The New Bhuz Weigh In - August Edition

[danidance]

Sunshine,

At the end of the day - it's about where a person feels comfortable. If you're uncomfortable, you'll work at it; if essentially satisfied, you won't. That's me anyway. I got frighteningly close to the 180 number after the holidays last year - I can't believe I'm admitting that.

I'm sure right now people would say "you look great" but I'm not comfortable. If I was, then I'd just work on maintenance.

I am 5'6" as well but my frame, which I always used to say was "large boned" - er...particularly when I was heavy - is not large boned at all. In fact, I'm probably on the side of a small frame without all this extra weight.

Hey speaking of frame size - what are the rules for frame size? if I go by wrist measurement, my frame seems big. But, if you measure my shoulders & ribcage - I don't think so. Confusing.

[sumayasaahir]

OK, I got on the scale and after the 5 day intensive Im down a pound. Ill take it. Im at 145. My goal is to eat really clean for the next two days and see what happens. Maybe even loose 1 lb as a result of the two days of squeaky clean diet.

I subscribed to Oxygen magazine. I'm hoping to get some good advice from them. There is a new Eat Clean book out by Tosca something or antoher. Ive reserved a copy from the library.

My workout partner had three corner pieces of pizza for dinner last night with her low fat veggie loaded salad when they went out to dinner. She gained three lbs according to the scale. I think salt is really really bloating. I mean, three whole freaken lbs? If that had been me Id have done something rash out of sheer frustration.

Anyone know what I can do with an eggplant for dinner tonight? I bought one but don't know how to cook healthy with it.

[danidance]

Grilled eggplant is great and healthy. just a little spray of Pam Olive Oil flavor and you should be good to go.

[mish_mish]

Originally Posted by ssipes

O.K. I have not really been participating in the bhuz weigh thread because I have been so depressed. Last August I was 146 pounds and dropping; I almost slipped out of my costume on stage at Lauren's show (eep!), and was sliding around inside my size 10 jeans. I had 135 in sight and was very optimistic!

This august I'm back up to 156 pounds, can't get into one of my costumes, my size 10 jeans have a major muffin top, I'm not going to the gym, feeling crappy, and I just ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast. I have fallen off the carb wagon HARD and I can't get up.

Help!

Sedonia

I feel you sister friend.

[CharlotteDesorgher]

Originally Posted by acmcgraw

Sunshine- I'll help you out! In Feb. of this year I weighed 207 and was a size 18 if I'm really honest. I am now a 12(ish) at 175 lbs. I'm 5'8"-5'9" depending on the day. I'm not concerned about the weight, just the inches. My belly/upper hip has gone from 39" down to 33". I'm aiming for losing 2 maybe 3 more inches there, and wherever else shrinks along with is fine with me.

My path to shrinkage:
Portion Control. I was *way, way* off on what I thought were reasonable. Switch to whole grain breads, pasta whenever I can.
Walk the puppy daily. I'm up to about 1 hr every day with her, we live in a *very* hilly neighborhood, so it's a good interval training walk. I have also just added ankle weights (on my arms) to get a better workout.

Aaaahh thank you AC - now I feel better. I really thought I was in some kind of league of my own weight-wise

Portion control - I know you're right. When I see amounts written down in diet books I just think they must be mad! 4oz of chicken and some veg - I'd die

But I can't help thinking that that is the key to long term weight loss. If you cut out all the things you love then at some point you're bound to want to break free and rebel big time. Whereas if you have small portions of things then you can still eat out - you just don't eat the whole plateful.

Sigh. I've just got to DO it rather than talking about it

[CharlotteDesorgher]

Originally Posted by danidance

Sunshine,

At the end of the day - it's about where a person feels comfortable. If you're uncomfortable, you'll work at it; if essentially satisfied, you won't.

Yes, you're right Dani. And that enormously long post was just desperate self-justification for being so heavy

But whatever other people say, I KNOW I need to lose weight - to feel good about myself and, to be honest, to be the best I can be as a dancer.

Dani - where did you find that cool tracker thing? I'd love to do that.

[danidance]

Sunshine,

The ticker can be found and made here:
http://www.tickerfactory.com/ezticke...r_designer.php

RE: portion control.

I've found that by eating smaller portions every 3 hours, I do great. Trying to limit myself to teeny meals 3 times a day doesn't work. My schedule now is that I eat brekkie around 7:30. Then I have a snack around 9:30/10 (usually fruit, yogurt & coffee with milk in it); then I eat lunch - either a salad with veggies and 4 oz of protein or a lean cuisine and salad with diet dressing or such at 12:00ish; then snack again at 2:30 and dinner closer to 5:30.

I do not eat at night. I don't really want to, but sometimes I get a craving and I eat salad with diet dressing; yogurt with fat free whipped topping or some fresh fruit around 7:00ish.

The portion control and routine have really helped me and I think are key to my continued weight loss.

Re: Justification
Oh, yes, we've all been there haven't we? I have used every excuse in the book and believed most of them. You know, I'm thinking that my biggest true motivation has been the pain in my injured knee - which completely gets impossible when I am too overweight. I can't tell you how much better my body feels overall, structurally, with less pounds!

[acmcgraw]

Originally Posted by sunshine

Portion control - I know you're right. When I see amounts written down in diet books I just think they must be mad! 4oz of chicken and some veg - I'd die

But I can't help thinking that that is the key to long term weight loss. If you cut out all the things you love then at some point you're bound to want to break free and rebel big time. Whereas if you have small portions of things then you can still eat out - you just don't eat the whole plateful.

Sigh. I've just got to DO it rather than talking about it

*HUGS*
You can do it! Start small, sneaking up on the portion changes.

I started by swapping out extra portions of pasta and starches for veggies. That way my plate was as full, but the stuff on it was better. After a few days I found I was putting less on the plate overall b/c the veggies were more filling.

I also bought a bag of hershey's kisses and allowed myself 3 per day, to be eaten as needed. I also made chocolate time sacred, doing nothing else but enjoying the candy. It helped stave off the craving for more. (course, PMS week all bets are off ) Just knowing that I *could* have chocolate every day made it less of a gotta-have-it for me.

Dani and the other Bhuzzers have been a huge inspiration for me

[Michelle75]

What in the world happened? I'm back to 172 this morning. :Acry:

[Lauren_]

Bhuzzers help me! I'm sooo frustrated with this plateau. My diet & exercise are right on target with one exception: eating at night.

I genuinely need something when I get back from 2-3 hours of teaching, and I allow myself a bowl of soup or turkey sandwich. I've proven I can do that and still lose weight, too.

But then I can't stop. I'm back in the kitchen again and again for a bit of this and a bit of that. It's mostly healthy choices, veggies and hummus or a handful of pretzels, but I can't stop going back for more!

Always my mind playing the same tricks 'I need this tonight, tomorrow I'll go back on track' I recognize these thoughts, they're the same ones I had when I was quitting smoking!

Where's my willpower? How do you say 'no' to yourself?

[danidance]

Eating at night tips:

Sugar free jello - all you want with fruit & a dollop of fat free whipped topping. they are 10 calories each - you can go back for more.

Sugar free Hot Cocoa - have a couple of cups full if you must - also don't make it with water - use skim milk. it's way more satisfying.

Do Not Buy Trigger Foods - I know that's hard for you in your household with family. But see if you can try to find a compromise.

My best best best strategy? GO TO BED AT 9 or even 8:30. Seriously. Take a bath and tuck yourself in. Read. don't watch tv - that will prolly make you want to snack. Try to just go to sleep. Make a pact with yourself to do that for just a week, see how it goes.

PS - Lauren, I know you know - Hummus is pretty high in calories eaten the way I eat it anyway - 3 nice dollops at about 300 calories.....mindless dipping will be even more.

[Lauren_]

Originally Posted by Michelle75

What in the world happened? I'm back to 172 this morning. :Acry:

I'll venture a guess that you ate something salty/overprocessed and you're retaining water. Drink plenty of water & be patient for a day or two, it'll go away.

[CharlotteDesorgher]

Woohoo, here's my ticker (fingers crossed)

http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/wgKHyBG/

Ooo, it didn't work - how do I display it Dani??

[CharlotteDesorgher]

Originally Posted by Lauren_

Bhuzzers help me! I'm sooo frustrated with this plateau. My diet & exercise are right on target with one exception: eating at night.

I genuinely need something when I get back from 2-3 hours of teaching, and I allow myself a bowl of soup or turkey sandwich. I've proven I can do that and still lose weight, too.

But then I can't stop. I'm back in the kitchen again and again for a bit of this and a bit of that. It's mostly healthy choices, veggies and hummus or a handful of pretzels, but I can't stop going back for more!

Always my mind playing the same tricks 'I need this tonight, tomorrow I'll go back on track' I recognize these thoughts, they're the same ones I had when I was quitting smoking!

Where's my willpower? How do you say 'no' to yourself?

Actually you really MUST eat something if you've been teaching for 2-3 hours.

After two hours of exercise your muscles have used up their total store of glycogen (how glucose is stored in the muscles) If you speak to a sports nutritionist they will tell you that you MUST eat a combination of protein and starchy carbohydrate within 40 minutes of doing more than 2 hours of exercise.

Eating that quickly replenishes the muscle store of glycogen (which you need for your muscles to function properly) and the food goes into your muscles rather than being laid down as fat.

It's really unhealthy for your body to go without proper food after that much exercise but you must eat it quickly (don't wait until you get home)

[danidance]

New progress photos but they aren't great.

I promise to clean my mirror - funny how it looks okay until the flash hits it!!

This is my new summer dress - I love it, very fresh & feminine & comfy AND a size 8. yay! (I always find the 8s that should be 10s). But, I'm very happy with my profile - I don't stick out in front anymore where I shouldn't!

Please note - my arms are losing weight the slowest. They are the main part of me needing the gym.

[Lauren_]

Originally Posted by sunshine

It's really unhealthy for your body to go without proper food after that much exercise but you must eat it quickly (don't wait until you get home)

As I said, I do allow myself something like soup or a turkey sandwich. My problem is I don't have the willpower to stop after that.

And my home is 5 minutes from my studio, so not a problem.

[sumayasaahir]

Dani: you have no lumps on the side profile- thats awesome! I hate my side profile lump.

Good news! I lost another lb. Im down to 144. After eating clean again today, Im crossing my fingers that Ill be 143 tomorrow after eating about 1500 calories.

It's so freaken' hard not to eat what I want, but Im at a point where, after 6 weeks of continuous exercising without seeing results *on the scale* (or in my clothes), I'm willing to change my diet.

Yesterday I made pretty good choices overall (and not just eat 1500 bad or empty calories), except that the two scrambled eggs with red pepper, onion and tomato shot my daily cholesterol through the roof and beyond. I had no idea how much cholesterol eggs have. Next time, it'll be egg whites. Or maybe Ill have tuna instead.

Sugar free fat free instant chocolate Jello pudding with banana is divine, tho and what I plan on falling back on when the cravings hit.

[danidance]

sunshine,

they give you a selection of codes - I believe the first one is to be used for vBulletin which is what bhuz is. so copy that and then paste it into your post.

Originally Posted by sunshine

Woohoo, here's my ticker (fingers crossed)

http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/wgKHyBG/

Ooo, it didn't work - how do I display it Dani??