Friday Weekly Maintenance Weigh-In #2

[peanutte]

I'm up super early this morning, partly due to an unexpected hunting expedition undertaken by my cats--the details of which I will spare you, but let's just say there was a little surprise waiting for me in the middle of the kitchen floor. After dealing with that, I automatically took my meds with a big glass of water which I normally don't do until after I weigh. D'oh! So I'm 117.8, which is within range, though a little higher than I would like.

[Stargazey]

134.8 this week.

[debbiedo]

I have gained 4 pounds in one week. my hormones are a total mess. I am retaining so much fluid my fingers feel stiff. I added carbs back in so maybe that is why I am retaining. I am trying for lower carb day today but it won't be no carb. Eggs, cheese and mayo sure do have some and so does the splenda in my tea. I also am making a pork roast for dinner and the 1/4 c balsalmic vinegar it uses has some carbs but the recipe is still pretty low carb and low fat for that matter.

I am mouse phobic so your little mid night surprise would have freaked me out Peanutte. I drink so little with my pill in the morning but I do often do it before I weigh. I have to take it on an empty stomach so I take it as soon as I can.

[peanutte]

I have to take my levothyroxine on a totally empty stomach and then wait at least an hour before having coffee, so I'm usually in a hurry to do it first thing in the morning. I always take mine with a full glass--about 12 ounces. It's hard for me to get the pills to go down, and plus I'm just a big water drinker.

If you significantly increased your carbs last week, Deb, I am not surprised you're up a few pounds. Water retention is a regular thing for me depending upon how many or how few carbs I've been eating.

[Leo41]

Debbie- I'd write, "The scale shows a 4 lb increase" rather than "I gained 4 lbs" since you know this is water retention. I use 'gained' when I know it's pure fat. The increased carbs always result in water retention--at least temporarily. Don't think of it as a true 'gain.' The biggest loss I ever had (4 lbs in one day) almost sent me to the ER with dehydration--so 'loss' isn't always a good thing:-)

Peanutte- I can't wait for my coffee in the morning, so I have the habit of taking my Levoxyl when I get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night! I'm sure to get up at least once, and I have the pills and a bottle of water on my night table.

I weigh on Saturday mornings, but I'm not feeling well today and retaining water (which always happens when I'm the least bit unwell), so I'm not looking forward to tomorrow's scale number.

[CalRon]

Staying with zero carb. Bacon and eggs and butter for breakfast. Meat for lunch and dinner. No snacks. Never hungry. 176 again.

[peanutte]

I can't wait for my coffee in the morning, so I have the habit of taking my Levoxyl when I get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night!

I was off the caffeine for the longest time, but over the past month I've been letting myself become a full-blown addict again and I'm pissed at myself for this. Somehow, when I drink quite a lot of coffee (4+ cups), I seem to retain water. That seems counterintuitive because we all know caffeine is a diuretic. But it sure seems to be the case.

[Loretta V]

The scale showed a 3 pound increase bringing me back to 126. I am disappointed but NOT discouraged. I am still happy to have seen that 123 for 2 weeks in a row.



My Ds made his homemade chicken and dumplings last night and invited me over since it was my DGDs 7th birthday. The chicken and dumplings was her request for supper. It was really good and I rarely eat it. My guess it was the high sodium content of the chicken broth and well maybe those dumplings. Id did not eat anything else but that, no cake.

[debbiedo]

I do get discouraged.I know I shouldn't. I hate feeling bloated.

I need to eat better. It wasnt a perfect week.

[fischdeb1]

133 this morning, but had a chicken wrap on a wheat wrap for lunch. I usually eat yougurt and fruit. I shouldn't feel guilty, right?

[Leo41]

IMO, no one should feel "guilty" about anything he or she eats. Food choices are not a moral issue.

I was 157.5 this morning, down another pound. I'm in my 'goal' range because although 155 is my 'magic number,' I consider the decade of the 150s to be my maintenance range, since my weight can vary 5 lbs within one day thanks to water fluctuations.

Today's number was welcome because I eat low carb, and last weekend in New Orleans I had 3 days of much higher carbs. As most of you know, that brings on a big water gain. But my plan, JUDDD, tends to eliminate such water gains easily within a week (based on my prior experience).

That's why I consider it an ideal way to maintain. It's a form of calorie cycling, and in maintenance I'll have slightly higher 'down days.' If the scale shows any increase, I can just return to the lower DDs (i.e., back into weight loss mode).

[Loretta V]

IMO, no one should feel "guilty" about anything he or she eats. Food choices are not a moral issue.

Thanks for that reminder Leo. I agree with you whole heartedly. Wonder how we have come to view foods we like so much in that manner.

[peanutte]

Loretta, speaking from my own experience, I feel like sticking to a specific plan, while effective, seems to get people into a mindset of mentally categorizing foods as "good" and "bad, or "allowed" and "forbidden", or "healthy" and "junky". Some of that is reasonable; it's a fact that diabetics, people with allergies and food intolerances, and people with specific health concerns should not eat certain kinds of foods. And it's pretty easy to understand that when a person changes over to low-carb, he's looking at food choices through a very different lens than before. And when we're serious about losing weight, we do allow some foods and not others. That's all fine. Where people run into trouble is being rigid and judgmental about things, if you ask me. Saying "I don't eat wheat because I know that I overeat wheat products and that makes me gain weight" is different from assigning all kinds of value judgments and emotions to it.

Frankly it's easier to be super-strict than it is to be flexible. Being really strict simplifies your choices. Learning what degree of flexibility is appropriate for each of us, as individuals, is more of a challenge.

I am disappointed but NOT discouraged. I am still happy to have seen that 123 for 2 weeks in a row.

I hear you. I got a kick out of seeing that 115 a couple of weeks back, and I wouldn't mind seeing it again, but I'm not discouraged to be back in the 117-118 range.

[Leo41]

Peanutte- I agree with you about people categorizing food as "good" and "bad" and thus making food choices a type of moral dilemma.

Another related attitude is that people feel 'controlled' by their plan. So often on LCF, people will write about social occasions where they reject high-carb foods by saying, "I can't eat that." My own response has always been, "I don't eat bread" or "I don't eat sugar." It may seem to be only sematics, but I want to reinforce the fact that this is my personal choice, not something being imposed on me.

I think both attitudes--demonizing foods and feeling controlled by the power of the plan--lead to people abandoning their WOE. When a food is sufficiently evil and a person eats that brownie, the individual's response is often, "What the heck; I've fallen so I might as well finish off the pan." The 'sinner' is inclined to put off redemption to another day. That's why we so often read that people went off plan once--and didn't come back for 6 months!

Once they eat that brownie, they no longer feel 'controlled' by the plan, and everyone likes to be in control themselves. That's why, IMO, it's crucial to develop a mindset that "I choose not to eat. . . " rather than "I can't eat. . . ."

I think this is especially true in maintenance when people will not see our former fat selves and say, "Surely you can have dessert; you don't need to diet." If we've been demonizing food, it's easy to rationalize that the dessert was only evil for the fat me, and now it's just a delicious treat.

[peanutte]

Leo, I took this topic over to that thread about maintainers eating from the higher rungs. Would you mind cut-and-pasting your post over there? I think it's an interesting subject and I'll respond to your post in that thread.

[fireflyfaster]

Weighed in at 142 Friday morning, so it looks like part of that big drop I had around Christmas was actual weight loss ... not ALL dehydration from being sick. Unless dehydration can persist for three weeks.

Friday night went out for birthday dinner, and apparently crossed the threshold out of ketosis, because I feel like a walking water balloon.

[peanutte]

117.2--fine. 119 would be my red light at this point.

[msloanarts]

131.5 today...have been too too busy so no exercise at all. blah...sick too! Looking forward to getting back on track and having this class end. Good point about categorizing food as "good" or "bad" and making it more of a moral dilemma! I can really see that -
thanks and have a good day LC friends...stay cozy! It's 3 below zero here today!

[debbiedo]

120.2. Would like to be 118 but close and I have been eating a whole lot of comfort food this week with my Mother In Law dying and traveling.

[CalRon]

Down 1 pound to 175. Stayed zero carb except for a few drinks last Saturday.

[JONAH'S GRANNY]

Hanging around 110. Looks like I've got my work cut out for me. My goal is to be a solid 105 this year. I hit the magic mark only a couple of times last year but gained it back during the holidays including a trip to TX to visit my youngest grandbabies. I miss them so much. I'm sticking with 1200 calories. I can lose slowly but steadily at that amount. I've been tempted lately to go back to strict lowcarb for awhile but I just don't think I can give up my sweet potatoes, fruit, and Vitalicious Tops.

[Stargazey]

135.2 this week.

[fischdeb1]

133 this morning.

[Loretta V]

Starting to get discouraged staying around 126.

[Leo41]

No change from last week, and although I'm in my maintenance 'range,' I'd like to get lower in the range, and I'm hoping to do that by the end of the month. I've been 'tweaking' my plan a little to prepare for maintenance, but I won't actually adopt the maintenance level until I'm at least 155.

[JONAH'S GRANNY]

At least I'm back on track with my eating. Didn't weigh today; doctor Monday so I will get "weighed" then.

[peanutte]

118.8. Higher than I like to be, but eh. That'll color my food choices over the weekend, though.

I moved a bunch of boxes and furniture yesterday and my muscles are sore. It's practically unprecedented for me to be higher on a Friday compared to a Thursday, so maybe that's part of it; as I said--eh.

Out of curiosity, I took a look at the big picture, meaning the averages of my Friday weights for the past 7 months. Interesting. July: 121.5. August: 121.2. September: 120.7. October: 119.9. November: 119.4. December: 117.6. January: 117.4. So that is quite a reassuring trend. It's all within a 4-pound range with occasional lows and highs in between, which I think is pretty good for maintenance.

[debbiedo]

I was afraid to weigh. I need to face reality because I have eaten horribly this week. Between the baby shower and all the snow I have been very bad. I guess I will face the music tomorrow morning before I run.

[Leo41]

Sore muscles tend to retain water (for healing) Peanutte, so that my account for a little rise in scale weight.

I try not to weigh the morning after a workout day for that reason (i.e., I may understand the higher number, but it always depresses me .

[peanutte]

Yeah, Leo--I'm all about collecting the data without giving it emotional significance, but that doesn't mean I'm not human and never have an emotional response to weighing. I can choose to trust what I know, though. I may feel pleased or disappointed in a certain number, but unless I have any reason to truly believe I have gained a pound, I shrug it off and get on with my day.