TEAM: Gutbusters (April)

Welcome to the Challenge new and returning teammates!! This is the conversation/weigh in thread for your Team Keep on losing because our first weigh ins begin THIS Sunday! I am here for you should you need anything - simply message me or tag me by putting an '@' just before my username (NO SPACES) and I will get to you asap! ~ Craig @craigo3154.

Replies

craigo3154

szymanskicolleen wrote: »

Sorry I have been MIA. I'm a teacher and the stomach virus went around my school and my house.
Previous Weight: 143
Weight: 142
Went to Body pump at 5am this morning so I'm ready to get back into my fitness routine.

@szymanskicolleen. Hope you are feeling better, those stomach viruses can be nasty. Ease back into the fitness routine. Make sure you are up to it so no relapse.

concordancia

Username: concordancia
Day: Monday
Week: 3
Previous: 201.5
Current: 198

This is the first time I have been under 200 on this scale; we moved here four years ago. Also, this represents a 10% loss since my diabetes diagnosis. My blood sugar decided to spike this morning to remind me that this does not mean I can get complacent.

NSVs:
-Vacation was not horrible and I got right back to tracking and proper eating immediately.
-I either need a belt or new pants before I embarrass myself in public.
-I did 20 pushups at hip level and still managed 3 at lower thigh level (back of a bench). Floor, I am coming for you!
-A1C last week was 6.7. It was 10.4 two and a half months ago.
-I haven't been on the bike or swimming, so I have been getting >10k steps every single day. That doesn't include dancing or forgetting to take my phone on errands.

westray16

craigo3154 wrote: »

westray16 wrote: »

User Name westray16
Weigh in day Monday
Week 3
Previous weight 13st 12lbs
Today's weight
13st 10lbs

@westray16. You are doing great. Slow and steady is the best way to have weight go.

Thank you.
I don't really mind how long it takes to get the weight off - so long as it keeps coming off!

emmclean

April 15
Exercised?: Yes, walked 13.1km - group outing exploring the outskirts of London. We kept a good pace up but there was a pub stop in the middle...
Calories?: Yes
Tracked?: Yes

April 16
Exercised?: No, but 15k steps today. My legs are killing after the walk yesterday!
Calories?: Yes
Tracked?: Yes

Got two free gym classes booked tomorrow as part of an open day programme, looking forward to doing a class again, aerobics type sessions used to be my exercise of choice but everything now seems to be boxfit and circuits which I don't enjoy.

@craigo3154 thanks! Seems there are a few of us hitting onederland this week, great time for Gutbusters. Hope the new cat is settling in well?

emmclean

On NSVs, my most notable ones recently were doing a sub-30 min 5km (after 6 years of trying to get there) and shaving off a total of 8 mins off my 10km this year, but I've already shared these with my fellow Gutbusters. I did wear a pair of trousers on Friday which had been bundled in the loft since I moved in to my current home over 2 years ago!

eevang

Lots of NSVs:

I do a 7 mile walk every week, and this was the first week I wasn’t really sore.

I also keep getting positive comments from my coworkers. Like twice a week. Today one said I was melting and turning into a skinny minny (the phrasing is a bit alarming and somewhat delusional, but she meant well). The comments make me feel a little weird but mostly good. I try not to give other people’s opinions too much attention. I do like when they ask how much I’ve lost now, and I get to give them a higher number!

Last week, I ran to my car and back to grab something and was barely winded.

I feel stronger...all the time. Standing, walking, moving...although I’m frequently sore from working out lol.

I never thought I actively avoided mirrors and photos...but I guess I did. Cause I’ve noticed how comfortable I am with them now, and that is not at all how I felt before.

My grandma said my dad is bursting with pride bc of all the work I’ve done. I’m glad she told me bc he isn’t he type to share that directly with me. Dad has always been big into working out, and now we make sure to meet at the gym once a week.

I want to add that while losing weight has been great, getting stronger brings me the most pride and confidence.

eevang

Username: eevang
Weigh-in week: Week 3
Weigh-in day: Monday
Previous week's weight: 189.4
Current weight: 188.8

Took a few days off the calorie restriction last week. I was still mindful of calories but didn’t keep to my goal calories. It was nice to be able to take a break without worrying about breaking forever! I’m growing more confident in my willpower and self-commitment, and I still lost a little weight.

craigo3154

April 17
Exercised?: Yes. Walked 3km in 23 mins (hills)
Calories?: Yes
Tracked?: Yes

Todays walk was before dusk (yay).

New cat (Cleopatra - Cleo for short) and older cat (Fi) have not met. Cleo in a cat carrier while Fi was free to roam the house. Hissing by Fi, but no real aggression .... more fear of the new cat. Cleo seemed not too concerned, not aggressive and not cowering, just curious. I am not a feline behavioural expert, but I think we they should be able to get them to interact without cages by the end of the week. Hopefully they can be friends.

Daily Strength challenge

Challenge for April 17 is dips (

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kALZikXxLc

)

3 sets

First set till the point where you can do no more, wait 2 mins
Second set of 60% of the number you did in the first set (half, then another 10%), wait 2 mins
Third set of 50% of the number you did in the first set (half)

craigo3154

Was great reading the NSV's. Really love to hear successes.

@concordancia. Fantastic for reaching onederland.

Improvements in the A1C are fantastic. I can identify with the new pants or belt (had that one - great problem to have - in fact little from my wardrobe a year ago fits me). Floor for push ups sounds not too far away.

@emmclean. Would be great if all that started the month between 210 and 200 make it to onederland this month. Been fantastic to have 3 make it so far this month.

The sub 30min 5k is a great achievement. I also am wearing trousers that were originally scheduled to be thrown out 5+ years ago. They are one of the few pairs that fit.

@eevang. Fantastic that you can resume after a break without worry. This is the way it should be. Small successes build the confidence to achieve bigger ones.

craigo3154

Questions for those in the the team.

What is your plan to lose weight?
What is your plan to keep it off once it is gone?

Some do Keto, some low carb, some low fat, etc... What are the general guidelines in your eating and activity plan.

Mine was/is:

Limit snacks (calories between meals)
Low gluten (processed carbs) - opt for GF meals when travelling
Plenty of water
Track eating and activity - Ensure I get daily protein target
20 mins activity (minimum) per day (ideally walking).
Try prioritise to get enough sleep.

This is both how I lost weight and am keeping it off. It is not so much a diet as a lifestyle that I could maintain indefinitely.

HSM2673

HSM2673
Last week: 149
This week: 151
But according to my scale I have gain 2# of muscle, I hope this is true. I will find out next week.

concordancia

The Plan:

-Low carb. My fasting blood sugar currently spikes if I have more than ~75g carbs a day. I will still relax this once in awhile, but my day to day goal is under 60g.
-Focus on getting veggies and protein, the rest is filler. I don't worry about where the fat falls, although I do add in some nuts and healthy oils regularly.
-At least 80 minutes of activity a day, at least 20 of that purposeful exercise.
-Include cardio, resistance and flexibility in my weekly exercise.
-Tracking: it is the only way to be honest about carbs, protein and calories.

I am a a long, long way from maintenance, but I already envision the above as long term habits, possibly adjusting the carbs at some point.

sunderland_mich93

Hmmmm, what is my plan to lose weight? I technically started my journey mid January at a weight of 215. I’ve lost about 17 pounds during this time, which averages out to a bit more than a pound a week (I think)

I haven’t really been restricting myself. I have a physical job, so that helps. I have also been going to the gym 4-6 times a week. It depends on my energy level. As for eating, I have cut down on sweets and the very RARE pop; otherwise I eat what I want. I have just been super mindful of my portions. Especially for the big hitters. I purchased a food scale to help out with meat weights and such, but still haven’t used it a ton.

My plan to keep it off, is to honestly keep doing what I have been, which is why I didn’t restrict myself since it is not practical for me, personally. I wanted to still be able to eat what I wished. I might not hit the gym as much in the coming months, but I’m hoping I will be more active in my daily life as the weather gets better. Focusing on fishing, swimming, cabin fun, (thank god im not a big drinker) gardening, and still maintain my portion control.

That’s the idea, anyway.

craigo3154

Username: craigo3154
Weigh in week: Week 3
Weigh in day: Wednesday
Previous Week's Weight: (65.5kg) 144.4
Todays Weight: (65.0kg) 143.3

This seems to be round my normal. Last week my body had an over-reaction to too much gluten in a business lunch and jumped 2 lbs in a day. This week I have been a little less active than normal due to weather, but as normal diet has mostly returned weight has kind of stabilised.

emmclean

April 17
Exercised?: Yes, 30 mins of aerobic and abs class
Calories?: Yes
Tracked?: Yes

Went to a free class today, it's a women only gym near work who are having an open week. Good to switch up the workout routine but I'm glad I didn't pay - my style of class is less HIIT and more continuous movement, it was billed as 45m but there was so much waiting around between bursts I even started grapevining to keep moving! And despite me stretching every opportunity (due to very tight calves after my long walk on Sunday) the instructor never asked if any of us had injuries. Still, not complaining, was a good session overall!

concordancia

April 17:
Exercise: yes (lots of walking plus half of a Tai chi yoga video)
Calories: yes
Tracked: yes

Skipped a friend's birthday cupcakes, as I am still working at getting my blood sugar levels down after vacation and hormones.

Thought it was going to be a lazy day, but ended up walking for 45 minutes this evening.

My food choices were unique. Dinner was crepes, but with chickpea flour, which inspired a curried vegetable filling. So, kind of an eggy dosa. I will probably have it again.

concordancia

Today's NSVs:

-Learned I can run one minute and it will probably be a very long time of building up the intervals before I attempt to run any longer than that.
-I can touch my toes together when standing tall and hold downward facing dog for 8 counts.

My husband felt so bad about only telling me about half of his grocery list that he is off doing the shopping, which means I don't get those steps.

craigo3154

Forgot to mention yesterday. Weight days for @aeloine. @inshapeCK. @sunderland_mich93.

Happy weigh-in day for: @parinzz. @Stimpy56.

inshapeCK

Username: inshapeCK
Weigh in week: Week 3
Weigh in day: Wednesday
Previous Week's Weight: 149.5
Todays Weight: 149.9 pounds

I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IMPRESSED THAT I AM ONLY UP 0.4 POUNDS AS I WAS OUT OF TOWN ON VACATION FOR 8 DAYS SO EATING OUT ON A REGULAR BASIS AND MY WEIGH IN DAY WAS MY FIRST FULL DAY HOME SO NO TIME TO TRY TO LOSE WEIGHT BEFORE THE WEIGH IN AFTER GETTING HOME.

I AM SO PROUD OF MYSELF AND THANKFUL TO GOD FOR THIS AS NORMALLY I GAIN A WHOLE BUNCH OF POUNDS WHEN I AM AWAY.

I DID ORDER A SALAD TWICE WHILE AWAY (AND I AM NOT A SALAD FAN) AND SOME DAYS I HAD US MAKE AND EAT PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICHES FOR 1 OF OUR MEALS SO WE DIDN'T EAT OUT BOTH LUNCH AND DINNER AND I DIDN'T BUY A BUNCH OF JUNKFOOD TO TAKE AWAY WITH ME ON THE TRIP SO I DIDN'T DO A BUNCH OF SNACKING.

PLUS WE WALKED FOR 49 MINUTES ON A BOARDWALK ON WEDNESDAY
AND WALKED FOR 70 MINUTES IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION ON THE BOARDWALK ON THURSDAY
AND WALKED FOR 55 MINUTES ON THE BEACH IN THE MORNING ON FRIDAY
AND WALKED FOR 59 MINUTES AROUND A PARK IN THE LATE AFTERNOON ON FRIDAY
AND WALKED AROUND AN ATTRACTION FOR A BUNCH OF HOURS ON SATURDAY
AND WALKED FOR 43 MINUTES ON THE BEACH ON SUNDAY.

sunderland_mich93

Username:sunderland_mich93
Weigh-in week: Week 3
Weigh-in day: Wednesday
Previous week’s weight: 199.3
Today’s weight: 198.1

concordancia

April 18:
Exercise: yes (even did some yoga again, finally)
Calories: yes
Tracked: yes

I think my thighs are getting less lumpy. I don't know, it's cold and don't see much of them. They look pretty good in yoga pants when I am trying to get my nose to my knee.

krissturner

Hey guys! On my plan to lose and maintain;
-Vegan diet, with the exception of salmon once a week. (I made a promise to my new doctor that I would incorporate it in more, not sure if it’ll stay for long.)
-No soda. I used to drink like 3-6 cans a day and now it makes me really nauseous.
-I snack a lot. Always vegetables or nuts. For me if I eat 5-6 super small things throughout my day I don’t need to scarf food when it hits my plate, there for I eat a lot less.
-Tracking every single day. I can see what is going in my body, so I know if it needs something else or if I can make a better decision tomorrow. I deleted quite a few social media accounts off my phone so that I’d have more time for MFP.
-More daily activity, usually walking. I try to walk my 3 dogs individually every day. Sometimes with my classes I simply don’t have time, they understand, and I still get my exercise from walking around campus. Still I do dance classes or go hiking when I can.
-Bang or coffee every day, no mistakes there.It really helps with my lack of sleep.

I’ve lost 18.7 lbs/ 8.482 Kg/ 1.33 stones since March 2nd even with a few days when I lost my mojo and went off budget. This life style change has been the first to actually help me lose weight and I’m extraordinarily grateful it’s working.

Also, I just figured out what onederland is and good luck to y’all that are that close, I really hope you get there!

eevang

Great question about plan bc I haven’t thought it through before.

Creating this was funny because I thought I wasn’t doing too many things to lose weight but boy that isn’t true.

Current Plan:
1400ish cal per day
Burn 200+ calories each day on average through exercise
Exercise: Weekly weight lifting, 2 days+ cardio, 2 days + body weight exercise
Nutrition: 5+ servings veggies/fruit per day, salmon a few times a week, encourage protein, discourage carbs, closely monitor high-fat snacks (by this I mean my snacks are purposefully high fat because I find it very satisfying, and I measure every snack and limit daily intake bc I have no self control with snacks otherwise)
TRACK EVERRRYTHING

Goal Plan:
Maintenance calories
Exercise: 2 days+ weightlifting, 2 days+ cardio, 1 day+ bodyweight, 1 day+ mobility
Nutrition: 5+ servings veggies/fruit per day, salmon a few times a week, encourage protein, discourage carbs, closely monitor high-fat snacks
TRACK EVERRRYTHING

I’m going to try Keto out this summer when I have more time. I think it could help with my PCOS.

craigo3154

April 18
Exercised?: Yes. 60+ minutes housework + 2km walking to go flying while on breaks + walking between parent teacher interviews.
Calories?: Yes
Tracked?: Yes

Busy work day and parent teacher interviews in the evening. Still managed to find enough times for flying to test changes to a quad.

April 19
Exercised?: Yes. Walked 6km in 45 mins (hills)
Calories?: Yes
Tracked?: Yes

Todays walk was in daylight. Listening to an interesting book at present "Feeling Good" by David D. Burns. All about cognitive therapy and strategies to remediate depression. (I am not depressed, but like to research these things as mood is related to action).

Managed also to find the last issue with a poor performing quad and it is now flying great.

Lastly, was so far under calories today they the 100g lindt milk chocolate bunny that had been on my desk for the last month was finally enjoyed.

Daily Strength challenge

"Challenge for April 19 is squats (no weight - air squat - http://www.12minuteathlete.com/how-to-do-a-proper-air-squat/).
You can do assisted squats (using a table or bench top to take weight off the knees if it is too much)."

3 sets

First set till the point where you can do no more, wait 2 mins
Second set of 60% of the number you did in the first set (half, then another 10%), wait 2 mins
Third set of 50% of the number you did in the first set (half)

craigo3154

Great to hear peoples plans. Sounds like people are generally on the right track.

Glad to hear that most plan to continue tracking. MFP makes it easy and it is really the only way to tell if something is going astary.

@concordancia. Sounds on perfect track for long term maintenance of blood sugars (and weight)

@sunderland_mich93. Not restricting variety of food is important and practical. I find people crave what they are not allowed to have. Tracking enables easier work on portion control.

@krissturner. Sounds like your plan is working for you (it's not one I could do as I am a committed non-grazing carnivore). It seems the more often you eat, the more critical tracking becomes to ensure you do not over-eat. Good to see a lot of regular activity in there.

@eevang. Amazing how much is actually involved. It creeps up on you one small change at a time (which is the best way). As you are already prioritising protein, Keto is a good fit. Logically for me, Keto is too restrictive, but others have had great success with it.

Also, personally I find high natural fat snacks not a problem (not trans-fat snacks). Low fat or fat reduced is the problem as this usually means high sugar or processed carbs. Natural fat is filling and oddly enough does not enter the bloodstream as fat. Fat had been villified in the 60's and 70's by some erroneous research. That is now, finally, and slowly, being corrected.

craigo3154

emmclean wrote: »

...
Went to a free class today, it's a women only gym near work who are having an open week. Good to switch up the workout routine but I'm glad I didn't pay - my style of class is less HIIT and more continuous movement, it was billed as 45m but there was so much waiting around between bursts I even started grapevining to keep moving! And despite me stretching every opportunity (due to very tight calves after my long walk on Sunday) the instructor never asked if any of us had injuries. Still, not complaining, was a good session overall!

HIIT is fine, but the instructor should has asked about injury if pushing intensity.

Also had this instructor not heard of active recovery? HIIT is not supposed to be Intense/stop/Intense/stop/... It is supposed to be Intense/slow/Intense/slow/...

Glad you enjoyed the session. Always good to try new things.

craigo3154

inshapeCK wrote: »

Username: inshapeCK
Weigh in week: Week 3
Weigh in day: Wednesday
Previous Week's Weight: 149.5
Todays Weight: 149.9 pounds

I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IMPRESSED THAT I AM ONLY UP 0.4 POUNDS AS I WAS OUT OF TOWN ON VACATION FOR 8 DAYS SO EATING OUT ON A REGULAR BASIS AND MY WEIGH IN DAY WAS MY FIRST FULL DAY HOME SO NO TIME TO TRY TO LOSE WEIGHT BEFORE THE WEIGH IN AFTER GETTING HOME.
...

@inshapeCK. Sounds like you managed the vacation well. It's the little things that make all the difference.

A lot of fun can be had without having to go overboard on eating.

Well done for not having a lot of ground to recover.

craigo3154

Just thought of a question for the team. (I try think of a daily question while I a caretaking in the absence of a captain).

How do you get back on-track when you have a bad day? Do you do anything different? Do you have a conscious process that gets you back into your healthy habits?

For me, I deliberately treat every day as a new day. Forgive the past (don't try compensate for it). Concentrate on now.

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the 'present'." -- Master Oogway - Kung Fu Panda.

"That was yesterday. What have you done for me today?" -- Hathaway - Real Genius

szymanskicolleen

If I get off track, I drink more water with lemon and get back to my routine.

concordancia

It precisely thinking about "getting back on track" vs "I have to make up for my mistakes" that helps me.

I don't have to eat less because of what happened yesterday; I don't have to exercise more because of what didn't happen yesterday. I just need to get back into my routine.