Missmouse

^^^^ Was going to recommend that. Is there a spot at your work where you could stash the stank, other than inside your cubicle? Or

I love this topic! I really got into urban homesteading a couple years ago, and was able to grow quite a bit of food, right here in Tucson. I harvested water, grew an enormous amount of fruits and veggies, had rotating compost piles, and chickens. What you will be able to do will be determined by a number of factors such as your location, amount of land available, zoning laws, and time you have available to commit to the cause. You will need a bit of yard space, but it's amazing how much you can grow using crop rotations, paired plantings and extending the growing season on both ends. Canning and freezing are your friends. :-) I learned quite a bit from the following books: Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency in 1/4 acre by Brett Markham The Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen The Resilient Gardener by Carol Deppe The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond by Brad Lancaster Have fun!

I love the way steel cut oats taste, so that's what I eat. And really... one type of oat preparation being "more pure" than another? Can we give the pure food thing a break...at least a little? (pretty please?)

Good advice above, but I wanted to address this. ^^^ If you are consistently losing body fat and inches, does it really matter if your weight isn't budging? I know it can feel frustrating, since so much emphasis is put on "that number", but what if you were losing tons of weight, and didn't look or feel any different? It may be helpful to focus more on body composition rather than the number on the scale. :-) There is also a phenomenon known as the whoosh. Basically, you slog along with your diet and exercise, seeing few results, and then one day.. whoosh! All your hard work seems to manifest itself at once with a big drop in weight. Something to do with glycogen/water retention, I think. (Others can explain better why this happens.)

This is what I've been trying to put into words for quite some time! My diet has changed quite a bit over the years. I started with really low carb paleo, and dropped about 30 lbs in 6 months. But when I started lifting heavy and really focusing on performance, my diet shifted back to fairly high carb/ high sugar. But I'm still losing weight and inches. It's hard to explain. Especially when people ask how I've managed to lose so much weight, and I tell them I had a pint of ice cream with dinner last night. But...that pint of ice cream fit into my daily macros, and was consumed immediately following a brutal deadlift workout. It's been a long journey, learning how my body works, what it needs, and how to optimize how I feel and function.

What kinds of foods are you eating when you are binging? I used to have a serious problem with binge eating comfort foods - mac & cheese, ice cream, cake, pasteries, etc. Basically, high carb, high fat foods. I received a mental/emotional reward when I ate these foods to excess. So, in my case, going paleo in the beginning of my weightloss journey helped me break that cycle. When I felt the urge to binge on something, and my options were chicken thighs or veggies, I quickly discovered I wasn't as hungry as I initially thought I was. i stayed paleo for about a year until it started impacting my lifting progress, and I began reincorporating more non-paleo foods and even a fair number of sweets. However, I only felt 'safe' doing this because I had learned so much about what real hunger and real fullness felt like, and what my triggers were for binging. I also burn a lot of calories lefting heavy. These days, my diet looks fairly similar to what it looked like before I went paleo, but without the binging. My relationship with food is also much healthier.

What the actual what did I just watch there?

For me it was eating more. Once I got over the fear that eating at a slight surplus would make me gain back every pound of fat I had lost, and then some, my stalls magically disappeared.

I wouldn't sweat it too much, but I would also advise against sharing too much of your personal life with coworkers, especially if you work in what could be described as a 'conservative environment'. I know that these days there is a propensity for oversharing, but it's good to have healthy boundaries around what parts of your life you share and who you choose to share them with. Personally, I share very little of my personal life with coworkers, mainly because I really could get fired if I chose to say too much. In some instances, it's a valid concern, so it's best to err on the side of caution. (Stops shaking old lady cane in the air).

I went to my local thrift shop yesterday and found 2 pairs of Liz Claiborne shorts and a pair of Columbia hiking shorts. Total price for all 3: $15. Score!!! Funnily enough, I don't find time management to be too much of a problem. (Then again, I love a good schedule and thrive on routine, so maybe that's why I see a very structured, busy day as more of a positive.) My biggest issue is that I seem to be at the grocery store ALL THE TIME. Since I'm eating mostly meat & veggies these days, I end up going grocery shopping at least twice a week. Of course, I'm cooking all the time too, but I see that as another plus. :-)

I used to be torn between deadlifts and overhead squats. Then I learned to snatch. It's like an unholy union of badassery.

1. The cut is over! Back to maintenance calories. I celebrated with a package of sour gummy worms. 2. The new beau is meeting the family on Saturday. Very excited about this new development. 3. Looking forward to my workouts kicking substantially more ass now that I'm eating more. I also adjusted my accessory work so that I'm hitting the same muscle groups as my main lifts. For some reason when I originally put it together, I was pairing leg accessory work with bench and OHP days, and visa versa. That was...not successful. This seems to be flowing a lot better. On a side note - the Tucson heat is making me a grumpy old woman. Bah!

I just went through this with my dog last week. He was 14 years old, and his body just started shutting down. When my vet arrived at my house, his blood pressure was so low, she said he probably would have only lasted through the end of the day on his own. But you're right - that call is the hardest one I've ever had to make. But like I said in another thread: as pet owners it is our responsability to make those hard decisions that our fuzzy loved ones cannot make on their own. It still sucks royally, though. So sorry for your loss.

This is something I've been doing for years, and it's been HUGE for productivity. Rather than coming home from work and just flopping down somewhere, I put on some music or an audiobook, and just get to it. If I do feel like taking a break for a bit, I'll sit at the kitchen counter with my phone or tablet and do some browsing or email stuff - but the key is to sit somewhere that isn's so comfy it will suck you in. I typically end up puttering around like that until pretty late, so by the time I'm done, I move straight into my pre-bed ritual. Not only do I stay on top of all my house stuff, I sleep great almost every night. Win/Win!

Got sidetracked last week by the sad necessity of putting down my sweet, 14-year-old dog. Spent about 4 days not really eating or moving. Sad times... If anyone has gone through that experience, you know how terrible it is. But, as pet owners, it's our responsability to give a voice to our animals, and make the hard decisions. RIP big guy. But, back to the challenge this week. 1. Last week of the cut, and I'm noticing quite dramatic results on the tape measure. Which is kind of a relief, since I'm loathe to go below 1600 calories a day. (But I do realize that if I continue to get leaner, it will become an inevitability.) 2. Ain't love grand? Yes. Yes it is. 3. I only have this to say for 5/3/1 accessory work: I'm a total chump when it comes to volume. You'd think 20 reps with half my working weight would be a breeze, but lordy am I sore! I'm beginning to realize how attached I was to 5 reps max after being on SL for so long. This is really throwing my body for a loop.