As of Friday last week, I hadn't lost any weight but I hadn't gained either. I feel like I have the routine back on track and it was successful before so I am confident I will see losses again soon. For the moment, I am stepping away from the scale on just focusing on good choices.

I did go out for brunch yesterday -- we had salads but definitely higher calories than my usual. I also had cocktails-- wasn't enjoying the espresso martini so switched to a bloody mary. Definitely exceeded my 1000 calorie target but to be honest, I don't sweat single days. Today I will return to a focus on lower calories. For me, that is the key-- allow myself a higher calorie day here and there but ensure they don't turn into 3 days or 6 days or a month!

I have a cold -- was fighting it for days but it has now firmly taken hold. I will make a quick pot of soup later today and load it up with some aromatic spices. I need to put in a grocery order for some OTC meds and more tissues-- so will add some fresh fruit for a blast of vit c. I think my activity will be limited today.. but hoping to blast this bug out quickly!

@JustDoIt wow!! Congrats to you! We all know what hard work and consistency that takes. Enjoy your success😀😀

That is amazing, @JustDoIt! Congratulations for the achievement and payoff for all your hard work! You're inspiring me .. and reminding me to be patient!

@JustDoIt, that is incredible! WTG! 👏 Huge celebration 🎉

Funky, sorry you feeling lousy. So many people wirth colds, flu around here.

I weighed myself this morning and I am down 1 lb. since Thursday’s doctor appointment. Small victory I will take it. Doing well. Based on the doctor’s recommendations, i’ve ordered Benefiber, protein powder, and protein bars. So, we’ll see how these go.

@gsciencechick I take benefiber in my coffee most mornings. I don't taste it all and it seems to help. I don't really notice that it helps until I stop taking it.

@gsciencechick Gald you are seeing some benefits already. That certainly makes it easier to keep going.

I am having some difficulty trying to get in all this protein. I need to remember to concentrate on veggies and then add the protein. Instead of building the meal around protein first. It reminds me of when I was on weight watchers though. I can see now the protein first emphasis that helped me lose weight with that. When chicken and turkey was zero points and I used the kodiak high protein mix and dehydrated PB. I'm trying very hard though to stay with "real" foods as much as possible. Whatever that means now. We'll see if that can go together with all the plant products and enough protein. It's a tall order without room for a lot of fun foods:)

I have to say, my veggie list is pretty routine really. I'm going to investigate some vegetarian recipes I can add chicken or turkey to. I feel like I eat a lot of different veggies, but there have to more I would like.

I asked some of my colleagues about protein powder recommendations, so these are the brands they suggested. These are all Registered Dietitions or Exercise Physiologists. I would like to try a variety of these.

BiPro (already ordered from A)

California Performance Company V-Whey (animal free)—definitely intereted in this

Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard

MyProtein

Dymatize

Thorne

True Athlete from Vitamin Shoppe

Canadian Protein

Protein bars: RxBar (ordered from A)

The Benefiber just arrived with the grocery order this afternoon, so I will take your suggestion, Funky, and put it in my coffee.

Today: (done with meals)

CHO: 83 g (60-80 g target)

Protein: 76 g (80 -100 g target)

Fiber: 15 g (25+ target)

New things! Doing okay and I am less hungry. I will increase the fiber gradually. I used it twice today.

Today:
CHO 89 g (60-80 target)
Protein 76 g (80-100 target)
Fiber 20 g (25+ target)

Has anyone used chia seeds for extra protein and fiber? I bought a bag but haven't used them in anything yet. I'm thinking yogurt, cottage cheese, oatmeal? I made stew tonight so I didn't add them but I added some Benefiber.

Has counting macros been discussed here? I watched a youtube video in which the creator feels she's finally, at age 62 and following many failed attempts, found the answer to her menopausal weight gain. She's lost 15 lbs and is ecstatic. Seems complicated to me but if I wanted to lose weigh, might give it a try. She linked this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc4rj3OiVV8&list=FLjJE4Aj8YGun0wJ3S7W-RsA&index=5&t=392s

@gsciencechick I use chia seeds in my morning smoothie, my DH adds it to his oatmeal. I put some combination of flaxseed, chia seeds, basil seeds or hemp hearts with frozen berries, lime juice and extra ice to make a morning smoothie most mornings. Get most of my fiber in that way.

There are a lot of yummy looking chia pudding recipes out there.

I am not much of a smoothie person but I am willing to give it a try. Added some chia seeds.

What say you, I was given the gram ranges from the weight management clinic.

Congratulations @JustDoIt!! 50lbs is an incredible success! I am so impressed with your hard work and dedication.

Chia seed pudding is good. I like it with blueberries. I had this at a natural-foods-style breakfast place a couple of years ago and I still recreate it at home sometimes: whole grain toast smeared with almond butter, topped with sliced banana, with chia seeds sprinkled on top. Yummy and very filling.

Trader Joe’s has an oatmeal blend that includes other grains including chia seeds. Sometimes I have that for breakfast and always add some extra chia seeds.

I joined an online ”curb your cravings” workshop the other day and one of the keys was to get enough fiber every day (25 g). (as well as protein, but I am pretty good about the protein, but often forget about fiber.) Today I tracked my fiber and as of 1/2 hour ago I was only at 10 g, but am now having a snack of almonds and sunflower seeds…

JustDoIt: congrats!! I hope you feel fantastic!

The smoothie kept me full all the way to lunch, so I was pretty impressed. Sueb20, that breakfast sounds really good. I've never tried almond butter, though, I'm sure it's tasty. :) The past couple days I'm around 15-20 g fiber but doing great with protein and carbs. It looks like I can hit higher when I have some sort of bean.

We switched from peanut butter to almond butter last year, I think it’s healthier though I am not an expert. It’s certainly more expensive!

I'm having a hard time getting in the protein and the fiber, other than the seed smoothie. I pretty much gave up grains when I started wearing a glucose monitor, but I think I need a way to add them back in, and add beans more often.

Lots of experimentation over here trying to find protein foods, fiber foods that don't spike me, still getting in all the plant products without too many nuts. It's a tall order.

I have also been awful with exercise now that the weather has turned. I'm not interested in walking in this weather and pickleball has been cut way back. I need to find a workable solution to that. I was burning a lot of calories with all of that exercise that has completely dropped off now.

I do like this carbon diet coach app and the Facebook group that goes along with it. It's a pretty interesting way to look at things - keep your calories in line and meet your protein goal and it will all come together. They have a range of protein so I switched mine down to the lowest which is still 109 a day for me. I'm getting there. It's good to track again and just see what I'm eating. You can modify your daily calories to meet your weekly goal, but you have to meet your protein every day.

I’ve lost 3 lbs this week so I am pretty happy about that. That is the most I’ve lost in a first week ever.

Of course Thanksgiving next week but I will be ok. Still need to figure out fiber and resistance training schedule. I do want to try the Pilates studio too.

Wow, that is great, @gsciencechick .. wtg! The changes you are making must be the trick!

Congratulations, JustDoIt and Gsciencechick!

I like chia seed pudding, too. I use dried figs or dates, along with walnuts, puree them together with cinnamon, vanilla, and whatever milk I have in the fridge. Add enough chia seeds to make a soup, let sit until chia seeds soak up the liquid, and the mixture has a pudding texture.

I'm happy to report I've found my motivation again for the strength training. I'm not sure why--but I'm going with it. I think it's a reminder to remember overall progress, and head in that direction.

Of coursem, next week is Thanksgiving...

@gsciencechick - That is great! I'm glad you're having success!

I lost 2 pounds this week on my new protein plan. I was pretty pleased with that since I had been in a pretty strong plateau for a couple months. Counting all these macros and getting it to fit together is kind of like a puzzle - keeps it interesting.

When I started the app it asked my weight loss goal and recommended 1.1 pounds per week, which I stuck with. Since I lost two, it gave me more calories this week. Kind of scary, but I'm trying to follow along and see where I get. The more I can eat, the easier it will be to stick with the program for sure. This seems really doable calorie wise once I get my protein and fiber where I want it. Generally lose more the first week, so I hope I can keep losing something.

I did do two attempts at resistance training workouts in my basement. Just aiming for 1/2 hour for now to get me down there and started. And forcing myself out in the cold with DH to walk the dog so I can get some steps in.

Congratulations @gsciencechick!

I'm mostly holding steady around or a few pounds above my goal weight and mostly completing my exercise. I did miss out on exercise yesterday, but otherwise have been on track. This week has been difficult emotionally. A one year old child in our family passed away suddenly over the weekend and my heart is hurting over it. The father was close with my husband and I during our teen and college years though we've drifted apart somewhat in recent time. We are so worried for the parents and feel helpless to comfort them. Meanwhile work is unrelentingly stressful and busy. I will keep trying to stay focused on maintenance and see what happens. I still have no idea what I will do for Thanksgiving (stay in my home town with my gluten free family without my husband or drive a long distance alone to be with my husband and his family who will not be able to feed me).

@pricklypearcactus That's heartbreaking. I am so sorry.

I hope you figure something out for Thanksgiving.

Oh @pricklypearcactus so sad and heartbreaking. My thoughts are with you and the child's family.

You sure have had the test of "LIFE" these last few months... so many stressors and challenges. The silver lining is that you are succeeding despite them-- carrying forward in the not so great times is critical to succeeding in a LIFEstyle change. I think we can all do pretty well when everything is happy and easy going.. knowing you can weather dental work, major work upheavals, family emergencies, emotions makes you so much stronger. Keep with it ... you are doing great!

and .. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving no matter which option you choose. Enjoy the company and the day!

Thank you so much @Funkyart and @legomom23! It is truly heartbreaking to think of a child passing so young and the grief, especially for the parents. While I definitely feel sadness, nothing I'm feeling can compare to what they feel right now, or probably will feel for the rest of their lives.

I appreciate the help Funky, to keep perspective on my overall success with health / weight loss / strength rather than focusing on individual moments where I may not be doing as perfectly as I would like. This has certainly been a challenging year and I am much happier with my physical being than I was one year ago. I feel stronger and my digestive system and teeth are much better. As I am frantically trying to make sure I have an appropriate outfit for a possible funeral, I am grateful that I'm able to buy clothes online sight unseen and have some luck with them fitting. One year ago today I would have felt so much anxiety about the thought of going somewhere to see so many people and that emotional weight of the extra weight I was carrying on my body. I don't know if anyone else has experienced that, but for me when my weight is higher, I start to feel anxious about social events and how I might be perceived. I am finally back to a weight where I feel like myself again.

Priciklypearcactus, I am so sorry to hear this. I will keep your family in my thoughts. I can totally relate to the social anxiety and weight and how I look with events and the difficulties with shopping and not knowing if something will fit or not. That is a huge motivating factor for me. My conference presentation is accepted for next year and the conference is around my big birthday, so that is also part of my goal to be healthier.

Good news: The Pilates studio is doing a Small Business Saturday special for a free intial assessment and orientation which is normally $30, so i have grabbed a spot. I’m pretty excited about that.

@pricklypearcactus - I completely agree with your last couple sentences. I feel exactly the same way. I tried a new "athletic" experience a few weeks ago, and I was awful at it, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have tried it 25 pounds ago.

That's not a great attitude - I get that. I was better about pictures the last few years. I finally just said - how I look isn't a surprise to anyone. They see me every day from all sorts of awful angles. And I want to remember this event/day/memory etc.

@gsciencechick congratulations for being accepted for a conference presentation! Wow. What an honor and acknowledgement of your work! I bet you will look fabulous presenting. Also, thank you for your sympathy and kind thoughts. Joining a pilates studio sounds like a fun new adventure and wonderful for health. I've only ever tried simple pilates classes without any equipment, but I did enjoy them.

@legomom23 I completely understand wanting to feel more physically capable in order to try new athletic experiences. Some days I think about actually getting some training with rock climbing. (I did a little bouldering as a daring college student.) Or maybe some boxing / kickboxing class. Exercise is so much harder when you're carrying extra weight. I've noticed such a difference in my physical comfort while running as I've lost some of the weight. Same thing with flexibility. It's just easier and I have so much more confidence. I think we should all keep trying new athletic endeavors and keep making it part of our lives!

Prickly pear cactus so sorry! The loss of a young child is just the most unfair thing ever to me.

Just a few thoughts.

I always tell myself that the best thing I can do is keep being there and listening no matter how uncomfortable everybody is. It takes a long time to start to be able to communicate when something like this has happened. Still the people need to know you're there and supportive as I'm sure you know. I'm blinking back tears just reading what happened and I cannot imagine how long it takes to even feel like a person can move on after that. They need all of our love and understanding and time... plenty of time and space to feel what they feel.

I really really admire you for being able to continue in times of stress. In case I haven't said so before I tend to completely collapse. I'm working on it but I'm not the best at it. I've been struggling a bit with depression which is regular for this time of year for me. I keep trying to remind myself take another step to another little thing, it will add up. Not enough but it will add up.

Those mysterious two pounds have stayed off. Unfortunately more have not joined them.

Thank you @yeonassky. I appreciate the advice because it's a situation where I am going largely on instinct. I'm planning to continue reaching out to them with regularity over the next while, even just to make sure they know we love them and are thinking of them. For me personally, when I am stressed or even more when I'm sad, I tend to bury myself in exercise. Sometimes keeping my body moving helps me center myself. Unfortunatley eating during stress can go either way for me. Sometimes I lose appetite or other times I start craving food and drink to soothe myself, which is really not healthy. I also find that when I'm feeling some depression (not to the extent many suffer, but mild), I find that getting outside really helps, whether it's a little walk or a run or a hike. Just some sunshine (even with clouds) and some fresh air helps me a lot.

I'm really sorry, Pricklypearcactus. That's a really deep pain for the parents, and your family. That kind of loss reminds me to take care of myself on a daily basis so that I have it in me to be there for others in that situation. My thoughts are with you.

I haven't posted much about my progress because I haven't been doing or eating much. I am finally getting a bit better but still don't have much of an appetite. I made a pot of mushroom barley soup the other day-- and added beef to it to increase my protein based on all the discussions here re: protein. Ive been eating it for lunch and dinner for a few days. Am I tired of it? YES lol but I don't feel like cooking anything else.

My soup was loaded with vegetables and barley (a pretty good source of fiber .. much better than oats) so I feel ok with my food balance. What it lacked in variety it made up for in nutrients.

Hope you all are feeling well and making good progress!

Tonight’s Virtuous Dinner: carrots, brussels sprouts, and broccoi, roasted with olive oil, some ”everything but the bagel” seasoning, and pepper, tossed in a bowl with farro. It was very good! Even though DH isn’t always a fan of meatless meals, I am determined to have them at least once a week.

I don't usually look at these progress reports, but just now I did. And I have to say I'm so impressed with your progress and determination and encouragement of each other. Keep up the good work. Even if you don't see pounds dropping, you must feel so much better and know that you're healthier. My bad: "snacking" while on the computer----Mindlessly!

Thanks, jab65! That means a lot.

SueB20, we also had meatless last night with Indian food. I added the unflavored protein powder to it and that was good.

Today’s breakfast scrambled eggs with spinach. Great way to add vegetables to breakfast. Avocado slices on the side. Added wheat toast for fiber. DH really liked it.

Here it is https://healthyrecipesblogs.com/spinach-scramble/

The IG account is Yumhealth and recipes are low carb and/or gluten free.