Women 200lb+, Let's Shoot for the Moon this June!!!

@chlomonster555 so sorry that happened to you, good that you are on the mend and have supportive people around you.
well done on the losses guys!
day 7 of mandatory quarantine here and going OK. A week from now, if I'm cleared, I should be able to take a breath of fresh air!!

@procolorer I wish I never stopped doing ballet. I took a great class when I was in Grad school and never felt stronger. I was even able to ice skate. So I am a bit by barre workouts
@orangequilt thanks for helping me not take the sunshine and outdoors for granted. Unfortunately I did an inside video today.
@chlomonster556 I can’t believe how resilient you seem to be. I am sorry that happened. And you stopped drinking soda?! That is an achievement. Tea is great. I have a Brown Betty (English teapot). It is designed to brew tea. I used to have English Breakfast tea every morning at work. I would have a Café Latte on the way into work. Now I have 1 cup of black home blend filter coffee and get right to my water. Every once in a while we will brew a pot of tea. I am glad you are mastering that trail. It sounds wonderful.
@CupcakeCrusoe sorry to hear you weren’t feeling well and glad you slept it off. Hope you have a great rest of the week
Butteredsidedown yes 1200 calories are probably too low for 5’5”. Good job with the water. Your body will adjust to drinking more eventually.
@RavenStCloud both my kids like their cousins went off to college and came back pescatarians, like vegetarians but they also ate fish. They weren’t vegan. So I got pretty good at cooking vegetarian food. Also need to watch that mercury poisoning. My niece started losing her hair while living in a very meat oriented country in Africa. My kids (grown) still eat vegetarian when they can but aren’t strict about it. My son found out he is allergic to soy when he switched to soy milk recently. I think it is their love of their grandmother’s Chinese cooking that made them loosen up. Enjoy the ride.
@Terytha Yay for the scale cooperating!
@xenapoland Hope the 3 weeks of focus goes well.
@FoolishJoy This really is a commitment to keep figuring this out till it works.
@MuttiNM enjoy time with family. Thanks for all your wonderful trail descriptions.

Reading @chlomonster556's and other's post made me feel that our weight loss journeys are helping us deal with other life problems. Not letting a setback whether it is emotional eating or a life setback derail us is a good lesson. We have scale and non scale setbacks and victories. We have life setbacks and victories. Getting back on track either way is a victory. It is often important to stop and heal or figure out what the problem is but we need to keep getting back on the horse.

I had a high-stress night last night. I was flaring yesterday and had to lie down when I wanted to clean house. So I had to clean last night, and at a certain point had to stop because I still do have back issues, though 35 pounds off has helped that a lot. When I went up to bed my brain would. not. stop. fussing and fretting about the issues of the move that are not under my control. And I couldn't get comfortable in bed. Finally I got up and had a hot bath and then I was able to just wait my head out until it ran itself down. Of course, this meant that I'm lying awake in bed at 3 am. And yes, I had not eaten since 6 pm. And I did not get up and eat the brownies in the fridge or the chocolate bars in the pantry or the ice cream in the freezer, or even justify to myself a nice roast beef sandwich. I knew that I wasn't going to die and breakfast would be in the morning, and just went to sleep.

This is a definite point of progress. I will not deny that in the stress the thought of applying simple carbs to make me feel better hasn't come up several times, but each time I say no and find other ways to handle it makes it easier to say no next time. I find that exercising willpower makes it much easier to use. Just like your physical muscles, it strengthens with use.

Admittedly, today my "kitten" is dragging, but that's something that just is, and I'll go have a nap this afternoon. We finish the paperwork and sign off on the sale of the old house today, and a week from today we finish the paperwork and sign off on the purchase of the new house, and take immediate possession to do a little remodeling (taking out an extra closet someone put in the downstairs bedroom, adding enough power to handle several home offices and servers, painting things the colors we want them), and then moving in good order and with all deliberate speed. We have thirty days after we close today to vacate this house, and that makes it much easier all round.

@AlexandraFindsHerself I have done a bunch of moves and don’t want to do anymore. However I would like to move a bunch of stuff out of this house. I think I need to exercise my will power more in certain areas. Good for you and I like your analogy. Hope all goes well with the move. Take care.
@mmdeveau glad you are noticing improvements in your waist
@xenapoland I find just making my meals at home makes them healthier. I put little salt in my foods. I use avocado oil if I am using higher temperatures and olive oil if I am not heating it or using lower temperatures. I have some tweaks I do. I use cauliflower with meals that are high in carbs to lower the amount of macaroni or potatoes in them. Tonight I am making Shepard’s pie with ground lamb since I avoid beef (and turkey) due to another medical condition. I put in mushrooms and peas or mixed vegetables. However it is how I make mashed potatoes that goes on top of the lamb. I use half the potatoes and put cut up or riced cauliflower and other root vegetables (carrots) in my mashed potatoes. Last night we were out of meats except I had found a lean ham steak in the freezer the night before. We are avoiding trips to the grocery store these days. So I made my version of macaroni and cheese, another high carb meal to go with the ham. I again cut up cauliflower and put it in with half the noodles. I make a custard based macaroni and cheese not a white sauce based one so no added flour. I like the taste better. I also put in vegies. Our healthiest meal I think is Wild salmon cooked in parchment paper with brown rice (I only have about a quarter cup) and asparagus and zucchini. We often make a salad to go with dinner but not always. I have been bullet journaling and food planning during this pandemic (I am on furlough from work). I made a list of meal ideas many of which were ones I have always made and some new. I am up to 45 dinner ideas. I find that there are often leftovers for many lunches or for another dinner. Before the pandemic I had a hard time cooking at home and it showed. It was either go to the gym after work or make a healthy meal at home. With our commute we had a hard time doing both unless I had made a crock pot meal which was hard since we left at 6:45 AM to go to work. I think that it is focusing on not eating unless I am hungry and stopping when I am satisfied instead of eating diet foods. I limit carbs, fats and sweets especially those that are processed. I try to make sure I get enough protein, vegetables, fruit and healthy fats.

My daughter finished her hardest and 2nd to last quarter all except an independent study of only 2 credits which means instead of having a complete break she has to work on that. She did take a few days but after a grueling last 3 months and the fact that spring break was a great break with staying at home she is struggling to work on this last project for the quarter. She did it because then she can avoid one quarter by petitioning for credits from other classes at other schools to be accepted for her program requirements. Meaning after doing her Capstone project this summer she will be done. So she has asked me to help her stay on task but it isn’t easy. Yesterday she just didn’t work on it at all. She finished up a book she was reading online so I think that was a break for her. So besides cooking healthy meals and exercising she is my other project. She worked some on the day before yesterday with me sitting next to her for most of the time she was working. She is working today but I think she may have a online meet up later in the day today. I need to do my exercise soon then make dinner. Yesterday, since she wasn't working I did a Leslie Sansone video. It was only 32 minutes but it was more intense than most exercise I do now. This week instead of doing just 1 day of weight/strength training I am doing 2 (1 today).

Answering @xenapoland’s question got me thinking about why I am losing so slowly now.

I had a time during the last economic down turn and now on furlough where I could concentrate on eating right and getting exercise. Both times I have managed to lose weight. Last year I was learning how to lose slowly while working fulltime then in fall I let down my guard and all the weight I had slowly and excruciatingly lost while working and commuting came back. I got a handle on it in January. Lost a little more in February but it was in April and March I was able to lose at a rate that I wanted to (4 lbs a month). I do not know why I can’t lose that well in May (3 lbs) and June. I am losing but it is very slow again. Part of the problem may be that I am not going to Aquafit 3 days a week. I have struggled with exercise but not sure it was a factor when I was losing more in March and April. I think it was related to not having lattes and pastry on the way to work and replacing it with black coffee and better breakfasts. That doesn't seem to be enough anymore. Starting Tuesday of last week I have made sure I had 30-60 minutes of exercise or physical activity a day. On Saturday we cleaned for about 2-3 hours with some of it less active but most active. One area I could improve on is by being more physically active (upping my NEAT). I cook every day but not much more besides some dishes which I share with the rest of my family. When I was working I would park the car farther from the door. I walked up 3 flights of stairs and would take the stairs if I needed to go up or down our 3 storied office building. The stories were extra high (3 instead of 2 long flights of stairs). Our department was a ways from the bathrooms and kitchen. I would walk around while I was waiting for lunch in the microwave. So I had more physical activity but my job is basically a desk job except for limited site visits. I think what I need to do now is schedule physically active projects each day the way I do with exercise and @cesse47 does.

I may not be losing according to the scale, but I AM losing fat in my tummy and legs. I just have to remember that my goal isn't a drastic loss of weight but to make a change to a healthier lifestyle. I'd rather set the example to my daughter that our family values physical activity and healthy food choices than be rail-thin.

Now I just have to work on my honesty. I may be losing fat, but pretending a couple cups of coffee with cream and some spoonfuls of peanut butter aren't affecting my progress isn't helping me. I sucked up my pride this morning and changed my goals to reflect a slower weight loss, because I'm just not ready to give up my 2 cups a day of creamer-filled coffee.😋