Women 200lb+, Let's Be Marvelous This May!!!

kelMee2

How is everyone feeling as we head towards the 3rd weigh in of May? I've had a stressful couple of days, came home yesterday to a flooded bathroom, thankfully I caught it in time before the water escaped into my hall or through the kitchen ceiling but even with the stress and upset I have stayed within my calories and haven't turned to food for comfort. I wonder if that means I've broken the cycle of emotional eating, I haven't done it once since deciding to get healthy and lose weight, it's definitely a non scale victory for me. This week I've been trying to use more of my calories on breakfast, lunch and dinner rather than having hundreds of calories left after dinner and having to snack to use them up. I tried on the new jumper I bought, I can get it on but its tight so I definitely have a bit to go before it fits properly but my normal clothes are looser and I tried on a smaller pair of jeans and it definitely won't be long till they fit perfectly so I'm feeling like I'm making progress.

EmOniker

Hiya guys,

It has been a stressful time since my first post here and that has kept me from being an active participant. It takes a lot of time to read everything and follow! I do believe in actively participating in support boards, which means getting to know not only the lingo but the folks. I'm also not on a schedule yet for posting stats, so let's fix that. TUESDAYS! How are Tuesdays?

Highest weight: 410 (2/21)
Wt when starting 16:8 Intermittent Fasting: 404 (3/15/21)
Wt when starting myfitnesspal: 394 (4/18/21)
Wt last posted on this board: 380 (5/2/21) really? that long ago? sigh
Wt today: 376 (5/11/21) so that's 4 pounds in 9 days
Wt on 5/18/21 next report date: ???
GW: 370 six pounds away

Goal: Is always 10 pounds, starting at the zeros. I try not to set a time goal on that. Fastest/safest/healthiest is always the target time. That always varies on the whims of the Universe. At this weight this is all long term process, not a sprint, although "sprint" would be nice, eh?

Short term goals for this week: Get back to posting my food diary (and caloric intake) on mfp. Get back to setting up my day and environment so things like my four, pint bottles of water are drunk each day.

The stress has knocked me for a loop and even though I lost those four pounds I also reverted to a lot of emotional eating and bad habits. I kind of wish I had NOT lost those pounds, because losing is kind of a reward for those bad reaction-eating. I do know if I had not done the emotional eating that I would be closer to 370 than I am.

One foot in front of the other. That's all we can ever do.

Progress, not perfection.

sandielewis2001

Age: 38
Height 5'10"
SW Jan 2021: 271.1
SW this month: 234.4
GW this month: 226
GW for 2021: 199

May 2: 234.4
May 9: 234.4
May 16:
May 23:
May 30:

The past week and a half has been very frustrating. I have kept on track with exercise (3.5 mile walk in the mornings) and diet (meeting my calorie and macro goals daily) but seem to be stalled at this weight. Time to do some research on how to get over a weight loss plateau.

NSV:
- Tracked everything I ate
- Met my fiber and sugar goals everyday
- Had to get rid of my workout leggings because they were starting to fit like joggers

trinati2001

@whkl1
SW = starting weight. Also UGW = ultimate goal weight, just in case you were wondering about that.

@sarah12277
I completely understand your anxiety about going on an unplanned dinner out. My husband didn't understand either until he started tracking calories. Maybe you could ask your husband to track for 2 weeks, where you set up his account to maintain or lose .5 lbs/week. It really has opened my husband's eyes about how many calories are in specific foods.

@AlexandraFindsHerself1971
WOW you have lost 48.8 lbs over COVID! That is exceptional!! You are truly inspiring. Do you have any tips for the rest of us?

@kelMee2
Great job breaking the cycle of emotional eating! It is something that I work on and have not conquered yet. That was a very stressful day and it's a huge NSV that you were able to stay within your calories.

@EmOniker There are sometimes tons of posts on this board and it is hard to keep up. I found that reading them from my phone is usually the easiest and I can check in multiple times a day to keep myself motivated. I don't always post when I read the threads, since posting from my phone is not the easiest thing. When it is time to post my weekly weigh-in and I will usually just post even if I haven't read everyone's comments yet.

@sandielewis2001 What I've heard multiple times that is very helpful when breaking a plateau is to go to a maintenance calorie goal for a week or increase your calories by 500 for a couple of days. You have to stay in the habit of tracking but eating just a few more calories really helps your body shift. To stay motivated during this plateau make sure you are looking out for the NSV because your body could still be burning fat but gaining some muscle mass (denser than fat) so old clothes might fit a lot better now. It could be a good time to dust off some old clothes from your closet and be shocked at what fits or is way to big.


AFM...yesterday was not a successful day. I was good until 4:30. I got hungry but because I overate for lunch I didn't have many calories left after pretracking dinner. I had a good snack and stupidly stayed in the kitchen. Then I had the next snack and the next and the next until I had eaten more calories than I had planned for dinner. Sigh. Then the kids were home and it was time for dinner. So I ate most of my dinner. I tracked the first two snacks and drank extra water during that binge. I just need to walk away and tell myself to wait to see if I want more.

Today I will be mindful in my eating and if I track before I eat (all day long) I will buy that set of teas from Amazon I've been wanting.

kelMee2

@sandielewis2001 have you recalculated your calories since you began in January? Chances are that with the weight you've already lost your calories will have gone down, it may be worth resetting your goals just to see if the allocated calories change.

KeriA

Having a good week so far. Drinking more, eating breakfast later, exercised each day (only 2 days so far) so far. Calories lower so far. Today I walked farther but faster so it was only 5 minutes longer than yesterday. We made a lower fat, lower sugar expresso dark chocolate chip ice cream. It isn't perfected less but I had it instead of my usual ice cream. I had less of it too. I am taking a moment out of my work day to sit down and get caught up on tracking my calories. Last night I didn't want to exercise but my husband asked and I said yes. I was so glad he got me out. that inspired me today to keep up the good work. I have planned our dinners for the week but haven't ordered the groceries yet.

whkl1

@kelMee2 I get what you are saying about eating your meals, then having hundreds of calories at the end of the day. I had about 500 calories to go last night at work (3rd shift ugh). They had an ice cream bar. I had some because I knew I had the calories to use up. I do feel a little guilty, but it was within my calorie limit. Leaky bathrooms are no fun, congrats on not eating emotionally.

Getthisoffbyxmas

Hi, I’m looking for an accountability buddy. Someone just to send/receive daily food journals. I did this years ago in a random Facebook group and it worked well. I log in Fitbit now but have no problem using MFP again. I’m 32, female from New England.

AlexandraFindsHerself1971

trinati2001 wrote: »

@AlexandraFindsHerself1971
WOW you have lost 48.8 lbs over COVID! That is exceptional!! You are truly inspiring. Do you have any tips for the rest of us?

I think part of it was that I was in a situation where I had no control over a lot of things so I was controlling the heck out of the one thing I did have control over.

This is a slow process not a sprint. And it is about the journey, not the destination. You're never going to eat the way you used to, not even when you reach maintenance; grieve that and let it go. Food can still be tasty and fun, just not the only fun and comfort in your life.

As the weight comes off psychological stuff will come up, be prepared for it and maybe even have someone to talk to about it. You're working against ingrained habits and maybe even triggers and deep childhood comforts, so it will be hard and you will have times you eat over calorie or eat things that make you feel bad. Forgive yourself, limit the damage as best you can, and tomorrow is another day.

If you don't have it in the house you can't eat it.

Distraction does work sometimes; get involved in something that takes both hands at hours that you are munchy so that you can't eat while you're doing it, or take a gentle walk, or something like that.

You don't have to do it the same way that everyone else does; you don't have to do keto or IF or gluten-free or sugar-free or vegetarian if that's not what you want to do. I lost this weight eating Fritos and mini candy bars every day. For that matter, you don't have to exercise if you don't want to or don't feel you can. I will say that once I lost this weight I found myself more willing to move and move more, because it didn't hurt and wear me out. I am not, however, going to put running at the center of my life or something like that, and you don't have to either if you don't want to. I like to do the weight machines at the gym, and I don't hate the stationary bike at home.

I've found it interesting to find the body underneath the fat, which has come with some surprises (I will probably get a breast reduction when all is said and done). I'm currently wearing a size I haven't worn since I was a teenager, and I have a size 12 as my goal size, because that's more or less the top of the straight sizes, and any skin removal/reductions will take me down further.

goal06082021

kelMee2 wrote: »

@sandielewis2001 have you recalculated your calories since you began in January? Chances are that with the weight you've already lost your calories will have gone down, it may be worth resetting your goals just to see if the allocated calories change.

QFT. Your TDEE goes down by about 5 calories for every pound you lose. So if you're 37 lbs down already, @sandielewis2001, then if you're still eating the same amount you were when you started tracking in January, your deficit is a lot smaller now. That's the difference between the number of calories you eat and the number of calories you burn in the course of the day (or total daily energy expenditure aka TDEE). If you had MFP set to lose 1.5lb per week, your deficit is now closer to 1lb per week (~565 vs 750 cal/day). A week and a half isn't a plateau, though, so I bet you're just retaining water and you'll see a whoosh soon.

topathemorning

5'9" 67 yr old female

SW 278
CW 218.2
Goal for May 214 (-4.2)
Ultimate Goal Range 150-169

I'll be traveling, without access to my regular scale, but will check even if not weighing on the same scale for the next week. Wish me luck, as it's not as easy to have healthy meals on the road!

jazzadesigns

@kelMee2 sorry about the flood but great NSV! Way to go!

@topathemorning good luck with your traveling!

Sounds like everyone is doing pretty well. At least we’re all still here and trying. One day at a time!

girlinkaz

@jazzadesigns I love that - we ARE all still here and trying! Keep showing up for yourselves, ladies. We are doing it!

I’ll post my stats on Friday like I usually do but I wanted to hop on here for accountability because I am feeling discouraged. I injured my knee last weekend and I haven’t been able to do my regular workouts for a week and a half. I’ve been subbing three days a week of swim and three days a week of an abs and arm exercise instead of my regular weighted HIIT workouts. I am still losing but my crazy brain is convinced that every pound I drop is muscle disappearing into thin air that I will never get back... 🤦🏻‍♀️ I’m aware that this injury is revealing an unhealthy reliance on workouts (though I only work out for 30 minutes at a time, which seemed fairly reasonable to me previous to this) and those thought patterns are then playing out in feelings like “what’s the point” when it comes to making the right food choices. Which... I’m not sure what I think the point ACTUALLY should be when I’m in those cycles. So far I have logged everything and stuck to my goals but I can feel a different mindset creeping in. And the weird thing is that I haven’t stalled yet in my weight loss so I really have “nothing” to be worried about.

Thoughts? Advice? How do I break the cycle?

kelMee2

@girlinkaz when I find my mindset changing I remind myself of my goal and how far I've come and that usually helps me. I also have a weight loss chart and I find seeing that gives me a boost and reminds me that with every pound I lose I get closer to my goal and feeling happy and more confident in my own skin. For me getting in the right mindset to start again and lose the weight I regained was one of the hardest parts because when I was in binge mode I really didn't care, even though I hated how I looked and my weight was impacting my health it was very much a battle with myself to start again. You can do this.

mmdeveau

Lots of recent posts about exercise and its role in weight loss. I do run and try to maintain an active workout schedule when I can't run. Here's my take on running and weight losing weight.

• You can't outrun your fork. It's not the only place on any of these boards you will see this nugget of wisdom. And I can prove it. I ran 10 miles the first Saturday of the month, 7 miles this past Saturday, and two 5-mile maintenance runs a week. Plus 4-5 mile walks at a pace of 4.7-5.0 mph on the "off" days. I am at about the same or a slightly higher weight now than when I started the month.
• Exercise will allow a smaller number of additional calories than you might believe. I think of it as an extra cookie, brownie, etc., if I'm going to indulge.
• Reasons I run or exercise: it's an active form of meditation for me; my skin looks better; I feel great when I'm done; it does help manage certain hereditary conditions I already know I've got - and it's backed by science that the only way to manage at least one of those conditions; and more.
• Other big reason reason I run: I can. In my family, I've had two close relatives with leg amputations. I don't take walking or running for granted.
• Huge reason I run: because it helped me learn how to better overcome adversity, helped me learn patience with myself and others. I've had and have all of the following: an unrepaired ruptured ligament in my left ankle, cyst on the bottom of my right foot; stress fracture in my pelvis, horrible knees, and avascular necrosis in my right foot from a minor fracture (that's right - when I say I'm dead inside I really mean it, ha ha). I still run long distances and many times a week. I keep reminding myself I'm not going to be a better runner without consistent practice.

Only a minor mention of food there. One of my strategies is to separate how I think of food vs. exercise, and the only thing I say to myself that summarizes that strategy is this: I am not a dog, I will not reward myself with food.

goal06082021

I think I'm going to post my weigh-in for this week tomorrow instead of Friday. We'll be at my dad's at my normal weigh-in time, and it occurred to me that I don't think he has a scale.

@girlinkaz, it's good that you recognize this potentially maladaptive pattern in your thinking around diet and exercise. The way I frame it for myself is that weight loss and fitness are two separate goals that I have, and diet is the most important thing for achieving both of those. Eating the right amounts of tasty, nutritious food will both result in a reduction in body mass AND fuel the workouts I do to improve my fitness. I count calories to lose weight; I work out to feel good. And if there's something going on that means I can't work out the way I had planned to for some amount of time, like a knee injury, I find other ways to feel good, which is what you've done with subbing in your swimming and abs/arms routines for your HIIT.

girlinkaz

Thanks ladies, for taking the time to share your thoughts and encouragement.

@goal06082021 , that’s great advice. It hadn’t occurred to me to separate weight loss and fitness in my mind but you are exactly right! I think that mindset is what I need for the next week or two (or however long until I can workout the way I want to again).

@kelMee2 thanks!! I spent some time looking at my weight loss chart today just to remind myself how significantly the numbers have dropped (closing in on -35lbs!). Yes, I’m not where I want to be yet but that is a significant loss! I appreciate the encouragement.

sarah12277

@trinati2001 That would be an interesting experiment. I don’t think he’d go for it without thinking I’m judging his weight, although I’ve already brought up the topic with his pop usage and such. I probably should do his numbers just to see though for myself. That was a discussion I was going to bring up tonight at dinner though so maybe a way for him to understand what I’m doing and why I get the anxiety. He certainly has seen my travel anxiety when things change, etc that throw me off.

@girlinkaz I remind myself that weight loss is 90% about the food. You can do all the exercises but if your food isn’t at a deficit then the exercise doesn’t really matter. For me this thought is very easy to then not do exercise but it’s helped me that if I can’t get it in for whatever reason, it’s not the end of the world. It’s much more for health – heart, muscle, mood, stamina, flexibility, etc.

speyerj

@sandielewis2001 - One week at the same weight as last week is not a plateau. If you logging accurately and eating at a deficit, you are losing fat. You do not have to lower your deficit or eat at maintenance to change things up. You just need to be patient. Because our bodies occasionally retain water, weight loss seems to come in fits and starts. You might have lost 2 pounds of fat but are holding on to two pounds of water. Just be patient. If 4 weeks go by without any weight loss or worse, weight gain, then it's time to think about whether you need to examine whether the calories in/calories out calculation needs to be tweaked. In the meantime, these are things that generally help me get rid of water retention (but the most sure fire method is really just patience): lower your carb intake, lower your salt intake, increase the amount of water you drink, get extra sleep, practice relaxation, if you've been stressed, talk through those stressors with someone, take a rest day from exercise, get a massage. Physical or mental stress is usually the biggest reason for water retention - addressing that is an easy way to get your body to release water.

@girlinkaz - Just want to say I feel you. Injuries suck. But relax. Sometimes switching up your exercise temporarily will improve your performance. And swimming is great cross training. You are not going to lose all your muscle. It's true that we all lose muscle when we eat at a deficit, even if we are also doing strength training. But this is entirely normal and a week or so off while you heal your injury will help you come back even stronger. It's not going to derail your progress. I would think about this recuperation as a time to practice a life skill you will need in maintenance: how to deal with disruptions to your routine. Injuries will happen, as well as other life events that throw a wrench in our exercise routine. Instead of throwing in the towel, you are doing a good job at making substitutions. You are also learning that incorporating some rest is having a positive effect on weight loss. These are all great lessons that you can keep in your tool box for later. So give yourself a pat on the back. You are doing great!

AlexandraFindsHerself1971

I have had the fructose intolerance since I can remember, but since I started counting calories I've stayed away from a lot of the more concentrated sweets; I have a mini KitKat sometimes, sometimes some shortbread cookies, but not much else. It's really more about not feeling deprived. Well, my girlfriend had four cupcakes left from her birthday and as today is the day she's done with her semester, we had them out, and I had one. The icing made me sick enough that I suspect I will not be having icing again. I will have to lie down this afternoon and get over the headache, and that's despite taking the pill that's supposed to help with the fructose intolerance. And calorically, it really wasn't worth it. I'd rather have a homemade banana muffin; it doesn't whallop me over the head the way cake does and is tastier for about the same amount of calories, or a little less.