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!!

[BLLingg]

@TravellingSunny, @_Lilac_, @meg5168, I got rid of my Pants.  But I've held on to quite a few of my Shirts.  They're making great Dresses!!!  

[BLLingg]

Before I got my FitBit and started walking, I would have Days where my damaged Left Knee would be killing me.  I would have Days where my Right Hip would be killing me.  I would have Days where both were killing me.  I would be practically crawling up & down the Stairs at work.  I would be gimping around the Floor so slowly a snail would have passed me.

Since then, I have not had a single Day of pain.  Occasionally I will still a have Day where I know I have a Left Knee or a Right Hip but it's not a pain.  It's not really even an ache.

The last 3 Days, I have been walking faster and farther than usual.  I'm going to be walking in Portland's Shamrock Stride (4 Miles) and I want to make sure I'm not Tail End Charlie.  However, I've started feeling an ache in my Leg after I've walked awhile.  Not sure what it is.  Sometimes, it walks out, sometimes it hasn't.  Today I'm walking a little slower.  It doesn't seem to be aching as bad.  I already have my Steps, my Miles, and my Active Minutes completed for the Day.  But I'm in 2 Workweek Hustle Challenges so I still want to get as many Steps in as I can. 

[RachelShrinks]

GAH! I hate the rollercoaster. I truly do believe I do better when I weigh daily, but I weighed 174.8 yesterday, had this weird carb binge in the middle of the day, and even though I stayed at my -1000 deficit, because of the salt and such, I gained two pounds overnight. Grrrrrr.

I know it'l come off if I behave myself sodium-wise today, but still... why so difficult!?

[Bobbinyc]

@RachelShrinks I know it's frustrating.  When I was losing weight, it seemed the scale was a trampoline.  It would go up and down a little bit before it settled on a some loss.  We really do pay the price when we eat the junk.  But I agree, it sounds like it's just from the salt.

[Bobbinyc]

@_Lilac_ I love the pretty design on your ukelele.  Enjoy it!  There is something so special about playing an instrument.

[_Lilac_]

I took the dogs for a walk today and then got the bus to go meet my sister at the craft store. From there we walked to a plus-sized store, where I bought a shirt (yay 3X!!) and pants (3X not 4 or 5!!) and a bra, and then to the techy store. I ordered the shoes I want at the shoe store. We then went to lunch and I opted for raw veggie sticks instead of fries. Yay me! We went to another store and bused home. I got a total of 9000 steps during that outing but none of it was a 'workout'. Shopping wears me out! The slow walking causes more pain for some reason. The dogs didn't get their second walk and they are pouting but tough luck. I'm just not going. 

Mom and us three daughters are meeting for birthday brunch after Mom and I walk the mall tomorrow morning. It's a casino buffet so I'll have some healthy choices in the large salad bar. I haven't been there since my husband was still mobile enough to go without his oxygen tank. He really liked to eat. Haha. The docs didn't have to worry about him wasting away near the end. Lots of storage on him. 

Ok, tired. It's 11pm so it's time for bed. It's the weekend everyone! Get in those steps, don't forget your water, and make good food choices. Also relax and take care of your mind!

[GettingfitinSC]

@BLLingg Yes, I most certainly wish the roller coaster was down on weigh-in days! I had another good drop today, but it may be back up before weigh-in. I started looking at TrendWeight that someone mentioned weeks ago. I think it was @A_Lurker, but I'm too lazy to go back through pages to see exactly. Anyway, I linked it to fitbit, and it's pretty neat. Definitely made me not worry too much about the rollercoaster ride. I love how it calculates various statistics- number of weeks since starting, average lbs lost each week, number of calories to cut in order to match the -1000 calories that I'm supposed to be doing, etc. If anyone hasn't looked into it, you might like to take a look. 

Thanks for the encouragement! I am planning to meet my goal tomorrow and Sunday. I had a bad weekend last week and walked very few steps- just no motivation to do anything. I can't wait for the stupid short teeny tiny blue bars to move off my 7 day steps chart. I like the green bars! 🙂

Oh, I bought a 5-pack of batteries, so I should be good for a while. 🙂 

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[Ava_]

It's been ages since I last posted.  Started a new project at work and have been totally swamped.  Resulting in not sleeping, not getting enough steps in and not eating well.  I have tried my best to make healthy choices but haven't had time to plan lunches and bring them so I have had to make do with what they have at work (which all seems to be centered on carbs).  It has not been a good week!

I have lost a little since the last weigh-in, but nothing compared to how well I was doing in January and February, so it has been really disheartening.

I feel more on top of things now, though, with work, so I am going to plan this weekend and make loads of healthy lunch and snack options to take to work, as well as some easy dinner options to have when I come home exhausted at the end of the day.  Definitely need to plan more!!!

@SunsetRunner - I like the idea of your BBG measurement!  I don't have a beer belly but it is definitely where I have the most excess weight.  I have been relying on the scale and haven't actually done any body measurements - possibly a good idea.

@TravellingSunny - I had to laugh at this comment..

"Someday I'll be able to do a big girl push up, but that day is not this day." 

I totally know what you mean!

 So here are my current stats...

USW - 154 (12/30/16)

CSW - 138 (02/14/17)

PW - 138.4 (02/19)

PW - 136.5 (02/22)

PW - 138.4 (02/28)

CW - 137.3 (03/11)

GW - 130 (04/18) - not looking very realistic at the moment 

UGW - 125 (summer?)

Well done to everyone who is shedding the pounds and meeting their goals!!!

[_Lilac_]

At this very moment I am sitting in my chair and I have two dogs at my knees, staring at me expectantly. The big one has been bugging the little one, sitting on him, nipping at him...all in order to force me to take them out for a walk. They can't seem to understand that the extreme cold they feel when they go out in the backyard is the same extreme cold they would feel if we went out on the leashes. It's like, from the back door to the front door, there is a tropical change or something. No, Miami is not out the front door! It is currently -30C/-22F with winds at 32mph. Their energy has to be taken care of somehow. They resist learning to use the treadmill. I've tried!

Today started out with the mall walk (4700 steps). We decided to go to a Japanese restaurant for lunch instead of the casino and it was DELICIOUS...but strangely I was struck with sudden starving-ness in the afternoon. I had a snack, made supper but then didn't finish my supper. I've had only 6700 steps today and I can't do more. 

My knee was even worse today, after taking a naproxen last night and another this morning. I really don't want to go to a doctor. I came home and put hot rub on it, searched for my hot water bottle and can't find it. Mom insists I need a few days of NOT walking to heal it and I am just scared not to walk, ya know? I'll try to go to the therapy pool at the YMCA tomorrow for the heated water. I'll float around there for 30 min or so. I feel bad for the dogs but I'm actually limping badly now when I move around and it's too darned cold to go out. I just have to tell myself this is yet another test. I will overcome it.

I'm restless and bored. I can't find anything on tv. I don't feel like doing anything, even picking up my crochet work. I might just go brain dead with online games til bedtime. 

Have a good night. Don't forget to change your clocks if you are in one of the zones. 

[A_Lurker]

@_Lilac_- I know that heat feels good, but ice is probably better.  The ergonomic specialist suggested something like this: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B009R367DU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 when I pulled something slipping on the ice.  It's easier to use than ice (although I have one of those bags you fill with ice as well.  The acronym usually used is RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation).  I rarely use compression, but I do the other three.  Especially when you are carrying a lot of weight such as we are it is even more important to look after those knees.

[_Lilac_]

Thanks @A_Lurker  I have some ice packs around here. I'll put them in a towel and put one under and one on top while in the recliner. The rub I have is Buckley's White Rub...sort of an icy hot thing. I guess I must have hurt the knee absently and since I've continued to walk 10k steps or more per day, it's just aggravating it. It even hurt while doing water aerobics the other day when I was floating without weight on it. But water aerobics wasn't exactly giving the joint a break. 

Oh, and I got a splinter out of my finger tonight that was irritating me! Yay. Time for hot tea and ice packs. Everyone take care of themselves! 

[RachelShrinks]

I am not at all good at eating all my calories—which sounds weird until you realize that before I started losing weight, I was EATING about 1300 calories a day but DRINKING more than 2000. With my current whole food diet (and having given up that demon, soda), I often end the day with 200 or more calories to eat (I'm at a 1000+ deficit). Part of that is starting Cymbalta (for some, it just destroys your hunger), and part of it is that I think I'm unwilling to slow down my weight loss by bumping up my food. I've done such a good job in the last 10 weeks, but all of a sudden I'm struggling. I don't like struggling :).

Anyway, I had my second carb binge in a week this afternoon—I'm thinking my food situation has to change. So my idea is to keep my deficit at -1000 but try REALLY hard to eat all my calories. Might be I'm starving my poor body more than my brain thinks I am? I'm having a heck of a time adapting to the amount of exercise I'm getting these days (but I LOVE the amount of exercise I'm getting and I don't want to change that), so I am waiting for my body to adapt and drop all the inflammatory weight, but I don't want to stop my momentum.... 

Why is all this so HARD! Gaining the weight was TOTALLY easy! 😛

[DJC_63]

@_Lilac_  I laughed when I read about your dogs, my cats are the same way! They go out the front door and don't like the weather, so they go to the back door and want out. It's like they're hoping one door will yield nicer weather. They're so bored right now because it's snowed and gotten very cold. They like to go outside and look around and I live in a place where they can sit in our yard and be safe. But not right now! I always shovel little paths for them when it snows but it's just too cold for them now.

Regarding your knee, have you ever been to a Dr. about it?  I had some major problems with one of my knees a few years ago and finally had to go to the Ortho doc. They gave me 3 shots of Synovisc, and it worked wonders! It's been 2 1/2 years and I have pain sometimes but it's at a level that I can deal with.

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@_Lilac_ wrote:

At this very moment I am sitting in my chair and I have two dogs at my knees, staring at me expectantly. The big one has been bugging the little one, sitting on him, nipping at him...all in order to force me to take them out for a walk. They can't seem to understand that the extreme cold they feel when they go out in the backyard is the same extreme cold they would feel if we went out on the leashes. It's like, from the back door to the front door, there is a tropical change or something. No, Miami is not out the front door! It is currently -30C/-22F with winds at 32mph. Their energy has to be taken care of somehow. They resist learning to use the treadmill. I've tried!

Today started out with the mall walk (4700 steps). We decided to go to a Japanese restaurant for lunch instead of the casino and it was DELICIOUS...but strangely I was struck with sudden starving-ness in the afternoon. I had a snack, made supper but then didn't finish my supper. I've had only 6700 steps today and I can't do more. 

My knee was even worse today, after taking a naproxen last night and another this morning. I really don't want to go to a doctor. I came home and put hot rub on it, searched for my hot water bottle and can't find it. Mom insists I need a few days of NOT walking to heal it and I am just scared not to walk, ya know? I'll try to go to the therapy pool at the YMCA tomorrow for the heated water. I'll float around there for 30 min or so. I feel bad for the dogs but I'm actually limping badly now when I move around and it's too darned cold to go out. I just have to tell myself this is yet another test. I will overcome it.

I'm restless and bored. I can't find anything on tv. I don't feel like doing anything, even picking up my crochet work. I might just go brain dead with online games til bedtime. 

Have a good night. Don't forget to change your clocks if you are in one of the zones. 

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[DJC_63]

I had such a good week as far as exercise that I had to post. I hit my goals the majority of days which is a big improvement from where I've been. Today my back hurt a lot so I took it easy and just did some stretching and ab exercises. The weather is not good for any outdoor exercise, anyhow, but hopefully that will change soon.

I noticed that my mood was very upbeat, though, because I just felt good about what I did this week.  I find success is more motivating than failure.  😄 

I hope that the rest of you are having a good weekend.

[almost_where]

USW - 363 (3/9/16)

Valentine's Day Weight 259

  Sunday1 - 257 (02/19) 257.5 Target
  Sunday2 - 256  (02/26) 256.0 Target
  Sunday3 - 253  (03/05) 254.5 Target
  Sunday4 - 253  (03/12) 253.0 Target
  Sunday5 - (03/19) 251.5 Target
  Sunday6 - (03/26) 250.0 Target
  Sunday7 - (04/02) 248.5 Target
  Sunday8 - (04/09) 247.0 Target
Easter Day Goal - 246

n/c

Despite the lack of change on the scale, I felt things went well steps/lifting/nutrition wise. Maybe the sodium fairy got me this week 🙂

[RachelShrinks]

Better week this week!

USW (12/2016): 195

CSW (2/14/2017): 180.8

PW (2/19/2017): 180.2 (-0.6)

PW (2/26/2017): 178.4 (-1.8)

PW (3/6/2017): 178.1 (-0.3)

Current weight: 174.8 (-3.3) [That's more like it!]

GW (4/18/2017): -13.5 (167.3) (7.5 pounds in 5 weeks? I might could do that... Maybe.)

UGW (?): 145-150ish

Weekly Exercise Goal: (2 HIIT sessions) 2 as planned.

I've also started weights three days a week in combination with my cardio. 

[RachelShrinks]

@DJC_63: Well done! It really is great when you feel like you nailed it, isn't it? Hoping to have one of those weeks in the upcoming week. 🙂

[Bobbinyc]

@RachelShrinks  Believe me,I know how hard it is to lose the weight and how easy to gain.  Our bodies are designed to do that because through the  millennium it mean health!  It meant that during famines, or when hiding from the tigers, we could survive.  Then we invented junk food.

[Bobbinyc]

@_Lilac_ I hope your knee is starting to feel better.  I think you should be extra cautious, even though it is so scary to not move.  The more injured it becomes, the longer you will be laid up and the more it will recur.  Usually it's ice at first to reduce inflammation.  Then heat to get the blood there to heal.  When I had my plantar and achilles tendons injured and was in PT, I was told that part of the problem was that I didn't regularly stretch all of the muscles and strengthen all of them.  My tight quads and hamstrings pulled on my calf which pulled on my foot muscles and tendons.  And I was walking a lot then. And I was only 20 pounds overweight.  Our bodies need us to do so many things now that we aren't hunting and gathering and carrying large buckets of water from the well, etc.  Do whatever you need to do to heal.  

[Bobbinyc]

@DJC_63  Congrats on the great week and hitting your goals.  What a nice gift to give yourself.