Women 200lb+, Let's Double Down This December!!!

Wow- I am loving the before and afters @aliciap0116 and @parkerpowerlift - you guys are so inspiring!

@bluffgirl67 Fabulous news about your mom! I'm so happy for you! What lovely news to get right before the holidays.

I've had a crazy week at work with lots of travel. Dinners out with social pressure to eat and drink. I failed miserably at my healthy eating plan. Enjoyed too much of everything. Didn't even enjoy it, really, just kind of went through the motions. And the gym in the hotel was "Out of Order". Seriously. I did yoga in my hotel room both mornings, but that is the only thing I did. I've only worked out once this week. Feeling like a lump.

My goal for today is to get my butt on my treadmill!

Hi everyone!

I'm not new to MFP but I am new to the 200+ club and I've never posted in the forums before. I spent more time than I care to admit reading your posts and I thought "THIS is a group I need to be a part of."

Long story short, I've always been chubby and I've been off and on diets since high school. In college I got to my lowest weight ever (165lbs) and maintained that for a couple years. I since moved to a new city and didn't do well with the changes and stress. I watched myself put on weight, bought new clothes, but ignored the scale until I just couldn't anymore and reached my heaviest weight of 240 lbs. For some crazy reason I decided to start a new lifestyle change during the holidays- but seeing how much you all support each other and how committed you are makes me really believe I can do this.

Height: 5'6
SW: 237.4 (12/03)
CW: 231.4

GW: 175


The major place I need to focus is nutrition. I barely cook at home, and I rarely eat breakfast So this month my plan was to focus on eating plant based meals, as close to vegan as possible. Not that you can't lose weight eating meat, but for me this was the best way to start eating a lot more vegetables and other nutritious foods, while detoxing from junk food cravings. I've been doing it for about 2 weeks, but now the fast food cravings are hitting me hard and I'm doing that thing where I let my prepared healthy food go to waste because "I don't want that right now".

How did you push through in the beginning when you just really wanted to hit a drive through? I feel like this is the point I always get to and then I quit. I can't afford to keep quitting.

Home baked cookies, banana bread, and now a box of Godiva chocolates. Got to start regifting this instead of taking it home. Work buffet luncheon tomorrow. My mother is coming next week and it'll be "join me to eat" all day. My stomach has been upset most of this month. aaagg I'll be off work the next 3 weeks and really want to just do my homemade green protein shakes for that time, like a reset. and hit the gym, declutter for real, and study.
@aerohead21 have same issues

all those side by side photos - looking so good!!

Thanks y'all for the support with Momma.

@aliciap0116 You look great!! Such a difference in your facial features.

@torihudson6 Whoop Whoop!! You are doing awesome! I've always avoided cameras too. As the weight came on I became even worse so have very few pics. As I think about it I get sad. Why should my weight determine whether I want to be a part of pictures? It's a head game I need to work on winning.

@shorepine Learn from the week and make a plan for the next time that will work better for you. With all the social things going on right now it's easy to slip into old habits. Now you can look back and see how giving in to the pressures made you feel. In the end it wasn't as good as you thought it would be so just keep that front and center. Props on doing the yoga because doing something is always better than nothing.

@deesibecoool Glad you decided to join us. When I started I didn't change the foods I ate just how much. I love chocolate and still eat it most days. Being able to have that small amount helps me not feel deprived which could lead to a binge for me. If you were used to quite a bit of fast food try fixing something similar but in a healthier version at home. For example instead of a loaded down burger with fries. Pan sear or broil a patty of lean ground beef, side salad for the veggies that you would put on a burger, and sweet potato rounds. It will take some time to find what works best for you. I think two of the keys to being successful is not changing too much at once and track everything even the bad days. Main thing is you've taken the first step and we are here to walk with you.

No workout today. Our daughter flew in from college and we are enjoying our day. I am overjoyed to see her and I know what happens when I’m that happy...I eat more! I decided to go over on my calories by no more than 500 calories because I wanted a little more pasta (today is our pasta dinner night). I also worked my butt off for the last three days to balance out my calories. Tomorrow my hubby, my daughter and I are hitting the gym and I plan to kick butt on that elliptical machine, get a good weight workout in and cool down. 👍🏽. This is what I really love about MFP because you can make choices and still balance things out.

Weekly check-in:

H: 5'10"
SW: 275
Nov 30: 245
Dec 6: 239 (-6 lb/month-mostly water weight)
Dec 13: 236 (-9 lb/month)
Dec 20: 234.4 (-10.6 lb/month)

I survived this week. 😊 I think I'm starting to get sick though, so I'm going to take a break from exercising for a few days. I swear I get sick EVERY YEAR just in time for Christmas Break. 🤦‍♀️

When your phone/car knows your first stop everyday😊

Height 5' 5"
SW: 257.6lbs (06/17)
CW: 225.2
12/6: 222.2
12/13: 222.4
12/20: 220.4
12/27:
12/31:
December Goal: Anything under 220
GW: 170

I'm so happy I had a loss this week! There has been epic amounts of food in our office EVERY SINGLE DAY. Cookies have eaten, cake has been eaten, and pumpkin rolls have been eaten. I've been exercising and packing a salad every day to help balance out the crap eating, and it seems to have worked!

Other goals -
Exercise at least 3 times a week - I did this. Gotta keep at it. The end of the month is going to be packed with social activities full of food and booze.
Clean up weekend eating - Did much better last weekend. I knew that all the office festivities would get me.

Thank you to everyone sharing your joys and struggles. I feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of temptation lately, but I come to this thread to get inspired and remember why I won't give up.

Good morning! Happy Friday!

I had a less than stellar week, but somehow I show a loss this week! I am finally out of the 250's , hope I stay there

I have really been trying to give myself some slack because I found I was really being hard on myself when I gave in to some things lately. And how is that enjoyable? It isn't. I have been telling myself to be aware and not blindly eat, but I am also going to enjoy the wonderful treats and food that come out during this time. Log it and move on. To me, this is still working towards my goal. Marathon not a sprint.

I read a book recently about drinking. "Tired of thinking about drinking"...lol...right now I am tired of thinking about eating! It's a daunting thing to constantly be worried about what I am eating and have I prepped enough to handle temptations. This lifestyle change is hard and I wonder if I will be able to do it the rest of my life. But I have to right? Just rambling on...my head is definitely still in the game so don't mistake my ramblings as giving up!

Congrats to the successes this week and welcome any new posters! I hope after the holidays I can individually reply to people, but right now that is difficult and time consuming for me...so please forgive me but know I am reading your posts and taking it all in!

My goals for December are as follows:

SW: 276.6 - January 2019

November start weight - 253.2
November end weight - 251.4

December SW - 254.2
12/6 - 251.8
12/13 -251.0
12/20 -249.8
12/27 -

December goal weight - 249.2
UGW - 160.00

I have some weekly goals I would like to accomplish as well.

1. Increase water intake to 96 oz. a day – fell by the way side on this. I have been drinking sparling water and if I add those ozs, I hit this goal every day, but I am not sure if I should count those?? Thoughts?
2. Exercise 3 days a week – lots of walking and activity (up and down a ladder putting lights up ) but no structured exercise. I am ok with this…Exercise is definitely my area of opportunity and a work in progress.
3. Journal every night/meditation in the morning to release anxiety – Meditation every morning. The journaling not so much ugh

Merry Christmas everyone!

@mmccloy12 i think sparkling water would count, unless it's got too much sodium for you?
i've been doing quite well, felt full halfway through my lunch so put it aside, pleased with myself!!

@parkerpowerlift @GroverBlue78 @orangequilt nice work this week!

@Terytha I also sing songs through planks. So much better than a timer! :-)

@sharpdust Nice work with the hike. Good luck getting through the end of semester!

@bluffgirl67 That's good news about your mom. And so much can be done with free weights! Incline push-ups would work, but so would tricep extensions and kickbacks. I found this: https://www.self.com/gallery/a-15-minute-dumbbell-arms-workout-you-can-do-anywhere It might help.

@torihudson6 feel better soon! and don't you just love being surprised by a weight loss? Hooray!

@shorepine Good work getting a little exercise in! I'm sure you'll be back to the healthier eating in no time.

@deesibecoool Welcome! and I think you've received some great advice already. Learning to distract yourself from the craving is something we all have to do. That first month will definitely be the worst, but it will get easier.

@cory17 I also have been trying to get rid of excess goodies in the house/office. It's the worst around this season

@lindaporter2018 I've been enjoying your updates! I'm glad you, your hubby, and your car are all onboard with the plan! :-)

@imbatmilf welcome! I also am working off the weight after a big gain. Starting over seems harder sometimes, but talking in the group helps.

@lindamtuck2018 Sounds like you have a solid plan to move forward despite these small setbacks this week. Nice work keeping your focus!

@bdbjswbrb There is yummy stuff everywhere this time of year! Nice work sticking with your plan.

@mmccloy12 Nice progress this week. And it's great that the book can help you think about habits and using new approaches to change.


So far this week is looking good. Since my work party on Monday, I have kept to my calorie counts, even coming under by 100 or so calories on some days. I'm still having an occasional cookie or holiday treat at work, but I'm logging it all to make sure I stay on track. Workouts have been regular. I'm planning another home workout tomorrow morning.

The real test will be this weekend. Starting this afternoon, my house will be a Christmas cookie baking factory. I took over that role in my husband's family when my in-laws moved to Tennessee. Now it's my job to make sure everyone gets their "dogbone" fix. I need to not lick bowls, not eat all the broken cookies, and have some self control before I package up all the cookies for everyone. I may have to check in some point this weekend on the thread with a "Heeeeelp me" post.

ok i'm joining.... I need support losing a few pounds to make it to the HUNDREDS - 2020 goals!! meal/calorie accountability - nutritional meals - less empty calories, more movement/exercise/toning and most importantly -->purposely planned self care/confidence building actions/events.