Weight Loss Goal 50 to 100 Pounds

[Lisa1980]

Hi! 

I'm trying to lose 75 pounds, hopefully at a rate of 1.5 pounds per week. I started on my journey a week and a half ago and I'm currently down 3.6 pounds.  I'm looking forward to a healthier lifestyle and if you want friends for extra motivation feel free to add me.  🙂

[Phyllis0]

I finally was able to get it to sync...cleaned it with alcohol, recharged
and then did a force sync. I'm so happy!! ☺

[Myrn]

That's a great idea to bring some healthy foods to work and it's good planning.  Rocky road candy sounds too good to be true!  Probably a good thing that I've never heard of it.  

[Lisa1980]

Haley thank you for checking in and opening up.  I'm sorry to hear you had such a rough week but I'm so happy to hear that you learned so much about yourself!  It looks like you have some fantastic goals!

Something I have done differently this week is I have been going for short walks while at work.  It has helped me stay on track!

For this week I challenge everyone to go for 4 extra walks at least 15 minutes long.  🙂

[hayleycan]

I accept the challenge!

[Adriness]

You go, Hayleycan!

In fact, go everyone here!!! It's been forever since I've checked in... life with an infant is crazy busy! Now that we're finally out of July, I was hoping to get back in to the swing of things. I have my husband on board to committ to a daily yoga practice, and we planned a healthy menu and grocery purchases... but then life interrupts. Be prepared for my rant...

This fall is overwhelmingly crazy. I coach a semi-competitive cheer team and we're just kicking off the start of the season and there's tons of hours dedicated to prepping choreography, stunts, and communicating with the team, our director, and my asst coach. This means tons of sitting as of late. Couple that with the back-to-school rush (I'm a self employed hairstylist), husband finishing the last of his apprentice classes starting in September, and me volunteer coaching a youth running program after school starting September, all while being a full time stay at home mom (unless hubs is home with her, or I have a sitter 1 afternoon a week) with a 5 month old while trying to workout and eat healthy... have mercy! Even just typing it all out stresses me out. I'm a pretty energetic person, but I find this a little exhausting. I know I'l feel better once I have schedules planned out. I may actually be too busy to eat!! Ha! There's always a silver lining.

I read recently in an article about "sharing your story" and how healing and therapuetic it can be in overcoming the past. Debating whether or not to start a new thread dedicated to this idea? I think it may be a healing step for those of us who have tried and failed to lose weight in the past. Would anybody be up for sharing their stories, too? Thoughts?

Thanks for letting me rant and rave and vent. Glad to skim through and see everybody's successes! Just gotta keep moving and grooving!!

Cheers to you all! -Adrian

[hayleycan]

Adrian, I absolutely would participate in your "Sharing your story" thread. 

It sounds like your plate is really full (no pun intended...seriously, non, it's a coincidence people!!) just remember to be kind to yourself, and make smart choices one at a time. Don't make this a whole huge overwhelming life change, just break it down to teeny tiny steps.  And give yourself kudos for each one of the choices you make that you know in your heart and brain that it was the right choice.

If you decide to make a not so super choice, be honest with yourself.  Understand the reason why (tired, sad, in a hurry because..) and think about how you can make a different choice next time.  Give yourself credit for all the busy things you do in a day.  Be proud of yourself for remembering that this is important to you and not just one more thing on the to-do list.

Looking forward to the thread!

(that being said you're all pretty stuck with me here as well, I'm not leaving now that I've found you all!)

[Gaylene]

I am also trying loose 75 lbs.  I am just getting started.  I am drinking lots of water and limiting my diet soda.  

[LonaS]

Congratulations! Cutting out soda is a great start. The first time I did
that, I lost 40 pounds in 2 months. I was shocked. I've done it again,
and I'm definitely way more active now. This time, the difference is that i
cut out diet anything altogether. Aspartame, which is used to sweeten diet
products, has been shown to actually increase appetite. In order to cut
out pop, I started by switching to the carbonated flavored waters. After
2 weeks, i cut them half and half with water. I worked my way down to
propel fitness water, and then started cutting that with water. Eventually
those processed drinks will just taste like sugar water. I buy flavorings
for my water that are sweetened with stevia, or I make home made lemonade
or tea. It's much easier to stay hydrated when my liquids are not
carbonated, and I dont get the belly gas or the damage to my teeth. I've
started reading labels, which is helping. Im down by 11 pounds already! I
eat more complex carbs, fewer simple carbs. I switched to low calorie
whole grain bread. The trick to actually losing is to get your body used
to having healthy whole foods that take longer to process. I call them
cost responsive foods, because your body actually burns calories while
processing them. Plus, with the fiber content and such, you feel full
longer, and that helps. I've rediscovered salads and realized that home
made dressings are easy and I control the salt and sugar. Although, I will
admit to being a slave to walmart deli's kale salad. omg so delicious and
full of healthy foods!

[nyx425]

I would like to join this thread if you don't mind!  I was 260 on June 16th.  Want to be 140 by April.  I am down to 235 right now.  It is nice to see that my 120 pounds to lose has moved down under 100 now!  I have been eating healthy, increasing my protien intake (not easy for me), only drinking water or unsweetened iced tea, and moving as much as possible. Joined a gym down the street and am lifting weights to build muscle too.  Hopefully that way I only lose fat.  I want to fit into my kayak and rock climbing gear by October.. and be really healthy and competative by April 🙂

[hayleycan]

Hi Nyx! Welcome to the best thread on Fitbit!  You'll find a great mix of people who all want to make changes and recognize that this is not a quick instant fix but a time in our lives where we have to make smart choices for the long run.  Some of us check in daily, others every few days.

Your goals sound great - and you're off to a great start.  Kayaking and Rock Climbing! Cool!  It's great to have something to work towards. 

I'm signed up for an obstacle course in September called Mudderella.  It's like a Tough Mudder but it's for women and it's non competative.  Still - WAY WAY WAY outside my comfort zone.  But I'm going to give it a try.   My husband doesn't know it yet but as soon as I get under 200 which hopefully will be by the end of the year or early spring - I'm going to sign us up for a River Rafting adventure trip.  He's always wanted to do it and I've been scared Sh*tless to do it because 1. I just know I'd going flying off the side when we hit a bump because I'm not strong enough to hang on, 2. The indignity of trying to get back in the boat - too embarrassing!! 3. I've always been afraid I'll hit my head and drown. (Super rare, but I'm special and weird things happen to me. ha ha)  So my goal is to try it even though it's scary for me.  So I really admire your adventurous spirit.

Hi Gaylene - Good for you for limiting your soda.  I know for me, that Coke-a-Cola is a trigger food for me.  I always want more.  I love it, and it does nothing but bad things to me, so I have to eliminate it.  But that is me.  Same goes for McDonalds.  No other fast food tempts me like McDonalds.  I think it must be partly because of having fond memories from when I was a little kid.  Whatever the reason, I've come to the conclusion that it's also a trigger food for me so it's best if I just avoid it.  I really don't want to incorporate it in to my meal plans at all. Even if they have healthier selections.  It's weird, I can crave it and eat it knowing full well I will feel full and sick to my stomach, but still want to eat it.  Sounds like a junkie with an additiction to me.  Giving up or limiting things we have learned to love in our life (food, people, things) is really difficult. It takes mindfullness every day and allowing yourself to make choices.  If you make a choice that doesn't move you forward towards your goal it's important to be honest about what is really going on.  That's my opinion though and I'm only speaking for myself. 

Welcome to the group new Peeps!!!

[LaQuita]

You're heading in the right direction...and, congrats on your weight lose. You're making me feel motivated, so keep on doing what you're doing.

LaQuita Rudolph
Sent from my iPhone

[pcobb8]

@hayleycan  congrats on singing up for the mudderella.  It Just be scary and exciting all at the same.  I signup up for my 1st 5K in October.  I am nervous and cant wait all at the same time.  One day i would love to do a tough mudder, but that will be years in the making.

[Lisa1980]

Adriness – Wow! You certainly seem to have a lot going one! I think I got exhausted just reading everything you are handling right now!!! I think a “sharing your story” thread is a great idea! So many of us on here trying to lose weight have been through so much and it is always a good thing to be able to honestly and openly share our feelings and stories. Plus I think it would be helpful for many people to know that they are not alone! Haley is right though, break things up so it’s not so overwhelming!!!

Gaylene – Welcome!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations on starting on your journey!!! Starting with cutting down on soda and drinking more water is a great decision! Lona is absolutely right about aspartame and the effects that it can have on your body! I recommend checking in regularly – make friends and join challenges. Log everything you eat and weigh in regularly. I find that by tracking everything I am more aware of my choices and don’t have any slip ups thinking I have enough remaining calories. I also have taken to measuring everything because I find it helpful to ensure I’m being accurate. I prefer to weigh things but my measuring cups have never seen so much action!

NYX435 – Wow! Congratulations on losing 25 pounds! That’s fantastic!!! It sounds like you have a strong plan to achieve your goals!!! Please check in often and give us updates on how you are doing!

Haley – That’s awesome! I actually just started looking at 5k’s in my area and trying to figure out the best one to sign up for. I want to do something that has an obstacle course to add to the fun.  And you are right! We are the best group out there!

As for me - after three weeks back home I get back on a plane tomorrow to head back to Maine for work. Luckily this trip is only 1 week. If I was able to stay on track for three weeks traveling a week after starting my weight loss journey I can most certainly survive 1 week.

The up side - the weather is beautiful, I get to visit my family and friends, there is a beautiful walking/jogging path that runs along the beach, and the building I work in is 1/4 of a mile long and I have to walk back and forth for meetings!

The downside - I will have business lunches and dinners literally the entire work week, my friends will want to have drinks which means unnecessary calories, I will miss my husband like crazy, and I will have two days of traveling which makes it hard to get exercise in. (One day there and one day back.)

Despite all of that I know that by logging in daily and focusing on balancing calorie splurges with good choices I can stay on budget and on track!  As for my challenge I went on 2 extra 15 minute walks today! 🙂

[paperclip]

HELP ME!!!!  PLEASE??? I've truly fallen off the wagon.

The past week has been rough.  Where I'm from, we had a long weekend (Monday August 3rd was a civic holiday).  Since that long weekend I've been slowly getting worse and worse.  Eating what I shouldn't and not walking my daily steps.  I'm in trouble if I don't do something now.  I can feel that slope slipping more and more.

I'm going back to basics.  I'm going to start journalling my food again and I have a training walk tomorrow evening for the charity walk I'll be doing in September.  I MUST get back on track.  I still have 96+ pounds to lose...I can't blow this so early in the game.

Is anyone else out there going through this?  What are you doing to get your motivation back?  What those of you who are still on track - How do you stay accountable to the goals you've set yourself?  Are there actions you take to be more accountable or that you take that help you stick to your daily goals?

I'm doing something I do not normally do...I'm reaching out.  Anyone with any words of wisdom/advice/opinions/sympathy/disappointment/etc please post! 

[Lisa1980]

Hey! I'm so sorry to hear that you are going through a rough patch. It's good you are getting back to basics. Question - is this the only app that you are using? I also use the lose it app which syncs with my Fitbit. I find the morale support is much stronger on that app since everyone there is oriented around weight loss.

For me personally when I find myself sliding I try to remind myself why I'm doing this. I force myself to weigh in daily and I track it daily on the lose it app. And I mean everything. My gains, my holds, and my losses all show up daily in my friends news feed. On my good days they all cheer me on. On my not so good days they offer words of encouragement. These are people I don't know that I met through the app. But their encouragement means everything. Plus it holds me accountable. I don't want to let them down so I try harder. You would think not wanting to let myself down would be motivation enough lol but truly it makes all the difference.

I'm so glad you recognized you were slipping and thank you so much for sharing! You can do this! It's not going to be easy and you are going to slip up. But remember it's not about your mistakes it's about what you do after that will define your success. ❤️

[iMike]

I have had a few slips and I also have around 100lbs to lose.  I'm trying something new.  Instead of focusing on how much in total you have to lose, focus on small goals - five or ten pounds at a time.  Also, when it comes to your daily steps, make sure you're focusing on today only.  Same with your food goals.  Don't focus on what you have to accomplish for the coming week, focus only on what you have to accomplish today.  It makes the whole thing less stressful.

[pcobb8]

@paperclip, I agree with what @iMike said.  I would create some SMART goals. for example

S (specific) -  Name a specific goal like weight loss, inches lost, calorie deficit acheived or workout time

M (Measurable)  - Make sure you can measure the output, and to add to the top, make sure that you have your mesurement goal, IE 5 lbs lost, increase workout tiem by 30 minutes...etc

A (Actionable) -  Make sure you have the ability to take action on your goal

R (Realistic) -  Make the goal acheivable.  Losing 10lbs in two weeks may not be an acheivable goal

T (Timebound) - Set a short term time, I would suggest betwen 1-4 weeks.  *note  I would personally avoid 1 week weight loss goals, because so much can flux week to week, ie water weight. 

Also to build accountablility, make your results visibile to others.  you can do this through challanges, group chat posts, or just writing on a calendar where people in the house can see.  

So to put it all together, you could make a goal of " I will lose 4 lbs over a two week peroid by increasing my workouts to 20 minutes per day. I will post my daily workout minutes on my facebook and the results at the end of the two weeks."

Another thing you could do is set motivators.  You could make a list of all the reasons you want to lose weight.  You could also set up milestone rewards, like a new outfit for every 5 lbs lost.  Always make sure to celebrate your sucesses, and never let the negative people get you down. 

[nyx425]

Hi Hayley! Thank you for the kind words 🙂  I can't stand when I have to say " I used to kayak... I used to rock climb..." etc.. etc... I want to say "I am a climber" and "I am a kayaker" again... And i agree with you about the embarrassment!  I have one friend that I will try anything with because shes been there for me forever, but in front of anyone else, I won't do something if i think my weight will cause an issue/embarrasment.. which means I don't do a LOT of things I want to do.  It is all changing now.  I don't mind the hard work.  I don't mind eating healthy.  I do mind how long it is going to take though, so my biggest obstical is keeping my eye on the goal instead of getting depressed that I'm not there yet, haha!  

You will do great rafting!  That is something that I want to do too 🙂 Maybe we can all go together someday!!

[hayleycan]

@paperclip Wow, do I ever hear you.  It can happen so fast can't it.  One moment you're motivated and your mind set is solid.  You know your plan, you're working it, you're feeling strong and confident.  Then something very very small happens.  Something has just changed slightly, and you start to feel a little off track, but not enough to worry, then it just starts to snowball and all of a sudden you're off the rails. I've been dangling off the rails for about 2 weeks myself.  It's been a combination of stress, forgetting to put my fitbit on after the shower, procrastination, and just feeling overwhelmed.

I agree with the S.M.A.R.T goals, but when I find myself holding on to the entire thing with what feels like my pinky finger I need to make sure that my steps back are attainable without 1.) beating myself up for not staying on track 2.) Making sure that I take a few baby steps in the right direction rather than take an all or nothing attitude.  (Not saying SMART is all or nothing, just sometimes a bit bigger than I'm ready for on that day)

Speaking of all or nothing attitudes.. I have a bad case of the black and whites in life.  It's either 100% correct and perfect or it's a failure so why bother.  I'm working VERY hard to not live like that.  I think that's a huge part of why I give up so easily.  If I can't do it perfectly then it's not worth doing it. Well attitudes like that are always going to fail.  Guaranteed. 

Like Lisa said, it's important to look at the big picture.  I know for myself that I have to change my whole life, one little bit at a time.  For me to get to the place I want to be, which strong, healthy, (feeling sexy again) no matter what stage of change/size I am, I need to make sure that I'm not looking at this like a temporary change to get me from one size to a final size.  I need to remember that some days are going to be what seems monumentally harder than others and are part of the whole process and just plain life.

I hope that makes sense.

So the past two weeks have been ridiculously hard for me, but the option to give up is not a an option at all because I've already made the decision to change my life.  It's a process, with ups and downs, successes and trip ups.  Each day is it's own day.  Each choice is it's own choice.

Today, I'm happy I made breakfast.  That's a solid start for me today.  I'm counting that in the success column.  Anything more is a bonus.

So take a deep breath, allow yourself the opportunity to not stick to perfection and recognize that your life is busy, full and will have things happen that are beyond your control.  Give yourself credit for recognizing that you're having a tough time and needed to reach out.  Tell yourself you're going to do something today to make you one step closer to where you want to be - and do that one thing.  Tomorrow do one more thing, or maybe do two things.  Just move forward.  You can do this.  I can do this. 

Always reach out when you're feeling like it's too hard, we are all here for each other.  We all want to get to the same place, so we understand.  Not all of us will do it the same way, but we understand that we need a place to come and say - this is hard, and I don't want to do this anymore or  I'm tired and I just want it to be easier today.  We will remind you that all those things may be true, but just keep moving forward.

You can do this.

Hayley

[Myrn]

Hayley, wow you just described ME!    The black and white thing and pefection.  For me it's not just losing weight it's everything, I have to get through "I'm worth it" stage every time.