Week #6 - Monday, March 7th - Looking Back and Looking Ahead

lizadaze

Wow, I can't believe this coming week is our half way mark to the original 12 week challenge! Look back on the goals you set during our introductions and week 1 thread. Are those goals still important to you? Were they ambitious, but realistic? How has each week pushing yourself forward made positive changes in your life so far?

If you've given up and fallen down, that's okay, too. Because you can use all our past threads to remind yourself of how good you feel when you take control of taking care of your body and set your mind up to believe you can accomplish anything you want as long as you are willing to do what it takes to get there. I know it is hard. I know things happen. I know how despair and disappointment can derail your best intentions. In fact, we all do. That's why we are here, together, sharing and supporting each other along the way.

I want to hear from everyone this week, so hope you read this thread and respond. It doesn't matter what has happened, the past is over. What are you going to do today, tomorrow, this week, that will propel you forward? No matter how small, every effort counts! There is no magic pill or potion to all of this. It is completely, 100% up to you. And here, you will find friends near and far who will cheer you on, understand your frustrations, and give you a kick in the pants when you need it, too!

I will think about the questions above myself and respond to them later today, but feel free to jump in and get us started.

"It's a new day, a new dawn, it's a new life for me (and you) and I'm feeling good!

momof2boyz832

Good afternoon... it is hard to believe we are half way though this journey..there have been plenty of ups and downs over the last few weeks...the workout I was too tired to do, the sweet too tempting to pass by.

Its all ok.. Its life and we only have one to live. I have learned, and have become more accepting, that it is ok to have those times were my motivation wavered. Every minute is a new opportunity to improve. I have also become more intune with my body and how I physically feel after not fulfilling my commitments to myself. The scale is not moving the quickest but it is moving. When I need a little boost I find myself looking through the success stories on the main message boards...it can be very motivating..

As far as originating goals I am proud to say...alcohol free since the start of this program, only wavering for a stagette and wedding(life happens)...on 4th week of strength training workout program..squeezed in 118 miles for February and have walked another 25.5 miles in the last seven days, lots of water..and "good for me" eating 80% of the time..

I am a work in progress. I am feeling better, clothes fit better, and is better quality. The pieces are coming together..

Hoping to see others checking in whether you are struggling or flying high.. We are here to support each other..

jwilson507

I'm nowhere near where I wanted to be at the halfway point. I just want to say the heck with logging in my food and have a big pity party with ice cream. I know if I get my eating under control other areas of my life will improve. I do pretty well during the week and then eat out on the weekends and don't have a clue what calories I'm inhaling.
Im exercising regularly so I'm pretty much maintaining and not gaining. If I was at my goal weight this would be going terrific. I once heard if you pretend you are already where you want to be you'll get there. Does that make sense?thats my goal this week, to pretend I'm at goal and act like it accordingly. Anyone want to offer advice? I'm very proud of all you losers. Keep doing what works for you!

kesslemg

Wow...halfway!! I'm making slow and steady progress. According to the scale I lost .1 this week. That's a little disappointing but I know that I've had a lot of changes in my life so I will keep moving ahead. I didn't eat too well this weekend so I plan on getting back on the wagon today. I already got up and did my workout. I'm starting a new workout routine focusing more on weights. I found it on pineterest. It's a 12 week program so I'm hoping to really gain some muscle mass and get my metabolism really working for me.

For everyone that's struggling, we have all been there. Life sometimes just get in the way. Know that we're all there cheering you on. Together we can do this!

lizadaze

My life is in a major state of change right now, some intentional and other things not so much. It has been a long time since I have dealt with so much stress, uncertainty and anxiety. But my reactions and resilience this time around are much different (better) and I attribute that to taking better care of myself and getting physically stronger everyday.

I had ambitious plans to lose 25-30 lbs in 12 weeks. The weight loss, however, is slower than anticipated or expected. I'm officially down about 7 pounds, or losing about 5 pounds per month. I am fat, in part, due to thyroid disease so I have a ridiculously low resting heart rate and low blood pressure, too and my metabolism runs at a snails pace. It sucks, but that is a big part of my struggle with weight loss.

However, I have made progress in so many unexpected ways. After six weeks of consistently logging all my food (including the flourless chocolate cake I made and enjoyed this weekend!), I am now in better control of my diet and plan my days accordingly. It was hard at first, aggravating and shocking to find that foods I had been eating weren't giving me the nutrition goals I needed. I now often plan my eating for the day ahead of time, and log BEFORE the actual meal. This is when I find that I have the most control. If I do end up eating differently, I make edits before completing the diary, but for the most part, having a plan for the day seems to help me be more disciplined. And BTW, the remainder of that cake is making its way to the food alter in my office today so others can enjoy it and I can not be tempted to keep eating it every day this week!

I am exercising to the point that my body now naturally wants to move more and misses activity when I am being a slug (which is even worse than being a snail!).

For anyone struggling or disappointed, please know that each day and week gives you a new chance to build up new habits and make progress. Even slow progress is positive. And if you string enough of those little wins together, before you know it, you've changed your life in unexpected ways. I have to tell you that I spent six months just THINKING about going to the gym or taking a walk or eating better and logging my food. SIX MONTHS just working it out in my head, feeling guilty for each week I did nothing and continued in my sedentary, sugar-addicted ways.

So consider your quest a string of pearls that you collect one by one. That each day, you have to suit up, dive in and pluck each oyster out of the depths of the ocean. You come back to shore, crack open the shell and hope you find a treasure inside. Some days, you are delighted by the beautiful, shiny new bead of accomplishment and add it to your strand. Other days, you just find grit and sand surrounded by slimy disappointment and toss it back into the deep, hoping tomorrow will be better. But hope alone won't get you there, you still have to do the work necessary to build your collected gems of success.

I've always wanted a glorious, long, strand of pearls like the fashionable ladies of Downton Abbey. (Sigh, it is over!). I won't inherit treasure or success. I have to earn it and find it for myself. So that's what I am doing. I'm suiting up, diving in and hoping for a good day. I know I won't always be successful, but by the end of the year, I might just be able to proudly show off my accomplishments on New Years Eve and look ahead to many wonderful and healthier years ahead!

Emily4062

@lizadaze you are amazing! Thanks for your motivating words.

I am almost exactly where I started in terms of weight which is discouraging. I thought I could get big results with minimal effort. I guess it doesn't work that way. Most of my eating has been pretty clean, but I usually go wild about two days a week. This week, my goal is consistency in my clean eating. I DO want to lose those 10 lbs (at least 5 by the end of this!) and I don't gain anything except discomfort and guilt from those days where I eat poorly. They aren't worth it. Here's to eating right today!

Mjtckwnow

I'm not where I wanted to be at our half-way point and I'm okay with that.

The scale has been going up and down and up & down as I have great days where I eat at a deficit and then days where I eat more freely. What I haven't been doing is let those random days where I go over my allotted calories turn into week or even worse month long binges and that's a big accomplishment.

I think this is what works for me and in the long run will help me be successful. When I am too strict with my calories & feel deprived that's when I breakdown and go nuts eating badly. This way while I may be losing ever so slowly at least I don't feel deprived and sabotage my progress.

On the plus side...my workouts are going well. I am entering week 5 of the 8 weeks of PiYo and definitely feel stronger during the workouts. As of yesterday I am done with my just maintaining my running base miles that I do in the winter time and now this week move back into training mode. My mileage will start to go back up and there will be more intensive running work-outs ahead. I enjoy running longer so this is great but it is harder at this higher weight.

Stats: Since this challenge started I have lost 4.8 lbs. and 6.25 total inches.
36 more pounds to go until back at my goal weight - it's been 5 years of steadily gaining since I was at that weight and my goal is to be there by the end of this year.

curlymop3

Checking in.

So glad I'm in this group, I would have fallen by the wayside over the last few days, but hearing so many other people having blips and then carrying on brings home that is normal, to be expected, not a reason to give up all hope!

So there are the scales, the mirror and the tape measure - the scales are not encouraging (back up 1lb if they are to be believed) but the mirror and tape measure are more encouraging, slowly.

All round fitness has improved too - and with better weather to come should be out and about more, and hopefully feel warmer - eating less makes me feel so cold.

My goal should be log more days of the week with food, as otherwise snacks "to keep me going" creep up and up. My other goals are for the weekend when everyone else seems to be scoffing away to keep their energy up - realised I need a strategy for weekends....

Weekend goals - logging food is probably not realistic (hectic busy, and want my kids to stay free and easy in how they relate to food not observing me log everything that goes in my mouth)
- therefore two ideas are: Wait and Think

1) Wait a few minutes before eating something that I suddenly think of eating.
2) Think during those minutes: what do I want most? The enjoyment of a treat now, or enjoyment of weight loss? Do I still want it after 5 minutes are up? Have I planned to have a treat later in the day that I would rather wait for? Am I thinking of this food as a reward - and if so is there a different reward I could plan for instead? Would it be better to eat it, enjoy it, then leave the thought-wrestling behind by saying 'that was my quota gone for today"

And last goal - keep interacting on here with the kind Lean on Me gang. Definitely a strategy for success

tyboskates

Hello All, I am not thrilled with my weight at the half way point but it is my own fault! I have not lost any weight but on the plus side I have been moving more. I wear a Garmin VivoFit and used to get only about 6,000 steps a day (I sit at a desk all day for work) but when I started this group I promised myself that I will move more. I now get in on average about 11,000 steps so I almost doubled my steps. Today I am almost 13,000 steps and it is only 3pm. Today is a beautiful day here in Chicago, about 70 degrees and we haven't felt that since about October. I took advantage of it and walked at lunch time! I am so thankful for this group as I most likely would have gained since I eat to keep warm (and I am always cold). I am trying to break that and be more active. I am really trying to stay away from the sweets but it is SOOOOOOOO hard. My sweet tooth always seems to win. This is a work in progress.
@lizadaze I too have a under-active Thyroid and know exactly what you mean with the metabolism working at a snails pace. In my case, I think my metabolism left me and so I am not losing anything. LOL
I WILL succeed on this journey, I am not giving up!!!!