Labor Day Challenge 2015

[GoneForARun]

Hello and welcome to the Labor Day Challenge 2015. 

We welcome all newbies and the awesome achievers from our 4th of July Challenge. 

This new challenge starts on July 5th and ends on Labor Day, Sept 7th.  So please feel free to post your Labor Day weight loss goals here and we'll be sure to provide lots of encourgament and support along the way.  I've listed my goals below.  Hoping to ready for my Labor Day Disney vacation.  For the newbies, here is a short key: SW = Starting Weight, CW = Current Weight, GW = Goal Weight, UGW = Ultimate Goal Weight.

SW: 200 (Jan 5)

CW: 173.3

GW: 159 (Labor Day)

UGW: 150 (Oct 13th, Wedding Anniversary!)

Trish

[dancefoxtrot]

Welcome Kim,

You are on your way. Low carb especially refined carbs makes sense to limit so you don't end up in the type 2 diabetes category. Non starchy veggies are your friend.

Wow more of us doing this journey together. It excites me and feels like a movement for health.

Be strong,

Barbara G

[JoyfulEagle]

SW = 159 July 22

CW = 159 July 22

GW = 148 Labor Day weekend

How? I plan to eat breakfast of protein and fruit, walk, work, lunch on lots of veggies and salads, walk, work, dinner will be fish/chicken and veggies, walk, work. Drink lots of water. Low to no carbs other than some fruits. No processed foods. Clean eating. Ride my bike 3 days a week for 1/2 hour, get my 5000 steps in daily, swin 30 minutes 3 times a week and meditate daily for the soul. If you knew me this is agreessive as I have arthritis in my joints and am in denial about a diagnosis of fibromylagia. and have as a result exercised little in the last several years. Clean eating, exercising, mediations and some vitamin supplementals plus the above schedule will I think ensure I feel better and am healthier. I welcome any and all support!

[dancefoxtrot]

joyfuleagle,

Sound great and healthy. I think with fibromyalgia exercise is good but ease into anything new to build up the muscle strength. 

All the best,

Barbara G

[dancefoxtrot]

Hi all,

Just a quick woo hoo as I finally cracked the 140 barrier a tiny bit. The scale said 139.9 this AM naked and post potty. It is only by 1/10 of a lb. but wwoooo hhooooo any way. Let's see if I can inch down to 135 now little by little and leave my muscles intact. I'm after the lower belly fat which is shrinking slowly. 

Eat healthy, low starch and sugar is the plan. Good thing I love veggies, beans and fruit. Must remind myself to drink water in this hot weather especially. 

Gardening and PT then dancing today. 

Lots of good wishes to all you strong steppers for health, health and more health.

Barb G

[mcfloozy]

woohoo right with ya! 

congrats, and thanks for encouraging everyone in our slow steady progress.

[Karzig]

Congratulations.  I cracked the 140 barrier recently too, and it feels great.  Keep up the good work!

[wannabeme]

Yay for you!  2 1/2 weeks in and have said good bye to the 150's! 

SW  158

CW 149.8

GW 138

I wish it came off as easily as it went on!

[Bobbinyc]

Wow you guys are doing great!  Congrats to Barbara and Wannabeme for breaking through that last 10.  Those numbers are hard fought for.   That's so exciting!  I hope you do something wonderful to celebrate your hard work.  

[kmme]

Hi Everyone ,

Hope your all having a great day:) Another great active day for me although the scale popped up a pound. I know this is just a hormone flucuation. Do you guys weigh daily? Just curious?

Kim

[Bobbinyc]

kmme - I weigh daily (mostly, but I don't care if I skip some times) because I am so good at denial.  My weight crept up and I didn't notice.  My pants got too tight and I didn't notice.  When my pants split I blamed the dry cleaner!  ok, so , maybe I had a problem with facing the weight gain.  For me this works.  But - I don't get upset or feel angry, guilty, or bad about myself if it goes up at all.  It's just a reality to deal with.  For me it is just information, helps me think about how I am doing. I am also very aware that losing weight is a biological process,not a mechanical one and it has it's own fluctuations.  It probably makes more sense to measure yourself.

If you are someone who berates yourself or has any emotional  reaction to the scale going up or staying the same, do not weigh yourself.  It is not  worth feeling bad about yourself (nothing is).  I know people who never weigh themselves and lose a lot of weight with just seeing how their clothes fit and measuring themselves.  

[dancefoxtrot]

Hi Kim,

I weigh most everyday and notice that it varies from day to day within 2-2.5 lbs.  It may have to do with it I'm more hydrated on some days. To be frank often, since I weigh before breakfast, if I took a poop, I weigh less. Just made it to 139.9 this AM and may bounce up to 142 in the AM tomorrow, in spite of careful eating, gardening most all day and dancing for most of 2 1/2 hours. Of course I do wish that it is

139.0 or 138.9. I'm eating my green salad, drinking water and going to sleep. At least that is my plan at this very moment.

I love Bobbi's advice not to do anything that make you feel badly about yourself. If you can weigh and sometimes shake your head or feel frustrated and then let it go then do it. It is information, just like your waist line shrinking and clothes fitting more loosely. 

Do what works for you and be firm and kind to yourself. Find ways to reward your progress that are not sabotaging your health. 

All the best,

Barbara G

[dancefoxtrot]

Hi Kim

PS This AM the scale said no gain or loss and read 139.9 for the second day. Very unusual and welcome.

Stay strong,

Barbara G 

[kmme]

Hi Bobbinyc ,

 I know what you mean about things getting out of control , the same happened to me when i gained my weight a few years ago. I kind of let things go , didn't weigh and stuck my head in the sand for awhile. I kept saying oh it's only 5 pounds , then 10 before  knew it i had put on 45 whopping pounds. Never again lol , live and learn i guess right:)

Kim

[kmme]

Hi Dancefoxtrot ,

Good for you for staying the same , unfortunately my weight went up another .5 this morning , i know it's just a blip though certainly not that i've been bad:)  I am addicted to the scale , almost unhealthily , i'm afraid. I weigh several times a day. Just the thought of not being able to weigh puts me in panic mode. That's how i put on the weight a few years ago by not weighing.

On an another note , do you dance? I assume from your name? I taught ballroom dancing back in my younger days and loved it:)

Kim

[dancefoxtrot]

Kim

Another former ballroom teacher! Yes I taught for years, mostly American Smooth and Rhythm in the SF bay area.  What did you specialize in? Now I still dance and I take a couple International Standard classes and still work to improve my skills and stay strong.  I absolutely love flying across the floor  as in Foxtrot or Waltz. 

I love Bolero also. Do you still dance? 

It is my favorite way to get steps! I tie my Charge HR around my ankle to get credit for my dance steps in closed position when my arms are pretty still. 

Don't panic about weighing since that ups the stress hormone Cortisol which is a fat storage hormone as well. Find a constant time to weigh like in the morning and them just keep track. You could be build muscle back. Have you recently gotten more active in a way to build muscle. 

[Tracy-15]

good for you!  you are so helpful to us all.   I wish you the best of luck!

[Paradise555]

Congrats on getting married! By labor day I want to walk 3 million steps. I am about 320,000 steps away. They way I have been walking as of late I know I will get that no problem. Plus I want to lose another 7.5 pounds by then.

[dancefoxtrot]

Welcome Paradise,

Sounds like a plan. Eat healthy too. 

Barbara G

[dancefoxtrot]

Double woo hoo.

This AM the scale actually dropped again so now it says 139.2 so that makes me 4.2 from my LD goal and final goal too I think. Managed to get my BMI to 21.77 now. We have 6 weeks and 2 days to go. Stay strong today and burn that fat.  Eat lots of veggies and lean protein. Happy stepping of any kind.

We are getting healthier together and I love it.

Barbara G

[kmme]

Hi Dancefoxtrot!

 Congrats on the scale going down again:)  Nice you still get to dance. My specialty was latin ( i have the hips for it...lol) Rhumba , Cha-Cha , Salsa . Would love to get back to it one day

Kim