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

[saraj91]

Hi All!

Hope you're having fab weeks so far, I'm checking in a few days early 

I'm having a good week so far, going to try & go for a week where I hit or go beyond my step goal of 10k each day! Hoping this little bit of extra activity will push me in a positive direction on the scales. I've not been so good with keeping myself hydrated recently & that really showed last night on my run when I started to get signs of a migraine, thankfully I was close to home so managed to get back & get something to drink & some medication before it got bad. Really highlighted to me the importance of taking in enough water (& not just coffee) in the day... oops. 

I had a pretty active weekend with a nice walk with my other half on Saturday & a good run on Sunday in prep for the 10k & we had some really nice healthy meals so I think that helped with the scales as I saw a drop of 1lb when I hopped on them this morning! 

Hoping to keep things moving in this direction til our holiday.

USW 23/3: 186

CSW 1/1: 136

PW 22/1: 134

CW: 26/1: 133

GW: 14/2: 130

UGW 5/3/16: 126

[awood08]

Congrats on all the positive posts from everyone over the weekend! Glad to see so many of us have been keeping it on track 🙂 No worries to anyone who hasn't had a big change or maybe had a little increase. It happens, we put it behind us, move forward and work harder the next week. You guys are seriously the best, I look forward to reading this thread every day to see how you all are doing!

Let's keep up the hard work and keep pushing through for another week!

Here's a little inspiration for today and this week!

[dianenyc]

Nice one, awood -- great post, great inspirational poster.  I'm going to keep coming back to this one.

DianeNYC

[saraj91]

@awood08 great post! 

[kmme]

Good Morning All , 

 Weekly weigh in and i am happy to say i finally have broken my plateau 🙂 Took me almost 3 months to get thrub the 130's but finally getting there. 4 pounds from my Challenge and original goal , walking on air today , i have not been in the 120's since i was a young teen  Hope you all have as great a week:)

USW- 175 - July 2015

CSW- 132 - Jan 2nd

PW 132.9 - Jan 20th

CW - 129.0  Jan 27th

CGW- 125

UGW - 115??

[swimr12265]

@kmme
Yay you!! So proud of you. I have almost the exact same goal as you, and I, too, have had an almost impossible time of breaking out of the 130's. Getting down to 130 is fairly easy, usually (I'm having a harder time here lately, but hoping that will change now that my birthday has come and gone), but dropping below it is torture. Perhaps that is a sign that my body is comfortable at 130ish, but I don't choose to take it that way. You have motivated me to keep at it. So, I will carry on, convinced that I, too, will see 129 soon...even though I made 130 my goal for this challenge since I convinced myself that it would probably be best to take the weight off more slowly and naturally if I want my current program to more or less also be my maintenance (i.e. life/lifestyle) program. Again, so happy for you. I know what a struggle you have had (no doubt most, if not all, of us on here do). You go, girl!! Keep up the great work!

🌻 Swimr

[Ballthree]

USW: 01/03/16 313 lbs

CSW: 01/03/16 313 lbs

PW 01/19/16 304.5

CW: 01/27/16 298.6 lbs

CGW: 02/14/16 293 lbs

UGW: 199.9 lbs

Lost 5.9 this week and feeling great about it! Down 14.4lbs overall. Have a crew of 4 of us hitting the gym at 5:45 am. It's nice to get 10K on the meter before I leave the gym!

I stay on target better with what I eat when I get this early morning workout. 

I went over my calorie limit a few times, but with healthy stuff, like an extra helping of walnuts or peanuts. So, I know I can probably do better this week. I get an Attaboy for not going hogwild on the weekend, even though I had to do some travelling.

I was able to tighten up the belt an extra notch today......I would say maybe one more solid week and I can dig out a smaller size of pants. I have a closet of clothes that I organize by weight in 20lb increments from left to right. It would be nice to start wearing some of the clothes in the middle or towards the left side of the closet instead of pulling out all the clothes on the far right!

5.6 lbs to go in 18 days!  Let's do this!

[KimShea]

Weigh in day.  Soooo slow.

USW 235

1/1 - 178.7

1/6 - 178.6

1/13 - 179

1/20 - 179.3

Today - 178.2

GW - 174

UGW -145

[saraj91]

@kmme fantastic to read that you've got through your plateau & are in to the 120s! Amazing work, congrats! 

@Ballthree a loss of 14.4lbs for this challenge already is incredible! Congratulations! I bet it's a great feeling to get your 10k in 1st thing. I find starting the day with exercise really puts me in a more positive mood for the rest of the day, I struggle to get out of bed early enough for pre-work exercise in the week but a Saturday morning parkrun is one of the best ways to start the weekend!

@KimShea still, positive progress though! 

Keep up the amazing work everyone! 

[swimr12265]

@dianenyc

Thank you so much!  It was a great day!  Yes, I over indulged (as I said I would), but I am right back in the saddle again.  I don't have anything else coming up until my sister's birthday in February, right before the challenge ends.  I am hoping to be at or close to my goal weight by then.  I hope you are having a great year, as well.  It's so nice to read all of your (and so many others') positive posts.  It really does help me stay motivated.

Swimr

[swimr12265]

@Joy123

It's so true what everyone's been telling you.  Sometimes it is so depressing when the scale doesn't (seem to) budge, but if it isn't going up, then you are doing something right; you really are.  I think when the body has a set point, it's hard to break through it, but I am convinced (I have to be because I have been there myself!) that perserverence is the key.  Stay strong; you will see the results that you want if you do.  I, for one, am betting on you!

Swimr

[swimr12265]

@dianenyc

What a super nice post (from 1/24)!  Okay, I have fallen behind and am catching up.  You really are a positive person; I love reading your posts, Diane.  I take it from what you have been writing that you teach middle school?  You are a saint (if I am correct)!  I teach college students, and by the end of most days I don't want to speak at all, much less share such positivity with a community of people.  You really are tops!  Thank you for making my day.

Swimr

[swimr12265]

Hi all,

Sorry to take up so much bandwidth, but I haven't reported my weight this week because on my weigh-in day (Monday) I forgot to weigh when I should have (imagine that!). The good news is I weighed a bit before then (I couldn't help myself!!) on Sunday before my swim meet, and I was at 136, which is just slightly up from my pre-birthday weight (before the binge).  Phew!  

Now, the bad news is I had book club Monday night, and those women love to drink wine (fortunately, I don't) and eat plenty of finger food with it.  Even though I had been good all that day, I couldn't resist. It was after 7, too (my downfall, for sure)!  There were oranges, apples, grapes and kiwi (the good stuff) but also chocolate and cheese, cheese, cheese (the bad stuff).  I know, I know: "I'm not so into chocolate." I admit, I am the same person who said that, but it just so happened to be the kind of chocolate that I like: that thin dark chocolate that tastes so good.  So, I indulged again (I won't call it a binge) and decided that my cheat day for this week will just have to be Monday (this is going to make it hard to last until next Friday for my next cheat day--No, of course, I don't live for the cheat days, not I!! lol--but I am working like crazy to do so).  I am working out once or twice a day, and I have been stellar (I am a bit down on my water consumption for some reason, but I will keep working it).  Today I was in the 134 range on the scale at the Y where I swim (a true doctor's office version), but I am using my own scale as my challenge scale, and here are my numbers:

USW- 144 (July 2015)
CSW- 143.8 (January 2, 2016)
GW1- 135 (January 22--made it: 135.6, down 8.3)

GW2 - 133 (February 1)

GW3 - 131 (February 😎

GWC - 130 or less (February 14)
UGW- 115 (by Memorial Day, I hope!)
PW- 119 (2008 or 2009; I was down to 123 briefly last August)
CW- 135.2 (down 2.4 since January 18; down 8.6 since January 2).

I hope to have even better numbers to post on Monday.  It'll be the start of February, and I like to kick the start of a new month off with a fast when I am cutting back as I am doing now.  If I would only maintain this lifestyle, I doubt I would ever move too far away from my UGW, but I let food turn my head more than I should.  I am battling those demons now!  I know some people don't believe in fasts, but they have worked well for me in the past.  I intend to do a pure fast on Monday (only water, water, water) to help flush out my system.  On Tuesday and Wednesday, I will head to "Banana Island" and eat only bananas (I read about this on the web last spring, and it really works for me.  I am not a cook, and I am horrible about sticking to traditional diets.  I either have to be a bit outrageous, or the scale barely budges).  It is just a nice way to see some pretty impressive pound drops.  On Wednesday, I will return to my normal "program" that I wrote about several days ago.  In the meantime, I will continue to read all of your posts and be inspired by them.  Thank you all so much for the pleasure of taking this journey with you.  It really does make the going less tough.  Continued well wishes to you all.  Stay strong, and shed pounds!

Swimr

[dianenyc]

Yeah, kmme -- Applauding wildly!!!!

Diane NYC

[kmme]

@swimr12265 - Thanks for the congrats , plateaus are frustrating but eventually we can get thru them . I agree with the set point theory , my body liked being around the 150 mark , seems like these days i plateau for weeks at a time then lose 5 or so and plateau again. If we stay the course though the weight has to move. You will get to the 120's as well , keep plugging away and don't give up:)

@saraj91 - Thanks for the continued support , it helps to have people who understand when we struggle

[kmme]

@dianenyc - Thank you so much!! You guys continue to motivate me 🙂

[dianenyc]

Hey swimr12265 - Thanks for the kind words. I don't know about sainthood, I consider it a successful day if I'm not up on homicide charges.  I am on my feet a lot and up and down stairs -- which keeps my Fitbit happy.

Have a good one today,

DianeNYC

[Ballthree]

What is the name of the phobia of lifting weights or performing other muscle building excercises because you don't want your step count to suffer? 

I got that phobia!  Being 54yr, I'm thinking I better start doing some muscle building activities so I don't lose too much, but there's only so much free time in the day, and mentally, I just have this great sense of accomplishment when I go over my daily step goal.

However, I have to admit, this dilemma is a lot better than a month ago, when I was debating which all-you-can-eat lunch place I was going to attend each day!

[Kitten87]

Just an update on the weight loss.
Starting weight was 189
Current weight is 180.2
Goal weight 168
Still have a ways to go but I'm on my way!

[OCDOC]

@Ballthree

Will look it up!