Valentines Day to Easter Challenge 2016

[saraj91]

Welcome to the next challenge! 

This one will run from Valentines day to Easter, so from February 14th to March 27th. Everyone and anyone can join this challenge in which we all set our own weight loss goals, this gives us 7 weeks in total to work towards them! 

This group of lovely people provides encouraging support and words of advice as we all share our experiences, good and bad. It has proved beyond helpful to myself and many others as we become healthier and achieve amazing things.

To be part of the challenge you start by posting your initial weight stats and what you would like to achieve by the end of the challenge. You can then check in as often as you'd like with a weight update, to share a story from your week or start a conversation about a topic you'd like some advice on.

 
So excited for us to keep working towards our goals with the fantastic friends from the last challenges and a big 'Hello!' to all the challenge newbies! 

Thank you @awood08 for kicking off the last challenge! 

 
A little rundown of terminology for anyone who is new: 

USW- Ultimate Starting Weight

CSW- Current Starting Weight

GW- Goal Weight

UGW- Ultimate Goal Weight

PW- Previous Weight

CW- Current Weight

MFP- My Fitness Pal

[IamRBrown]

@hannahbebrave - I use MyFitnessPal to track my food.  The database is a lot more complete & I kind of got tired of having to "submit new items" on fitbit only to find they still weren't in the database 2 weeks later...  I've not found anything that isn't in the MFP database yet that didn't have something pretty close to it that was.  I can enter my meals/snacks for a day in 10 minutes or less & that is using my phone to scan the barcodes...  The fitbit database is ok and you can create your own recipes there, too.  It's all up to you - the trick is to LOG IT...  I catch myself snacking without logging if I'm not careful and that blows my deficit every time... lol

Ruth

[scottie0714]

Congrats @Elle0904!!  You and I are at the same exact weight.  And being under 200 is my goal as well.  Good luck this week!

[Elle0904]

@Thyroid_issues That explains a lot!!  I literally gave up at 12:30 am walking around in my bedroom trying to stay ahread!  I was like "Man she is not giving up and my eyes are closing!" LOL

@scottie0714 Thank you!!! Being under 200 is going to feel good!! 🙂  You and Thyroid took away my #1 spot in my friend list...so I gotta keep up with y'all!  Lets make this a good week.

[Samalama217]

@hannahbebrave  I track everything in my MyFitnessPal app.  And I do mean EVERYTHING.  If there is something that I cannot find in the database, I just choose whatever I can find that most resembles it.  MFP will communicate with your fitbit so the calories and exercise is all linked together. 

[Samalama217]

@awood08  That Walking Dead was well worth the wait, wasn't it?  Such craziness!

[Samalama217]

@swimr12265 Thanks for the birthday wishes 🙂  It's good to see you in here as well!  Sorry for ignoring some of your challenge requests.  I have just been in a funk all week and don't feel like moving.  Ugh.  I've been working out but I can't seem motivated to get moving when I get home.  Did it really get to 70 degrees in your neck of the woods?  It was maybe 60 over in Chicago on Saturday yet all I did was eat. lol.  And forget about it on Friday.  It was wayyyyyy too windy to go out into that mess.  Stuff was flying all around. Even old ladies were grabbing onto buildings to avoid being flung into traffic!  Yeesh.  Do you think I can buy motivation on Amazon?  lol

[DJC_63]

I hope everyone is having a good week so far. My first check-in for the new "challenge"... No change for me this week, but since I didn't get to the gym much the past 2 weeks I'm just happy that I didn't gain!  I did a stupid thing last week and my knee has been hurting since then, so I'm praying that it will stop soon. If not I'll have to go back to the Dr. for more X-rays.  😞  Anyhow, my starting stats:

USW - 207.50 (1/15)

PW - 199.8

CW - 199.8

GW - 190.0

UGW - 160.00

[saraj91]

@awood08 Yeah think it's just a UK show. The Walking Dead is a series I keep meaning to get into but I am a wimp & not all that fond of zombies lol! I have seen some Impractical Jokers on Comedy Central though, great show!

Hope the weather isn't too bad when it reaches you!

[saraj91]

@hannahbebrave I am a MyFitnessPal user too. So far it's proved to be the best way to track what I eat vs. what I burn. Found it easy to link with my Fitbit & it does seem to have the best database. 

[hadley1979]

Hi everyone, my son is in hospital at the moment and I am really struggling to get my steps in. The way I am eating has changed too as I usually cook from scratch and weigh everything. My morning porridge is being made with milk instead of water and as a vegetarian the options for dinner are either egg or soya based (I eat neither usually). I am not expecting to loose weight this week. But hopefully he will be home soon and then it is game on!

[Papa-Paul]

I'm a little late getting into the challenge, but want the experience of participating in a challenge...this is my first since joining around the first of February.  Be gentle

CSW- 206

GW- 199

UGW- 186

MFP- FitBit Zip

[Papa-Paul]

CSW- 206

GW- 199

UGW- 186

MFP- FitBit Zip

[Papa-Paul]

That 200 mark has been a tough one for me as well...it seems the closer I get, the tougher it is to get the pounds off.

[awood08]

@Samalama217 oh yes definitely! The first episode I was almost yelling at the tv and my husband was like, Babe...calm down it's a show lol

@saraj91 if you do you will get addicted, i'm the same, not into the blood guts and gorey zombie type but after watching the first couple episodes it has an amazing story line and always keeps you on your toes!

@hadley1979 I'm so sorry to hear about your son! I'm hoping whatever is going on gets better very soon, nothing is worse than when our babies (no matter how old) are hurt or sick and we can't take it away 😞

[Zinha54]

CSW 171

GW 150

[swimr12265]

@Bogdel,

You're so right about the "sweets and drinks."  They DO kill us; too bad they taste so good (the sweets, that is; I can pretty easily do without the drinks)!  Hey, nobody's perfect, right?  If I didn't overindulge in the occasional sweet or, much more likely, eat too much pizza, I'd be perfect! Well, then I would have to die, right?  We can't have that!! lol

[swimr12265]

Hey @HelenKr,

New photo!  Niiiiiiice.  Good work!

[swimr12265]

@sgbaumann,

It not only IS possible (you are living proof--lol!), but that is the most likely time to see such fluctuations.  Your body has been working while you sleep and also has less water in it.  Once you start eating and drinking (this is the big one!), your weight will level out again.  Boy, does it feel good, though, right?  For this reason, most people weigh first thing in the morning before eating or drinking (and all the health pundits recommend it).  I usually swim, too, which makes the number that much lower!! lol

[swimr12265]

Hey @Elle0904,

You CAN post a pic, and I, for one, would love to see it!!  Congrats on your great week!  Great job with your steps, also.

[Elle0904]

@swimr12265  Here ya go!  Absolutely delish!!

Spinach, Chicken, Avocado, Cucumbers, Mango, Cranberries, Goat cheese, little bit of light olive oil (so the taste isn't as strong) and black peppers.

[swimr12265]

@hannahbebrave,

Not that I am a big proponent of it (simply because I am too lazy), but did you read what @Ballthree wrote?  I think the problem with NOT tracking is that too often we let ourselves slip up or track as one serving (of, let's say popcorn) what may have actually been 10 (lol)!  Yesterday, I ate only popcorn and a few slices of salami.  Problem is, I ate almost a whole bag (and a bag is 22oz--22 servings!--at 140 calories per serving!).  What was ostensibly a rather light day of eating was actually something like 2500 calories (I didn't eat the WHOLE bag, she says ruefully)!!  If I want to really do this weight loss thing the right way, I would track religiously (you will hear that others swear by it).  Just be honest about it.  You know when a banana is small, medium, or large.  The "variations" come with the variations in the size of a product.  If I err (when I DO track), I would prefer to err on the side of more calories than fewer...because I know me. lol