Anyone else trying to lose weight?

[aliantha]

You go, Holsety!

Well, keeping track really *does* work, dammit. I'm now officially down 30. Hoping for another 5 lbs. off before our session ends in two weeks -- I might not make it but hey, it's good to have a goal....

[lucimay]

good for you ali!! congrats!!

i am buying a scale this weekend. (didn't own one for the last year
cause i just didn't want to know! )

jenn and i are both on the "missing our bubs" diet. she's got to buy
new jeans this weekend as her drawers are hangin off her!!!

mine are gettin baggier by the day so i now want to know!!

i am not doing any particular diet (except for the diet called "so blue
i don't even feel like eating) but i have unconsciously reduced the
crap i'd been eating before and during the road trip. seems to be
helping so i'm now consciously avoiding the crap.
and buying a scale this weekend.
ever little bit helps!

[aliantha]

You bet it does! Good luck, you guys!

[aliantha]

Double posting again.

Still working on getting to 35 lbs. gone. In order to encourage myself to keep on keepin' on, I have positioned my copy of the new Malazan book in a strategic location (on top of the fridge, next to the cookie jar! ). My reward for making it to this goal will be to start reading "Toll the Hounds".

It likely won't be this week. But it had durn well better be *next* week.

(I'm mentioning it here because I'm pretty sure the folks in my WW group won't fully understand the sacrifice I'm making... )

[Wyldewode]

I'm having a hard time staying on track. I haven't been on the scale in a few weeks (avoiding it, really), but a couple of people told me I look like I've lost weight. I guess that is a good sign.

And go get 'em, Ali. . . you can do it!

[DukkhaWaynhim]

Keep up the good work, people! Slow and steady wins the race - especially this race!

I sort of suddenly decided to go back on my version of Atkins, and have already started dietary ketosis, meaning I am currently in a mild ketosis euphoria.
After another week or two, I'll switch over to maintenance mode and then start back at serious weight training, with intermittent cardio. The goal is current weight minus 20lbs. - while putting on muscle, which is the hard part.

dw

[aliantha]

How goes the Atkins-ish plan, dw?

I missed my goal last week by half a pound, arrgh. And this weekend has been bad bad bad. We don't have an official weigh-in this week -- the last session ended last Friday -- which will probably be a good thing for me.... Hoping to at least maintain this week. We'll see.

[DukkhaWaynhim]

I'm down another couple of pounds, and still losing. Even though I am still going out with the gang for lunch at work, I have managed to find a very low carb option each time so far.

I have started running intervals with the dog again as a way of ramping up my cardio, before I start back at my weights regimen.

Even if my pace slows, and assuming I don't plateau, I should be at my chosen weight goal in 2-3 months. My clothes are already starting to fit differently (in a good way), which is always encouraging.

The thing about Atkins I like most is the early results - which are the only thing encouraging enough to make me want to stick with it. Atkins is otherwise not a long-term sustainable diet. I mean, come on, no carbs for life? That's crazy!

And, I've got to tell you, there is something I find personally energizing about eating low-volume foods - which seems to be the net result of an Atkins induction diet. I find the continual lack of a full/boated sensation makes me feel... faster, for lack of a better term - more capable of/inclined to exercise, because I never feel logy.

dw

[MsMary]

In the past month, I think I may have gained back all the weight I lost. I hope I will lose it again when I get back into exercising.

I've had too much stress the past month.

[Wyldewode]

You can do it, Mary!

[MsMary]

Thanks for the encouragement.

[AjK]

Two qualifiers then some comments. First, sincere congrats and encouragement for anyone looking to improve their health. You, your families and other loved ones will be grateful for it! You folks are awesome. The second qualifier is that I am not an expert in any way in this area. Having said that I have two recommendations in additions to the others in this thread (which I have not read in its entirety so apologies if these have been mentioned.)

Try to look at your body composition as opposed to simply your weight. When you lose weight due to reduced food intake you will lose muscle mass as well as fat. There are several reasonably priced scales these days that will measure both for you. After you have lost some overall weight make sure to exercise your muscles to build them (back) up. Although obviously they contribute to your weight believe me your new muscles will help against the fat. Lastly, measure and track your progress. Measure weekly and keep a log/record. While it can be demotivating if you aren't achieving your goals you should record and monitor how you are doing. This feedback can really help. Best of luck to you!

Andy

[MsMary]

Have I mentioned that this summer I gained back all the weight I lost? Yeah, stress will do that. (Upside? It was only 6 lbs.)

Starting over as of this week.

[AjK]

Starting over as of this week.

Good luck!

[Brother Charn]

Have I mentioned that this summer I gained back all the weight I lost? Yeah, stress will do that. (Upside? It was only 6 lbs.)

Starting over as of this week.

I don't think you are starting over... you figured out what worked the first time, so it's just a matter of picking back up where you left off and continuing with your game-winning strategy.

For me, envisioning that feeling of accomplishment helps me avoid the candy bowl at work - the one that is always there, right outside the conference room where we hold all our stressful, soul-sucking meetings. That one... I hate that friggin' candy bowl!

[aliantha]

I'm with ya on the journey, MsMary....

*Still* trying to drop that same half-pound. Which at one point had ballooned to 4.5 lbs., arrgh -- a combination of eating out/too much salt/*way* too many kolaches. I dropped 3 last week, largely by returning to the low-sodium diet; I had *no* idea water retention was such a big deal for me until I started on the blood pressure med.... Anyhow, the scale looked pretty darned excellent this morning, and I am determined -- determined, I tell you! -- not to screw it up this time. Weigh-in is Friday. Stay tuned...

dw/BC ( ), I know what you mean about not missing that logy feeling. Even just doing WW, which is not a low-carb diet by any stretch of the imagination, I feel much more energetic because I'm not overstuffed. (I don't like to think about how much food I was eating before, to provide such a contrast.... )

[Cameraman Jenn]

Well, smaller portions seem to be working well for me plus I am walking alot more and trying to eat healthier as well as smaller portions. I am not starving myself and I am doing crunches and other exercises at home in the evenings. I have dropped two pants sizes and even the new pants are getting a bit loose. I haven't stepped on a scale so I don't know for sure how much I've lost at this point. I feel much better though. Ali, Ms.Mary, I know you gals can do it. Everyone else who's trying can do it too. DW, stay away from the candy jar! I keep one on the counter filled with mini chocolate bars of varying sorts but I manage to stay away from it most of the time.

[Wyldewode]

My greek dancing instructor tells us that we're going to lose 5 lbs by the end of the festival. . . I hope she is right! Anyway, I am back on the wagon again.

Good luck to everyone!

[MsMary]

Greek dancing sounds like fun!

I went Israeli folk dancing three times this week and restarted my strength training routine last night.

After 5 days of watching my caloric intake more carefully, I appear to have lost one lb. Here's hoping it's not just a daily fluctuation.

[Cameraman Jenn]

I'm snacking on a tart apple and some sharp cheddar cheese. Yummers.