Posts by redselene

Hi teevee!

I've been going trough the same thing the last few weeks. I'm 5'3 and have just reached my goal weight of 118 lbs. But it feels like I am programmed to lose weight, as if my stomach has shrunk or something, and I don't feel like I need more food than what I ate for losing. AND I am deadly afraid of gaining, because I'm so damn happy with the way I look now.

Well, I don't work out quite as intensely as you are, but I can tell you that you are underestimating your calorie burn. You can get to 1700 just by walking around a bit and doing some chores! That does not include kickboxing or running yet! I can tell you what I'm doing. I want to know for sure. I have my account set to sedentary, and that gives me a burn of about 1520 cals. And then I add in all the activity, including the walk from the tram to campus etc. To measure the calories, I wear a heart rate meter for my work outs, that counts how many calories I burn based on the heartrate and my stats. I add that to the activity log and at the end of the day I make sure I eat as much as I burnt. Since I am still programmed to weight loss, I am mostly at like 1500 after dinner, and if I worked out a lot, I'm still missing like 400 cals. Then I start snacking on healthy, more or less calorie dense foods, like almonds or dried fruit for example :) Doesn't fill me too much, doesn't make me feel guilty (although it took getting used to, too) and it's tasty. This may seem a rather weird way of dealing, but it works for me for the time being, and I can learn how to spread my healthy snacks of the evening over the entire day. My ultimate goal is to learn how to estimate my calorie burn, and to eat accordingly without counting, but that might still take a bit. For now, I like being precise (or as precise as can be, I realise it's all an estimate) and it works, seeing how I'm neither gaining nor losing.

Sorry for the long explanation, but I hope this helps ;)

your post made me smile :)

I had the contrary experience just yesterday. I have a mirror at home that is about 40 cm wide. Yesterday I saw my reflection in a big mirror wall and I thought "Hey, didn't I look a lot slimmer at home this morning?!"

If you could see yourself through the eyes of other people, the image would vary as well. I find that I judge people's beauty according to whether I like them or not. If I meet someone and think "Not really a beauty" and later get to know them better and realise that they are a really nice person, they become beautiful to me. The other way around, I can meet someone and say: wow, looks awesome and later realise they are terrible and they become super ugly to me!

That brings me to the theory: if we liked ourselves more, we would be less critical of our reflections in the mirror. Right?

Hi everyone, glad to hear you're all being successful at losing :)

Where is the rest? I mean, this thread is almost dead, isn't it? What happened?

I haven't posted in a while, since I am now maintaining. I'm still at 120lbs. I haven't upped my calories yet, though .. I fell off a horse last week, which resulted in a severely bruised pelvis. Very painful, so moving isn't really an option at the moment, let alone real exercise. So I am now more or less maintaining on my weight loss calories from before. All very frustrating. Also, I got lots and lots of cycling gear for my birthday, and I was so happy. Riding a bike seems really far away to me right now though :(

Hope everyone else (also the ones who didn't post in a while *poke* ;)) is doing well!

I did the gym thing for a while and I hated it so much I couldn't even keep it up for the sake of weight loss. But I have come to love cycling and fast walking, and I can see myself doing that for the rest of my life. It's not just healthy in terms of fresh air and getting my body moving, I also find it very stress-relieving. At the moment I'd go nuts without it .. It's also the only time I get to "read" a book, because I listen to audio books in the meanwhile. Plus, I'm 5'3, without exercising, I'd have to maintain at like 1600 calories. Terrible! With a little extra exercise, I can allow myself a piece of chocolate every now and then much more easily ;)
As for the calorie counting, I don't want to do that forever. I will do it until I have learned how to estimate precisely enough to go without. I never ate junk food to begin with, so that's not an issue, luckily :)

I also kind of feel the need to track that. I'm a perfectionist by nature, I need to plan everything thoroughly and I have a to do list for every day, so I thought, why not do the same for weight loss. Like: To do: exercise 10 min longer to reach -3500 ... ;)

I made a simple Excel-sheet, in which I just have to enter my consumed and burned calories, and it calculates my daily deficit, weekly deficit and averages of all daily values. Took me a while to figure everything out, since I am really no expert at excel sheets, but once I had it up and running, it worked like a charm.

For some reason, I could actually see a correlation between weekly deficit and weight loss. I might be an exception, then ... :)

Heyho, it's Friday again :) Just weighed myself, and I'm quite pleased. I'll be there ahead of schedule, it seems. If I can keep this up that is. I wanted to be 55kg (~121 lbs) by 1st of June, but I think I'll make it by mid May. Which is nice, because it's my birthday in two weeks. My boyfriend and my brother are giving me a horse riding trip (they're soooo sweet :D), and I think I might actually fit into my old riding pants by then :D

So there we go:

Height: 5'3

SW: 141

last week: 125.3

CW: 123.9 (1.4 lost)

GW: 120

eugeniececilia: My answer's in your mailbox :) Don't panic, you!

bnfowler: I know the problem. But now, I barely ever drink alcohol. I realised it can be fun without, and it saves you the hangover. There's no trick where it comes to alcohol calories, except what you mentioned about the sugary drinks. It's more of a priority thing I'd say. You could also do "exercising for drinks" :D Work out more, have a drink more ;) That what I do for sweets ;)

I wanted to show you guys something. I posted my progress pictures in my gallery. But since it is pictures of me in underwear, not something I want freely available on the internet, they are protected and only visible for buddys. So if you would like to see them, give me a note, I'll add you ;)

madamq: I wouldn't be worried about the 2.5 lbs right now. Because I really think you kickstarted something by upping the calories. I imagine, that causes a bigger loss than normal, you know, just like when you start out living healthier. Also, I like to go with averages, and if you take an average from your week before with 1 lbs and the 2.5 lbs week, you're within the normal range of weekly loss anyway, aren't you!

raginheadache: I'm with you girl, I'm in vacation mode. That is because I actually still am on vacation, it's Easter break and school only starts again on Monday *sigh* I hope you enjoyed the rest of your vacation feeling a little? Because then it's at least worth something. I don't. I did work out, and I did eat right (told you, incredible willpower), BUT it made me miserable! I forced myself into doing something I didn't really want to. So I hope you did it the other way around ;)

nbirenba: good to have you on board! I think you should definitely give upping calories a shot. You sound pretty active to me, I think you can use it! If you scroll back a bit, you'll see that it has already helped for some of us. In any case, your weekends sound fun :D Also, you are not that far from your 20's yet, so don't blame it on your age. Don't let that get in the way, there are 70-year-olds on CC who are successfully losing weight, so why wouldn't you be able to? ;) You'll make it!

Well, since for me it is Friday, 11:10AM right now, I'll start our weekly weigh in.

Height: 5'3

SW: 141

last week: 125.7

this week: 125.3 (.4 lost)

Haha I guess that is payback for last week :/ I do know what to blame it on though: water retention. I exercised a lot more than usual this week, because I was incredibly bored. It's Easter holidays, I use half my day to study and the other half I don't know what to do. I wanna eat when I get bored, so I go work out instead. And a little extra so I can eat the Easter chocolate. I'm soooo sore right now! I hope next week will be better, but I know it will, because I'll have class again. Finally! :D

I'm really glad you're coming here for advice!

I just scrolled back and saw that you're 17, so I googled around a bit. I'm afraid you'll need a lot more calories than you think! At 17 you're still growing (maybe your body isn't, but your brain is considered growing until the age of 21) and that takes a lot of nutrition. I came up with this link. I know it says children's nutrition, and you are certainly not a child, but their calculator does go up to an age of 18. I entered your stats and it says that with some hours of exercise per week, your body uses 2000 calories per day. The counters here at CC are unfortunately made for people older than you :/ So for safe weight loss, that means that you should eat 1500 calories. You are not doing yourself a favour with 900! If you continue that, your body would eat away calories from everywhere, also from your muscles, and it would totally mess up your metabolism. I just hope it isn't still messed up from anorexia. How long have you been back to healthy weight?

I can relate to the not getting to the right amount of calories. First of all, it's in your head that you think you can't eat more. And second, when you're used to that little, you might feel bloated if you eat more. But it doesn't have to be that way. There are enough healthy, calorie dense foods. I take it from your list that you are a vegetarian? Do you eat fish? Because salmon would be good, but also nuts and such. Look around in the forums, we're not the only ones with that problem, and there are a few very nice suggestions out there! :)

BTW, I think you don't need to worry about your little gain just yet, because that might just be water weight. You should definitely start eating a bit more right away. Right now, your body will be holding on to every single calorie as a sort of protection against you not giving it enough nutrition, and that may cause a gain. So there you go again: eating more makes you lose more. Hard to believe, but true. I hope this helps a bit, and I wish you good luck with everything! :)

My Dad realized what was going on before I did. When I was at 88 lbs, he dragged me to a youth psychiatrist. My food intake per day was along the lines of what tealpenguin just wrote .. I was horrible. What made me eat again was a combination of therapy and my Dad gently forcing me. Hard to explain how he did that, but my recovery is really thanks to him. Well, recovery is relative. I've been at a healthy weight for years now (the anorexia was 6-7 years ago), but the thought patterns from back then still pop up every now and then.

salemwatts: Hmm, what do I do? Well, actually, I just listen to everything they tell you to do around here ;) I eat an average of 1300-1400 calories, I have an average deficit of 600 calories. My workout schedule contains a lot more cardio than anything else because I love cycling. I do that or some other cardio 5 days a week, and add some kind of muscular execise on the other two or whenever I have extra time. That is now taking it's revenge on me, I have back pains because my upper body is sort of underdevelopped compared to my lower body. I do pilates for cyclists now. I'll have to shift my focus a little, I guess :/ So if you do more core exercises than me, I think your're on a good way. If I have a secret at all, it is maybe that I a) never pigged out (I have crazy discipline, which is a good and a bad thing) and b) eat maintenance calories about once week, if I worked out that day that'd be around 2000. I don't really plan on doing that, but if I go out for dinner or for a drink with friends, that kind of just happens. I nearly always see a nice drop two days or so after that.

Anyway, don't lose your motivation, your plateau will end! Just follow the advice we have given you for a bit ;) You'll get there for sure!

I don't think jas_cuzzie will be answering you, because she hasn't really been around since she started this thread. But of course we're very thankful to her for doing that :)

unknown0991: Welcome to the group! :)

missamandak: Don't blame yourself for every little gain. You know that it's physically impossible to gain 2 pounds of fat in one day, right? That would mean you had eaten 7000 calories over maintenance, and it doesn't sound like you did ;) So what you gained is water and whatever is still going around in your digestive system, and that will flush out soon enough, and most likely take some fat with it. Don't worry! And don't weigh too often, because if you see those natural fluctuations every day, that can be very discouraging ...

amyvegan: half a pound is half a pound! I'm sure you'll reach your mile stone next week, especially since your scales at home say it's right around the corner :)

sauvignon: Welcome :)

salemwatts: wow, that sounds intense! Why not try and take it a little easier? Why is it July 31st? Is there something special that day? But first of all congratulations on your huge success! 16 lbs in 9 weeks is awesome! It doesn't really sound like you're eating too little, but with pretty much everyone who has plateaued here, the problem was too little calories. The body gets used to it and makes do with less, so your statistics aren't accurate any more. With some, eating maintenance calories for a week or so helped, and they lost again after that, or even during that week. With me personally, I take one day per week where I eat whatever the hell I want. I still count and make sure it's not too much over what I burn, but to me being used to 1200 to 1400, 2000 feels like a feast :D It feels good and confuses my body a little. And I have been losing steadily, a tad bit slower than you though. Hope this helps. If you type "plateau" into the search here, you can find a thousand threads on the subject! Also think about your goal for a little. Maybe it's too ambitious, maybe not, in any case I think you are pressuring yourself a bit more than necessary. Don't let yourself get down because of your own goals.

I guess the nice weather is luring people away from the computers? Is it so awesome where you are, too? I had 18°C here all week and sunshine. I went bike riding every day. :)

The trip to my parents wasn't as catastrophic as it could have been, at least food wise :/

So now I'm back after two weeks and I've finally entered the 120's :D

SW: 141

height 5'3"

CW: 129

last time: 130.1 (1.1 lost)

@vgonz01: I know the feeling of water retention because of too much workout :) It'll be gone soon, and take some more with it! Yaaaay for the lost inches!! :D

@coralbell: Congratz for reaching the healthy BMI range :D

@yummy_kitty: TWO pounds!! awesome!!

@madamq: If your feet grew when you gained, then I guess it's logical they'll shrink when you lose?

I wish everybody a great week :)

I am not an expert concerning weight fluctuations, but I do have a Wii Fit. Have you compared yours with a real scale? Because I did, and my balance board is actually the one with the fluctuations. I tried letting the Wii weigh me and then weighing myself on a regular scale, and the Wii was always higher than the scale, sometimes 2-3 lbs, once as much as 7 lbs!

raginheadache: Thx :) You're doing great too!! 8.5 since the end of January, that is so awesome!! I wouldn't worry too much about the trip to Vegas. Have you read the many posts of people on here, who said that on vacation they didn't really pay that much attention (but not overdo it, either, of course) and they either didn't gain or gained a few pounds in water that they lost over the following week? Sounds kind of good, doesn't it? No reason to let yourself go, but I believe you can do it! But for now, I hope you'll get healthy soon! :)

BTW, I won't be here next week, visiting my folks in Germany :)

Coralbell: I don't have a gym close either. Well I do, but it's one of those rich people's gyms that us ordinary people really can't afford. I do cycling in good weather, and exercise videos in bad weather. It's a nice change, you could look into it. Also Pilates from a video, that's a nice one for the muscles, too!

coma_red_: To everything raginheadache said (she is soooo right!) I want to add something. Please be careful! I don't want to spread panic or anything, but I've been where you are. 800-900 calories a day is the first or even the second step on the slippery road to anorexia. If you do that once every now and then, it's not a big drama, but if you do that every day, your body gets used to it, you won't be hungry any more and you may think that if you're not hungry, it's all right to eat even less. Well, it's not! You're still a teenager. Your body needs those 1700 calories! Before working on your weight, you should work on your self perception. You're at a BMI of 23. You're NOT chubby! You're at a healthy weight and I bet you look great. You just need to realise that! If you want to lose a little more weight, you might as well take it slow, because you look good already. And please have a heart to heart with your BF and tell him that it is WRONG to tell you that you are chubby. I hope he supports you and doesn't pressure you! I read in your journal that you can't see a change. Look for pictures on which you are still your old weight, and take one now. You will see, there is a difference. With 9 pounds lost, you probably lost an inch or so from every part of your body. Start measuring yourself every couple of weeks, and you will see the difference reflected in the numbers. But for now, just eat enough, don't starve yourself! I don't want to pressure you here, either. It's just, I've have been down that road. I know what it feels like to have no energy because I denied my body the fuel. When I was missing the energy to laugh or to talk, life was a miserable place with no way out. Spare yourself that experience! Please!

I love Zumba! With the Latin music and the dancing I have so much fun I don't even feel how exhausting it is, until it's over :)