Women 200lb+, Let's Jump-Start This January!!!

Omg now he’s making chocolate chip cookies 😰 I can do this!! He’s like you can have one...well, yes, but I one turns into a dozen really fast with me 😂 so no, just no for now 😂

I did some shopping and made one of my favorite healthy meals tonight for dinner. Salmon filet, asparagus, and sweet potato. I got rainbow quinoa also but forgot to make it, oops! I'll make it tomorrow to go with my leftovers. Planning to use my crockpot tomorrow to make something I can eat throughout the coming week! Also took my pup for a 75 minute walk this afternoon and actually got a bit of exercise out of it since she didn't stop to sniff every last thing.

This week has been going pretty well as I'm in exams and on the same routine every day.

I get up about 9/930 and then have quick breakfast and study while I watch tv until 12. I have a small lunch then go back to studying until 3:30. At 3:30 I get up and go for a 5k walk around my neighborhood. Then I get home around 5:15 and usually make dinner between 5:30 and 6. Then I do any bit of housework that I need to do, but mostly I hang out on my computer until 11:30 where I go to bed and then read until 1230.

That's all well and good as I like routine for my weightloss journey...the problem will be next month when classes start (and dry january is over!) and my routine is shot.

But I'm taking this month as it is and really enjoying the mundane routine of it all

also really appreciate @bluffgirl67 for her work in giving the individual responses and support to everyone!!
There are so many people I can't keep track, but congrats to @speyerj on the whoosh, and don't stress over that pancake @Aerohead21, if you're like me you would have had a few with whatever on top and not thought twice about it in the past so you're doing well. You only have to do better than before you started logging and you are on the road to success. We've all got a chunk to lose and it will take a while. @brownsugar174 I love that picture of the tree, and well done on the workout.
Keep on going everyone, we will get there if we don't give up!!

Road out to the horse stables today on the long part of my Sunday bike ride! It was beautiful. I normally ride four - two mile rides from one point to another until I get back to my house but one of my MFP friends (@Bari_Tone) inspired me to push myself this morning. I’ve just finished the long part and it was wonderful!!

@RavenStCloud – sorry you are not feeling well. I’m wishing you a speedy recovery, and I’m glad to hear you’ve already found a bit of a tribe overseas!

@bluffgirl67 – thank you for always addressing everyone individually, I don’t know how you do it! If I didn’t say before, I am so happy your Momma’s news is positive. Keep feeling better. Also, love the new profile pic!

@Aerohead21 – I agree with @speyerj , you can do worse for breakfast than pancakes! I had leftover rice pudding for breakfast most mornings this week, and the macros were not significantly different than my go-to instant oatmeal. Also I would have the cookie. Later as a snack or whenever YOU want it. One cookie. To me it’s the second time someone says one cookie won’t hurt that makes me mad. I already had "the one cookie that won't hurt," so leave me be!

@speyerj – it was whoosh city here this week as well. Did you notice the jiggliness decreasing as you whooshed? I hope this whoosh sticks for us both, though! And wonderful job with the running. I love when I have a great run!

@theleadmare – I always have a balanced protein/carb snack before I leave work, yogurt fits the bill most days. It takes about an hour to get home, door-to-door, maybe longer if the transit gods have a horrible fate planned for me. But when I get home, I don’t feel like eating whatever high-calorie food is convenient before dinner.

@BrownSugar174 – Good for you with all the adventures and using that Jacob’s ladder at the gym. I nearly tripped on the treadmill Friday morning, do I don’t think the Jacob’s ladder would be for me even if my gym had one. When I do branch out, I’m thinking of rowing. I was on the crew team in high school, and would love to get back to it some day! Also, I'm loving all your pictures!

@torihudson6 – first I hope you feel better soon. Sometimes I exercise my way through mild upper respiratory illnesses because I think the extra circulation brings the immune cells to that area to help clear things up before they turn into sinus infections. But I listen to my body and if I’m just too tired I don’t do it. And congrats on doing the pictures – you don’t have to show anyone else, but I think someday you’ll be happy you have them!

@mmccloy12 – Would making an alcohol consumption goal for the week be more flexible? I don’t really drink too much when I’m this focused on running, but I think I’m more of a “I’ll have 3-4 glasses a week” sort of person. That way I have flexibility to have a glass when I get home, or maybe 2 if I do something socially. I had gotten into a glass a night habit for a while myself. I’m sure it did me no favors!

I’ll cut this here, this is going to be pretty long but as usual I saved my musings for the area below.

For newcomers, welcome! It always makes me happy to see people join at any time. The day you decide that you’re fed up with feeling/looking the way you do and you’re going to do something about it is THE DAY. It’s not always January 1st, “Monday,” your birthday, or an anniversary of some sort.

Height: 5'6"
SW (09/08/2019): 239.2 lbs
January SW (1/1/20): 202.4 lbs
1/5/20: 199.2 lbs
1/12/20: 195.6
January GW: 195 lbs
GW: 150 lbs (then reconsider)

My goals for January are:

• Cardio for 45-60 min, 5-6 times a week, 3 of the sessions Couch-to-5K workouts - Check
• Advance in the Couch-to-5K plan to Week 3 workouts. I was able to do all three C25K workouts with the week 3 intervals. I definitely felt the difference for the first two workouts – and those were both on the treadmill. So I was a bit worried about yesterday’s outdoor run, but it was great. I can’t wait until I can run outside regularly again. When I run outside, I am able to run faster and pull back when I need to. The treadmill forces me into certain speeds that I don’t always feel comfortable increasing during the workout.
• Core exercises at least 3 times a week – Check. A few weeks ago I added some additional ab exercises and yesterday I added Romanian deadlifts. Today my butt muscles are pretty sore and I did not use heavy weights because I was more concerned about form!
• Take better care of my skin in hopes it will start to regain its shape. Was consistent with this. And yesterday I did a salt scrub for the first time in a long time. My goal is to do this salt scrub once a month, and I think it’s been years since I last did this!

Milestones achieved in January:

• Onederland for more than a day or two. Well, at this point unless I sabotage myself I think I’m probably in onederland!
• Re-achieving my 100-pound weight loss from my original weight-loss efforts in 2013-2014. Hopefully, done. See above. It feels kind of strange that these two goals would always be in tandem, but goes along with the start weight of 301.2 lbs so I can only shrug my shoulders.

Wow. It was not my intention to be so close to goal nearly halfway through the month. The last time I was at this weight, I was running A LOT more than I am now, and tracking food just as carefully, and my rate of loss was slow. So I did not want to set a goal that was unlikely to be achieved on the 1st. Even MFP predicts I’d only lose 1.5 lbs a week, so 6 pounds in a 4-week period seems reasonable.

I do want to set goals that are achievable. It’s surely discouraging not to meet your goals on a regular basis. My new very good friend Corinne Crabtree (of the Phit-n-Phat podcast) might say this is a sign you are breaking promises to yourself. And I’m not saying goals are promises, but the things you are going to do to reach them and the plan you put in place should be promises to yourself. And committing to your plan and keeping your promises are really the hard work of weight loss. Is life going to happen and you won’t get to the gym every day you thought you would or there was a gathering with food you didn’t prepare so it’s probably full-fat, over-salted, etc? Absolutely. But I know from my own experience that missing a workout or two or allowing yourself one or two instances of not-so-mindful eating isn’t going to break you.

What I know from my experience is that breaking at least the very basic promise of taking care of yourself is what led me to gain nearly all the weight I lost previously over a year-and-a-half. I cannot communicate enough how much that thought hurts me emotionally. I thought I had it together, and I didn’t. This time I really need to find a way to make sure these habits stick, because I’m getting too old for this stuff.

In terms of keeping promises this time around two things that stick out: I ran or walked on both Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. At the time, I had a friend or two who posted a meme on Facebook which basically stated that food restriction was not punishment for not exercising. (For what it’s worth, I saw another saying recently that would be the other side of that coin: You are not a dog; do not reward yourself with food.) I walked or ran both of those days because it was my regular routine. Because I was keeping my promise to take care of myself. And during these sessions my prevailing thought was not about how much food I’d be able to eat later because I’m working out. It was, I am so grateful I have two legs to be able to do this. And other things I was grateful for to allow myself to do this. I had one grandfather who lost a leg during WWII, and last year my father had to have his foot amputated in order to save his life. So, I don’t take the fact I've got two functioning legs of my own for granted.

Hope everyone has a stellar week!

@BrownSugar174 - I loved your post. I love how you project your goals into the future and can visualize yourself succeeding. I really think that's a big part of sustaining success. Having hope, staying positive, believing that you can succeed is essential.

Every once in a while a humiliation like you experienced smacks us across the face and wakes us up to our reality. But more often than not, it just makes us hate ourselves and leads to a feeling of hopelessness. The way she treated you is inexcusable. But, I'm glad it was your wake up call. And the dress is beautiful and definitely worth having altered once you reach your goal weight.

I'm so impressed with your drive and determination. You are an inspiration to all of us.

@speyerj Thank you so much! One of things I'm trying to do is share the "peaks" and "valleys" of this journey. A while ago I heard a saying from a pastor of a church I was attending. He said "You witness through your wounds". We are all wounded souls in some way or another. The wound that woman opened....I'd been putting a bandage on it for many years. Sometimes wounds need more than a bandage..they need surgery to properly heal. This weight loss journey is the surgery...and the physical therapy after the surgery is the marathon of life. We can all do this!

Hope everyone is having a good Sunday. I’m watching football (I’m a huge sports fan in general, my team is not playing) and reflecting on my weekend.

Yesterday was a bad day in regards to eating and logging. I went to a football watching party at my cousins and as you can imagine was full of yummy treats. I didn’t binge like how I’ve binged in the past but I definitely overate. I was gassy the rest of the night and uncomfortable. I would say my downfall was I didn’t go to the party with a plan. I should have at least logged what I ate. Still working on socializing and maintaining good eating habits. My boyfriend mentioned that he notices I overdo it at family events where we tend to eat more unhealthy than say at a some friends event where they are more health conscious.

I went for a walk this morning and am counting my calories again so one bad day didn’t turn into a week. Oh, and I have still not drank anything yet, so dry January is going well.

Mile count: 9.20mi (goal 30mi by 1/31)

@Aerohead a plain cake is way better than one loaded with syrup and butter. If it helped with your craving and feeling of deprivation then it was worth it. Have you thought about making some small pancakes to have with berries and dusting of powder sugar? Your hubby sounds like mine with the cookie making. We used to make cookies just about every weekend. I put the recipe in so I could know how many calories per cookie. If I know we will make eat less calories at meals so I can splurge with two instead of one. You could try theleadmare's suggestion of freezing them to pull out on days you have extra calories. Maybe the extra effort would lessen the temptation for you.

@torihudson6 Not eating the whole pint is tough esp since that would have been a normal serving before trying to lose. I've not bought any since starting because it is hard to resist. Instead I've been eating fage zero yogurt mixed with honey and almonds. Definitely not the same but kinda gives me the ice cream experience.

@speyerj Run like the wind!!! You are going to do awesome in the 5k. I don't work and have no little ones for distractions so keeping up is much easier for me than most. I've always been a mother hen lol.

@kali31337 You've got it down pat. If you can take a day or two to make a dry run of how things will be when things change. That way you can be prepared and see where some alterations need to made and be ready to roll.

@BrownSugar174 It makes me mad you were treated so badly at the store. Is it mean that I wish you would have had a Julia Roberts 'Pretty Woman..big mistake' moment lol. Being able to take that experience and turn it into a positive life change is wonderful. You always have such a positive and strong outlook not only about this journey but life in general. "Sometimes wounds need more than a bandage..they need surgery to properly heal. This weight loss journey is the surgery...and the physical therapy after the surgery is the marathon of life." What a great way to put it. You will be just as beautiful in the smaller dress and you were in the picture.

@mmdeveau Thank you sharing about your grandpa and daddy. It's often easy to forget how blessed we are with what may seem small in the normal scheme of life but really be a big deal for others. I don't know how you handle the loss the first time around. What I do know is you find great little nuggets of thought and wisdom to share and help not only you but others as we travel this path. Proof is in how well you did last year and off with a bang this year. I love your idea about keeping our goals as promises to ourselves. I tend to put myself on the back burner and feel guilty when I do something just for me. This journey is just for me. I need to be realistic about my goals but also treat them just as I would a promise to someone else. Learning to fill my cup so I will be able to help others fill theirs is a struggle for me.

@sharpdust Overeating is going to happen but being able to not go into to binge is an accomplishment. If you can make a log of what you did eat to the best of memory. Think about what was worth it and what wasn't. If you're like us the foods are usually the same at parties. Then you will have a plan for the next time. Great job on sticking with no alcohol!

I had a great time last night. Just getting out of my own head for a few hours was something I needed. We've actually made plans to go the rodeo in a few months. Thanks for all the nice words about my new pic. It looks much better on facebook but still way better than the crappy, bloated, no makeup, and bad museum lighting one I did have up lol. I'm glad my "book postings" don't bother most...that I know of anyway. I'm home most of the time and am honored to be den mother to all who claim me. After sitting on the benches last night my sciatica has my left leg numb. That along with the nerve pinch down the left side of neck, shoulder, arm has my exercise all out of whack. Never thought I would be saying how I miss it. Hope everyone has a great start to the week tomorrow.

I, myself, will never run again. Walking for exercise is pretty much out as well. I crushed a foot in a car accident in my twenties. But I CAN walk, and I made the choice to live, even if I have to measure out my weightbearing like a poor person measures out their paycheck. It's really great to see people who can run, doing it. I also have to work up very slowly and carefully to being able to do anything like stationary bike work, because I have exercise intolerance. I don't want to come home and lie on the couch all day because I spent my spoons on the bike. So I am using weight machines so no joints get strained, and very slowly building up muscles, and by March I may be able to get on the bike and ride without exhaustion after five minutes.

I'm just so glad to have all of you on this journey with me. The support helps me believe in myself, and my ability to lose all the weight that I've had to varying degrees since puberty.

@sharpdust, it can be hard, I struggle in those exact same family situations. I am not sure why, I just seem to eat waaay more than I normally would, even when I know that I'm full, but it sounds like you're recognizing it and can hopefully have a game plan for when another occasion comes up.

@BrownSugar174, I am sorry that happened to you, but I am glad you were able to take that situation and use it as motivation to better yourself, which you have been doing great at!

@speyerj, so happy to see your whoosh is continuing. Also, good luck with your 5K, that's great. Those times sound awesome.

@mmdeveau, congrats on wonderland and re-achieving your weight loss goal, that is great. It makes me feel so inspired! I have definitely not had the best eating week, I could blame it on being sick, but really I just lacked self-control and overindulged more than I should have and used that as an excuse. So, reading your accomplishing all your weekly goals makes me feel inspired and ready to get back on track. I also agree that in the long run I think I will be happy to have the photos, but I do not believe I am ready to look at them quite yet.

@Tarzan37, sounds yummy! I am trying to branch out with more foods and hopefully will be giving my slow cooker some use this week. Also, nice walk! I am a little jealous, the weather in the midwest is too cold to be outside.

@MollMoll821, welcome! Everyone here is so kind a motivating. Your goals sound great. I am happy to hear you found a motivating PCP.

@OksanaMaliarClark, welcome! Everyone is welcome to join, it is an uplifting group of people. I have heard pole dancing can be quite the workout, and viewing exercise as fun is a great mindset otherwise it just seems like a chore, which makes it hard to want to do.

@bluffgirl67, we appreciate our den mother! And that sounds like a great idea for a sweet treat, that way it is still healthy, but satisfying that icecream urge. I hope that pinched nerve gets better! Also, your new photo is BEAUTIFUL. You look lovely.

@theleadmare, sounds like you have a nice game plan set out for yourself. Just progress at the pace that works best for you and you can do it. We are all here to encourage and support!

@sweetnsassy8, welcome!

I hope I was able to catch up to everyone. My kickbixing class tomorrow and it is SIX days a week, haha, so definitely going to be intensive. I am also going at the earliest time because that is the only time my friend can go, so that is FIVE AM. I am still being slighly dramatic about the time, but 5AM. I also start my second semester of grad school on Monday, so I am hoping to keep this schedule and motivation going. Fingers crossed.

I hope everyone has a nice start to their week!