AUGUST Challenge

retirehappy

Wow, what happened to July? It flew by.
You can post your final results from July's challenge here:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10572805/july-challenge#latest

Here is our new challenge thread.

retirehappy

My challenge is to continue maintaining my weight loss. I will be doing a trip that will be a bit of a challenge, 10 days in Alaska. I see lots of fish in my future.

I also want to add back in another strength training period each week. So will see if there is a fitness class that will work for me or if I have to create my own at home. So researching that and getting one or the other type of ST going in addition to my beloved Body Flex class.

wandakc

Now that I have returned to work . I really trying to keep my momentum going, so far so good. Only 2 days

wandakc

Back to square one. With planning meals and logging

retirehappy

Wanda, always good to go back to the basics. Keep it as simple as possible.

mxchana

I am back. Very challenging summer, and the challenges continue but, I have to do something - like what I know works. I have gained a lot of weight this year and I need to lose it and keep moving downward. We'll see what I can do with the 13 days that remain in August!

CrisEBTrue

Well, look who's here. Yes. It's me.

We went to France for 2 weeks in April/ May and it was fabulous.
I usually lose weight on vacation but... going to France is NOT the way to do that
unless you're impervious to the temptations of pastry and dessert.

Also. We went on a Viking River cruise, which we've done before... but this one..??
The food was good but those cooks used SO MUCH BUTTER I could hardly deal with it.
I had to scrape sauce off everything; I'm just not used to it.

After we got home I was sick as a dog for 2 weeks and it took me another 10 days to feel human. So I lost all motivation to exercise and.. one day turned into another and July was hellishly hot and... here I am.

I am feeling the pain of anyone else who has said "Back to square one".

To be honest... I got bored. Bored bored bored sick and tired of thinking about food, tired of exercising and not losing weight, tired of tracking my blood sugar....
I've been "trying to lose weight" since I was 16 years old and I just got fed up. "Fed up", get it.

Buwaahaha.

Then I got depressed.
Family problems; older son with alcohol and drug issues...I ended up somewhere between
being nauseated by the sight of food and chugging handfuls of dark chocolate m&ms.

I'm heavier than ever.
My fat clothes are too tight.
My *kitten* could eclipse the sun.

I have to go to my doc tomorrow morning... I know I've gained weight but I don't even know how much because every time I get near the scale it screams in terror and scurries under the bed.

I hate even talking to people about it because, honestly, I hate whiners.
"Just do it"--it sounds SO SIMPLE when one is talking about Somebody Else.

But here I am. going to try again.

I'm wondering how many more foods I can eliminate from my life; seriously sometimes it feels like if I even SEE a cookie ad on tv, I gain a pound. Bah.

Anyway.

Hi! I'm back.

Mariang165

Welcome back Cris, I too am returning! I identify with so many of your comments ...
Trying to lose wt since our late teens, my fat clothes are too tight, just do it ??? ... easier said than done! I have put back on 20 of the 29 lbs I lost during my time MFP a couple of years ago! (And I still had 20 more lbs to lose) Yes, aren't we all challenged with family problems and over eating seems to come along with them, doesn't it? Well like you said, whiners don't tackle the problem do they? It is overwhelming to think we need to start all over, but like a few of our other past members who are trying to return, it's a start! Hope it was an ok visit with your Dr. apptm.

My challenge for the rest of this month is too complete my daily diary and measure my portions.... portion control is a big issue for me. These are realistic goals (I hope) for me to start. Late night binge eating ... well that will be for next month. I just need to start!

Also, thanks to retirehappy for keeping this thread open so we both have a place to which we can return. Though I will not check in daily, I will check in weekly. Cheers, Marian

CrisEBTrue

Well Marian; I'm sorry that you're in this same struggle AGAIN.

You're right; people who don't have weight issues don't understand...
Then here you are.. you do something wrong and a knee creaks, your back aches.. you ease off exercise for a few days and it becomes MONTHS....

I just noticed that the site autocorrected my previous post. I said that my " b u t t " could eclipse the sun and it changed it to "kitten".

Now THAT is FUNNY.

retirehappy

Welcome back Ladies. Traveling so not posting much.

Glad to see you back. Giving up is not an option.

CrisEBTrue

I lost 1 lb this week and my blood sugar has gone down, so that's something.

Journey of a thousand miles, yada yada.

mxchana

Cris, I too am coming back after going haywire for months... but I feel that I will be able to turn this ship around by returning to what I know what works for me. And I can see that you already have the ship turning, good work! Every day is a new day and Joell is right, giving up is not an option.

wandakc

Welcome back ladies, we have all been there ! If there is one thing I've learned about getting to your healthy weight, it's that it's not easy , never will be , but I just chug along one day at a time. Yesterday I did really well, then never posted a thing to MFP. So I need to stay on track. Being a part of this group really helps me with that. Have a great Saturday

retirehappy

retirehappy wrote: »

My challenge is to continue maintaining my weight loss. I will be doing a trip that will be a bit of a challenge, 10 days in Alaska. I see lots of fish in my future.

I also want to add back in another strength training period each week. So will see if there is a fitness class that will work for me or if I have to create my own at home. So researching that and getting one or the other type of ST going in addition to my beloved Body Flex class.

Met my first challenge goal of maintaining my weight loss:
I am finally back home, we spent 12 days counting the flying days on our trip. It was a challenge to find the foods that fit into my plan once you left the grilled fish and meats. But I broke one of my travel rules, I weighed myself this morning after getting home around 1 AM last night. I usually tell everyone "don't weigh for a couple of days after your flights."

When I left I was 2lbs down from goal weight. When I weighed in this AM I am 4 lbs. down from goal weight so I think my body and my mind have really embraced my LCHF way of eating. I only did a couple of Intermittent fasts on the fly, I couldn't eat the B&B breakfasts a couple of times. So I waited to eat till lunch. I also checked my ketones and found I was at the bottom of the nutritional ketogenic phase when I checked. So my body has learned to eat my body fat when needed. I am pretty darned excited about all this.

The new fitness center schedule is out and I don't see a good time for me to be taking another strength training class so will have to do those from home. I really want to do those at least 2 x a week, so one will be in at the Body Flex class and the other in my room upstairs that is set up for working with the dumbbells and I have step aerobic set up as well.

retirehappy

CrisEBTrue wrote: »

I lost 1 lb this week and my blood sugar has gone down, so that's something.

Journey of a thousand miles, yada yada.

Did you do something different this week that you can continue doing? The little things will add up.

I get how very difficult it can be when T2D and taking meds. Hope you can find what will work for you. Something my DH has learned on his T2D journey is that even short walks can help tremendously with the BG numbers. As little as 15 mins. can show a good drop for him. It can be a pain going to the gym for workouts, so find some things you can do for 15 to 30 mins. at home regularly.

It is always good to see your posts here, you are missed and when you miss you seem to mess up more. So here is hoping you are here more regularly.

CrisEBTrue

[quote="retirehappy;c-40339307"

It is always good to see your posts here, you are missed and when you miss you seem to mess up more. So here is hoping you are here more regularly. [/quote]

Oh, thanks for that, you're so sweet.

Interestingly enough I got to talking to a Facebook friend and it turns out that we have a lot of the same issues.
We're very close to the same age, height, weight.. she's pre-diabetic, but she has the same kinds of issues that I've always had.. Loves carbs, hates exercise, is a stress eater. She has the additional worry of a husband who's undergoing cancer treatment and.. that's something I don't have. But it was a revelation for both of us to find another person who has so many of the same identical problems.

She and I both know that it's difficult to talk to someone about the challenges of appetite, hunger, blood sugar when the other person has never dealt with those problem. Some people act like it's a matter of willpower or self control. Not really.

So, it's helping both of us. We have been chatting online every day about what we're planning, meal-wise, what challenges might come up, how we feel ("I am hungry for chocolate", she said..) and how to deal with those things. Also how to change our attitudes toward ourselves and Be the Thin Person who already makes healthy choices, rather than the fatty who fights the changes that must be made.

I hope we can keep it up.

Thanks again for your support, each and every one.

Chris

We were lucky enough to experience the eclipse at 93%; Here's my experiment with using a colander as a pinhole camera. ha.

retirehappy

It is a very artistic piece, not such a great view of the event, but it looks like a lovely art piece. You do have a lot of artistic talent, thanks for sharing with us.


Glad you have a buddy that you can relate to. I think most of the members here also struggled with the challenges of appetite, hunger, blood sugar as well. T2D is such a horrid disease, my husband struggles to keep BS numbers from skyrocketing and crashing, while keeping on the weight he feels he needs to maintain to be healthy. He is a Thin Outside Fat Inside diabetic. He is 6' and when he cuts down on the carbs and sugars he does drop weight, but he continues to drop even when he gets to the recommended weight he should be. I can only stand by helpless watching him suffer. Which I could find someone on MFP who is in the same boat who he/we could relate too.

CrisEBTrue

It's hard for me to be Thin Inside.
I'm a lifelong carboholic.
I can do everything right, avoid sugar, count carbs, count calories, exercise.. and be doing it all 'right' on paper.
But there is that weird chemical thing in my head which just throws a monkey wrench in the works.

That joke about being hungry 2 hours after eating Chinese food--that's me, for real.
I can be STUFFED with vegetables and protein; incapable of putting another bite in my mouth.
But sometimes I feel almost desperate for a big hunk of crunchy bread, dripping with butter--something that will fill the nooks and crannies. Not necessarily something sweet--just nice yummy
carbs.

I can't explain it, I'm tired of trying.

Oh well.


We did have the eclipse glasses, and I'd never seen that much of an eclipse before, ever..
My husband got a couple of excellent photos when it reached the max visible in our area.

mxchana

@CrisEBTrue - Catching up on reading posts, just saw your picture of the eclipse through a colander. Great photo, just beautiful! -Kathy