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!!

[_Lilac_]

As to my whiny post yesterday complaining about losing 2lb that then came back... knowing it was fluid...I was up every 2 hours during the night to pee so it's all gone now and I'm back at my lowest. Phew. I knew the whining would help. Now to work on taking that number further. 

I awoke too late to go to the pool so I'll have breakfast and attempt to take the dogs for our first walk. The weather might not cooperate with me since it's raining. I might have to do a few treadmill workouts instead of hitting the pavement. That's why I got it! 

I'm dedicated to water today. Almost finished my first 32oz. I'm going to put off making a pot of tea til I have 64oz of water. And I need my tea!

[Florriel]

@_Lilac_ 🙂 Your posts always make me smile. Walking in the rain, ah I have been doing a lot of that this last week. I have been trying not to use my car at all in the local area so heading to the local shops to get each nights dinner, I head out in slightly cloudy weather and then the heavens open before I get home. Yesterday was the worst and I had to change my clothes as they were soaked through - the things we do for those steps.

Yesterday was pretty heavy going on the legs as I started the day with a legs, bums and tums class followed by the walk in the run mentioned above. Then hubby came home and headed to the gym for his induction ( yes he is joining in now) so I decided to go with him for a session of my own.

Today I had my meeting with the personal trainer and the new circuit based regime he has for me was really killing the thighs today - and I have a lovely body conditioning class to look forward to later as well! Crikey I need a lie down after all that.

I have tried setting my charge to remind me to move every hour as I have a lot of paperwork to do for work but it does not appear to want to comply so I guess I will just have to remember myself.

Tonight's dinner is going to be slow cooked lamb shanks with 5 portions of veg all ready for when I get home from class.

Happy Days everyone!

[TravellingSunny]

@nightswimming - Wow!  You are sooooo close to your goal.  You are an inspiration!

[TravellingSunny]

@GettingfitinSC - I've tried drinking 64 oz per day, and I just couldn't keep it up for the same reason.  Forgive a little TMI, but it got to the point where I was hitting the bathroom on my way out of the office, and then doing the pee-pee dance in my car just trying to drive the 8 miles home.  It was ludicrous.

I've reset my water goal to 48 ounces, which is just high enough to make me have to really work for it, but not so high that I can't hit it most days (primarily on days that I did both cardio AND strength training.)  I figure I'll count my morning cup of coffee as 8 ounces and my evening brewski as another 8 ounces and call it a day.  LOL!

[TravellingSunny]

The badges really motivate me for some reason... so, I'm posting this here for a little group accountability.

Today, I'm going to try to earn a new stair climbing badge.  My best is 150 floors in a day, so I'm shooting for 175 floors today.

[Bobbinyc]

@TravellingSunny  Wow, that's a lot of floors!  Go for it! (if it doesn't hurt your knees).  Keep us posted on your progress.

[TravellingSunny]

@Bobbinyc Thanks!  I'm at 56 floors so far, but it's only 11:30 am in my time zone, so plenty of hours to go.

[almost_where]

One thing I have noticed with water is that I try to pair it with the right food/liquid combination because for me it makes a huge difference. As a general rule, I try to eat a large large breakfast because I really enjoy a good full feeling once per day. If I drink a ton of water right after my big meal it feels like I'm diluting the big meal and I kinda get that water logged feeling. On the other hand, drinking a ton of water before, during or after a lot of veggies, smoothies or fiber heavy foods for me is almost mandatory. I also like drinking water around coffee time.

I despise small water glasses. I usually keep two 20oz water cups going and fill them at the same time. Its just more tempting when I'm in the kitchen if I see a poured glass already to go to take a big gulp of it. I use a Brita filter pitcher and try to top it up whenever im waiting for something (microwave, eggs to cook, keurig machine to heat up) so I  never run into a situation where the Brita's water level deters me from drinking.

[TravellingSunny]

Just spent the latter part of my lunch break walking up and down the stairs at work.  I'm exhausted, but I'm up to 100 floors for the day so far.  That's 20 more than I had at the end of the workday when I did 150, so chances are really good that I'll get that 175 badge today.

[Linda17]

I totally agree. I also find that workout--both cardio and strength training, makes me thirsty and makes it easier to drink more water. I always tell people, if you think you need to drink more water, do more walking (or even heavier aerobic workouts like a step class or zumba) it helps!

[Bobbinyc]

@TravellingSunny  Very impressive.  You've got this. And you inspired me to do some stairs.  ok, maybe not as many, but it's a nice break.

[Bobbinyc]

Just did 25 flights!   Good thing I can type, cause I sure can't talk now.

[TravellingSunny]

@Bobbinyc That's fantastic!  25 flights closer to your next lifetime badge.  🙂

[meg5168]

Hello y'all!

Plateaued out a bit in February for various reasons—PF flareup, two weeks where I was between jobs—but new month and started a new job and getting back on track! New job seems less stressful so far and has way less late nights at the office, so I'm hoping for more time to exercise after work! Also my new office is much larger and I've actually been getting almost 3k more steps in just walking back and forth from the kitchen/meetings/the ladies' room, and I've been getting up from my desk to walk around a lot more, so that feels good. (My old job often had me tied to my desk for up to 10 hours a day and I almost never was able to even step away from my desk for a few minutes.) I'm up 2lbs since Monday but I'm bloated from my period so am not really panicking or considering it an actual gain. I haven't had any PF pain in about a week, but am still taking it easy and doing yoga/pilates at home for a little while before I even try running again.

F, 5'10", 30 y/o

USW: 199
CW: 190
GW (4/18): 180
UGW: 165

[meg5168]

Wondering where and how people managed to get in so many flights? I work in a skyscraper where the stairs are basically emergency-exit only so maybe it's just less of an option for me unless I bribe some security guard to let me wander the stairwells...haha 

[Bobbinyc]

@meg5168  Glad your PF is doing better?  Do you have stretches and strengthening exercises for it?  That made all the difference for me.  That and the 'superfeet' inserts.

I have one flight of stairs in my home, so I can use that.  None of us does it all.  I don't run so I find the steps challenge different leg muscles and heart, since I do them as fast as I can.  It may not matter for you.  Don't worry about it.

Congrats on finding another job so fast.  Glad it's not as stressful.

[TravellingSunny]

@meg5168 Nice to meet you, Meg. 🙂 I work on the top floor of a five story building, and I got a little over half of my stairs there. The rest were in my house just going up and down. I'm exhausted, and it took me aaaaaaalll day. LOL!

[TravellingSunny]

@meg5168 Sounds like you've got quite a bit going on. I'm sorry, but I don't know what PF means?

Next day edit:  Another member spelled it out - plantar fasciitis?  Ouch.  Sorry that you've been struggling with that.  My best friend has issues with her ankles, and this is one of the side effects she suffers from as well.  😞 

[GettingfitinSC]

@TravellingSunny I know exactly what you mean! I drank tons of water today, 96 oz, and I feel like I lived in the bathroom. I've gotten used to 50-60 oz, but today was a lot- a couple of near emergencies. 😉 I'll try to work up to it, but I'm not sure if I can do that every day. I'm going to try for over 64 oz every day at least this week, maybe 2 weeks) and see if I notice a difference in headaches, weight loss, energy, skin, etc. I met the goal yest and today so far. 🙂 

[GettingfitinSC]

Going back to my post about sugar yesterday- I've been watching how much I take in yesterday and today. I've thought I was watching what I ate pretty good, staying within calorie limits and all, but there's still a lot of sugar. I would hate to know the amount of sugar I was eating before Christmas (when I got fitbit and started counting calories.) We'll see where this takes me. 🙂