Santa Sprint 2021 Challenge!
Replies
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Yesterday:
Logged: check
Net carbs: 65 again.
Protein: 101, so (barely) above my goal minimum of 100
Movement: did yoga. Didn't make my move cals--I will today, as I am going to the gym, but on days when I don't I need to manage to walk more during the day. I'm still driving to work vs taking the L, and missing the steps from the commute actually makes a difference.
Journal: yes
Sleep: good, and I managed to get a reasonable number of hours.2 -
Yesterday (12/8):
Logged: check
Net carbs: 75, so made my goal, but barely.
Protein: 103, so above my goal minimum of 100.
Movement: weights at the gym plus an extra walk. Closed all rings.
Journal: yes
Sleep: good, and I managed to get a reasonable number of hours for the second day in a row!
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Day 9 - 182.4 - Weight is finally moving downward again. My goal of getting below 180 by end of month is very possible! I have to learn not to doubt the process. Because when I have doubts, it makes it 10 times worse. Then I may sabotage all my efforts. I didn't this time, but the temptation was definitely there.2
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Most people would LOVE the speed of your weight loss NYPhotographer.. it is never linear, but you should look back, and see how recently you were above 200. Daily, weight loss can seem glacial, but if you look at 30 days, you realize that it is going faster than it feels.
Congrats on staying on plan on your birthday.. happy belated birthday!
I have stayed on my plan.. and am down to 236.8.. my goal was 10 lbs., 242-232, so I am over halfway there in 9 days.. I have only lost .6 lbs. in the past 3 days though, and when I stay the same, it messes up my whole day.. I don't post, because I feel as if I have nothing to say.. I am still 237.4, and then i lose 6/10ths of a lb., and here I am.
Honestly, it is probably more important to address the days we do not lose.. the " bad " days, because that is what makes us think.. is this worth it? I need to lose weight to have heart valve surgery, before my heart gives out, but it gets hard when you don't lose for 2 days. I LOVE the food I am eating. I had Feta stuffed olives yesterday during the game, and eating GB, green chiles, and mushrooms, fish and broccoli, with lots of butter.. 4 eggs for breakfast every day with ham or bacon.. etc. etc.... the food is great.. even better than the stuff I ate before, BUT, I feel as if this is eating DIFFERENTLY, so I feel as if doing it, requires results.. meanwhile I spent years eating junk, and the results were gaining 200 lbs. I never weighed in, or worried about what I put in my mouth. If I gained 5 lbs. in 3 months, I didn't care.
Now that i am eating properly, I am seeing normal blood sugars, and losing 10 lbs. in a month is simple.. BUT, every day i get a blood sugar over 125, or fail to lose weight, I feel like a failure.
When I look at my charts here on MFP ( awesome feature ).. I can see that on 9/4/21 I was 284.8, and now I'm 236.8.. so I am down 48 lbs. in 96 days.. exactly 1.2 a pound a day!
We all need perspective.. we will have " bad " days, especially as we get closer to goal.. they are necessary, because the body has to balance at times, before it can lose more. I need to do the same.. on those days, look at how much good I have done, and not ruin my day, because some number wasn't good that day.3 -
Thanks Russell! That is true, it wasn't that long ago that I was above 200 lbs. Keto is probably the best WOE out there, but it is very restrictive. If 3 days of carbs can sideline me, it's scary thinking of what happens if I finally reach goal and start introducing carbs back in. BUT...I did hover between 185 & 188 for the week after, so that is like maintaining. Hopefully, if I do reach goal, I can keep it around that weight and not just go back up again. Carbs have their place in our diet, but I need to figure out the best way for me to ingest carbs and not go back up.
I've read too many times on here that it's the calorie deficit that causes weight loss. I've been at a deficit but had too many carbs and have gained. So for me, it's not just the deficit that helps me lose weight. When I eat low carbs, that's when my body responds best.1 -
down another pound and a half...156.6 is the new number to beat...it's nice to see all the monthly water finally slide right off...I'll be sad when it halts, but happy when it's real fluff being lost after that!!!2
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@NYPhotographer2021
I understand what your saying also. I love Carbs(& I love to bake which I don't do much anymore) but my body doesn't seem to know how to burn them and holds onto them as fat. So for me, like you, Keto low Carb is working better for me than any of the numerous diets I have tried over 40+ years!2 -
12/6-12/8
I’m still maintaining like a champ and have been very cognizant of my snacking so it has definitely decreased this week. In the meantime, I had an NSV I thought I’d share. I put on a new pair of pants I’d purchased over the summer in the smaller of the two sizes I waffle between, depending on the brand. A work meeting in person called for something other than athleisure wear. Lo and behold they were looser than when I’d bought them. So change is happening, regardless of what that devil scale says.2 -
WTG @taylock23! Ya gotta love it when that happens!!!1
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Day 10 - 182.8
Slight uptick but I was expecting it. I go down and then I go up. Rinse - Repeat. It's the dance my body and I like to do it seems. Staying on plan. My goal is still in reach. At the 1st of the month, I weighed 186.6. So I think I'm doing pretty good!
Have a great day everyone!2 -
Yesterday (12/9):
Logged: check
Net carbs: 79, so above my 75 g goal, but not bothered by that as I felt good, logged, and ate healthfully. My net carbs were from white beans (28 g, finishing up a cassoulet I made for lunches and froze before I decided to focus on lowering carbs more), peaches (4 g), blueberries (8 g), whole milk yogurt (5 g), and hemp seed (1 g) (all 4 for a smoothie, along with some veg, since I didn't feel like cooking breakfast) for a total of 46, and then 33 g net carbs from veg (fennel=3.5, kale=0.5, cauliflower=4.5, brussels=5.5, cabbage=7.5, carrots=10, mushrooms=1.5, jalapeno pepper=1). None of the higher carb things I ate are things I would exclude from my diet, and it's nice to have a day that was 38 g fiber, which is largely due to the beans. However, on Saturday I may make an effort to reduce it more, as I was going to experiment with that.
Protein: 132, so well above my goal minimum of 100.
Movement: pilates plus a good bit of walking. Closed all rings.
Journal: yes
Sleep: pretty good.
What I'm happiest about at the moment is that I have maintained a logging streak that began before I started this challenge. I plan to complete the month and log even challenging days with my best estimates. I also decided to move from the no food before lunch schedule I was doing back to a three meals a day including breakfast (what I did when I was losing -- I've been experimenting with a number of other things during maintenance), and am finding I like this way of eating a lot once again. I'm also being pretty consistent about bringing lunch vs having to buy something at work.
Today will be one of the challenging days as we are having our work holiday party. I'm not going to try to hit my macro goals or calorie goals (back to that tomorrow), but I am going to estimate and log (breakfast is logged but that was easy).3 -
Day 11 - 180.4
Another big Whoosh! Although I can't take all the credit. Managed to catch a stomach bug the other day. Apparently it's been going around here. But I will take it! Now let's see if I can keep it down!
Have an AWESOME day all!1 -
Day 12 - 180.8
And another slight uptick. So hopefully that means tomorrow I will be under 180! LOL! Actually I was surprised it went up only .4 lbs. Yesterday was a rough day. Another day of storms. I tried so hard to be good and stay low carb. I managed it I think, but it's also so hard to log in food from a restaurant. But I ordered a salad with grilled chicken and eggs while everyone else had pizza, some kind of pasta dish, a sandwich that I would have killed for! All very carby foods while I was eating a salad. For breakfast, I had them order me an egg/cheese/sausage sandwich. I figured I'd toss whatever bread came with it. I tossed one slice but folded the sandwich over and ate it with the other slice. OMG! Sooo good! I think it was sourdough bread. Anyway, that was my highest carby food. So I did good. I was still in a calorie deficit as well. Let's see if I can do it again today.
My thoughts and prayers for everyone who was in the path of that deadly tornado in the midwest. And the high winds here in my own state. And to all the power company crews who are working around the clock to get everyone back up in power. My area didn't get hit until later last night but we were ready. And back at it today after 5 hours of sleep. So I don't expect my weight to go down. Too tired.
Have a great day!1 -
I was doing Keto, and I started gaining. I am back up 3 lbs. to 239.8... with a goal to get to 232. I started the month at 242. So I am going back on Carnivore.
I had 3 Jumbo eggs w/2 ozs ham, cooked in 3 tbsp. butter for breakfast. Lunch is 6 ozs. of diced chicken thigh, cooked in 3 tbsp. butter, and for dinner I am having an 8 oz. sirloin tip steak, cooked in 2 tbsp. butter.
That's pretty high fat.. close to 80%, with moderate protein.. and 5-6 grams of carbs. Still only getting 1600-1800 calories a day, so I do feel low carb, leads to low calorie... but low calorie, is not necessarily low carb, and the problem with low calorie high carb, is not the carbs you eat to get to 1800 calories.. it is the 1200 calories, and 100 grams of carbs you eat for " 4th meal ", when you are starving at 10 pm., and hit the local Taco Bell.
No one can actually stick to a 1800 calorie menu, with 225 grams of carbs. Those carbs, CAUSE you to crave more carbs, based on what they are.. sugar is worse than a banana, but both cause cravings.
It all comes down to what humans are meant to eat. We eat foods that come from cow's milk, but that is meant to fatten up a cow to weigh a ton. It would be like giving a cow, human breast milk.. we would think that is weird, but we do the opposite. Much of the plant food we eat are seeds of the plant, and nature protects against it's natural predators .. bugs, and that affects us. What may kill an insect trying to eat the plant, simply makes us sick, but the reason is, we are not supposed to be eating most plants.
That doesn't even take into account that when we have big farms manipulating fruit, to make it more sugary, and bigger, and more resistant to bugs, it is even more harmful, or that when you plant 5x as many crops per sq. yard, each plant gets 1/5th the nutrition from the soil in the food.. 20%.
So you get sugar, which causes cravings, and your body wants 100% of the nutrition it needs, so when you are at 20%, it demands more, in search of the nutrition it needs.
They have founds ways to make meat less healthy, but so far, it's still hugely nutritious, and it not only keeps blood sugars stable, so you aren't having cravings, but when you have the proper number of nutrients, your body doesn't tell you to go eat, and get MORE.
If you get to goal on a plan that is working NYPhotographer, then you simply start adding 5 grams of carbs of ONE food for a month, and see how that affects you. If you continue losing, then it is OK, and you add another 5 grams of another food. I would start with more non-starchy vegetables. You can add quite a few of them, before you try more dangerous options, like fruit or dairy, nuts, or legumes. You may find that you can only handle 15 grams more per day, than what you ate to get TO goal, but then you KNOW, and simply stick to that, and check the scale every week to make sure you aren't gaining, or losing.
I don't think you EVER go back to eating like you did. You won't end up 20-30 lbs. underweight.. much more likely that you gain weight back, so I would just take it slow once you get near goal.. maybe start adding 5 grams when you are 5 lbs. above where you want to be, to slow down, if you are still losing quickly.
I'm pretty resigned to the fact that fruit and cheese are at best treats I can rarely have, the way others have birthday cake.. berries & cheese do not cause cravings, but they do stall my weight loss, and I feel worse. Most people can eat quite a bit of carbs and still maintain though.1 -
So as mentioned above, Friday was my office party, and I planned to just eat what I liked (within reason). I estimated the calories and macros (logged the foods and amounts or my best estimates and tried to do so generously). I did have some dessert. It involved a large late lunch with appetizers (while we were standing around talking) and then a dessert after (I had some, not a lot), and the main sitdown part that was pretty balanced, just higher cal than if you made it at home (it was at a steakhouse).
Given all that, for Friday:
Logged: yes.
Net carbs: rough estimate, but about 151 g.
Protein: another rough estimate, but about 127 g.
Movement: weights at the gym plus yoga plus extra walking.
Journaling: yes
Sleep: Pretty good.
I skipped dinner since after all the food in the afternoon I was not hungry and I knew I had had plenty of cals for the day. This was not difficult at all, I was satisfied. I actually even ate breakfast kind of late the next day -- had a combo breakfast/lunch as I planned to eat a bit lighter to make up for the day before.
Saturday:
Logged: yes
Net carbs: 59
Protein: 72 (was lower than I like given my goal is 100 g)
Movement: just yoga and some walking
Journaling: yes
Sleep: so so.
Plan for today is to get in a good bit of walking (it's nice enough that I can walk to and from church and get some other errands done on the way back) and then to decorate the tree tonight. Also I am going to make ahead some lunches for the coming week and to generally plan my menus as I intend to do a little shopping also.2 -
OK, I'm late to the party but I'd like to join for December. I've had an especially full few weeks and am exhausted. Last week I dropped to stricter keto, had increased energy, and have crashed this weekend energy-wise. Less careful with eating Fri/Sat. Not sure if crash is diet-related or just having an overly full week (probably both). I've bounced back up the 3 lbs I'd lost in Nov.
Re-setting. I decided to try the Squeaky Clean Keto Challenge from IBIH. I struggle so much with my MS symptoms and low energy that I will shift to something else if I notice any worsening on a WOE for more than a couple of days. (I do know to supplement electrolytes.)
SW: 161
I did full measurements this morning, too, and they were sobering. No wonder most of my clothes don't fit.
I also am following my PT and OT home programs.
Goals for now:
* Do PT and OT home exercise programs, walk, and ride my exercise bike at least 3x/wk each.
* Keep carbs below 50 total per day (may revise that after this week depending on how I feel).
* Go to bed by 11 at least 3 nights a week.
* Check in here at least once a week.
My top priority right now is to do whatever I can to increase energy and (related) recover as much as possible from my March MS attack and September COVID infection, and be able to keep up with family and work essentials.
Weight-wise, I'd love to get back to 135-140 lbs but even 150 would be good progress at this point. I had gradually gone up two clothing sizes over the past 4 years and really don't want to have to buy another new wardrobe but am very much on the verge of that right now.2 -
Hi! I'm Mary from Pennsylvania.
Back again! Will post weight on Sundays. Sticking with what has been working for me since 5/14/21. 1000-1200 calories/day,
Net Carbs15 +/- 3 grams(some days actually less), 70+ oz water/day, only 2 meals/day on non work days (I work 4 days/week) and exercise on my non work days (as I work long days).
UGW-122 lbs
Down 84.2 lbs of 132 lb goal to lose.
Oct goal was 10 lbs Almost made it!, loss -9.6 lbs
Nov goal was 5 lbs Made it, loss -5.6 lbs!
Dec goal is also 5 lbs, loss so far -5.4 lbs! Made my goal!
9/14/20-255 lbs Highest weight twice :-(
5/3/21-240.5 lbs
6/1/21-228.8 lbs
7/1/21-222.2 lbs
8/1/21-212.0 lbs
9/1/21-200.0 lbs
10/1/21-191.4 lbs
11/1/21-181.8 lbs
12/1/21-176.2 lbs
12/5/21-171.8 lbs. I'm wearing size 10 jeans but yesterday I tried on a brand new pair of 8's, (with tags on) l found in my closet. I zipped them right up without any trouble. Only reason I won't wear them yet is my flabby stomach hangs over the waist really bad. Need to start doing abdominal crunches! Also as of yesterday I am no longer Obese on the BMI scale (even though as a RN, I don't really think it's a super tool. My sons who are very fit, are sometimes classified as Obese and one only has 4-6% body fat. We seem to be solidly built people. I've always weighed more than people think). So I'm now Overweight! Can't wait though to hit the Normal anyway! About 26-28 lbs to go for that.
12/12/21-170.8 lbs Was at a work Christmas bowling party last night. They had snacks and were to have some Keto friendly ones. They had pizza, french fries and BREADED chicken nuggets. I didn't have any. Glad I took some of my own to munch. I had a hard boiled egg, colby jack string cheese, pecans and water.
I expected a bigger drop today. Was hoping for 160 something but will take it. I did 242 minutes on my Elliptical for 17 miles today.
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12/9-12/12
I’ve kept the snacking at a minimum for the last several days even though I’ve really wanted to at night. I’m considering going back to the thinner, leaner, stronger weight lifting program where I will need to watch macros more closely. If I do, I’ll either come back to MFP for food logging or do a dual log here and in Noom until I finish off that program mid January. Noom doesn’t show macros. I recalculated my TDEE and BMR and to lose, I need to drop down to about 1350 calories a day. I think I will struggle with this but will see if I feel fueled enough. Upping my protein will likely help at 40% of my calories. Something to think about for right after the holidays.3 -
Day 13 - 180.2
I survived! Despite all the stress, lack of sleep, not being able to log my food, etc, I ended up losing slightly! I fully expected to be up a pound! I am now at my lowest weight in years. My lowest recorded weight prior was in February of 2018 at 184.6. I am now on a definite track to get below 180 by end of year. I may be there by the end of this week! If so, my new goal for the end of the year will be to simply remain under for the remainder of this month. If I lose, great. But don't want to see 180 again!
Today, things will get back to normal. I'm still at sleep deficit, but no more restaurant foods that are hard to keep track of. I can leave for home for lunch so I can eat what I know is best for me and not pick and choose off a menu that has no nutritional info.
Have a great day!5 -
Yesterday:
Logged: yes. I am really happy about how much I am enjoying logging right now, as getting back into logging has been what I have struggled the most with in these challenges in the past.
Net carbs: 53 g.
Protein: 114 g.
Movement: just a good bit of walking. Linked my watch (in late afternoon) with a new phone so didn't get good results for the day, but everything was closed but my move cals, and I was close enough that I think I would have gotten those. Linking wiped out the day, though, and I just didn't bother wearing it the rest of the day.
Journaling: yes
Sleep: only so so. (Was better last night and I just generally feel better so far today as a result.)3 -
Joining this challenge a little late but I have been low carb since October 29, 2021.
Starting weight 10/31/21 - 258.6
December weight 12/1/21 - 251.0
End of year Goal 12/31/21 - 245.0
Other goals for each day:
Stay under 100g carbs
Get at least 2,500 steps
Eat close to daily calories (I have a problem with skipping meals and being too low then eating whatever to get enough to close the day.)
Drink 85 oz water
Doing well with all the goals except the calories one. I know it's supposed to be CICO so you would think being low would be a good thing but if I don't eat enough I don't lose either. Yesterday was good but I did skip lunch and then filled in calories again. This morning I weighed 247.8 so I'm on track with the weight goal.4 -
Another day on track, keeping that goal.. just 6 grams of carbs.. and I lost 6/10ths of a lb. I am down to 239.2 on my way to 232 for the end of the month, and I think I will get there. Just have to repeat what i am doing every day, and see the results.3
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You are doing great! I wish I could be consistently under 10 grams of carbs/day! I do average about 2 days a week doing that though. I'm not completely carnivore, but 3/4 of the way there! I just like cheese too much!russellholtslander1 wrote: »Another day on track, keeping that goal.. just 6 grams of carbs.. and I lost 6/10ths of a lb. I am down to 239.2 on my way to 232 for the end of the month, and I think I will get there. Just have to repeat what i am doing every day, and see the results.
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Day 14 - Second verse, same as the first! Neither up nor down and I will take that as a win!3
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Yesterday:
Logged: yes.
Net carbs: 67 g.
Protein: 86 g (lower than my goal 100 g).
Movement: lazy rest day. I had lots of energy in the morning but also lots of non exercise things to do, and my ankle, which has been bothering me off and on was acting up. After work I had intended to do some spinning (which wouldn't be an issue for my ankle), but I just decided I wanted to rest instead. No big deal -- I'm going to the gym today -- and my ankle is feeling better today.
Journaling: yes
Sleep: pretty good. A bit restless but total hours are better than usual.
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Starting weight 10/31/21 - 258.6
December weight 12/1/21 - 251.0
End of year Goal 12/31/21 - 245.0
Other goals for each day:
Stay under 100g carbs: 26g
Get at least 2,500 steps: 4,479
Eat over 1,000 cals: 1356 (6 over but had 178 exercise cals so it was ok)
Drink 85 oz water: 118.3 oz
Down 4.6 lbs for Dec to 246.4 lbs1 -
Hi! I'm Mary from Pennsylvania.
Back again! Will post weight on Sundays. Sticking with what has been working for me since 5/14/21. 1000-1200 calories/day,
Net Carbs15 +/- 3 grams(some days actually less), 70+ oz water/day, only 2 meals/day on non work days (I work 4 days/week) and exercise on my non work days (as I work long days).
UGW-122 lbs
Down 84.2 lbs of 132 lb goal to lose.
Oct goal was 10 lbs Almost made it!, loss -9.6 lbs
Nov goal was 5 lbs Made it, loss -5.6 lbs!
Dec goal is also 5 lbs, loss so far -5.4 lbs! Made my goal!
9/14/20-255 lbs Highest weight twice :-(
5/3/21-240.5 lbs
6/1/21-228.8 lbs
7/1/21-222.2 lbs
8/1/21-212.0 lbs
9/1/21-200.0 lbs
10/1/21-191.4 lbs
11/1/21-181.8 lbs
12/1/21-176.2 lbs
12/5/21-171.8 lbs. I'm wearing size 10 jeans but yesterday I tried on a brand new pair of 8's, (with tags on) l found in my closet. I zipped them right up without any trouble. Only reason I won't wear them yet is my flabby stomach hangs over the waist really bad. Need to start doing abdominal crunches! Also as of yesterday I am no longer Obese on the BMI scale (even though as a RN, I don't really think it's a super tool. My sons who are very fit, are sometimes classified as Obese and one only has 4-6% body fat. We seem to be solidly built people. I've always weighed more than people think). So I'm now Overweight! Can't wait though to hit the Normal anyway! About 26-28 lbs to go for that.
12/12/21-170.8 lbs Was at a work Christmas bowling party last night. They had snacks and were to have some Keto friendly ones. They had pizza, french fries and BREADED chicken nuggets. I didn't have any. Glad I took some of my own to munch. I had a hard boiled egg, colby jack string cheese, pecans and water.
I expected a bigger drop today. Was hoping for 160 something but will take it. I did 242 minutes on my Elliptical for 17 miles today.
Couldn't wait for my regular weigh-in day on Sunday. I just had to share...
12/14/21-169.4 lbs! Finally under 170! But now all I think about is the next goal for the scale of under 150! Down 85.6 lbs total, 12.4 lbs already of my 15 lb goal for November, December & January. I had a later start for my Elliptical today so only did 140 minutes for 11 miles.
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12/13-12/4
Nice job everyone! So many successes this month! I snacked both last night and tonight and shouldn’t have. Last night I stayed within my calorie goals but had fish for an early dinner and it just didn’t stick with me for very long. At least I was feeling a bit hungry. Tonight I just let a craving get the better of me. I started to try and distract and gave in too quickly. Oh well, tomorrow is another opportunity to do my best.3 -
I meant under 160 lbs not 150 yet. Thats the next one!4
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Day 15 - 179.8
Yay! The downward trend continues!! I don't expect it to stay under. Today is our office Christmas party, and I'm ready to indulge. I say indulge but not overstuff! My guess is the food is going to be pizza and wings. Bunch of guys, that's their go-to party requisite. But I also think they will get a salad to "balance" things out! So my plan is to fill up on salad, have a slice of pizza and at least 4 wings! After the hell weekend we had, we deserve to Live It Up! I finally feel back to normal today. So yeah...PARTY!!!
Have an awesome day everyone!4
