Mother's Day Challenge. Lose 20 by Mother's Day! Who is with me?

[Shelley]

Being involved in a challenge helps keep me motivated and it seems like it works for others too.  It also helps to have a goal and a deadline to get there.  Let's all get healthier for ourselves and for our families.  Let's do this for our kids, or our grandkids, or for our own mothers as well as for ourselves.  Come join me and let's do this!

[Shelley]

Welcome Roma and Ann to this challenge!  I agree it is definitely nice not to struggle alone!  

I weighed today and only have one pound left to lose from weight I gained between Christmas and right after New Years.  I have walked at least 10K all week and eaten pretty well.  I have also been riding stationary bike for 20 minutes several days and doing core strengthening exercises.  The Aria scale showed me at the lowest body fat percentage today since I got the scale.  So that was fun!  All in all it has been a pretty good week for meeting my fitness goals.  Not perfect but "good enough!"  Hope everyone has a great week and keep moving!

[mocamp]

Good Morning, Just found this discussion.  I would love to join as well.  I got through the holidays with a goal of no weight gain and succeeded.  Challenges help and accountability really helps.  Lost 17 lbs between june and september by eating all natural (really all natural- no fake sugars or low fat food but real food with no processed and no perservatives).  Though I know what to do it is so easy to get off track.  I learned by eating real food your body natural craves less.  Anyway walking 10,000 a day plus hikes really helped during the summer.  I signed up for a 5k in early March which should help.  Getting out in cold, windy and rainy weather is sometimes hard especially when it is dark at 4pm.  I look forward to everyones motivation.. Heres to a healthier 2014.

[Elansc]

Oh I want to join too! Started the new year at 200 lbs and I have 35 left to go (lost 61.5 last year). It has been slow and steady and this is a perfect challenge for me as I know I can only lose a pound or so a week and I really want to buy that size12 summer wardrobe (my goal is 165 lbs, less than 33% body fat and size 12 -- wearing size 16 AND some size14's right now)

Ps. Weighed in this morning at 198.3 I think -- my Aria scale has not synced yet and I was so happy to see the 198 that I didn't pay too much attention to that last number 🙂

[mocamp]

Congratulations! Sounds like you have already had great success. You will
need to share some tips.

[Elansc]

My success is nothing glamorous -- I started with MyFitnesspal on Jan 5 2013 and obsessively entered every bit of food I have consummed since then.  It takes a bit of time at the beginning but now it is second nature and probably takes 5-10 minutes a day.  I have my weight loss goal set to 1 lb week and typically lose .5 to 1.0 lbs a week -- although I have had some interesting plateaus -- every 30 lbs or so-- that took a bit of patience to work through (I think my body just needed a few weeks to get use to the "newest" weight) -- the plateau typically "ends" with a 2-3 lb loss and then I get back on track for a few more weeks.  I eat pretty well but I do NOT limit myself at all -- if I want a cookie, I have one but I make sure it is in my calorie count for the day.  I have rarely gone over my calorie limit -- but if I am hungry at night I rarely reach for cookies -- I know that they don't fill me up and if  I only have 100 calories I am better off eating fruit or veggie sticks.  

I am a single working mom so I don't have much time for exercise so I got the fitbit flex in June (it was my first 30 lb reward) and now I obsessively count my steps and my sleep (at least for me it is very important to get 7-8 hours sleep every night or I don't lose weight at all! ) Everyone is probably different and has different sleep needs but for me it is so important.  I have my step goal set to 10000 and I usually meet that a few times a week but my average is typically over 7500 -- often put in an hour or so on the treadmill after my son goes to bed (I LOVE that fitbit send you a weekly report).  Now that I have more energy (without that 60+ pounds) I am trying to get more exercise but except for the walking I didn't do much last year -- I suspect that I will need to ramp it up a bit to lose the last 35 lbs.

I started on this journey because my younger sister was diagnosed with breast cancer at 44 years (she is doing great!) and I realized that I can't change my genes but I can change my lifestyle and weight and hopefully avoid breast cancer (it runs in my family).  But I have to say that another big motivator for me is when someone notices -- or better yet doesn't even recognize me (that happened last week and it was so cool -- she was shocked at how much weight I had lost and kept repeating "you look amazing" -- I was smiling for the rest of the day)

[lavendergirll]

Is it too late to be a part of this challenge? My fitbit has been on the blink for a few days and back on again. I need to make up for lost time

[RomaS]

Elansc- your story is an inspiration to us all.  You go girl!

[Chemjenny]

I am in! I just dusted off the flex after buying it over the summer. Got off track since I had some medical issues, but all healed up now and ready to exercise and track calories again. I only succeed in losing weight if I track. And I need some accountability - someone to report progress to. So you guys are it! I'd like to lose 15 lbs by eating better, getting steps in despite a desk job that sucks up all my time, and going to the gym on weekends.

[llokeefe]

OK - never done this before but since I am not having a lot of luck staying on track, I think this may help! 

I have about 20 pounds to lose and am a mom of 7.  Alothough I wouldn't mind looking better, my biggest motivation is to have more energy to lavish on my wonderful children (or just to keep up with them!)  A Mother's Day goal seems the perfect fit!  Thanks for the inspiration!

[qmax]

Hello, i would like to be in as well, i just got my force.

[94elisa]

I am in

[Shelley]

Welcome to all newbies!  There is still plenty of time to get started in this challenge.  

How is everyone doing?  I seem to be in a plateau.  I lost 30# in three months and it was coming off at a couple of pounds a week but not now!  I expected it to slow down some, but not this slow!  I made the challenge to be only 20 in 4 months because 5 pounds a month sounded like it would be reasonably easy to do.  Now I am getting worried.  I hope you all are having some success.  Please check in and let the group know how it is going and let's keep each oher motivated!

[craziness]

I am in!!! My birthday is May 9th and this challenge would be a great gift. I was on Shelley's holiday challenge and I have to say... that was the best thing I did. I work 10 hour days sitting behind a desk and the 1 change I made is that on my breaks, my boss and I walk... fast. We take the walk on the roads that have an incline and feel the burn. We push each other to walk faster and although I am out of breath and sweaty (I know... Gross! Don't worry, I do make sure no one can smell me... lol) I feel great. I find myself more focused and less stressed out.

So, for those of you who weren't on Shelley's holiday challenge... My journey began on October 1, 2013 weighing in at 225lbs. I came to be a fitbit user after losing 24lbs (bless my husband, he bought me a fitbit which challenged me even more). I currently weigh 179lbs and would like to weigh 135lbs (I'm 5'3 and have been at that weight before and its a healthy weigh for my stature.)

The reason I was able to lose 46lbs in such a short period of time is that I made drastic changes. Example, water intake... I drink anywhere between 100 and 160 oz of water a day (please be careful people.. too much water can kill... Oh yes, its called water intoxication). I found that because I was drinking so much, it cleansed me, if you know what I mean. I also stopped eating fast food, processed food and started preparing meals with fresh ingredients (minimizing salt, sugar and I cook with coconut oil - Walmart has a brand that won't add a coconut taste to your food) Also, huge factor for me... I don't have a gallbladder and through my research, I found out that I should be taking a digestive enzyme and ox bile. I want to say, I am not a physician and you should check with your doctor If you plan on adding supplimants. Now, there is a great YouTube video that show a woman adding 1 tablet of digestive enzyme to oatmeal and that oatmeal, as she continued to stir, went from this thick substance to a more liquified state=easier to digest.

For those of you busy folks out there, I found that preparing my meals on the weekends for the upcoming week has saved me from making a trip to a fast food restaurant or from over endulging because I wasn't eating the right foods and amount.

Omgoodness... before I write a novel, I'll call it a night... Its 9pm and I have to pack my lunch for tomorrow, hit the shower and go to bed. I get up at 4:30am. I will be back tomorrow and share some more.

Have a great evening and a great day tomorrow.

[mocamp]

I always try to look at the big picture.  Keep going and celebrate the successes.  I am working on a weekly schedule of exercise and it seems to help me if I know what I am suppose to do.  I am new to this group and other than facebook really do not share, but I thought it might be good to keep motivated.  Knowing others are trying too and have highs and lows help me keep it real. 

[Jo1948]

Hi everyone!!!  I'm new to FitBit and your challenge seems reasonable.  I hope its not too late to jump in.  Mother's Day is a wonderful goal date and a perfect start to spring.  It may be summer to a lot of others but where I live it could also be winter's last hoorah.  I have about 20 pounds to lose.  I have a whacky work schedule and I try to make friends with my treadmill at least 30 minutes a day.  I am on my feet all day at work and I live for spring so I can get outside.  I hope to check in frequently and I look forward to all your discussions. 

Thanks for the challenge.

[Jp8510]

I ll join.  

[SunsetRunner]

I'm in! 

[duckus]

I'll join !

I'm currently trying to do 10K a day.  My biggest challenge is eating too much.  Hopefully, this kind of accountability will help me with that.

Let's Do It ! 🙂

[kmr2014]

Just started with my fitbit flex last night.  A challenge like this is probably a good way to get off to a strong start.  Like several others, I have more than 20 to lose, but this is a good place to start.  Will try to check in regularly.

[SunsetRunner]

Hi again, guys!
In the interest of us all getting to know a bit about each other, and maybe pick up some tips from each other, I'm curious of how you all go about losing weight?
Do you track your food. Do you exercise?
What is your daily/weekly goals? Ultimate goals like weight or run this far or lift that much?