New Years to Valentine's Day 2016 Challenge

[awood08]

Welcome to the New Year Everyone! This will start January 1, 2016 officially 🙂

If you have seen the posts before this is a challenge that everyone is invited to join to set your own personal weight loss goal for the next 6 weeks. This is all about having a great support system and most importantly feeling great and happy and healthy about yourself. Don't worry if you have bad weeks because we all go through it.

To join the challenge all you need to do is post your weight stats & check in as often as you'd like with an update or just to share a story from your week. This group has some huge inspiration in it and people that give wonderful advice.

Looking forward to catching up with all our friends from the other challenges and anyone who is new!

Thanks @saraj91 for starting up the last challenge!

 
A little rundown of terminology for anyone who is new 🙂

USW- Ultimate Starting Weight

CSW- Current Starting Weight

GW- Goal Weight

UGW- Ultimate Goal Weight

PW- Previous Weight

CW- Current Weight

MFP- My Fitness Pal

[Bogdel]

Hello, again! Thought I'd pick in to report that I reached my Valentine goal today. I started loosing weight on Jan. 4,when I weighed 183 lb. Today's weight was 170.5 lb. My Valentine goal was 171 lb. My total loss in a month was 13 lb. 

How did I do it? Just made sure that my daily in-take was 500 cals less that my burning cals. I tried to walk for about 30 minutes every day, although there were days when I skipped walking. Realistically, I can say that I walked about four times a week. 

As far as my diet, I tried to watch my portion size and to stay away from starch. I did have a piece of bread two or three times, during this month. I had patatoes about two or three of times (once in mashed papatoes and the rest, as part of a vegetable stew, and had lazagnia twice (these where the times when I indulged). Apart from this, I tried to alternate between salads, soups, and different types of meat. I ate when I was hungry, but tried to eat healthy and resonabe portion sizes. 

By the grace of God, I plan to get back to the weight I used to have when I was in my 30's (I will be 62 years young in a couple of month). I still have a long way to go, but I try to set small goals (like 10 lb at a time), celebrate when I reach them, and then set a new goal. I really feel much better not having to carry arround all those extra pounds, and I feel/look better, too. My FitBit really helps me be mindfull of my lifestyle. 

Blessings and strength to you all, as you move toward your own health goals. 

[swimr12265]

@Bogdel

Yay!! How great, and what an accomplishment!  Keep up the excellent work!!  One thing I know for sure about this group is that we are all rooting for you!! Go, go, go!!

[awood08]

@swimr12265

I definitely think we should do it at least 6 weeks which would be around Easter if that works for everyone else.

My 5k went GREAT! I finished in just over 43 minutes the first one I did in November, my goal was to shave 5 minutes off of that and while the official results haven't been posted online yet. My husband was at the finish line and said I finished in just around 38 minutes!!! So I hit my goal, I felt much better after this one. I feel great today and i'm not sore at all (the first one I couldn't move the next day lol)

I can't wait to get ready for another one, and slowly work my way up to a 10k.

Annnnddd....as a reward for doing great in my 5k I went clothes shopping that I desperately needed to do and I'm officially in a size 8 pant and medium shirt!!! That was my ultimate goal and being able to fit into my goal size in clothing makes me feel amazing 🙂

Here's a picture from the 5k!!

[OCDOC]

@awood08 Congrats on the 5k!  I'm kinda hoping for a Valentine's to St Patty's challenge simply because the reward would be fun 😄  Ok w anything tho.

@swimr12265 Ty for all the good stuff. I strongly suspect that if swimming was tracked we'd be eating YOUR dust (or steam or whatever...)   Rob

[Marla_123]

Congratulations ladies, you look great!

[swimr12265]

@awood08,

Congratulations!!  So proud of you!  

I went for a run earlier this evening (and have eaten nothing since)--truly one of the best ways to shed those pounds.  Hoping to be at 131 Monday morning.  

[DJC_63]

Don’t give up @SunsetRunner, we can’t all drop 10 pounds in a week or two. I do understand about it being frustrating, though. When you have health problems it makes it more difficult, but you sound like you know what you’re doing. I also have to do little bits at a time. If I overdo it the muscles in my back start spasming and my knee hurts. (Dr. said I need a replacement but to put it off as long as I can.) I’d rather do it slowly and be able to keep going than to hurt myself and have to quit altogether.
I suspect that my muscles were so atrophied that the exercises I’m doing are just getting them strong again and therefore I’m not losing much weight. Could that be the case for you? I measure myself once a month and as long as I’m getting smaller I figure good things are happening.

[DJC_63]

Congrats, @awood08!! What an accomplishment, both the 5K and being able to fit in the clothing sizes you wanted to fit in. I love the photo.

[DJC_63]

@swimr12265  I think I have found a good group of people to do the work week challenges with. Hopefully they'll all keep doing them. I haven't won a 5 day challenge but if I work hard like I did this week I'm in the middle rather than the bottom. For me that's challenging rather than bad. It pushes me to go to the gym when I don't feel like it and do things like pace around the room waiting for my Dr. instead of just sitting in a chair reading.  One night I forgot to use my inhaler before I got on the elliptical, which always slows me down because I can't breathe well. But the gym was so crowded that night that I was afraid if I stopped to go get it that I'd have to wait to get another machine. So I just kept going until I did my 45 minutes.  It all makes me feel good!

I've seen people track laps that they swam. I assume that they enter it manually. Is there some way that you could estimate it? It sounds like you do a lot!

[saraj91]

@awood08 massive congratulations on your 5K! That's great news about you achieving the time you had hoped for! And also, congrats on getting into the clothing sizes you were aiming for, what a great double bill of fantasticness!! Great photo , love the glow stick necklaces! 

Just thought I would check in with a run update too !

Thankfully the weather was lovely & I managed to completed the 10k in 59:32! I'm so happy with that time as I was really hoping that I would be able to do it in under an hour & I did... just lol! Shaving 4 minutes of my 10k PB 

Thanks again to everyone for your kind words of encouragement, they certainly looped round my mind a few times when the course got a bit hilly lol! And also a massive thank you to those who sponsored me! The most important thing about today was raising money for the MS Society & as of 4pm today (7th) I have managed to raise £302.49!! I am so so so thrilled to have broken the £300 mark!

Hope you all had fantastic weekends!

[KimShea]

Great job on the 10k in under an hour!! My 12 yo daughter and I did a 5k yesterday. She left me in her dust and told me I was soooo slooow! Lol! It took me almost an hour to finish the 5k. Haha!!

[awood08]

@swimr12265 Good luck on that 131! You can do it 🙂

I like to eat before the gym or a workout and then just have a quick recovery snack afterwards. Seems to help me as well!

[awood08]

WAY TO GO @saraj91...both on fundraising for your cause and completing in under an hour!! You looked fantastic 🙂

@KimShea regardless of that time you are awesome, you finished and you didn't give up, that is a victory in itself. If you enjoyed it, take the time to train for another one and set a better goal. I was more excited about this one than my first one because I set a time to beat and I did that!

[saraj91]

Thank you @awood08 & @KimShea 

And @KimShea, @awood08 is totally right, regardless of time you are awesome!

Reading back through the posts about the next challenge, I think Valentines to Easter sounds great! Unless anyone else would like to I am more than happy to set that up in the next few days.

[dianenyc]

Count me in for Valentine's to Easter, though I won't be posting anything but my stats during Lent.

[dianenyc]

Congratulations -- what an accomplishment & you look terrific!

[dianenyc]

Congratulations, Bogdel!  

We're of an age, so I know the challenges of doing what you've done.  I'm happy for you and truly inspired.  I plan to adopt your keeping the daily intake under 500 calories less than I burn. I'm doing low-carb too and that's been working out for me. 

I'm heading for the weight I was at in my 30's as well, so I'm glad to share the journey with you.

God bless & have a good one.

DianeNYC

[swimr12265]

@DJC_63

I'm happy you have people to do challenges with.  It is easier to hit those goals and do other things that are not necessarily fun when others are along for the ride...lol.I don't know about tracking my swimming.  How would I enter laps swum manually?  Is that possible?  If anyone knows, please feel free to chime in.  Thanks!

[swimr12265]

Yay Sara!!!  Congratualations!  So proud of you!  I ran a 10K in October, and I hated every bit of it.  lol  It's a drudgery of a race, yet you managed a PB AND to surpass your fundraising goal.  You rock!!

[syreina]

Update: Well, this was not a healthy weight loss and my moods have been all over the place so I'm sure that does not help. I'm hoping to level the playing field as I get back on track with exercising.

I've met my goal weight for this challenge but I don't feel like I've done good.

CW: 2/8/2016 - 119.8 lbs

PW: 2/1/2016 - 123.6 lbs
PW: 1/25/2016 - 124.6 lbs
PW: 1/20/2016 - 126 lbs
PW: 1/12/2016 - 125.6 lbs
PW: 1/5/2016 - 127.4 lbs

GW - 2/15/2016 - 120.4 lbs
UGW - 4/18/2016 - 110 lbs

SW - 1/10/2015 - 140 lbs