Motivation, Support and Accountability Thread, December 29th - January 4th

Italian_Buju

Happy New Year everyone!!

I am so glad to have made it through the holidays and am so looking forward to getting a great start to this new year! I am feeling very positive about 2015!

However, one week at a time. I am hoping this thread will pick up now that the craziness of holiday season is over. I know I can sure use the support personally.

This week, my goals are:

1. To log six days (excluding New Years Day)
2. To post here every day
3. To post two blog posts (another site)
4. To follow a proper morning hydration routine

I would like to add a challenge here and there to this thread and see how we all do.

This week's challenge:

Post in your first comment here, the best thing that happened to you in 2014

zilannoj

Goals for this week:

1. Let my knee heal (unfortunately, this means no walking for most of this week, but I'll get some strength training in).
2. Drink plenty of water.
3. Reach my goal weight by the 1st (I want to be 65 pounds down).

I had two amazing things happen to me in 2014. First, we adopted our dog, Marston, from the Oregon Humane Society. I can't believe how much he's grown and how adorable he is. Secondly, in July, I stopped binging (six months in January!). I feel like 2014 was a spectacular year and that 2015 will be a continuation of that.

Italian_Buju

What happened to your knee??

By the 1st, like this Thursday? How close are you??

I forgot to post the best thing that happened to me this year was getting my kitty.

I have not had a cat for 16 years because the last cat I had was 13 when my son was born and I had to give her up because she was trying to literally kill him. I never really got over it because she was so close to me. I never wanted a cat again and have always stayed to that. Mid-July this year, a friend of mine found an abandoned kitten outside the back of a woods/fishing area. She brought her home, but could not keep her at her place because she has two older cats and one of them is quite aggressive. She asked me to keep kitty overnight, I fought it for a bit and then finally agreed to keep her just overnight until she could take her to the shelter. Well, my son got a hold of her and now we have a cat, lol. I honestly never thought I wanted a cat again, but she stole my heart. She was only five weeks old and weight only one pound. We have had to put a lot of time in vet visits and money into her because she was so young and had no medical treatment at all. At this point I would have to sell her for $2000 to break even, but she is so worth it. My son named her Kyrie after his favorite NBA player lol.

michellewalker8866

The best thing to happen to me in 2014: I can't believe that this is hard for me because I can't think what was the best thing to happen to me. The one thing that has made my day for over a year I have been trying to get my grandson to call me Grandma. When we went to St. Louis for the holiday he said it and he continued to say it. That was great.

I am glad the holidays are over too. I made sure I logged my food every day last week. I just did not get any workouts in nor did I get my steps in for each day. So, my goal this week is to get back on my morning workout, get my 10,000 plus steps in daily, and to stay within my calorie allowance (Which is a problem for me).

matfatcowboy

My goals for the week,
jog 4x
log 6 days
No eating after 9 pm.
Workout 3x this week.

The best thing about 2014 for me is that 2014 is when I decided that I didn't have to be 300+# for the rest of my life. I realized that there was no magic pill or diet that would do the work for me. I realized that it is a marathon not a sprint to lose the weight I've packed on for 16 years. I discovered that if I make my workouts about something I like (mma for me) then I don't dread it. I actually like it.

Friend me if yall want to follow along.

matfatcowboy

michellewalker8866 wrote: »

So, my goal this week is to ....and to stay within my calorie allowance (Which is a problem for me).

Me too michelle! It helps me to take it one day at a time, and remember to make " better than "choices where you can. And remember to practice forgiveness with yourself. No one is perfect so don't expect it, just continue to pursue perfection and celebrate the small things. Small wins add up to big victories!

You can do this!

Italian_Buju

Good morning folks! Great to see a new poster! Welcome cowboy!!

I slept late today, I have a cold now and while it is not really bad, it is enough to not let me rest properly.

Michelle - what are you using to count your steps? I have a fitbit flex that I bought on black friday and I love it!

Today I am out to run errands and meet a friend for dinner. I will log today.

michellewalker8866

I have the VivoFit by Garmen. I love my too. It sets my goal each day, gives me a red line if I don't move enough each hour, plus it has weekly competition who has the most steps for the week. The thing I really like is that you wear it like a watch, not like the ones that you clip to your pants. For me those would either fall off, not count correctly because of the fat, or when I would sit down they would reset because of the fat roll. So, far it has made me more accountable for my movements for the day. If my kids see that it has a red line they say something.

Italian_Buju

The flex is one you wear like a watch also!

I failed miserably today, lol
I am sick, and work was insane, so I did not really eat much all day, got home at 6pm, having an insulin reaction, and ate a whole lot of garbage.

However, I am not discouraged and am right back on track for Friday. With any luck, this cold will go away too and I can add exercise back in next week....

Happy New Year everyone! All the best for 2015, I look forward to following the next year with you all!!

thegenesischild

I'm a little late to this train, but better late than never, right?

I've got a huge problem sticking to things and not just getting discouraged and giving up. I'm starting kinda small and just moving up from there. My main goal right now is to honestly log everything. This really is a hard time, because I want things to look like I'm doing what I'm supposed to, so I log most of what I eat, but leave out the things I know I shouldn't have eaten. At that point, what's the point of logging at all.... and I fall off the wagon and stop all together. So right now, I'm going to log everything, and try really hard not to feel guilty about the Pop-Tarts I ate for breakfast.

Wow.... that got a bit rant-y, sorry everyone.

vaunche

I know exactly what you mean the hardest part is to be honest with yourself this is true with everybody at some point in life. What you have here is a community of people who have been there or are still there in the trenches with you! Logging calories makes it real and that is part of the process, you see what you are taking in and that little voice that makes you want to lie to yourself can turn into the voice that says hmmmm this is a lot of calories maybe I should say no. That is how it works for me. If you have the app on your phone you can log your food from anywhere. What I do is log food then eat it that way I see what it has done to my daily calorie limit before I splurge. Then at the end of the day if you have some calories left you can give yourself a little treat, or call that bonus weight loss!!!! Just some advice from a noob in the end do whatever works for you. post when your having trouble and let your friends who are in this with you give you some words of encouragement. You Can Do This!!!! (I'm Rant-y too)

michellewalker8866

Good evening thegenesischild, I agree with vaunche we have either been where you are at or we are still there. For me everyday is a challenge. This is my second time starting over on MFP. The first time I started I was going to a diet doctor and getting pills. Then my blood pressure was starting to raise and I wasn't getting much sleep. I lost almost 40 pounds. When my blood pressure started to raise that scared me and I didn't like the idea of taking the pill every day. I wont lie I did like the energy it gave me but I didn't like the way it was making me fill. So, I stopped taking it. Then crap happens with the family and I stopped thinking of me. So, as we all know what happens I gained all the weight back that I lost plus an additional 10-15 pounds depending on when I would weigh myself. Plus, I ran out of my thyroid medicine and my doctor's office closed. So, in my head I was like I don't need the thyroid meds. Well when I started feeling things not working right I found a new doctor. Got my thyroid meds, got a vivofit, and started to log again on MFP. I am taking one day at a time. For me I was logging everyday, I would post my daily goals every morning and then at night I would post what goals I completed and what goals I didn't. I was not post for others but for me (If it help others that was good too). That is my way of being accountable to myself. I was doing well until the week of Christmas we went out of town. So, now I have to get back on track. Just remember we all think we are in our own hell and one thing I have found out from reading everyone's post is that we are all different but we all have the same struggles (I like pop-tarts too) and when we fall we all seem to fall the same. Just remember we are all here to help each other back up when we fall and to cheer each other on. Just remember you have to be true to you and take one day at a time (Not one day will be perfect). Good luck in this New Year.

thegenesischild

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the support and encouragement!

candylilacs

My goal is to get below 300. I basically quit really trying in the last few months because I was so stressed with work. But now that's over (I teach college) I'm back on the wagon and trying to eat right and exercise more. Surprisingly, I didn't gain as much as I thought I did -- I felt huge, but only gained 5 pound --but I'm no longer in the 200s. Will be in the next couple weeks, though.

Goals:

Sticking to around 1,800 calories a day.
More fruits and vegetables (at least one more serving a day)
Exercising at least 4 times a week (and sweating a lot during!)

I would love to crack 250 this year. That would be great.

zilannoj

I hope everyone had a great new year

thegenesischild, I had that problem in the beginning. I know what my diary SHOULD look like, but it tends to pan out differently during the day. For a while, I kept my diary private, so I could just come to terms with what was I eating without feeling judged by anyone else.

My knee healed, so I will be walking as much as I can tomorrow. I was also greeted with a ten pound loss for my monthly weigh-in, so this was a great start to the year!

I hope everyone reaches their goals!

Italian_Buju

New posters!! YAY! The more support and discussion the better!

Welcome genesischild, vaunche and candylilacs!!

I hope to see you each here every week!

I understand the struggles with failing. When I get too stressed, I want to eat all the sugar in the world! LOL I also have OCD, so it takes very little to get my stressed out! So it is an every day battle. I personally find having a group like this, to share goals and failures and victories is very helpful. It is also nice to just sometimes talk about everyday life with people you can be totally honest with. I hope this group continues to grow. If you do not make your goals, do not feel the need to drop out, we are all here to support each other. I make this thread every week.

I am still pretty sick, I barley slept at all last night, my nose is so stuffed even a netti pot or meds, vicks rub, none of it helped at all. I have almost no voice, I am gonna have to whisper to my customers at work tomorrow, lol.

Other than missing one day of logging yesterday, I am following my goals pretty good this week. They are small to start, but will hopefully get more as the month goes on.

For those of you that posted under cowboy, where is your challenge answer for the week? What is the best thing that happened to you in 2014??

vaunche

Thank you for the warm welcome! The highlight of 2014 was my wedding to the love of my life We had a blast at our costume party ceremony we were dressed as Dr Who and The Tardis. This year I am setting my goal to spend more time painting for fun ( I'm a body painter ) And to loose 100lbs. I know it seems like a lot but it is less than two lbs a week and I am one of those people that if I do something I need to go full force. If all goes well maybe I'll get painted instead of doing the painting!!!

jltheis7

Happy New year! I did something so out of the norm this year; I invited a couple friends over and made a very Norwegian inspired celebration. I usually just sit at home alone but pushed myself to do something different. It was fun and I am not stressing about what I ate. I sent the leftovers home with them so I know it was just one day.

The best thing I did this year was to be more assertive at work about the issues that stress me out. I am a keep your chin up and get through it type but all that does is contribute to emotional eating and unhealthy habits. So learning to be the squeaky wheel helps me stay on track.

This week's goals are: to log daily, to get 7500 steps a day (building back up to that magic 10,000), and to resume eating gluten free.

Italian_Buju

vaunche - congrats on getting married!

jitheis - I am glad you had fun doing something different! Usually I go to a house party or have people over for New Years but I stayed home this year....I was glad I did not make plans in the end because I was really sick that night. Good for you for speaking out at work too! May I ask why your choose gluten free eating?

I am doing alright, still really sick and getting ready to leave for work in a couple hours, I have late shift tonight. If this cold would go away I would be happy! I have such a busy weekend too with errands and chores to get ready for my son to go back to school Monday!

jltheis7

Sorry you are not feeling well, unknown_sister; colds are so draining physically and mentally. I have been developing the sniffles and sneezing of a head cold just in time for returning to work on Monday. Gonna stock up on chicken soup and Kleenex, lol.

As for gluten free, I read the book The Hunger Fix by Dr. Pamela Peake; I made the changes recommended and discovered that within 30 days, I no longer had acid reflux (after 30 years of it), I slept better, had fewer headaches that were less severe, less fluid retention, less joint discomfort, and I lost 23 lbs. I went on to lose a total of 113 lbs. Since this summer, I have been eating breads, pasta, etc and all of those symptoms are back along with over 30lbs. So, I am going to resume the no white flour, limited sugar, proteins with vegetables and fruit with small amounts of whole grains eating that worked for me. By spring break, I will be feeling healthier and plan to be very active that week to enjoy time off.

Vaunche, congratulations on getting married; it sounds like you had a fun time celebrating it in your own way. I watched the original Dr. Who and Tom is still my favorite!

Welcome candylilacs, thegenesischild, and matfatcowboy, too!

Be well!

thegenesischild

2014 was a hard year for my husband and me. Between the two of us, we lost a grandfather, a cousin, an aunt, and a good friend and mentor from church. That being said, all of them had been suffering for quite some time, and I am glad that they are no longer in pain.

I think the best part of 2014 for me was making temporary promises with a religious order that my husband and I are involved with. Faith is a major part of my life, and this is a great support to me in general. In three years, if we still feel called to the order, we can make our permanent promises.

Vaunche and jithesis, I'm a Dr. Who fan too. I admit I've only really seen the "new series" but I'm planning to watch as much of the original Dr. Who as I can get my hands on!

Italian_Buju

I don't really know who Dr. Who is, lol.

Sorry for your losses genesischild, that is a hard thing to go through, and esp so many times in one year! I bet you are not sorry to say good bye to 2014!

Faith is a big part of my life too, however, I do not follow any one church. I am a Christian and if I had to label it, I follow a movement most closely called Christian Left. Jesus is a big part of my daily life in my thoughts and the way I conduct myself.

I do not think I could go gluten free, I am Italian and NEED pasta and bread in my life LOL

I did crappy yesterday....I worked late shift and was too busy and sick feeling to properly eat at work, so I ended up eating a meal and -several- desserts at 1am once I was home. I only work late shift every other Friday, and I hate it. But at least it is only twice a month.

My cold seems to be getting worse instead of better

Italian_Buju

Well, it's the end of the week.....I succeeded in goals 2 and 3, as for goal one, I logged three days, which is better than none, and goal 4 I failed, one part because I am sick and do not really move as fast and part because we were still on vacation from school break, which means I sleep in later on days I do not work, and it turned out to be much later, again, because of my cold.

Here's to next week!!

jltheis7

Well I did 2 out of 3-logging daily and mostly gluten free. I did get 7500 steps in today. Sorry the cold is still bad. Let yourself rest!