Thanksgiving to Christmas 2016

[dancefoxtrot]

Our Challenge this time has 31 days so we can set realistic goals for 4 weeks of weight loss or maintenance. Come and share your stories, successes, struggles and what you are learning on your journey to a healthier life.

OSW= 153 Feb 2015

CSW= 149.3 Today

GW =  145 12/25

UGW= 135 and maintain it

OSW= Original starting weight when began with Fitbit

CSW= Current starting weight

GW= Goal weight for this challenge ending on 12/25

UGW=Ultimate goal weight.

Okay we going together toward healthier bodies and minds. Sadly holidays have been commercialized to focus on consumption including lots of sugar, empty carbs and calories.  We can make much healthier choices since we are not mindless puppets of the greedy manufacturers. 

Let's give ourselves and others the gift of healthier food and attitudes.

All the very best on this Thanksgiving Day.

Anyone want to share a few things that they are thankful for to inspire us?

I'm thankful for my home to keep me sheltered from the storms.

I'm grateful for my work teaching exercise and health to older adults and it

helps me, too.

I'm grateful for still being able to dance.

I'm thankful for my son and his kids just 1 hour away.

I'm grateful for my sister and brother across the country that I can call.

I'm grateful for my garden with some organic veggies and fruit.

I'm thankful for the good nutrition that my late momma taught me to eat.

I'm thankful for my Fitbit friends that are so kind and supportive.

We are doing this one day at a time and we can reach our healthy goals!

Hugs to all our fierce challengers,

Barbara G

[A_Lurker]

---

@A_Lurker wrote:

USW: 407.0

CSW: 360.0 (Feb 2016)
PW: 265.8 (12/04/16)
CW: 265.0 (-0.8)
GW: 259.2 (Christmas)  <-- not really aiming for this anymore
LT: 2.11 lbs/week for 45 weeks

Okay, perfect example this week of how you can do lots of good but end up going in the wrong direction.  I did tons of steps, my eating was mediocre (but not bad) but my weight is still up.  I'm not super concerned about this.  Yesterday for example I didn't go over calories, however, way too many of them came from cookies.  I didn't drink enough water and I didn't get enough sleep yesterday.  So, I'm up this week.  I'm not likely going to even address it until after Christmas, so be it.   I only posted this week to show that every one has bad weeks. 

USW: 407.0

CSW: 360.0 (Feb 2016)
PW: 265.0 (12/11/16)
CW: 266.8 (+1.8)
GW: 259.2 (Christmas)  <-- not really aiming for this anymore
LT: 2.03 lbs/week for 46 weeks

[A_Lurker]

(duplicate post)

[A_Lurker]

Let me start by saying that it's not as bad as it looks...

Garage Door: 1          Anne: 0

I'm actually up to just over 14,000 steps.  I was close to 7,000 when it happened, and typing is awkward so I spent a lot of time on the floor just walking around and observing.

[_Lilac_]

@A_Lurker  Oh no! I hope you can work.

[A_Lurker]

@_Lilac_- it will be okay but at the moment it's sore.  I took the pressure dressing off when I got home (was told I could) and replaced it with a band-aid.  They put some WoundSeal on it today and I don't actually need to keep it covered, but it's less painful.

[_Lilac_]

@A_Lurker I once tripped going upstairs and jammed my finger on a doorframe. It bent back completely at the middle knuckle. It didn't break! But it was splinted and I couldn't type/work for two weeks. Stupid stupid. It still hurts and that was YEARS ago. I hope yours is nothing that will bother you for time to come. 

[almost_where]

@A_Lurker

Sorry that happened to you, hope you make a speedy recovery from that. The fact you racked up 7k steps after that just shows the amount of driver you have. Keep up the good work  with the steps.

[Glenda]

                                    Lilac and A_Lurker,  I'm sorry A_ was hurt recently & Lilac so long ago.  I recently asked my daughter how weird was it that my hand  , paralized by a cat bite for 5 days ,still hurt weeks later, and how long could that go on.  She stepped off a curb or something and hurt her foot and it hurt her for a year.  You just expect things to HEAL.  Or maybe kill you????  Seems very strange to me.  I cut a finger once so badly that I taped it to a popcicle stick to imobilize it so it could heal.  It did and was doing nicely until I got in a disagreement with a garage door and tore it apart again.  I had wanted to avoid stitches but I went to a doctor and said, "I give up, stitch me".  She said can't now because of scar tissue.  But whe thought the popicle stick was brilliant.  Made me feel a little better.   She gave me a pro metal popcicle stick.

[Bobbinyc]

@A_Lurker  I'm sorry you lost the battle with the garage door.  You are very very funny.  And @almost_where is right..nothing seems to stop you for long at all.  

[_Lilac_]

Quick check in. It's 2am and I can't sleep. I had a bit of coffee this evening, which is unusual for me, so now I'm suffering the consequences. I had planned to get up for the pool at 7:30am but that might not happen now. My daughter and I have plans to go to do some last minute shopping in the morning then I have more errands in the afternoon that will take me on a good walk. 

I got my 10,000 steps today by doing our laps at the mall, taking the dogs for their walk, etc. My feet seemed to be very sore today and I'm not exactly sure why unless it has to do with walking on the treadmill yesterday. Maybe I'm just not used to it or need a bit of an incline or something. I'll try different things. 

Food is good. I'm trying to stick between a certain set of numbers for calories but something just isn't working. My weight isn't dropping. It's halted, even though I'm doing nothing different. I might be struggling with sodium or sugar or something that is reflected in the scale. I don't want to drop my calories, since I'm already sitting beyond recommended deficit. I make sure I get AT LEAST  30 continuous min of good aerobic activity. I get a lot more in the fat-burning zone. So...struggle time. 

I know others here are suffering the same. I have very good control over what I eat and I don't binge or even have things in the house that I shouldn't have. I'm going to be watching my refined sugar intake a bit better. I don't restrict it terribly or use sweeteners, as long as it's within my calorie confines and in reasonable amounts. I'm not eating cake or pie or candies or whatever. Just a little in my coffee, a muffin here or there, etc. 

I might also stick to water exclusively for the next week instead of adding hot tea or coffee to my daily liquid intake. That might help. It will help me sleep! 

Ok, I have a plan...water only, be wary of sodium and sugar (no ham at Christmas dinner!!), make great calorie choices rather than 'good' calorie choices. We'll see how that goes. 

Ok, it's 3am now. I must get to bed. 

[dancefoxtrot]

Anne    owwww. Poor finger. Protect it so it can heal well. 

Glad it isn't worse. 

Barbara G

[Cele21]

USW = 215

SW =215 (Thanksgiving 2016)

LW = 214.2

CW = 214.2

GW = 211.0

UGW = 140

Holding steady.

[HeartBiller]

Well its been a rough week for me..I haven't done very well. My mother in law had her Christmas get together on this past Sunday.. and I was BAD BAD BAD... My sister in law had made peanut butter balls, which is a terrible weakness of mine.. So I am up a pound this week. Which means, more than likely, I will not meet my Christmas goal. Which does make me sad... So I need to kick my own butt and get it in gear.!!!!

My daughters church (which I visit alot...lol) has several members which are going to do the Daniel Fast starting Jan 2nd, so I think my husband and I are going to do it with them... It is 21 days of eating a healthy and natural food.. BUT no meat.. and I am a meat eater..lol. So if any of you have any input on the Daniel Fast I would be happy to hear it. I am sure gonna need meal ideals... We did it once before a couple of years ago, But it seems like my memory is gone from it now..lol.

Well I hope everyone else is doing well and better than I did this week...I wish everyone the very best on which ever diet/plan/ lifestyle change that you are working on. I know all to well the struggle we are all going through... BUT WE WILL GET THERE! YES WE CAN!!!

MY stats
USW - 210 lbs
SW - 210 lbs
10/25/16 - 178.4 lbs
11/01/16 - 177.6 lbs - 0.8 lbs
11/08/16 - 174.8 lbs - 2.8 lbs
11/14/16 - 174.3 lbs  - 0.5 lbs

11/22/16 - 171.6 lbs - 2.7 lbs
11/29/16 - 175.2 lbs  3.6 Gain 😞

12/06/16 - 171.4 Lost the 3.6 I had gained plus lost 2 more ounces .. . - 3.8 lbs

12/13/16 - 170.0 lbs - 1.4 lbs

12/20/16 - 171.0 lbs +1.0 lbs

Total Lost so far this challenge - 7.4 pounds Goal Weight by Christmas - 167.5
UGW - 125 lbs

[HeartBiller]

@A_LurkerSorry to hear about your finger... Hope it doesn't give you trouble long... Those little boogers are important to our daily work...lol.

[professorpete]

@HeartBiller  I had started a couple of years ago with the Daniel Plan.  It is by the same doctors - Amen and Hyman-  who are on PBS a lot.  Both docs have more detailed food plans than that, but it is a good start - healthy and moderate, though not necessarily kosher, like Daniel.   I love that so many churches use Daniel as an example, especially around the holidays - a good time to remember our principles and avoid excess.  

[_Lilac_]

Update: I got only 3 hours sleep last night. I think some of my issue was that my son was travelling home today and I had so many things I needed to do. My daughter and I went to the mall so she could shop for her friends and brother. It was a very tiring trip of 6600 steps. I hurt all over. On my way home on the city bus, I got a text from my son saying he missed his flight. SIGH. My mother had already left to pick him up at the airport and I tried to call her but she didn't have her cell (of course)....

I rushed my dog to the groomer, went to the bank, to the pharmacy, back home then left to go back to the groomer to pick up my dog. 16,000 steps total!!! I am so tired, sore, stressed. I've burned 4400 calories today and have eaten only 1400. How am I supposed to make that up? I am going to break my first rule from last night's speech I gave myself. I've had 90 oz of water today so I'm going to have some hot tea to relax. I wish I could put my feet in it. haha. I drink it black with no sweetening so it's basically water, right? 

My son is now on his re-booked flight. He's on his way. I'm not climbing those steps to put new sheets on his bed. He can do that. And he can scrounge for food when he gets here. I'm not standing in the kitchen to cook him a late supper. I can't even make myself some food.

I need to float in the pool tomorrow. I hurt even just lying in bed. Weightlessness...that's what I need. There's a really warm therapy pool at the Y. It's like stepping into a little piece of heaven. 

Ok, time to relax. 

@A_Lurker I hope your finger is feeling ok. What damage did the garage door sustain? LOL

[Glenda]

Lilac,  A hot drink in a very cold place at the end of a trying day seems good to me.  Do they make decaf tea?  Even decafinated coffee has some I think .  Might help your sleep, just before bed.   I wonder if you would be less stressed if you just stopped counting calories for a short while.  Maybe for a few days you could just eat when hungry for a change and try for nutritious food  which would be satisfying , just as an experiment.  When I eat sugar & grain stuff I'm still hungry an hour later, or am in a "what's next" mode of eating all day of handy stuff.  Maybe you could keep some low fat cheese sticks around with thin sliced turkey meat to wrap around it to avoid worse things to snack.  

     Since you said you were stalled lately on your weight loss program, it is just a thought.  Calories are not an exact science but pretending it is perfect, most people undercount calories by quite a bit.  None of us agree with that statement of researchers.  Another thing "experts" say that drives me nuts is that everyone muct eat 1,200 calories a day minimum.  Doesn't matter if it is all sugar and the person is 4 foot 10 inches tall or 6 foot 3 inches.  1200 calories is the magic number.  Too stupid for words as far as I'm concerned.    Still,  if you multiply your weight by 12  (I would use 10 because I am small) to get the number of calories that might maintain your current weight, how does that relate to the goals you have set for your deficit calorie ideas?  This is just for you, you don't need to tell me.  They say very active people would multiply by 15 ,and maybe that would be you just because you weigh more? I used to walk about 3 mph on a grade of 7 on my treadmill but after getting a fitbit I lowered the grade so it was counter prductive somewhat.   Read too many studies that said exercise didn't really make any difference in weight loss it was just what you eat. !!!  I hope things will get easier for you.  Best wishes.  Glenda

[Bobbinyc]

@_Lilac_  I never stop being amazed by your energy.  I read your posts and want to take a nap!  Suggestion: if you have any trouble sleeping at all, do not drink any tea in the evening.  I have to stop at 2pm.  Caffeine, even in decaf, has a very long half life.  Even if you fall asleep, it will awaken you more easily or keep you in a lighter sleep longer.  Some people aren't at all sensitive to it.  You could have herbal tea, but all other teas, especially black, have caffeine.  I sometimes have hot water with something in it like fresh lemon.

Good for you for not making your son's bed up or making dinner when you were so tired.  It took me many years to figure that one out.  

[Bobbinyc]

@dancefoxtrot  Were you able to get the appointment for the MOH's procedure?  

[Bobbinyc]

@Glenda  I've seen those studies about exercise not being as important as food for weight loss.  I don't trust them.  They don't specify who the population they are studying consists of.  It is very different if you are a 20 year old active male vs. a 55 year old female who has been sedentary.  When I was laid up, the weight just poured onto me. That would not have happened when I was in my 20s. When I lost muscle mass (which happens very quickly), the weight stayed on.  Besides, being active is supposedly one of the best things you can do to live a healthy, long life.  Cutting out sugar and eating vegetables are the other 2 big ones.  

I've also read quite a bit that eating sugar (including refined carbs and bread and pasta) will change how our bodies process the calories.  Our bodies make insulin which signals fat storage, vs fat burning with other foods.  I think some are more sensitive to this than others.  People who don't eat too much sugar and refined carbs and have a good metabolism aren't as effected as people who have a history of lots of sugar/pasta and have slower metabolisms.  At least that is what I've been reading.  It is not just the no. of calories but what they are too.   

Supposedly the cut-off is 1200 calories because we aren't supposed to go below what our bodies need to function, which is usually above 1200.  Also, to be below 1200 for a long time, requires either being fairly inactive or really focusing on food way too much.  We have to use our own common sense and a good doctor's advice though.

I'm no expert; this is just what I have read from published studies and seen on PBS by established docs.