Christmas 2016 to Valentine's Day 2017 Challenge

[Bobbinyc]

Welcome all Challengers!  What an amazing group we have!

Let's all continue together to take off the excess pounds and keep getting healthier.

This challenge will begin on Christmas and finish on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14. 

All you need to join this challenge is to post your stats regarding your weight, and check in weekly or as often as you'd like. We are a great support group and enjoy keeping up with each other and being there for our ups and downs.  Generally we have found that the more we check in and offer support, tips, info,  and ideas to others, the more we get for ourselves.

We list our weight, as well as any other goals we might have related to being healthy (such as increase water, more active minutes, etc).  Developing good health habits is primary.

A little rundown of terminology for anyone who is new.

USW- Ultimate Starting Weight

CSW- Current Starting Weight (for this challenge)

GW- Goal Weight   (for Feb 14)

UGW- Ultimate Goal Weight   (what your healthy target weight is)

PW- Previous Weight

CW- Current Weight

MFP- My Fitness Pal

List as much info as you like.  Some people include age, gender, height....whatever seems relevant to you.

We keep it as serious or light as we feel, but we always keep it focused on being as healthy as possible, while we support each other kindly.  We can do this together!!

[A_Lurker]

@_Lilac_- that reminds me of the year I moved to where I am now.  My old city was in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) and close to a lake that warmed us up a bit.  We were on the good side of the lake (ie. very little lake effect snow).  This year we've had less overall so far and a couple of warmer periods where it melted.  A couple of weeks ago I could see the grass/garden in the front and my daffodils were confused (started to come up).  This week we've had ice, some snow, and yet it's going to be 4C or so (almost 40F) on the weekend.  I'm off work the last week of February and I'm hoping at the least that we don't see tons of snow.  I'd like to do some visiting or... working and spend more time in the sauna and hot tub (and it would be nice not to have to shovel down to it every day).

[Bobbinyc]

@_Lilac_ That's some picture! The house in that picture looks so sweet and homey.   Actually, that is how I think of winter except without the shoveling.

The day I moved to this house, many many years ago, we had some really nice snow - couple of feet.  The first thing we unpacked was the cross country skis.  I loved it, even though I was pregnant and my center of gravity was way off.  It was such a beautiful way to get around.  

[Bobbinyc]

@A_Lurker Sitting in a hot tub and looking out at the snow on a cold day must be such a treat!  

[BLLingg]

Do like I do, @_Lilac_, watch minimal News (Message# 906), some Nat Geo, Discovery, Smithsonian, & DIY Channels, and lots of Sprout, Disney Jr, & Nick Jr.  Not all of the shows are worth watching, but they're a lot better than the News.  AND they are great for R&R!!!  No stress, no thinking, just good (mostly) healthy input into your Mind!!! 

[BLLingg]

Thank you, @Cele21, for your "every loss is a win"!!!  Love the way it sounds!  If it's a quote, I've never heard it before.  (Or it didn't mean as much then as it does now!)

[BLLingg]

WOW, @Brujita, you have REALLY upped your Game!!!  Your Steps/Miles are all almost double the Week before and your Floors & Active Minutes are more than double!  GREAT Going!!! 

[_Lilac_]

@Bobbinyc  I think @A_Lurker's hottub is out IN the snow. Hahaha. She needs to shovel to get to it. 

[_Lilac_]

Well, I haven't felt like doing much the last few days with my cold. It's draining me, even though it isn't a bad one.  I did get all my steps yesterday after walking to the appointment and back and taking the dogs out. Mom and I went to walk the mall this morning. The city miraculously had the streets all plowed and everything is pretty good even though the storm was still raging til 5 or 6am. We got at least a foot of snow. My neighbor does my driveway so I was out the door by 9am to go walking. I forced myself to do the 4 laps though and now I'm so tired and sore. I'll nap then take the dogs out. I kept thinking about hot tea all morning and now that I have it, I couldn't be bothered with it. haha...just that kinda day. 

My sister is hosting a painting night at her house tomorrow so I'll bring canvas and paints and work on something. I need a bit of inspiration. If I'm happy with the outcome, I'll post a pic of my painting. I won't get it done tomorrow but I'll start something. 

My food hasn't been that great since I don't have energy to cook much, but I'm never over in calories, and I must have had something salty because I'm swollen. It might be this cold too. I'm not getting enough water. Note to self: Drink a ton of water. 

Off to nap. Having a hard time concentrating. It's the weekend!!

[em.kz]

Just one weigh-in left!

USW - 161.6 (12/25/16)

CSW - 161.6 (12/25/16)

PW - 159.4 (12/30/16)

PW - 158.6 (01/06/17)

PW - 159.6 (01/13/17)

PW - 157.6 (01/20/17)

PW - 157.4 (01/27/17)

PW - 156.6 (02/03/17)

CW - 155.0 (02/10/17)

FW - (2/14/17)

GW - 155 (2/14/17)

UGW #1 - 140

UGW #2 - 135

At the moment I am dead on with my goal so I'm hoping to maintain or beat my goal in these last four days! This is the first time in a while that I have seen these numbers on the scale, so I have been very happy!! Best of luck to everyone! Keep on chuggin' and we can do it!

[almost_where]

So managed to pick up the wonderful cold a few days ago. Tried to get regular steps and lifting in yesterday and my body  just said "uhhhh nope".  If I had to pick a postivite from this cold it would be that my taste just went completely. So now I'm going to hit up the grocery store and eat all the raw vegetables I can't stand the taste of.

[Bobbinyc]

@almost_where  Hope you and @_Lilac_ feel better soon.  There's a bad cold/flu going around by me with people feeling off, then better, then feverish, then better and then it hits hard. I feel like I"m fighting it off but not sure who is winning.

Good idea about the veggies.  Chicken soup and tea help too.  And rest.  Yeah, I know, @_Lilac_'s rest is my busy.

[A_Lurker]

@_Lilac_is right @Bobbinyc - my hot tub is outside.  I need to shovel the deck and the stairs down to it.  I used to avoid it while snowing, but my boss (who turns out has one as well) suggested a hat so that's what I do.  I go out and sit in the tub, snow around me, with my knit cap that I got from work years ago and my waterproof Kobo.  It's great, the steam from the tub keeps my fingers from getting too cold.

Having said that I'm looking forward to doing it in the spring and summer as well.  It's a soft tub, and weighs only 80 pounds when empty.  For the better weather I'm thinking about reorganizing the patio and moving it closer to the pool.

[A_Lurker]

@_Lilac_- definitely don't skimp on the water.  I noticed a couple of weeks back that I was more hungry than usual and had less energy.  At some point I realized that I had cut way back on the water.  I usually don't have to pay attention to the water but my lips were chapped as well.  Increased water has helped with all of them.

[dancefoxtrot]

Hi all you great people

Hope all the folks fighting illness win. Take care of yourselves.  Hooray for all the successes in recent days.  

I finally bought a replacement scale that measures muscles, water and fat as well as lbs.  $63. and not set up yet.  Got on it when I came home mid-day and I was up to 149.6 so in the morning before food it will be about 148ish.  Man oh man I better get serious in the last 4 days!!

Knee is still aggravated but I'm back to teaching and dancing but it is elevated now.  

Rain has finally stopped and the sun has poked through the clouds a bit.

Eating veggies with parmesan cheese sprinkled on them and a little veggie chili. 

Take care everyone,

Barbara G

[dancefoxtrot]

LOL @almost_where

Glad you are getting your veggies in. Probably brussels sprouts and asparagus on your shopping list. Get well. Zicam or its generic works to shorten cold.

Barb G

[SunsetRunner]

Hi everyone! I can't believe we're in the final week of this challenge!

USW: 224.5 lbs (7/6/16)

CSW: 177.0 (12/23/16)

CW: 176.5 (12/30/16) -0.5

CW: 173.5 (01/06/17) -3.0

CW: 171.0 (01/13/17) -2.5

CW: 169.5 (01/20/17) -1.5

CW: 169.0 (01/27/17) -0.5

CW: 168.0 (02/03/17) -1.0

CW: 168.0 (02/10/17) _0.0 😥

GW: 167 (02/14/17):

UGW: 155

No change this week but there's still 4 days and only 1 pound left to go.  There's still hope! I hope to be able to stay motivated this weekend. Brought work home so that's going to keep me in front of the computer which makes it tough to get steps in. I'm planning to do laundry while working since that forces me to go up and down the steps throughout the day. 😀 

Have a good weekend everyone! 

[SunsetRunner]

Great job @em.kz! Keep up the good work!

[_Lilac_]

Hi All. I just got back from walking the mall with Mom. I am going to her house thisafternoon for an 'art' evening. I have to pack up a bunch of paints and canvases and supplies. I can't take the dogs walking since it's -18F/-28C. My southern dog shivered himself silly just going to the curb to pee. Poor guy.

I have already had 24oz of water and working on more. I'm going to try to flush out this water retention seriously today but my sister is serving up chicken wings for our supper. Mom said she'd make me some of her homemade veggie chili and I'll bring some fruit. I can avoid the wings. I have to be sooo careful with the sodium content. I'm carrying several pounds of water right now and my hands are stinging with the swelling. Ugh. 

We are getting another snowstorm tomorrow night. THIS is what we are used to. Storm, 3-4 days of break, storm, 3-4 days of break, storm..etc. So, I'll have to take a picture of our snowbanks for you after this newest one. 

Ok, on with my day. Making it a healthy one!

[Bobbinyc]

Hi @dancefoxtrot  Hi Barb.  I'm sorry to hear your knee is still causing problems.  Do you do any exercises to strengthen the muscles around it?  Knees are so complex and delicate.  Sometimes strengthening and stretching the hamstrings and quads can help take some pressure off.  I hope it gets better soon and you are able to dance to your heart's content.  The thought of you out there dancing so elegantly always makes me smile.

[Brujita]

@Bobbinyc I did have fun! I have used it 3x since. The weight isnt too bad, though it feels like i have some bruising/soreness in my waist. The kids even gave it a go and we all took turns. The thing about hooping is that it counts steps even though im not really stepping much. I do get my heart rate up and I think its the movement of my hands. On days that i've hooped i make sure to get more steps in to compensate I guess. So long as i hit 10k without hooping. 

As for other steps I walk my dogs or just my normal day to day stuff like house chores (2 story house). So for example Laundry room is upstairs so I throw a load in the morning then downstairs for breakfast and to help the kids get ready for school. after the wash is done back upstairs I go to switch it

then back down. On days my youngest has indoor soccer I just walk back and forth with a book in the school hall. We also have an elliptical in the basement so i hop on there for 20 minutes or more depending on the time i have or how im feeling. so last night was a quick 20 minutes because we had a movie to catch in a hour. so elliptical shower and go. But on days when im feeling it I watch something on my tablet and netflix or listen to a podcast.

I honestly have no excuses as to why i let myself gain everything I lost in the first half of last year. My lowest weight last year thanks to these challenges was 147 in may '16. That was 21lbs lost. And I put it all back on by december. Oh well such is life. Im back on the horse and trying.