Lose 5lbs + in March 2019

lalabank wrote: »

@dawnbgethealthy
I started at 242lbs (5’4”) in May of 2017, I lost the first 30lbs by just making better choices and walking everyday. In about October of 2017 i stopped actively losing and maintained around 213lbs until August 2018.
That’s when I joined MFP and started Keto. This stage of the journey is completely different. I’m much more focused on my process. I started going to the gym for the first time in my life in October. I literally had to learn how to jump, 242lb women don’t jump.
Since August I’m down 45lbs and I credit my monthly 5lb goals keeping me focused.

On another note I was talking to a friend who is working with her Dr to lose about 40lbs. She’s in her late 50’s and she was sharing how her Dr has told her to only expect 1-3lbs per month. With the prospect of it taking years to reach her goal, she’s having a hard time staying focused.
Especially after that conversation I want to applaud you and all of our post menopause ladies for working so gosh darn hard and sticking with it.
It also really turned on my lightbulb on how important it is for me to get this done while I’m in my early 40’s.

dawnbgethealthy wrote: »

Is there an April thread?

mtaratoot wrote: »

dawnbgethealthy wrote: »

Way to go @lalabank you have lost like 80 pounds and now have a new fit goal. What was your start date of the 80?
@mtaratoot so great that you are at your goal weight!! Sure, keep popping your head in here to hang with us. Give us some tips on how you accomplished your wonderful results.
@ebonyroche Wow, great work!
@tiabirdie56 I see that you had a 170.6 day this month. Crap this is soooo hard! What worked for you at 250 isn't working anymore. What is your ultimate goal weight? Maybe you are getting close to it so that it is harder now?

So wish that my "like" and "woo" buttons were working. I read every post each day. So very happy to have this forum.

Hey thanks!

I guess I'll stick around even though I don't want to lose another five pounds or even really three. If anything, I want to increase my lean mass and still work on oxidizing some of my stored lipids.

I don't really have any tips on getting to my goal. I just did the same thing that works for anyone -- I maintained a calorie deficit. I had some hiccups along the way for sure; we all do. When that happened, I kept on going. Perseverance! The hardest time was losing the last five pounds. I had a lot of practice. I kept gaining and losing the same five pounds for quite a while. I was effectively maintaining at a level above my goal. I almost changed my goal. Then something happened. I don't even know what. Whatever it was -- I got to my goal and then had a scare because I kept losing, and I didn't want to lose too much. I never would have dreamed I would have that thought cross my mind.

I guess one tip might be to look at the journey as a three-legged stool. The calorie deficit is what will cause a decrease in mass. Good nutrition will feed the body and mind and keep them healthy. Exercise adds fitness -- both aerobic fitness and strength. That strength part also helps keep bones strong for that day when we might consider ourselves older

My real tips would be mental. I am sure I've written this a number of times. One is not to get too upset when the scale tells you some news you don't want to hear. I didn't always practice this, but I tried. Several things affect our mass on a daily scale, and over time these things even out. I weigh every day I'm home or otherwise have access to a good scale in the morning. I notice the number, and I track it in a spreadsheet. My spreadsheet calcutes an average mass from the past ten days. THAT is the number I care about, and I run a graph of it. I also use some online tools I've mentioned here before. If you don't want to search, here's one I saved so I can answer questions about my graphs when people are curious (I updated it since it was posted, so it's not exactly what I wrote back then).

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kilogramstolose wrote: »

Hey @mtaratoot just wondering what app you use for your weight tracking, that looks so handy!

I actually use a few of them. Geeky, right? That particular graph was from a website called trendweight. But it has a catch. You can't actually enter your data there. You have to get a fitbit brand scale. But there's a work-around. You can enter your weight on another site (click on help to find more information; I don't want to link here as it may or may not be a violation of terms). A bonus; that site ALSO shows a trend graph. Groovy, right? On the trendweight graph, you have options to view 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, or all of the data. You can also use an "explore" feature to view any time series you want. You also get data like how much you're losing or gaining per week and how many extra calories you are using or accumulating. It's good data. And the graphs are snazzy. On the graphs up to three months, the site also projects your future weight, and there's a small band of a goal range of about five pounds.

I also use another site called weightgrapher. You enter data directly on this site. It shows a similar chart, but is a little different. A feature of this one is that it also has the option of putting another line on the graph that was your weight one month ago (28 days). The idea for that is to help normalize for the monthly weight fluctuations many women observe.

But it's even worse than that. I also keep a few spreadsheets. I have various graphs on my main spreadsheet. My scale used to give me body composition data. That feature doesn't work most of the time anymore, but I still press the button. Sometimes it works. I need to get a new scale. I track my mass, my % body fat, a calculation of pounds of fat from mass and body fat %, and BMI. I also have a column to calculate a simple ten-day moving average. This also lets me easily calculate my average weight for each week, month, and year. I display the data and a ten-day moving average, so it gives similar information to the websites. I have three pages of graps in that spreadsheet. One is all the data, one goes back to January 2017, and one that's just last year.

The last one is pretty cool. I'm participating in a group here on MFP called Lose 1 Pound a Week and Keep it Off! 2019. It's a very supportive place. Consider joining! The only rule is you gotta post your weight once a week on a Google sheet. There's a bunch of other sheets for friendly challenges. Anyway, one of the folks that runs the group built one of the sheets called "True Weight" based on The Hacker's Diet. It's a little more than a simple moving average. The idea is that your weight today is more important in the trend than your weight ten days ago. Your weight three to five days ago is kind of in between in importance. Anyway, there's a place you enter your weight DAILY, and it uses a geometric mean calculation to give "true weight." I downloaded the Google sheet page into Excel and also track it on my own (not cluttered by other users' data). I added a graph of my daily scale weight and the calculated "True Weight." I have to update the data range any time I want to view the graph, but that's not a really big deal. It's very telling! Here's a graph from January 2018 to present. As you can see, I was losing, then bounced back up several times before getting to that goal. I've been pretty good at keeping it there, but it's just been a month or so.



Another graph with a the geometric mean moving average for 2019. Note my scale hit my ultimate goal weight, it bounced back up, and it's still giving me a good story.



Finally just this month because it's a good solid flat average even with that spike of seven pounds in three or four days...




Good luck whatever you choose. I think it's kind of neat, but hey -- I'm a recovering scientist, so I kind of like data.

The other tip is also mental, and it kind of touches the same issue. Everyone goes off the rails from time to time. Everyone has a fit of backsliding. Everyone sees fluctuations that go on for more than just a few days. Everyone succumbs to emotional eating from time to time. My tip is: That's ok! Remember, this is a journey. Just like any other journey, sometimes along the way you see a side trail that you might like to go check out. That's fine! Do it! Enjoy it! But when you're done with your side hike, get back in the flow and continue in the direction you were heading. There are consequences: You won't get to your "destination" as quickly, but you WILL get there. And you may be happier because of the side trip. And then you get to realize when you get to your destination, it's really just the start of another journey. That's the maintenance part. It's not going to be cake. It's more a walk in the park, but it's a BIG park, and there's lots of side attractions. And when you struggle maintaining, THAT is ok, too. Just notice it, and own it. That takes away some if its power. Then get back at it, go find your destination again, and BAM! You're back on the road.