eliaison Member

well, seems as if everyone's doing pretty well this week. unfortunately, i'm up a pound and a half. :-( I have not cheated, been careful, continued to stay within my calorie budget or zig-zag a little (if eating more one day, eat correspondingly less the next few) and exercise. it's definitely a bummer. My plan for this…

gwenneth

Sorry to hear you're sick! :-( The flu is a virus, each strain takes its own time to go through your system. As well, the condition of your immune system may factor in how quickly you get well. The flu, unlike a cold, usually takes a bit longer and requires more rest, and more patience with your body as you become strong…

5'9" SW 160 CW 155.5 GW 140 WEEK 6: Down .5 lb this week, but am .5 lb off from "where I should be" on week six. I'm trying to lose .5 lb a week, and this week should've been 155. But sometimes the scale drops the day after my weigh-in day, or by the weekend (weighing in on Thurs). It's such a small amount, I believe I…

Yay! After maintaining my weight last week, on a 5 day holiday, this week I have reached my target! I'm down 1 lb, (trying to lose .5 lb a week). And in inches, I've lost in some pretty stubborn places: 1/4 inch in my arm, calf and hips! Waist and thigh stayed the same. SW 160 CW 156 GW 140

Cool. That's some good information. I think my body naturally wants to zig-zag, and if it keeps the metabolism from falling into a pattern, then that sounds positive. Thank you!

I have two more: Tea made from anise seeds. I go collect anise seeds near my house on the bluffs of the beach where it grows naturally, wait until the flowers dry up and it goes to seed. alternatively, you can buy anise seeds or anise tea (only get whole anise seeds) at a health food store. Fill a little tea steeper with a…

Height 5'9" SW 160 CW 157 GW 140 Weigh in results: I maintained while gone 6 days on holiday! As I'm only trying to lose .5 lb a week, this is a really good result. I admit, I'm bummed not to see that scale go to 156 yet, but I know this is a huge accomplishment. I totally indulged the last two days of my trip, and then…

Cool! I found this site when I was really ready to commit to a permanent lifestyle change. I've found it very helpful to log in every day and log my eating. This especially works when I'm working- a little harder when it's the weekend, for example, but now I WANT to log in every day, it doesn't feel like a chore. I started…

Definitely wasn't a morning eater. Naturally. Never have been. And skipping breakfast, which I wanted to do anyway, was the easiest way for me to hit my calorie budget-- eating barely anything for breakfast (or usually nothing), meant I had all those cals to use up in the evening when I had a strong appetite. When…

yeah, i'd say it must depend on the person, because I too was only in real pain for the first 3 days or so. I was definitely not in bed for 2 weeks! :-)

Cool! Yes, the 20 oz decaf lattes I've drunk for the past 10 yrs seem to have kept my calcium in check, but they're 240 cals! Looking into adjusting that habit, but it's a hard one. Those calcium chews just aren't the same! :-)

I went on vacation from June 30- July 5. There was no internet, so no logging into mfp. I did "okay" the first 3 days, generally eating a maintenance amount, lots of walking and sight-seeing, even did 30 mins of cardio one morning. Remembered to drink water. But July 4 and 5 I went ahead and indulged in good food,…

My husband always emphasizes to me that it has very little to do wtih the scale. He doesn't weigh in at all, and I keep it to only once per week. Instead, he uses other measurements, such as, the first time he rode his bicycle downtown (eight miles) it took an hour, now it takes closer to 30 mins. The first time he rode it…

Be careful! This is "vanity sizing" we're talking about-- which some stores use. What she means is really a size 6. I'm 5'9 also. I used to model, and I wore a (real) size 4... so its possible, but i looked skinny and had no boobs and never got my period. a "real" size 6 for 5'9" is healthy and very slim. that's what i'm…

That's such a great success story! I know, Abercrombie and a few stores like that do "vanity sizing" - At my largest, I had to buy a pair of Abercrombie jeans in a 6. But remember, that's really a 10. So this is both a good thing and a bad thing. We feel good when we fit a really small number, but when its vanity sizing,…

I had to stop eating wheat and high gluten grains due to an illness for a while. So I discovered the world of "alternative grains," many of which are listed here. I was amazed to learn that humans have been living off all these other grains for millenia-- only in the past 100-150 years has the industrial world begun eating…

Wow. THANK YOU! All of these are really GREAT answers, very helpful and motivating. You've armed me with some good information and ideas -and a fair variety of them, too- and I feel much more positive about this upcoming trip (and future trips). I plan to log in every day, will definitely commit to the morning 30 mins…

I can't stress enough the importance of not doing things on a diet for quick results that are not sustainable. I gained 10 lbs in grad school, and being new to dieting, thought i was doing well losing 10 lbs in 6 weeks (not too fast, i thought). I was so happy with the weight gone! as soon as i resumed eating maintenance…

Dang! I totally forgot to weigh in this morning before i ate! I like to do it the same way every time. I will have to weigh in tomorrow. I did take measurements though-- I've lost 1 inch on my hips and a half inch on my thighs since last week! Back tomorrow with my weigh in results.

This is the first time I've read this group post and I read through all of them. First I have to laugh, the "happy weight" happened to me and my husband too! We both gained after we got married last year! We're both now committed to being active and eating right. He's lost 9 lbs and I've lost 3. I want to take it slow on…

It's also possible you are gaining muscle, which is a PLUS because muscle burns more calories and increases your metabolism. However, my husband always stresses to me the importance of measures other than the scale. For example, do you feel more fit now that you've been working out? Is there something you are doing a bit…

Yes!!! The daily victories are the best! Realizing that it can actually be fun and motivating to plan ahead, to log in every day, to meet another day's calorie goal. I absolutely believe the best measure is not to stand on a scale every week but to feel the actual changes going on in your body over the very long term,…

That's so cool! I'm 41, and am working hard to lose the 20 lbs (it started out as 10, but two fast diets opened the door to quickly lose, then regain the 10, adding 5 lbs MORE each time!!! disaster!!!) i "carelessly" put on in the past 5 years, too. Grad school introduced a newly sedentary lifestyle for 3 years. I felt so…

As well, if you add a food with the complete info you can add it to the site's lexicon and it will come up again forever-- or you can just add it to your own for your re-use. I'm at one week tomorrow, and I am liking the logging in of food. I find it very helpful to do it when I eat and not wait until later.

Hi! I'm in sunny CA, too! i've been on here 1 week tomorrow, and I find that I'm staying logged in most of the day, just like fb. It really helps hold me accountable to my own plan, especially if I log as I eat and don't wait til later in the day. And any time I'm feeling like I'm not doing so great just coming back to…

Not only are there active ways to have support, i.e talking to others on here directly, there are passive ways, too. I find that simply reading the forum always gives me motivation, even if I don't post or reply to anything. There are lots of topics covered, and the other day I learned some good information about…

Just changed my calorie per day goal to 1320. That is the recommended one pound per week suggestion given by this site. I think 1200 was too similar to the "starvation" method I tried before, and I don't want to re-set my metabolism to store fat based on getting so little food (even if it's the correct ratio of homemade,…

Wow- thanks so much everyone! I'm glad to meet a few people who have a similar issue. While I empathize deeply with anyone wanting to be healthy or get in shape for any reason, of course it is a different type of challange to lose 20 lbs vs. 50 or 100lbs, so it's good to know you're out there! I made the mistake of going…