20 pounds by Easter challenge

Lots to read this morning---you're all doing so well, sticking with your program whether you lose or stall or gain a little! Perseverance, perseverance, perseverance! I'm holding pretty steady which is good, but am hoping for at least some kind of loss by Friday. I'm feeling a little lighter and seem to walk just a little straighter and taller. Weird, I know, but feels good.

Can't wait to be like Becky and have my britches falling off me!

Well I didn't check in yesterday and had 51 posts to read. Got all of them read really quickly because today is my cleaning day and not much time left. I just got back from Yoga class and now going to have some lunch before cleaning.

It has been a struggle since back from vacation and this week has been no better. I was not feeling good on Monday and therefore no exercising. It has also been a week of eating out, i may skip this week's weigh in because its not a good week. I had lunch out yesterday with a friend and tonight a dinner out with my hubby's coworkers because he is retiring at the end of this month. On Saturday night another dinner for one of his customer's who is retiring this month too. So needless to say not a good week for losing weight. I will get in gear next week and try again.

Becky - Congratulations on the weigh loss smoothies!! I am also on BP meds for years now but it is my family history so I don't know if I lose a lot if it would make a difference. I guess I will have to see.

Stephanie - Weekends are always a problem for me no matter how hard I try. We are very social
and I struggle with that most weekends. I start out tracking and then never finish because of some
social event. I exercise 6 days a week and Sunday is my day off. I got out to walk yesterday and will continue no matter how cold it is. The sidewalks are clear now so no excuses.

Welcome to all the newcomers you will love this group. They are all supportive.

Shirley
Ontario, Canada

AlexisMichele93 wrote: »

Hi everyone!! Today was a bit of a mixed day for me. I had stopped drinking sweet tea and eating chocolate, which were daily (in fact several times a day Lol) activities for me in the past. Yesterday in the gym I got a horrible throbbing headache and figured I was dehydrated. However I got it back today while walking around to class. It was awful. My mom said I probably had it from caffeine withdrawl, has anyone experienced that before or know what it is? I got a tea and felt better a few hours later but I'm not sure if it's a coincidence! I've always heard drinks other than water are empty calories but I'm debating keeping a tea a day and just adjusting my calories appropriately for it.
But, I had enough calories (and then some) left over for a brownie! It was heavenly Today was my resting day, but I'll be back in the gym tomorrow!
Hope everyone had a happy, healthy St. Patricks Day! Good luck to you all and may the scale show all your hard work and success

-AlexisMichele93 (Or Lexi)

Lexi, I got an endless migraine back in January, and then it reaccured in February. It lasted for a little over a week each time, and it made normal functions really daunting. My neck and head were just in terrible pain, with nausea. I assume my experience was stress related, atleast the first time. The second time I'm not sure why. But I did stop drinking coffee every day, I think in the beginning of January. I was only drinking on average 1 cup a day before that, but I suppose cutting it off completely might have contributed to the main cause of the headache. I think in your case it's probably definitely caffeine withdrawal. Because I imagine your glass of iced tea is normally higher in ounces than my coffee was. It might also be a combination of caffeine and sugar withdrawal. Sweet tea has an amazing amount of sugar in it. That's why it tastes so good. I agree that you should continue to drink your iced tea, if you want it. But don''t put sugar in it. Either drink it unsweetened, or use a little Truvia in it(a little goes a long way). After a while you'll realize you don't want to drink your calories anymore, because it's more fun to eat them.

Great loss! (*)

Kenea993 wrote: »

Happy Wednesday!

Weigh in day for me! Lost 2.2 lbs this week so very happy. Not much time so read everything abd just passing to check in quick. Good job to everyone for working so hard!

Sw 223
Lw 212.6
Cw 210.4
Cgw 203
Ugw 135

Keep up the hard work! I am very busy on my sorting break but getting a lot of work done.

Awesome!!

Start of cleanse Day 1 180.6
Start of Day 2 178.9 = 1.7 lb loss
Start of Day 3 178.5 = 2.1 lb loss
Start of Day 4 176.4 = 4.2 lb loss
Start of Day 5 177.3 = 3.3 lb loss
Start of Day 6 176.4 = 4.2 loss
Start of Day 7 (modified) 176.1 = 4.5 loss
Start of Day 8 (modified) 175.3 = 5.3 lb loss
Start of Day 9 (modified 175.3 = 5.3 lb loss
Start of Day 11 final weigh in for smoothie challenge experiment 175.3 = 5.3 lb total loss

I am happy with the weight I lost and feel as though it is a true loss that will stay. I loved all the greens and fruit and flax I get with the smoothies! So many vitamins and minerals I don't usually get for breakfast and lunch. I plan to continue doing smoothies for breakfast and lunch with a small amount of protein and many crunchy veggies with lunch and a regular healthy dinner. More for the nutritional aspects than hoping for great losses. I like losing slow and steady. Now I'm trying smoothies from the back of the book and am starting with the weight loss and fat burning smoothies.

Congratulations to all of you who are having weigh loss and exercise triumphs! For those who are struggling this week we've all been there and know it won't last forever. In fact, the entire month of February I lost and gained the exact same 1 lb! I was stuck for the month. I shook things up a bit with this challenge and hope I keep moving in a losing direction. If not, I'll change a few things again to prevent another plateau.

Remember, weight loss is not an easy task and our greatest victory is that we are still in the game and not giving up! Go us!!!

Have a great week, friends!!!

Becky in MD

So at the grocery store tonight, they had all kinds of ice creams on clearance. Breyers, Talenti, Ben & Jerry's, Graeter's, all really good prices. I looked at them and thought "Before, I would've bought two of these and eaten them straight from the carton". But of course, I didn't purchase any of them. Because, that was then, and this is now. And now I don't do things like that.

Well done Becky! That is a great little experiment and we have all learned a lot!

My green smoothie book arrives last night so I plan to crack on with that when I get home! I pray I have good results like you! I think I will try the full cleanse to begin with but I think realistically I will opt for the modified version as I am more likely to stick to it....I will keep you updated!

Feeling so much more positive today - thanks for letting me rant the other day...some times I just need to get my grumbles out in the open :-)

Stay positive everyone and keep losing

Faye x

May I join you banians? I was asked by my husband if I could make a banana cream pie for the captain of the boat he works on. And of course I don't believe in opening a box of pudding mix so I made the pie. I accidentally had about a cup too much mix. It was absolutely delicious. And for the first time since I started using MFP i CHEATED.

Connie--Yay for .06 loss; every movement of the scale downward is cause for celebration, so good for you! And 11.6 pounds is really significant and wonderful! Just think how much more you'll add to it on the way to July 4.

We're in your cheering section, so keep on pushing forward.

connie, that is great news!! something is working and with a cheat meal and all. need to try and keep your calories up, it's important.

becky, great job!! you must feel awesome

Belinda, great loss with cheats and all!! actually staying the same is a positive as well!! I would like to try the candy, haha!!

tomorrow is weigh in day today, so I am hoping for positive results. have a great day!!

stephanie

Congrats Becky on finishing your smoothie challenge! I'm sure that was hard and you made it!

Ray good for you on passing the chocolate. I love that saying you said.

So this morning u decided to made a smoothie. I found one that is a chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie and went with it cause I want sure how to add protein to fruit smoothies. Who knew a measly quarter chip of peanut butter had 420 calories -_-
I'm chalking it up to good calories rather than 400 calories of something like candy our ice cream. Next time I'm going to be a littLe bit more careful with my smoothie

Jordan

Well done Connie - take and log everything! A loss is LOSS! And thanks for the support!

Marie I am sure the scales will start to go down soon - keep the faith :-)

Just had my first smoothie for dinner and absolutely loved it - Apple Strawberry!

I kind of new I would as raw veg is right up my street!

I think I will struggle finding the frozen fruits in my supermarket (they only had strawberry) but I will try and venture further out at the weekend to see if can find others!

Silly question but is it okay to freeze fresh fruit and then blend it that way and thus get my frozen fruit?

Faye