Halloween to Thanksgiving (U.S.) Challenge 2016

[Bobbinyc]

Hello everyone! Welcome to the Halloween to Thanksgiving Challenge!!!

This challenge will begin on Halloween October 31st and finish on Thanksgiving (U.S.) November 24th. This is a little less than 4 weeks!  It helps us be realistic about weight loss goals and practice good habits before the next set of  holidays.

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 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 Nov. 24)

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!!

[Bogdel]

Happy Anniversary, @HeartBiller, and congratulations on reaching your goal! 

I hope you have a wonderful day today, and many more blessed years with the love of your life! 

Looking at your stats, you did an amazing job so far and, if you keep it that way, you will reach your ultimate, healthy goal.

Blessings and strengths! 

[_Lilac_]

@Bogdel They were yellow and many had already fallen to the ground. We collected them and I let them sit on my table for about two weeks before I decided to do something with them last night. They are super sour, so I'm not sure what is up with that. I don't have any extra to do as you suggest, but I wonder if my aunt still has some hanging off her tree. I could go steal more. Hahaha. My mom tasted my syrupy sauce and she loved it but because it's quite acidic she's not able to eat it. It will be great mixed with yogurt.

[Bobbinyc]

Just ate my way through early election returns in the U.S.  Was in a house full of people and everyone was doing stress eating.  So I left, am home, drinking water and getting in more steps to work off my worries.  That's something that has been reinforced by all of you guys - thank you.

[_Lilac_]

@dancefoxtrot My sympathies today. Take your frustrations, sadness, anger out on your walking shoes. Drown those feelings with water. I am going to join you. I'm going to pound the pavement today and make every step of rage and disbelief felt through the earth. 

[Gayle1018]

@_Lilac_@Bobbinyc

I decided not to watch last night,  wanted to sleep well ---

I'm a stress eater too,  trying not to let the world dictate how I should feel... So I love Lilac plan to take it out on the pavement and not defeat personal goals!    

[_Lilac_]

I feel for @dancefoxtrot because I believe she worked on a campaign and this will be a hard day. If it was someone who worked on the other campaign I'd be telling them not to celebrate too much with food and drink and to take a 'happy walk' to enjoy the mood. But like I said, this will be a hard day. 

I'm about to leave for my shopping trip to buy new walking shoes. I'll count the times someone in passing mentions the election to our south. I expect bus drivers, coffee servers, the shoe salesman, people wandering in the mall, walmart greeter, walmart cashier, etc. I'll keep a running tally out of interest. Maybe I'll do a hundred steps for everyone who mentions it to me. I won't initiate the conversation. I'll let you know how that turns out. 

[Bobbinyc]

Excuse me for being off topic.

My parents were immigrants.  They got out of Eastern Europe but my mother's whole family, friends, neighbors, were all killed.  That was World War II.  My parents were poor but saved up, for many years, to take us on a trip to Washington DC, something they always longed for, where they stood in front of the gates to the White House and prayed for the President to always have wisdom and strength.  My mother said that was the hardest job in the world, but that office  could influence the world to be a better and safe.

During the Civil Rights Movement, I wanted to march and was told I was too young.  But that as a family we would always fight for the rights of all people, always speak out for justice, and always vote for someone who would do the same.  

Now what?

All the walking possible won't help this one.

[hannahbebrave]

@Bobbinyc Thank you so much for sharing this.   I think you had amazing parents who taught you right.

I am both heartbroken and terrified.  They say that fascism will come, not with uniforms, but with a familiar face.  A lot of what you all do talk about here is putting our goals and our wishes into action.  Along those lines, I am going to follow your and @dancefoxtrot's lead and put my stress into action.  No more feeling victimized or eating my feelings or being passive.  I am going to find a way to do my part, even if it means calling my representatives and letting them know how one voter thinks.  I do believe it is time I found my voice.

Thanks again for sharing so much of yourself.  I always feel enlightened by  how you view the world.

[_Lilac_]

@Bobbinyc Nope, all the walking will NOT fix this. But it will help keep that anxiety you feel in your gut in check. We need to take care of ourselves and reducing stress is part of that, to lessen the chance of stress eating and feeling like giving up or just being down in general. So, I'm going to walk. And if the time comes, I'll march. And stomp if needed. 

I've returned from my shopping trip with 7800 steps. I'd like to report that not ONE person spoke to me about the election. Now, in my little part of Canada strangers talk to each other, at bus stops, from the next table at coffee shops, while holding doors open for each other, etc etc. I heard conversations going on around me (the salespeople in the optical dept. at Walmart for example) but no one mentioned it directly to me. The hockey games last night were discussed, though. Maybe employees were asked not to speak about it, but that would be unusual. It's not even our election. And Canadians take a morbid pleasure in the strange (yes, I'm trying to be nice) antics of those from south of the border. 

Having said that, not ONE person wanted me to walk extra steps today!! I was going to do 100 extra steps per conversation about it...and 200 for any person who expressed any support for the president-elect. I knew that wouldn't happen though. If you want to know why I say that, take a look at the history of our last election of our Prime Minister and who that is. Can't be more different. 

On to other business...my pet peeve...people talking on their cell phones while driving. It is illegal here. So when I saw a police officer doing it today, I got mighty mad. He wasn't looking at me or I would have made a motion of talking on the phone but I did yell at him as he drove by me.  And he was driving on the street next to the POLICE STATION. So, I took my chubby butt up the stairs and inside the lobby to make a complaint. There were so many people sitting around waiting for the ONE receptionist that I gave up. There are cameras all around, I should have just started talking to one of the cameras to make my complaint. That was another irritation that drove me to walk with purpose today. 

I got my shoes...dreamy with foamy soles so I won't even need my inserts to help my arches. I bought some bright purple laces to put in them cuz I'm that kinda kooky and can't wait to go out tomorrow. I might not do a whole lot more today, though I could get to my 10000 pretty easily. It's only 3pm!

Ok, does that cover everything? Politics, corrupt cops (haha), steps, shoes, oh I'm almost done my 2nd litre of water. I started to do my weekly weigh in yesterday but knew I was still sloughing fat so I'll use today's as the official one for the week. I went down 1.8lbs from Halloween. I think that's it for my daily blab blab blab. 

And remember, a smile is just a less tense version of gritting your teeth, so if you can't smile, fake it with a badass snarl. 

[HeartBiller]

@Bogdel Thanks for the Anniversary wishes! It is beyond amazing to me that I have been married 30 years! It seems like yesterday... It always amazes me how time flies. We spent the evening at a church watching our grandbabies practice skits they do at church. I guess there really wouldn't have been a better place to be.

On another note.. I am done 2 more ounces today..lol. I don't count my weight generally except on Tuesday's, but I am happy about it, so I will write about it...lol. Find happiness where we can, Right...lol

Today is going to be a fun filled day at the office, ( short staffed) BUT we will make the most of it. I am hoping when I leave here to get to go for a good walk.

Hope everyone has a blessed day and on a good note tomorrow is Friday!!! lol

[dancefoxtrot]

Thanks for the support over our loss. 

Well I'm very stunned and saddened by the results of the election. Tragic that someone who is ignorant, arrogant, racist, rude, crude, sexual assaulter and lied 78% of the time won the Presidency. I'm bewildered how this disgraceful con man won this honor.  Hillary Clinton who I and many others campaigned for won the popular vote.  We have the archaic electoral congress which delivered the presidency to the other less popular, less qualified, and unfit person.

Let's pray for our dear country.

Now to lose the weight I added while eating anxiously as I sat for hours getting out the vote for Hillary. 

I will move more and also eat smaller portions. 

Today 150.3 darn it

GW     147.5  maybe I can fast and drink veggie broth and protein shakes for a couple meals. 

Okay off my duff and off to walk.

Best to all of you fine folks,

Barbara G

[almost_where]

@dancefoxtrot

This is just a friendly suggestion.

I'm not saying that I agree or disagree with you about the election but my suggestion would be to leave the politics out "Managing Weight" discussion boards for the following reasons.

a) people trying to manage their weight have a big enough battle dealing with weight alone and adding politics only adds divide. It would be a shame if Person A stopped speaking to Person B about managing weight due to their political affiliation.

[A_Lurker]

@HeartBiller - if you weigh in daily, consider using trendweight.com to track your weights.  It's free, and you don't need a wifi scale - it will pull your daily weights from your fitbit account.  My daily weights go all over the place, but the overall trend is down.  Unless you're someone who finds their emotional well being based on your daily weigh-in it can be interesting to see the ups and downs as you go.  I use Sunday because, well, I sleep later and make a point to weigh in after my morning bowel movement (I know TMI).  During the week I swear how quickly I get up and run out the door affects my weight.

[mommo77]

SW:  212

this challenge:  156.8

goal this challenge:  150

Current:  155

At the rate I'm losing (and re-gaining the same pound every 10 days or so  before it stays gone-ugh) I won't make it to goal by Thanksgiving, maybe even Christmas.  But that's okay.  Thankfully I feel like I have time, now.  When I started back in March I was so filled with fear that I felt a sense of urgencey to lose as much as possible as fast as possible.  Now I can let it slow down and hopefully keep the weight off this time. 

I took other members advice and embraced the season.  Fall always depresses me but this year I'm making an effort to  enjoy it, in honor of my mom.  The sunsets are spectacular, and a perfect time to give thanks for another day.

Gratitude is it's own kind of reward therapy, I find. Stopping to count my  blessings really does keep me on track in every aspect, not just weight. 

Happy Friday everyone, and have a great weekend.

[Bobbinyc]

@almost_where I agree and apologize for my political comments.  Thank you for wording your message so sensitively.  I got into feeling like this is a place where people are sharing their stresses, as that is so tied in to how we take care of ourselves.  And I didn't think about how divisive politics can be.  I certainly hope that a difference of opinion, whether about diet, exercise, family care, or politics, would never lead to anyone staying away, or even getting angry, but the truth is it can. So, thanks for pointing that out. 

[Gayle1018]

Good day so far. I have been challenging myself to get up half and hour earlier and walk for over 2 weeks.  TODAY did it!!  got 2 miles in before work,  got to see the sun rise. (dog was shocked!).

Agree with mommo77 to stop and count blessings!   Have a great Friday all!

[_Lilac_]

Week 2 Day 5:

Well, I guess today is going to be my 'rest' day. It's Remembrance Day in Canada and a stat holiday. There was no water aerobics class this morning so I took my dogs for a 3700 step walk. Not far but Buster is a puller and I think I should get extra credit for all the calories I burn from being hauled around. We worked a bit on his leash manners while out. 

It is raining, preventing my mom from wanting to go for our walk in the natural park. And the mall is closed so we can't walk around that for extra steps. I'll go on my own around the neighbourhood later (at a good pace) or do a few Leslie Sansone videos or march in front of the tv. Even when it's a rest day, I still feel the urge to move and can't just sit around anymore.

I think I'm getting a cold. I felt it in my chest yesterday then this morning in my head a bit. I'm fighting it as much as I can! 

My goals for today are to make a healthy chicken, tomato and veggie soup to battle this cold. I'm going to avoid the NEWS at all costs. I'll do some writing on my scifi piece and ...I dunno yet. I'll find more to do. 

Have a great day. We are heading into the weekend!

[HeartBiller]

@A_Lurker I will check out the sight you are talking about when I get time. I don't weigh daily. I don't own a scale at home...lol. (Sad huh). I work for a Dr. and we have 2 separate clinics, one has a digital scale and the other is a manual one. I like the digital. I am in that office on Tuesday and Thursday, so even though Tuesday is my official weigh day....lol. I cant help but get on it on Thursday too. I think what you are talking about would be nice just to see how it goes.

I am really enjoying this group so much. It is so nice to have people to give advice and opinions. I know the same thing isn't for everyone, so this is awesome to have so many different people all striving for the same goal. Even to have one who may have hit that goal but still hang out to talk. Whether the goal is lots or a few, we all have a goal. I am so glad I found this group!

[DiAnn704689]

up date

csw starting was 195 and now 193 down 2#'s I know I can make my gw of 190 by Thanksgiving.

Keep up the good work every I beleave you all can make it one step at a time.

[DJC_63]

@Bobbinyc @dancefoxtrot @hannahbebraveI am relieved to know that there are others here who feel as badly as I do. I volunteered also, which isn't easy where I live. I'm surrounded by Trump signs. We literally met in a barn on a backroad, hidden by trees. I met wonderful people, though. There was no TV there, though, so we were all on our phones and laptops as the results started coming in, and I caved and just ate what was there.  A bagel with cream cheese was as healthy as I could get.  We left at 9:30 and I came home and watched in disbelief as the results kept coming in. I said "f__k it" and ate whatever I felt like eating, which ironically, wasn't much. I barely slept that night so I had no energy for exercise the next day. Last night, however, I was feeling incredibly angry so I got to the gym and did a really good workout on the elliptical. I could have stayed there for hours. 

I keep swinging from deep depression to outright rage. I honestly don't think I've ever been so upset over an election, or wanted so much to eat fattening things just for something to make me feel a little better. So my weight this morning is up to 191 or 192, I don't even remember for certain. I'm hoping the depression will go away and leave me with just anger, as at least that motivates me to exercise.

I won't write more about politics but since it is a very real stressor that makes it hard to do the healthy thing, I think just saying that it is affecting me this way is not a bad thing.