Motivation, Success and Frustration Sharing!

Hey everyone, If you are looking for a friendly, competitive challenge that is interactive, a little different, and not boring come check out the Amazing Race_ Fall challenge.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/116418-amazing-race-fall-fun

The concept is fairly easy. Each week we race from one destination to another simply by counting our exercise minutes. Each minute equals one mile. You are on a team and you compete against other teams for points. There are also 3 mini challenges each week, which points are awarded individually for.

The two lovely people who run it, do a fantastic job. Each week there is fun information, videos and workouts to help with the journey. If you want to join they are looking for more people. It starts this coming Sunday. If you want, you can request to be on my team (my feelings won't be hurt if you don't) I am on team 2. So come count all that hard work you are already doing in a fun and interactive way.

Morning all - sorry for my absence, life is running away with me at the moment. Spent the weekend up north with my husbands family - lots of fun but it's a 4-5 hour drive so somewhat tiring and it's good to be home!

@gemwolf110 - gorgeous photos, she looks a real sweetie

Jen - I'll have a look at that challenge group tonight - is it too late to join now?

Will catch up with everyone properly later - just finished my lunch so back to work!

@bluepoppies777 My fat is fighting the eviction notice, so it might be a long few months. I will get there eventually. All those classes sound like fun. An hour of exercise a day is great. Make sure you do one or two light days and don't over do it.

@gemwolf110 What an adorable little dog. Makes me a little envious. Sorry you missed your walk, but it was probably a good idea to be careful if you have asthma too.

I had a busy weekend with lots of errands and household chores, went over calories Saturday and Sunday. I managed to stay under maintenance. I really need to get better about my calories. I recalculated my allowed calories based on the weight loss. I get 100 calories less. For some reason this is hard for me to adjust too, even though I usually ate under my allotted calories before this.

Welcome @redwolfpack04!

@gemwolf110 - she is so adorable! I hope your cold will subside soon! Pasta Fagioli is a great soup to make, especially this time of year.

Don't worry about being absent @janetay01 - so long as you had fun this weekend!

@Rachel0778 - Glad to hear that you were able to move the furniture back into your home! Dreary days always make me want tea and a good book too! Are you reading anything you'd recommend these days?

@jdelaroy - Better to stay at maintenance even on busy weekends than go completely over though!


My BF and I decided to sign up for the personal trainer. He kicked our butts with a 15 minute intense HIIT workout followed by a 15 minute HIIT ab workout. My calves are still sore from three days ago. The only thing I'm kind of iffy about is he told me I should be eating at 1200 calories. I'm not sold on that, mostly because I have tried 1200 calories and I was practically starving every day, and then I would binge. I also lift weight (and I'm assuming I'm going to continue doing that), as well as cardio and yoga. I don't think 1200 calories is sustainable for me to eat and continue to workout that much.

I've lost weight eating 1500 calories (so long as I don't go crazy over). He also suggested I get to 16% body fat, which would put me at 130 lb or so, whereas my doctor wants me to get to 150 lb. So we will see how this goes.

On another note, I do want to push through the holidays, so I am going to try and lose 20 lb by the end of December. That's 11 weeks to lose a little less than 2 lb a week before the end of the year. I'd be happy to get to 15, but I wanted to give myself that little extra push.

I might create a Google spreadsheet and share it if people would also like to keep track of the year-end push to lose weight.

Good morning and happy Monday!
Those pics are so cute, and funny! Won't sit still so the pics are fuzzy. Love those puppy kisses and excitement, but yup, a lot of work cleaning up after the accidents and stuff. She'll get it, especially with two older dogs to help train her. Makes me want a pup so bad!!

My weekend was good, but I weighed this am and I'm up a lb! Going in the WRONG DIRECTION, people!!! I did really well, hit my goal of at least an hour a day of movement - wasn't going hard, some of it was vaccuuming and stuff like that. But I did do the gym and walking too. I didn't even overeat at that anniversary party, just had a tea and a really pretty specialty cookie with some grapes and cheese. (that was a good NSV for me!).
I think where I went wrong was I didn't track this weekend, and eye balled my portions... and a whole bottle of wine jumped down my throat on Saturday night!! LOL! So I'm back to measuring and inputting everyone into my phone. I just have to keep focussed and be diligent, otherwise it creeps away on me when I'm not paying attention!

Gem, June and Jen! We are going to do this - lose those lbs by Dec 31!! We just have to measure, input everything, and keep our exercise up. I do notice that when I track everything in my phone during the day, and then do not snack after dinner, that is when I have the best success.

I think I'll try to plan out some meals this week too - that soup sounds really good. It's a lot easier when dinners are planned to stay on track!

Hope everyone has a great Monday!!

Afternoon everyone. I somehow made it. Not sure if I passed the kidney stone (never am). But I no longer hurt. Still have stuffy/runny nose (never could quite figure out how it can b stuffy and runny at same time) but am feeling better. Going to gym tonight after I get home and start dinner. Hope I don't suck it up to bad after not being there in a while.

Joy I'm in for 10 lbs gone by 12/31.

Shy. Loved the stick Lexi at the beach. Great idea.

Gem. OMG r u kidding me could puppy b any cuter.

Any newbies feel free to add me. I am back w a vengeance so fat can kiss my *kitten* good bye

@wishfuljune It will be cool to have a personal trainer for awhile. Just don't let him set all your goals. He should be listening to what you want to accomplish. 1200 seems a little low if you are doing all that other physical activity. Did you ask him about this?

@gemwolf110 So adorable! I bet you can lose that 17 pounds.

@shycush6 you are always crazy busy, I do not know how you hold it all together. I bet you will get some exercise in there somewhere, you are pretty determined to do this.

@ngolden3320 So glad you are starting to feel better. I have a lingering cold. I mostly feel okay, but anytime I lie on my back or do anything physical I start coughing like crazy. Otherwise I feel pretty good. So, I really hope you got rid of it. I bet you can have 10 pounds gone by the end of the year. I love it, everyone telling the fat to bite em.

I did my weekly weigh in this morning, and no weight loss. No weight gain either, so I guess I am doing okay. Yesterday for the 45 day challenge I am doing we had to run 5-100 meter dashes. My BF agreed to do them together. We walked to the local school by us, and figured out what a 100 meters was. The great part, my BF was worried I wouldn't be able to do them. I kept telling him "I can, and I will do them. I might die, but I'm going to do it." Sure enough I did them. Slow as all *kitten*, but I did them. I was only winded for a few moments after each one, and was fine when I finished. The BF, on the other hand, was the one dying. He went home and basically laid on the couch the rest of the night, and was super sore this morning. He likes to give me a hard time about my daily walk at lunch isn't exercise. I think he failed to believe me when I tell him I walk as fast as I can, and have even started running for a short (10-20 seconds) once or twice a week. I am calling this a kick butt NSV. Not only did I do it, but I recovered so much better than the BF.

Now, I just have to get that fat moving away. I am thinking it might be time to get a food scale..

Hey Everyone!

Thanks for the warm reception. I am trying to get on this regularly but its hard to keep motivated. Hence why i joined this thread. So far I have been good on keeping my food journal up to date and keep track of all my calories. I have not weighed myself in several days so I am hoping I see a really good number of pounds lost when I do tomorrow morning.

I do read all of your stories and I must say that it is inspiring to see everyone cheering everyone else on. We all have bad days but we all have good days too. I will try and reply and comment everyday but with Three kids under 10 and a wife that has been under the weather lately it will be hard.

I hope everyone has a Good Tuesday!

@gemwolf110 - she is so fluffy and cute! all these photos just make me want to get a puppy!

@donnamt2016 - sounds like you are making great progress though! welcome to the group!

@bluepoppies777 - Yes, let's do it! Did you have any success with meal planning for this week?

@ShyCush6 - I am so sorry to hear about your friend's unexpected passing! At least you are staying positive. That's sometimes one of the hardest things to do after a death, especially when you're trying to lose weight too. Take care of yourself!

@ngolden3320 - Glad to hear that you've passed the kidney stone and are back in the gym. That's great motivation!

@jdelaroy - congrats on the NSV!! Even if the scale didn't move, maybe you've been losing inches?

@rachel0778 - You keep doing what you're doing, and you'll reach your goal when you can!

I have my first personal training session on Thursday, so I think I'm going to address the 1200 calories then. I have a feeling he said it because I do have 30 more pounds to go before I hit my doctor's goal for me (and another 20 pounds to go with what the trainer suggested).

Hi All,
I just stumbled upon your group and am super excited to join. I haven't read all the posts, even the recent ones, but Ill get there.

ktc1968 wrote: »

Hi Everyone! My name is Karen and like some of you I have dropped out for a bit. I am really having a hard time staying motived with my daily exercise routines as well as my evening eating. It appears that I am never satisfied with what I eat and even though I am full I still want to eat, this insane . I also have another problem and that is I like to eat in bed. I am in desperate need of support, with all of this and everything else in life I am becoming more depressed which make this even harder.

KTC- I made a rule. NO food upstairs (where my bedroom is) you could make no food in the bedroom a rule. It has helped me.

Also, when I want to eat, I ask myself are you bored, thirsty or hungry. If I'm truly hungry I will have something small. I am on a HUGE Sugar Free Jello kick right now...10 calories for a 4oz container.

@novten82 - welcome! And NSV is non scale victory - something that shows your weight loss/healthy living progress without being purely a number on the scale!

Shy - hang in there girl, you've had a tough week with the death of your friend. Focus on the small stuff like you said - the water, the steps and then reset yourself after the funeral tomorrow. Thinking of you.

@ktc1968 - welcome to the thread. Agree with @novten82 - try to create a 'no food in bed' rule. I've done it for different reasons - I'm a messy eater and toast crumbs in your sheets are really not cool! Regarding the evening eating, what do you do in the evenings? I find that if I'm occupied and my hands are busy I'm far less likely to snack. I'm currently cross stitching a blanket for my little boy which is fun and relaxing - and keeps me far too occupied and focussed to want to eat. Just a thought - do you have something similar that you can do?

@wishfuljune - good luck with the personal trainer. I do think 1200 would be too low with the workouts that you are doing - even at my tiny height and without adding in exercise, most calorie counters are giving me over 1400 calories to play with. I'm with you if you create a spreadsheet - I'm on a concerted push to the end of the year and could do with the accountability that would come with that.

@lessismoreohio - welcome! Sounds like you are doing well and the fact that clothes are fitting better is a real win, even if the numbers are taking time to drop. Do you take measurements as well?

@redwolfpack04 - welcome! Sounds like you are doing a lot of things right. And managing three kids under 10 - my admiration climbs. I sometimes struggle to organise life enough with my 22 month old!!! Life does get in the way but come back when you can to catch up and comment - and hope your wife gets better soon!

Rachel - I think I've certainly recommitted this week after a frankly pretty flaky few months for me. I'm no where close to where I wanted to be but I'm making better choices so I'm happy for now. If I can stir myself to exercise again - no motivation whatsoever right now - then that would be good. But you are right, it will come when it comes and as long as we are making informed choices and are happy with our own progress then that is the important thing in my view. So glad you are getting your house back together again. Good books - what are you reading at the moment? I'm in need of something to get my teeth into as the cold weather approaches.

Jen - great NSV - way to show the BF where you are at with all of this . Thanks for the group info - I will go in and put myself on the waiting list.

@gemwolf110 - gorgeous pics

Joy - yep, focus is key for me. I do eyeball and I don't do it very well so back to measuring for me. Absolutely agree on the meal planning - we now plan all our meals a week in advance and then do one shop. So we know exactly what the plan is and it stops the (for me) terrible tendency to buy everything in the shop because I'm shopping for supper on the way back from work and I'm hungry. This is why when my husband pops to the shop when hungry we end up with apple pie and the like - and I have no willpower to say no to a slice.

@donnamt2016 - welcome and stick with it! You will come to the point where you like the way you look and feel - and it feels so much better than the feeling after the alcohol. Look after yourself - you are worth it!

Wow - well that was a catch up and a half - great to see the thread busy again. Working today from home - going to finish a bit early and get a session in on the cross trainer to get myself moving again. Not much else to report - although I did officially deliver my first coaching session yesterday as part of the qualification that I'm doing! Think it went allright but need to get the feedback from the person being coached to be sure! It's great to feel like I'm learning a practical skill that I can use in the future. Also looking into whether designing my own cross stitch charts is someething that I could do/might be fun to do. So many things, so little time! Have a good day all

I hate when it cuts off your post.

Yesterday was a lousy food day for me. I ate everything in sight. I had the munchies, craving something but didn't know what going on. I came in at 750 calories over. Holy smokes, that is the worst I have done since starting this. The funny thing is I really don't feel like it was a bad thing. I almost think my body needed it. Maybe I am just deluding myself. Must be my fats way of fighting the eviction notice I gave it. LOL

Happy Wednesday everyone!

@ShyCush6 - That's a great NSV to not drink any soda! Sometimes it's the little things that make all the difference.

@janetay01 - I would love to see this blanket you are cross-stitching! I have my knitting needles, but I am pretty basic (scarves for days). Do you look up patterns online to guide you on your cross-stitching journey? Sounds like you're acknowledging what you need to do to be successful, and you will get there! I am probably going to make a public spreadsheet and share it here and with my MFP friends if they want to track their success that way. Will work on that this weekend.

@gemwolf110 - Food scales are the best! When my boyfriend and I prep food, we weigh everything (even the garlic cloves and spices, lol), and then we will weigh what we prepared at the end and divide it by how many servings we want out of it. I've learned that even the best food websites (Skinnytaste is my jam), my calories are sometimes significantly more than what she says her meals are! It could be that a "medium sized vegetable" or "1 cup of chopped vegetables" is a lot different than hers. Food scales really help!

@jdelaroy - Sometimes, your body needs extra calories. Were you munching because you were hungry, thirsty, or bored? I try and drink at least 8 oz of water if I think I'm hungry, just to see if it's thirst. And if I'm bored, I'll get up and walk around, or try and busy myself with another project instead of going to the vending machine at work, or grabbing food at home.

Yesterday, I tried to deadlift 22.5lb plates on the olympic bar and managed to do 3 before I felt my back curving. I was frustrated because I did 20lb plates last week, and when I tried 20lb plates, I could barely do 5 reps. I ended up doing 3 sets of 10 reps at 15lb plates and could feel it in my back, but I was really beating myself up about it. My boyfriend was like, "Chelsey -- you're the one who is always telling me that sometimes you need to go down in weight in order to get the form right. You've got this." And he's right. I am making progress, and that's what matters. Maybe instead of stepping up to 20lb plates again, I'll try 17.5lb plates and see if I can do 3 sets of 10 of that without giving up my form.

Having a rough morning, and all I want to do is eat. Any suggestions to help me get out of this funk?