Lose 5lbs + in February 2019

LisaW57 wrote: »

Original starting weight - 158.5 (12/30/2018)
February starting weight - 155.0
February goal - 150.0
Ultimate goal - 135.0

1st - 155.0
8th - 154.8
15th - 154.9
22nd - 155.5
28th - 153.5

Total loss for February - 1.5
Total loss since 12/30 - 5.0

I am pretty competitive with myself, and I can be my own worse critic. I refuse to be disappointed at "not hitting goal." Yes. I want to drop off 20+ pesky pounds. I'd absolutely like to do that tomorrow. But I know that this is a long slow roll - and the weight drop is a single measure for a single goal towards my overall objective.

1.5 pounds is 1.5 pounds in the right direction. I'll take it. It's 2 pounds from last week alone, after drifting up for 2 weeks. And it's 5 pounds since I started this round on December 30. That's some serious, steady progress. I'm a data geek - and that's 3% of my total body weight gone so far! And I'm 21% of my way towards this one goal.

It has been humbling to watch the yo yo thing going on this month. My progress graph, seriously, looks like a flipping heart monitor over the course of a month. And I've done nothing different day to day, week to week. At least nothing that correlates directly to the data point moving one way or the other. So from that perspective, weight truly is just a number - and just a single measure of success or failure among many.

I have found it helpful to watch for trends (I've seen none, btw). I also find it helpful to be mindful of my overall goals and progress in other areas. It doesn't hurt to put that in the framework of my story.

Here's the back story. I am 5'2" and in high school started edging up from the 150's to 180 at graduation (1975). six months later I topped 198 and quit getting on the scale. I have no doubt that I topped 200. In 1977 I decided to do something. I knew it was going to be a lot of hard work. I had watched my mother and my aunt struggle with their weight most of my youth. They'd diet and lose, then they'd put it right back on. (That would end up being a lifelong struggle for them.) I was determined that I was not going to put myself through that. I would lose and keep it off, or I'd make peace with being fat. My goal was to get to 150 and maintain for a year before I headed toward the 100-110 goal that was on all the healthy weight charts. I hit that 150 in (roughly) 18 months. And I maintained that for many years. While my "diet plan" was not exactly "healthy" (and caused my doctor to mutter profanities), I came out the other end with some healthier habits - well rounded meals, plenty of fruits & vegetables, portion control, and exercise. I gradually dropped, year to year, until I was down to 125 before the birth of my youngest in 1989. I look back at those pictures and I looked anorexic. Obviously not a good weight for me.

I took the "baby weight" off fairly quickly and was left with that little pouch as a souvenir. I did not start edging up again until the kids were in late elementary school - they were active, I was not. School, Scouts, and a 100 mile/day commute to a desk job took a toll on meal planning. And it showed. By the mid-1990's I was back up to 165. I joined Weight Watchers and took of 20 pounds. That "stint" helped me re-establish healthy eating and exercise habits. And I continued to drop into the 135 range. That's a really good weight for my body. I feel healthiest at 135-145.

Enter peri-menopause and menopause. By March 2010, I was back up to 163. Refocus, reset, and get back on track. I joined MFP and took off 20 pounds in 4 months. In between the focused weight loss, I've noticed that I regularly gain 10-15 pounds over the winter, that comes off pretty easily in the spring as I get back outdoors to walk and garden.

I admit it. My spirit animal is a bear. If I could hibernate and sleep through winter, I would. The reality is that I can't. So meals start leaning towards comfort food. I telework now, and if I hit 2500 steps a day I've worked at it and done it pacing purposefully around the house. As the weather warms up in March, I make a concerted effort to get the winter weight off and shift into a healthier lifestyle. I have, literally, been in the same summer & winter clothes sizes (they are distinctly different) for 15+ years. I can live with that. I am who I am. When I think about my back story - that is a true measure of success.

Last spring, my husband had an extended health crisis, and I had entered my 60's. I did not get that winter weight off. He's recovering nicely. In December, I realized I was mid-way through another winter and was already past my top-end winter weight of 155. I could blow it off, accept another 5-10 pounds and double down in the spring. I knew it would be harder, but I was fine with it. Then my daughter-in-law became distressed with some weight related health issues, and she truly has no support. The choice was clear. I weighed 158.5 on 12/30 and began to refocus. Almost 3 pounds down in January, and February's loss puts me at 5 down.

That's not insignificant. But more than the weight, I've had other successes. I lowered my sodium goal from MFP's default of 2300mg to 2000mg on 2/11 - and I'm averaging under that the course of a week. I adjusted my macros from the default 50% carbs, 30% fat, 20% protein to what I know works better for me (30% carbs, 25% fat, 45% protein). I'm not hitting it yet, but I'm mindful of it. I added some low-level strength training. I joined the Mission Fitness Challenge late. Squats, Push-ups, and Lunges. Start at 10 each, add one per day, until you get to 40. The Challenge ended, but I've kept at it. I will hit 39 today. I had a huge results boost about 10 days ago - I noticed that my back & underarm fat (what IS that?!) is no longer spilling over the top of my bra! I'm drinking more water. Not enough. But I'd rather have coffee and cocoa in the winter, so that's a good baby step. I've skinny-ed up some of my comfort foods, and I'm forcing non-comfort meals into the week. I started throwing blueberries in my oatmeal. Go ahead - laugh. Berries don't grow in the winter - that's why bears hibernate. And I've eaten 2 containers of spring greens and cottage cheese (spring and summer staples for me) in 2 months. Who does that?! Seriously? Where's the cream of broccoli soup and mac & cheese?

If you are getting a clear picture of me, good. Because the point of my rambling is that there are more measures of success than the devil-spawn scale. While it's easy to get discouraged and give up, sitting back and asking yourself what you are really trying to accomplish - and measuring progress against THAT is what sustains motivation.

I wanted to stop the winter weight gain in it's tracks and I have. For me, any weight loss mid-winter is a bonus.

I look forward to joining you guys in March! Thanks for the occasional note of encouragement (@dawnbgethealthy) - and all of the "likes" and "hugs" - you keep me accountable. I don't interact here much, but I read all of your posts (@lalabank) and am cheering you on! Just sticking with it is an accomplishment! If you made it to today, CONGRATULATIONS! And if you didn't? March is a new month, and a clean slate!

Onward!

InDogWeTrust wrote: »

InDogWeTrust wrote: »

2/8 137.4
2/13 134.2
2/20 132.5
2/24
2/28 133.6
goal weight 132.4


total loss for February: 3 pounds:(((((

Cassandraw3 wrote: »

Posting here until the March thread is started. I'm switching to Wednesday weigh in's because Fridays didn't do so well for me last month. I'm feeling much better about this month than I did January and February. I'm learning winter is NOT a good time for cutting for me. Finally got back in a good groove at the end of February, so now I'm confident about being able to stick with it to hit my goal.