Valentines Day to April 18th

[BLLingg]

@Bobbinyc, I hope it's ok for me to plagerize your Christmas to Valentine's Day Topic Starter but it was absolutely perfect!!!

Welcome all Challengers!  What an amazing group we have!

Let's all continue together to take off the excess pounds and keep getting healthier.

This challenge will begin on Valentine's Day and finish on (American) Tax Day - 18 April 2017.   (Really!  It's the 18th this Year, not the 15th!)

All you need to join this challenge is to post your stats regarding your weight, and check in weekly or as often as you'd like. We are a great support group and enjoy keeping up with each other and being there for our ups and downs.  Generally we have found that the more we check in and offer support, tips, info,  and ideas to others, the more we get for ourselves.

We list our weight, as well as any other goals we might have related to being healthy (such as increase water, more active minutes, etc).  Developing good health habits is primary.

A little rundown of terminology for anyone who is new.

USW- Ultimate Starting Weight

CSW- Current Starting Weight (for this challenge)

GW- Goal Weight   (for Feb 14)

UGW- Ultimate Goal Weight   (what your healthy target weight is)

PW- Previous Weight

CW- Current Weight

MFP- My Fitness Pal

List as much info as you like.  Some people include age, gender, height....whatever seems relevant to you.

We keep it as serious or light as we feel, but we always keep it focused on being as healthy as possible, while we support each other kindly.  We can do this together!!

[Bobbinyc]

@Amy_Noelle  I am so sorry about your friend.  How awful.  This is not the time for you to worry about food.  This is time for you to be gentle with yourself and connect with people you can talk to for support, reach out to your friend's family, talk to other friends who knew them.  Let others take care of you too.  You will get back on track, even before the pain eases or moves over to make room for other things again.  For now, just know that even people you don't know are holding you in their thoughts.

Bobbi

[_Lilac_]

I slept in today and it's sunny! However, it's cold. We had some light snow overnight, enough to make the roads slippery. Salt trucks went by so it's melting off. I'll try to take the dogs out later, after I get my chores done. I have my laundry in and got my bag out, preparing for my weekend trip. I vacuumed and made a list of things I need to take. I have my water bottle on the list! I always pack too much so I'm going to rein it in as best I can. I just have so many pills and my clothes are big so they take up space. haha. 

Today is a weight loss day based on the # of trips to the bathroom. As everyone else, I am confused and putting too much thought into the details. The week before last I did so many extra steps and workouts. Then this last week I've done less than my goal, mostly from being worn out and on the verge of being sick (fought it off again). So, I have to wonder, is it a delayed reaction to the extra steps from almost two weeks ago, or is it from reducing my physical effort and matching up better with my food intake. I NEVER meet the right zone because I can't make up enough calories for what I burn. Was I exercising too much and not eating enough and when I slowed down, did it allow me to lose? Sigh. I dunno what to think anymore. Maybe I'll stop thinking. I just need to live and exercise every day and eat good food. The rest will fall into place. 

I remember when I was a teenager, my mom and her beau were watching every morsel they ate (he was a body builder and she was just eternally dieting) and after getting frustrated with them nitpicking how many grapes I took out of the fridge, I said, "You are so obsessed with the thing that you want to stop obsessing over! Food!" And I think it clicked a bit that the 'dieting' is an obsession as much as overeating is. Under-eating has been such a habit for my mom that fitbit is helping her realize what her zone is supposed to be. She's losing and happy and fed. 

Alright, back to packing after my detour...

[em.kz]

Weekly Weigh-In!

USW - 161.6 (12/25/16)

CSW - 153.6 (2/14/17)

CW - 154.8 (2/17/17)

CW - 152.2 (2/24/17)

CW - 153.2 (3/3/17)

CW -  (3/10/17)

CW -  (3/17/17)

CW -  (3/24/17)

CW -  (3/31/17)

CW -  (4/7/17)

CW -  (4/14/17)

FW -  (4/18/17)

GW - 146.0 (2/18/17)

UGW #1 - 140     UGW #2 - 135

If I'm being completely honest, I am disappointed in myself this week. No matter what I did this week, I just slowly gained and gained and gained. Despite getting all my steps in, hitting the gym, and watching what I eat... nothing. I am extremely frustrated. Nonetheless, I will continue to work!

[A_Lurker]

@em.kz- time of the month?  Just asking because when I was young enough to be affected I would gain before my period and once it started would lose the weight.  The other possibility is that something you've eaten recently is saltier than you're used to, that causes water retention.  Just stay the course and it will change.

[em.kz]

@A_Lurker I don't think it's because of my period because I'm on a medicine that messes with it and eventually should stop them all together. However, it could be that with the medicine causing some hormone changes, my body is working to adjust, resulting in my gain.

[Bobbinyc]

I was thrilled to lose 2 pounds after about 1/2 year of trying, but that was about 8 weeks ago.  I'm getting tired of not losing more.   I must be on "Candid Camera" or something.  So, today I went to the gym early and worked out for an hour, then did over 8,000 steps, 24 flights of stairs, and ate well.  I'm on my 7th glass of water.  I'm determined to do this for about a week.  Then if nothing changes, the scale goes to a landfill.  

[Bobbinyc]

@_Lilac_  I hope you have a wonderful weekend.  It is so special that you are doing that with your daughter.  It is something you will both always remember.  What an amazing gift you are giving yourselves.

[_Lilac_]

@Bobbinyc We've talked about travelling over the years, even set up a savings account to stash money into once in a while. European river cruises, Mediterranean cruise, etc. have been of interest. She's gone to Kenya and Florida and other places...an adventurous soul. Me..I'm happy going 3 hours away. Haha. Maybe someday, when I can fit into an airplane seat, and have the physical ability to walk around all day...we'll go somewhere. Mom and I are still dreaming about our big Tim Horton's cup prize that will send us to Maui. Haha.

[TT_is_me]

@Bobbinyc - lets all chuck the scales to the landfill! I'm on board too. 

[Bobbinyc]

@_Lilac_  The way you describe your walks, the number of miles, I think you could handle any trip at all.  You have an adventurous spirit, and you'd have a wonderful time any place.

[DJC_63]

Today I did my "monthly measure".  Last month everything had gotten bigger, which was bad, this month most everything stayed the same. My thighs and waist were smaller, though! I'm just happy that things stopped getting larger.

i did a few intense workouts this week, and my body isn't happy about it!  I ache all over, especially my back. I try hard not to overdo the back muscles but mine get sore easily.  Ever since I had back surgery 10 years ago it's been a problem. At least once the soreness goes away, I'll have more muscle in my arms and legs. That's what I tell myself so I feel better.

im getting excited about longer days coming so That I can walk outside more often and not have to drive 30 minutes to the gym.  Can't wait!

[dancefoxtrot]

@Bobbinyc

Stubborn scale at your house.  Are you running a 1000 cal deficit on a daily basis and the nasty fat is clinging to you like glue? When I gain or stop losing it is usually because I'm snacking or grazing too much. Why I resist logging each and every thing I put in my mouth when it works? At least I'm being more mindful last 2 days. 

  Saw myself do the snack on hummus, figs & nuts thing and stopped it early.  Drank a pint of water and starting on the second one now. I may wake up doing the night to pee but I can go back to sleep.  

My new dance teacher is Russian and he expects me to practice by myself and know my part cold. That is a lot to do so I get to put in some hours tomorrow at the studio. His high expectations are causing me to be more disciplined. It is hard to partner dance alone but I'm going to give it what I got. We are doing this dance at a recital in 3 weeks and I need lots of practice. He just finished choreographing it on Thursday.  I think it will help me to have someone expecting me to measure up. Self discipline is not my strongest trait. 

Best to you all, 

Barbara G

[DJC_63]

@Bobbinyc  Sorry to hear that the scale stopped moving again. I know how frustrating that is. Although I'm very unhappy to have gained weight back (8 pounds since Sept.!). at least I know why I've gained it.

have you seen the movie "Arrival"? (If not, it stars Amy Adams as a linguist who is tasked with finding a way to communicate with aliens who are in 12 different spots around the world). I just saw it last weekend, and it was so beautiful, and so inspiring. When I left the theatre I thought "is it good to be so obsessed with a number on a scale that I don't enjoy what I eat? Am I enjoying my life enough? Are other things more important?"  It's that kind of movie. If you haven't seen it I highly recommend it.

[HeartBiller]

Well it has been a very busy week at work and home this week, so I haven't gotten to reply much. I have tried to keep up on reading all the posts. As always, wishing the best for everyone. I have sympathy for the ones suffering PF and am happy for the ones seeing progress. I have done ok for the rest of this week since Tuesday's weigh in, however the weekend is generally my down fall. So I'm praying for strength to resist temptation over the weekend to have another loss on this coming Tuesday. I am seeing that #5 coming in my somewhat near future. 

Today we have a grandson's ball game at 9 am then 2 other grand sons play at 11. So I am looking at 3 hours of sitting on the bleachers... 😭 Oh well, I guess they are worth it... Lol. However, that's a lot of sitting on a hard backless seat....lol. 

I hope every one enjoys their weekend and we all come back with a loss after it is over! 

[Bobbinyc]

@DJC_63 Thanks for the movie recommendation.  I'll definitely try to get to it.  We get into this crazy relationship with food.  It's part of how we became overweight, but then to lose weight we obsess even more.  My hope had been that I would plan a healthy way of eating, prepare food, only eat things I knew were good for me, be very active, and the weight would fly off the way it flew on.  Reality is so different.

So, with increasing pressure from @dancefoxtrot (and I do thank you) I am back to logging food.  

I'm guessing that after your surgery you worked with a physical therapist.  Maybe you could see a good one again now.  Our bodies change as we age, and we need to work harder and harder on our weaknesses or they become more problematic.  Maybe a good PT could help you to strengthen your back and do other exercises without inflaming your back muscles.  Just a thought.

[Bobbinyc]

@dancefoxtrot  ok, getting better about logging.  I also need to adjust numbers because I think fitbit is giving me too much credit - I don't think I'm burning as much as they say.  I know I am definitely not taking in too many calories.  I am still trying to get stronger but I can't believe it's muscle weight.

I'd love to hear about your dance recital.  What will you be dancing?  You know I'd love to see another video, if that's not too much to ask.  In the one I saw, you were so elegant.

[Bobbinyc]

@HeartBiller  Oh, I do remember the days of all those games.  But why sit in the bleachers?  You could be walking around in the area off the playing field.  No hard seats and lots of exercise.

[RachelShrinks]

Grrr. Needed to vent to like-minded people. And get a little support so I don't eat a few pounds onto myself. 😞

So, this morning, I was commenting that on a weekend warrior challenge I'm in, a woman had 13,000 steps before 8 am. My wife responded with a dismissive, "She probably took a morning run. You have GOT to stop obsessing about all this."

...

Um, okay, see, I am 1) the sole caretaker for said wife with cancer (which, no matter how well the person is doing, is a chore and a half), and 2) a mother to three small children (and often, because of either work or illness, a de facto single parent), and 3) the full-time QA manager of a very busy startup. I have ONE THING that's mine: trying to get myself healthy and more active so that I can TAKE CARE OF THE REST OF YOU. God forbid I choose to game-ify that through crazy challenges and having fun. 

So of course, I found myself grabbing a few chips here and a few chips there. Because I don't deserve to be thin and healthy (that's selfish, right?), so why bother trying? And I get dirty looks if work is crazy enough that the only time I get to go to the gym is after the kids go to sleep—because that's the time I need to do stuff for HER. 

Just feeling like I'm not getting a whole lot of support at home, and you all are SO supportive. Many thanks for that! 

[A_Lurker]

@RachelShrinks- I have mixed emotions about the challenges in general.  My phone doesn't always connect so I have a tendency to miss them at times.  I remember a goal day challenge a while back and the person running it ended up with a 400% or something number.  Of course, their goal was super low and looking at their steps they had been crushing it for a while.  I have a friend, who up until recently, was doing between 20-30,000 steps a day.  I've done 20,000 consistently for a month and hit the 25,000 once in a while.  Suddenly they've shot to the top of my list with 40-70,000 steps a day.  It's a huge jump and unless they're training for a super marathon I'm not sure I believe the step count.

Anyway, it's a long way to go to say.. don't sweat the challenges.  I don't pay that much attention to them.  In the end what you need to look at is your own numbers.  On your dashboard set the number of steps shown to 28 days and then see how it compares with the previous 28 days.  They should be roughly the same, or higher.  In my case they're lower because I went slightly bonkers in January and did 20,000+ a lot of days.  February I slowed down on purpose.  This month I'll be up from Feb.

[almost_where]

@RachelShrinks

If its the same challenge I am in, don't quote me, but I believe that person is like 5 or 6 hours ahead of us time zone wise, so if you got up at 8 it would be like 2pm for her.  In the end all that time zone stuff works out, its just a little odd at first.

Good luck