I hear you! :) I'm 53 and not only does it get harder to take it off, the skin looks much better when full of fat rather than wrinkly and floppy without. sigh. I'm quite intrigued with your program and might try some of it.

---

http://harvestmoon6.blogspot.com
https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katasmit

thanks! I downloaded this yesterday.

---

http://harvestmoon6.blogspot.com
https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katasmit

That's a relief.

I'm still debating getting some professional help on determining calories. I just can't seem to get the numbers right :-(

---

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

And as I am 47 now, I also understand what Dawn T and Kathy Caribe are going through. I am eating less now than ever, and it seems I get full on a tiny amount of food. Despite that, I was slowly gaining weight, to the tune of 2 pounds a year, until recently, when I turned back the clock four years.

I read something interesting, that if you are under 40, you look younger with less fat. If you're over 40, you look younger with more fat. Well, I had it in reverse and got the worst of both worlds!

about the fasting, have you read this? http://www.paleoforwomen.com/...g-in-the-literature/

---

http://harvestmoon6.blogspot.com
https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katasmit

Thanks for posting that article, kathy caribe. Scary stuff. I am perturbed by the lack of studies of women, and specifically perimenopausal women.

I've been able to lose weight steadily now on the IF regime, about 0.5 to 1 pound/week. I also have no trouble falling asleep. It's staying asleep that is the problem.

Lately I've upped my soy milk dosage to 3 cups a day, and that seems to have really helped. Instead of waking up 3-4 times, I wake up once, some time between 4 and 6 am. After my waking hot flash is finished, I feel sleepy and go back to bed again. Probably as a result of the better sleep, my athletic performance is getting back to where it was.

I don't want to mess with my hormone regulation processes, so now I am thinking I should stop doing IF, and wait until there is more woman-specific research.

Yeah, Karen. I had pretty much decided to give it a try just based on what you had said and the health benefits (insulin, triglycerides, blood pressure, etc.) until I found that particular link. I'm going to hit PubMed today and see but I might still try it and see what happens. I'm INCREDIBLY happy with maca root. I have Zero hot flashes and sex, this week, entered my head with no prodding from DH. Libido might be scratching her way to the surface again. :) My training is good and while I do take a nap if I get up at 4am, I'm really not feeling 53. It took a LONG time for the maca to hit though, and I'm only up to 1/2 tsp a day without severe GI upset. That could be why it took so long for it to hit me.

---

http://harvestmoon6.blogspot.com
https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katasmit

Good job sista!

I put on some cargo pants Friday night and was surprised at how loose they were. Yay! I've also broken the 133 barrier and am hovering at 131. I'd like to see 126-128 but that takes an amazing amount of self restraint. I can do it though. I have lots of beach/swimsuit opportunities this summer and I don't want to feel like a roly poly.

I've been eating fairly clean. Too much wine on the weekeneds though. And I've been cycling again. Heading out for 45+ miles this morning. The interesting thing is my appetite has kicked into overdrive. Two days this week, I was starving! We don't keep crap around the house though so i was able to fill the hole with good stuff. I did have some ice cream yesterday, then dumped the rest of the container down the disposal (after filling the dog's kongs with Breyers Vanilla :) If it was still in the house, I would eat it.

The hubby is gone this week, so I won't cook as much as ususal and I'm ready to fire up our juicer and maybe do a juice based plan for most of the week. I'm heading to San Diego next Friday and want to feel good!

The numbers on my scale are all over the place again. So much of this must be hydration levels. Pants are still fitting though!

My running is improving at a ridiculous rate and I got talking to my coach about trying to lose some weight. She asked me why. My run performance and training is going really well so clearly I'm getting myself enough calories without massive weight gain. She has a good point. I've dropped 17 minutes off my half marathon time in 4 months. Crazy. So I'm asking myself what is my motivation for trying to drop. Maybe another 5 lbs off will make me even faster but it could make me feel like crap when I restrict calories.

Mentally I'm working through this right now. I look heavy for my size but really only in my hips. How much of this is vanity vs performance and what is my priority right now? I have no interest in dating so dropping weight isn't for that reason. I do think I can get faster if I weigh less but it will be a very fine line between enough and not enough food.

Might get in to see a nutritionist to fine tune.

---

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

A round of applause for your amazing improvement (jeebus, it took me 4 years and quitting smoking to take 11mins off my half marathon time!), and a standing ovation for realizing that the pursuit of skinny isn't necessarily the right path for you!

Seriously, you're awesome, and you've got your head screwed on right. Just keep on being your bad self!

Cheers!

-mistress k

---

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.

Just an update.

I stopped intermittent fasting because of the hot flashes. My weight went back up five pounds to my chagrin, and the hot flashes disappeared.

Recently I started losing weight again. Not trying to lose weight. Just a by-product of increasing my training as I am preparing for my first marathon. And lo and behold, the hot flashes have returned. So it was not the intermittent fasting that was causing the hot flashes. It was the weight loss. It seems when I am around 122 pounds, I start getting hot flashes. At 122, I am not thin. My Fitbit Aria pegs me at 24.5% body fat.

This is only going to get worse because I will be continuing to lose weight as I increase my mileage. I really need to think about taking hormones if I want to get any decent sleep.

(Edited for keeping consistency with first post: Weight on Aria Scale is 122 pounds, which is 120 on old scale). In other words, this is my lowest weight since I first posted.

How frustrating for you, to be doing something healthy and have an adverse affect from it. Good luck getting some resolution on the hot flashes.

If there is any will to reviving this thread, I could use both some help and some accountability... I'm 5'3, 175 pounds, and I need to lose weight both for the sake of my health and for my vanity because I'm fed up with being fat.

I would love suggestions for easy-to-follow, long-term weight loss and maintenance plans. I've done Atkins in the past, but with a "meat and potatoes" guy and a 17 year old boy, I would prefer not to have to cook entirely separate meals wherever possible!

I've lost 6ish pounds in the last two months & have another 5ish to go. I'm 5'7" & 151 lbs.

I found that mindful eating - three meals a day, no snacking & no eating after 8pm. The no eating after 8 is because the only eating I do at night is junk food.

Thanks, UK2ME, I need the luck to get rid of these hot flashes.

You can post here every Friday to let us know how it's going for you. I seem to be losing weight from increasing the running mileage. I also do not eat breakfast until I have finished running because I read that you burn 20% more fat that way.

The other step I am taking is to be more conscious of my portions, to drink more water, and to choose fish, vegan or vegetarian when possible if we are eating out. I found it useful to keep a log of what I ate and the calories using My Fitness Pal. It served to highlight that I was taking in more calories than I thought. Once you gain awareness of how much you are actually eating, you can stop counting the calories if you want.

Now that I know that the intermittent fasting (IF) wasn't giving me hot flashes, I might try that again. Although the main purpose of IF was not fat loss but longevity, the side effect is definitely weight loss. You might want to try the plan I was referring to in the beginning of the thread. According to the author of the 5-2 Fast Diet, Dr. Mosley, he believes that it is a lifestyle that is easy to follow for the rest of your life because you eat normally 5 days of the week, and fast only 2 days. On "fast days" you still get to eat, but only 500 calories. It is very hard at first, but I found that it got a bit easier. It is especially challenging for us because we prepare meals for the family even when we're fasting, which makes it harder to avoid eating! At least you won't have to prepare separate meals for yourself and the family. You can eat what they eat, just less on your fast days.

Shella, it has been a few months since you said you would try IF. Did it work for you?

I'm not sure I should try IF again since I am making gains in my running fitness and don't want to throw a wrench into it.

i understood watching your weight continuously helps you not to gain and also lose weight !!!
it also happens when you know what you eat.
Good job

---

http://www.clinicdrbita.com
http://www.psychologuemontreal-clinicdrbita.com
http://www.brossardhealthcentre.com

Eat slowly
Eat real food
Eat to 80% full

Those three will go a long way. I still have issues with the last one and am counting calories for a time which has been eye opening.

---

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

I'm managing to put weight back on. Ugh. I was doing so well back in August.

Last week was a total bust so I'm doing a reset and will start getting back to tracking and getting in my workouts.

I'm at 129. Just before my marathon in August I was 126. I felt great at 126 and want to see how close I can get to 120 and still have high quality workouts.

---

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

Thanks for the article on fat loss; I'll share that with my weight loss class after I read the full text in the British Journal of Nutrition. Again, I'm avoiding my nutrition studies by posting here ;-)

Anyway, I also just returned from having blood drawn to monitor my hormone levels. As I have gone down to 120 lbs from an average of about 130, I have had hot flashes return and the dreaded sleep disruptions that accompany them. After I find the results, I will likely have my hormone replacement adjusted for the fifth time. Replacing what time has taken away has made a HUGE difference in my quality of life (mostly sleep related and therefore everything else). If you have access to it, I would encourage any woman of menopausal age to consider hormone replacement.

Now, I need to get back to training for race weight in March, hopefully IM Cabo San Lucas! 105 lbs, here I come!

---

DFL > DNF > DNS