Is anyone feeling all MOTIVATED on this lovely sunny MONDAY

[StealthPolarBear]

I am :o

toefluff yes I think it's normal to be out of breath with squats, the man on my exercise dvd says when doing them you're working a large muscle group which brings the heart rate up more.

eighty to planking swimming story.

Just off to do a cardio core workout, at least I'll start the day well!

How is everyone doing? I'm still plodding along, don't feel like I'm losing much for the effort I'm putting in :)

Me too stealth . I actually had a real down moment when on the loo this morning (no idea why I had this thought whilst on the loo!). Just feels like I'm trying hard but struggling to maintain let alone lose at the minute and I just had this overwhelming realisation I'm going to have to continue fighting and struggling FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE to stay this way . Am I missing something? I thought it would get easier and more natural over time to make good choices/turn down things. Maybe it's just a blip [hopeful] . Sorry, not meaning to bring everyone down there, am now debating whether to post this...

No I know exa tly what you mean. I think thats where lifestyle comes into it. You have to be able to kewp it up. And I am finding that habits are changing. Even when off diet I eat smaller portions and binge less. But it feeld so easy to take my eye off the ball

It's a lot easier to maintain than to lose the weight, as you have the knowledge to nip bad habits in the bud. Think back to the choices and portion sizes you ate before you started. You'd never eat that way now, and if you have the odd day's blip you can get back onto it the next day instead of getting drawn into a cycle of guilt and bingeing.
You will have to make changes for life, but they're nice changes, and mean you can get more out of life.

Yes but IMST I've been maintaing pretty much for 4 - 5 months when I would like to be losing . I agree I get more out of life being slimmer and healthier and fitter, and enjoy my figure and am so much more confident, just struggling.

Went out for dinner with friends last night. Couldn't finish the meal which I take as a good thing as before I would have just eaten it anyway, but I did eat more than I needed when I felt full and should have just stopped. Definitely way over calories because of it. Haven't had a meal out with friends in I can't remember how long so should have just enjoyed it but instead just worried about what I was eating and putting on weight.

Right, got to work hard today on my workouts

Pick a small change you can keep up with, and stick with it for a few weeks. Perhaps:
Swap 2 cups of tea/coffee/fizzy a day for water.
Swap one "treat food" for fruit or veg, or change to non-food rewards.
Have 2 meat free days a week.
Swap a TV program you watch for an exercise program.
Walk/cycle an extra journey a week.

These are all things I tried while I was losing weight, mostly I kept them as good habits now I'm maintaining.
You'll get there, we believe in you.

Thanks IMST . I do exercise DVD most days, and don't really drink anything much apart from water, and am veggie, and have been upping the gardening in addition to everything else in the hope it all helps the cause, but I think my breakfast portions have slightly increased, and sometimes eat an extra snack and put peanut butter a little thicker on my rice cake in the evening. I guess I have to watch this. Perhaps I'm getting too complacent.

I sometimes have cereal in a mug instead of a bowl to help reduce portions without feeling like I'm not getting much cereal.

See, I dunno. I think we're the same here. Big weight loss that is so addictive and seeing the scales going down has been euphoric.

But it's slowed. Stopped even, but I excercise hard nearly every day. But I'm not depriving food. No way. If you can't have a thick layer of pb what's the bloody point? We're never going to see those big losses again but we're fit, mega fit, and happier than we were 60+ pounds ago!

I'll be happy to lose half a stone, but there's no way I'm not having a biscuit (or 4) if I've spent 2.5hrs at the gym. If I start gaining then I'll worry, but I still think my weight and bmi are never going to be happy as plotted on a chart as I'm muscle dense! I'm now an official size 10 but the same weight I was last year?

Have some peanut butter Reastie, you've done amazing and you still are! Don't be hard on yourself!

Thanks, I have just had peanut butter actually . You're right, we're past the big loss now, and I haven't really gained (staying within 146 - 148). Doesn't pretty much every woman say they just want to lose another half a stone or so? So that makes me 'normal' as opposed to just wanting to lose the 5 - 7 stone before I started.

IMST we have a bowl size descriptors in this house: extra large, big, small-medium, and super small. I use super small most days for breakfast but am starting to edge into the small-medium more often.

I guess I'm just fed up of feeling hungry all the time. But this must be the feeling slim people do have all the time. I used to have the completely full feeling all the time and never feel true hunger (but still felt hungry) but I think because I've had so much of my life with that full sensation I find it hard to fully get used to hungry being the norm and not eating, and knowing the difference between regular hunger and I need to eat now hunger. I hope I'm making sense.

Well it's Monday! I'm feeling a bit meh as scales are sayin up 2lb...bugger! Gave myself the weekend off so know what did it.

Still. Had a chicken an bacon salad at the pub for dinner so feeling rather angelic now

How is everyone doing? Do u all still weigh on a Monday? Xx

Oops, excuse the kisses! Got a bit Net Hons there!

Haha! Always excused here hon

Been a greedy so and so. You don't want to know! But spin and kettlercise and a run.

I'm exhausted and sore and generally meh. AF due Sunday and hoping won't show!!

Oh I do, I do want to know! Tell tell!

Still sound like an inspiration on the exercise front though, I really need to get that side of it, I managed 4 whole days of the 30 day squat challenge and day 4 was a rest day shhh

toe do day five of the squat challenge today, go on! That's how the 2lbs will go, by ignoring the fact you may have lapsed and getting back on it as if it hadn't

OK here, not good, but not awful either. Weigh in yesterday and still maintaining, but no loss.

kato keep meaning to ask you, when you used the fitbit how many steps did you average a day? I'm guessing alot as you do so much gyming. I average around 8000ish steps and keep reading you should aim for 10000 but rarely manage it .

My knees have been playing up since starting my new workout series which is a bit of a worry as never had knee problems before. Must remember to look up knee strengthening stretches and do them.

Your right Reastie and it wasn't treachery lol I think I need a kick up the butt!

I'm waiting for the gas man to turn up and will do some exercises after he's gone, also got a huge list of errands to do today so least I won't be lazing about!

Your right Reastie and it wasn't treachery lol I think I need a kick up the butt!

I'm waiting for the gas man to turn up and will do some exercises after he's gone, also got a huge list of errands to do today so least I won't be lazing about!

Reastie I was rubbish at switching the fitbit to excercise mode so would often skew my results! I only ever got one 'badge' for 12000 or something!!

kato there's an exercise mode????? How did I not know this?! How do I put it in that mode?

Toefluff I am checking your squatting progress

Just doing some work then a quick circuits DVD

haha! before you do any excercise, hold the button for 2 seconds and it will say 'start' and a stopwatch will pop up.

I'm not sure if it does anything clever, but will log it on the website/mfp for you

manual here

I have Runkeeper, and set myself a challenge to walk 100 miles. It took 3 weeks.
My next target is to cycle 100 miles, but ironically this is taking longer because I've been writing a book on cycling! Just finished today, I'll drop you some links when it's published.
It's time for the annual visit to the OutLaws this weekend. Can you tell how much I'm looking forward to it? Apparently they've done another list of jobs for us to do while we're there if it's washing all the plant pots again I may tell them where to shove them
Never mind, at least I can try to zone them out and focus on my book launch...

kato I thought that stop watch was to measure your sleep? . I'm sure the manual told me to do that before I go to bed.

IMST that's impressive. It does all add up though. i've just checked my fitbit and I've done nearly 4 miles today just being at work and a 25 minute circuits DVD. Enjoy the outlaws.

It's just for any 'activity' including sleep. It basically makes the pedometer setting different to just walking/stepping, so it knows if you're being vigorous or laying down?