My deficit was too high, macros were ok. I'm happy with it though, 'cause I"m back on track and was in control of my eating all week.
I did poorly weeks 5&6, so instead of going into week 9 now and taking a exercise rest week, I'm going to repeat one last week 5-8 before moving on. It makes me feel better to believe I "earned" my break, plus I think I'll get more out of these 4 (now 5) weeks and the rest week by actually doing them, instead of just moving on.
Another thing I realized is that I must have had PMS at some point, because AF started yesterday. Normally not a note-worthy thing, but I didn't really notice my PMS this month, and typically I do. I imagine it was while I was feeling crappy & unmotivated during weeks 5&6 - I was also stressed, overworked, and sick then, so I didn't' realize it was also hormonal. It's actually very encouraging to me to now know why those weeks were so hard for me (as if stress, late work nights and sickness weren't enough), and I feel less like I let myself down (and might do so again) and more like that was just a specific, physical event, that is now over, and next time it comes, I'll be ready for it. So yeah, I'm happy I have AF. I'm just a bit odd, if you hadn't already noticed...
__________________ "It's never too late to be what you might have been" - George Elliot
Doing fine for now, though we're going out for out Anniversary Ssaturday, so I"m going to start shaving off 100cals or so a day in anticipation of that.
Fitness-wise has been good, too. Did cardio & B2 yesterday, and got up early to do B1 this morning. Feeling much more proud of myself this week, and am looking forward to a week off exercise next week, instead of feeling guilty for taking it, as I would have had I took it on schedule this week.
__________________ "It's never too late to be what you might have been" - George Elliot
I was sick yesterday (sinus headache), and didn't get any exercise in. But I think I made most of it up today, so I only have 1 cardio session to do tomorrow to finish out the week. Calories are low 'cause I'm planning to go over for our anniversary dinner tomorrow night - but I'm going to focus on not going overboard just 'cause I'm letting myself eat - it's harder to get back on track after a "binge", so hopefully looking for healthy yummy options before going w/ the fatty/carby ones just "cause I can" will help make tomorrow not too too bad.
__________________ "It's never too late to be what you might have been" - George Elliot
I tried a new lunch - lentil salad w/ feta cheese and sd tomatoes. Very yum, but appearently not as filling as my typical lunches, so I was hungry & ate my afternoon snack early, so that I was hungry again on my ride home.
We stopped at the grocery store, and Bryan bought a doughnut. On the drive home, it looked really good so I asked for a bite - instead he gave me the 2nd one he appearently had bought for me. So I had my bite from there. Then another bite, then another, and finished it. Not HORRIBLE, I was low on planned cals, and had been low Mon & Tues, so this would still average out ok. Except that it kicked on my sweet tooth, and I think I had a sugar crash 'cause I was TIRED all of a sudden, and the kids were fussy and agrumentative so the evening home routine was stressful - so I ate more junk. Ended up like 500cals more than I was supposed to, mostly in sugary carbs.
And, just to kick myself in the butt, I was frustrated b/c I only lost like .5 - 1lb last week (even though I was down 2lbs 1/2 way through the week & didn't "cheat", so I don't know why it went back up...). So, I was frustrated w/ my weight Monday. I weighed myself today, and I'm down 1.5lbs from 2 days ago - of course, now I've LOST that by my binge last night...
I just have to focus on moving on from here, it's only 1 night, and I have been eating under plan for a few days - I can still make my week average out to a 35% deficit, just have to focus on that & not get all disappointed...
__________________ "It's never too late to be what you might have been" - George Elliot
Hang in there Norah... we all (most of us, at least) have days like that... if you've seen my log, I certainly have moments where sugar attacks and then it brings more sugary attackers and then WHAM I've gone up to (or over) maintenance... blargh!!! Just try to dust yourself off and keep on being consistent... (and yes, I do better at giving advice than taking it!)
Ok, so I spent last year working on me, and got from 233 to 189, possibly 183 (I swear I remember doing that, even though it was only a few days, but I can't find record of it...). Stopped around October/Nov. because of the normal holiday stress - decided to give myself a "break". Unfortunately, I couldn't get myself back in the game after. I'd do 1 week well, then falter for 2 weeks, a couple days exercising, then nothing for a month - I gained back 10-15lbs, to a high at one point of 198.
In August this year, with the help & encouragement of Ginger (LOVE YOU!), I recommited to this. I was at 192 then. Although I have still faltered, it's been a bad few days here and there among a lot of good weeks. I've definitely been stressed out, frustrated, and depressed when I haven't lost as much - or as quickly - as I wanted, but I am, slowly, losing.
I had a bad day Tuesday, so I expect the numbers to change, but when I weighed myself this morning I was at 182.5. Not only is that the lowest I've been since maybe I was preggers w/ Jamie 6 yrs ago (& that was only b/c I _lost_ weight w/ her), it's also a milestone - I have lost 50 pounds. Like I said, I don't think it will be that low for my "official weigh in" day Monday, but it'll be close. And next week should put me solidly, permanently there.
I know how hard I worked to lose that 45 pounds last year, and how much HARDER it was to relose the regained 10-15lbs this year. I'm still going to get depressed and frustrated along the way, but I am NOT going to let myself lose my focus again. It's SO MUCH easier to just keep your head down, get in, get slim, get done, than to continually gain & relose the same weight over and over again. I am about halfway to my goal, and this time I"m not going to stop until I get there.
__________________ "It's never too late to be what you might have been" - George Elliot
Ok, so I spent last year working on me, and got from 233 to 189, possibly 183 (I swear I remember doing that, even though it was only a few days, but I can't find record of it...). Stopped around October/Nov. because of the normal holiday stress - decided to give myself a "break". Unfortunately, I couldn't get myself back in the game after. I'd do 1 week well, then falter for 2 weeks, a couple days exercising, then nothing for a month - I gained back 10-15lbs, to a high at one point of 198.
In August this year, with the help & encouragement of Ginger (LOVE YOU!), I recommited to this. I was at 192 then. Although I have still faltered, it's been a bad few days here and there among a lot of good weeks. I've definitely been stressed out, frustrated, and depressed when I haven't lost as much - or as quickly - as I wanted, but I am, slowly, losing.
I had a bad day Tuesday, so I expect the numbers to change, but when I weighed myself this morning I was at 182.5. Not only is that the lowest I've been since maybe I was preggers w/ Jamie 6 yrs ago (& that was only b/c I _lost_ weight w/ her), it's also a milestone - I have lost 50 pounds. Like I said, I don't think it will be that low for my "official weigh in" day Monday, but it'll be close. And next week should put me solidly, permanently there.
I know how hard I worked to lose that 45 pounds last year, and how much HARDER it was to relose the regained 10-15lbs this year. I'm still going to get depressed and frustrated along the way, but I am NOT going to let myself lose my focus again. It's SO MUCH easier to just keep your head down, get in, get slim, get done, than to continually gain & relose the same weight over and over again. I am about halfway to my goal, and this time I"m not going to stop until I get there.
50 pounds?!? And a new low?!? Go YOU. You know, I think we all have bad days (whether we admit it or not), the thing is to pick yourself back up and get back into it. You have been really consistent and while the losses may not come as quickly as you would like (do they ever? LOL) they are happening!
You are so good with tracking your food and hitting your goals with OPT, it is quite impressive.
I say you hang in there and keep going. We all falter and have a bad week or a bad couple of days, it's human nature.
Shoot, this whole month has sucked for me with Andrew being sick. I even had the inkling to drop out of the challenge and then I decided that would really not be the right thing to you.
Oh, and love to you - too!
__________________
Ginger
"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start." ~ John Bingham
I know how hard I worked to lose that 45 pounds last year, and how much HARDER it was to relose the regained 10-15lbs this year. I'm still going to get depressed and frustrated along the way, but I am NOT going to let myself lose my focus again. It's SO MUCH easier to just keep your head down, get in, get slim, get done, than to continually gain & relose the same weight over and over again. I am about halfway to my goal, and this time I"m not going to stop until I get there.
Congrats!!! You're doing great...
I'm working on my 15# that slowly crept back on after years of maintaining a 50# loss... it's not easy, but as far as I'm concerned, it's the ONLY option. We can do this!!
Thanks, ladies. It sure gets frustrating at times, but I know this is the only way to do it - once and for all!
Last week's nutrition:
NUTRITION
Sept 29-Oct 5
Week
Deficit
Calories
Protein
Fat
Carb
Plan
35%
1484
30%
20%
50%
Monday
39%
1388
36%
25%
40%
Tuesday
34%
1517
35%
19%
46%
Wednesday
13%
1985
23%
22%
55%
Thursday
42%
1323
32%
21%
47%
Friday
39%
1393
33%
22%
45%
Saturday
35%
1485
17%
31%
51%
Sunday
51%
1108
27%
28%
45%
Average
36%
1457
10)">29%
24%
47%
Had one bad calorie day, and 2 bad macro days, but managed to balance it all out on Sunday. I probably should be better during the week so I don't have to cut so much SUnday, but it's better than nothing.
This week starts the final 3 weeks of the program, which is a 40% deficit and 50% protein. Seeing a lot of eggs and seitan in my future! Actually, I'm letting myself eat shrimp, too. I'm not so worried about their "treatment", and try to buy them from somewhere that takes environmental concerns into consideration when selecting vendors, like Whole Foods (the best I can do in Memphis).
Also coming off a rest week for exercise - didn't have a problem getting back into it. Got up early this morning to do C1 at home - the weights I have are not heavy enough, but I upped the reps on some things, and it's better than nothing. Then took a walk at lunch - actually did errands, walked to Walgreens & Target, so that worked out well. 45min w/ a HR ave. of 123 - higher than my 55% target, but it didn't seem like it was hard - I had to keep reminding myself to slow down!
Oh, and my weight went back to 184.5/185, over the weekend, as I expected it to, but it's 184 again this morning, so it's not continuing to climb. I know you're not supposed to weigh every day, but I think it's better for me. I get frustrated if I work all week, then have a small - or no - decrease. Seeing my weight fluctuate every day - and trending it - helps me see that it's headed in the right direction, even if it's not always down. Plus, an up day reminds me to stay vigilant and committed to my program, instead of allowing an unscheduled cheat.
So far, so good!
__________________ "It's never too late to be what you might have been" - George Elliot
Did you know, popcorn has calories? And, it actually matters if you have 1 cup v. 2 cups? Color me stupid. Yes, I know popcorn has calories, but it's fairly low, so I was eyeballing it. I'm really good about measuring everything else, but I only had volume measures for popcorn & figured those are so off anyways, I'd be just as safe eyeballing it. So today I decided to get better and weigh everything I possibly can in grams, rather than volume. Found nutrition info for popcorn by weight b4 popping - below is what I normally tracked (3 cups popped), and what I actually had (40g unpopped):
100+ cal difference, almost 20+g carbs. Crap. a month or two ago, I was eating popcorn almost every night! On the plus side, even w/ an extra 100 cals a day, I was still eating at a deficit, but not the deficit I thought I was. From now on, I think I'll seriously reconsider eating anything that I can't measure in grams on my scale...
Anywho, onto the numbers...
NUTRITION
Oct 6 - 12
Week
Deficit
Calories
Protein
Fat
Carb
Plan
40%
1370
50%
20%
30%
Monday
40%
1371
46%
16%
38%
Tuesday
43%
1296
53%
19%
28%
Wednesday
37%
1437
46%
23%
32%
Thursday
100%
0
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
Friday
100%
0
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
Saturday
100%
0
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
Sunday
100%
0
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
Average
40%
1368
6)">48%
19%
32%
So, somewhat over today since I messed up on popcorn cals, but it balances my under yesterday, so it's all good.
Fitness wise, I've been doing good. Really like the C1 & C2 strength workouts - I get through them much faster than I did the B ones. And I'm taking advantage of the "Slow & Steady" cardio to walk outside w/ a pulsar for HR. And I"m taking advantage of the outside walking to do errands - walking to Walgreens to get some pics, over to the Post Office, over to Target, etc. - so I'm accomplishing fitness, fresh-air, and chores all at once, a very productive feeling.
__________________ "It's never too late to be what you might have been" - George Elliot
I hate weekends. More specifically, I hate weekends visiting my MIL. Nothing to with her, but whenever we see her, we go out to eat. ANd usually it's after a morning of running around from place to place w/ the kids, so I'm tired and hungry. And since it's VERY difficult to get a low fat, high protein vegetarian meal most anywhere, I end up eating poorly. Worse than than is that I can't be exactly sure HOW poorly, because I can't weigh/measure, and don't have the nutrition info available. We went out for lunch & dinner sat., and with my best guess of nutrition, went over plan and BMR, but might not have gone over BMR + activity level, leaving me still in a small deficit. But that's all maybe. I made up for it today, but I'm feeling crappy - not hungry, but worn out, so I dont' know if it's due to the crappy food yesterday, lack of food today, PMS starting, allergies, or a cold (my throat hurts, but I also cleaned my bathrooms & might have inhaled fumes for all I know).
And, I've been weighing myself daily. The experts say don't, I think there's pros & cons both ways, right now it's more "pro" for me to weight daily. 'Nuf said. Anyway, since Monday, I've gone down 1/2lb. daily - which rocks. However, I didn't work out Friday, and although NEAT was high (for me) Sat, I didn't do any explicit cardio & ate poorly. I weighed in this morning - UP 1.5lbs. WTF?! I am hoping hoping hoping that it's more due to hormonal issues (PMS) or maybe water issues - something that goes away quickly - rather than my Sat. eating. If you eat over maintenance, how quickly does that weight show up, anyway? It seems like every time I'm not PERFECT with BOTH my diet & exercise, I gain weight - I can't give myself any slack. I'm sure it's just perception, and it probably happens around PMS when I'm tired and depressed etc., but it just feels like I work so hard all week, have 1 small mistep, and all the week's work is shot to hell. SIgh. I guess we'll jsut see where I weigh in tomorrow.
__________________ "It's never too late to be what you might have been" - George Elliot
Norah - I weigh daily too... and chart it (I use DailyPlate which makes a pretty graph for me). I find that after doing it consistently, I can deal with the daily ups and downs and I've learned to trust the long-term process a bit more (yeah, I still have issues, but I'm doing better!).
All this week's work is NOT shot to hell. It's a glycogen or salt or water reload, and just as I doubt you REALLY lost 1/2# each day, you also didn't regain 1.5# in one day. I'm sure you know, but a pound is 3500 calories - you did NOT have that large of a daily deficit or overfeed, right????
If you look in my log, I sometimes post my graph... Anne (RealCDN) does the same in hers, quite often... if you feel that daily weighing has more pros than cons for you, then keep doing it BUT also accept that it's a moving average that counts more than daily fluctuations... ok?
Bytsi's right. You probably did not go down half a pound a day for a week, so the 1.5 lb upswing was to be expected. I'm to the point with daily weighing where I don't really even bother with the number. I get on the scale, record the number, and get on with my day. If I'm reading you right though you lost 3.5lbs, then went up 1.5 - so you're down 2lbs, which is quite a good number for a week.
I've seen some people on the weight loss board really freak out with daily weighing. They'll start a diet and invariably for a week or two see a drop every day. This is usually from a scale that reads .2 graduations. Then one day they'll be up a little and completely fall apart. I remember a couple of times suggesting to a few that they get rid of the scale. One in particular eventually stopped trying to lose because she couldn't seem to deal with the fact that she wasn't going to get at least a .2 lb drop every day. My weights are all over the map now that I'm back in school with an odd schedule. However, looking back to the summer when I was very much in a routine I can find some weeks where I gained weight 5 days in a row. Then I would lose weight (more than I'd gained) and would be lower than I was before the gain. If you're going to weigh daily you just need to ignore the number and look at the trend.
Norah - I weigh daily too... and chart it (I use DailyPlate which makes a pretty graph for me). I find that after doing it consistently, I can deal with the daily ups and downs and I've learned to trust the long-term process a bit more (yeah, I still have issues, but I'm doing better!).
All this week's work is NOT shot to hell. It's a glycogen or salt or water reload, and just as I doubt you REALLY lost 1/2# each day, you also didn't regain 1.5# in one day. I'm sure you know, but a pound is 3500 calories - you did NOT have that large of a daily deficit or overfeed, right????
If you look in my log, I sometimes post my graph... Anne (RealCDN) does the same in hers, quite often... if you feel that daily weighing has more pros than cons for you, then keep doing it BUT also accept that it's a moving average that counts more than daily fluctuations... ok?
P.S. Read my quote from Aoife in my signature
Thanks. It's one of those things where I know something, but that doesn't stop me from emotionally getting worked up sometimes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by realcdn
Bytsi's right. You probably did not go down half a pound a day for a week, so the 1.5 lb upswing was to be expected. I'm to the point with daily weighing where I don't really even bother with the number. I get on the scale, record the number, and get on with my day. If I'm reading you right though you lost 3.5lbs, then went up 1.5 - so you're down 2lbs, which is quite a good number for a week.
I've seen some people on the weight loss board really freak out with daily weighing. They'll start a diet and invariably for a week or two see a drop every day. This is usually from a scale that reads .2 graduations. Then one day they'll be up a little and completely fall apart. I remember a couple of times suggesting to a few that they get rid of the scale. One in particular eventually stopped trying to lose because she couldn't seem to deal with the fact that she wasn't going to get at least a .2 lb drop every day. My weights are all over the map now that I'm back in school with an odd schedule. However, looking back to the summer when I was very much in a routine I can find some weeks where I gained weight 5 days in a row. Then I would lose weight (more than I'd gained) and would be lower than I was before the gain. If you're going to weigh daily you just need to ignore the number and look at the trend.
Thanks, too. I think a lot of my frustration really is hormonal, PMS. Right now, it just feels like SO MUCH effort is going into this for SO LITTLE return on a weekly basis - which I know in my head isnt' really true. When I'm not PMSing, I can have the exact same week, and think nothing negative about it at all. I think during PMS weeks I need to not stress so much about the details, and focus on keeping myself on track as stress-free as possible, and taking things as they come. Yeah, my macros might not be great right now, but I'm still under calories, and having that skinny cow instead of some MORE greek yogurt just makes me feel better - so be it.
This will be over soon - just in time to get ready for AF...
__________________ "It's never too late to be what you might have been" - George Elliot
So, as I think I've already mentioned, I"m PMSing this week. Considering that, I'm quite content with my nutrition. Protein isn't as high as it should be, but not too bad. It's hard when you're not motivated to find new and interesting ways to eat the same 3 proteins (cottage cheese, greek yogurt and seitan - others like lentils are to high-carb compared to the protein offered), so I'm really just not up for eating much of anything at all. Although I did get some skinny cow ice cream sandwhiches, which are really helping my carb/chocolate/sweet cravings.
Exercise hasn't been great due to work being CRAZY, and my motivation refuses to be in residence when PMS is here, but I'll pick it back up next week - no big.
BUT, I just realized next week is WEEK 12 of OPT - the LAST WEEK. THe one that comes RIGHT BEFORE the BREAK. I kept thinking I had at least two more weeks to prep for it...
Now I have to got back to OPT and FLTS and figure out what I'm supposed to eb doing when I'm done. I'm definitely not where I want to be, so I'll go back on this, but do I stop for just a week? Or a couple? And I shoudl eat at maintenance, but that doesn't mean eating whatever whenever the way I used to, right? So I can eat more, but I still have to track, right? ALthough, I guess if I just did whatever, tried to not gorge myself, and made healthy choices, then if I managed to eat more than maintenance, it won't be hugely over - I won't be gaining 10 lbs in a week or anything, so maybe it's worth that extra pound (or three) to be able to just STOP with all the tracking, and weighing and just eat without having to plan everything down to the last little detail...
...And I guess I"m not supposed to work out either, huh? Off to research...
GDF
__________________ "It's never too late to be what you might have been" - George Elliot
I think what type of break and how you do it may depend on your relationship with food. I generally plan/track my rest/maintenance weeks as I don't think I've ever had a good relationship with food. I have basically screwed-up hunger cues and I could easily go completely overboard. Without a basic plan for a rest week I'd either eat way too little or way too much. Some people just go out to dinner/lunch a little more, and throw in a few things that they don't normally enjoy. To even gain a couple of pounds you would have to go 1000 cals above maintenance every day. For most people that's pretty tough.
My first time doing rest/maintenance I gained a little over a pound, but dropped 5 the week after. Of course it had been preceded by about 6 months of non-stop dieting down. The second time I ended the week .2 pounds down, with a more usual weight loss the following week. In a way I feel I didn't really accomplish what I wanted (ie. I expected a slight gain), but I had done it early because I wasn't feeling well, so a good recovery was enough of a result.
Good job on (almost) finishing OPT - hope you'll be posting your 12-week change/results...
I'd say to try to enjoy the week off and track as little (or not at all) as possible... And use the time between now and then to figure out what your goals are from here on out. Once you know your goals, the plan should be easier to pick.
First of all congrats on reaching your 50lbs milestone. That is awesome. And double congrats on reaching the end of your first round of OPT. I got to week 4 (lost 6lbs) then stopped when I went on vacation and came back to start teaching again. My goal is to get under 200lbs by the end of the year so I know I'll be restarting OPT in January. Whatever you decide to do, give yourself credit for a job well done
I am back. Never really gone, just shifted my priorities - decided I really didn't have the time to spend posting on here during my break, so I didn't. I think overall it went pretty well - started off trying to eat "healthy maintenance" - eating as I should once I get to my ideal weight, chosing healthy foods, only a few empty calories, balancing my nutrition (i.e., eating a bagel for brkfst is ok, but can't have bagel for brkfst, sandwich for lunch, and pizza for dinner). By the end of the week it shifted to "ok, hurry up and eat this 'cause you won't be able to for another 12 weeks!", but overall I think it's ok - I'm not having difficulties getting back in the swing of things, and think I was probably around maintenance calories most days (except the weekend), so the weight I gained should come off pretty quickly.
__________________ "It's never too late to be what you might have been" - George Elliot
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