Bring on Summer… and Your Stories!

Alex

We’d Love to Hear From You! Tell Us About Your Summer Plans and Progress!

Lots to be excited about this summer! Outdoor fun and food. Reunions with family and friends. After taking a break, many people are also eager to recommit to their goals—or maintain healthy habits built over the past year.

How about you? Please share in the replies below:

• How are you feeling about the summer?
• What will you do to stay on track and accountable while enjoying the season?
• Big or small, what victory are you celebrating?

Please Note: We believe there’s power in every story! By commenting or replying in this thread, you acknowledge and agree to the use of your name, comments, replies and/or entries, whether in whole or in part, by MyFitnessPal, including for the purpose of generating and distributing marketing materials to help inspire others.

cwolfman13

Summer is the easiest time for me to keep everything on track. Food tends to be lighter with the heat outside...more grilling, fresh fruit and veg, etc and Summer time is typically my most active time of the year with walking, hiking, biking, swimming, kayaking, etc.

Very happy to be able to travel again. We usually have a big family vacation annually that is just me, my wife, and the kids...no visiting family, etc...just an us vacation. We haven't done one since August 2018. We skipped 2019 for the first year in a long time due to some other obligations, time off issues for my wife, and other goings on...but we were planning for a big trip to Costa Rica for either Spring Break 2020 or later in the summer. Obviously the 2020 thing didn't happen so it's been a couple of years.

Boys are back to school August 9 so we've planned an 8 night Florida vacation July 26 - August 3. First three nights are in Miami. We're staying in Brickell downtown right on the bay and have a day planned for South Beach and another for an Everglades tour. Then we head out for a four night road trip through the Keys. We rented a 2021 4dr ragtop Jeep Wrangler for the roadie. First day and night will be Key Largo (snorkeling tour at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park) and then we'll take our sweet time driving to Key West and stopping all along the way.

Really looking forward to our stop in Islamorada where we'll rent our kayaks and head out to Indian Key for a couple hours of exploration of the once populated key that is now a ghost town being taken over by the natural vegetation. Then a few other stops on our way to Key West depending on how we are on time.

Three nights in Key West with two full days before heading back to Miami for our last night which won't be anything particularly remarkable as we're just staying at an airport hotel to catch an early flight home the next morning.

xlara23

Just uploaded some current photos of myself as a starting point.

Summer time is a bit easier to stay on track as was mentioned above. I really do LOVE vegetables and do a lot of salads when the wether is warmer and like to be active outside with all that summer offers.

I have some mini trips planned for the next few months. Visiting local islands, the pacific coast, hiking, camping, swimming in the lake, a women's retreat, and a little road trip with my mom. Of course when I travel it is a bit more difficult to stay on a consistent plan of success.

I guess a small victory for me is uploading some current "before" photos and adding my measurements. We all know one of the truest measures of success is loss of inches over pounds on the scale. I find I do best when I consistently use this app to track my progress. I plan on taking advantage of the forums and support much more this time around. I only have the free version at this time.

Happy June everyone.

MaltedTea

The pending summer has me feeling optimistic; especially when it comes to the reopening of the US-Canada border. I n-e-e-d to travel because while technology is great, nothing beats a face to face conversation with someone you love.

Staying on track with eating is fairly easy as I eat seasonally/locally. That typically means an abundance of fruits and veggies no matter where I go.

Finally, the victory - not only for me but for humanity - is putting this pandemic behind us while leveraging best practice to avoid the next one.

fit4itall

1. I feel pretty good about approaching summer. It’s the first time in a while we’ll (can only speak for where I am) be even somewhere close to normal since the pandemic! This hopefully means some trips to the beach and nice parks with the fam. Looking forward to getting outside more.

2. I am holding myself accountable by being serious about daily logging again! It’s a must and really helped me in the past. This helps me make better choices. I realize it will take some time to get into groove with meal planning/choices. Even posting this makes me a little uncomfortable, but it is part of accountability. I am committed to excercise too, which leads me to #3

3. I joined a local gym! A few years ago I lost over 30lbs with diet and home workouts. It’s been several years since I’ve had a gym membership, so it’s extra motivating to have the special time away from home again to “re-charge.” Today I pushed myself and it feels pretty good 😌.

jenwiifit

I find summer easier to lose weight too. Lots of salads and weather is better for jogging or walking. Tomorrow I will have jogged x6. I have asthma so don’t go far. I only jog for about 20 minutes. I have been trying to stick to 1200 calories per day and mostly succeeding. I am weighing myself once a week on a Friday. I have been naughty this week as I have been off work on school holidays as I am a special needs teacher and I have indulged in alcohol. I have gained a quarter of a pound which is ok as I have walked and jogged. I have lost 6 pounds so far. I need to try and drink more water. I am logging daily and this is helping me.

candysashab88

I am starting on here and plan to exercise and not snack when I feel triggered. I am an emotional eater and plant to attack that part this summer.

Kristen0526

I’m going to be honest. I haven’t found much joy in a whole lot in a long time. My depression has made it really hard to stay on track and make healthy choices. I’m at my heaviest I’ve ever been thanks to some medications, my body hurts all the time from different medical issues I’ve been struggling with, and I’m just struggling. I’m hoping that getting back into logging in here everyday helps at least a little bit. I finally started to get over my fear of public spaces since the pandemic started, and joined a gym with my sister. Some of my cousin’s recently joined MFP and we are keeping each other accountable, so I hope that helps.

I just want to feel happy and healthy again.

1derwhy

I've lost 35 pounds since last June. I started out with Noom and hated the interface and impersonal, cut-and-paste "coaching", but lost 10 lbs anyway. I went back to MFP because I'm just more comfortable here. I was working out at home during the worst of the pandemic, but I missed working out at the gym I've been going to for years. It's really an active adult center, but it has a very nice workout space. It was hard to give that up after years of seeing the same friendly faces.

Anyway, now that I've been fully vaccinated, I went back to the gym today for the first time since mid-February 2020. I got a nice workout on the elliptical machine and I'm planning to go back tomorrow to start working on regaining strength with the weights. My goal is to lose another 25 pounds by the end of the year, and I get so much out of exercise within my limits due to my age and ability. Wish me luck!

wizzybeth

I have yo-yoed for years. At my heaviest. Need to keep my focus. I'm easily distracted from my goal then I screw up, then get mad at myself.

I'm 51 years old and quite obese. Depression takes over much of my life. I'm hoping the nice weather will help encourage me to stay on track.

I am 120 lbs overweight.

When I originally joined MFP years ago, I was about 70lbs overweight.

The best I've been is 45 lbs from my goal.

I've tried WW, Xyngular, MFP, Noom, the gym, etc. My depression always won.

This summer, I want success that takes me through the year to next summer...I hope to be close to my goal this time next year.

This is the first summer of the rest of my life. I don't want to waste it.

vadams20

Hi. I’m new here. I live on the east coast of Canada, near the ocean. I’m a retired teacher and I’m hoping to lose about forty pounds. Like many other people I have tried various plans and I have been successful at losing, but not successful in keeping my weight off. I’m hoping this time will be different.

Sand_TIger

Summer is going to be good, especially if we can get the pool up and running!

I have set a goal of adding more in-season fruits and vegetables in my meals, and have been exploring some new things as well. So far it's been adding a sense of adventure to my diet that I enjoy!

I also like to exercise seasonally because that kind of keeps things fresh, and I change up my various teas seasonally. So spring and summer tends to have more fruit and flower flavors, and fall and winter have more warm and spicy flavors.

Finding something new to enjoy each season has helped me lose 94 pounds so far with 20ish to go.

candysashab88

Summer is a time when the sun is out and my son is out of school. I have less worries as I can nag less and exercise more and focus on Positivity. I just realized I already posted. Oh gosh memory is the first thing to go when u get old. Here it is. ...

bangelcb96

Hello,

KC from MN. I am 62 and I am on a summer and beyond mission to bring back my awesome muscle tone that seemed to disappear over night lol....hmm well hell no not lol.

I'm a serious health nut and have found, as with everything else in life, to be happy you have to be flexible and to learn new stuff.

I feel like such a beginner but I am excited to see progress already once I started to get serious and stop procrastinating and whining about I don't know what to do ...I did know what to do and now I'm doing it!

New stuff sucks but choosing to stay stuck in an unhappy place cuz it seem easier is by far way worse.

Kudos to y'all

wizzybeth

bangelcb96 wrote: »

New stuff sucks but choosing to stay stuck in an unhappy place cuz it seem easier is by far way worse.

YES! I needed to see this! And being stuck in an unhappy place may "seem" easier but it isn't - for me it's stressful, and I'm always annoyed with myself. That's not really "easier," is it?

gwenmatos3

I am feeling pretty good about my body image this summer! Look forward to summer dresses and tan lines😎. I hope to make it to the beach at least once this summer and hope for a few camping trips as well!

I have been doing YouTube videos and walking outdoors to stay active most everyday.

I am eating mostly vegetables and some fruit and mainly turkey or chicken breasts for protein.

I’m looking forward to my health journey. I feel I have most of the fundamentals to make this time actually stick when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight for my body and also for my spirit!!!!

My motto is PROGRESS NOT PERFECTION

gwenmatos3

wizzybeth wrote: »

I have yo-yoed for years. At my heaviest. Need to keep my focus. I'm easily distracted from my goal then I screw up, then get mad at myself.

I'm 51 years old and quite obese. Depression takes over much of my life. I'm hoping the nice weather will help encourage me to stay on track.

I am 120 lbs overweight.

When I originally joined MFP years ago, I was about 70lbs overweight.

The best I've been is 45 lbs from my goal.

I've tried WW, Xyngular, MFP, Noom, the gym, etc. My depression always won.

This summer, I want success that takes me through the year to next summer...I hope to be close to my goal this time next year.

This is the first summer of the rest of my life. I don't want to waste it.

gwenmatos3

The fact that you are here and you are still motivated to take care of YOU and your health is a big win in my book!!!! Keep moving forward…..progress not perfection ♥️

AshesSquared

This is going to be an amazing summer! It has no other option (; Last year was a 'bummer summer' but I am going to do all the things this summer: beaches, kayaking, s'mores, etc
This summer has the added bonus victory of new baby (2 months now) who is coming into her own.
To stay on track I'm logging, I want to eat enough for breastfeeding, but have enough of a deficit to lose the extra weight.

Marilynsretired

Going to have a great summer as I am off to a good start - following a lifestyle change program and doing well with it. Have just moved here to MFP and finding my way around. Would like help with starting a 'blog' as I made one but can't find it when I look for recent blogs so don't no why but 2 people gave it a vote - also 2nd blog does not show just the first one so not sure - Alex sure would appreciate hearing from you with respect to this as it is a bit frustrating.
But summer is going to be great with losing between 10 - 30 pounds by end of August as long as I do what I need to do with respect to proper eating

hamadbalhareth3

Hello my name is Hamad. I have just signed up and I am excited to share with you all my meal plan and what I do for sports. So I wake up early and I do fast during the day till about 3 pm, then off to workout, come back and eat my only meal of the whole day. I do not feel hungry at all and feel my body has gotten so adjusted to eating one meal a day. I also follow a ketogenic diet. I am wondering if what I am doing is good. The good thing though that I feel I have achieved so far is the fact that my body runs on fat most of the time. I am eager to hear from you all what you think about this plan. I know it is a bit boring as I only eat one meal a day, but that is what made me lose weight and keep up off for over a couple of years. I also have solved a chronic issue I had before, enlarged prostate, which I was so happy to have solved after so many visits to the doctors who did not help.

hamadbalhareth3

My workout consists of moderate weightlifting on one day, and then Hight Intensity Interval Training the next day, and then the following day would be a recovery long run (7 miles). I do participate in half-marathons across the middle east and sometimes in Europe. The meal I eat typically consists of lots of veggies and salad and with either meat (steak) or salmon. I do find this very filling and sometimes, even after 24 hours of eating this one meal, I still do not feel hungry, so I continue till the next day (i.e. 36 hours). I am wondering if anyone else is doing the same. My weight and body fat percent is close to 166lb, and 15%, respectively. I am about 5'9". I have not really logged my meals, ever. The summer here in Saudi Arabia is not good at all, scorching hot and it is so difficult to run outdoor, unless you do it so slowly. I am happy to finally get out and share my info with you all....

Sara3veg

I am entering into a very busy season-we have gatherings every weekend for the next 5 weeks, (numerous cookouts/family reunions, a family wedding/we're hosting the pre-wedding get together etc etc). On top of that we're in the middle of a complete kitchen remodel, I have chaos on top of chaos over here right now

I re-joined MFP a few weeks ago to get rid of some 'covid-creep,' and to get back into my maintenance weight range. I'm discovering though that I'm just too overwhelmed with everything going on right now to focus on food prep, using a food scale etc. After an initial weight 'whoosh' I'm now creeping back up. Frustrating, but I know this is because I just don't have the time/mental energy to make weight loss a priority right now. BUT, even if I don't lose weight right now, I cannot continue to gain! So, I'm going into a short period of mindful maintenance, and I'm going to be supplementing with meal replacement shakes (ensure, slimfast etc), to keep calories in track. This should work well with all the get togethers/social gatherings/eating out I have coming up.

My goal/hope for the next few weeks is to just maintain where I'm at, and then after things calm down (in mid-July), I can then re-focus and start working on losing the weight creep.

tluisa311

I'm down 11 lbs but I still have 64 lbs to go...... so my plan is to at least be comfortable in a bathing suit by August! This is the heaviest I've been and summer is my favorite season so it's killing me to avoid the pool

BAnttila

I always look forward to summer as I live in an area where 200 inches of snow a season is considered a slow year 😬. I broke my ankle cross country skiing in March so I am celebrating being back to weight bearing on my ankle for 5 weeks now. I still have some issues/pain but I've started getting back to walking the back roads and local streets to try to get my foot and ankle working right again. I will be gardening and helping make the winter firewood. I am looking forward to getting back in a kayak too!

I had SparkPeople through my work but I don't know if they'll keep the subscription with the changes to that company. I plan on finally using MyFitnessPal to log my food and I've downloaded the MapMyFitness app and linked it with MyFitnessPal to try to keep myself on track. I've lost around 25lbs since spring 2019 and hope after a long plateau to be able to continue losing while healing this summer. ☀️🤞

carowesn1954

Last year was tough for me, though it shouldn't have been because I retired from my job. Covid came upon us, so I wasn't able to go places and travel.... I stayed home and cooked! Bad idea. A 15 lb gain since January 2020, bad again. The gym has re-opened, so I'm there 3 times a week, and the weather is good for walking and yard work. Besides that, I'm logging my calories again - the only way I could lose weight in the past. It's a chore I know, but it keeps me from underestimating what I've eaten. Good luck everyone, and have a great summer.

Ninaeveryday

I honestly didn't want to make any goals. I figured it was like a resolution I wasn't going to keep. However, I have decided to tighten up on staying active and following my calorie intake. I'm 3 days in and I have operated at a calorie deficit so I'm super proud, but I also realize I need accountability, bc I'm really good at coming up with a million reasons NOT to do something.
Other than watching my weight, I plan on traveling and camping with my kiddos this summer. My ultimate goal is to visit the House on the Rock, with rooms filled with oddities, in WI. It's 12 hrs away from us and I'd love to take my teens on a road trip.

southkonahi

My summer plans included a trip to visit family.... which I just completed. Upon return, I was surprised to discover that I did not gain during the trip (which included eating many restaurant meals). I even lost a pound or two. I'm sure that my recent good habits of watching carefully what I eat, helped me to maintain my weight despite the eating out. The trip was a success, and so was my "not gaining weight back".

mps772

I'm back to MFP but now with the Premium plan. I was 290#s several years ago and lost 95#s pounds total over a year and a half of sticking to my program. Now I have crept back up to 210# and need to motivate myself once more. I love the premium plan because the adds were so distracting and even now that I am retired I don't need distractions of all the things I think I must take advantage of ASAP. I would like to lose 25#s buy August 30th 2021.
that means losing 2#'s per week. I like swimming.

imustloseit1

Hello, I am new here, my name if Linda and I am 77 years old. I am a retired farms wife, who worked off the farm most of my life. But I so enjoy the relaxed country life. I am looking for friends here. Was with SparksPeople for many years, and they are closing, so need a place to keep up my weight loss journey. I will be a motivator and a shoulder to vent on.

SbetaK

Leaving soon for a remote, off-grid (no communication) bush camp. Will be lots of physical work-and play. Will continue CICO. Goal will be that when I check back in later I am still on a downward and healthier status. Working in the outdoors can really increase your appetite, so hopefully I can resist second helpings! Wonder if the phone app works off grid, will find out!