July 4th to Labor Day Challenge 2016

[dancefoxtrot]

Welcome one and all to our next challenge for better health and weight loss or maintenence.

We gather here to support each other, cheering and empathizing with the process of life style

change to improve our health and quality of life.

Set reasonable goals so you can feel success.

USW= heaviest weight when you began to lose

SW=starting weight

CW=current weight

GW=goal weight for Labor Day

UGW = Ultimate goal weight - long term healthy weight goal

Some people include their BMI = Body Mass Index, and some add their height as well. 

You can stop by once a week and post your progress or every day to get and give ideas and support. 

Most people track their food intake as well as steps to make sure you burn at least 500 to 750 more calories than you consume. Remember eat healthy food and portions in a way that you can maintain.

We can do this together. We have seen great progress over the last 7 challenges. 

Welcome.

Barbara G

[hanmi]

USW = 149.9 lbs (April 26, 2016) 28% BF

Week 1 - 137.1 lbs (July 4)

Week 2 - 136.3 lbs (July 11)

Week 3 - 137.7 lbs (July 18) 22-24% BF

Week 4 - 136.5 lbs (July 25)

Week 5 - skipped (Aug 1)
Week 6 - skipped (Aug 😎
Week 7 - 135.1 lbs (Aug 15) 24% BF

GW   = 132 lbs

UGW = 128 lbs

Height = 5'4

I have been fluctuating between 132-136 lbs depending on what I eat and drink. Also, recovering from a really bad food poisoning incident (it's been the rage in my town lately). Karma got me. My gym is shutting down and I thought I would give up fitness. So I went on a food binge after having eaten clean for the past few months. I ate deep fried chicken and garlic butter fries (doused and drowned in butter). All of that was not a good combination.

[khreed]

@Bobbinyc Thanks, I needed a little bossiness.

[alegria16]

@Bobbinyc and@DJC_63 Thank you!

I know I've got this. I just need patience and to take good care of myself during the slow and not feeling good times. Bring on the crisp fall air and winter snow!

As far as meds go, this one is the last one before trying botox. A number of the preventatives I can't take due to an extreme allergy to the tiniest amount of lactose, a common inactive ingredient. Some drugs have had bad side effects -- like suddenly falling asleep while driving, getting lost on my way home from work (just 4 turns), meltdowns, not being able to string sentences together, forgetting how to add (I'm a statistician). Good times. So far, I'm feeling pretty good on this one; we'll how things are in a couple of weeks.

[Bobbinyc]

@hanmi Glad you are recuperating.  Food poisoning can be painful and dangerous.  Do they know what caused so many people to get it?  I hope you feel better and can get back to taking good care of yourself.

[Bobbinyc]

@khreed  Oh, no problem.  Any time you  need some bossiness, just let me know.  (No one else lets me!)

[DJC_63]

@khreed  I totally get the frustration of not seeing the scale move. And it's easy to only get 1,000ish steps.  When I started using a Fitbit I was usually in the 1000 to 2000 steps per day range. I haven't been working and for several years I was only awake at night. Not many places to go then! Having a Fitbit has made me totally change my life, now I couldn't go back to the way I was.

I'm glad that you know that you're gaining muscle. When that happened to me I kept telling myself that as long as I was losing inches I was doing the right thing. My goal was/is to be stronger and look better, and more muscle will make that happen.

I'm glad that we can compare notes! Having this group to support my journey has made a world of difference. Last week I was able to wear a pair of shorts that I haven't been able to wear for years. My first thought was "I can tell the group!" 

[DJC_63]

Thanks so much @Bobbinyc.  There is still stress, of course, but I don't want to write about it every week. My Mom's pacemaker seems to be helping her energy a lot and I see her trying to take control back over things that she used to do. Unfortunately she still can't do a lot of the physical things and rather than asking for help she just gets stressed out and angry (anger has always been a problem for her).  It's hard not to get angry in return when I'm just trying to help, but I try to think of the difference in how we deal with things.  And I remind myself that you can only try to help, if a person doesn't want it you can't force it on them.

I have started having some heart issues myself this past week. My heart flutters/flips and it's very noticeable. I remember having ECG's for pre-ops 9 years ago and they all had notations about some left atrial problem and prolonged Q-T syndrome. None of the docs even mentioned it to me, so I figured it was no big deal, but I'm thinking I need to find a cardiologist and get checked out. I searched for my copies of those ECG's and of course can't find them.  I'm wondering why this is happening all of a sudden, maybe stress?

Thanks so much for your post - it means a lot!

[DJC_63]

@Cele21 That is great that it's going easier than you expected. My big weaknesses food-wise are breads of any kind, and sweets.  I've been doing really good on the bread part - generally the only kind I eat are Flat Out multi-grain wraps and muffins. The muffins are my treat food - chocolate chip or cinnamon - I get 1 for breakfast.  At some point I might cut those out too, but right now life is stressful and sometimes those are the only good thing that I think of when I wake up.

Sweets will be harder to get rid of. I love dark chocolate so I buy a Ghiradelli bar and have a few squares after dinner.  I think I'm okay with leaving that in my diet.  I don't eat any other kind of candy bar. I do love my gummi bears, tho.  I like that they're small so I can eat a few but feel like it's a good-size snack.  Still, I'm working on cutting them out.  I bought a brand that I don't like that much so I'm eating a lot less of them!

I think most of us have something that is a "weak spot" when it comes to nutrition. That's why we support each other so we can move toward a mostly healthy diet. You sound like you're doing great, imo.  Keep me posted!

[awood08]

Long time no post! lol

Hope you all are doing great, life has been beyond stressful....we have had 3 offers and contracts on our home fall through, due to the buyers financing or them backing out for some financial reason. We finally had a cash buyer come along and we are now in the middle of closing....we put in an offer on another home, it's been accepted and as soon as the renters are out we are moving in and closing on that one. Life without Fitbit has become a little less exciting. I always looked forward to catching up, competitions, and that lovely buzz of my wristband when I hit my goals. But so far everything has stayed good with my weight maintenance. Until I have the full focus and dedication I'm still taking a break away from pushing myself as I had done before. 

USW 235

CSW 163

PW   162

CW   161

UGW 150's

[khreed]

@awood08 I am so happy that it looks like the stress of selling one home and buying another will soon be behind you. That is one of the most stressful things in life. You have every reason to be proud of what you have accomplished. Maintaining is great. Sometimes I think all of us need to take a little break. Congratulations.

[Bobbinyc]

@DJC_63 

Symptoms can definitely be caused by stress (I am not a doctor, I just read a lot so I could be wrong), but that doesn't mean you ignore it.  This is probably nothing.  But we are here because we are learning to take better care of ourselves so this is part of it.  Get it checked and be sure.

If you have the same internist/family doc, that person might have your records and be able to discuss it with you.  He/she should answer all questions.  If they don't have those records, call your gp/internist and get an appt. immediately.  Make sure they know you are having symptoms, that you have some kind of history so you can get an appt. faster.  They may be able to do some tests in the office.  A referral from your regular doc might get you a heart eval that is more specifically related to your concerns.  And your doc should be able to refer you to a cardiologist he/she recommends and get you in quickly by calling them.

That's ideal.  If that doesn't work and for some reason you need to find a cardiologist on your own, you might want to check a good hospital near you, maybe a teaching hospital.  They sometimes attract people who are up on the latest in research. Or someone who was trained in a high level school. It's not easy to find someone who is smart, thorough, and actually spends the necessary time.  

Either way, please please make an appt. today.  You might as well - you know how naggy and bossy I can get 

[Bobbinyc]

@awood08!! Hello!!  Nice to see you here again.  The house selling and buying sounds stressful.  Hopefully the end is in sight and life will move forward.  Keeping your weight constant is a major success. And if I remember right, you are keeping your weight at a lower number than you originally planned to reach.  Impressive.  I hope we get to see you more frequently, whether or not you are focusing on weight.

[Bobbinyc]

Forgot to list my weight:

May - steady 190.5

June - steady 190.5

July 4    190.5

July 11  190.5

July 18  190.5

July 25  190.5

Aug 1   190.5

Aug 8   189.5

Aug15  188.5

The scale has been testing my ability to persevere, be optimistic, not focus on the number, and focus on what matters most to me - health and vitality.  

[audi3160]

Checking in today. Lose 2.5 lbs. Yay!!! Heading in the right direction.

[scottie0714]

@Bobbinyc Congrats! Looks like your scaling down again - that is so awesome!  It's so interesting how weight loss works.  I think my body is getting comfortable, so I need to do something different and perhaps get a little more strict with my eating.  I've been a little lose - BUT I always write down everything I eat into my app.  I have to hold myself accountable in some way or another.  

I can't wait to hear about your next update!

[Bobbinyc]

@scottie0714 Thanks so much for your support.  My body seems to have gotten stubborn when it comes to losing.  Though if I even look at sweets, the weight piles on.  I assume my metabolism and/or thyroid are kinda sleeping on the job.  In the days when I had more control over my weight, I found that shaking things up a bit with exercise and food helped.  And logging food has been a real education for me.  I was eating healthy for the most part but still too much.  It's great that you keep logging your food.  How else can you be accountable? 

[Cherylwith5]

USW 231 12/29/2015

CSW 217 7/4/2016

CW 218.4 7/19/2016

CW 215.8 7/27/2016

CW 216.4 8/10/2016

CW 215.2 8/17/2016

CW           8/24/2016

CW           8/31/2016

GW 210    9/5/2016

UGW 135

[DJC_63]

@Bobbinyc. I agree about logging. That was one of the most eye-opening things after I got my Fitbit. Little things add up quickly, and if I don't do much activity on any given day, I don't get much allowance for food.somedays I think that I haven't eaten a lot, but once you log it you realize that you're almost at your limit.

[DJC_63]

Believe me I understand! I've just been going from 190 to 191 for s real weeks now. It does get frustrating! I wish I could thing of some really uplifting thing to say. Just know that you're not alone in your feelings or your struggle. I keep telling myself that I'll get there eventually and I try to remember the good feeling of being able to fit into something that I haven't worn for awhile. I know we all say we just should be happy to be healthy, and while that is very important to me, I still care what I look like and what I can achieve.

[rachel_g22]

Another Wednesday update for me.. How has it already been one week? I swear this week has gone by the absolute quickest..

Start: 152
Last week: 152
This week: 149.2
Difference: 2.8
Goal: 144

So down a little more than 2.5 pounds. I totally was not expecting that this week of all weeks. It's been the busiest week ever at work, with all of our 16 interns leaving, and I have made less than desirable food choices all week. I'm basically eating what I can when I can find 5 minutes. So this is, again, quite the surprise.

I have been running, a lot. I did a long run on Sunday (7mi) and have been consistently running around 20mi per week, and that's only going up each week. I have to assume that's where the 2.5 came from, as I haven't been doing as much yoga either. It's so very weird how the body works.