Santa Sprint! Week 3 (12/15-12/21)

baconslave
baconslave Posts: 6,948 Member
edited December 2017 in Social Groups
Quoting fixed!!! :mrgreen:

Repost o' the challenge blurb :wink:
baconslave wrote: »
There's a statistic that's always going around that something like 25% of people will gain weight between Halloween and New Year's. It's Holiday season. We're busy with work, school, get-togethers, and shopping. It's easy to just say to heck with it and cave. And wake up on New Year's Day and looking in the mirror, unhappy with what extra weight we've gained. It happens to the best of us.

Last month we focused on the basics in an effort to avoid gaining during a hectic time of year. There's lots of treats around. But many of us managed to hit our goals and not gain. Some of us even lost a few pounds, or gained insight into our own patterns when faced with pressure.

Planning ahead and keeping an eye on the basics are two of the most important focal points if we want to keep on the up and up in the face of all the junk and goodies rampant this time of year.

This month we are again going to focus on the low-carb basics. Again. :lol: They really are so important to success. And keeping tabs on them reinforces good habits that will serve us through our weight loss journeys and beyond into Maintenance Land.

We are going hardcore and going to sprint for 31 days! We'll be Nose-to-the-grindstone, pre-planning, LC bada$$es!
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Some people choose to handle this time of year completely on-plan, supplementing low-carb recipes for all our bad-ol' favorites.

This may not be realistic for some. After all, there are many temptations in our faces this month. And a lot of celebrations. What I have done in the past was pick 1 or 2 events that were most important, enjoy them that day, and the next day was immediately back on track. No guilt, but no excuses. Every other time, I planned ahead. Eat before going to a carby event or bring plan-approved goodies. I actually lost weight in December of 2014. It can be done. Every other year I have easily maintained.

You can pick either strategy, but in this challenge monitoring our plan Basics and becoming a Master Planner are what makes the difference.

Consistency + Persistence + Time = Success

I really can't parrot that cliché formula enough. Because it's true.


Any low-carb plan is welcome. Just post your monthly goals and/or beginning weight, or if you are just planning to maintain through the month, or have NSVs to achieve, check-in daily or weekly with how well you did.

The Basics:
Planning ahead!!!
Staying under carbs
Staying under calories
Logging and measuring
Getting in exercise/movement if that's one of your goals
Keeping an eye on electrolyte levels
Getting enough water
Planning ahead!!! Oh, wait. I said that already? Yes, I frickin' did. Because this is the holidays! You must!

This thread will be stickied to the top of the Group, with links inside to the weekly threads. So if the weekly thread gets buried in our busy little group, you'll be able to easily find in in the sticky.

Share recipes, problems, thoughts.
So tie your sneakers tightly folks and prepare to own the Santa Sprint!
We are DETERMINED to maintain, and maybe even lose, this year.
We are DETERMINED to not let December run rough-shod over us, right?
We CAN do this.


To give you and idea of possible check-in entries here's mine:
Monthly Goals:
To work on losing that rotten, stinking, evil, no-good, complete PITA 5lbs I've been trying to get rid of and to keep up with my exercising despite all the holiday interruptions.



Friday,12/1:

Water: Yep. animated-smileys-christmas-042.gif
Electrolytes Good: animated-smileys-christmas-042.gif
Logged Food: animated-smileys-christmas-042.gif
Exercise as Planned: Strength training animated-smileys-christmas-042.gif
At or Under Carb Level: animated-smileys-christmas-042.gif
At or Under Calorie Limit: Yes! animated-smileys-christmas-042.gif
Planned Day Ahead: Yes! animated-smileys-christmas-042.gif
7/7

Weekly Trees of Christmas Awesomeness Collected:
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DO THA THING! :wink:
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Replies

  • kpk54
    kpk54 Posts: 4,474 Member
    Keeping to my 30 minutes per day.
    12/15: Indoor walk with light hand weights. Also greased that bird feeder pole.
  • moxleymama6
    moxleymama6 Posts: 537 Member
    Enjoy the season! Wrap gifts. Make Latkes (& go off plan for a tradition). 3 Circuit Training series in the next 10 days.
  • elize7
    elize7 Posts: 1,088 Member
    edited December 2017
    Not counting the occasional blip here and there, I'd have to say I'm maintaining my food plan, my equilibrium, and even baby stepping downward on the scale.
    I call that heroic at this time of year..lol.
    But I admit, I'm hanging on by a thread some days.
  • kpk54
    kpk54 Posts: 4,474 Member
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  • kpk54
    kpk54 Posts: 4,474 Member
    10x10x10x10 (minutes, that is). I can do about anything for 10 minutes. 'twas some light lifting, kettlebell, bike and stretches. Thinking about some sort of groove for 2018. I can be extremely sedentary. I think bodies were designed to move. Hand me the remote control, please. :/
  • bozmo
    bozmo Posts: 177 Member
    results for 12/16
    Log :)
    Net Carbs under 25 :)
    at least 30 minutes of exercise :) I hit the links. Those of you in the south would assume I was golfing. But those up north know that's xc skiing this time of year.
    plan tomorrows food :) keto pizza and stuffed mushrooms

    There was a neighborhood christmas party tonight. I admit it was difficult not to try some treats or drink. But I did it!. I'm really looking forward to my cheat days next weekend. I love the food, but I would love to throw back some beers. But my beer belly says NO!
  • kpk54
    kpk54 Posts: 4,474 Member
    Yes. I thought you were referring to golf @bozmo. :)
  • Chillycatmum
    Chillycatmum Posts: 188 Member
    I am on day 5 of ZC and it is going really well - no more hunger or cravings - great to feel back in control. Got back drinking more water yesterday and going to keep this up today, still not at 2litres but managed over a litre on top of my coffee yesterday.
  • kpk54
    kpk54 Posts: 4,474 Member
    Took one of my speedy walks to the grocery store for some soy sauce. ~2.5 miles which took care of my 30 minutes for the day. 100% compliant so far this month. 14 more days to go.
  • bozmo
    bozmo Posts: 177 Member
    results for 12/17
    Log :)
    Net Carbs under 25 :)
    at least 30 minutes of exercise :) We took the dog for a walk out at a state park. Fog put crystals on all the tree branches. It was quite a nice treat for the holidays
    plan tomorrows food :) keto pizza lunch and ham/cauliflower for dinner
  • elize7
    elize7 Posts: 1,088 Member
    Made it another day. No weightloss today, but am taking it in stride. Carb cravings are minimal, calories are down.
    All good.
  • RecipeScrapper
    RecipeScrapper Posts: 84 Member
    I have been busy that last week or so. Here is my recap for this week so far:
    12/14
    Carbs: N
    Calories: Y
    Logging: Y
    Electrolytes: Y
    Water: Y
    Steps: 1920/1815

    12/15
    Carbs: Y
    Calories: Y
    Logging: Y
    Electrolytes: Y
    Water: Y
    Steps: 874/1815

    12/16
    Carbs: Y
    Calories: Y
    Logging: Y
    Electrolytes: Y
    Water: Y
    Steps: 1003/1815

    12/17
    Carbs: Y
    Calories: Y
    Logging: Y
    Electrolytes: Y
    Water: Y
    Steps: 1191/1815

    Overall pretty good. I need to get more steps in per day. They are working on our street and it has been difficult to get out and walk around all the equipment and such. Hopefully they will be through this week.
    Weight Loss for 12/17 - 3.4#
  • slimzandra
    slimzandra Posts: 955 Member
    Happy Holidays everyone.
    I'm through all the holiday parties and heading into the home stretch. So I'm hitting the restart again. O'boy. Started Logging again, planning ahead.
    SW: 179 lbs.

  • elize7
    elize7 Posts: 1,088 Member
    Again, no loss today, but stayed on point. Already in bed so zero chance of relapse and that is very good.
    Trying to roll with the holiday blues and distract myself with movies and comedies all day long. It's working, but I have to say I feel numb inside. 100%. Have hardly moved off the couch in days. This happens to me every year. Oh, well. It will be over in a couple weeks.
    4 more days til l get to see my son. That's when the tide will turn, I think.
  • bozmo
    bozmo Posts: 177 Member
    results for 12/18
    Log :)
    Net Carbs under 25 :)
    at least 30 minutes of exercise :( I was feeling a bit low energy today. I think the cold weather combined with the early darkness is messing with me.
    plan tomorrows food :) ahi with keto bread for dinner and chicken with mayo for lunch
  • elize7
    elize7 Posts: 1,088 Member
    Arrrgh. Totally doing keto the right way, and three days with no loss.
    Also, I'm not liking my ketostix results.
    Feeling grumpy about this, but still sticking to my plan.
    Patience is a virtue.
  • Marcelynh
    Marcelynh Posts: 974 Member
    Weeks 2 and 3
    1. Maintain 20g or less of carbs through Dec. 10th. Running a full marathon on the 9th and don't want to kill my fat burning ability and bonk mid-race. I did great through the race. No bonk! Plenty of energy. Been so-so on the 20g of carbs though, edging up to 30g a day due to holiday stuff and travel.
    2. Maintain less than 30g of carbs the remainder of the monthSee above. Staying around 30g right now but I have to admit I feel better when I'm only 20g so I may cut back after the holidays.
    3. Stay within calorie goal - 1385 In my dreams....
    4. Meet sodium and magnesium goalsBeen doing great on this and no more leg cramps at all!
    5. Drink more water - 2 liters minimum I have to remind myself to drink more water so I've started filling a container and putting it in the fridge... I set an alarm and when it goes off I go drink. My alarm went off one day and I mentioned... "oh I have to go have a drink." and this woman said that she knew holidays were stressful but I seriously needed help if I set an alarm to remind me to drink.... never told her it wasn't alcohol... lol
    6. Add 20 new low-carb/keto recipes to my personal keto recipe book ah, this keeps being put on the back burner
    7. Maintain weight. Loss is always nice but I'll settle for maintenance this year check check check
    8. 11,000 steps daily Coming pretty close each day. I don't count steps when I go out and run so any running is extra to the 11,000
    9. stretch two times daily face of shame
    10. PT exercises DAILY (no pain anymore but no strength due to shoulder surgery) Just keep finding excuses. I seriously need to get back to them to get my shoulder strength and mobility back!
  • Flybeetle
    Flybeetle Posts: 387 Member
    I'm enjoying everyone's updates, good to know we're all trying to get through the next few weeks without crashing!

    I have marked a 1.2kg loss in total since starting low carb and higher fat 3 or 4 weeks ago. I'm very happy with that. I have eaten a LOT in the last week but the scales are very slowly moving down. After feeling hungry for years whilst I wasn't eating much, it's a huge relief.
    I'm doing a 24 hour fast today after last night's meal ended up being very heavy (cauliflower/broccoli cheese bake from dietdoctor.com...no one needs that much cheese!).
    I think if I lost another kilo in the next few months or so, I'd be happy to leave it there. I'm hoping I can manage my son's 2 birthday parties and Xmas dinner in the next few days without having (a lot of) sugar and carbs because I really don't want the setback of going back into that mode of craving and hunger again.
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