Down...

I hate this.  I hate that I get super frustrated because I'm NOT losing, and then I somehow ladder down a few pounds.

I'm down 2-3 pounds this week, and I feel pretty fantastic.  This makes it almost 13 pounds since the beginning of my no carb plan.  That's pretty great, in about 8 weeks (HORRAY!).  I, of course, wish it was faster.

BUT, I kind of feel like my eating is now under control.  I'm not taking a lot of effort to not eat carbs, and I'm trying to not go crazy with carbs on my cheat day (I did have this yesterday, it was nice to just make one portion, plop some ice cream and chocolate sauce on it and know it's gone and not tempting me in the fridge all week).  I think a lot of my weight loss hinges on that cheat day, so I still need to be conscious (but not so conscious that I feel cheated).

So, since eating seems to be under control I'm going to try and work on my physical activity more.  I'm doing harder videos and trying to be more intense while I do them.  It feel pretty good after it, so far... this isn't the video I've done, but it looks like a goodie! :)

Anyway, does anyone else "ladder" on their weight loss?

It's annoying, but I've been annoyed by other things. :)  Many, many annoying things.

2020

No, that's not my eyesight. That's the year I will reach my goal weight if I keep on this path.

Seriously.

I am pretty well the same this week. I know last week wasn't going to be great because my cheat day was last Monday (because I worked Saturday). I've still been getting headaches and I just don't feel all that great. I'm about 75% sure it's allergies but I haven't really a clue.

I'm uber frustrated because I'm also not losing weight even though I am following the 1200 calories/day thing.

So, I'm just going to soldier on. This week I'm cutting out flour and grains. So, it's just me, protein, fruits and veggies. I'm hoping this will kick this plateau's butt. I'm also going to try and do some sinus rinsing to help with the allergies.

If I'm not down on Saturday I will pull my hair out, although I don't think it will be much it might be some loss. :)

Keep on keepin' on. Thoughts on what I'm doing wrong?

Plan:
1200 calories/day plus about 1/2 of my workout calories.
No sugar except on one cheat day/week
Fruits, vegetables and protein (except on cheat day)
Work out 3 times/week plus gardening (which just kicked into high gear).

Up....

Last week was a bad week.  I totally kept to my diet, at least I didn't go OVER the diet, but I wasn't shocked when the weight didn't come off.  Last week's problems:

I had a bunch of headaches.  I have no idea what it was from, but it was annoying.  I'm really feeling like SO many of my headaches are tied to food... I need to watch what I am eating when they happen.

• On  Wednesday I saved some points for dinner, but we ended up at a potluck with pizza and I ended-up eating very few calories.
• On Thursdays I worked.  My life is a joke at work and I didn't NEAR my calorie limit that day.  I get home around 8 pm and I'm just BUSHED and I hate eating that late.  Not sure how I can fix this, but I know when I go well under 1200 calories/day the weight doesn't come off.
• Friday I was STARVING, probably thanks to Thursday.  I still kept within my limits.
• Saturday I worked again.  Just a re-run of Thursday.  Again, not even close to my calorie loads.
• Sunday was fast Sunday -- I'm sure I ate all my 1200 calories right at dinner
• and then I had my cheat day on Monday.

And thus we see I didn't lose a lot of weight.  But, I also lost over 2 pounds last week so I should expect it, I guess.  I'm not overly bummed.  Happy to stay on track this week.

How's YOUR weight loss going? Thoughts on what I can do at work?  I can barely pee little loan eat...

Down 2.4!

I am down 2.4 pounds this week.  That makes it a total of 10 pounds in the 5 weeks since I started.

I'm not really sure what happened those couple of weeks ago when the results were practically nothing, even though I was working the same as I do now...

I think weight watchers has something to their system, but I really didn't want to pay and I don't find the meetings or their online tool that helpful.

I think with calorie counting you just need to tweak it so it works for you.  That isn't to say that the amount of calories that I am at right now (I tend to eat 13-1400 on the days I work out and just over 1200 on the days I don't) will work forever.  I do know that on the couple of weeks where this wasn't working, I was going below 1200 and apparently that wasn't doing my body any favors...

I am still not sure if the low carb thing is helpful.  I plan to stick to one cheat day until I at least reach an average weight.  I may then add another sweets opportunity during the week.  I do find myself "hungrier" after my cheat days.  Not sure if it's the sugar or what... but that is the truth.

This weekend I went to a potluck.  I'd been to one like 3 weeks ago, in which I pulled the skin off some KFC and ate the chicken.  I was so sad seeing all the other food.  This time I could eat whatever I wanted and it turns out that I didn't just swoon over much of anything.  I did have one tasty dessert and I had some enchiladas that were pretty yummy.  I think I could make the enchiladas on my own and just eat the filling over some quinoa or brown rice for dinner.  Frankly, I mostly like the filling anyway.

I did have a burger last Saturday and it as yumm-o... Oh and fries.  I hadn't had fries in about a month!  The were alright, but the onion rings were much more worth the calories.  I think calorie counting gives you a similar restraint to budgeting is that you figure out what you want to prioritize your calories for.  For me, it would be the onion rings, all the way!  Oh and some "fry sauce" or ranch to dip them in.

My favorite things seem to be creamy things -- mayo and sour cream.  I find it's worth the calories for me to have a tsp of mayo on my sandwich, I just love that stuff.

And life goes on, doesn't it?  Are you ready to jump on the weight loss bandwagon now that your kids are in school?

Week #4, stalled no more!

So, I think I'm down 1-2 pounds.  It's hard to say, I worked night shift on Friday night so I'm not really sure my weight from Saturday should be counted, BUT in the 4 weeks I've been doing this, I'm down 4 pounds, which seems really great to me.  I also really think that my love handles are shrinking, and somehow I think my neck is larger, but I digress...

Last week I ate my full calorie count, always going just above 1200 calories, some days to as much as 1400 if I worked out a ton.  It seemed to work, and in reality my body may have been fighting back the past few weeks from the first week's big loss.

Just a reminder that the key is often sticking to the plan.

Funny, I just watched an episode of the Biggest Loser where the guy wasn't eating enough calories (it was back when the blonde trainer was on, not a big fan of hers) but she flipped through his calorie count and he too was eating around 1100 calories/day and she said it just wasn't enough.

I think it's easy to get caught in the trap that less is better...

but it's not.

Unless we're talking love handles.  And then yes, less is better. :)

Anyone else making progress?

If I Could Move My Arms, I'd Throw In The Towel

I gained .4 pounds last week, which was just crazy frustrating.  AT one point it was more like 1.2, but if I go Saturday to Saturday it's .4 -- {sigh}

I was REALLY frustrated on Saturday.  I may have taken my cheat day a little far, which didn't help my numbers on the scale at all... but...

I'm back at it.

A big part of me wonders if I have PCOS.  I haven't ever had the "string of pearls" look on my ultrasound, and when it took so long to get pregnant with P I had hormone levels checked, and she didn't seem to think I had it (and I didn't push it).  I did lose weight, and I did get pregnant.

SO, here's the diet as it stands now:

1.  Low carb.  I'd still try to keep it low on carbs.  I can still eat fruit (although, I am careful with this as I tend to feel "funny" if I only eat fruit).
2.  I am now going to allow whole grains.  I just made some 100% whole wheat "deals to meals" bread, and I'll probably make a sandwich out of that a couple of times a week.  I still want to stay away from potatoes, and only small amounts of corn or wheat.
3.  No sugar, or at least really low.  As, bread has sugar.  Except on cheat day, of course... but cheat day needs to be kept in moderation (a little concerned as I'm working night shift this weekend and being sleepless is a big queue for carbs for me... yay!).
4.  Eat all my calories that My FitnessPal tells me to.  At the VERY minmum 1200-1300/day.  There were several days last week that I went under.  No bueno.  I will also eat the calories it tells me to eat when I work out.  AT LEAST increase it to 1400 on days I workout.
5.  Keep my regular workout routine going.  Today I did Aikido drills (this isn't the video, but this one looks good!).

It seems like, if I do have PCOS I will have a harder time losing weight (duh) but that if I keep the low carb-ness up I should be able to be successful.  Anyone have thoughts on PCOS they'd like to share?  Again, I don't know if I have it, but at one point in pregnancy they said I was glucose intolerant, so I think that glucose could be a trigger or issue for me.  I'm determined to stick to the low carb/no sugar thing til' Halloween, and hopefully til' the end of the year.

Week 2: Lost

Last week was a wash.  My weight was up, I think, this AM.  But between the EXTREME soreness from that Firm workout (BTW, it was the 2nd one on this DVD and it kicked my BOOTIE, not sure why -- but it did).  Then, I am 98% sure I caused a bleeding ulcer from my ibuprofen taken from being so sore, I felt pretty yuck through Friday and made do on Saturday.  I felt it a little tomorrow, but I don't think I'm bleeding anymore -- so that's a high note.  Needless to say, I doubt my body was wanting to shed lots of weight during this time.  So, I'm just back on track today, hoping that I can keep losing weight.

So, here are my questions for you:
1.  Eat the calories I use in exercise, or don't eat the calories.  That is the question.  Last week I didn't eat them, but I was also a mess... so I think I'll try and eat 1/2'ish of them this week and see how it goes now....
2.  Ever get constipated on a low carb diet?  I added in some popcorn this weekend and wow.  Better then a fiber pill.  Feeling much better, thanks so much for asking.  I think I'll allow popcorn within my calorie counts 3 times this week.  I know it's a carb... my apologies.
3.  What to do with the soreness?  Am I just working out too hard?  I KNEW the last workout was crazy hard, but I powered through and I paid the price all week.  Worth it?  Anything I can take (obviously besides nsaids or ibuprofen... that's pretty well out for a while).

Now, it's time to answer.
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