Hey Gizmo looks like your off to a good start....... welcome

Thank You for the welcome Hillbillylee

Actaully, nothing spectacular or ground breaking. I was eating 1500 cals/day but figured out that was not enough after the first week of feeling badly before i found some better resources. Now I'm eating 2000+ cals/day and doing interval training on the treadmill and weight lifting 4-5 days/week. I don't expect to keep posting big weekly numbers, but at the same time I'm not complaining about last week either. I've been trying for about 3 lbs each week but last week for some reason was exceptional. My first week when I was under eating i droped just over 7 lbs. I uped my caloric intake and the second week lost 3.6 lbs. Slightly more than my goal, but not an unhealthy loss. I didn't change anything between that week and last week, and lost 11.4 lbs. I didn't change food intake, I didn't work out more, I didn't change the clothes or the time of day that I weigh in, same scale, I'm not dehydrated... I don't know what caused it and I really doubt it can be replicated this week. On that note, I'm not sure if it would be healthy to lose another 11 lbs a second week in a row, but I guess we'll see soon enough.

And welcome to the forums, Gizmo

I have had that happen the first time I lost weight and they were few and far between. I don't really know what causes it but it's nice to see once in awhile.

Gizmo, welcome, great to have you here!!!

L Duck, great job on the loss, you have something good going on!!

I finally have started losing again, i am down to 362. I guess eating the correct amount of points does work. I also have added an extra mile walk each day for the last 5 days.

Good work hbkolb. Glad to hear you're on the way daown again. Those stalls can be irritating, I've been there before.

Do any of you use Calorie cycling in the middle of a stall? I haven't read much about it...but what I have read seems it might push you through the hard times..

morning chef....... I have used it to some degree on a stall and it took forever for the plateau to subside. Now I try to bounce the calories up and down without going crazy. Some swear by a cheat day to help that out but before i had a cheat day about once a week and it still stalled....... I guess I'm saying if you find the answer let me know lol...

I personally don't think a cheat day (in moderation of course) is such a bad idea.

Especially with the amount of work we have to put in as a general club here...eating that burger or piece of pizza won't hurt you for too long. As long as you snap out of it after and go back to the plan...

I am doing some research on the exact "science" of calorie cycling...will let you know what I can find.


Kristin Reimers, M.S., R.D., associate director of the International Center for Sports Nutrition in Omaha.

"The benefit of cycling rather small calorie swings over short periods of time probably helps more by making the diet easier to stick with, not so much by tricking the metabolism," Reimers says. "Short-term cycling can provide a dieter some cheat days without guilt, and quite frankly, that is very important. One mind-set that thwarts many weight-loss attempts is the black-and-white thinking that dieting is an all-or-none deal; if you go off for one day, you've blown it, it's over. The cycling provides higher-calorie days to overcome that mind-set, and can work for fat loss so long as a long-term calorie shortfall is achieved."

Chef Soli

Well, I haven't had any troubles with stalling yet, but I'm sure I will. And when it happens I'll let you guys know if I find anything better than the refeeding stuff. I also agree that a cheat day in moderation is not a bad thing neccesarily. If you know your maintenance level, and you're dieting below that, a cheat day that takes you to your maintenance level, but not above, will not cause you to gain any weight at all, especially if you couple it with any excersize at all. This past week I was doing 2000 calories/day, and on Saturday I had both Taco Bell and three slices of pizza. (I know, gasp, right?) Not, The tacos were I think 260 calories each, (x3) I drank water, (which, by the way, I think has helped me a lot with weight loss as I've cut out all drinks except for water, gatorade after a workout, and black coffee in the mornings) the pizza was 280 calories per slice (x3). Adds up to only 1620 calories for the day. I skipped breakfast, so when I got home in the late afternoon I actually had to find something worth 400 calories. Add that to a light workout that day, and it wan't really even a cheat day. This weekend I'm going to be doing a good bit of traveling, and I'll most likely have to eat fast food again. No biggie, as long as you know what you're eating.
By the way, I'm going to be seeing my mother Saturday and she's already threatened to make her infamous tomato gravy and home made bisquits. I can't say no to that, but I'll still be counting and excersizing.

Good Morning everyone. Well last night I had to eat 20 points when I got home just to bring me up to 37 (43 is what I should get) I was freaking out trying to eat all that food but.................... down another pound today.

I haven't been doing the elipticle much lately but I have been doing a mile walk in the mornings and have been lifting pretty dilligently. Feeling good !!!

Anyone here use Glucosomine/Chondroiten/MSM for their joints??

it feels strange eating to lose weight doesn't it lol.......

Good morning men (and any ladies out there)

How is it going today? Hope everyone is feeling strong and kicking some ass...

Howie, I got an invitation to try Everquest 2 today.....I guess we'll see if I can have willpower in more than one area of my life (food and games!)

Anyway, just checking in boys.

Chef Soli

I know what you mean about letting it take over (online gaming), it does take alot of control not to play all the time. I'm a musician and I make myself practice a certain amount of time, then of coarse there is time with my wife and daughter, then the 12 hour days at work 2 of which are travel time..... Oh yeah exercise. I do enjoy the time I do get to play though, great stress relief!!

Hey guys I have never tried online gaming I have a hard enough time just beating the pre programed game lol.

Today was a pretty good day. I made it to the gym and I did half an hour on the elliptical. I pushed myself harder than normal and Could only manage half an hour on the thing. With my weight that burns about 595 calories. After than I ran through a portion of the machine circuit. I worked on my arms, shoulders, and chest. The elliptical did some toning on my legs they are killing me. I'll go back to the gym in a few days and after the elliptical I'll work on my legs. I'm not trying to get built at the moment so I'm just trying to get some muscle tone working.....