Weight loss barrier

[pegkerr]

I was down around 145 pounds when I was riding the bike, and then over the winter for a variety of reasons, it climbed up to 155.

For two weeks, I've been hovering right around 150. 150.5. 151. 151.5. 150.5. Then the last three days, I've been 150.0 on the nose. I keep climbing on the scale every morning and thinking, surely I'll drop below, luck of the draw, right?

Nope. 150.0.

And so of course, now that presumably I'm on the brink of finally dropping below that line, my inner Mongo suddenly has been irresistably seized today by

OMG WILD RAVENOUS HUNGER

GIVE ME CHOCOLATE GIVE ME DORITOS SCREW THAT GIVE ME MAMMOTH HAUNCHES DRIPPING WITH BLOOD FOR ME TO SINK MY FANGS INTO I DON'T EVEN CARE IF IT'S COOKED MUST EAT MUST EAT NOW.Somehow, I have a wee bit of doubt that I'll see below 150 tomorrow.

Perhaps it's all the frustrated cooking (and piling rejected foods into Tupperware containers) that I've been doing lately for my picky proto-vegetarian that's causing this? Either that or my usual monthly hormonal ebb and flow. Whatever. It's really annoying.

Comments

[slrose.livejournal.com]

I find that chocolate meringues are very helpful. They are light (mostly air) and the kind that I get are sufficiently chocolatey to satisfy that urge. I bite them and let them dissolve in my mouth.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Lucia's here in Mpls makes excellently chocolatey chocolate meringues. It's astonishing how they can get that much chocolate flavor into something with that little substance.

Sorry if this is the opposite of helpful, Peg....

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

I'd be happy to take your "hormonal ebb and flow" one month. After all, I am on drugs...

Makes me think of the "That Time Of The Month Club" sketch I wrote for Shockwave (in which men were sent, once a month, various cunning and tortuous devices so they'd have a vague clue as to what women went through when they got their periods). After we aired it Jerry Sterns turned to me and said, "Well, I think you managed to offend everyone with that one."

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

"OMG WILD RAVENOUS HUNGER "

I think that is your body screaming CALORIE DEFICIENCY!!! in the last desperate hope that you will just eat something before it's too late. "Too late" in this context means "before I have to burn up some body fat!!" In other words, if you can manage to hang on for another 24 hours you may find yourself suddenly 2 pounds lighter.

Anyway, that's how my diets generally work. No weight loss at all for the first week, ravenous hunger attack, then suddenly 2 or 3 pounds gone in two days (provided I stand firm on the hunger attack).

Good luck! :-)

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

I walked home from work today--2.7 miles and it is finally warm enough to do that here. I've been thinking of getting a bike, nothing too fancy, to get me to work and back. Thought of you and your commute. You going to start that up again soon?

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

The tentative plan is to start May 1--but I really need to get new wheels for my bike. For that I need money, so I'm waiting for the tax refund to come in. Then I have to muck around with human resources, getting my parking contract cancelled, etc. Get rid of the furniture that's blocking the bike in inside the garage. Stuff I have to get around to doing. All in my copious spare time.

[avengangle.livejournal.com]

I have to say, it scares me a little that you would be so insanely hungry and refuse to eat just because you want to weigh less than 150 lbs. :-\

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Oh, I ate, believe me. I snacked, and I ate a reasonable dinner. And I had dessert.

[splagxna.livejournal.com]

it's my understanding that you should only weigh yourself once a week (at the same time every week) because it's very normal for your body to fluctuate by a couple pounds or so a day.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, it fluctuates. Except, snarl, for not going below 150.

[wintercreek]

This has nothing to do with this post (although I definitely sympathize about the monthly crazy cravings), but I thought of you and Fiona and The Game when I saw this: http://xkcd.com/391/ Don't know if you've seen it already, but I thought you might enjoy it.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Ok, that made me laugh. Thanks!

[(Anonymous)]

rules to losing weight (aside from eating well and exercising...)

1. eat when you are hungry
2. eat what satisfies you (even if it's chocolate...)
3. throw away uninspiring food
4. enjoy it... put your fork down between bites, chew slowly, etc.

So, have your chocolate
b/c if you eat something unsatisfying in its place, you will not only be still craving chocolate, but you will be pissy.

BTW... what's with the "content may be unsuitable" warning?

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Thanks for saying something; I was tinkering with viewing options on my profile page, and that ticky box must have gotten toggled on by mistake. I've fixed it. Don't think there's too much here that would be objectionable for the young fry.

Yes, I had chocolate tonight!

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

That is not rules for losing weight. That is rules for MAINTAINING weight. And even then it only works if your body setpoint is well established at the weight that you want to maintain, which is not always the case.

There is no way to lose weight without being hungry. Why on earth do people believe this nonsense? It's the function of your appetite to alert you when you aren't eating enough to maintain your body weight. If eating to appetite causes you to LOSE weight, then something is wrong.

[(Anonymous)]

there is no way to lose weight without being hungry?

I beg to differ.

I have lost 85 pounds and have been full every step of the way.

I cut my portions, drink more water and move more. But I have not denied myself m&ms and even beer.

In fact, when your body alerts you of hunger, you should eat in order to INCREASE metabolism.

I have tried losing weight by eating little or nothing. And I failed. Because when you eat little, your body absorbs everything, assuming that you won't be fed again. Holds on to fats like Bush is holding on to his stupid war.
But when you eat a little bit often (and stuff you like, instead of what you have been told to eat), your body understands that this is not the last meal, and holds on mostly to the good stuff.

It's why they say breakfast is most important...

not because it just gives you energy (which it does), but because it spikes your metabolism...
and it encourages hunger, which must be met. Albeit responsibly.

[(Anonymous)]

Sorry, just an anonymous lurker-fan here. It sounds like you might have just been building muscle from all the sparring and the like. It makes me sad to think that someone as dynamic and energetic and active as you is worried about denying her body's hunger because of a number on the scale (that is fairly irrelevant for so many reasons).

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm certainly not intending to starve myself! I love food too much to do that. But I have a bit of a pudge of a belly, and I'd like to get rid of that (although, sigh, yes I know it's normal for women getting close to menopause). I felt pretty good at 145, and it certainly wasn't affecting my strength at all to be at that weight.

Anyway, it's all better than being at 165, which was several years ago. THEN you could see the extra layer around my face.

[mayakda.livejournal.com]

In theory, snacking on something with a low-glycemic index (protein and/or fat) will allay the hunger while at the same time allowing the body to burn the stored energy.

[enegim.livejournal.com]

Have you tried taking a calcium-magnesium supplement? I found that when my magnesium levels were stabilized, chocolate cravings disappeared. (This does not, of course, mean that it will work for you, but it might be worth a try.) It amuses my friends that a chocolate bar will now sit on the shelf or in the fridge for days or weeks, until my husband notices it. Just hardly ever appeals to me any more, except the day before my period of course.

[irinaauthor.livejournal.com]

Absolutely true. In college, I went through a phase for about six months were I was ravenous for chocolate. I would get extremely cranky if I didn't have some every day. Finally, a blood test revealed that I had a raging magnesium deficiency, and a daily supplement made all those cravings vanish.

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

You know, I think it's not 'spring' enough to lose weight. We haven't had enough consistent warm and sunny weather, so we're convinced that we still need our winter fat.

According to how I see things I think it's healthy for people to gain about five pounds of "insulation" during winter.

Which means that I need to drop approximately 20 winters...

[bohemianspirit.livejournal.com]

One of the best ways to take care of hunger is to eat something high-fiber and filling that isn't calorie-dense, e.g., veggies. I love to steam at least half a bag of frozen vegetables (especially broccoli or a broccoli-based mix) and toss them with a tablespoon or two of salad dressing. Filling AND loaded with nutrients, thereby satisfying your body's cravings for nourishment.

Ak-mak crackers are also the best thing ever in the bread-and-crackers department. Have a few of those with a spread like hummus (or even plain) and drink a big glass of water or iced tea with them, and they'll take the edge off hunger very well.

All that being said, I would like to note that if my weight ever again gets within shouting distance of 150, I will be singing "Nunc dimmittis!" and not giving a damn about 2 or 3 pounds of fluctuation. ;-) I weighed about 150 throughout high school, and thought I was the fattest grossest thing ever. Not true; I only wish I'd known it then.