Women 200lb+, Let's Stay Fired Up This February!!!

February... Got me to ONEderland!

SW- 215 lbs (1/2/20)
CW- 199.6 lbs
GW- 145 lbs
February loss 6.6 lbs

Still doing this with diet only, February exercise goals got tossed out the window. I currently have a long commute. I just don't have the energy right now to get up any earlier than I already do to exercise before work, and find myself exhausted and starving when I get home at night (usually around 7 pm). I'm job hunting closer to home to hopefully make some time for myself that doesn't include sitting in my car. Still, I'm very encouraged about my progress with diet changes only.

Happy Leap-Day❣️

Only loss 1 lb this week but I’m NOT where I was this time last year which was over 300 lbs so 🙌🏽❣️

Didn’t make my February goal but that’s ok. Review ... Readjust ... Ready ... Set ... Go for March❣️

Height: 5’4”
CW: 204 (-1 for week; -6 for month)
GW: 160
Feb GW: 199.9

Need to kick up exercise so come on Spring Break‼️ Less stress = less cortisol = more success❣️.

Have a great weekend❣️

Height: 5'11"
SW: 299.8lbs (1/1/20)
CW: 285.8 (1/31/20)
Adjusted Feb GW: Maintain for the month
GW: 199
2/5: 284.4
2/12: 285.8
2/19: 289.8
2/26: 288.0
2/29: 283.8
Feb Loss: -2
Total Loss: -16
Adjusted Feb goal: 285.8

Holy s*** I managed to get a net loss in a not great month. I am so happy 😁. I adjusted my goals throughout the month and managed to get a loss. Excited for next month! See you all in the March thread 💚

I’m able to read during the work week, but don’t always have time to respond. Sorry if I skip around a bit:

@shorepine – congrats on enter the 5K! Your muscle memory for running will make it easier to get back to running long distances. I know I’ve been surprise, this month especially, at that muscle memory.

@torihudson6 – your February sounds like my January – just slogging through and feeling blah – but you stuck with it and saw results! Woohoo!

@svm569 – sorry the new scale registered that gain. Like so many said, the differences will show up with scales plus you weighed in the middle of the day, so many factors made that weight incomparable to your previous weight. You’re definitely headed in the right direction, so I wouldn’t worry!

@kali31337 – congratulations on hitting onederland this month! You are doing great!

@CupcakeCrusoe – congratulations to you as well for seeing onederland. And also for crushing everything else in February, too!

@BrownSugar174 – you gave up the cookies, the ice cream, and the chips all at once?! Wow! But you got some results from it! Great work with the bigger losses!

@AlexandraFindsHerself1971 – I like all the NSVs you post! Getting into new pants, or old pants that fit again, is among the best things about losing weight!

@lilann1961 – sorry to hear about your daughter’s health issues. A friend’s daughter has a mysterious GI issue that no one has been able to diagnose – even the doctors here in Philly at CHOP. I think they are managing the symptoms successfully, after a number of years. Still it was a long time coming and hard to see my friend and her daughter so frustrated. I hope your doctors are able to come up with a plan for your daughter.

@Terytha – so glad the universe proved you wrong! I like being right, but there are times I’m very willing to be wrong!

@mmccloy12 – you beat your goal, and you’ve been so steady! So glad you and @aliciap0116 made the pact to do the 15 minutes of exercise.

@bluffgirl67 – you are in onederland and although your loss was smaller than you wanted, you did lose. I mean it when I say that even maintenance is work. Especially when for a lot of people, the default is to use food as a salve for whatever is hurting us. You have a lot on your metaphorical plate. I think February was a big win for you!

@sharpdust – down for February, down for 2020, you are doing well!

@fitchick37 – congrats on exceeding your goal for the month!

@pamiede – you have come so far, what an inspiration! You’ve got a very onederful goal for March!

@aliciap0116 – I know you didn’t drop as much as you wanted. But still you are always so consistent week to week! You must have such discipline sticking to your plan, because the results certainly show!

@Tarzan37 – You have had a difficult February! All that snow, my goodness! But you still managed a loss for the month, so congratulations! I hope your sister - and your sweet pup - are going to be OK.

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” – Maya Angelou

The first time I lost the 100+ pounds from my highest weight, I was stuck in the 190s. And I mean stuck! You wanna talk about a plateau? Two weeks with no movement on the scale? Ha! Try a year! And when it was happening I did the work, I double-checked my servings, my logging, and upped my running, all to no avail.

I eventually decided to start more intensive weight-lifting and saw changes in my proportions, but not the scale. Then the movement I did see was up, until I decided I wouldn’t or couldn’t see it anymore.

I think @aliciap0116 summed it up best in one of her comments on my feed: February has been a landslide for me. I thought losing 6 pounds was a realistic goal to work for, and at the start of the month it definitely felt like work. Then something shifted and suddenly I had this huge whoosh.

This morning was also a complete surprise. I was feeling very bloated yesterday and the scale reflected it: I was up at 184.8 pounds! A three-pound gain overnight. I knew it was from the bloating, so I wasn’t really panicked, just feeling a bit down that I’d done so well for February and it would likely not be reflected in my weight. My worries were unfounded!

What makes me happiest about seeing the number on the scale go down is that I feel it when I run and do everyday tasks. I feel lighter on my feet, and my knees feel better, in particular.

Height: 5' 6"
SW (09/08/2019): 239.2 lbs
February SW (2/1/20): 192.0 lbs
2/2/20: 189.8 lbs
2/9/20: 187.6 lbs
2/16/20: 184.0 lbs
2/23/20: 182.4 lbs
2/29/20: 179.4 lbs
February GW: 186 lbs
GW: 150 lbs (then reconsider)

My goals for February were:

• Cardio for 45-60 min, 5-6 times a week, 3 of the sessions Couch-to-5K workouts – Did this and more! I do believe I worked out every day in February – and a lot of that has to do with regulating my schedule. One day a week was a fun easier workout, with no plan other than what I decided to do for the next 1-4 minutes.
• Increase walking distance to 8.5 miles for one workout a week – Did this, and in fact I’m slightly ahead of schedule, as I walked 9 miles last Sunday.
• Advance in the Couch-to-5K plan to Week 5 workouts. – So I decided to skip the rest of the C25K program and I’m now on week 9 of the couch-to-10K workouts.
• Core exercises at least 3 times a week – Done.
• Lose 2 inches in my measurements – Lost 6 inches!!!
• Lose 6 pounds – Lost 12.8 pounds. Historically, I’ve stalled so long and hard in the 190s and never made it well into the 180s so I had nothing to go on to try to predict a rate of loss.
• Take better care of my skin in hopes it will start to regain its shape. Hoping faithfulness here will be rewarded in the long run. – Started off OK, but in the last few weeks I haven’t made it a priority. And it shows.

Milestones achieved in February:

• I got in the Broad Street Run!!
• I’ve lost 50 lbs since I started weighing back in September.
• Surpassed my lowest recorded adult weight of 188.4 lbs.
• One I didn’t think I’d achieve this month, because my goal weight would have to have been less than 186 pounds, but I did: to move from Obese BMI to Overweight BMI. I’m now officially only overweight!!

I’ve got no idea what to think about next month, but I’ve got this extra day to think about it! Onward!

Oh wow @mmdeveau ! I'm so impressed with your progress. And so incredibly happy for you! It's amazing what you have accomplished.

Thank you @CupcakeCrusoe. I'm humbled by the recognition. You inspire me every day. All of you inspire me.

So now for the final numbers:

February Tracker:

Height: 5' 9''
SW: 286.5 (June 3, 2019)
GW: 180
1/31/20: 206.8
2/8/20: 206.4
2/15/20: 204.7
2/22/20: 208.7
2/29/20: 202.2!!!

Goals for February:
Strength train 3 x week: 64%
Continue 5K/10K Half-Marathon training 3x week: 93%
Get 10000 steps a day: 93%
Go to bed by 10:30 on weeknights: 28% - I'm just going to give up on this goal. I'll sleep when I'm dead.
Eat no more than 100 grams of net carbs (Carbs - fiber): 89%
Eat more than 100 grams of protein a day:100%
Drink 140 oz of water a day: 93%
Log accurately every day: 89%
Get to Onederland!! - Well, I missed that mark but still really pleased

So, a few victories and disappointments:

1) I had to go back on High Blood Pressure medicine. My experiment with going off resulted in an 8 pound weight gain, but more importantly, my blood pressure crept up. After I got a reading of 159/96, I went back to my PCP and she suggested I take half a pill. So, that did help me shed the water weight, but at least I'm on half the dosage I used to be.

2) I'm officially Overweight today!! No longer considered Obese by the BMI scale. Yes, its a load of hooey, but passing this arbitrary milestone is still meaningful to me.

3) I ran two 5 K's today!! At 8:00 a.m. I went to my half marathon training group and cut the scheduled run a little short, running just 3.1 miles instead of the scheduled 5 miles. That was because at 11:00, I had signed up for a 5K fun run called "Run for Beer". It was really fun and I'm so proud of myself for being able to run 2 5K's in one day!

4) I injured my Periformis muscle ((it's a pain in the butt) the day before the 5K that I did 2 weeks ago and had to take a little time off from running. I've been getting physical therapy to help me with the injury and it's working. I feel like a braggart but I can't tell you how proud I am for being able to run this much in one day. I'm sore, but nothing like I was after my runs last week.

Next month will be a challenge and I may make this Maintenance March. I have two trips planned - a work trip to Nashville and a vacation in Memphis - I'll get to see a lot of Tennessee It's also Portland Dining Month, and I plan to indulge. So, my goals might be a little less ambitious usual.

See you all on the next feed. Thank you for always being there, cheering everyone on. I couldn't possibly do this without all of you.

Just wanted to do a final update.

Since my last post when I’d purchased my new scales saying I’d gained 2kg (4.4lbs), I’ve since lost 1.5kg (3.3lbs). So I’m quite sure that was a lot of retained water most likely due to my increase in calorie intake and adding strength training to my workout routine.
Something I never mentioned was that I never took measurements on the first day of my journey (jan 26). So after reading how everyone sees changes in measurements rather than the scale much quicker I decided to take my measurements on Feb 11 and will do so the first of each month. Well today is the 1st and I did my measurements. I’ve lost 12cm (4.7inches) from my waist! Everywhere else I’ve lost around 2cm (about an inch). Didn’t think my waist had gone down that much.

Everyone has done so well this month. Can’t wait to see what we all achieve in March. See you all in the new group ladies!

I spent the day with my family looking for a cat to adopt so I haven't had time to read all the posts from this week. I made some progress this month but haven't hit my goal yet. Went to aquafit this morning.

Hello and happy end of Feb!

I wasn't good about keeping up on my weigh ins, mostly because I didn't have much dramatic change this month. But, I'm still celebrating because I am down a little bit.

I started Feb at 204.5, and am down a couple pounds and change to 202.2.

It's not where I had hoped to be, but I did have a number of NSVs:

1. Exercised 4-5x a week, consistently
2. Had 17 alcohol free days! I am (was?) a nightly wine drinker but made the choice to drink less in 2020.
3. Went on a week long work trip which usually would have resulted in reverting to old habits, but instead I worked out everyday in the hotel gym early in the morning.
4. Logged my food most days this month
5. Signed up for a 5k, it's been two years since I ran one.

There was a point when I was seriously down about this whole thing, feeling like I just can't do it. But i managed to turn that attitude around and end the month with a couple pounds lost. I'm excited to get to onederland in March! Here i come.