Elastigirl

On 4/22/2024 at 8:52 AM, Sovalis said:

I threw out some bread yesterday and froze the rest of it in the garage freezer so it’s out of sight, out of mind and bought some veggies to get on with. I am really proud of getting rid of the bread and then freezing the rest because Past Me (like just-starting-the-forums Me) would have insisted on eating it until it was gone and *then* starting whatever plan I had. It’s nice that I am not in that place anymore and can rearrange my environment to better suit my goals, especially when Dave is gone

Sounds like your body was just telling you to slow down a bit.  Glad you had fun at the theater outing! I can be like that too, with a quick reaction to say no to unplanned stuff. But sometimes unplanned stuff is the best!

Week 4 wrap up!

Goal  1 : "Turn Around":

Continuing habit of Bible before screen

Goal 2: "Bright eyes"

Levelling up on habit of getting out workout clothes, now  that winter's past and" I'm no longer living in the dark", goal is to actually get dressed before breakfast .First half of challenge I'm aiming for 2/5 days. then I will go for 3/5

I haven't really tracked how many days, but I have been consistent.

Goal 3: "Every  now and then I get a little restless and dream of something wild:"

Give myself time to dream. Chatting with @Harriet about how too much screen time sucks out  our creativity. I want more time to dream and be creative. No screens (unless I'm using them for creativity in something tangible like scrapbooking) from 1-4 in the afternoon

Well, this has been a bust. I think I jumped too far out of my comfort zone, and burnt out on this goal. We shall call this a learning lesson. 😉 I did set the timer on my Instagram use, so it notifies me when I've surpassed the limit.I set it super high last week, just to get a slow start. I set it for a bit less this week. I think this is the method I will try next challenge.

Goal 4 : "Together we can make it to the end of the line"

I'm continuing my reverse diet. Right now I'm at a good point with my calories , so I just plan on maintaining that. After we return from our trip, the following Monday I will start my cut. Plan is to continue tracking calories and keep at it for 6 weeks

Kept to my deficit goal- EVEN OVER THE WEEKEND- sadly, the scale did not reward me, but I made good habits. This week my deficit goal is 400 calories  a day

Also went to friend's house and worked on scrapbooking. I'm almost done, so hoping to use that as momentum to finish my book

6 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

100% And even if they understand metabolism on a theoretical/population level it's an entirely different story to adapt it to each individual. But you're good at the experimentation part.  

 

I hope I didn't sound like I was questioning you, was just speculating!

Not at all.  It gave my nerd brain something interesting to ponder, so thanks!

I had no idea what you were talking about, "Turnip Boy commits Taxs Evasion" so I had to look it up! That looks hysterical. A  great destressing game.

@Mad Hatter

Been pondering the "goldilocks zone for weight loss"  a bit more

Reverse weight loss for me was  to add 100 calories a week, then stay at that level for one or two weeks. So, it was a VERY slow gain. And giving your body time to adjust. Whereas for weight loss , when I say slow I am talking 300 calories  deficit a week vs. 500. The plan is to up that to 400 calories a week- I have no idea how  that bump will affect metabolism.  I know that after you've been in a deficit for a bit your metabolism slows down.  That's one (beside the mental side) aspect of why I am only doing a cut for a time of about 6 weeks. Honestly, I think even the experts understand metabolism less than they think they do.

8 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

So I'm wondering if there's not a goldilocks zone for weight loss.

Interesting thought. That might be.

5 hours ago, Jarric said:

I like this, I might just take it on to apply to a few other areas of my life too.

I thought it was good life advice too!

4 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

atter already said what I was going to say -- there is nothing wrong with setting a goal that involves your appearance as long as you're doing it in a healthy way, and as far as I can tell you're doing that. I have used "lose inches so my pants fit better and feel better" as a goal multiple ti

Thanks.Being easy to assess the progress.  And  when I am just trying to fit into clothes you already have, it's not like I'm going for some unattainable goal.  I'm not trying to look a fitness Influencer on Instagram, I just want to look good in my clothes

8 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Do you know if there's a risk of down regulating your metabolism/NEAT etc if you go too slow?

 

I see no problem with this! As long as it's realistic and healthy there's nothing wrong with caring about your appearance. It's really not that much different than changing a haircut, or taking care of your skin. And the immediate, tangible reward is always going to be more motivating than the abstract uncertain reward that you can't control. In my opinion it's just smart to acknowledge the main motivator. 

Hmm, I would think it would be the opposite, but I don't know. @Harriet,  have  you heard about how  cutting slowly vs quickly affects your metabolism?

Thanks. I just need the reminder

This is copy and paste from my challenge

I am skimming through a diet book that I read before  "You Can't Screw This Up" by Adam Bornstein. I find it super helpful. It's very pragmatic. He has a whole list of  menu items that you can from restaurants that are good, filling, but not super high in calories.  One of the ideas he  spoke about was from James Clear (habit guru) When you are struggling with a goal a question to ask yourself is "How can I make this easy?" I  did that when , at the beginning of the week, I was worried I would fail at my diet goal. I realized that I was worried I would go over my calorie goal. So, I decided to cut my calorie goal by an amount that I thought I could do. The author, Bornstein, also talks about how it is good to step outside your comfort zone, but you don't have to leap. You can keep one foot in your comfort zone, and one foot out. When  we stretch too far in dieting, is when we tend to get burnt out. And you don't have to stay there. You can slowly up it. Applying this to my calorie goal, I can up the deficit slowly. Which makes sense. I feel like sometimes it takes a while to get in the groove.

And adding, because  after I read Harriet's post, I remembered this:
One thing he suggests is a shorter time frame for diet. And then staying at maintenance for a bit and letting your body adjust to it's new set point.  I thought this was interesting since a few of us were going to try that method

On 4/6/2024 at 10:52 AM, Harriet said:

I should update. I'm about 5-6 weeks into tracking my food on macrofactor every day. First couple of weeks I just ate about 2000, and I was just making sure I had some meal blueprints that would work. Next couple of weeks I cut only about 250 but was a bit hungry and felt the gap. Last couple of weeks I've cut another 250 and am only lightly, manageably hungry. The kind of hunger that makes food appreciated, not that makes a person insane. Food type/quality is playing a huge role in how hungry I am. And habit is starting to pull its weight and make things easier, but overall, it just hasn't been that difficult. I've lost about 2.5kg in 5-6 weeks (most in the last three weeks), which is half of what I wanted to lose during this 3 month cut. I have 7-8 weeks left until the end of May. Should easily get down to 65kg by then. If I assume water weight fluctuations of roughly 1.5kg, I could even go under target to 63.5kg to ensure I can then maintain at 65kg for three months after the water weight bounces back. 65 is heavier than I want to be, but resting there at maintenance for a few months is an important part of the plan. Ghrelin, leptin, cortisol and sex hormones will normalise, and my subjective feelings of fatigue and hunger will decline. I will have more energy for workouts, and be able to make faster progress on my lifts. I will eat some nourishing honey, more butter, and avocados, maybe a chocolate cake. Any psychological effects of dieting like anxiety, resistance, reluctance, worry, obsession, should dissipate and I will then be ready to make the next push to 60kg in autumn (don't want to diet in winter. winter is for cozy comfort foods). I'll see how I feel and look there, and then I'll know if 55kg is viable. Used to be 50kg, but with no muscle. Want to be as light as possible without losing muscle, hopefully this will optimise my energy and endurance. Imagine if I could just... take off a 15kg backpack and be less tired every day. I want that even more than I want to look willowy. 

Home made jelly is amazing. 30g beef gelatine, stirred into 1 cup cold water (that's 250ml) in a small saucepan. Heat slowly on stove for 5 minutes while stirring. Shake in some stevia (careful; it's powerful. Only a tiny amount is needed--less than a quarter teaspoon?). When it's hot, pour over 100g of blue- or mixed berries so they burst. Stir, then cool with another half cup of water. Fridge for a couple of hours. Eat as two small snacks. Very filling. Incomplete protein, but allegedly useful for skin, hair. 

Somehow missed your update. This is a great plan, and  I am glad it is working for you.

Today was a good day. In the morning, I joined a couple of friends for chatting and scrapbooking. Then we went and met some other ladies for lunch. We ate at Cheesecake Factory . For the win, I had preselected something from the skinnylicious menu (tacos!) so I stayed within my calorie budget.  Not tempted to have cheesecake, since my stomach and that much dairy do not get along. I came home and had some chicken. The nutrition guide said they were enough chicken for 30 grams of protein, but to me, the tacos seemed pretty light on actual chicken.  Then I went for a walk in the sunshine. After dinner, hubby and I went for another walk, I have over 10,000 steps.

I am skimming through a diet book that I read before  "You Can't Screw This Up" by Adam Bornstein. I find it super helpful. It's very pragmatic. He has a whole list of  menu items that you can from restaurants that are good, filling, but not super high in calories.  One of the ideas he  spoke about was from James Clear (habit guru) When you are struggling with a goal a question to ask yourself is "How can I make this easy?" I  did that when , at the beginning of the week, I was worried I would fail at my diet goal. I realized that I was worried I would go over my calorie goal. So, I decided to cut my calorie goal by an amount that I thought I could do. The author, Bornstein, also talks about how it is good to step outside your comfort zone, but you don't have to leap. You can keep one foot in your comfort zone, and one foot out. When  we stretch too far in dieting, is when we tend to get burnt out. And you don't have to stay there. You can slowly up it. Applying this to my calorie goal, I can up the deficit slowly. Which makes sense. I feel like sometimes it takes a while to get in the groove.

My motivation right now is to look good in my shorts. I tried on several pairs of shorts, and they were too small. I want to look good in them by summer. I've talked before at how I sorta feel guilty for having an appearance goal. I know weighing less is healthier, but that seems so abstract. Fitting in my shorts for summer feel like a nice goal. Not too hard, but a bit of a push.

On 4/16/2024 at 4:52 PM, athousandwords said:

 

Sounds like a smart plan, listening to your body! Hope you're able to get out and enjoy the nice weather this week. 😊

Thanks, Yes, I've had some wonderful walks

9 hours ago, Darciana said:

cauliflower rice (ick, I keep trying but I cannot seem to force myself to like it). I

Agreed, the only thing it has in common with rice is they're both white. I'd rather just skip the rice if I need to. 

Hey , how are you doing? Been a while since we heard from you.

I love my Well Fed cookbooks!  I do better with some carbs too, so when Paleo calls for cauliflower rice, I'll just use rice.  Since I can't do gluten or dairy, I find Paleo  recipes (with a few minor tweaks) a good fit for me.

Yay for your blood not being purple!😉 And otherwise looking like some of your health markers are improving

It was a good day. 

Bible before screens yes

dressed before workout yes

No screen between 1 and 5

Did my workout. Did a walking video and a walk after dinner. Within my range for calories

13 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Glad you had a good time and good weather! Neat photos too. 🙂

Thanks!

On 4/10/2024 at 3:15 AM, Mad Hatter said:

Does anyone know if allergies can cause like a next day hangover feel? I feel like garbage today and the only thing that happened yesterday was that I spent a lot of time outside. Otherwise I slept well (I think), didn't overexert myself at the gym etc... It's happened a few times recently. But the only otherwise allergy-like symptoms I get is sneezing a few times and mildly itchy eyes. Had I been freediving I'd say my sinuses are a bit stuffy too, but it's really nothing.

Definitely.  I hope you feel better now.

Despite the busyness, I still see a lot of  green checks and good numbers recorded.  Good job doing what you can

Sounds like a very exciting vacation( fishing with gators!) We went down to Texas , but our purpose was to see the  eclipse.

Good job on improving and moving.

This week I didn't realy work on challenge goals. We arrived home Wednesday late evening. Thursday and Friday was just getting in the groove. I did get back to tracking calories Thursday.Friday I did a light workout. Then hubby and I went on an evening walk at the park. 

Sunday was the start of my cut. I had planned on having a range  of between 600 calorie deficit and 400 calorie. But,I was getting stressed about it, and feeling like I was going to fail. Which is a bad start. Changed my range for between 300 and 500 calories. I'm really just aiming for the 300 calorie deficit for at least the beginning of the week. That will give me some easier successes. It also gives me more wiggle room if my metabolism slows. It's supposed to be nice weather, so it should be easy to get some walks in.

6 hours ago, Everstorm said:

I'm glad you had a good time and the weather was cooperative.  Great photos!

Thanks. My husband took the photos.