Thanksgiving to New Years Eve Challenge 2015

[saraj91]

Hi All! 

This is the Thanksgiving to New Years Eve Challenge... Welcome !!

We'll begin on Thanksgiving, November 26th and finish on New Years Eve, December 31st. This gives us 5 weeks for this challenge so set your goals accordingly & don't worry if you don't hit them, it's not all about the numbers, it's about how you feel about your own health & being part of a fun, supportive group. 

To join the challenge all you need to do is post your weight stats & check in as often as you like with an update or just to share a story from your week. This group has proven to be so supportive the last 2 challenges I've been a part of so I hope you find it just as great to be a part of as well.

So, enjoy being part of the group & have fun working towards your goals! 

 
A little rundown of terminology for anyone who is new (thanks @awood08 for this list from the last challenge).

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

[SunsetRunner]

Treat your precious body every day in the best / healthiest way possible (eating mostly healthy, exercise for fun not for the calories burned), trying eating only mostly when hungry.. when not feeling up to exercise, rest or slow down with exercising..

If needed, throw the scale away to not know your weight all the time, there's natural fluctuations.. even when there's no weight gain at all there can be weight gain from water upkeep, having build more muscles.. if the scale makes or breaks your day, measure your waist size once in a while instead, feeling how you feel during eating if feeling eaten enough and your body being satisfied not needing more..

If a new piece of cloth is getting tighter, automatically knowing to fast a little or eating more salads, fruits, vegetables..

When the goal is for example to see your abs, knowing if abs are visible all goes well, if starting to see the ribs, meaning to eat more, if the abs are back covered with body energy (fat) cutting back a little.. using other ways instead of a scale to measure success and being happy (if a scale determines your mood for the day) but knowing doing everything right for your body..

[Aqua671]

I have kind of passed on eating properly for a few years along with less physical activity at work.  I miss my old body and how it worked for me.  Once I got my fitbit I started using the calorie counter and have been very sucessful in getting back into shape.  I do wish I could take my Fitbit with me in the ocean when I freedive or spearfish but technology hasn't caught up with that lifestyle yet.  While I have lost a dramatic amount of weight I am now in the trimming and chisieling phase.  Hope to look great again by Chrismas.

So, my stats:

USW: 183 in (Novbember)

CW: 167 as of last week

UGW: 165

[HelenKr]

@awood08 - you are beautiful! (I know because I saw your photos. 😄) You should be extremely proud of yourself and what you've accomplished. Maybe it's time to take a break and maintain your new body and energy. Focus on enjoying the healthy lifestyle you've adopted. The drive to always be ever thinner can be very dangerous and only brings unhappiness.

[Aqua671]

awood08, you've awakened a new side of yourself and now it's running wild.  I feel the same way and have to fight the urge not to eat.  Try to stay healthy and do right by your body.  You're beautiful.  Enjoy your new lifestyle but don't let it over run yourself.

[dancefoxtrot]

awood

Read your post about focusing on your body more than you are comfortable with recently. Go to the BMI calculate and put in your goal weight and see if it is within the healthy range. This will give you another perspective about your desire to loose weight.  I think this focus on the new body shape and wanting to make it better is a phase. I hit my goal, landed in the middle of a healthy BMI and found I still wanted my tummy to be flatter. Unfortunately I bounced off my low and now have to relose the last 5 lbs. again. I suggest writing about this issue and watch your thoughts as you may need to process some belief or feeling that is bubbling up. Thoughts sometimes lie so be aware that some thoughts are not accurate or true. You are not crazy just dealing with stuff from the past probably. 

You got this and we are with you. 

Barb G

[lightbueaty28]

Everyday is a new day. 🙂 hang in there .

[awood08]

Thank you all so much. I feel a little better today once I really sat down and thought about it, all of my family and friends are very supportive, and constantly compliment me. One thing alot of have been saying is that I look so great right now that I shouldn't lose much more. But honestly, even at 175 which is my goal weight I'm still considered overweight/obese and at a BMI of 30. I think honestly I'm just going to go with the flow, let time and healthy decisions take it's course and if I lose more, I lose more, if I just hang around the low/mid 170's I'll be happy with that too! Looking at my before and now pictures I feel like my sizes are proportionate for my body frame.

This is me before

This is me now

  

[IamRBrown]

If you are comfortable with where you are (feel good & no health issues), you look great.  Wonderful before and afters!

[Liz67]

Thank u all. Day 3 is going strong. I can do this. Sent from Liz's iPhone

[HelenKr]

Just a quick check in at the 2 week mark.  Very happy to have lost 3 pounds since the challenge start date and be in the 150s! 

USW    175

CSW    162.2  (11/26)

CW       159.2  (12/9)

GW       157     (12/31)

[dancefoxtrot]

Hi awood,

You do look better in your more recently photos. There are lots of studies that show that people in the healthy weight bmi avoid a lot of serious health problems. Maybe aim at first to get to the overweight category from the obese category. Perhaps aim at first for bmi of 28, then in a couple months aim for 26 and a while later maybe cozy up to bmi 24.  I don't know why friends say don't lose much more but get thee out of the obese category in a steady sensible way. You will reduce your chance of diabetes and other awful chronic diseases including hip and knee problems. Also, I would consult with a physician about the weight that is healthy for you given your bone structure. Friends and family often say what they think you want to hear or what makes themselves feel comfortable.

You can do this and you will see how terrific you look as you move toward the healthy bmi range.

Hope that you hear this as a caring message focused on health.

Best,

Barb G                           

[dancefoxtrot]

Helen

Great move to the 150's as that is a great line to cross.

Barb G

[syreina]

Thanks for the support!! I've been using MFP for years and did not realize that my USW and CSW was the same from 4 years back! Oh well, at least, I am trying to develop a good trend to keep up.

USW - Ultimate Starting Weight - 2/4/2011 - 140 lbs

CSW - Current Starting Weight - 1/10/2015 - 140 lbs

GW - Goal Weight - 12/28/2015 - 123 lbs

UGW - Ultimate Goal Weight - 3/14/2016 - 110 lbs

PW - Previous Weight - 11/30/2015 - 131 lbs

CW - Current Weight - 12/7/2015 - 129.8 lbs

[ninjamidget25]

@awood08 Keep the curves.  They look good on you  

[ca-north]

Congratulations!!

[Aqua671]

awood, just do it for yourself.  I started looing weight for someone else and ended up eating crap when I was mad or unhappy with them.  Now I am doing it for myself.  My goals are to be happy and healthy with healthy taking priority.  You're doing great, just do it for you.

[Halcyonia]

Well Done awood08! You rock! 

[JacquelineP]

---

@Aqua671 wrote:

awood, just do it for yourself.  I started looing weight for someone else and ended up eating crap when I was mad or unhappy with them.  Now I am doing it for myself.  My goals are to be happy and healthy with healthy taking priority.  You're doing great, just do it for you.

---

What he said!  All of it.  Including the part about "You're doing great"!

[hskye]

New to the community 🙂

Around 5 8', not really into loosing that much weight but I always feel happier when I work out super hard. I need a motivation so I've made a goal:

CSW- 125

GW- 120 (or under)

[Aqua671]

Looks like you are almost there.  Great work.