I am stuck at the moment, lose 2 lbs - gain 2 lbs - lose 3 lbs etc, etc, etc. Guess I should be glad that I am basically maintaining right now, especially with all that is going on in my life - work and personal but at some point I will have to get better at the losing part to get down to my ultimate goal.

Corky - I thought you were at your ultimate goal.

I've been staying within the same pound or two since Thanksgiving. I've been eating fairly well, but not like I should - and I know it.

Today I was down 2 pounds and lower than I was at Thanksgiving - which had been my low point to date. This weekend I'll be having a wonderful Valentine dinner, but I'll get right back on. Hopefully I won't do too much damage.

How is this? It seems similar to Crossfit (for those of you who know). I wanted to join a crossfit gym in my area but at $150/month it's a little out of my budget range...

Another 6.6 down from last week! Down 31.8 lbs since January 11. I know I'm dropping rapidly, but I am a big dude, so I hope this doesn't discourage those of you who aren't dropping this much.

Funny story: My wife and I cleaned out the basement yesterday and came across a bunch of old clothes of mine that I had stored in boxes from my junior year in college- I had stored them because I could no longer fit in them.

I was able to fit into most of them again!

What a great feeling to get "new" clothes for free!

Best part about being a guy... our clothes never go outta style

...except for those zumbas

Hey, we all make a mistake a two along the way...

::missing his comfy Raiders zumbas::

So far I really like it. I am just starting my 3rd week, the whole "cycle" is 90 days. Then you can begin again with another verion of the workout cycle or the same one you did before. It works by using muscle confusion and you also are encouraged to follow their nutrition guide. Although I am following the nutrition plan, I am having a hard time finidng the right amount of calories for me. Too little can cause your body to not let go of weight and not help to gain muscle, and of course we all know what too many calories can do!

The workouts are really intense and definitely push me. I think it is similar to Crossfit, a few friends of mine are doing that but I haven't compared the two very closely. The P90X workouts are about an hour long, and if I remember right, I think Crossfit workouts are about 30 minutes.

I have not lost a lot of weight yet, only a few pounds. But I really feel like I am gaining muscle, I can acutally see a small difference in my arms and core area. I think I am losing inches too, but decided not to measure again until I am at the 30 day point.

Good luck with your decision, at this point, I would definitely recommend this workout.

Thanks for the input Starry. I think I will check it out.

I haven't checked in for a while. Things have been crazy both at work and at home BUT... last Monday I hit my goal weight! Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!! I ditched a total of 38 pounds since mid September. Now all I need to do is keep it off for the rest of my life....

Congrats and good luck, Jaeger Schnitzel!

Congrats Jaeger Schnitzel!!!! I have found keeping it off to be the hardest part - up two pounds down three up four down two - what a merry-go-round

Congrats Jaeger! Enjoy your goal weight, I bet you look amazing!

Congrats Jaeger! That's awesome!

I dropped another 4 lbs last week. I didn't get to the gym at all though, so I imagine it wasn't as good as it could have been.

Buccs - do you mind if I ask you how you figure out your calorie intake? As I mentioned above, I am really struggling finding the right amount to eat while working out. I know everyone is so different, but just thought I'd see if you had any advice since you are having so much success!

Starry- You're probably not going to like this answer, but I don't figure out my calorie intake. I eat by a guideline for every meal.

6oz lean protein
8oz (minimum) fruit or vegetable. No melons, potatoes, or sweet potatoes (too many carbohydrates)
A handful of either walnuts, pecans, cashews or almonds. Olive oil and coconut milk also count here.

I eat like this within 30 minutes of getting up for the day and between every 2-3 hours while I'm awake, so a typical day is:

eat at 7:00, 10:00, 1:00, 4:00, 6:30, and 9:30 if I'm still hungry. Sometimes I'll omit the protein at 10:00 and 4:00 if I'm not terribly hungry, but the healthy fat and fruit/veg is a must at all meals.

If I had to estimate I'd guess around 2500-3000 calories daily consumption, but it's a very rough estimate.

Oh, and big caveat- the guidelines for a woman are 3oz protein, 6oz fruit/veg and a handful of nuts. (Also never peanuts, because they aren't really a nut, they're a legume).

If you want to delve further, google "The Paleo Diet" by Loren Cordain. I'm using it as a guideline, but I am eating more saturated fat, eggs and dairy than he suggests because the last time I tried this my saturated fat intake went down so rapidly I got a gallstone attack, and I'm kind of trying to prevent that. Also I have a "variety day" once a week where I eat whatever I want on whatever time schedule I want- it helps reduce cravings during the week and supposedly helps to keep my metabolism changing. I'm not quite sure of the merits of the metabolism claim, but I am able to resist temptation knowing that if I can just wait a couple of days I can indulge without regret.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Buccs - thanks for the reponse. Actually your eating plan sounds a lot like the one I have been following from the P90X nutrional guide. And I also have a variety day, but must admit, I do slip up during the week once in a while too. It is that darn sweet tooth.
I think I will look into the book you suggested. In the meantime I'll keep playing around with eating different amounts of calories and try to find a good balance between not enough/too much.
Thanks again and congrats on your weight loss!

Starry- I will mention this as an aside. My sister has been doing "crossfit" workouts for near a year now, and has been eating "paleo" since she started (variety days included). She hasn't dropped a lot in weight, probably 15-20 lbs, but has gone from 28% bodyfat when she started to 17% bodyfat. She's so buff now I think she's just going to kick my butt for fun and games.

Bodyfat might be a metric worth tracking.

I would like to test my body fat. Unfortunately, there aren't gyms around my area to go get it done at. You've motivated me to figure out a way to do so though I do feel like I am losing some inches, I get to measure Saturday, so I expect to see results there.

Good for your sister btw, an 11% drop in body fat is awesome!

My digital scale from walmart tells body fat. I know it's probably not as accurate as the callipers or the underwater scales but I've been told it's better than the mathematical formula that you can use.

Thanks RR - I didn't know they could do that! I'll check those out

I'm within striking distance of 50 lbs lost! 8 more lbs to go (and then keep going )

WOW!!! Good job.

Just checking in! I'm avoiding my scales right now because I get discouraged by them! It drives me crazy when I know I've lost inches and the pounds lost don't go anywhere, so I think I do better when I pay attention to how my clothes fit and not what the scale says!

Anyway, I've been lifting weights and using the resistance machines at the gym. I am seeing my legs, back, arms, shoulders, and "backside" have more muscle tone and definition than they had when I was a teenager! I love it! My problem area is the belly fat. It's definately much less than it was before I started, but I can't seem to lose it at the same rate as the rest of my body. So, I have an appointment with the trainer in the morning. She's going to evaluate what I am eating and what my workouts have been and then adjust it to make them more effective. I think a little expert advice will be helpful for me.

I am finding though, that I CRAVE exercise! I never thought I'd say that! I go every single morning and when I have time to myself, I've been going then too. My son will be at a church conference for the next two days and I'm actually looking forward to having time in the evenings to go to the gym for a second workout! The more I sweat the better I feel. It's a weird transition for me because I always despised working out, but I now feel like I NEED it.

Busy Bee: Congrats on your success at the gym! I feel like we are in the same boat, the scales aren't going down for me either, but the inches and clothings sizes are. I just look at it as I am replacing the fat with lean muscle, which weighs more! Makes it easier to get over the scale.

Good luck at your appointment with the trainer, be sure to keep us posted.