Accountability buddy

Nice progress @roz0810. Thanks for checking in and sharing your goals.

I exceeded my calorie limit again today but it was better than yesterday. I’m still within my overall goal for the week so we’ll see how it plays out. I’m still feeling more tired than usual but managed a short walk and ab workout.

I’m still fighting my funk 😣 but got through a few things in the ‘to do’ list so I’ll just keep slogging along 🦥 like a sloth. Hang in there, everyone!

Thanks for the encouragement, @kiay131982! I agree we just need to keep going, Even though I’ve felt myself creeping up in calories, I know it could be worse. Eating two much granola with berries is still keeping me closer to my daily calorie goal than an unplanned dessert. So, I feel as though I’ve built some decent habits around portion control, understanding serving sizes better, and making trade off choices I can live with long term. However, I’ve been skipping the workouts that usually give me some leeway in snacking. That 200 or 300 calorie workout burn makes a big difference for me over the long term. I’ll just need to make some adjustments until my schedule improves. This coming week, I’ve decided to eat more natural fruit (instead of the dried mango and granola I had too much of this past week) whenever I want something sweet. I’ll also try to reduce snacking overall and fill up on salad and other nutritious low-calorie options whenever possible. I bought lots of fresh fruit and vegetables yesterday so let’s see how it goes.

I exceeded my calorie target again today but that closes the week. Tomorrow is a fresh start! Overall, the total for the week wasn’t too bad but I should probably track more carefully and add more exercise. We can do this!

I appreciate the support of the Accountability buddies group and wish you all the best.

Thank you, @roz0810! You’ve made significant progress in such a short time. Congratulations! 🎉

I was on a steady pace of losing one pound per month through March and it’s only taken half that time to climb back up to 136. It’s amazing how much easier it is to gain than lose 😳. I’m still in the normal BMI range for my height, so I’m not panicking yet, but I was hoping to maintain in the middle instead of at the higher end. I had set a goal of 125-130 for the end of the year and I think 130 is still a reasonable goal. I definitely need to firm up some areas so I’ll stick with the daily abdominal workouts and personal training 2x per week, which I’ve managed to keep consistent. I’m also going to try to add a run if rowing isn’t possible. Running didn’t go as planned last week but I’m starting with a clean slate today.

Have a great day, Accountability buddies!

Happy Friday all!!!

A tree down on the road to my gym class this morning meant that it was only me and my PT there. I've worked with her alot over the last 2 years so we did a Weight session together and it felt good to lift actual weight again!!! I didn't realise how much I missed that!!

We are off to visit family for the weekend but I've packed my running kit.... so hopefully I will get time for a run...as long as the DOMS from today don't kick my butt too hard!! 😅

I tested out a couple changes to my routine this week, hoping to emerge from my recent stagnation period. For example, I tried eating an additional egg at breakfast to see if the extra protein and fat would help prevent my from exceeding my calories later in the day; but, that didn’t make a difference. Eating a consistent breakfast - one egg, toast and coffee - seems to work well for me. I’m still considering a reduction in coffee - from two cups to one cup daily - to cut out the extra fat from the half & half, or switch from half & half to a lower calorie/fat option, but the food choices seem right for me. Here’s an update on my progress toward meeting this week’s goals:

-Reduce snacking overall. ❎ I’m feeling more confident about this today but haven’t done great with this over the past few days.
-Increase salad and other nutritious low-calorie options. NEUTRAL results - I’ve added more salad but haven’t really made great low-calorie selections overall.
-Eat more natural fruit (e.g., NOT dried mango, granola, etc.) when craving sweets. NEUTRAL I ran out of the dried mango and granola so that hasn’t been a problem but I didn’t remember to eat fruit as much as I should have, except for the occasional banana.
-Continue daily abdominal workouts. ✅ My son and I have only missed 2 days in 3 weeks because he opted out. Yesterday, he spent a long day at the beach with friends and felt tired, but I added an ab workout after finishing with the personal trainer (PT) so that was a small bonus for me.
-Keep up the PT sessions 2x per week. ✅ It’s kind of unfortunate that I have to rely on paying the PT to keep me accountable but I guess it’s one of the few things my husband and I do together and I guess we’re supporting the local YMCA workers to make a little extra money.
-Add a run if rowing isn’t possible. ❎ I spent a few minutes rowing hard on the erg machine and jumped some rope following my PT workout but haven’t done much cardio. I’m not counting my walks with the dog or light yard work here, but I hope that some extra movement will sustain my fitness at the minimum level until I can build a better cardio routine.

From the reflection above, I can see where I need to concentrate my efforts until my weigh-in day on Wednesday. My stats follow: Female, age 54 and 5’4”

-SW 168 (MFP tracking started at 165)
-CW 136
-GW 125 (w/ maintenance between 125-130)

I’ll look forward to hearing how everyone else is doing. Are you meeting your goals and/ or learning ways to improve your habits to meet your goals?

Thank you and welcome to the ‘Accountability buddies’ group, @AZrising!

Usually, we post our weekly goals and then check in regularly to report our progress. I’m glad to hear about your previous success and wonder if you have any recommendations for others based on what you learned. What worked for you? Are you using the same approach now or making some adjustments?

I’ve been struggling a bit with losing the last 10 pounds needed to reach my goal. I may switch my focus to ‘maintenance’ in regard to calorie intake while paying more attention to body recomposition through better nutrition and workouts. I’ll need more education in these areas so I can incorporate the changes.

Hey everyone,

so I went to the market but I didn't meal prep and feeling defeated by that fact already... and I have so much to do today that I'm like how am I go to do everything ugh.... I did enjoy my Sunday but I barely got any sleep.

so I'm starting late

Welcome @Kuterah77 - I’m not sure if @hokeapril1234 is still active on MFP but we are glad to have you here! I joined MFP in January 2020 but didn’t participate in the community forums until March, when I saw the ‘Accountability buddy’ messages posted by @hokeapril1234 and others. We didn’t really understand how it worked but we started posting our goals, encouraging each other, and reporting our progress as a way to stay accountable to our goals. Feel free to post some manageable short-term goals here or send a friend request if that’s a better approach for you.

I find the ‘friends’ section is useful for quick comments, but my reflections tend to ramble too much 😬 so I rely on this thread to focus on continuous improvement and I use the friends section as a way to acknowledge a friend’s progress or give individual support (e.g., check in more personally if I haven’t seen them post any comments lately or celebrate a milestone, etc.).

I’m sure you’ll find an approach that works best for you. Congratulations on taking the important step by joining in! The MFP app and Accountability buddy group have made a big difference for me.

I feel good about my day yesterday. I was on the edge calorie-wise but satisfied with most food choices and didn’t snack. I was probably slightly off my nutrition targets though ... At the end of the day, I had 54 calories left over but I doubt 10 minutes of sit-ups really burns 78 calories! Usually, I don’t log the ab workouts in my daily exercise but I stumbled across ‘vigorous sit-ups’ in the exercise list so I added it for the psychological boost of staying in my calorie range for the day. Of course, I’m not fooling anyone with that report, not even myself. 🤥😂🤥 Still, I improved since yesterday’s status update above by ...

-Reducing snacking overall.
-Increasing salad & nutritious low-calorie options.

I’ve got to get some work done quickly this morning because I’m rowing this afternoon and have some projects due by tomorrow. I hope everyone is having a good week. The scale hasn’t moved for me but I’m feeling stronger and feel confident that I’ll eventually become healthier by staying committed to the changes I’ve made. Hang in there through the tough times, Accounability buddies. I’m cheering you on ... so, I hope you can feel the encouragement and good vibes through our connection here in the MFP community forum. Go get those goals and become the person you want to be. 🤩

Oh @PatriceFitnessPal you've pretty much single handedly been keeping this thread going bless you!!!!

I need to take a leaf out of your book and write some targets. I have this week decided to allow my 2 rest days to be in the week....as I was trying to plan them for the weekend to give me time 'off' but that meant I was falling behind in the week as work was too busy and I just wasn't fitting workouts in. I Have my sessions that I do in the gym and I go to aerial circus once a week too... so I just need to find 2 other times a week to workout! I think its going to have to be the weekends!!! I will keep you all updated!!!