Easter to Memorial Day Challenge 2016

[awood08]

Welcome to the next challenge!!!

Our challenge starts Easter March 27th through Memorial Day May 30th. (USA holiday)

To be part of the challenge you start by posting your initial weight stats and what you would like to achieve by the end of the challenge. You can then check in as often as you'd like with a weight update, to share a story from your week or start a conversation about a topic you'd like some advice on.

Welcome to all our new members, old timers, and anyone who is just following our challenge! Let's continue to work hard, meet our goals, and most important, give each other the encouragement and positive thoughts to keep all our spirits up!

Thanks to @saraj91 for the last challenge! Hope to see you again in here 🙂

 
A little rundown of terminology for anyone who is new: 

USW- Ultimate Starting Weight

CSW- Current Starting Weight

GW- Goal Weight

UGW- Ultimate Goal Weight

PW- Previous Weight

CW- Current Weight

MFP- My Fitness Pal

Here is a link for our group! Thanks @Brujita

https://www.fitbit.com/group/22KZ7F

[HelenKr]

@MegCH I moved to a size 10 too!  But like you sometimes10's are too small - and agree with you - ugh!  I know some clothes are just cut a little differently, but the size you're wearing is one way to measure your weight loss success, so it's a pain.  You're not alone there...

By the way, I love your photo!  I've been saying for a while that I really want to run a 5k at some point.  I am starting to add little bouts of running into my walks.  Not much, but I'm hoping it's a step in the right direction. 

[scottie0714]

Thanks @OCDOC I will keep this in mind.  One more question: what does intermittant fasting consist of?

[scottie0714]

Thanks @HelenKr!

[SunsetRunner]

My new stats are not what I wanted but I'm aiming to go back down again. I actually made it to 259 lbs! A number I haven't seen on my scale for a while. But now it's back up. Going down to see my new twin grandsons was awesome but not awesome for the eating. lol Take it with a grain of salt I guess. But at least I'm not all the way back up. But I new it would come back due to the way I lost it from my cold. Anyhoo, here are my stats:

USW- 271

CSW- 269.4

GW- 259

UGW- 150

PW- 261.8

CW- 263.4

[saraj91]

Hi gang!

Another week of maintaining... yay .

I've been watching what I eat & exercising, ran a new 5k PB at my parkrun & really went for it at badminton lol! So I feel like I've been on it this week. Looks like the much talked about plateau has hit me once again, the last time I was stuck for a few weeks but then the pounds fell away after that. Where I am a bit lighter now I feel like it's going to be more of a struggle to break this one but I will persist. 

I've upped my calorie intake v burn by about 200 a day, hoping this extra fuel will kick start my body back into burn mode lol! Don't think I'm gonna get anywhere near my goal weight of 126 so I'm gonna revise it to something a bit more achievable for the remainder of the challenge (hopefuly).

USW 23/3/15: 186

PW 13/4: 135

CW 22/4: 135

GW 30/5: 130

UGW 23/6/16: 126

[OCDOC]

---

@scottie0714 wrote:

Thanks @OCDOC I will keep this in mind.  One more question: what does intermittant fasting consist of?

---

Hi Scottie. "Intermittent Fasting" is a voodoo-sounding term, and should just be called "Eat when hungry" :).

It's part of cutting carbs. Once your body begins to burn the trillions of calories of body fat directly, your appetite changes dramatically. You can go for hours and hours feeling normal, meanwhile your body chews on the (in my case) dozens of pounds of stored fat.

The problem is that your body will always burn glucose and glycogen (carb) in preference to fat. Getting the carbs reduced long enough to get the fat-burning cascade up and running is the tricky part. Took me a almost a week at less than 20C total per day, and I felt crappy. Then one day ZING! I felt like a million bucks..was bizarre..like I had drank 2 cups of 'happy coffee'.

However, I can now eat dinner, and have to remind myself to eat something 20-24 hours later..it's bizarre. But Int Fast imo is impossible without getting used to low carbs. There's lots of google info out there.

PS My 'hefty' (!) bud at work is giving it a go, says he felt crappy for only 3 days, and now laughs ..says the lack of hunger PLUS the weight loss (12 in 3 weeks) is "insane"..his words 🙂  And he was very sceptical (as I was...). He loves telling the story of how his (slim) wife will eat the bun part of a McGriddle while he eats the filling 🙂

My wife is trying, and hasn't decided yet..no verdict lol.

Anyway, everybody responds to carb reduction/IF differently it seems, and fat men (me and my work bud) might find it works better than it does for 'not-so-fat' women..I don't know.

Hope this helps 🙂  Rob

[lusry]

Weigh in time! I didn't weigh in last week because I was a bit disappointed in myself how much my weight was up (and it's even higher today!). My exercise routine was non-existent due to it being my birthday week and my husband was out of town. Which means - I didn't have anyone pushing me to workout or eat even remotely well. I usually cheat when it comes to food when he's gone, but I went a bit crazy since the weather wasn't great (SO MUCH SNOW!) and I went to the grocery store hungry (NEVER a good idea). My husband got back this past Monday and the weather has been MUCH nicer. I realize I'm using him as an excuse. It's not like we workout together or anything it's just I feel more accountable when he's around. I'm working on changing this feeling. I should be accountable to myself and not need someone else to push me to do the things I know I need to do.

I upped my step goal to 12k a day starting April 11 (my birthday). Last week I didn't hit it every day - but last Friday I got over 23k steps (which caused me to win one of my Workweek Hustle challenges!). This week I've hit the 12k every day and done 2 DailyBurn workouts every day to catch back up to where I'm supposed to be in my program. So - now I just need to work on my diet again. It's not an actual diet....it's more of eat less of what I already eat.....and not drink so much alcohol. That was part of my downfall last week and since my husband has been home all he wants to do is go out to eat and drink. This weekend is supposed to be super nice so hopefully we'll get a few hikes in - or at least some form of outdoor exercise. I'm also going to start back with the couch to 5k program this weekend. I know it will be a struggle since this high elevation in Colorado is so much different than what it was when I did the program before (in below sea level New Orleans). Also, I'm hoping that if I start now when it's nice when it does snow again I'll feel more determined to run that day even in the snow. Sorry for the long paragraphs - sometimes it's just good to get all your thoughts out there.

USW: April 2015 - 185lbs

CSW: 3/27/16 - 176.9lbs

PW: 4/1/16 - 175.7lbs - 1.2lbs

PW: 4/8/16 - 177.1lbs +1.4lbs

PW: 4/15/16 - 178.5lbs +1.4lbs

CW: 4/22/16 - 178.7lbs +.2lbs

GW: 5/30/16 - 165lbs

UGW: 120-125lbs

[IamRBrown]

Weigh in time...  not much to report with stress levels & harmones, but did make a itty bitty bit of progress!

USW:  208 (last year before any attempt to lose)

CSW: 188 (this challenge)

CW:  186 (hit that yesterday, stayed there today)

GW:  180 (hope to hit that this challenge)

UGW:  160 (hopefully by Christmas!)

Spring is finally here & I am going to start working with that Paint (who happens to be called Spring) in my profile picture so we are ready to hit some trails shortly!  Need to work on her ground manners after the winter with minimal work.  Along with that, I am going to try my hand a being a beekeeper... this ought to be an interesting spring!

Still down that 20 lb sack of potatoes...  now to lose the next one!

Ruth

[Chlz1997]

Quick post - my computer screen is't dispaying the forums correctly so posting from my phone...
I hit my 10# milestone! Not quite what I was shooting for this week but still pleased. 😋 #KeepMovingForward

[RubyH]

Greetings all

Have been laid up this week with flu, raised temp, raised heart rate etc so put my self into maintenance and bed rest with lots of fluids and vitamins and was not expecting the result I got when I hit the scales this morning after being in plateau for two weeks, very pleasantly surprised. Started back into exercise and diet mode yesterday gradually.

USW  Jun 1, 2013, 84kg/ 185.2 lbs

CSW  Apr 2, 2016, 61.7/ 136 lbs

PW    Apr 16, 2016, 61.9/ 136.5 lbs

CW   Apr 23, 2016,  61.1/ 134.7 lbs/ BMI 25.4

UGW  57kg/ 125.7 lbs/ BMI 23.7

Keep up the good work everyone, we are all awesome even when we berate ourselves and think we are less than someone else, it is so not true, we are all awesome individuals in our own right, there is no one better than or less than we are, we are all equals, everyone on this planet is facing a challenge of some kind and many of those challenges are very different to ours but we are all equals, we are neither more than, nor less so than anyone else, we a facing our challenges head on and tackling them, we are doing this and we are rocking it. Do your best, remember that you are in competition with yourself (that inner voice) only, and you are in control, give it your best shot, be patient with yourself, we are only human after all. We will do this and release our inner Alpha Male or Amazon for everyone to see, the goal is our health and our fitness, no one else's, Ours ❤️

[professorpete]

To all who celebrate Passover, have a good Seder, and easy on the matzoh

[dianenyc]

HelenKr -- You look beautiful!!! So happy for you.

[Samalama217]

@scottie0714 You can't really predict when a plateau will happen.  Usually happens for me after a few months of doing the same things over and over.  To get out of my last plateau, I stopped eating so many sweets and stopped eating after 8pm.  For the one prior, it sounds crazy, but I ate more!  For about 2-3 days in a row, I consumed maybe 1800-2000 calories daily.  Since I'm used to 1400, my body was confused as to what was going on.  So after I went back to the 1400 daily, I started dropping weight again; it was slow, but at least it was going down again.  Basically you just have to change SOMETHING, whether that is a different kind of workout or changing what you eat or how much you eat.

P.S.  I didn't check-in this week as I took a mini road trip to St. Louis to watch my beloved Blackhawks in the playoffs.  Much beer was consumed.  I'm super bloated and such, so will report this Wednesday with, hopefully, a nicer number.  Also, I haven't worked out all week 😕

[dianenyc]

Hi Guys,

Absolutely hellacious time at work for the past few weeks.  So with all the stress everything about my weight loss program has been spotty and sporadic -- steps, logging food, certainly keeping up with you, my fitbit buddies.  Okay, that's the bad stuff.

Now here's the good stuff -- my fitbit habits have carried me through.  What would in the past have been a fatty-fat-weight-gaining time turned into a plateau:

• there have been nights when I wanted pizza -- I ate chicken
• one night a friend invited me out to dinner after I had already eaten -- chicken.  I nursed a glass of red wine and watched him enjoy a plate of linguine with red clam sauce.  AND I WANTED LINGUINE.  After he asked several times if I didn't want to order something.  I did.  I hadn't eaten that day and what I had eaten for dinner had left me physically hungry.  I ordered baked eggplant -- ate half of it and took the rest home.  I also left more than half the wine -- simply because I'd had enough.
• I haven't been walking 10,000 steps -- but I have been walking an average of 8,000 each week.  
• During periods like this I would usually come home, dive into bed and order in (and we all know that take out is a wearable commodity.)  This time, I have either come home and cooked or stopped for a rotisserie chicken and made a salad.
• I have not taken stress as a cue to snack or overeat -- despite the fact that I haven't been logging my food.  I did snack a couple of times -- not on cheese or frozen yogurt -- but on a few olives (I love olives).
• I have continued to weigh myself.
• And -- and this is important -- I have been grateful for the plateau.  I did not take the non-budging of the scale as either a cue to beat myself senseless (usually guilt = stress = cue the comfort food) or add more stress to my load by trying to decrease carbs or calories or intensify my routine.
• No deprivation. Last Saturday, I went out for dinner with another friend after Mass -- burger with goat cheese, sauteed spinach, red onion, no bun and -- again -- a scant half a glass of red wine.  I wanted dessert, so we split a scoop of chocolate ice cream.  I let Frank eat the cookie.  I was satisfied.

So what was the end result?  Here are my numbers:

USW 184

CSW 162.2

  CW  161.2

  GW  160

UGW  150 (subject to downwar revision)

Yes, after nearly a month hovering between 162.6 and 162.2, I have lost a pound.  I am grateful and happy.

There are two months left in the school year and I have no reason to believe that they will be any less stressful -- so my commitments for this week -- which I have off -- are:  to increase my step count to at least 10,000 steps everyday, to take the opportunity to get back into the habit of logging my food (important because I will be spending time and sharing food with family and friends) and making adjustments on days when I am preparing food and eating as I usually do.  Finally, I am going to commit to doing 8 - 20 minutes of yoga everyday to regain some muscle tone in my arms and my core.

It's great to see everybody doing so well -- sorry for the overlong post.

God bless & have a great weekend.

DianeNYC

[FJBenjamin]

SW - 91.9 kgs (24 Mar)

LW - 89.0 kgs (17 Apr)

CW - 87 kgs (24 Apr)

GW - 87 kgs
UGW - 82 kgs

CW Loss - 2.0
Net Loss - 4.9kgs

Goal Weight Hit, time to shift the goal post to the next target ^^

[HelenKr]

@dianenyc - So good to have you back!  And congrats on the pound loss.

[RunnersHi]

Hi everyone, it's weigh-in day for me!

I'm eating an average of about 1,600 calories a day, which is still a 1,000 calorie/day deficit due to my new, more active lifestyle. It's really nice because it means I can fit in some treats without "busting my budget" as my husband and I say. I'm trying to strike a balance between enjoying those treats and social outings...and getting to my goal.

The treats/restaurants are winning so far...I'm averaging 1-1.5 lbs per week rather than my aggressive (at least for me) goal of 2 lbs per week. I know if I kept it closer to 1,200 calories/day, I'd get to my goal weight range quicker, but I'm also wondering if I should just relax a little and stick with the 1-1.5 lbs per week--slowly drop the weight loss per week down as I go so my body isn't shocked when I switch to maintaining. 

Is this just a bunch of BS so I can justify continuing to eat dessert? Quite possibly.

I'm very excited to get into the 160's. I have no idea the last time I was there. My scale gave me a peek at it--169.8--and the feeling was pretty fantastic. When I hit 162, I'll have lost 25% of my body weight! That's my next milestone! (I like finding little milestones every 5-8 lbs to keep me motivated in the short-term. It's similar to when I go running: I tell myself I'm just going to run to that next tree/telephone pole/house up ahead and then decide what my next mini-goal is once I get there. It's like having little spikes of success all the time and helps keep my attitude positive.)

I hope everyone has a great week!

USW- 216 (12/5/15)

CSW- 176 (3/27/16)

PW-171 (4/17/16), 174 (4/9/16)

CW-170 (4/24/16)

GW- 158

UGW- Somewhere between 136-146 (not sure yet)

[almost_where]

Easter Weight - 353

Week 1 - 351

Week 2  - 348

Week 3 -  348  (I came in at 346 day after weigh in due to massive sodium intake prior to weigh in)

Week 4 (CW)  - 344

Memorial Goal  - 333

-4 lb (9 lbs total)

Hit 10K and 15K milestones (thanks warm weather)

[MegCH]

Checking in! I started the 15 day challenge on Monday (workouts only, not the food part) and it's been a great week!

USW: 175 (Thanksgiving 2015)

CSW: 157.5

Last week: 156

CW: 153

GW: 150

UGW: 150!!

Looking forward to week 2 of the challenge, and continuing forward!

[ffcarpy]

I have never been so happy to be back were I started!  Five more weigh-ins and a bonus day until Memorial Day.  I was going to revise my goal because I thought 12 lbs in 5 weeks was a bit aggresive.  I think 12 lbs in 9 weeks would have been reasonable but at least I AM BACK ON TRACK!

USW 227     (1-11)
CSW 206     (3-27)
WK1 203.5. (4-03)

WK2 205.5  (4-10)

WK3 207.5  (4-17)

WK4 206.0  (4-24)
GW   194.0  (5-30)
UGW 180