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!!

[Nora58]

The last 2 days have been beautiful so Nora and I have taken full advantage of the break from snow and rain.On Sunday we walked and ran 7.05 miles  managed to get 80 minutes of cardio and spent a lot of time sitting in the sun since we haven't seen it in so long. We were out about 3 hours but the walk/run was only half that time the rest was just lazy watching the ducks and sniffing around like hounds do. Today we did 5 miles and 63 cardio but really muddy and slick on the last of the ice today as it is hitting 70 degrees.  Running on ice is becoming my new skill. It's so great to see Nora running and happy. Sometimes she forgets that I'm on the other end of the 20 ft lead and I have to tell her to go easy so I don't face plant in the mud but we both are losing weight and having fun. My scale gave me 3 very different weights so I will weigh at my doctors and weigh my cloths when I get home and subtract them. Hope everyone is having a great week .I know mine is busy as it's Holy Week so may have to do more short walks between church times.

[GettingfitinSC]

@HeartBiller How are you doing with no carbs today? It's kind of hard for me, but I've been successful today so far, except for my mini chocolate. I have to have one little bite of chocolate each day. 🙂

  I can't believe how many calories came from carbs. With no carbs, I'm way below calories today. I need to eat a little something in a few minutes but I'm going to stay under calories for today. I think I'm going to start with one or two days a week with no carbs, not try to cut them completely. Crossing my fingers for a good weigh-in tomorrow morning. 🙂 

[Ava_]

@GettingfitinSC I read your post about no carbs for the day and thought - that would be a good thing for me to do too, especially as tomorrow is weigh in day for me - ...and then I looked down at my bowl of porridge which I was happily eating and thought....hmmm...perhaps not today 

I do find it helps though.  I had a look at back at the food I logged for the start of the year (when my weight loss was constant) and I was very low on carbs then, with lots of protein and veggies.

[GettingfitinSC]

USW= 235 (Christmas 2016)

CSW= 224.3 (Valentine's Day 2016)

PW=218.5

CW= 213 (-5.5 lbs this week!)  🙂 
 Total lost since Valentine's Day=11.3

Total lost since Christmas 2016= 22

GW= 210

UGW= 125

38/F/5'0"

Ok, not sure I can take the stress of ups and downs! Last week I had gained 2.1 lbs; this week, I've lost that and then some! I think it's really gone too, not just a peek, because the last two days were 214.7, 214.0, and today is 213.0. I contribute it to cutting carbs a lot, although not 100% carb-free. I've also tried to stay under the fitbit calorie limit, so maybe I've either been not counting as accurately as I've thought or Fitbit is overestimating my burn and allowing too many calories. It's a little of everything I guess. I'm going to keep a strict watch on my carbs and have 1-2 days per week of no carbs (or as close as I can). Hopefully, that will keep the loss moving along.

Suddenly, my goal that was not possible last week is looking possible. 3 lbs this week- I'm certainly going to try! I'm feeling a little nervous, but of course excited about losing 22 lbs. I've never stuck to a diet/exercise plan long enough to lose this much. I usually give up much quicker. Thanks everyone for all the support on here! 

[HeartBiller]

Ok, well I guess I really blew it this time. I have really set myself back. However I know it is all my fault. SO I have to be the one to fix it. So this week will be a little to no carb week and we will see how that goes. @GettingfitinSC  I did really well yesterday with the no carbs, but it didn't seem to help for this mornings weigh in. Major congrats on the 5.5. That is a dream for me. I may try the all natural again like I did when I started the Daniel fast... lol. I think I lost 5 pounds in the first week of that..lol. I don't know why I give in so much when I know how mad I am going to be at myself afterwards. I guess I have to just become a stronger person. Not sure how, but I have to.

Well my husband gave me a new reason to work harder from now until June... I sure hope it is incentive enough to get my but in gear. We are going to visit some family I haven't seen in many years. That will be a wonderful time. Some I seen about 2 to 3 years ago, (when they came here)but some of them I haven't seen in 10 or more years. So I want to think carefully and decide what I honestly think is possible to do before then, and then work my butt off to get it done. I am excited about this while I am so sad that I goofed up my 50 pound loss. however I know you all are watching ...lol, @_Lilac_ and are so super supportive, and I so thank you all for that. I am hoping if I stick to a very low carb for this whole week, I can get back to my 50 pound loss again by next week. I may not meet my goal, but I would at least like to get back to the 50 pound loss again.

MY stats
USW - 210.0 lbs April 25th 2016
02/14/17 - 167.2 lbs -  Starting this challenge weight

02/21/17 - 168.2 lbs - Gained 1 pound 

02/28/17 - 164.8 lbs - Lost 3.4 Pounds 

03/08/17 - 164.0 lbs - Lost 0.8 pound 

03/15/17 - 164.0 lbs - Stayed the same

03/21/17 - 164.0 lbs - Stayed the same

03/28/17 - 163.0 lbs - Lost 1 pound

04/04/17 - 159.6 lbs - Lost 3.4 pounds 

04/11/17 - 163.0 lbs - Gained 3.4 pounds 

04/18/17 -

Challenge Goal Weight 158.0

[GettingfitinSC]

@HeartBiller Remember, you lost the 3.4 lbs in the first place partly from being sick, so that may be a big reason it came back. Don't beat yourself up about the gain. Just jump back in and keep pushing forward. You can do it! 

[HeartBiller]

@GettingfitinSCthanks so much for your kind words. I have my mind set at the moment to do just that.. NOT beat myself up, BUT work much harder this week to get that 3.4 back off. This week my church is having revival, so it will make the steps much harder to get. I wish I was one of these people who could get up at 5 am and get their exercise in, BUT I am too lazy for this...lol. I get up at 6 and have to leave the house by 7/7:10 to get my grandson to school and the straight to work. "IF" there is nothing pressing on the schedule I can walk about 20/30 minutes before I clock in. This week has been a tad different because my Doc is on call and I have to get started as early as possible.. plus I want to leave right at 5 so I can make it to church on time. 🙂 We didn't get out of church last night until about 9:15 and then I went straight home and got my boy and myself ready for bed and everything ready for this morning..lol. Maybe it is just lazy... lol. BUT I was too tired to walk then. SO I guess I will see what happens when I do the low carb and don't have as much exercise. I don't know if that will help at all. Who knows..lol.

Well it is off to a better day! I hope you all have a wonderfully blessed day!

[_Lilac_]

@HeartBiller  I don't want you to think I pick on you! It seems every Monday you come on and say how you blew your weekend and on Fridays you say how hard weekends are for you. I might be reading it the wrong way (and please correct me if I am) but it's almost as if you give up because you think you are going to fail anyway, so why try? I've been there, done that, as the saying goes. So, in preparation for those days when you aren't regimented by work and school and the normal scheduled events, maybe you can pre-cook your meals and have them ready and tell everyone that nobody is eating out, nobody is to have junk around you, that you are eating at certain times and that's it...and if you go to a church event or family/friend dinner...bring your own stuff. No one is going to be offended. If they ask, you just say you've been working so hard that you can't take the chance something will make you fall off your diet. My mom does it. I do it. My sister always says, "Well, you won't eat what I'm making. What did you bring?" because she makes huge portions of pastas and carby stuff. 

I'm giving you some tough love now, because I believe in you. We've both lost the same amount. I think that 50 lb mark becomes a road post that is difficult to go beyond. And I'm saying this to you and MYSELF...but if you have a hard time on the weekends, only YOU can fix it. Wear an elastic band around your wrist and when you think about stopping at the take out, snap it hard and think about me scolding you. Hahaha. Think about those feelings you have after you eat something you shouldn't...and is it really worth it? Is it worth the self-reproach? You need to celebrate each time you do something good for yourself to balance those feelings an anger and disappointment. 

Maybe check in more often on weekends. If you have access on a phone or tablet or something, just saying "hi, this is happening and it's tough" or 'I want this cookie but Lilac says I can't so I'll drink some water and walk a block instead'. I'll cheer you on whenever and whatever you are doing. 

Don't use weekends as an excuse! It's just two days of the week that you must learn to control. Your life is so busy and hectic and you have so many responsibilities, you need those two days for YOU.

[HeartBiller]

@_Lilac_definitely no offense taken. I always appreciate your words of wisdom. You are probably half right and half wrong.. Well maybe a tad more than that, but anyhow. I do very well at work. I am not a person who requires a lot to hold me over through the day. I can have something quick and easy for breakfast (usually banana or apple and PB, or a couple boiled eggs, or a package of the Belvita Breakfast crackers. I do fine with that. Lunch I can do a baked sweet potato, a Wendy's chili, a salad, or just a turkey sandwich. Supper for me is like my weekends.. Always rushed and never know where it is going to be. If I could get a schedule down better, I would do better. Maybe it is just me, but I feel so rushed all the time. It is slightly embarassing to admit this, but we do not cook at home very often and when we do, it is a burger on the grill or a hotdog. Maybe from time to time a scrambled egg sandwich. We are always on the go so we eat out WAY to much. The weekends are hardly ever at home. Saturday we go from his mom's to my mom's to running one or both for errands and then we again are eating out. Both our parents are great cooks and if we end up eating with them, it sure is not healthy. Sunday is church in the am and then time (lunch) with one of our daughter's, the grandkids and church friends and then back to church in the pm and then that late night supper again... This week will be a daily struggle to get dinner in before 9:30, and I know how bad that is. Last night I grabbed 2 hotdogs from the pack and ate them on the way to church. SO I guess until I make it a priority to change something I really have no room to complain. It was a lot easier last year because so many of us was doing it together, so if we ate at mom's it was something healthier, because they also wanted healthier.. Now all of them have totally fell off the wagon, so it back to same ol same ol. I do know it is only me who can change it and I have to decide to make it happen. I have to get my life organized to where I can do food prepping. I know I always have good intentions, but no action, so that is where I have to start working.. ON TAKING ACTION.

Again, thank you for the words of wisdom, it means a lot to me.

[klan7044]

3/29/17 SW 158.6 lbs

4/3/17 PW 158.8 lbs   

4/4/17 PW  156.8 lbs

4/10/17 PW 161 lbs   

I didn't log my weight today as I knew where I was at. The scale has felt like an enemy lately. I have teetered on the total 50 lbs weight loss for the last month or so. I have noticed a lot of people hitting that as well. Today, I am trying my best to reset. I have been drinking water infused with strawberries/blueberries all morning. I didn't squeeze breakfast or a real workout this morning in though and I know that is bad. I have been telling myself I need to find a new routine. (In a couple weeks I am starting training for a second job as a Starbucks Barista at a place called Fresh Eats which is owned by Kroger Grocery Stores/Turkey Hill Gas Station). The extra hours I know will be hard at first especially since this will be part time (inconsistent) and consume weekends/evenings. Currently I wake up at 6AM and have to be at work at 9AM but feel I may need to adjust to get more sleep. Lately I am lucky to hit 7 hours sleep before the extra job. I really do thrive on a routine, especially when it comes to keeping a healthy lifestyle... I really hope I can find it and start the change before the second job gets going.

[HeartBiller]

Ok @_Lilac_.. I am going to try to keep you in my head at most times...lol. "What would @_Lilac_ do..lol" You may not believe this but you are sort of an idol.. I mean I read your post and all you do, and it literally makes me ashamed that I do not do more. I guess it is when you are two different worlds apart. You do almost everything by yourself.. and I do nothing by myself. I know I could accomplish more if I did more by myself. anyhow, that is a another story for another day..lol. Back to asking myself what you would do..lol.

I already know each night this week is going to be pressed for time. So today on my lunch break I went to the grocery store and picked up a precooked rotisserie chicken and a bag of salad mix. So I am going to rush home and have a piece of chicken and a little salad before going to church then I can just come straight home and get things ready for tomorrow and then off to bed.

[A_Lurker]

@BLLingg - it's funny, but when you mentioned weight training it reminded me of something I heard (or read) somewhere a while back.  A lot of women don't want to lift heavier weights (they love multiple reps with those little pink dumbbells), but women lift heavier all the time.

kids

25lb turkey with stuffing

laundry

groceries

big sacks of dog food and/or boxes of kitty litter

Why wouldn't we want to be stronger for these things?  I went to the post office a while back for a box.  I knew what it was, and honestly, I knew it would be more awkward than heavy.  If I'm getting something heavy they will often bring it out back in a cart.  The woman who brought it to the desk made a comment about it being 'not too bad, about the weight of a toddler.

 Oops - forgot to add that the picture looks good. 

[A_Lurker]

Okay, just a thought on low carb and/or no carb diets.  For some they work very well, but this is because fat and protein make us feel less hungry, so you eat less.  I enjoy my carbs way too much to stick one for long, so I don't even try.

However, just a few quick words about carbs, glycogen and water.    Since if you're not really sticking that low carb diet it can drive you insane.  When you start your low carb diet your body depletes its glycogen stores.  Glycogen also holds lots of water.  So this is why you see the big whoosh when you start low carb diets.  If you fall off the wagon your body immediately refills those glycogen stores, and with that comes, you got it... water.  So if you're eating lower carb during the week and got carb-crazy on the weekends you can cycle up and down, and without using something like trendweight it can be tough to actually know where you are.

You can lose weight on a low, medium, or high carb diet.  It's about creating a deficit between what you eat and what you burn.  Consistency is probably more important once you've decided upon your new way of eating.

(same general comments about sodium - eating out and/or processed foods can cause wild swings as well)

[_Lilac_]

@HeartBiller  Hahahaha. Don't do what Lilac does! Haha. You are very right, we have completely different lives and lifestyles. I live alone and my only daily responsibilities are to feed and walk my dogs. I'm home on disability so I spend my days doing my hobbies and I have so much time on my hands that I look for things to do. I KNOW that if I was taking care of children or other people, or if I worked full time, I'd be struggling so badly. I'm quite a lazy person and I don't do any of the pre-cooking I was suggesting you do. I am much more likely to go into the fridge and just pick out things that I like, including raw veggies that I don't even cook. You seem to be struggling so much with lack of time and sooo many responsibilities. Is anyone able to lend a hand? I loved the idea of you picking up the cooked chicken and bagged salad. I do the same thing sometimes. I wish you'd make yourself a bit more of a priority but it's sooo difficult as parent/guardian and wife. 

If I was closer I'd offer to make you up some pots of chili and stew and other meals you can freeze in meal-sized containers so you're never without a good option. Is there someone you know who could do that for you? Someone through your church, like a retired person who would love to do you a good deed? Even if you paid them for their time (after providing the raw ingredients), it would be cheaper than resorting to fast food, and you can specify lower calorie or sodium or carb, or whatever. I really wish I was closer so I could do that. 

[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 - 251  (03/19) 251.5 Target
  Sunday6 - 248  (03/26) 250.0 Target
  Sunday7 - 248  (04/02) 248.5 Target
  Sunday8 - 258  (04/09) 247.0 Target
Easter Day Goal - 246

+ 10 lbs

This weigh in (different day / time) was for last Sunday while I was away on vacation. Well the one week vacation was enjoyable after the long winter. My goal was to eliminate the calorie deficit during the week and to stay active. Despite a blister from bringing the wrong shoes I was able to stay active during the week and get some lifting in which was a +. I went over a bit each day which I am fine with but the long two day drive back didn't go too well. A big part of this +10 is from the binge/irregular weigh in time during the day / bloat but I didn't want to postpone so I just wanted to get it on the books. I tried to prepare for the drive back by bringing a cooler and a bag full of healthy items but I ended up eating the healthy stuff plus the crap. I logged every item on the trip and thought the pen was going to run out of ink logging everything on the car ride. I think the constant reminder (like every single exit) of junk food, plus the boredom of the drive plus being in a tired state of mind / stress of dealing with **ahem**ic drivers on the road all played a role. Time to reset and get back on track this week (warmer weather should help.

[_Lilac_]

What a beautiful day today. Walked with Mom and then took the boys out later for our neighbourhood jaunt. Some of the sidewalks are now usable!! My own street isn't, but the route we take is passable. There is no more ice and snow on my deck so I swept it, moved the grill to its summer position, brought out the deck chairs, moved a broken door to the side of the house, collected garbage blown into my yard over the winter. phew. We will still get a bit of snow til the end of the month but it finally felt like spring today. I kept the back door open most of the afternoon and the dogs LOVED coming and going as they wished. Mom seems to be resistant to walking in the natural park for some reason. I think she's assuming the trails aren't dry but we really need to just go see. The city takes care of the trails really well. The river trail is boardwalk and gravel, so there'd be no water or mud. Into the summer it will get too hot to walk out there in the sun, so we need to take advantage of the cooler weather now. I prefer the smells, the sun, the fresh air of walking outside. The mall floor hurts my joints and doing laps is so boring. 

Eating so many more veggies that my calorie count is much too low. Too bad low calories don't make you lose weight fast. Ha! (it's true) I made an effort to purchase mostly veggies on my last shopping trip, and it's just me most of the time so I have to eat them or they go bad! My daughter is home but she usually uses frozen stuff. I've also bumped my water intake up to about 80 oz per day. It's helping to flush. 

I can officially confirm that my boobs now extend beyond my belly. Yes, I know..that sounds stupid, but when you are built like me with a big belly, it can grow out further than the chest. Mom mentioned it and I looked down and holy crow! Big progress.

Mom's birthday is at the end of the month. I think I'll gift her the tracker I got as an anniversary present from Fitbit. It's a small size and I wear a large so it doesn't fit me. Right now, she's using my ancient, 10 yr old fitbit Ultra clipped to her bra. haha. She probably won't accept it but I'll tell her she can 'use' it and she'll be happy with that. Now I just have to get my daughter to get it set up on her account and teach her how to use it. 

Ok, enough blabbing. I hope everyone is doing well and taking care of themselves. Enjoy your workouts and drink your water. If you celebrate the upcoming holiday, beware of the chocolate temptations!!

[em.kz]

Hey all! I hope your weeks are going well. Unfortunately for the past week and a half my weight has been ping-ponging all over and my trend weight curve is just flatlining. I felt like I was doing a good job  but nothing I did was working so I am back to tracking calories!

When I started my weight loss stuff I tracked for a week just to see what I was actually eating and then I started trying to meet the goal FitBit had set to get in range. I did that for a few weeks until I had a handle on how much I ate and I could pretty well gauge my caloric intake for the day. That was going well for a couple months but I seem to have fallen off the wagon. I'm guessing my portions just slowly crept up because when I started tracking today I was shocked to see my intake was closer to when I started.

So for the next couple weeks I will be tracking everything I eat to keep myself within my limits and keep this weight-loss train on the tracks. I know there will be some challenges with this. For example, since I'm at college and on a meal plan, a lot of the food I get doesn't have a nutrition label and does not have a recipe available (since it's from the dining hall). However, I know that you can exercise all you want and nothing will change if you have an awful diet so this WILL be worth it! Please keep me accountable for these upcoming weeks about tracking my meals!

[GettingfitinSC]

@A_Lurker Thanks for the info about carbs. I did not know that about the water loss when eating less carbs. I'm not making a lifestyle change to eat no carbs. I know myself and my family well enough to know that it won't work. I will be aware of weight swings; I hope it doesn't do that too drastically. That's actually why I decided to start cutting carbs- my weight had crept back up about 4 lbs and even Trendweight was showing it go up. My stupid goal date that they give is 2028 or some other year so far in the future that everyone will will be flying cars instead of driving them. When I first started using it, the goal date was 2018- next year! 

My hope is to kickstart my weightloss a little, plus I know I eat way too many carbs anyway, which is a lot of calories. I'm hoping this will help me cut calories and be more consistent with staying under my calorie goal for each day. I'm doing ok so far- almost no carbs yesterday or the two days before that- very little today until dinner- homemade pizza on French bread. I definitely notice that I'm not as hungry. I don't want snacks nearly as often as I usually do, and that's saving a good many calories for me. 

So, this will be a trial and error for a few days or a week or two until I find a balance that works. Thanks for the words of wisdom. Any more thoughts/advice will be appreciated as well. 🙂 

Also- I should add, I'm not being nutritionally correct when I say I'm cutting carbs. I'm only actually cutting down on breads/pasta/white potatoes/desserts. I'm still getting some carbs in beans and fruits. I'm not doing the official Atkins diet or anything. I read the starter guide once, and I would practically have to fast to do that diet. Lol...

[_Lilac_]

Officially 300.0 on the scale this morning. I cannot wait for that 299! Any day now!!

[GettingfitinSC]

@_Lilac_ That's awesome! I know you're just itching to see 299, even if it's 299.9. I love getting past those big milestones like that.