Progress Report
bmeadows380
Posts: 2,981 Member
A previous group had a thread like this, and I thought I'd start one here, too. We've been doing updates in various threads, but this will give us a centralized place to keep track, and would be less likely to be lost if we all had individual threads! I know those participating in the challenge are putting their updates in there; I figure this is for the rest of us lol
I'll start:
My Starting Weight: ~375 lbs (01/01/2017)
My goal: 260 lbs (this would put me below the 40 BMI mark for being morbidly obese or stage 3 obese)
Milestone: 270 lbs (5 lb increments till goal)
Current Weight: 21.0 lbs, 3/22
Loss this week: -1.5 lbs
Total loss: -104 lbs
What's Working: I raised my calorie limit finally. I had just been spinning my wheels for 2 months and feeling deprived, so I raised my limit to try to take a diet break. I also have tightened up my logging this week, and its made a difference! I'll keep at this level another week to see if I level out; if not, then I'll raise it again until I can find my maintenance level, stay there for 2 weeks, then slowly lower it back down again.
My sister started calorie counting this week too, which is helping me because I'm trying to set a good example for her
What Needs Work:I needed to tighten up my logging. I was getting very sloppy and taking in more calories than I thought I was because of my "cheats" and because I was just downright feeling deprived. I tightened up this week, made myself cut back out of the halfcut teas - no calories from drinks except for milk in my coffee! - and even recording the sugar free lifesavers, and that's made a difference!
I'll start:
My Starting Weight: ~375 lbs (01/01/2017)
My goal: 260 lbs (this would put me below the 40 BMI mark for being morbidly obese or stage 3 obese)
Milestone: 270 lbs (5 lb increments till goal)
Current Weight: 21.0 lbs, 3/22
Loss this week: -1.5 lbs
Total loss: -104 lbs
What's Working: I raised my calorie limit finally. I had just been spinning my wheels for 2 months and feeling deprived, so I raised my limit to try to take a diet break. I also have tightened up my logging this week, and its made a difference! I'll keep at this level another week to see if I level out; if not, then I'll raise it again until I can find my maintenance level, stay there for 2 weeks, then slowly lower it back down again.
My sister started calorie counting this week too, which is helping me because I'm trying to set a good example for her
What Needs Work:I needed to tighten up my logging. I was getting very sloppy and taking in more calories than I thought I was because of my "cheats" and because I was just downright feeling deprived. I tightened up this week, made myself cut back out of the halfcut teas - no calories from drinks except for milk in my coffee! - and even recording the sugar free lifesavers, and that's made a difference!
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My Starting Weight: ~393 lbs (07/01/2017)
My goal: 199 lbs
Milestone: 293 lbs (6 lb increments till goal)
Current Weight: 299
Loss this week: -1
Total Loss: -94 lbs
What's Working: Right now I am trying to figure what is working best. I am stuck in the same place I was when I last weight 12 years ago. But I don't know if it is that or 10 days of TOM.
What Needs Work I need to try and get more activity in. I have been trying to get to the gym but something always comes up. I have also taking a liking to walking.0 -
My Starting Weight: 321lbs (2/1/2018)
My goal: 161 lbs
Milestone: 261 lbs
Current Weight: 298.4
Loss this week: .6
Total loss: 22.8
What's working: I am fanatical about logging. I am incorporating more movement. That's all I've got at the moment.
What needs work: My internal dialogue. My last 3 weeks were up .8, down 4 and then down .6 and the weeks without at least a pound of loss I have been having lots of self doubt. I have health problems not related to weight and had been on prednisone for 8 months before starting MFP this round. My legs/ankles were seriously swollen and I started a diuretic a week or 2 before starting MFP. We all know a lot of the loss in the first few weeks is fluid so I am currently torturing myself wondering "was it ALL fluid?". I also take the medication Humira (yeah, the one on TV all the time). It comes in the form of a shot I have to take every 2 weeks. My shot day is Wednesday and my weigh day is Thursday. My 2 recent bad weigh ins were the day after a shot. Is it a coincidence or a sign that the Humira may be starting to cause weight gain (it does for some people).
And blah and blah and so on, I could go on forever. I am just over thinking it all and need to let it all go and trust the process. I'll let you know if I ever figure out how.
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My Starting Weight: 333lbs (01/01/2018)
My goal: 155lbs
Milestone: #1- Getting into the 200s #2 - Losing 100 pounds in 2018
Current Weight: 304.6
Loss this week: - 2lbs
Total loss: -28.4lbs since Jan 1
What is working - I swim at least three times a week and attend pound class one to two times a week as well. I track my food intake and drink a ton of waters. I feel like I am on the right path eating wise as I am doing low carb...no bread, pasta, pop, sugar etc. I gave up Diet Coke and eat clean.
What needs work - my impatience! I know that I didn’t gain all this weight overnight and will not lose it overnight, but I find myself getting frustrated at times. Last week I gained 0.5 pounds, yesterday I lost 2 pounds, but today am back up two pounds. I know in my head this is normal, but I am a little impatient to get below 300....my first milestone! So I need to work on my mindset a bit...be positive and be patient. Remember that this is a marathon, not a dash!
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Start date February 17
Start weight 377 lbs.
goal weight 210-220
March 5th I was 355
March 11 I was 348
Today March 25 I weighed in at 338
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@jjohn0129 that is awesome! Such a difference in the photos! Congrats!0
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Thank you.0
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@jjohn0129 - Wow! Great progress in such a short time.0
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My Starting Weight: ~375 lbs (01/01/2017)
My goal: 260 lbs (this would put me below the 40 BMI mark for being morbidly obese or stage 3 obese)
Milestone: 270 lbs - achieved!
New Milestone: 260 lbs
Current Weight: 266.2 lbs, 3/29
Loss this week: -4.8 lbs
Total loss: -108.8 lbs
What's Working: Wow - I didn't realize apparently just how many extra calories I had been consuming! That, and I KNEW I was having water weight issues; I knew it! lol The funny part was, I raised my calorie limit by 400 to try to find maintenance, then dropped 6 lbs! My trend this week was slower, so I'm going to continue eating at the 1800 this week to see if I can get a better idea of where maintenance is. I still intend to take a diet break, but I have no idea where my maintenance limit is, though MFP calculates it should be somewhere around 2300 calories. I'll raise again next week based upon my weight loss, and then see if I can maintain for 2 weeks before starting into another deficit.
Another thing that is working is that my sister started calorie counting last week. She desperately needs to lose weight, so I'm thrilled, and I'm thrilled also that its working for her. I'm doing the meal prepping and helping her log, and its been helping me when the desire to cheat comes because I tell myself "nope, you behave yourself for Suzy's sake - set the right example, and it wouldn't look right if you sneak that reese's cup when you've had your calories for the day" lol
What Needs Work:I've learned a valuable lesson here - I'm horrible at eyeballing things and an expert at lying to myself! Keeping myself accountable to myself needs work and vigilance.1 -
I had an absolutely miserable week. Woke up one day 5 lbs heavier than the day before (daily weigher). My official weigh day was today and I was still up 3.4 lbs for the week. I know weight isn't linear but it was such a huge jump in one day that I really let it get to me. I log everything, didn't go over, have been increasing my steps so intellectually I knew it couldn't be 5 lbs of fat that I put on but I was still taking it pretty hard.
Then came morning pill time. I have some non-weight related health problems and I take a lot of pills. So many that I have one of those weekly organizers for the morning and another one for bedtime. I fill them on Sunday for the whole week. When I took yesterday's pills I realized my prescription diuretic was missing from my pill case, for yesterday and the whole rest of the week. I looked it up and I am about a week late for a refill. I take so many pills that I didn't even notice it was missing.
I guess the mystery of the 5 lbs is solved. But I need to find a way to handle gains better. I was seriously depressed all week.
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@MzCara148 Glad you figured out about your missing med! Hope your pharmacy has it in stock and that you feel better about your gain.
I've been off-track the last couple of weeks eating loads of cheese and crackers. Yesterday was some better and today I've even made it back to the gym and did 37 minutes on the elliptical. I feel more focused now and I'm so glad.1 -
My Starting Weight: ~375 lbs (01/01/2017)
My goal: 260 lbs (this would put me below the 40 BMI mark for being morbidly obese or stage 3 obese)
Milestone: 260 lbs
Current Weight: 267.2 lbs, 4/5
Loss this week: +1 lbs
Total loss: -107.8 lbs
What's Working: sticking to my calorie limit works, and my sister continuing with this has helped me refrain from cheats, as I find myself wanting to support her in being good and truthful in her logging, and know that I need to do the same myself
What Needs Work: this week isn't truly a weight gain, and I know it's not. I had a lot of ham over Easter weekend and did overeat both days, but not anywhere near enough to actually gain a lb of fat in 2 days. This is water weight as a reaction to the sodium in the ham, and from what I've been told, it can take as much as 2 weeks to slowly get rid of it. And I have been dropping a little every day, so I know its water weight. Though it still throws me off, however, as I was trying to establish my trend in loss to determine where maintenance was. so I'm0 -
My Starting Weight: 321lbs (2/1/2018)
My goal: 161 lbs
Milestone: 288.9 lbs (- 10% of my starting body weight)
Current Weight: 292.4
Loss this week: 8
Total loss: 28.6
What's Working: This week was a big loss but I think it was a "woosh" and really represents 3 weeks worth of work. I am back on my diuretics so water retion is under better control.
What Needs Work: I haven't been mindful of the quality of my calories lately. Watching CICO but not making sure to get my fruits and veggies in and spending a lof of "empty" calories on Halo. So far I'm getting away with it but I think I need to keep an eye on it or I will slide back into old habits.0 -
way to go, @MzCara148 ! You still must have felt mighty pleased to see that 8 lbs off, even if it did represent 3 weeks of work
I know what you mean on the empty calories thing - it is so, so easy to fall back into those bad habits!0 -
My Starting Weight: ~375 lbs (01/01/2017)
My goal: 260 lbs (this would put me below the 40 BMI mark for being morbidly obese or stage 3 obese)
Milestone: 260 lbs
Current Weight: 271.2 lbs, 4/19
Loss this week: +4 lbs
Total loss: -103.8 lbs
What's Working: apparently I forgot to give an update after staring my diet break on 4/6. Today (4/20) is the end of the diet break and I am lowing myself down today by 500 calories. I'll run at that level for a week or two and then go down to the full 1,000 calories. It's going to be a bit of a challenge as I've been slowly raising my calorie limit for over a month now, but I'm ready to start seeing some true loss in weight and inches!
I knew to expect a scale jump when I started the diet break, and I did pretty much the day after I started it- that is what the +4 lbs is. I also maintained roughly in that 271lb range the whole period. I may have been in a bit of a surplus, but its a little hard to tell as I've had a couple of high sodium days in there, and TOM is lurking around the corner.
I did find it strange though that the scale jumped 4 lbs and stayed there; everything I had read about diet breaks said to expect that jump due to water weight increase due to the extra food and carbs, but that it should settle back down after a day or two. I didn't settle back down, though
Now that the diet break is over and I'm going back on deficit, we'll see if I get the promised woosh!
What Needs Work: getting back on track. I'm fighting depression right now which is just completely sapping my energy, physically and mentally, and that makes it hard sometimes to tell myself no. That also doesn't help my stress levels which can raise cortisol which can lead to water weight gain.......thankfully, my 4 legged depression monster has reduced to a 2 legged monster over the last year and a half, but unfortunately, those last 2 legs are the hardest ones to deal with, especially the job-related leg, which is the #1 source of all my stress.
Anyway, I'm hoping spring will finally show up and I can get myself moving some! I need the exercise to help with my mood, its just that its really hard to motivate myself to get going - I've tried pleading, I've tried shaming, I've tried bribing, but so far, no luck.0 -
Im so glad to see you back. Sounds like you have a wonderful plan. You have accomplished so much on your journey. Love yourself be kind. The hardest part in depression is making that first step. Remember how moving makes you feel better. Once that first step is over take the second and third. Here cheering you on hugs and good vibes
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My starting weight: 321
Goal: 161
Current Weight: 300.2
So I went off the rails for about 2 weeks and am now up about 9 lbs because of it. I was up about 5 as of last Thursday then ate a lot of sodium and didn't drink any water over the weekend so I just moped 4 more pounds in 4 days. It started with a birthday party, then some stress - and I knew I had a vacation coming up so I just said screw it.
So I did it and I own it.
But there are some positives. I know at least half of it is fluid - and that will come off easily. Also I didn't log on vacation but I did do a lot of walking so it balanced some of it out. The biggest positive though is that it was 2 weeks and now I'm back. I haven't just given up totally.
Today is a new day!1 -
Hey, @MzCara148.
I am adding some of my daily/weekly calorie deficit to an imaginary emergency fund, an emergency calorie fund, for that inevitable day I go off the rails and need the grace to forgive myself for not being perfect. I'm tucking away 100 calories per week. Sounds incredibly nerdy, I know, but knowing that I have that emergency fund building for difficult times ahead is actually helpful from a psychological aspect, just as my emergency bank account gives me confidence. A couple of times I've been really tempted to blow my momentum on something that was totally not worth it (if you know what I mean), and by asking myself if I really want to use up some of my emergency calorie fund on a stale doughnut or a handful of this/that has resulted in a "no" every time.
You are doing great. This is a long journey. There are going to be speed bumps along the way. Maybe you need an emergency calorie fund too.
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I was away for work the past month and my healthy eating definitely took a hit. I was almost nervous to come back to mfp to deal with it, but I also know that ignoring setbacks tends to lead to never getting back on track. I planned my next trip for 6 months from now, so I can make my weight loss my first priority.1
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@bmeadows380 You've been dealing with depression for quite a while, and I know how you are feeling; but, I'm glad it has improved some. Do you have anytime to do some therapy? That has helped me before. Maybe it could help you. You also could be dealing with more stress and depression, trying to find new ways of thinking--with all the changes in you, with your wonderful weight loss. I do hope you can find something to help you with both the depression and stress.
What things have you tried to help cope with your stress?? I'm interested and concerned about you. Is there any way that you could take a walk for your lunchtime period, when you don't have meetings, or conferences, etc? that might make the work day more manageable. Things like writing your feelings down, (or typing them) can be quite helpful. Let us know how you continue to do.
@PloddingTurtle , Your banking of your weekly calories is really working well for you! So happy you found this and work with it so much. Great way not to blow it with life's temptations.
@CheezWhiz88, Congrats on thinking so well into things and making that commitment to come back to MFP and get back to logging and losing weight! You did a great job of catching yourself in time!1 -
My starting weight: 321
My goal weight: 161
My current weight: 282.6
So I am currently recovering from 5 days of basically binging.
But today is a new day! I have been consistently hitting the gym at least 3 times a week. Still walking the old treadmill but I have added weight training. I'm gonna get me some muscles and speed up the old metabolism. Still doing calorie counting - so anything goes as long as I'm under on calories. I know eventually I'll need to work on higher quality calories but since this is working still I haven't found the motivation to change yet.3 -
My Starting Weight: ~477 jan 16 2018
My goal: 270 then we will see how much more i can go
Milestone: being under 450 , not happened in 10 years
Current Weight: 440
Loss this week: -don't know yet find out june 12
Total loss: -37
I haven't weighted 270 since I was 23 , then I had a baby and have never seen that number again LOL I would like to weigh 200 or even 175 , but I can not even wrap my mind around that , it's hard to imagine 270 , right now . BUT I am feeling better (still hurt ) but not as much .
I will say this , even if I do not lose all that weight , I will never go back to the way i was eating before . I will always do low carb . I will live this way the rest of my life , and I will be happy eating this way , because I am now . since my son has been out of school he is eating my food and loving it . so maybe I will slowly bring him over to my side soon LOL. Thank You to everyone in this group you help me so much!!!!6 -
@amy_kee:
I am so sorry to be so long in replying, but my life has been such a whirlwind the last 2 months; I don't even know where May went! Work has had me on the road for the last 4 weeks, and when I'm out, I usually only log my food on my phone; I HATE trying to reply to posts on an iphone, and the myfitnesspal app is a pain in the rear to use on a good day!
In answer to your question, no, I'm under any kind of medical management for my depression; I'm not in counseling nor am I on medication for it. I do think that stress is a major component to my problems, and my job is a key component of my stress, but at the moment, I'm trapped in my job with no options that I can see.
When I have time to think and can get a step back to find a bit of objectivity, I really can't see medication helping, or rather, medication just masking the problem like it does with my dad and sister instead of getting to the root of the issue. I've thought about counseling, but I really don't know who to truly talk to about it. I'm a devout Christian, so whoever I dealt with would have to be of similar ideals to be able to understand where I'm coming from because my faith permeates every facet of my world view; my faith isn't just my "religion"; its the foundation of who I am as a person and is the basis because my values. The issue is, though, that depression is still something that isn't well-dealt with, at least not within my particular denomination, and I'm afraid that I'm still trying to work past ideas that I know intellectually are wrong when it comes to depression that has been presented to me over the years from well-meaning pastors who had never experienced depression or dealt with it and who had a very simplistic view of it. You know what I mean? Things and ideas get ingrained into your thought patterns that later perspective lets you see are wrong thoughts and wrong ideas, but they have become so ground into your psyche that its very difficult to get the emotional component that is involved to change along with the intellectual one.
The weekends are better; on the weekends, I'm just as busy, but being able to garden and plant and mow my grass and work around my house makes me feel better; I have a sense of accomplishment and of success from those kinds of projects that I don't get at work. I'm really hoping things slow down a bit in July. I have a conference I'm planning to attend at the end of hte month, and then I really would like to fit a quick camping trip in somewhere; our family vacation over memorial day wasn't all that restful to me, and then I've been doing a bunch of traveling for work. I have a quick family trip to Tennessee this weekend which isn't going to be restful, either, and while I'm looking forward to my trip to Missouri for that conference, I don't see where its going to be very restful either - though the best perk of that is that I'm going by myself, so I'll be getting some distance between myself and my family for a while!
I have been feeling better the last week or so, thank the Good Lord! I do appreciate your concerns!
There really isn't a good place to walk here where I'm working during lunch, I'm afraid. The complex is very congested, there aren't quiet residential streets here, and the main road is very busy without any sidewalks, and I feel very conscientious walking along the main flow of traffic, anyway. And I've so busy after work, trying to get so many chores and other things completed in the few hours of daylight I have after work, that I don't walk then, either. I hate the heat and I hate regular, traditional exercise anyway, and by the time evening comes along, my will power is gone, so I rarely win the battle in making myself walk in the evenings. And since I'm up at 5:45 AM anyway to get to work, and I'm not a morning person, I gave up on exercising before work a long, long time ago.
the good news is that with the coming of summer, while I still don't have a regular exercise program going, I do seem to have been doing a LOT of strenuous activity. I made planting boxes and have been working out flower beds with a hand cultivator (and have the callouses on my hands to show just how much of that I've been doing!), digging to plant flowers and bulbs, hand-digging post holes, push-mowing my yard, carrying large bags of soil and much around, concrete blocks - I may not be doing regular, traditional exercise, but I'm definitely being very active! And that is helping, too!1 -
@bmeadows380 : I find that physical workouts I can get in while I am doing home or yard improvements are the most fulfilling! Whether it’s shoveling snow, mowing, gardening, taking the vacuum up and downstairs or running back and forth outside with the dog, they get my heart rate up and the sweat pouring down my face as much as walking on my treadmill or doing the elliptical!1
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that's me definitely! It's a battle to walk on a treadmill or force myself to walk as exercise, but I can crisscross my hard and my house 100 times in less than a day without batting an eye when I'm working. And its so nice to feel tired and look at my yard or my house and see where I've been!
A friend of my family told me I should have been a farmer; I think he was right!1 -
@bmeadows380 - depression can be such a heavy load to carry. I can tell you - and it is just my experience - but for me meds don't mask anything really. For me it's more like they clear the fog in my brain enough to allow me to be me. Maybe the experience is different for each individual. I'm certainly not saying they are the answer for everyone but maybe you could talk it over with you dr? I just hate it for you that you can't see a path to getting past it yet.2
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I think life is making it harder for me. I have an autoimmune disorder that affects my GI tract and until the end of last year was being treated with prednisone. I was on it for most of 2016 and 2017 and I put 100 lbs on in those 2 years. So I switched to a new med the end of last year and started logging the beginning of this year. My new meds have been amazing.
Until now. A lot of people with my disease can't eat fruits or veggies. I have been eating a huge salad for lunch every day and I think all the raw veggies are making me sick.
Lose weight without eating veggies. Yeah .... that sounds easy.2 -
@bmeadows380 Thanks for getting back. I understand how it is when life is so busy. I've also been very busy & have been away from here for a while. I can't imagine how difficult it is with ALL OF YOUR TRAVELING all the time!!
I'm also a Christian and that applies to all of my life, not just in words only. It's hard being around some people that don't respect that or appreciate that. It seems like lately when I make a new friend, a lot of the time, they are an atheist. The latest one was very outspoken against God and Christ, mocks Christian beliefs, etc. I felt so horrible around them.
But, for "good" therapists, I've never had a problem with them. They show respect, and understand patient's wants, desires, and needs, and where they are coming from. Especially, since you prefer not to go the medication route, please try some therapy. It will be almost impossible to look up a therapist by their religious preference, but, maybe try to just find a good therapists and be up front and honest, in the beginning, about your religious beliefs and preferences, and what you need the therapist to understand, in order to best help you. I'm sure they will do their best to be accommodating to you. 0 -
@MzCara148 Thanks for posting about your depression and how the meds help you feel. I also take meds for depression. I've went through many meds, but my Dr. and I finally settled on Cymbalta (I take the generic now). The Cymbalta helps with my depression--I don't cry when I look at green grass anymore (seriously), I can count numbers again, I can think better, and like you said @MzCara148 it literally lifted the fog state from all around me. I used to not be able to do anything, but, now, I don't have any problems. I used to not care about anything and want to die all the time, now, I'm so happy about living, serving God, and happy about working to lose weight. My generic Cymbalta helps me to CARE & WANT to do things.
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@MzCara148 Awww, so sorry the yucky Prednisone gave you and extra 100 lbs in 2 yrs!! I've heard it makes people gain weight, but, I had no idea it was that bad. Glad you were able to finally switch to a new med.
I bet it was so fantastic getting to finally eat the great salads, after so long--going without them. I'm real sorry your body is now rejecting the fresh veggies in the salads. That's so sad. Fresh veggies taste the best of all the ways veggies are offered too. Maybe the next best way would be frozen veggies, b/c they are freshly frozen. Could your body tolerate that? Or, do you have to eat boiled, steamed, roasted, or stir-fried veggies? Roasted veggies are real tasty, if your body will tolerate that. 0
