Helllo! So happy to have the add to this group. I've been on MFP since 2016, but due to life/choice/etc - I'm the heaviest I've ever been and probably the most motivated. Looking forward to the accountability and support. I'm 43, married, Mom to 3 girls (11, 10 & 8 - and very aware of trying to set a positive body image/food image for them), I work full time for an independent school and also have a part time catering job, and I am my Mom's primary caregiver (as she has been battling Multiple Myeloma - blood cancer - for 9 years.) So yes, lots going on and I am trying to learn how to not stress eat or drink, how not to emotionally eat/drink and be intentional about making healthy choices and getting off the couch after a long day!

I think I missed/messed up the first week. But nonetheless am committed and will try to get it together for the coming week!
5.28.18
WID:Mondays
LW: 243.3
Today: 241.4


Thanks,
Jen

Username: eevang
Weigh-in week: Week 1
Weigh-in day: Monday
Previous week's weight: 180.5
Current weight: 180.0

Did a kettlebell class yesterday! Inflated my weigh-in a bit this week, I think, but I will certainly see long-term results. Man, am I sore! Very worth it.

May 28
Exercise: Yes
Calories: No (128 over)
Tracked: Yes

I did well yesterday given the holiday. By dinner time, I had only about 200 calories left, and considered using them on chicken (the smarter choice) or chips and guacomole (the other choice). I greatly enjoyed the guacomole, and this morning the scale was down again.

Tonight my challenge is that I'm meeting up with a few friends for a drinks and dessert potluck at a friend's new home. By the time I get to dinner, I've basically used up my calories for the day, so I'm trying to figure out a plan for how to save some calories to participate this evening, and also what I can bring. I'm thinking of bringing berries and a microwavable chocolate dip. I can eat some of the berries, and other people can choose the chocolate dip if they like.

Does anyone else have any other ideas?

@LesIckaBod . You did really well last week - well done.

I've tried a lot of distraction techniques to overcome the late night snacking but I just feel I've got this massive compulsion to eat when others have gone to bed!! Think the cleaning teeth is definitely worth a try though!

May 28
Exercise Yes 13k steps
Tracking Yes
Calories Yes

Felt good this morning when I woke up and realised I'd managed to stay within calorie limit.

I am a little confused. Ok a lot confused. I chose weigh in date, Saturday, when I entered my starting weight. When is week one? Do we start on June 1? Or was Sunday the start day? I am still trying to get myself together. So if this is week one,then it's a bust.

NSV: Went to my first Pilates class in years, and I did some of the more intense moves comfortably (rather than the modified ones). I think my shorter core-focused classes are really increasing my strength rapidly.

MoreThanMySize wrote: »

I am a little confused. Ok a lot confused. I chose weigh in date, Saturday, when I entered my starting weight. When is week one? Do we start on June 1? Or was Sunday the start day? I am still trying to get myself together. So if this is week one,then it's a bust.

@MoreThanMySize. Starting weight week went from May 20 to May 26. Week 1 of June competition is from May 27 to June 2.

With a weigh in day of Saturday, your Week 1 weigh in is due June 2.

It's only 4 days into the month for you. Unless you polished off an entire bakery since Sunday, you should be able to do fine. Just do the best you can each day. Learn from the past then leave it behind.

June is a 5 week competition (ending June 30).

May 30
Exercised?: Yes. 5km in 40mins (moderate hills).
Calories?: Yes
Tracked?: Yes

Work day again today. Wife seemed a little better again today. Hopefully she will be near 100% by the time I get home.

Plenty of walking as the nearest restaurant district is about 1.5km from the Hotel. I take the long way round .




Daily Strength challenge

Challenge for May 30 is lunges ()

3 sets

• First set 10 or 15 each leg (if 10 is too easy continue to 15).
• Second set 6 or 9 each leg.
• Third set 5 or 8 each leg.

May 29
Exercise: Yes (12 min core plus 30 min full-body stretching. They felt as relaxing as a massage, but I'm counting it as exercise!)
Calories: Yes
Tracked: Yes

@susanbenita Thanks for the vote in favor of fruit! Fruit and dip would have been great, but I had a mid-afternoon change of heart when the weather felt perfectly suited for chilled limoncello. I checked my tracker and had the calories remaining for it, so that's what I brought. I enjoyed it, felt like my moderation was successful, and have no urge for more summer drinks, so it worked for me this time.

Speaking of tracking (and also knocking wood here that I don't jinx myself), I really can't understand why I was so resistant to tracking before, since it is so clearly helpful. I've put together some meals on MFP that I like and it's no problem to get to mid-afternoon, look at the calories remaining, and then figure out which of those meals I can pop into the dinner slot and still meet my calorie goal. Since these meals include ingredients I already would be making for my family, all I need to do is set aside my portion of the ingredients and put them together in whatever form works best for me. So, the rest of the family might want chicken fajitas on a tortilla, but it works for me to put the ingredients on brown rice, instead, and it's really no additional bother to have the rice on hand.

I know I'm saying all this like it's a completely novel idea, but truly, I'm just amazed at how easy it can be to do this little bit of planning and effort to find some combinations that work, and then just coast on those combinations for a while. Why did it take me so long to get into tracking?

@craigo3154 thank you so much for explaining. I will get there. Just got to keep myself motivated.

May 30
Exercise: Yes
Calories: Yes
Tracking: Yes

I'm letting myself vent a little worry here....
Today I'm going to get my second InBody results, which should show change in body composition since early April. I'm kind of worried about it, to be honest. I know I've lost weight on the scale, but I'm worried about how much muscle was lost. I've gotten better about tracking calories, and I eat about 31-40% calories from protein, and I've been exercising, using a routine that includes light weights and not just pure cardio.. but I'm worried I'll lose 1 lb of muscle for every pound of fat. And my first InBody results showed that my upper body has less muscle than the average woman of my height and weight, so I really feel like I can't afford to lose muscle!

So...I guess we'll just see what the results are when they come back. If I need to make changes, I already have a few ideas for where my current plan might be flawed:

1. Calorie Targets: Check that over the course of the week, I meet my target calorie goals. On a daily basis, I know that some times I'm under the calorie target by about 150-200 calories
2. Nutrition/ Macros: Keep the protein more consistently at about 40-45% of calories.
3. Strength training: Be mindful of feeling the target muscles contracting during exercises, and continue adding weights. (BTW, my current max is 15 lb dumbbells, and for some exercises I've only been using the handles without weights, so I do think I've got some room to develop here without hurting myself).

And so, this is like a giant public journal, but what the hey, thanks for giving me a place to post!

@craigo3154 Glad to hear your wife is improving! I can only imagine that she must be feeling very ready to be done with being sick!

May 31
Exercise: Yes, 5.2km run in the gym
Calories: Yes
Tracked: Yes

Didn't manage to get strength training in - should have gone at lunchtime, after work there's no room in the weights area!

@craigo3154 good news that your wife is well on the mend. Here's hoping the chest infection is beaten.

@LesIckaBod I'm no expert in ANY way but it sounds like you've been doing all the right things so try not to stress your body with too much change or any extremes until you have all the facts, there's no way to safely correct for the unknown! It could have an unexpected adverse effect in some other way. Averages can be useful but regardless of the statistics we are all different so unless a medical professional says there's something to address then just listen to your body. As you say, there's room to develop in weight training - slow and steady wins the race!