Memorial Day Challenge

[Bobbinyc]

Welcome to the next Challenge!

This one will start on April 18 and continue to Memorial Day (May 29th) 2017.   That gives us 6 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.

[SunsetRunner]

Congratulations @almost_where! Great job! Keep up the good work! 

[Dominique]

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@_Lilac_ wrote:

If I burn 4000 and eat only 1500, you'd think that I'd lose a lot of weight/fat...but unfortunately it doesn't work that way.

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@_Lilac_: your fellow countrywoman @A_Lurker is the real expert on this one. I’m sure you’ve followed her and are aware of her thoughts, but maybe she’ll chime in and explain it again. Good job in any case, and wish your knees a prompt recovery!

[ThatGreen]

@SunsetRunnerThank you for the well wishes. 
You got me so curious about this frame thing and I had to try it. Absolutely shocked to find that I apparently have a small frame by those standards (I've never been a small anything). I have no plans of getting to that weight though. I would like to keep my booty at the end of this

I love that you have a goal range, by the way. Seems much more sustainable than simply trying to stay at one constant number.

Hope you find a good way to maintain. Just like losing, I imagine it takes a lot of work.

@_Lilac_I remember trying to maintain for a month last summer after losing a lot very quickly and burned 4000 calories on one extremely busy day. I realized pretty fast that I didn't stand a chance to eat close to 3000, so I can easily see how you can struggle with eating that much.
The way you get out and walk all the time is so inspiring, though. I wish I could do that, but I have issues with my feet that don't allow me to do 10k steps a day without pain. My stationary bike serves as a good replacement.

Today's workout: Change my car tires. Could get interesting

[YOH801]

I hope you don/t mind I am starting a little bit late on this challenge I just signed up with my new fit bit Alta HR.

USW - 245

SW - 196

CW - 196

GW - 186

UGW - 156

I am a 5'6" and am 52 years old.  I am hoping to finally reach some health goals using this fit bit for accountability.  

[_Lilac_]

@YOH801  Yay!! New sign up! How do you like your new Alta? I love my fitbit and would struggle without it. I love the accountability of seeing the steps, the heart rate and reaching goals. I hope you like it as much as we all do. And I'm soooo glad you came to meet us in the challenge. Support and camaraderie is always needed. Good to meet you!

[em.kz]

PROGRESS PICTURES!!!

12/30/16 - 159.4lbs

2/16/17 - 154.8lbs

4/30/17 - 145.2lbs

I'm so proud of how far I have come! I am so close to my goal I can taste it!

Edit: I don't know why the pictures are so blurry. They aren't like that on my computer. If anyone has any ideas of how to fix it, I'd appreciate it!

[Bogdel]

Amazing, beautiful change, @_Lilac_! You have all my admiration and respect! Keep it up, friend! You are, indeed, and inspiration.

[Bogdel]

@IdahoSandy, You made an amazing progress in one year. Maybe your body needed a bit of a plateau, to adjust to your new weight. I had a plateau the last few months, too. Now, I started loosing again, and I am greatly encouraged. Keep it up!

[_Lilac_]

@em.kz  You are looking fantastic. Well, you didn't look bad in the before picture, in my opinion, but you felt you needed to trim down and you are doing it! It is noticeable and you are looking FIT! Great job!

[_Lilac_]

I am exhausted! Phew. Working on the third load of laundry, still two more to go. That means stairs and lugging baskets. It's so many blankets and bedding and towels, etc from my storage area. Now I can donate them all. My sister is weaving rugs on a giant loom with old fabrics. She can make great use of this stuff. 

I did the 4400 steps with Mom this morning, the laundry, swept and mopped a room, and then I went outside to rake up all those leaves. Now, I didn't get ALL the leaves but I have 8 large garbage bags of them so far. There is still so much more to do but I'm so sore and tired now that it will have to be continued tomorrow. To my disappointment, raking leaves doesn't give a whole lot of steps but I'm sure my heart rate showed an increase for the last hour or two! I have 8400 steps so far and more laundry. I simply had the energy today when I don't always. And my knee wasn't too bad. I took naproxen again. 

Now, regarding naproxen...I had taken it at Mom's suggestion for a few days morning and night (for the knee). And I suddenly got those swollen ankles. Now I find online that naproxen causes water retention and weight gain. Alright...that's OUT. I have to tell Mom, she takes them every single day. I've had a litre of straight old water and a large coffee so it's time for more water and RELAXATION with my feet up. 

Feeling really good today! The sun is shining, energy, getting chores accomplished. Going to figure out what feast of veggies to have for dinner.

[Bogdel]

Hello, Everyone!

It was great to read everyone's post for this week. I pray and praise God for everyone of you. Here are my stats and accomplishes for this week:

USW- 183.5 (1/8/2016)

CSW- 158 (4/17/2017)

GW- 148 (5/29/2017)

UGW- 140

PW- 153 (4/3/2017)

CW- 156.5 (4/20/2017)

MFP- My husband.

Weekly goals:
18 April - CSW 156.5 BMI 26
24 April - GW 154. 5.  Actual weight:154 lbs! PTL (Praise the Lord)!

01 May - GW 153. Actual weight: 150 lbs. PTL!  

08 May -GW 151.5 (Day I leave for Europe)

13 May -GW 150 

23 May -GW 149  

29 May - GW 148 

It has been an amazing week! For the first time on this weight loss journey, I have lost 4 lbs. in one week, and 8 lbs in two weeks! I feel GREAT! I did not reach my 10K/day a intended, but I am still doing much, much better on physical activity that I have done in the past (i.e. walking and working out at the rec. center). 

Another amazing thing: last Wednesday/Thursday I did my second gallbladder and liver flush. The first time (4/1/17), I eliminated over 150 gallstones! This time (4/27/17), I eliminated another 100 gallstones! I am following a protocol that is natural, healthy, easy, painless, safe, and extremely effective. It is amazing! I feel amazing! A fog was lifted up from over my head from the first time, and my body feels cleaner and lighter. When I looked at all those gallstones, I could not believe that my liver ducts were so clogged! I thank God for leading me to this protocol that allows me to detox my body and to move toward an optimal health. My hope is that, as I continue to cleanse my liver and eat healthy, my LDL cholesterol will be lowered, as well (without pills!).

Have a great week, everyone!

[Bogdel]

WOW! @em.kz, from my perspective, you looked pretty good in your first picture. Nevertheless, your waist line is visibly smaller in your more recent picture, and I am sure that you can see, feel, and "taste" much more than what the pictures can show :). Keep it up, @em.kz! The sooner you deal with it and work on maintaining it, the better. 

[Bogdel]

@_Lilac_, I know what you mean by getting bored with a certain diet, when being careful. I didn't get to actually doing it, but I did see some very appealing recipes on line that are healthy and consistent with our goals. I saved them somewhere on my PC, but did not have time to try new things, yet. I may do that when I come back from Europe. In the meantime, I'll keep doing what I'm doing... and work on staying healthy.

BTW, you were mentioning sunshine in your town, today. We had 6" (15 cm) of snow in Colorado this weekend, and it was freezing! - I had to scrape the ice off my shield just after 2 hours of window-shopping at Walmart.  

[Bogdel]

@dancefoxtrot, Thanks for mentioning your (and @_Lilac_'s knee problem)! I have been having problems with one of my knees lately, also (this is a relatively new thing to me!). I don't have it all the time, but every once in a while, I feel it as I climb the stairs. I wonder if inflammation may contribute to it. While I hope that, as I continue to detox my body through healthy diet and exercise, this will improve also. In the meantime, I will follow your advise and buy an elastic brace, as well. 

Thanks for your input to our group. Always helpful!

Have a great week.

Ellie

[Bogdel]

@YOH801, Welcome aboard! It is never to late to start a good thing! This is a GREAT group, and I trust that you will be as encouraged and inspired but the support it provides as i have been during the last year and a half. 

Best wishes to your new journey toward better health!

[A_Lurker]

@Dominique- @_Lilac_ is generally pretty good at eating enough calories.  What you mentioned is correct though, the heavier you start from the more careful you have to be with eating enough to start with.  You don't want to start too low otherwise there's nowhere to go.

@_Lilac_- wonderful pictures, and congrats on the progress so far.  Looking forward to seeing the rest of your progress as it comes.

@em.kz- congrats on your progress as well.  We all start from different spots and getting to your goal will be a good point for you.  Maintaining then becomes your goal.

[_Lilac_]

@A_Lurker and @Dominique I make sure I eat. When I began this journey in late August, I was on a diuretic and I was walking so much and burning so many calories that I began to feel dizzy and eventually had a crash and had to be rushed to the hospital. My potassium was dangerously low, caused by the diuretic. I was taken off it immediately, not needing it anymore because water retention was no longer a problem. I was moving and drinking a lot of water. If I'm hungry, I eat. Real hunger, not just emotional or craving hunger. I eat all homemade stuff to control sodium, lots of fresh veggies. I work hard at taking care of myself now. Some days I probably don't get enough calories because my food is mostly lean meats and vegetables and there isn't much to them, but I'm not starving myself. I'm hungry now so I'll have some yogurt with a bit of cereal added for crunch. 

Well, it was impossible to rest tonight. Too much energy for some reason. Hit 11,000 steps just doing chores. Might take a rest day tomorrow or just do more chores and a dog walk rather than a workout. We'll see how I feel. 

Have a great night everyone! Eat enough, drink enough, move enough, love yourself enough!! 

[DJC_63]

@YOH801 Welcome! We are close in age and weight, and only 3" different in our height. I have been doing this for over a year without much luck but I have learned a lot from this group. 

[DJC_63]

@em.kz Wow! What a difference! You look great. It looks like you're getting more muscle too, which to me looks so much better. I also give you lots of credit for sharing the before and after pics. I never thought to take beginning pics, I should have. Maybe I'll do that now. 

I'm so glad that you're almost at your goal, too. Great work!!

[DJC_63]

It's my Sunday night/Monday morning check in. After my girl's night out last Saturday, my weight jumped up 2 pounds! I'm surprised, considering how hard it is for me to lose 2 pounds. I don't drink that often these days (thank God if it makes me gain weight like this!), but I've had a few glasses of wine before and didn't gain like that. It could also be that I was taking a higher dosage of a medicine that I know causes weight gain. Anyhow, can't change it now. 

I'm continuing to have problems with my neck, and now I'm starting to get tingling feelings when I move my arm a certain way. It's been 3 weeks now, so I'm getting a little worried. I'm going to talk to my pain management Dr. when I see her next week. She can probably give me an injection but I think I need an MRI first. I've been down that road before with my back.

Anyhow, here's my not so great stats for last week:

USW - 207.5

PW - 196.0 

CW - 197.5

GW - 193.0