Women 200lb+, Let's Be Unafraid This August!!!

Hello! 35F HW: 263 SW: 241 CW: 212 GW: 135

I just need to share that I am so proud of myself for what I've accomplished so far. I started this and got serious about tracking my calories at the end of March. I did amazingly well until the end of June, consistently losing 2 pounds a week. Then the first few weeks of July were a bit of a write-off, since I am off work for the summer. But the last 2 weeks I got back on track. I actually GAINED weight my first "on track" week, but today I've shed that gain and more. It's a bumpy ride, but if you trust the process, you will get there! I am now over 28 pounds down, 77 to go and I can't wait.

To anyone wondering how: First, look up your TDEE online to make sure it aligns with what MFP is telling you. Then, get a kitchen scale, and be sure to accurately weigh and measure everything you eat. As I mentioned above, it's okay to have days that don't go according to plan. The hardest part about weightloss is not diet or exercise, it's patience. If you stick with it you will see results. It all comes down to Calories In vs Calories Out. I can still eat things like croissants, pizza, cake - I just have to make sure it fits within my calories and I'm golden!

Good morning all you wonderful ladies. Here is to a fabulous August!

Starting weight: 270 March 2021

August Start Weight: 225.8
August Goal Weight: 220
Ultimate Goal Weight: TBD

I weigh in on Sundays.

August 1: 225.8
August 8:
August 15:
August 22
August 29:

I am currently down 44.2 lbs since starting mid March.
My BMI is down to 42.7 from 44! (I use the CDC Adult BMI Calculator)
I lost 2 inches from my waist and 2 from my hips. My bust stayed the same but I shed 2.3 inches from under my breast. My arms and neck stayed the same. I gained 1.5 inches on both thighs. I did add in thigh exercises in July which could account for the change. It is also possible that either things are shifting around or I didn't measure around the widest part of my thigh in July. I am not going to get too hung up on it. I know I am doing well and making changes.

My goals for this month:

• 30 day plank challenge
• Continue to hit 10K steps a day
• Try 4 new recipes - 1 new recipe a week
• Shed 4-5 lbs.
• Continue with my regular workout routine
• Continue to lower my glucose levels
• Continue to drink my water throughout the day

Hello! I'm relatively new to these forums.

SW: 270 CW: 251 GW: 140

I am glad that I have lost ~20lbs so far since I started in June. I didn't join MFP until a couple weeks ago.

My goals are to learn how to be kinder and gentler to myself, and live happily in the moment whether I am overweight or not. Reducing stress is beneficial to weight loss and overall health. I am interested in improving my overall health instead of just focusing on weight loss.

However, in regards to food health my goal is to introduce more recipes and new fruits and vegetable dishes because I have found that it is easier to introduce more dishes before removing unfavorable dishes. I want to get into fermented food because I think the beneficial bacteria will help improve my gut flora, and there are many other benefits to fermented food as well. This month my goal is to learn how to make pickles and hopefully other things like sauerkraut and kimchi. If anyone has insight on these, I'll be happy to hear it and feel free to add me as a friend.

Thank you, @RavenStCloud You are appreciated!

@JNettie73 don't you love how your shirts get longer? great job!

@PopGoesTheCoyote welcome! I am doing the same. Last night for dinner I ate Caprese Zoodles, something I never would have done in the past! And I make yogurt every week. I haven't yet been brave enough to get into the fermented food, though. I forget things, so I'm worried I would poison myself by forgetting to take care of something, and then forgetting that I forgot!

@wtbarunner, welcome!

So, here we go. Pretty darn happy with July, but it was a struggle and I don't want to do that every month, so goal is 6 pounds this month not 8. I plan to continue logging every bite, get my too-big backside to the gym, to swim, or for a long walk at least once a week (up from none, oops) and watch my macros a little closer. Turns out I was getting practically no protein on a number of days, and that's not a good plan.

Age: 51
Height: 5'
SW: 266.6 (1/4/2021)
CW: 240.4 (8/1/2021)
8/1: 240.4
8/8
8/15
8/22
8/29

GW for August: 234
GW for 2021: 215
UGW: 150 by January 1st, 2023

That's a great change @JNettie73, It's nice that you are documenting this journey. Thanks for posting your before and after. It's funny you felt the need to tell us which photo was the start and which was today -it's very obvious!!! You've come far. You might have to get another pink tee that one is too big for your August bod Shrink on

Well, I somehow gained nearly 2lbs overnight, and my first weigh-in for August is higher than my last weigh-in for July. Weight can be such a fickle thing.

I joined in these threads last month with no real changes to my eating/exercise, but I'm committed to following through with my set goals this month.

Age: 36
Height: 5'5"
⭐SW: ???
I've been up/down for so long, but "started" at 200.6 when I joined this thread last month.
My highest recorded weight was 225 (10 years ago at full-term pregnancy). With running, recumbent, various at home exercise programs and logging through MFP, I was around 168lbs 2 years later.
I had another baby 5 years ago and was 177 pre/post that pregnancy.
⭐CW: 200.0
⭐8/1: 200.0
⭐8/8
⭐8/15
⭐8/22
⭐8/29
⭐8/31

Goals:
- STOP working through lunch and walk 3x a week on work lunchbreaks
- 8k step count 5x / week
We should receive a foster dog this month who will depend on me for walks/runs, which should help stay focused!
- interval run 3x / week
- 10 pages of self-help reading / day
- focus on better sleep patterns: 7 hrs / night 4x / week, minimum

GW for August: 196
GW for 2021: 177
UGW: Undetermined

Nice to meet / be with you all again this month!

holdthefries wrote: »

Hello August!

I still haven't overcome the all or nothing approach to changing my daily habits for a more balanced way of eating and activity. I know this is basically step one for meaningful, lasting change but I always slide back into extremes. Extremes of restricted eating and obsessive calorie counting to extremes of bingeing whatever I want whenever I want. I do the same with exercise. Instead of saying I'm going to move my body gently every day for 15 minutes to an hour I try to do these impossible to sustain hikes that leave me exhausted and deflated.

This post sounds like a bummer but its not! It's acceptance that this way of thinking and doing is not working for me. I weight the most today that I ever have in my entire life so something is not working right?

Instead I'm going to try and find better balance this month. I'm going to try to eat more intuitively and exercise in a more enjoyable way. I'm going to be gentle with myself this month with the hope that small changes will be more sustainable.

I bought a little journal that I can write things down in. And now I'm going to eat a peach. Because its summer and they are perfect. Hello August!

You can do this! I just started MFP on the 5th of July and have lost 5 pounds. Been heavy all of my life. I really felt welcomed by this group and it's very encouraging. Hope you have great success!!!!

@JNettie. You are looking amazing. You see your success all over but one thing hasn’t changed….you are beautiful in both pictures. I love your smile, you smile with your eyes too!

Hi, I'm Tracy and I'm trying to find some community in this weight loss thing. I've used MFP off and on for years, but want to be more consistent. I weigh more than I have ever weighed and done recognize myself in the mirror. My friends and family look at me with pity in their eyes and I understand why. I have changed so much over the last few years physically and it hurts to look at because it is largely a reflection of where I am mentally and emotionally. So I'm starting over again.

SW: 274.2, GW 135

Goals this month: lose 5 lb, log my food every day, drink 64 oz of water per day. I can't even begin to think about exercise until I've mastered the diet part of it.

I am also continuing to work on the reasons I have gained 100+ lb over 6-7 years through therapy, prayer and letting God speak to my heart and work on me.

Hello I'm Sarah, I'm on my second month of making life changes after a big scare with my boyfriend's health. I've always been overweight and always had an ED. So this time, I'm trying to do this the healthy way, slow permanent changes, no privation and plenty of exercise.

SW on July 1st: 268Lbs
SW on August 1st: 257.8Lbs
GW for August 31st: 250Lbs
GW: 140Lbs

Goals this months, be consistent in my workouts, switch out the electric bike for a regular bike for morning commute at least 2 times a week.

I weight in most days, but will only update on sundays.

Thanks @RavenStCloud for the thread!

No big plans for the rest of summer; my kids start school on the 17th so it is just trying to get ready for that. I will be heading out of state for my uncle's memorial next week, but I am staying with my aunt who knows I am finally trying to lose weight so hopefully she will be supportive and help me stay on track.

I am almost a month into using MFP and so far so good! I am slowly and steadily making progress. At this point I am still focusing most of my energy on making sure that I am logging everything, and staying at or slightly below my daily calories. I am also trying to get in at least 20 minutes of exercise daily, but I am giving myself more slack on that for now.

For August, my non-scale goals are to continue tracking daily, exercise for at least 20 minutes 5 days a week, and add 1 weight/resistance training day a week.

Age: 43
Height: 5'10"
SW: 290.6 (4/19/2021)
CW: 277.2 (8/1/2021)

8/8:
8/15:
8/22:
8/29:
GW for August: 268
GW for 2021: 240
UGW: 180

Greetings All!

I’m starting MFP up again and am looking forward to finding a community of support.

I’m 51 years old. My SW was 324 (in June) and I am now at 319. I am working on changing my mental and emotional connection to food so I don’t really have a GW yet. I want to eat for health and to fuel my body rather than to fill another need.

I have polycystic ovarian syndrome too so losing weight does not come easy to me, no matter how much I exercise or eat well. That is another reason I choose not to focus on the scale as much as I do on how I feel, move, etc. It seems when I focus on the scale I get discouraged and give up. So I am focusing on changing my habits more and listening to my body more than anything else.

My goal for August is to get acclimated to a food and exercise regime that I can sustain when I return to school in a few weeks (I am a teacher). I want to get into a routine of prepping my food and exercising so I can continue with it when I am worn out from school.

Monday weigh-in!

Ally
39
SW 300
CW 295.8 (-0.6)
GW for August 288-290

I had originally signed up for my next exercise class for Wednesday (and I'm still sore from Saturday), but I decided to kick off the week with a 615AM class this morning. I felt so good doing it! Like the old me. I probably should have thought through the "before work" part of things, as I'm a little concerned I'll crash after lunch, but that's what a quick cat nap is for.


Welcome newcomers to the thread! I was a newcomer last month and everyone here has been so supportive and welcoming. Feel free to add me as a friend and I'll cheer you on!

Hi everybody! Thank you @RavenStCloud as always for keeping this group going!

Just gonna put my template here so I can find it on Saturday:

Age: 30
Height: 5'3"
SW: 252.8 (11/13/2020)
CW: 216.4 (7/31/2021)
8/7:
8/14:
8/21:
8/28:
GW for August: 210
GW for 2021: 196
UGW: 144 by end of 2022

@JNettie73 amazing progress! I do regret not taking progress photos up to now but every time I have that thought it's in a situation where I can't really take any right then and there, and then I'm not thinking about it later when I could take some.

So yesterday's hike was, uh, well. I made it back to the car, let's start there, LOL. I'm surprised at how not-sore I am today, but maybe the DOMS will catch up with me later. I really need a bigger water bottle for the longer hikes, like a 32 or 40oz maybe - 28oz just ain't cutting it for 5 miles in this heat. I also should definitely have worn different shoes; the trail was partially flooded in a couple of places (it basically follows the edge of a wetland/lake, so that's to be expected, to the point that the little blurb on the county website mentions that the trails tend to flood in summer - should have remembered that before heading out, womp womp). I was able to carefully step around most of the flooded areas, until I got to literally the last mile, and there was nothing for it but to walk through the puddle and then squelch my way back to the car. My current hiking shoes are actually trail-running shoes, so they have great airflow and are thus absolutely not the least bit water-resistant. I have some Timberland boots from an old job that are waterproof, maybe if I go back to this natural area I'll wear those. I did see a lot of cool birds on my walk, including a bunch of beautiful herons and even a vulture, so that was neat.

NSVs: I'm "shopping my closet" and bringing things back into the rotation that I haven't been able to wear since 2018! Today I'm wearing a button-up shirt that I love - it's got blue and white pinstripes and little black cat faces all over it. It didn't fit this well even when I bought it, and now it's borderline too loose! I'm glad wearing loose/oversized button-ups over tanks/camis is a Look these days because I love this shirt and I'm not ready to give it back up just because I overshot fitting into it by a few lbs.

This is my first time on one of these post! I was doing good before quarantine but that hit me pretty hard, I gained back to 48 pounds I had lost and some . I have Endometriosis and PCOS so I already struggle to lose weight with 2 medical conditions against me but I have finally decided I will not let that be an excuse for me any longer. I started back up in May of 2021. 4 days ago I got engaged and am not highly motivated to get back on track and drop the weight.

SW (5/20/21): 280
CW ( 8/01/21): 267
GW (4/30/22): 170
GW for August: 257

My Goals for this month include losing 2 pounds per week. Working out at least 4 days a week and closing my exercise ring on my apple watch at least 25 times this month!

I generally weight myself every Friday first thing in the morning.

Please feel free to add me as a friend!