I woke up to weight loss on the scales, which was a nice surprise. My weight has been up a pound or two and holding steady lately, but this morning I was back down to 136.6 pounds.
A few weeks ago I hit my lowest weight to date at 136.2 pounds, but then it bounced back up for a bit. That’s typical for my weight loss cycle, with an overall downward trend long term.
Even though it’s just a couple pounds, at this weight it makes a BIG difference in the way I feel. Especially because I’m so short-waisted. 😉 Just 2-3 pounds makes me feel much leaner, and makes my pants fall off of me. 😛
I can easily see why I woke up lighter this morning. I ate a lot less yesterday, and much lower calorie than usual. Here’s what I ate, and my MyFitnessPal food diary…
Saturday’s Low Carb Meals:
I had my “low carb cereal” for breakfast again, with the Chunky Musli. That stuff is my new addiction! It’s 1/2 cup pecan pieces, 1/4 cup Daisy Brand cottage cheese, 4 small diced strawberries and 25 grams of musli:
I only use Daisy Brand cottage cheese because it has so few ingredients. It’s “real food” and if you compare the label against any other cottage cheese on the shelf… you’ll see why it’s the only one I’ll buy!
I only ate half my “cereal” and wasn’t feeling well yesterday, so I took a long nap. I finished it when I got up later in the afternoon.
For dinner I ate the chicken caesar salad I got from Domino’s when I ordered the wings from them on Friday night. The salad was great and I ate it ALL. 🙂
Here’s My MyFitnessPal Diary for Saturday:
Macronutrients: Simple Explanation Of Low Carb Macros
How To Get A Net Carbs Column in MyFitnessPal
I normally eat more, which you know if you’ve been following my low carb food diaries here for awhile. I just didn’t feel great yesterday and ended up sleeping a lot. Maybe it’s all this non-stop rain and chilly weather. 🙂
Anyway, this is what I woke up to this morning:
I still freak out a bit when the scales drop, because it feels ODD to be this low. I’m still getting my mind to adjust to being so much smaller, lol. For awhile there I would sabotage my success every time because I was afraid of reaching my goal.
I know that sounds odd, but I did finally identify WHY – it was because I spent years losing weight, and all of my habits and my entire lifestyle revolved around that goal. Being an emotional eater, and “dieting”… defined me.
This past year I’ve worked hard at finding new ways to REdefine myself: as someone who is adventurous, loves to exercise, enjoys the outdoors, etc. It’s been a fun and interesting shift.
Weight loss isn’t just about losing weight, it’s about changing your whole life. Everything about who you are. Who are you if you’re not struggling with your weight or working toward this goal? Who are you at a lower weight?
Going from a size 16 to a size 6 changes you to the core, in so many ways. And it’s a process that requires a lot of habit changes, mindset changes, and a whole new way of thinking and living – from the way you deal with stress, to the way you view social events (as a focus on fun vs food).
My scales were down this morning, and I’m feeling down too. I’m not 100% sure why. I’m still processing that. In the meantime, I’m off to make some cheesy scrambled eggs and get on with my day. 🙂
How’s Your Weekend Going?
How are you doing with your low carb meals & tracking? Any questions or struggles? I would love to hear how things are going for you, and any questions you have!
Leave a comment & let’s talk. 🙂
Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler
Discount Code: LOWCARBTRAVELER
Pam Bernstein says
Just cannot get started….or when I do I am not consistent. I know I would feel so much better. Thanks for continued inspiration.
Lynn Terry says
Hi Pam,
My advice: identify your WHY. Meaning why you want to lose weight and get healthy, and also why you are hesitating or not fully committed. For me, getting behind the mindset of it all has been the biggest help…
patricia says
I started back low-carb about a week ago. Starting weight was 170. Today I was at 166.6. So the scale is moving in the right direction. I need to remember that I will probably always have to watch my carbs.
Lynn Terry says
That’s great, Patricia! π And yes, I’m low carb for life for sure. I gain weight entirely too fast otherwise, plus eating healthy keeps me out of chronic pain. I love having more energy, feeling better, being healthier, and being able to live a FUN active lifestyle now! All SO worth it. π
Kimberly says
Lynn, I can relate so much with the self sabotage. Thank you for your honesty and insight. All of the people in my circle “go out to eat” as “fun”…this kind of alienates me right now. I need to figure out a way to meet new people, make new friends, and reinvent the fat me into the healthier me. Any advise? I feel so lonely, and that is a huge trigger for me to slip back into my emotional eating ways.
Thanks again for your blog and the support group. It’s been life saving!
Lynn Terry says
I totally get that, Kimberly. Fortunately you can still eat low carb practically anywhere, so you can easily go out to eat. I eat out A LOT. π If you tell me some of your usual or favorite restaurants, I can give you some great suggestions – that don’t “look like” dieting and won’t raise any eyebrows even.;)
I went through a really lonesome spell this past year. Since I really wanted to get in better shape, I joined meetup.com and found some groups of people just like me – hiking groups, women who get out walking together, social groups for women my age (they go bowling, and all kinds of fun stuff!). It’s been a GREAT way to meet new people!
I shared about it here recently: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/14709/fitness-meetup-groups/ I highly recommend meetup.com. I’ve made some friends already and it’s really opened up my social life in fun ways – to do things that are more in line with who I am NOW and who I want to be moving forward…
Celeste M Lauer Yanke says
As much as I really liked this way of eating, my body is not. Unfortunately, after so many years of no fat, it is grabbing on to the fat I’ve added back in and not letting it go. In 2 weeks I’ve gained 10 lbs. I’m back to low carb and low fat because the extra weight is terrible. Thanks for all of your assistance in learning this way of eating. It really did make sense. But each of us is a science experiment and we have to see what works and what doesn’t. Because of all my allergies I’ve been severely restricted in diet since 2005 and this way had opened some options. Continue your great work. It is really great to see the numbers of people that you are helping every day.
Lynn Terry says
Thank you Celeste π
I’m curious how you were tracking during the two weeks you did LCHF? It’s very rare to hear it’s not working for someone, though I have hard a few people say that. I’m always curious about the macros and what kinds of foods were eaten in those cases.
When you eat low carb and low fat together, how is your energy level? Or where do you get your energy source from?
Celeste Lauer Yanke says
I have tracked in MFP using your macros and many of your recipes, but not with meat. I only eat chicken or salmon. I never have a lack of energy on low carb and low fat unless I’m sick which is rare, luckily. I think a lot is age, activity level and how fat adaptive our body types are. Mine loves fat, grabs on and doesn’t let go. The only successful programs I’ve had have restricted it. Darn!!!
Donna says
Interesting to hear why you were sabotaging yourself. I’ve been trying to figure out my reason for awhile now. Any tips to help?
Lynn Terry says
Hi Donna,
Change is hard. It’s human nature to resist change, which is odd given the only consistent thing in life is… change. π Irony at it’s best!
I became so defined by my struggle.
I didn’t realize that, and was so frustrated with the “weight loss roller coaster” for SO long. And with myself. I discovered in the end that losing weight is the easy part. Changing who I am, how I am, what I do and think, how I deal with stress and situations, etc, etc – that’s the hard stuff.
When I stopped dieting and started making positive personal changes, things really turned around. I had to get really mindful about how I think – and why. I started with a free writing exercise and just journaled out how I feel and why I feel that way.
Certain things stood out to me, so next I made a list titled “The Lies I Tell Myself.” This was VERY revealing. For example… I deserve a break. Or I deserve a treat. That was self sabotage (truth: self punishment) in disguise. I do NOT deserve to feel disappointed, disgusted, bloated, sick, and annoyed with myself.
So I wrote out every “common/habit saying” and then wrote the TRUTH under it. I had to retrain myself to think the new thought every time the old one popped in my head.
One of the craziest thoughts is when you’re looking down at the scale, which hasn’t moved in a few days, or moved in the wrong direction by a tenth of a pound (lol) so you say, “Screw it, it’s not working so I’ll just eat what I want today.” KNOWING that will definitely make the scales move, in the wrong direction. lol. So now I say “Today I’ll eat for my health, not for the numbers.”
It took me digging deep, identifying my triggers – and finding new ways to deal with those – and retraining my normal responses that had become habit. For example, when I got stressed instead of eating two pints of ice cream (no kidding)… now I throw on my walking shoes and pound it out on the pavement.
The result? I feel AMAZING afterward. NOT the way I felt after eating ridiculous amounts of ice cream (carb coma, lethargic, bloated, even more stressed – totally backfired on me). Feeling that way is NOT a treat. Ugh.
Karen says
This is GOOD and so important. Something I’m definitely still working on.
Kimmy Baker says
Great Insight! I definitely need to take a long look inside and stop lying to myself. Thank you for taking time to share your journey
Lynn Terry says
I’m glad it’s helpful. π This has been a real learning process for me, and I appreciate the opportunity and space to share everything I learn along the way with all of you! *cheers*
Monique says
The scales say I’ve lost 2 pounds in the past week,but I’m not logging it because I don’t trust it. I’ve been bouncing up and down in weight for months. A month ago today I weighed 3 pounds less than I do now. Two weeks ago I weighed what I weigh today, It’s driving me nuts.
Lynn Terry says
Hi Monique,
My weight fluctuates A LOT. Especially now that I am so close to a goal weight. Those 2-4 pounds for weeks or months are frustrating I know, but I am more than 20 pounds lighter than I was this time last year… so I have to stay focused on the long game and the big picture.
I do log my fluctuations by the way. I find it helps to log everything, and then analyze my food diaries to identify what triggers gains & losses – if anything, other than my normal weight loss trend of slight fluctuations. But sometimes it’s easy to identify a culprit.
Karen says
I LOVE reading your daily updates! You continually inspire me to keep on keeping on. π Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! It’s FREEZING in Alaska and I’ve got the candles, Christmas lights, and Kenny G streaming. Soon… I’ll get on the elliptical. Truly it is the ONLY way I survive the winters up here! I had “your” scrambled eggs yesterday! No more scrambling in a separate bowl! They worked just fine scrambled right in the pan! One less dish! LOL
Lynn Terry says
Thank you Karen π
I’m all for one less dish! lol – so glad you enjoyed them.;)
Kimmy Baker says
Hi Lynn! i just stumbled on your blog and I’m so glad i did! I started Low Card eating Mid August and up till Nov 18th I had lost 25 lbs. I feel really great, less aches and pains and clothes are fitting way better and just overall more comfortable. My starting weight was 250 and now I am 225. I do however feel a little stalled at the moment. i haven’t counted calories at all up to this point, i also really haven’t been doing any extra activity. ( I know that is definitely something I need to add!) I think I’m just afraid if i add some kind of exercise routine and i don’t follow thru with it, I will have failed that day or that week) and it feels so good to finally be winning at my commitment to eating low card that I don’t want to fall at the fitness part. Any thoughts? Thank & Merry Christmas!
Lynn Terry says
Welcome Kimmy π
It’s normal to experience slower weight loss here and there, sometimes for weeks at a time. That’s totally normal. Just keep doing what’s obviously working! Or if you changed anything, change back to what WAS working.
I lost all of my weight just eating low carb. Exercise is for toning and building muscle, so don’t worry about that.
How are you tracking, by the way? Do you do at least 70% of your daily calories in healthy fats? If not, that really helps the weight loss. π