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.

[Esya]

Atleast you are weighing yourself and reporting in. You are aware of the situation and trying your best to deal with it. That is more than quite some people would do. The road is going to be bumpy, but you are sticking to it 🙂 .

[DJC_63]

@Esya Thanks so much, it's nice to get positive feedback. I've spent the last hour or more looking back at my Fitbit stats since I joined in Jan. 2015. I looked at my weight first, no big surprise there, it has gone up a pound, down a pound, and mostly stayed the same for 2 years now (overall I'm down 10 pounds since I started). Then I looked at my activity levels. That was a surprise! They have consistently gone up since I've joined. More steps, more miles walked every month/year. There was a little dip this past winter but that's normal in the Northeast of the U.S. 

(I did notice that more steps don't always equal more calories burned, which is odd.) 

I haven't been logging my meals every day recently so I'll have to start doing that again to see how that stacks up with the previous year.  Overall, though, I feel much better about myself, seeing that I'm much more active than I was the first year I had my Fitbit. Even this last month I had 25,000 more steps than the same month last year. yay!

[Esya]

@DJC_63

Sounds to me like you found where you can improve. Stay honest with yourself and the situation and things will keep improving. The fact you are way more active has so many health benefits in itself. I think you just set yourself a new challenge by logging your food and getting a grip on that.

[BLLingg]

Not sure whether to Growl or Cry or Laugh this Week!  4 Days at 154.2 (T, W, Th, Sa) and 2 at 153.2 (F & Su).

28 July 2010 - PW - 280.8  BMI 51.4  (My highest known.)
06 June 2016 - USW (in FitBit) - 216  BMI 39.5

18 April - CSW 156.8  BMI 28.7
24 April - GW 155.1 - PW 155.0  BMI 28.3
01 May - GW 153.4 - CW 154.4   BMI 28.2
08 May -GW 151.7
13 May -GW 150.0  (Day I leave for Europe)
23 May -GW 149.0  (Day I return to Work & Scales)
29 May - GW 148.0
31 May - GW 147.8

UGW - (but still not a "Healthy" BMI) - now 135

Sure doesn't look like I'm going to make my Goal this Time. 

I do have some good news, however.  Went Clothes Shopping on Saturday.  Got 3 Tops, 3 pairs of Slacks, and 1 Dress.  Actually the Slacks were 2 pair of Leggings and 1 pair of Lee Riders, Curvy Fit, Skinny Leg - size 16 Petite.  Tried the Riders on and they felt comfortable.  This morning, when I went potty (sorry if TMI!!!), without thinking, I pulled them down like I always do with my Elastic Waist Slacks. 

Whoops!!!  If I don't have to unzip them, they're not just "comfortable," they're down right too large!!!    So I ran over to WalMart and got a pair of size 14 Petite and changed here at Work.  (I have to get the approval of some of my co-workers who want to make sure that I'm dressed right for Europe!!!)  Now, I'm trying to decide whether or not I actually need the "Curvy Fit."  They seem to be a little too loose in the Fanny & Thigh.  I'll have to see if my co-workers think that they're too baggy.

I haven't worn Zipper Jeans (or any Britches with a Zipper!) for over 20 Years!  To not only be wearing them comfortably now but to be wearing them in a size 14 instead of a size 3X (which is what I was wearing when I got my FitBit on 06 June!) is absolutely stunning, amazing, thrilling, down right intoxicating!!! 

[BLLingg]

Not sure whether to Laugh or Cry or Growl today.  First, this is my 2nd attempt to get this posted.  It was posted, I edited, it disappeared into LaLa Land!?!?!  Secondly, I had 4 Days at 154.2 (T, W, Th, Sa) and 2 Days at 153.2 (F & Su).  Today?  See below!

28 July 2010 - PW - 280.8  BMI 51.4  (My highest known.)
06 June 2016 - USW (in FitBit) - 216  BMI 39.5

18 April - CSW 156.8  BMI 28.7
24 April - GW 155.1 - PW 155.0  BMI 28.3
01 May - GW 153.4 - CW 154.4   BMI 28.2
08 May -GW 151.7
13 May -GW 150.0  (Day I leave for Europe)
23 May -GW 149.0  (Day I return to Work & Scales)
29 May - GW 148.0
31 May - GW 147.8

UGW - (but still not a "Healthy" BMI) - now 135

Doesn't look like I'm going to meet my Goal this time!

I do have some good news, however!  Went Clothes Shopping on Saturday to get my Wardrobe for Europe.  Got 3 Tops, 1 Dress, and 3 Pairs of Britches (2 Leggings, 1 Lee Rider Curvy Fit Slim Leg Jeans size 16.)  First pair of Zippered Britches I've had for over 20 Years!  Tried the Jeans on and they fit comfortably.  Or so I thought.

Went to the bathroom this morning and pulled them down just like I always do.  WHOOPS!!!  If I can take them off without unzipping them, they not just comfortable, they're too darn large!    So I ran over to WalMart and got a pair of size 14.  They have to be unzipped but they're still comfortable.  I'm wondering though if I actually need the Curvy Fit.  They seem to be too loose in the Fanny and Thighs.  Some of my co-workers have insisted that they have the right to approve my Wardrobe before I pack, so I'll see what they say today.

Being able to wear Jeans with a Zipper again is thrilling  ;  wearing a size 14 when I was a size 3X when I got my FitBat back on 06 June 2016 is awesome!!! 

[Esya]

@BLLingg

You still lost weight! So I only read good news.

[_Lilac_]

@DJC_63  A girl's night out that involves a bit of alcohol (and maybe a bit of salty food)  is going to be followed by excess water...I can easily retain 5lb of fluid in a day, so do NOT freak out over those 2 lb this weekend. Drink your water, have some nice mint tea or something. Keep on the path, have great memories about your night out with your friends, and keep plugging away. We concentrate so much on those minute details sometimes that we don't see the benefits of 'letting loose'. You have to enjoy your life. Now, I'm not saying eat a whole 9 inch cake, I'm saying that 2 lb of water retention is a fleeting event but your fun and laughter will stay with you a long time! Misery is not good company...or however that saying goes.

[_Lilac_]

@BLLingg  I've bought clothes to replace my 4X and 5X stuff, keep reaching for the 4X and have to go down a bit, get them home to wear a time or two and then THEY start slipping off. I have no idea what size I wear, and everything I buy is soon oversized. So...I'm just going to wear things til they are falling off then replace with thrift store stuff. It's getting too expensive. Haha. My mom always wears her pants too big because she has this warped idea that her legs are three times the size they are, so she passes things to me when she shrinks. I bought a shirt recently that fit me really well and I put it in the dryer by accident and now it's a belly button showing shirt...guess I can sleep in it...sigh.

Today, I'm glad you mentioned the clothing thing. We all need reminders that we are getting smaller even if the scale fights us some. I was walking with one of my sisters a few weeks ago and the other sister drove along. When she got me alone she said she couldn't tell which of us was which when she saw us on the road. It really really surprised me.  Mom agrees that we are the same size. Can't wait to get even smaller. Got a ways to go but here's working toward it *lifts glass of water for a clink*.

[YOH801]

Thank you so much.  I love it so far.  I cannot wait until I am really good at it!  Thanks for the kind words. 

[Dominique]

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@ThatGreen wrote:

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).:

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@ThatGreen: I’m not sure what sources you found for the frame thing, but there’s definitely some truth to it. I think it has to do with bone size, among other things. A quick test I read about was to put your thumb and middle finger around your wrist bones: if they don’t touch, you’ve got big bones/a large frame; if they overlap, small bones/small frame; if they barely touch, somewhere in between. By that criteria, I definitely have small bones/a small frame, and that matches my overall body type. I was very skinny as a kid and I’m back to rather skinny after four years of fitbitting. This means no matter what amount of weight lifting I do, I’ll never get 20-inch arms or incredibly wide shoulders: there’s just so much meat you can put on a small frame. If using the BMI scale, people with large frames should be closer to the top of the normal range, while people with small frames should closer to the bottom of the range. 

[ThatGreen]

@Dominique  That describes what I've read too. But I think it's important to differentiate bone size and frame, because they seem like very different things.

But using the middle finger to thumb trick, my thumb will overlap the first joint of my finger, so I think that's a clear indication I have a small frame.
As you can probably figure, I don't have a lot of extra fat around my wrists despite currently being obese, but I think that people who do can get clouded results with this method. If they lose weight they might find that they have a smaller frame.

I think you could add a lot of muscle to get a bigger upper body with the right workout program, but I agree that your shoulder width in particular would probably be less with your smaller frame than it would be if you had a bigger frame.

In my personal opinion, most of these ways to measure health and composition can be a little misleading. I remember the first time I heard about waist to hip ratio and found out I had a low risk of health issues according to that alone. My weight (and BMI) would tell a different story and my diet at the time was absolutely terrible.

There are also a lot of different calculators and equations for a lot of these and they can be fun to play around with, but I think it's important that we remember that we're all different in the end and we shouldn't strive to be anything but our best selves

[Bogdel]

WOW! @BLLingg, you have lost so much in less than a year!!! That's a reason to celebrate, indeed! As far as reaching the goal for this challenge, you have a whole month ahead of you. So, you might be pleasantly surprised, just as you were when you could fit comfortably in a size 14 zipper jeans. 

Since I am traveling to Europe about the same time as you do, I rely more on what I can accomplish now in terms of weight loss. I can still work on it while in Europe, but I do not have the same conditions as I do here. So, my goal is to make sure that I maintain what I have accomplished and, if possible, loose a few more. 

Have a great week!

[_Lilac_]

@Dominique and @ThatGreen  My family always laughs about being from 'peasant stock'...which means we tend to be larger boned, built thick for manual labor, though many of us drift toward the more academic side in these times. If I try to put my thumb and middle finger together around my wrist there's still almost an inch gap! I wear size 10 Wide or 11 in women's shoe sizes. This big frame was able to carry around a lot of weight! It means I have a lot of muscle under all this fluff though (needed to carry it around) so I'm sure that helps me burn calories. I'll always be a large person but I don't have to be an oversized one!

[ThatGreen]

@_Lilac_  Haha, that sounds like when my mom jokes about our shoe sizes being 'size horse'.

I never got wise on shoe sizes cause they seem to differ from brand to brand, but for walking/running shoes, I tend to pick a (EU) size up from my more formal shoes and always check out the men's because they're wider. Currently a woman's (US) size 10.5-11, depending on how they run.

I heard that losing weight might change your shoe size down. If that's true I would be able to find a lot more formal shoes, so I'm crossing my fingers there's a possibility.

[DJC_63]

@ThatGreen That would be nice! Most of my life I wore a size 10, then a few years ago my feet got bigger. Now I buy a size 11, which aren't easy to find. I have some favorite pairs of shoes that are too small now. I don't know if it's age (your arches fall as you get older so your feet get longer), or weight gain or both. I'd love it if I lost weight and could wear some of my old favorite shoes again.

[DJC_63]

@_Lilac_ That's a good point to remember, that the 2 pounds will go away but the good memories will last. I only have 1 friend who likes to go out so it's a rarity for me to have a night out. 

My weight has gone done the past 2 days so maybe it will keep going! Thanks for the reminder about what's important.

[SunsetRunner]

@em.kz. you look wonderful! Keep up the good work and you'll meet your goal in no time! 

[SunsetRunner]

@YOH801 Welcome!  This is a great group and I'm sure you'll enjoy being part of it. 

[SunsetRunner]

@Bogdel Congratulations!  Awesome loss in the last two weeks! Even more important is that you FEEL good! The gallbladder/liver flush is obviously working well. Perfect timing before your trip to Europe. Have a great trip!

[Bogdel]

Thank you, @SunsetRunner! I am very encouraged and motivated by my progress, this time. Just came from the Gym. Walked over 14000 steps so far, and burned almost 2000 cals. 

You keep up the good work, as well. Best to you!