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]

@almost_where  You are such an amazing machine with this.  

[Ava_]

---

@RachelShrinks - I hear you!  I am in the same boat. I've also got 7.3 pounds to lose in 5 weeks.  The pressure is on!!!  As a side note... it's so good to have this forum for motivation and discipline!  I don't think I could do this by myself...

@RachelShrinks wrote:

Better week this week!

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.)

[BLLingg]

I frequently have the same problem (Message 452), @RachelShrinks, short on Calories.  Often, lower than BMR which is around 1,250.  Usually, my Fat is maxed out as well as my Sodium.  If I still have a little wiggle room, I'll have some Fruit or Veggies.  Although I haven't been good with the latter lately.  If I don't have enough wiggle room, I have some Cookies that are fat free and sodium free.  So I have a couple of them.

I'm afraid I'm having a real struggle keeping the Fat and Sodium where they belong.  I'm just too much of a Carnivore plus I love my Dairy Products!  I do have Zero Fat Milk which helps.  But oh the Cheese!!!

[RachelShrinks]

@Ava_: Yeah, being here makes it much easier. I feel like I can be really honest with this crew and you'll all understand where I'm coming from. Like today...

So last night, I had two chapters of our current curriculum to write (our deadline is Monday and my editor needs time to look at the work), and I was up until 3 doing it. I woke up at 5:30 to get my wife out the door to work, and the kids woke up shortly before she rolled out (why don't I have children who sleep in like normal kids?), so I was up for the day. 

Clearly sleep deprivation and I don't mix any more. It was like a day before I started trying to get in shape. I ate (literally) more than I burned for the day. I had two naps. I did NO exercise and had zero active minutes... really all kinds of not good.

The only good thing about today was that I ruthlessly logged all my food—and there was a lot. Trust me when I tell you I had no problem eating as much as I should (and more). I expect I'll be up at least a couple of pounds in sodium weight come morning.

My wife is working all night at the hospital, the kids are in bed, I have an hour of slogging through editor's comments to do and then I'm going to sleep. And tomorrow... I'm going to meet all my goals: water, food, activity. I can't change today, but I can change tomorrow, dang it.

See you all on the flipside!

[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 - 153.0 (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

Hey all! I'm not sure if anyone noticed, but I didn't post my weigh-in on Friday. Although Friday was a busy day for me, the real reason I didn't post is that I was embarrassed. Although in the big picture, I lost 0.2 pounds in the last week, it has been a rollercoaster. We're almost a month into this challenge and I feel like I'm no closer to my goal than when I started. Someone may mention that I hit the -10lbs mark this week... yes! I did! It was great! But the next day my weight jumped back up even higher than it had been before. So I finally got the courage to post about my week, but unfortunately I don't have a happy note to end on. My goal for this challenge is starting to look impossible and I'm getting pretty frustrated.

[BLLingg]

I'm sad but relieved this Week.  I'm back on the Roller Coaster with a vengeance!  I've done great on my Steps, averaging 23,348 Steps / Day.  I've burned an average of 887 Calories more than I've consumed.  But I'm up 2 Pounds from Last Monday.  It's the Fat that's doing it.  My Fat is up .4%.  I was really bad on Friday and Saturday!!!  I consumed just over twice my recommended maximum on those 2 Days alone.  And it was because I gave into my cravings.  Donuts were a factor.  I ate 4 of them in those 2 Days!  Fried Foods were another Factor.  Onion Rings, Chicken Wings, Jo Jo Potatoes. 

28 July 2010 - PW - 280.8  BMI 51.4  (My highest known.)
06 June 2016 - USW (in FitBit) - 216  BMI 39.5

14 Feb - CSW 173.0  BMI 31.6
20 Feb - GW 171.4 - PW 171.0  BMI 31.0
27 Feb - GW 169.6 - PW 168.2  BMI 30.8
06 Mar - GW 167.8 - PW 163.8  BMI 30.0
13 Mar - GW 166.0 - CW 165.8  BMI  30.3
20 Mar - GW 164.2
27 Mar - GW 162.4
03 Apr - GW 160.6
10 April - GW 158.8
17 Apr - GW 157.0
18 Apr - GW 156.7

13 May - 1st UGW - (but still not a "Healthy" BMI) - 150

I'm not sure today's Weigh-in "deserves" the Green.  But I'm below my Goal (barely!) so it's getting it.  I need to slap those dern cravings back where they belong and get back to eating like a Good Girl again!!!

I'm a firm believer in Murphy's Laws.  I finally found a WebSite, "The Ultimate Collection of Murphy's Laws."  It even has a Section on "Murphy's Food Laws."  http://murphyslaws.net/by_topic.htm#15

[_Lilac_]

*Grumble grumble* I got up this morning and my knee wasn't hurting as badly. Mom called to make sure I was taking another day off from walking and I confirmed I was, but I'd like to go tomorrow. We are expecting that big blizzard Tuesday night/Wednesday so I'd better get myself moving before I'm trapped in the house. She thinks I should wait til afterward to get back into the swing of things. So, I was just puttering around the house, let the dogs out and stepped back up into my back porch from the deck and *wrench* the darned knee again. Now I'm limping. Again. I did take the boys up the block and back yesterday but it was very short. Been sitting around restless and irritated the rest of the time. I'm almost out of eggs *panic* with the storm coming. I feel the pulling urge to go get some but know it's probably not best. Sigh.

My weight is the same as the day I got back from my weekend away. But I'm not expecting a drop for a few days since I'm on a 9-10 day loss cycle. It's useless to do weigh-in-days every week.

I made a turkey yesterday and drove the dogs nuts with the smell. Poor guys. I have to section and store it all today as a task. I might make a nice small soup. I'm not a big soup person but there's this one 'Grammy's soup' that's been passed down from my great grandmother (and probably her mother). 

I was searching new crochet patterns yesterday and came across a cute one. I whipped these up in the evening and will do a few more today. They have an elastic band in the crown to put your ponytail/bun. Nobody really wants crocheted stuff much, but it's killing time and boredom and keeps me off my knee. I might spruce up my dull wardrobe with my own creations. Crazy crochet lady wearing purple walkin' all over town picking up Tim Hortons cups, taking in the sights and droppin' pounds! Ya...I can deal with that reputation. 

Ok, off to do more hats and try to find something on tv to put on in the background. No news. Ugh. Have a great day everyone and drink your water! That's a reminder to myself too. I've had a coffee but now I'll hit the 32 oz water bottle. 

[Bobbinyc]

@_Lilac_ sorry about your knee.  I think you've had enough people giving you unasked for advice about it, myself included, so I'll skip that.  Can someone pick up some food for you?  This is supposed to be a big snow storm down by me - 11 inches which is unheard of here- so I can imagine how it will be by you.  It's so sad to me as the birds started migrating a bit early because it was so warm, flowers bloomed early, and now everything will be in struggling to survive this.

One thought - since your crocheted creations are so lovely, what about selling them?  I just looked at etsy (I am not an online shopper, well, I'm not any shopper) and saw they have enormous amounts of crocheted stuff on there, some pretty expensive.  I have a friend who knits a lot and sells some online just to buy more yarn.  She gives most of her stuff to shelters - blankets, scarves, gloves, hats - whatever people really need. She also gift wraps some to give it to people she sees who are struggling financially or are losing hair from cancer treatments.  Just a thought.

[Bobbinyc]

Looks like I'll be getting in lots of steps after working today.  The nearest wildlife refuge is going to be protesting the latest assault on the environment - allowing the use of lead bullets in wildlife refuges.  People shoot small animals with them, mostly squirrels or groundhogs, and then birds of prey and scavengers eat those animals.  There have been hundreds of bald eagles either paralyzed or killed from lead poisoning, which is why those bullets were banned.  So, a walk around the whole refuge is about 3 miles, and I'll add in some bird watching.  There is a bald eagle nest there that should hatch soon.  It's cold, but sunny - good day to get in lots of steps.

[TravellingSunny]

@_Lilac_ - Your Uke is gorgeous!  I absolutely love the decorative scrolling.  Mine is basic brown.  😞

[TravellingSunny]

@RachelShrinks I've been weighing myself daily all week, and it's making me a crazy woman.  I have yo-yo'd between 144.4, 145, and 145.4 every day.  All week.  I feel like I've not lost anything.  😞

[TravellingSunny]

USW- 160 lbs (January 8, 2017)

CSW- 150 lbs (Valentine's Day)

CW - 149 lbs (02/20/2017)

         147 lbs (02/28/2017)

         145.4 lbs (03/06/2017)

         144.4 lbs (03/13/2017)

GW- 140 lbs  (Tax Day)

Mini-Goal: 138 lbs (Healthy BMI)

UGW- 129 lbs (Middle of healthy BMI range)

This week's achievement:  Y'all know how much those Fitbit badges motivate me.  I laid out my workout clothes Saturday night with the intention of spending how ever many hours it would take to earn my next Floors Climbed in a Day badge.  My previous was 200, so I was shooting for 225 or 250 if I was feeling powerful.  After 4 hours, I hit 225 and was feeling very proud of myself, but I wasn't getting a new badge.  Some quick research showed me that there wasn't anymore 25 increment badges to earn.  If I wanted it, I'd have to go all the way to 300 floors...

I got 309 floors yesterday.  🙂  WATERFALL BADGE!!!

[Cele21]

USW- 215.0 (2/4/14)

CSW- 211.4 (2/14/17)

LW- 209.8

CW- 210.4

GW- 202.4 (4/18/17)

UGW- 150

Went up a little but I know why so I should be able to adjust this week.

[Bobbinyc]

@TravellingSunny I think I must have read the number 4 times.  That is a LOT of floors.  How long did it really take?  I'd need oxygen with 30 floors!

Pretty amazing!

[TravellingSunny]

@Bobbinyc - Altogether it took me about 6 hours.  I started around 10 in the morning and finished sometime after 4 pm.  It wasn't ALL climbing, of course.  I did about 25 flights at a time (10-12 minutes), then I'd stop for 15 minutes or so before starting again.  Plus I had at two longer breaks - once for about an hour to eat lunch and once again to research how many more flights before I'd earn a badge and be able to stop.  LOL!

[TT_is_me]

USW (1/1/16) = 315 lbs
SW (2/14/17) = 240 lbs

(2/20/17) = 238 lbs -2 lbs

(2/27/17) = 234.2  -3.8 lbs

(3/06/17) = 232.4  -1.8 lbs

(03/13/17) = 234.6 +2.2 lbs (-5.4 lbs down)

GW (4/18/17) = 229 lbs (-11lbs)
UGW = 160 lbs

I really didn't want to post this gain. It was my birthday weekend as well as hosting a bridal shower. I apparently didn't hold back on food or drink with all the celebrations. But my goal is still obtainable in the next five weeks so I'll just have to get right back on track with exercise and eating. 

[TravellingSunny]

@TT_is_me - That's a real bummer, but I love your positive, self-forgiving attitude.  Jumping right back on the healthy wagon.  Good for you!!!

[_Lilac_]

I failed. I'm weak. Haha. I couldn't stay completely off my feet. All this sitting around is driving me mad! Who knew that would ever happen to me!!?? Oh, and I started to get leg cramps because my muscles weren't being used as much as usual. I took the dogs out this morning, went to the store to get eggs since the blizzard is coming (they'd sold out), and then took them for another walk tonight. Most of the pain is in the back of my knee so I looked up possible causes. There are four and only one has rest/rice as the remedy. The other three recommend a doctor. So ya...if it's not better in a few days I'll make an appointment. Overuse. Sigh. I guess I'll be doing more pool and less heavy walking. It felt good to get out and move. The pups were happy. 

I made a turkey/rice/veggie soup. Yummy. There's lots of tv on tonight and I'm making yet another hat. @Bobbinyc I heard your suggestion but I don't think I'm skilled enough to sell the stuff. I gave a hat to a sister. I'm basically just killing time being on my butt. I get the creative bug sometimes and just go nuts. I need to be doing some writing. I watched a movie about JK Rowling today and was inspired. She had a similar life to mine, in some ways. Always had the dream of writing stories. That's me. Maybe I'll spend time working on my scifi piece tomorrow.

Alright, off to create a hat. Stay safe in the storm if you are in the affected areas! 

[GettingfitinSC]

I came home from work today to a great surpise...my husband bought me a treadmill! He had gone to a meeting and left a sweet note that he was proud of me. What a fun encouragement that was to me. I jumped on for 45 minutes, worked up a good sweat, and got the last 5500 steps needed to meet my goal for today. Planning to go again in a little while and get 15,000 steps for today. (My goal is 12,000.) I've been wanting a treadmill for a few months but didn't think we were going to get one for a while, maybe Christmas, so it was a big surprise.:)

[_Lilac_]

@GettingfitinSC  YAY husband!!! Congratulations. It feels so good to have people support you and be proud of you and your efforts. It makes it much easier. There are some of us who have run across those who are not exactly supportive. I think of @RachelShrinks at this time and a person I once knew. She offered me candy one time and I declined. She then went on to say that ONE piece wasn't going to ruin my diet or make me gain weight. But people who don't have this problem aren't aware that that one piece can throw off our determination. It can make us want MORE so badly that we cave. It can be overwhelmingly all-absorbing. Right, @Bobbinyc? She kept insisting that a candy wasn't going to hurt me and she was trying to prompt me, like she was sabotaging. Those kind of people are just mean. I'm so happy you have support and love in your life, cheering you on and making it easier for you. His gesture toward you is special to all of us here. Walk that treadmill with joy!!!