Women 200lb+, Let's Jump-Start This January!!!

Lasmartchika

Official weigh-in day for me:

SW: 201.4 (1/6)
1/10: 200.8
1/17: 198.2
1/24: 200.6
1st GW: 190
UGW: 140

Ugh... so TOM is visiting this week... I feel so horrible. I didn't even exercise this whole week, had a couple maintenance eating days.

mmccloy12

Good afternoon everyone!
Wow, if I don’t get on here regularly, I get so behind! Sometimes 40+ new posts…my goodness! I have read all of them but really don’t have time to respond to any of it.

Since it’s the weekend, I am going to try and reply to some of you, because I have some input on some of the discussions 

Any way…not a great week and I could go on and on about it…but right now I am just posting my weigh in. The only thing I can say about this week is I am really starting to figure some things out about me and this journey and I am learning everyday what works for me!

Anyway…here it is…a gain …but I am confident it is residual water weight from my trip and a little indulgence and lack of planning this week! May not make it to my goal this month but I will be happy with any loss and that is what I am shooting for by next week.

January goals – weigh in on Fridays
OW – 276.6
Starting weight for January - 252.2
January GW – 246.2 (6lbs)
1/10 – goal 250.7 – 248.8 – I had gained some over the holidays, so it really is only a 1lb loss for me technically
1/17 – goal 249.2 – 247.4
1/24 – goal 247.7 - 250.0
1/31 – goal 246.2

-3 Workouts at the gym – I will work out at 6:30am on Mondays and Wednesdays. Fridays @ 4:30pm. – this was a no go – left out of town on Friday and didn’t return until Monday evening and was tired…and Wednesday was a bad day
- Hike or Bike ride on Saturday/Sunday – did take a walk when I was out of town

- Water intake – I will drink two 32 oz containers of water at work. Use my soda stream for the remaining 32 at home. 96 ounces a day – check! Got all water in when I was out of town as well!

- limit alcohol only for special occasions – my special occasion was this weekend…but I drank entirely too much!

- Eat out only once a week –– ate out two days (technically three) – I ate out one day during the week and then we went out while I was in GA. I split the dinner in half and ate it the next day hence the third eating out


Again, I hope to get on this weekend and reply to some of you! You guys are rocking it!

Aerohead21

I have missed you guys all week!!!! First week back to school was very challenging for me. I have not been following my nutrition very well. I’m struggling with temptation and desire to eat what I bring because let’s just be honest😂 it’s not always tasty to eat convenience health food like protein shakes and protein bars. It’s just too difficult to pack good food because I can’t store it properly. I’m not a big fan of relying on fruit or crackers because of the carb content and I’m not going to eat my vegetables like a good girl 🙁sooooo yeah. I need to resolve that pronto.

torih941

Today was the first day kickboxing felt really hard, I had a hard time keeping up and it made me get all in my head. I know it was just me being hard on myself, but I felt awkward and like people were staring at me, which they were not. They usually take it easy the first week for the new people so we can learn all the moves and then afterwards they start creating their own class plans and pick it up a bit. So, today was a taste of that. But I did it! And I feel proud of that. All I can do is keep trying and learning in class.

@sharpdust, I hope you feel better soon! So much illness is going around.

@theleadmare, that sounds like a yummy dinner! I hope the back pain gets better soon. Also, I am trying to work towards being strong, too. It's a good feeling. Makes you feel powerful.

@Caseyloupuckett, food poisoning is horrible, it really takes you out. Feel better soon! We are all here to fight with you.

@Candyn617, I would be so excited if I saw that prediction too! I'm sure it feels amazing.

@bluffgirl67, I hope the headache gets better soon, I know how hard migraines can be. Also, great loss! I'm so excited to see you in the 190s, I know how hard you've worked.

@Tarzan37, great loss in the hips! Sometimes the scale doesn't show us the numbers we want, but it's always motivating to see the loss in other ways.

@mfpphoenixx, great loss! In the past I had a horrible scale obsession, I'd weigh everyday and it really messed with my mental health. Eventually I stopped and I can only weigh once a week because otherwise I will fall back in that pattern.

@Lasmartchika, we all have off weeks, especially during that TOM. You got this.

@mmccloy12, I hope this weekend is a nice reset for you.

@Aerohead21, I recently started school again as well, it definitely can throw a wrench in plans. it is hard to pack food that is going to store well and taste good reheated, I snack on apples and nuts and wheat thins sometimes.

AlexandraFindsHerself1971

Regarding packing food, I do that for my boyfriend. He had weight loss surgery, and so obviously he can't eat like the majority. There's a company called Hot Logic that makes a little heated lunch box. You plug it in an hour or two before you're going to eat, and when you open it up your food is hot and lovely. I've found through experiment that things like enchiladas do well. Stirfry will overcook if you leave it too long, but what I've learned to do is to more or less toss it with seasonings and some cornstarch and put the raw vegetables in...they'll cook in the box. It's an amazing sort of thing, and I highly recommend it. We use plastic containers in it and they don't melt.

Tarzan37

The buttons next to my food list that allow you to remove items from your diary reappeared this morning! Hooray!

Yesterday I decided not to track anything and just give myself a break after the discouraging gain. I didn't do too badly and actually did track everything except for evening snacks. One of those snacks was a package of cookies from the Safeway bakery that turned out to be very stale. I took it at the universe's way of telling me no to those! Ha! Returning them to get my money back today and back on track as well.

Oh, and I also found protein powder on a great sale at Costco yesterday, so I will start playing around with ways to add that in each day. I guess they have a bunch of recipes on their site!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

cory17

@Savannah80 Have you listened to any of the HalfSizeMe podcasts? Her premise is about maintenance, learn to eat sustainably for YOU for the long term. Better to lose slowly and keep it off, then yoyoing for years. I'm listening to them, and they make sense.

KeriA

A very intense week at work after my 3 day weekend. So I am going to post 1st then get caught up with all of you. My weight fluctuates alot so I am looking for lower peaks and lower valleys. I am coming down from the lower peak this week and my last valley was lower too. I will post at my next low. I was so busy at work that I got out of my night meeting so it meant I got to go to Aquafit that night instead.

So I have been doing better at logging
Not doing better at checking in here
Have stuck to my exercise schedule but haven't upped it but today after Aquafit this morning I am meeting my sister who is in town from France for a walk with her grandkids in the Jaanese garden.
We will make healthy Chinese hot pot tonight for Chinese New Year's (my family is bi-racial).
We have been doing well at not eating out as much
I had some success at tweeking breakfasts.

More later.

HurleyHurley

Weigh in Saturday for me today. Snow is coming down hard, everything so pretty and white.

SW: 310.0
GW: 150.0

Jan 01 - 289.7
Jan 04 - 289.9 (+0.2 for Jan)
Jan 11 - 289.5 (-0.1 for Jan)
Jan 18 - 286.2 (-3.5 for Jan)
Jan 25 - 284.6 (-5.1 for Jan)

Today I went under 25 pounds total weight loss. It's coming off a little slower now, but in general still trending down, so yay. Body measurements all down today (I measure at each 5 pounds).

Work has been very stressful and very long the past two weeks, makes motivation harder. I didn't make my gym goal last week, but had two great workouts this week with one more planned this weekend to keep me on track.

Almost to February, which is hard to believe. Will have to work extra hard for monthly goal as it is a short month! LOL

momx4hill

Y'all!!! I was good all day and had almost 800 calories left for supper, so you know what I did?? I ate almost half of a Domino's thin crust Hawaiian pizza. And I only feel a little guilty because I do still have 47 calories left for the day.

KeriA

Okay I have caught up and hope to come here tomorrow to keep up better. Lots of good advice here.

@torihudson good job making that 25 lb mark

@mmdeveau sorry to hear about your neighbor problems

@MuttiNM we would all do better I think if we could use the lessons of the past without getting down on ourselves and with celebrating our successes when they come.

@HurleyHurley good job adjusting calories to lowered physical activity

@speyerj That is exactly how my weight varies. I go down then pop up then slowly go down. Then when I hit a new low I pop up again then slowly go down.

@Tarzan MFP is off and on glitch for me and not as good as it was when I 1st was on here.

@Savannah80 I think your body is adjusting your metabolism to the lowered calories. It thinks you are starving. What is your BMR? Eat between it and your TDEE and go for slower loss. There are online calculators to estimate these. Some people use weekly calorie intake not daily calorie goals to help fool the body. Having higher calorie days mixed with lower calorie days. Keep trying to figure out how your body loses. I think @BrownSugar174 may be right. I hit a plateau and only started to lose again after going to maintenance then eating with a smaller deficit.

@AmethystEFC good progress!

@orangequilt nice progress with goals

@vegasgirl0825 I do the same with sweets. I keep them very low but if I start to feel deprive I take a small break with something that I really like. Sometimes it is once a week sometimes every 3-4 weeks.

@Terytha I suspect before I get to the end of the posts you will have unstuck the weignt

@Reachbrenda how great is that to lose while vacationing! Congratulations!

@mfpphoenixx I was wondering when I saw the friend request so it is nice to get to know about you here. It looks like you are making great strides.

@Kabbij Wow meal plans for Jan- May!

@BrownSugar174 Nice loss!

@lilann1961 It sounds like your decision makes sense on where to focus

@bluffgirl67 Nice!

@majesticdj I do exercise 3 days a week but I like your idea of starting with 10-12 minutes for the other days that I don’t seem to fit exercise in. Small stes wor best sometimes.

@aliciap0116 I just love your 1st 3 goals. The rest are great too for you. But the 1st 3 is where I hope to be soon too. In fact I wouldn’t mind just one day of strength a week. Those almonds look like a good idea. When I lost the most I always had dark chocolate around and it worked well. I didn’t have too much of them since they weren’t too sweet and were satisfying. Chocolate, nuts, fatty, wild fish, and avocados are helpful in weight loss if you have just enough.

@Tarzan37  you have contributed a lot on this thread. How frustrating! I have gone to a page for getting technical help (at the top of the MF page between Hi your site name and settings is a Help button) and after seeing if there is anything related already posted then you can contact them for help. I have done this. It was about my blog posts not posting. I did get things working again and I did get a response and tried what they suggested.

@sharpdust you seemed to have found that sweet spot. It isn’t the daily deficit it is really the weekly deficit that matters. – get well soon and take care.

@L2HS how tall are you? If you hit a plateau then eat at maintenance for a while (2 weeks) and try a bit smaller deficit.

@snaileatsplants I think focusing on health and fitness is the way to go for you like you mentioned. However I am wondering if you are getting a little of the healthy fats your brain and body needs and can help with weight loss. They are nuts, chocolate, avocado, olive oil and fatty wild marine fish. You don’t want to over do any of these but your body needs them
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@CupcakeCrusoe maintaining on a trip and continuing to exercise seems like a win to me.

@theleadmare I am definitely googling chicken in ale sauce. I am working on being able to stand longer after I broke my leg a few years ago I didn’t build up my strength for this yet!

@Candyn617 this 5 weeks estimate is great!

I had a good day today. The hot pot was tasty and healthy but it took a while for us to get the broth right. I am at 11,344 steps today on top of aquafit and then I cooked a big dinner too -Big as in a lot of work not in terms of calories. I am exhausted. I even red all of your wonderful posts.

My best success was that I logged everyday. I was under my calorie goal all but 1 day. I do have to catch up on my spreadsheet tomorrow. I guess I am happy that I finally found some time when I could spend time with my sister who is going back to France next week. It wasn't easy with her spending time with her daughters and grandkids and me working full time. She had her grandkids to watch but it was the only time besides family parties I have had this trip. I guess things work when you persevere.

mmdeveau

So much I want to say, but I’ve got to make this one really brief since I’ve got to get on the road and I have a lot to do before then. Just a couple things I remember from checking in during the week.

@aliciap0116 – I hope your knee is feeling better. If it is serious pain when bearing weight, see someone. When I had problems this summer, I was surprised that I had so much water in my knee, but in that case it was an easy fix, and I was able to ease back into my routine. I think you also said something about Phit-n-Phat and her philosophy about tracking food intake – not sure because it wasn’t a direct reference so I’m guessing. For those who do not listen to the podcast, the host is a weight-loss coach. She does not have her clients weigh or measure food, nor does she believe in calorie counting. Instead, she takes a full behavioral approach and has them eat mindfully. I disagree with not weighing and measuring and calorie counting. I think those activities are cognitive tools that help people educate themselves about serving sizes. I do agree with the behavioral training, too, but in addition to the measuring and calorie tracking. I don’t want to be weighing and measuring every morsel for the rest of my life, so at some point the behavioral training needs to take over.

@snailseatplants – sorry to hear everything you’ve been through. I agree with those who suggested seeing a therapist – the psychology of abuse it so difficult to work through on your own. I’m glad you have been able to accept your body as it is. My only advice would be to keep an open mind about the weight-loss process, and I hope it can be something where you learn to love your body no matter what it looks like, because it is yours.

@KeriA – I might eventually have the same situation when I will need to give up running, but for now I will live it up as long as I can. When I was diagnosed with avascular necrosis in my right foot, I told them “cadaver bone. My expectation is that I will be able to run again.” That’s not what happened. It is a condition I need to manage, though. And in addition to that, I’ve got a ruptured ligament in my left ankle, a bad left knee (though the right is not great either), and a cyst on the bottom of my right foot. I still run because of the way it makes me feel and because I can. Luckily I also enjoy swimming and biking, so I’ve always got those activities to look forward to!

Height: 5'6"
SW (09/08/2019): 239.2 lbs
January SW (1/1/20): 202.4 lbs
1/5/20: 199.2 lbs
1/12/20: 195.6
1/19/20: 195.4
1/26/20: 193.4
January GW: 195 lbs
GW: 150 lbs (then reconsider)

My goals for January are:

• Cardio for 45-60 min, 5-6 times a week, 3 of the sessions Couch-to-5K workouts – Check. Had a great C25K week 3 walk/run yesterday. I really did want to run in the rain yesterday morning because it always seems to rain on the day of the Broad Street Run. And I did run for a bit while it snowed last week. But it really was raining much too hard, so I went out after the torrential rain and found part of the trail flooded and impassible. At least I was able to get about a 2 mile loop out of it and I ran/walked for 3 times.
• Core exercises at least 3 times a week – Check.
• Lose 3 inches in my measurements – Measured today, only lost 2 inches.
• Take better care of my skin in hopes it will start to regain its shape. Not as good as previous weeks, but this week was a trying week for many reasons, and this week will be difficult as well.

Happy with a 2-pound loss this week. If I seem so ambivalent lately, it’s because I’ve learned not to trust the 190s. In the past I’ve somehow gained 10 pounds while sitting in the low 190s and despite following my plan and have found myself over 200 again. It’s where I stalled for a seemingly interminable plateau. When I finally got below 190, I maintained at 188 for a bit, and that would be my “lowest weight” since I was in my 20s. I am not partying right now about exceeding my goal for this month, because I would not be shocked to find I’ve gained 3-4 pounds overnight and find myself fighting to get back down for the rest of the week. I would not be surprised to find myself over 195 pounds on January 31st despite my best efforts.

So what I have been noticing recently is that I seem to whoosh on Saturdays and Sundays, only to bounce back up 2-3 pounds on Mondays or Tuesdays. I do weigh later in the morning on Saturday and Sunday because I have that luxury. But on weekdays I need to weigh before I go to the gym, so I’ve got to weigh around 4:30 AM. But the conditions are the same. After first void, before eating or drinking. I might have a second void on weekends before I step on the scale. The only other factor I can think of is that I usually get a good amount of sleep on Fridays. Hmmm.

I’m a little hesitant about moving to week 4 of C25K. For me moving from week 3 to week 4 is a big step, one that I’ve never really seen anyone comment on. Week 5 is the one people panic about because they see the 20-minute continuous run at the end of the week. However, during week 3 the ratio of walking to running is 1:1 – meaning 50% of your workout time is running or walking. During week 4, the ratio of walking to running is 1:2 – meaning that 67% of your workout is spent running. That’s a big increase!

So, about sleep: I said I would move into my room last week and ignore my neighbor’s complaints. I didn’t get to it last Sunday, and then Monday I had another compliant forwarded to me. She’s escalated to also complaining about my bathroom fan, my dryer, and the water running when I take a shower. She’s also tracking my comings and goings, which is stalking. I spent the better part of the day at work one day composing a response, and told the management office in many, many words that I was entitled to live my life as any normal person would be able to. My father also all but begged me to report her behavior to the police, so I went to make a statement on record. I’m still not back in my room, and I’ve got other things going on right now so it may be another week of sleeping on the couch.

I’ve been awake since very early this morning. On Monday, a cousin I’m close to passed away. I’ve been baking for the wake. Brownies, cookies, etc. I’m also going to make chili and salad. My cousin and his family aren’t exactly known for eating a healthy variety, so I’m bringing it to the wake. I’m also making a large quantity of everything, mostly double batches. My family is big and my cousin was pretty well-known. I expect that there will be a big turnout for the wake. Or a lot of leftovers!

Five more days! January is a long month – and this year February is one day longer than usual! Keep working towards this month’s finish line, it’s in sight but we’re not there yet!

Jadixon1207

Hello, very active chat it seems!
Trying to get myself back on track of even sleeping and eating like I should. This group looks great. Gain 30lbs back I lost disappointing but gotta push on.
My goals for this week?
Prepare lunch for whole week
Eat breakfast before 9am
Stop eating after 9pm
Sleep at least 6 hrs each day
And start to incorporate yoga before bed, let’s start of 3x this week.

speyerj

@mmdeveau - you've had a great month! You already exceeded your goal or January. It makes sense that you would weigh less on the weekends, as it is further from your last bite and last sip of water than the unseemly hour of 4:30 a.m. Just accept it for what it is and if the mid week gain bothers you, don't weigh mid week. Weekly is enough to measure progress. Daily gives you more data about how much your weight fluctuates. It's interesting, but is really just noise.

As you may have read, I'm also working my way up to a 5K. I'm not using the C25K app, although I've used it in the past. My plan also uses interval training, but adds a minute to the running time for each week. Week 1 was run 1 minute, walk 2 X 5. Each week added more time to running, less time to walking. This week I'm up to 7 minutes run, 30 seconds walk x 4. When I can do 9 minutes x 3 with a 30 second break, I can do a 5 K. When the intervals are as short as 30 seconds, its really just psychological - there isn't time for your heart rate to recover. You actually can do a 20 minute run at this point. But it does seem like a big leap from interval training. But go at a pace that feels comfortable. You are stronger than you realize. Just 5 months ago, you spent your days carrying an 45 extra pounds. That was great training for the athletic feats you do today.

And I am sorry to hear about your cousin. I hope the wake brings good healing, evokes happy memories and allows your family to grieve.

AlexandraFindsHerself1971

You won't find chicken in ale sauce in google. I made it up. Basically, sautee your chicken cutlets or pork chops, deglaze the pan with the ale (or whiskey or hard cider) and add onions and mushrooms and the rest of the ale, simmer the meat in the sauce til done, remove meat, thicken with cornstarch, and serve.

BrownSugar174

I am crushed! Kobe Bryant has died in a helicopter crash!

KeriA

mmdeveau wrote: »

So what I have been noticing recently is that I seem to whoosh on Saturdays and Sundays, only to bounce back up 2-3 pounds on Mondays or Tuesdays. I do weigh later in the morning on Saturday and Sunday because I have that luxury. But on weekdays I need to weigh before I go to the gym, so I’ve got to weigh around 4:30 AM. But the conditions are the same. After first void, before eating or drinking. I might have a second void on weekends before I step on the scale. The only other factor I can think of is that I usually get a good amount of sleep on Fridays. Hmmm.

I’m a little hesitant about moving to week 4 of C25K. For me moving from week 3 to week 4 is a big step, one that I’ve never really seen anyone comment on. Week 5 is the one people panic about because they see the 20-minute continuous run at the end of the week. However, during week 3 the ratio of walking to running is 1:1 – meaning 50% of your workout time is running or walking. During week 4, the ratio of walking to running is 1:2 – meaning that 67% of your workout is spent running. That’s a big increase!

I can identify with your weight variations observed here. I like how we are using this technical term woosh on this thread. It seems to fit.

It was a while ago but I remember that it was week 4 that was harder for me too. I had no problem with Week 5. However if I had trouble with a week on C25K I just repeated it until I got it. Even when I completed it I went back to running intervals because they are more effective metabolically than straight high intensity cardio and I was more willing to go out and "run".

I am sorry about your loss. Hard to do all that with the sleep/neighbor problem. I do think that is why I am lower on the weekend. It is being to get enough sleep for one. You should be able to sleep in your bed and take showers etc.

@theleadmare Thanks letting me know how to make the Ale sauce chicken. You were right I didn't find Ale sauce chicken. I did find beer sauce chicken where they recommended using ale. It was somewhat similar to yours but I like yours better especially since yours doesn't involve bacon. I like the onions and mushrooms in yours too. I have been getting tired of our baked chicken thighs recently.

My weight is still coming down but not down beyond the last low.

My family keeps suggesting ingredients to add to the left over hot pot I made last night. It is going to turn in to one of those leftovers that never get eaten up but keeps getting replenished. I guess that means they liked it or saw its potential. It was a lot of work chopping everything so maybe it is good it lasts longer. My son gave us a new electric skillet for Christmas to replace our old one at my suggestion. You cook hot pot at the table. It is beautiful but we don't really have a place for it in our small kitchen. I keep threatening to push our kitchen/dining area out the back.

Terytha

@KeriA You're right. Today's weight: 200.6

The scale is taunting me now. =P

That's fine though. A drop is a drop and onederland is right there at my fingertips. I know what I need to do and I am gonna be there for my birthday, which is 3 weeks away.

And then I'll probably pop back up a bit because birthday cake. But that's ok too.

Tarzan37

I heard about Kobe Bryant - died in a helicopter crash along with his 13 year old daughter. Just tragic.

AlexandraFindsHerself1971

Well, I'm not going to really worry about the scale number til Wednesday, but I feel incredible. Physical confidence is up, my personal self-confidence is up, and my boyfriend says he can see in my body that I've lost weight. I know just from the way I feel that I've been shifting poundage over to muscle and that's why the overall progression downward has slowed, but the surge in confidence and energy has been totally worth it.

I told someone about it today and they couldn't believe it was that simple. But it is. So I will continue simply eating within my calories and I'll get up and go to the gym tomorrow just as I do every day. Tomorrow is legs and core. Whee!