including my job performance. This doesn't work, and perhaps the next drastic step is to take one of my spare weeks that I usually carry over, rent a cabin somewhere, and get away for some solitude just me, myself, and I and see if that can help.

    I have been very grateful for the long conversations with the best friend Tuesday night and yesterday. Yeah, I got nothing accomplished around the house, but it distracted me from those depressed feelings and the conversation with her actually pulled me mind to something else for a while. The problem that comes in is that with this joint story line of ours, we see something things differently, and I find myself trying to please when there's a conflict of thoughts or between characters that are particularly close to us. We each have a couple of characters that are quite dear to us, so when the characters get into conflict, we find ourselves responding emotionally in defense of those characters, which is really very silly, I know, but it happens. And since I'm the sort of person who hates conflict and she's a rather blunt person who doesn't do compromise so well, when these rare disagreements happen, my stress levels go up. That and right now, I'm just sensitive to stressors, I guess, because I'm also feeling depressed because I have not been able to complete a amp yet or get the integrated timeline fixed and other things that the best friend has impatiently been waiting on for years now. That story world in my head is often my release from stress and sometimes the only way I can keep myself going, but sometimes frustration with my lack of progress in the storyline causes stress in and of itself.

    I did reach out through the company EAP program and set up a session with a counselor and had the first session on Monday, but I don't know how much it will help me. I can acknowledge my thought patterns are not in a good pathway, but knowing that and changing it are two completely different things. Deep down, I know that my heart agrees with Ms. Critical so all the self positivity and trying to compliment myself and trying to see myself in a better light doesn't work; it all feels fake because as Ms. Critical says, it doesn't matter how much you try to play this game, you and I know the truth and that this is all just a sham. I have been giving mental attempts at doing a couple of the things she suggested with no success in that area. I just cannot seem to give myself an inch at all. *sigh*


    You forget you are all sides of the conversation. It is not fake to compliment yourself it is just not as dominant as we would all like. That part of you is real. It is also the most honest. The rest are lies you have told yourself so often you have come to label them as truth. The lies are your enemy.

    It might be worth considering to switch up your food routine for a brief time. It is easy to get into a food rut and a challenge to do something different can sometimes get the juices flowing. You will eventually revert but it can be a fun exercise. I like to learn new vegetarian dishes even though I am a meat eater, cook things from different cultures, and cook things from different time periods. You also know a lot of different ways of eating. You could try one of them. Not low carb though. Low carb can accentuate depression.
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    I think switching up your diet or changing your routine is a fantastic idea....eat with chopsticks or finger foods....soup......spicy.....take your walk backwards or jump rope....just changing up your normal makes it less boring....

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