Labor Day to Halloween Challenge 2016

[Bobbinyc]

Welcome to the next Challenge!

This one will start on Labor Day and continue to Halloween, 2016.  That gives us 8 weeks to work toward our next set of goals as we try to lose weight or maintain in a healthy way.

Everyone is welcome to join this terrific group. You can post once weekly or every day - whatever you like - to share your journey, give and get support, offer advice, get some tips.  We have celebrated each other's successes, and empathized with the setbacks.  I personally found, the more I respond to others, the easier it is for me to focus on my own journey in a positive way.  We have seen great progress in previous challenges, because we are in it together and focusing on being healthier and living better lives.

Some of the terms used to report our weight:

USW - ultimate starting weight - the heaviest weight when you began to lose

SW - starting weight for this challenge

CW - current weight for the day you report in

GW - goal weight for this challenge, for Halloween

UGW - ultimate goal weight that you intend to reach eventually

Some people also include their height, their age, their BMI.  

All  you need to do to join, is start posting, usually with some of the weight information.

I'm very excited about continuing with this wonderful group of people and meeting some new folks too.

Thanks to dancefoxtrot for starting the last challenge.

See you here on Labor Day!

[_Lilac_]

7700 steps today and it's all walking. I still have to take the dogs for another trek around the neighbourhood later to keep me awake. With only 4-5 hours sleep last night I'm trying not to doze off in my chair because I need to sleep tonight. I'm hoping to reach 10k today after my horrible last few days. 

Everybody MOVE. It improves your motivation, improves your mood, helps you deal with stress easier, gives you more energy and so on and so on! Get crackin'!

[dancefoxtrot]

Hi all,

Sorry to learn of the struggles that many of us are having. KHReed glad that you are back. I too gained a lb this week although I'm beginning to distrust my scale again. It said 148. so I went to the potty and emptied my bladder, to be graphic, and the scale didn't move. Now wait a minute. If water weighs a lb per pint and I voided at least 1/2 pint so the what the heck the scale should say 147.5 but it didn't. Does anyone have an Aria scale that works well?

Anyway, I agree that life provides roadblocks and we get to learn about ourselves in watching how we respond. Sounds like most of us need to move a lot to burn even portion controled meals. We can feel upset, frustrated and think it is not fair and still get up from our chairs and move, move and move again.

Even if it is a slow process we still have each other on the slow but healthy journey to better health. 

Remember you are not alone and we are all rooting for each other.

Now out of my comfy chair finally.

Best,

Barbara G

[khreed]

@Bobbinyc Thanks. I'm having a good week activity-wise. My attitude is much more positive. Thanks for the support.

[debb21]

Just a reminder to join "challenge me too" under community and activity groups.  All you have to do is join, and then you can compare how our group is doing.  You don't have to blog, comment, or participate in any other way.

[SunsetRunner]

Thank you for your words, dancefoxtrot. Yes, you are so correct when you say, "...some of us have to move a lot to burn even portion controlled meals...." I did not post my weight this week.  Despite my efforts both with good eating habits and lots of walking, over the past 4 weeks, I have remained the same weight and even gained a pound one week.  Although there were a couple weeks that seemed like a 2 pound loss, as of today, the scale still says 163.

I am sure that being almost 70 has something to do with this struggle, and 20 years ago, my efforts thus far with that 35 pound loss would have seen success. Some days, it is so disheartening, especially with the effort I continually put into it.  

But despite my lack of weight loss, I DO know that the benefits of my trying to be consistent in daily exercise paired with my efforts to eat clean and healthy are a positive check mark for my well being.  I actually feel better and function better in daily activities and emotional attitude.  Strangely, knowing that I am trying to take care of myself seems to motivate me somehow and pull me out of those times when I feel disheartened.

You are SOooo right when you say that," ...life provides roadblocks and we get to learn about ourselves in watching how we respond."  Such words of wisdom. Thank you!  I have learned so much about myself emotionally and physically since I began looking at my health habits and making an effort to rectify many of them.  

I love this discussion group.  Reading about other people's successes and struggles and seeing the similarities in myself has been so encouraging and also helps me keep motivated. 

So, onward..... I can do it!    Have a great Wednesday everyone!

[_Lilac_]

Week 6 Day 3:

Went to the pool. Yay. The dogs were driving me nuts so I took them for a walk. We came home and had a nap then they drove me nuts. Made a nice lunch, drove me nuts. Threw them outside, drove me nuts. I went to sit outside with them. I had a nasty craving for a snack. A banana wasn't cutting it. A 60 calorie popsicle didn't help. I was searching for crackers or snacky things that are not good for me, but I don't have them in the house, of course. The popcorn I have comes out greasy in that powdered butter so I won't eat it anymore. It's yucky. (I have to get my hot air popper out). I looked in my old recipe book and thought, 'hmmm..a couple of homemade cookies might be okay. I'm way under on calories today.' So I started making some plain cookies but cut the recipe by a quarter. OOPS I didn't cut the butter by a quarter. So I had to add more ingredients to balance it out. I was thinking about A_Lurker's suggestion to make a few and freeze the rest in small servings. Well, I plopped my dough by the spoon into the round 9 inch round pan and when I checked back later, I had a GIANT 9 inch cookie! hahahaha. I had 5 spoons of dough left so I put them in with plenty of space for each, and again I had a huge round cookie. So I cut them in small sections and will freeze 'em all. I ate one portion (two cookies worth) and now I can laugh at myself and drink more tea and plan a healthy supper. One munchy disaster will teach me a valuable lesson. I should have just baked a small potato or had my supper early.

8200 steps so far today. During a hockey game tonight (it's NHL opening night!) I'll do some stepping/marching/kicking in place. My dogs will drive me nuts trying to get in on the action but I want to get to 10k tonight.

Oh!! I just learned today that a brand new outdoor skating oval is being constructed in town!! It is only for recreational skating, not hockey, and it is going to have a cooling system so the ice will be frozen even if the weather is a little too warm! With our warming climate our winters aren't sustaining our outdoor ice surfaces as well. This will be awesome. I have good solid skates that won't stress my ankles. I can't wait!

[A_Lurker]

@_Lilac_ - too funny about the cookies.  My start to frozen cookie insanity will start likely this coming weekend.  I still have 98 bulbs to plant (was 128 when I got home) so I'll be done them by the weekend, or close.  The cookies I make area fairly small (~18g each doughball).  I'm aiming for about 1800 balls although some will be last minute fudge (2 kinds) and a recipe I found last year called chocolate crack.  Since I assume I will likely run out of steam (or weekends) I bought some individually wrapped chocolates at Costco yesterday that I will add in as well.  The plan is to eventually bake them all over 2 days and take them into work on Dec 19th.  Might be the 20th as I need to divide them up for each shift.  Well, I don't have to - I want to.  I will likely pay more attention to the ingredients and calorie counts for each as I go this year.

Anyway, off to bed I must go.  Long boring story, but I spent almost 2 hours in the local emergency with my mother (no, nothing wrong, her just being... well, her).  Threw off my plans for dinner - made her some soup when we got back, but put the shepherds pie that I made from scratch into the fridge - hoping the roast beef isn't too tough tomorrow.  I'm off to have a dinner of a protein bar, a bag of sun chips, and 180 calories yet to be determined.  I suspect I won't make up my steps today, but just go to sleep after that.

[A_Lurker]

@dancefoxtrot - I don't have an Aria, but I've seen that with my scale too.  It's almost like the newer scales have a memory that gives you the same weight within a few minutes.  I've done the same some days, except with a bowel movement.  I'll like to myself that I should be lighter and it gives me the same weight.  Agreed, it is odd.

[Bobbinyc]

@dancefoxtrot I had an Aria scale. I got it when I wasn't losing weight for months and thought my scale had to be broken.  The first time I stepped on it, it gave me an extra 10 pounds.  It was right next to my old fashioned, non-battery, not smart scale.  I stepped on the Aria again, and lost 1 pound.  I tried again 3 more times, lost 1 pound each time, (now there's a weight loss technique!) and got on line for support.  I was told that it needed to be adjusted, which they did at their end.   So I got back on and it was still 5 pounds high.  I went to support again and was told the Aria is accurate to 5 pounds in either direction. That seems ridiculous to me. She tried adjusting it again until it was one pound lower than my old scale.

Then it seemed to be consistent.  I used both scales for a week, and it seemed to work as both scales went up and down together.  (nothing like getting bad news twice).  Then the Aria started going a little further up and down..not 5 pounds worth, but enough.  So I returned it and use my little old fashioned $15 scale. 

[Bobbinyc]

I'm joining the club of those who are struggling. (Wait, I haven't left yet!)  I gained another pound this week.  I thought with the cooler weather, even though I tend to eat more, that I'd be walking more and it would work.  I guess there are always reasons for it to not work, unless you just create more reasons for it to work.

So, I have a work break soon and will be out walking again, despite feeling very tired.  Maybe that will get my energy going.

[IamRBrown]

Time for me to weigh in...  I should have done it on Monday, but...  I try to weigh in early in the week since it helps me keep on track for the weekend!  Had the grands this weekend thru yesterday & work has been a real pain - getting lots of steps there, tho! 

So... here we go:

Original starting weight (2015):  207

Current weight (10/3/16):  185

Current weight (10/13/16)  181  look at me go this week!  I think I needed that break where I just worked on maintaining...

Goal by Halloween 2016:  180  might have to modify this DOWN a bit... we will see!

Ruth

[_Lilac_]

My encouraging little pixie voice is telling me to get moving, get stuff done, go out, go walk, do errands, etc. My daughter's voice is telling me, 'but you aren't feeling well and you are sick and need to rest',  and then the monster voice says, 'you just want to sleep all day', and the pixie pipes up demanding, 'you need to gooooo'. So, I'm spinning in circles, not sure what to do. 

I do feel crappy. I slept maybe 4.5 hours. Woke up, got to my aquafit class 20 min late, felt dizzy and drugged again like I did before I was rushed to the hospital last Friday. I have a doc appointment at 3pm but my pixie is telling me, "why don't you go get your bloodwork done, go to the library, walk to the doctor...and if you collapse at least people will be around you to help. If you are home resting and it happens, you are alone! Go go go."

*banging head on the desk* So confused. Ok, sitting here isn't helping. 

I hope everyone can find their own energy pixie to push them today. It's beautiful here. Gorgeous autumn day. I wish I could share the crunchy colourful foilage and the foresty smells with you.

[Bobbinyc]

@_Lilac_  I think that pixie has gotten a little carried away.  The point isn't to move move move.  The point is to take good great care of ourselves. You just had a health incident; why risk another before fully understanding what is going on?  We need to be experts at listening to our own bodies.  If yours feels like it did before you were hospitalized, maybe that counts.  You already did the aqua fitness.  Maybe your daughter is right this time.  Are you afraid to be home alone now?  That seems reasonable to me - what you are going through is scary.  But going out walking and doing errands isn't the only answer.  I don't mean to sound like a mother here, but...well...I'm going to sound like a mother.  You know how much I admire your drive.  But, today might be a day to ease up a bit. See what the doctor says.

[_Lilac_]

@Bobbinyc Well, after I ate breakfast and rested a bit, I felt a lot better. I was no longer feeling like the earth beneath my feet was moving and making me unsteady. I took the bus downtown, sat and had a muffin and coffee and then walked to the doctor's office. She told me to get off my diuretic (I stopped taking it Saturday anyway). Also, she said the other patient she had with potassium as low as mine was an anorexic who refused to eat. I told her I'm losing weight but I'm eating! I keep track of everything, I eat a lot of good, healthy food with high potassium levels, usually about 1700 calories a day, give or take a bit. I have dropped a lot (22ish pounds) in the 5 weeks we've been doing the challenge, but it's not by starving! Maybe it was a little too fast. It's simply the moving I'm doing that is making the difference. I was a slug going uphill stuck in tree sap before. I've already got 11k steps today including my aquafit class. Three days in a row I've got good step count. But I've eaten! A muffin, eggs, a toast, 2 vegetable samosas, banana, and I still have to have supper. I'll get my dark green veggies in, meat protein and yogurt and another fruit. Ya, I don't know. 

My pixie is sensible. My daughter is sensible. I'm resting for the remainder of the day. I'm honestly not pushing myself too hard. I have to go shopping tomorrow for a winter coat and a fall jacket. I mistakenly donated them when I was cleaning out a closet in the spring. I put the bags too close together and they were taken away. Sigh. Dummy move. And I am going to a wedding Saturday so I need something to wear to that. I hate shopping!! But it's steps and time with my daughter. 

The wedding is for my late husband's best friend. He was going to be his best man if he'd lived longer. They are going to have a display honoring the people they've lost and his photo will be there. And I'll be wearing his boutonniere. Ugh. It might be a rough day.

Blah blah blah. okay, I'll stop. 

Have a great day all!!

[debb21]

@_Lilac_ you have such a good attitude.  You are monitoring your food, but you are still enjoying what you eat.  This is a lifestyle change, which will stay with you.  I enjoy reading your comments.  Keep working hard and have fun!

[mommo77]

USW: 212

SW:166

CW: 159

GW: 150

UGW: 135

I don't know about any one else, but this time of year is really tough for me.  Not just eating and activity, or losing weight, it's just a hard time, period.  It was my mother's favorite season, and it makes me miss her so much.  I absolutely loathe the last hour or so of the day, when the sun starts to go down.  It makes me so unexplainably sad.  I guess because I grew up so stinking poor, and the winters were so cold and depressing, that time of day at this time of year takes me right back there. I have to almost physically pull myself out of a deep funk this time every year.  This year, being determinded not to use food to comfort myself, I'm feeling anxious and afraid. 

I'm so thankful the people here are so supportive and open.  I don't post often, but I read and stay caught up on the goings-on.  This is an amazing group, so strong and caring.

Happy middle of October, everyone!

mommo

[_Lilac_]

Oh @mommo77! The last thing your mother would want for you is to be miserable during her favourite time of year! You should celebrate her at this time. Yes, it makes you sad to think of her, but my goodness this is a glorious time. I`m not sure where you are, but where I am, the colourful leaves are staggering. The smells are sharp of wood stoves and there`s that crunch under your feet of leaves and chestnuts. Squirrels are active and there are lots of geese honking as they fly overhead, going south for the winter. As you might be able to tell, this is my favourite time of year too. I would hope my children would think of me fondly and attempt to see and FEEL the beauty I appreciated in this season. When the sun starts to set early, go out with your sweater on and just look up at the moon and give the air a good sniff and imagine all the little kids running around in a few weeks, so excited as they gather candy. Think of your mom, and although you shed a tear or twenty, enjoy the things that made her love all this. If you can celebrate her you will be able to handle this time much easier. How about we do it together? I lost my husband/best friend/perfect-person for-me  in June. We should do something to honor them. A_Lurker is planting bulbs. I'm NOT a gardener but I might be able to find a bulb to plant for him, as you could for your mom. Or fill up a bird feeder. Or collect some autumn things for a pretty bowl to put on display (If you don't have pine cones and chestnuts and acorns and leaves I can send you some!) 

Her memory is too important to feel down when she was happiest. You certainly deserve to be happy and she'd want that for you, above all else.

[DJC_63]

Thanks for sharing how this time of year makes you feel, @mommo77.  Autumn has always been my favorite time of year but my Dad died in Sept. of 2013, and my 18 year old cat died in October 2012, then had another cat die unexpectedly last fall. Having those loses almost every fall has certainly made it a tougher time of year for me. So I totally get why it would be hard for you. I hate when the days get shorter. That definitely has a depressing effect on me.

Something has certainly been sucking the motivation out of me lately.  My allergies have been unusually bad so it could be that or just everything. Probably not having any heat isn't helping.  Long story, but the room that my Mom uses as an office has had some wonky electric for a for years now. It finally completely died about a month ago. It is up to her to find an electrician since it's her place and I sure don't have the money to fix it. She keeps saying that she's going to find an electrician but I suspect that she's not even looking for one. Now we've figured out the furnace must be on the same circuit as her office, so no heat. It's been a week now and she doesn't seem like she's planning to do anything about it, so I'm guessing that I'm going to have to find an electrician or freeze all winter. Sigh...

[DJC_63]

@khreed  So glad to see you back again! I've missed your posts. Although we share some not-so-good things, it always feels better to have someone who understands.

I thought that I was going to get more exercise this week but not so much.  I'm just so tired every day. I did manage almost 10K steps the past 2 days, which is rare for me, so I'm happy about that. I think my allergies are a big part of my lack of energy. I can feel my sinuses draining all day, every day. I keep cleaning in the hopes that it will help. Four cats in a small place and I'm allergic to animal dander. Not much I can do about pollen outside.

Please stick around and keep me company, @khreed.  And @Bobbinyc, thanks for the motivating words.  I did use that mindset today.  I was so tired and miserable with allergies, but I still drug my butt to the gym. 🙂  Missed 2 of my 3 Dr. appointments, tho, 'cause I didn't wake up soon enough.  Mad at myself for that.  Rescheduled them.

[AndyDandyPandy]

Pizza and Beer cures anything