Well it is Tuesday here, so here goes. 173.2, which is 1.2 lower than last week.

I am now a tad over 3lbs from goal weight, and had a nice NSV with my belt now able to get comfortably in the fourth hole

And a good too early in the morning to you all!
Charlie, you are such a fantastic mentor. You've helped me spot sodium intake guidelines just as I was going to need to watch it. You're encouraging at the right times, and gently remindful at just the right times also. Thank you soooo much.
Last week wasn't awesome all the time, but every time I saw me frowning, I put on a smile and it really did make me feel better inside. I took a rest day, so that shouldn't count on my goal of 16666 steps a day, right? Next three days I was ill, but met or almost met goal on two of them. Lost a pound to reach 149, and peeked this morning and the scale is encouraging.
@Farway, @grandmothercharlie Great big congratulations on your goal achievements.

retirehappy wrote: »

Eat within my daily calories, no overages! I am using net calories, thought I should make that clear.[/b] My Charge HR tracking has made me realize, I was not eating enough before. That is why I have seen pretty slow and poor results these last few months since I came back to MFP. Since using net cals. instead of cals. I am finally seeing results not only on the scale but the fit of my clothes...

Thanks for that reminder about getting enough calories, retirehappy! Our bodies will react by slowing down our metabolism if we aren't taking in energy.

My goal: exercise minimum 40 minutes each day. I met my goal 6 out of 7 days this week so it wasn't a perfect week like last week but, I'll take it! My average exercise time was 69 minutes per day over this past week. My daily average since we started the February challenge is 61 minutes per day. So just because it isn't perfection, doesn't mean it isn't success!

Tomorrow (Wed.) is really my official weigh-in day and you know how the scale goes, down, then up, then down again ... Judging by where I am today, I am down 1½ pounds and we'll see where it goes tomorrow.

NSV: Doing a complete double take when I caught sight of myself in my bathing suit in the mirror at the gym! I just can't get over how different I look! See my recent blog post for more on that thrill.

NSV: Enjoying this winter SO much since I am able to be outside and be active. I have been loving every minute of cross-country skiing and even snow-shoveling has been no big deal. I enjoy getting that exercise and I feel energized rather than exhausted when I come in from outside.

NSV: So much less depressed and overall feeling so much better about myself!

NSV: Making new friends right here in this wonderful group! Thanks for your encouragement and the inspiration of all your successes! ~ Kathy in currently frigid Massachusetts (1 degree F at 9:00 a.m.).

Continuing to maintain at a pound under goal so am happy with that, especially as we were away for the weekend .. I managed not to overstuff myself and to get my 10.000 steps in. Our room in the hotel was on the 4th floor ....I used the stairs rather than the lift so the 69 steps up and down several times a day helped!

Yesterday I was at a Spa day with my friend for her birthday. Had a healthy lunch and then massage, steam room, sauna etc so for the first day this month didn't manage my steps.......and was so relaxed when I got home that I couldn't be bothered to step on the spot to get them up to 10,000! So that was my first failure. But of the four of us I was the only one who had to drive home 40 miles. The others lived locally so they ended up drinking three bottles of wine between them!!! They kept saying poor you can't have a drink! I was actually thrilled to be drinking lots of water to keep hydrated....I need that when I have a massage....and very smug to not be sloshing back the wine!

And it paid off when I got on the scales this morning and had maintained again!

Looking forward to a good last week of February.

Well done to all who are feeling the benefits of a good month....and well done to everyone who might be struggling, for still being here and keeping going!

Jean

It's cold here -40 with the wind chill. You just don't want to go out. I did get my walk in weekly gouls . I have stay on track with my food just have keep it up.I am down 1.6 AND HAVE 1.8 to go befor the end of feb. Congraltion to you all,

Congrats to everyone who had such a successful week and month! I stayed the same today but will log any change as soon as I see it. I've been focusing on logging food, walking 10k steps, and doing an exercise CD at least four times a week. I also live in Massachusetts and the cold and mounds of snow are keeping me in. I walk around the room when I'm on the phone just to get steps in! I'm enjoying reading everyone's comments, this is a great forum!

I've not done well this week - eating or otherwise! Am back on track today and need to keep "HEALTH" in my mind when I want to cheat and go back to my old way of eating and thinking. No excuses, other than falling back into old habits. I gained 2.4 lbs. this week.

Great job, Farway! The scale finally budged downward this morning so my final report for February is a total weight release of 7 pounds. I'll take it!

Re: my actual goal for the challenge - to exercise a minimum of 40 minutes a day - I met that goal 25 out of the 28 days. I will also take that! There was actually only one day on which I got in NO exercise - other than the usual running around in circles looking for something I misplaced, or jumping to conclusions.

So overall this challenge really paid off for me and looking at the big picture, I feel very successful. I look forward to a MARCH challenge! ~ Kathy

@redzz16 Congratulations. Big milestones!
Now for a couple of tips from someone who's lived in places where the sun stays hidden for months at a time: Step outside and look toward where the sun is hiding behind the clouds. Some rays get through, and even that little bit of light helps, I PROMISE!
Tip 2: I have a friend whose husband was head nurse who took part in a SADD study at the base hospital in Tacoma, WA (very cloudy winters). They followed through on the research results and put full-spectrum light bulbs into all the major areas she is active in, such as the kitchen and family room. This helped her tremendously through the winters.