LesIckaBod
August Week 1
Weigh-in day: Monday
Last week: 183.5
Current: 179.8

I have mixed feelings about this. I keep my protein reasonably high (about 110+g/day) and keep increasing the weights and intensity in my hiit and strength workouts in order to preserve muscle mass, but my Fitbit Aria scale says my 12.5 lb weight loss this month is almost entirely lean mass, not fat mass. I know these home BIA scales are notoriously inaccurate, but my lean mass had been stable the two months prior to this, so the sudden drop has me feeling a little grumpy. WTF Aria?

In another two weeks I should be able to get an InBody analysis again, and hopefully it shows skeletal muscle mass has not decreased as much as the Aria's nebulous "lean mass" report.

@LeslckaBod You actually can buy zoodles and Califlower already rice style in the frozen section where the veggies are. Or you can make your own.

sara41164 wrote: »

That leads me to my next question. What type of lifestyle change or diet is everyone doing? Counting calories or carbs, Beachbody, Atkins, Keto, etc.........? What works best for you?

Counting calories. I've lost weight before, only to gain it all back (plus some), so I know for me, whatever I do has to be something I'm content to do forever. I'm trying to really focus on the behaviors that cause me to be overweight as well as the foods that cause me to be overweight and I'm trying to correct some of the more problematic ones, which has mostly meant trying to break the habit of snacking constantly.

Cait

User ID: Sara41164
Weigh in day: Monday
Last week: 155.3 lbs
Today: 153.6 lbs

bootssowhite wrote: »

Username: bootssowhite
Weigh in Week: August Week 1
Weigh in Day: Monday
Previous Weight: 313.8
Today's Weight: 311.6

This is actually my highest weight in a few days, probably because I went out to eat last night. The irony is I'm actually really proud about how I ate last night. I picked one of the healthier options, stopped eating when I was full and then didn't continue to nibble just because it was in front of me. I also decided I would rather have an appetizer (which I also only ate part of) than dessert, and then actually stuck with that decision in the face of a bakery full of cake. And most importantly, I exercised some restrain and control and still felt satisfied. I'm not discouraged and I know my weight will drop back down in a day or two, but I still made a face at the scale this morning.

Good for you! You really exercised impressive willpower. I always gain a little from eating out (no matter how healthy) bc the increased sodium content.

You are doing awesome work!

bootssowhite wrote: »

sara41164 wrote: »

That leads me to my next question. What type of lifestyle change or diet is everyone doing? Counting calories or carbs, Beachbody, Atkins, Keto, etc.........? What works best for you?

Counting calories. I've lost weight before, only to gain it all back (plus some), so I know for me, whatever I do has to be something I'm content to do forever. I'm trying to really focus on the behaviors that cause me to be overweight as well as the foods that cause me to be overweight and I'm trying to correct some of the more problematic ones, which has mostly meant trying to break the habit of snacking constantly.

Cait

I love how you are focusing on behavior! It took me a long time to acknowledge my need to modify behaviors. I'm getting better, I think.

Today at Trader Joe's I was staring at some cupcakes. I hadn't had this kind since college (3 years ago). Omg cupcakes. 340 calories each. I could eat one a day if I went to the gym, right?

No. Not right. Bc there is no way I'd stop at one. I have terrible impulse control with sweets but worse with baked goods. I've learned ways to set myself up for success, and it's all about minimizing tests to my willpower.

AB0215 wrote: »

cheeso1 wrote: »

What date is first weigh in please

@cheeso1 Your weigh in day is Monday, so your first weigh in is Monday 7/30.

Do I put my weigh in here or do I put it some where else

Have to say I'm not mad. But I'm not happy either. Still at 382. I'm logging everything. I'm under maintenance and I'm active. It's not like I'm small and this is the norm. The pounds should be flying off. Ugh

@grebber1 u might want to just change ur routine with maybe the exercise or maybe the type of food. My body hit a plateo last week then i tried something else and finally it went back. Except i decided to eat the pancakes ov weekend and gain some of it back. But that might help u get ur system back up and running.

Hello team Gutbusters.

I will be your coach again for this month (when I can). My role here is to help motivate, encourage.

I am also moderator for the TBL challenge (but Ashley ( @AB0215. ) has been doing most of the heavy lifting recently with my work commitments being insane). I rely heavily on the support of the team captains to make this successful as it is too much for one person to do alone.

At this stage team Gutbusters does not have a captain. Please PM me (@craigo3145.) if you feel you could fulfil this role. A team captain's primary role is to also help motivate and encourage the team. A team captain's secondary role is to enter weekly weigh-in data into the competition spreadsheet. Should be about 15mins per day.

As coach, I am running an optional mini-challenge within the Gutbusters team again this month.

Now an introduction:

I am a happily married 50yo father of one. I live in Melbourne Australia. I am passionate about helping people. Late August last year I passed my minimum goal weight (70kg - down from 91.5kg) and am now trying to maintain without bouncing back too far. I achieved the reduction in 4 months (so 40+ lbs in 4 months).

As I am now actively trying to NOT lose weight. At BMI 20.4 and less than 8% body fat, it would be crazy (if not dangerous) for me to try lose more weight.

(Why would someone not losing weight want to help run a weight loss challenge? Because it helps so many people and I feel I have so much to share. I learned so much losing weight that I seems a shame to not have it benefit others.).

About the mini-challenge.

First and foremost is that participation in this challenge is optional. It's up to you as to whether you want to try this. (If you take the attitude that "this is not what I signed up for", that is up to you).

I used the principles of this challenge to win July (6.29% - down 10.8 lbs) and August (6.44% - down 10.4 lbs). Following this challenge does work.

The challenge is based on another challenge on MFP called UAC (ultimate accountability challenge). The way UAC works is that the aim is to follow 5 basic rules.

1. Track EVERYTHING you eat that has calories on MFP.
2. Stay inside your allocated daily budget.
3. Do at least 20 minutes of activity a day (anything: walk, run, cycle, swim, gardening, housework, yoga, gym, etc.. As long as it gets you active and off the couch)
4. 1 pass day permitted per week (went over calories, could not track, not enough exercise, intentional pass)
5. Check in daily (tracking yes/no, calories yes/no, exercise yes/no).

End of the week. those who have managed to keep to plan for 6 out of 7 days are recognised in the thread as being part of the weekly "winners circle".


Using this strategy of consistent tracking and minimal exercise I have set a lifestyle plan that should keep me in my target weight range. (has for the last month )

I liked this strategy as:

• No dietary restrictions. (fine for vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, paleo, carnivore, etc...)
• Works with whatever strategy you may want to follow. (keto, 5:2, 16:8, atkins, etc..).
• You set your own daily budget (MFP helps with this).
• You choose you own exercise and intensity (no step limit, no exercises you cannot or should not do, 20 mins of gardening counts as much as a 10mile run).
• Is not weight based (as weight fluctuates day by day).
• Can continue beyond weight loss.

Daily check in keeps you in touch with those doing similar. Longer term weight management is hard to do on your own.

It also has frequent resets (as in a circle each week).

It works on an honor system. Being honest with yourself and others is a key to making things work.

Consistency and new habits have been shown the only long term successful way to change weight. We all want the progress made here to last a lifetime.

You will find out more from me as the weeks go on. I have done A LOT of research into weight loss, diets, health and strength. I will happily share what I have learned with the group.

My commitment to this group is to post my daily results for this accountability tracking (and help out where I can).


I also post a daily strength challenge.

The daily strength challenge is additional to the 20 mins exercise in the mini-challenge. It is designed to:

• build lean muscle (not bulk).
• be quick (5 mins).
• use no equipment (bodyweight only) and minimal space.
• no impact so gentle on joints.
• cycle through arms, legs and core with enough recovery time to get best results.

Building lean muscle is one of the best ways to lose weight as lean muscle burns energy while at rest (sleep and lose weight ).


So a belated welcome August Gutbusters.