Women 200lb+, Let's Never Surrender in November!!!

Hello, all! May I join your group? I'm restarting (again) and am challenged to stay motivated enough to get to the discipline it takes. I've played this game for years with no real success. So...I start again. Today...I choose to start again!

Starting Weight (as of yesterday - highest ever): 330
My long term goal: I am heading to Egypt in 2022 and I want to be able to hike each day without pain and with energy & joy. I've wanted to go to Egypt since I was a kid - I'm not wasting this opportunity.
My goal weight is 225 lbs.

My mini goal (for the first couple of weeks) - log my foods each day and focus on exercising at least 10 minutes each day.
My goal for November:
Reset my eating - start cooking more Mediterranean meals
Reset my exercising: treadmill or hiking the trails at least 3-4 times per week, legs squats each day, yoga and/or stretching each day
Lose 10 lbs.

Repeat offender here. Have used MFP over and over for many years but never fail to sabotage myself when I start doing really well. Do thankful I have finally realized that I have always done that. It is easier to make myself quit than continue the fight to lose. I am starting with small goals to help with that this time.

I first came to MFP in 2010, here it is 10 years later and I am still fighting the same fight. I had started at 266 lbs in Jan of 2010 actually got up to over 288 about 5 years later of course that never was logged here. Then 3 or 4 years ago I had a gastric sleeve and got to wonderland for 1 day. I then was stuck at around 210 pounds until we retired in January 2019. Then I gained 8 lbs in just a few months! Forward to October 18, 2019 I had been out shopping for things we needed to go pick up an RV my husband and I bought the night before at 5 pm. I was gone for about 7 hours goofing off. When I came home I found my 65 year old husband dead on our bedroom floor. It was totally unexpected (obviously or we would not have bought the RV the night before!). My time since then has been spent gaining weight (20 lbs) it is what I do with my emotions, I stuff them and I stuff food to fill that void inside. My depression and anxiety have been through the roof. I just passed the 1 year mark and it hit me as hard or harder than when I found Mike dead on our floor. I spent over 3 weeks in bed crying. 8 days ago I told myself to get up and try to do something good for myself and I came back here. I am trying.

Age 64
Ht 5'11
Wt Nov 1 232 lbs
wt Nov 8 224.8

Goals:

1. Honestly log every day all that I eat or drink for accountability.
2. Remind myself daily to not let my weight loss take over my life, it is not as important as my mental health!. Obsessing for hours over meal planning will not help lose weight but it is part of self sabotage.
3. I do not need to log everything the minute it touches my lips, it is ok to wait and do it all at once. For self sabotage problem
4. Do not weigh myself more than once weekly this is for self sabotage problem.
5. November weight goal: 218-220 lbs. and Remembering all goals are not met. Just keep trying!
6. Set each months goal on the 1st of the Month.
7. Long term dream goal: 150-155 lbs
8. Exercise goal: Just move for now!

@mamabearangie nice progress and good job getting back on the horse.
@changeforeverlj I only check in when I lose but I read posts and post between so I am glad you posted even if you aren’t ready to check in. Congratulations on completing C25K. I was proud of the turnout for this election especially considering the pandemic. Wow! Congrats getting into the 150’s.
Welcome to any new members!
@iloveeggnog Thanks for the good advice. I took it without knowing it. I spent the weekend getting more sleep, getting some exercise (Sunday) and sun, and most importantly getting more organized with food planning. However today is Veteran’s day and I have it off. I plan to work some. Right now I am not getting many tasks to do. I am mostly training. Luckily the ones I have been given I have been able to figure out how to do despite being unfamiliar with the software. Great progress!
@torih941 I think you were wise to simplify things by taking one issue off the table and concentrating on food. I agree slowly add in exercise with doable steps so you can get a sense of accomplishment at each step you take.
@AlexandraFindsHerself I hope you enjoy your new bike. Great start on the bike. Glad it is comfortable.
@mccarol1956 You have been through a lot. You needed to start to heal from such a great loss. You also had to figure out your life since so much has changed. Weight loss was not the 1st thing on your plate. You may had a setback weight wise but you stopped the gain and are turning it around. I am so glad you are making this step. You are making good progress this month. You need to take care of yourself. Make sure you get enough sleep and water. I find checking in on this thread is important to me. When I say checking in I do not mean a formal weight/goal check in I just mean coming on here and getting support. You can decide when to do more formal weight/goal check ins that work for you. Take achievable steps.
@KMC55 Glad to hear you had a good day and are back to it with a good start.Nice check in!
@JAC561 often it isn’t calories that slows me up but the type of food I am eating or water intake or sleep.
@MaxCat1000 Yes it is really your weekly average that is important. I have a few higher days I need to average out myself this week.

Today I have off since it is Veteran’s day. I slept in. We had a yummy healthy breakfast together since my husband is off too. I also plan to get some exercise today. I do plan to work some. I want to get a jump on things. My daughter was going to make dinner last night but chickened out part way through so she says she will make it today. So I may not have to make dinner. We will see. I can’t work until the plumber/electrician is done working on our radiator. Our plumber came last week to replace a leaky valve and afterwards the heat stopped but fortunately we have hot water. Of course we have been having a cold spell. Anyway the other thing I am doing today since it is a holiday is getting caught up on this thread. I am glad @MaxCat100 mention the weekly average since I went back and checked mine for the last 2 weeks and they are as low as usual. But as I mentioned last week we had too many nights of take out so my weight was up. This week we have our meals planned and groceries bought so it should be a better week. I am starting down but no progress yet. I hope to get a bit more exercise as well this week. So I can identify with those struggling but have been seeing it more as transitioning to working full time. I expected this. I agree with @JoDavo66 that the time of year doesn’t help.

Weigh in Wednesday

Highest weight: 435 (11/1/18)--lost 50 lbs. by the end of 2018 but got off track and gained back almost 31 lbs.
SW: 415.8 (4/17/19)

10/31: 190.0
11/4: 190.6
11/11: 187.2
11/18:
11/25:
11/30:

Nov. GW: 184.8
GW: 160 (then reevaluate)

Weekly exercise goals:
- bike ride or exercise bike 5 times per week - 5/5
- strength training 2 times per week - 2/2
- chair yoga 4 times per week - 4/4
- steps onto aerobic step platform twice a day at least 3 times per week - 3/3
- bonus: 3 hikes

Well, this week makes up for the slight increase last week. I sure wish weight loss was linear and reflected the deficit in the week you had it! It looks like the beautiful weather we had is coming to an end. I was lucky to be able to enjoy it and get out for a few bike rides and hikes.

I have a couple trips to my parents this week. My mom is having some tests to see if her cancer has come back or if there is something else going on. She hasn't felt well for months.

Hope you all are well.

@torih941: I've never done a cycling class! So I wouldn't know. I have fibromyalgia and exercise intolerance, and the lure of a stationary bike is that I can stop when I first have the symptoms of the intolerance and be right where I was. Not so with taking a walk! At the moment I'm doing five and ten minutes at a time and trying to make sure I get thirty minutes total a day.

Age: 61
Height: 5'2"
Highest: 350 (approx. 2013)
SW: 274 (Sept. 30/20)
GW: 180 (Mar. 31/22)
This month:
Oct. 29: 265.8, Daily Avg. Calories: 1860
Nov. 05: 263.0, : DAC:1737
Nov. 12: 259.0, DAC: 1929
Nov. 19:
Nov. 26:
November goals: Weight: 260. Other: To get daily calorie total consistent to 1800 or less

Well! I have met my November weight goal! I made it a modest 6 lb. goal because I really thought I was going to be lucky to make that. Not sure what I am doing right there because my calories are way over what my MFP daily goal is supposed to be (1580) and even over what my November goal is (<1800), and I am truly NOT active at all. So this week I shall work on getting my Daily Average Calories down. I had done well for the week until Tuesday. Even right now I want to go have some cheese...

I am a quilter, so I am trying to occupy myself with my sewing to stay out of the kitchen. Sometimes it helps!

finngirl61 wrote: »

Hi to all of you great ladies. I've been away for a bit, but back again for help and support. I love to read all your suggestions. And I understand your struggles. Right now, I am WAY overweight, need to lose probably 100 lbs or so. I haven't set any goals, because dealing with marriage issues, which causes so much stress. Plus my one knee is bone on bone, so need to modify any walking, etc. Our house us a mess, because I'm usually the one that has to clean, and that gets tiring. I do have some great friends, and belong to a few clubs that I really enjoy. So that's a good thing. But I get swept along with lack of motivation and haven't set any specific goals. You are all so great! If there was one thing you'd focus on, what would it be? Thanks for listening. I intend to keep reading and posting. I read this the other day- "When you feel like quitting, remember why you started ". Hugs to you all. ❤❤

I started out in January at 296 and dealing with arthritis in my feet and exercise intolerance. I've lost 50 pounds this year entirely through calorie restriction alone. So you don't HAVE to exercise. If you're like me, you have a pretty good idea of exactly how much time you can handle doing weightbearing, and what you'll find is that you have the point at which it starts to hurt getting pushed back a little bit more every week. When I lost 20 pounds I had my standing budget about double. When I lost 45 pounds I got a massive energy boost.

In your shoes I would start working on your calories and just go from there. I recently got an exercise bike, but I don't ride for miles. I ride for minutes. Five minutes and off. Ten minutes and sit down for thirty. But inch by inch I'll get to where I can go longer. I think eventually you'll be able to do something that is traditional exercise (Water would be good for you and your knee) but for now, don't sweat it. Just be good to yourself and lose the weight, and everything else will start falling into place.

Height: 5'7"
Highest Weight: 254
End of December: 246.7
End of January: 244.7
End of Feb.: 242.2
End of March: 240
End of April: 240.4
End of May: 235.6
End of June: 236.2
End of July: 236.4
August/Sept: Break
End of Sept: 236.9
End of Oct: 232.5
Nov 6th: 234.4
Nov 13th: 233.6 (-0.8)

I haven't made much progress this month due to a stressful couple of weeks and now that time of the month. I am still bloated so should see more of a loss in the coming days. Got my new vehicle so that's a relief! No plans for the holidays other than working for holiday pay but that's the safest plan right now since my area is still going up in numbers and at this rate they say the hospital beds could be full by mid-December... hopefully things will turn around though and that won't happen!

Hope you all stay safe and healthy in the coming weeks!