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

Not much exciting to add today. My daughter is being punished with extra chores today so I included her helping me make dinner.... which she took as she's also picking what we're eating (which is actually pretty fair). It sounds like she wants me to show her how to make mini sliders and have chips with it. I'll have to see about sliding a vegetable in there somwhere.

Otherwise we just went to Zumba last night and are staying in tonight. Nothing exciting at all.

Age: 27
Height: 5'10"
Starting Weight: 247 pounds (July 2021)
Current Weight: 187.1 pounds
Ultimate Goal Weight: 165 pounds
Pounds Until Goal: 22 pounds
August Goal Weight: 184 pounds

August 3: 187.1 pounds
August 10:
August 17:
August 24:
August 31:

Weekly Goals:
1. Work out 4 hours a week
2. At least 1 work out focused on strength
3. At least 1 work out jogging
4. At least 1 social event per week
5. Focus on hobbies 4 hours a week
6. Eat out 3x a week or less

Not a lot going on this month except softball. Going to really hammer down on my fitness and focus on my goals. Going on vacation next month, so I want to be solidly under 185 before a week of eating out. Will do my best to keep within my calorie budget, but this month is prep month for that!

Keri
69 years old
5'6"
SW: 266ish
CW: 245.6 current scale weighs me 6 lbs heavier than old one so not sure about how much I have lost.
Next Goal weight: 220 (how much I got down to the last time I lost a significant amount on MFP)
Halfway GW: 199.5
UGW: 150 (healthy weight) then reconsider
July GW: Get to low 240s or into the 230s and stay in them (no highs in the 250s)

I post weigh- in when I lose.
7/2: 248.8
7/29 246.4
8/1: 245.6
8/3: 244.4

🌻 AUGUST GOALS! 🌻
🟨 Log daily on MFP and track on my spreadsheet
🟨 Keep making progress with walking longer and walk 6 days a week
🟨 Add strength training (weights, body weight and stretching)
🟨 plan and cook healthy meals at home
🟨 Eat at a sensible deficit

Yes, I was right that my rate of weight loss is increasing lately. Anyway I am definitely in the mid 240s now. For some it isn’t very fast but then I want to lose at a sustainable rate. I waited to have lunch yesterday until I was hungry but I was hungry so I ate until I felt satisfied. Then I never really got hungry for dinner since I had a later good lunch so I skipped it and had a small snack later. We also went for a walk. We have walked ever day this week starting on Sunday. It is easier now since it is cooler. The afternoons are pretty hot though. However all of us Seattleites were happy yesterday morning with the cool overcast morning. Some were even wearing long sleeves. It is supposed to stay in the 70s the rest of the week. Perfect.

It turned out that the interview I felt good about last week was good enough to get me 2nd interview with higher ups. I also have an interview with another place tomorrow. Between these interviews and Drs/dental appointments I scheduled it is getting busier. So far none have conflicted with our trip to Hawaii for the funeral. Thanks all for your condolences.

@mmdeveau Sorry about your shoulder. Glad you celebrated. Sorry about the blisters and the delays to getting back making progress in exercise. I feel the same way about having to start from square one after last year when I was treated for breast cancer while working full-time. I want to be able to walk as far as I want to without getting tired. Last time I tried strength training at home I injured my wrist. Also sorry to hear about your car. I have had Mazdas, 1 Toyota (used) and mostly Hondas. We just bought a Subaru due to having more snow here than before. I haven’t bought any Nissans so I didn’t know about them. Mazdas are fine until a few years after you pay them off. We fixed one of those and it was doing okay but then a drunk hit us and totaled it. So far we have liked our other cars. Anyway it was good to have an update on how it is going for you. I love your red light analogy. I agree about COVID and masking and in fact the latest is even more contagious. Consequently, I now wear N95s.

@CupcakeCrusoe I am worried about my son because he has always had sleep issues and not sure how he will survive waking up with the baby. They are planning to move back here eventually so I can’t wait. Glad the scale is finally coming down for you. I think your body was getting used to the new exercise. Congrats on being halfway.

@bojaantje3822 nice progress with measurements.

@pamperedlinny This year it will be our 40th anniversary in December. We usually make a big deal about them but then we probably have fewer date nights than some people. We used to commute together before the pandemic and I miss that time. We would kiss goodbye and hello and now with working remotely we don’t have a designated time to hug or have time together.

@15822 I am glad you found an alternative form of exercise that works for you. I miss doing Aquafit but can walk. I have arthritis in my knee and have issues walking down hill and graded streets. However as I walk more my knee has actually improved. However I no longer run. I am thinking about getting a bike soon.

@Alatariel75 I would wait after eating out posting weight too.

@mshawski Happy Birthday and just be consistent with your goals and your weight will adjust again.

Woohoo 🥳 @CupcakeCrusoe

Good morning!!!!!

I forgot that we were signed up for Lasanga Love and that our delivery was last night. The lady that delivered was so sweet and added a salad, warm Italian bread and brownies too. It was such a HUGE blessing. The website if you could use a free meal is https://www.lasagnalove.org/

Also, my neighbor who works for Jersey Bagel Brothers sometimes brings home bagels when they haven't sold out for the day. Yesterday he brought me a dozen bagels. It was a great day for free food (maybe not calorie and carb friendly aka diabetic friendly foods) but given how things financially are strapped lately it was a major blessing.

With all the free food we didn't do the sliders. Instead my picky eater child made sloppy joes (or sloppy Whoppers in her case.... do you remember my post where I said she puts all the Burger King Whopper toppings on her sloppy joe?) and today we have leftovers of all the things. It's going to be sad to track or check my blood sugar with so many carby things on hand but, again, so crazily thankful. I have Zumba tonight which will help counter some of that at least.

Another big plan is coming up.... my 40th birthday is the last day of September. Since that is also the day that Hocus Pocus 2 comes out and I'm a big nerd I told my husband and best friend I think we need a Hocus Pocus themed birthday party. I don't care that it's a Disney movie birthday party for a full grown adult. I just want some fun and to feel like a kid for a day (although one that will need a designated driver to get home ). First we have our mini vacation in another 10 days, back to school, labor day... but I can start coming up with a plan now. If you have budget friendly ideas or simple themed party food ideas please share them all!

Tag Time
@KeriA Congrats on the 2nd interview!!!! My husband still goes into the office 3 days a week and we always give a quick kiss on his way out. On the days he’s home we don’t really have a time we do that either and I do miss it on the work at home days.

@Alatariel75 Eek on the cold shower. Hopefully it stays lit so you can have some hot water after work.

@CupcakeCrusoe your pasta looks fabulous! I’m so glad my trick worked for you!!!!

@bojaantje3822 I can’t watch anything horror related. It doesn’t bother me too badly during the watch but I have vivid dreams and after every one of those films those vivid dreams pull from the scary stuff and replay for weeks. Not worth it. I need my sleep.

@Mshaski – I hear you on the scale. I’m so sodium sensitive that I have to remind myself that I didn’t eat enough over maintenance to gain the 5 lbs that showed up that day; maybe 1 or 2 if I was over for 2 days; definitely not the rest. Happy Birthday!

@KeriA – I very much agree with making weight loss sustainable for you. I’ve lost quickly in the past – 60 lbs in 1 ½ year; but I didn’t do it the best nor thought through if I’d really keep up the exercise that I was doing to get there. I’m quite slow now but it’s the best plan of action for me to keep for life. Good luck with the job interviews!

@Bojaantje3822 – Sorry about your friend. You may have to call her out if she does it in the future to acknowledge it hurts your feelings when she’s pushing her agenda to you seemingly. Definitely watch for it if she continues. Glad you liked Black Phone. I’ve been sketchy on it. I might wait for streaming. I don’t think I’ve seen a trailer for the smiles movie yet but I anticipate I might have nightmares from it myself. I can do some horror but if it starts to be more realistic I just can’t.

Started back with my Daily Harvest box. Using it to help with a semi – elimination diet. Otherwise I love having their smoothies. I might have to take my blender to mom’s house when I go back to keep these up.
Yesterday I went to a baseball game that work supported. It was nice being out, especially when I’m low with tasks at the moment and got to meet one of my coworkers that I hadn’t met yet.

My sister moved! I went through 3 shirts,I sweat like crazy, and I lifted a lot of heavy things, we got a little bit of help from a nice new neighbour, she got help from her old neighbour and some good friends so I'm happy. Managed a slight deficit and had almost 4L of water but surprisingly I fit into one of my sister's oversized shirts, a Nike men's medium! It's a little tight around the hips but who cares.
Don't remember if I did a check in this morning so sorry if I doubled up today

@sarah12277 totally wait for it to stream. I liked it well enough but I don't think it's worth my money or yours. I don't like horror that gets too real either and this plot was borderline okay because it had some supernatural stuff. It is set in the 70s and they use the f slur. There's also on-screen child abuse from a parent that I wasn't ready for at all, it didn't show in the trailer. Some violent bullying and some gender norm bs too so definitely look at the TWs and see if it's something you can watch. If I'd known I wouldn't have watched it but I was okay and liked it well enough.
I will for sure, it just caught me completely by surprise so I'll be on the lookout next time we meet. I'm just so disappointed. I know that some people think like that but I didn't expect anyone to be loud about it to me. I usually don't give off those kinds of vibes so idk what happened.

@Zombella welcome! Sounds like you've got a good plan.

@sandielewis2001 love to see your progress!

Morning all. At least the scale came down a smidge today, first time in August it has come done and not gone up!! I'm still retaining fluid like a B - I have epic sausage fingers. I even took a couple of water pills last night but they are old and I think they're ineffective because I'm still retaining and I'm not hitting the bathroom any more frequently. SIGH.

Working from home today so incidental exercise is low, I'll walk at lunch. I do have a sore throat this morning which irks me - it's enough that if I didn't have covid 2 weeks ago, I'd test. I'm sick of being sick!!!

I just weighed-in at the doctor’s office at 227. I wonder if my scale needs new batteries? I trust their scale more than mine. 🤔

@CupcakeCrusoe - I use the adaptive TDEE calculator and it’s kept me in the same range for awhile. It’s been spot-on before so I don’t have a reason to mistrust it. I’m seriously wondering about my scale batteries based on my visit to the doc this morning!

Random post on a random day off from work! I really need to get going because I’m making my way down to the shore via public transportation, and I still need to pack, shower, etc.

This is a “gift” day from my manager. Due to the vacation blackout in June and July, she gives us two free days as a thank you. Today and Monday are those days.

Anyway, reading through the posts, a couple of things I wanted to note:

@mshawski – I am “stopped” with Chasing Cupcakes, too. At her first list of questions. I think they’re excellent journal prompts and I want to take them seriously. In the meantime, and I may be the last person on this thread to pick this one up, I am reading Shrill by Lindy West. It is filled with responses I’d love to post in the “’Things People Say When You Lose Weight” thread with a comment about how if people are treating you differently when you’ve lost a lot of weight that maybe the problem is really you, formerly fat person. I follow that thread because it is mostly relatable but from time to time someone pops in with that gem of a thought and it is seriously triggering.

@cupcakecrusoe – congrats on the whoosh! Hard work does pay off! I have a Krups ice cream maker – the kind with the huge cannister you have to freeze before you make the ice cream. I haven’t had any specific issues with it. I haven’t used it in a long time, because I don’t have room in my freezer to store the cannister. I’m considering getting the Creami because it looks more convenient.

Also – I think our dear Cupcakecrusoe’s progress is a good illustration of the saying, you’re not really plateaued unless your scale weight has not changed for six weeks while following your plan. It’s really important to stick to plan and try not to stress about the day-to-day fluctuations. In addition to the regular water retention due to sodium issues, I’ve found that every time I’ve had tomato sauce I retain water too. Tomato sauce has a lot of potassium, and could potentially cause retention. Fiber intake also impacts my weight too. More fiber generally means lower scale weights the next day or days.

@pamperedlinny – you are like me with the cooking. I love to cook and bake, it’s actually fun and relaxing for me. People say they like food and cooking and that’s great but, I always think I’m pretty sure you don’t like it in the “I made puff pastry from scratch, all by myself, when was eight because I felt like it” way. It’s rough when you’re trying to lose weight and people tell you to do something fun. My first thought is I’d like to bake a batch of cookies because that’s my idea of fun. It’s one of the reasons I knit, obsessively. I’m glad you liked the “red light” analogy.

I collect thoughts and phrases from things I read and listen to because they summarize a whole behavioral change process I’ve internalized to help me in my quest. Snacking is an issue for me, and it’s so easy to go off track for the day if I don’t have the quick defense to stop me before I consume a hundred or more calories in the blink of an eye. One of them has been the prompt to ask myself before I have a snack, in addition to “Am I really hungry,” is, “Is food the answer to my problem?". The only problem that’s solved by eating food is hunger.

I’m also on a mission to dissociate food from exercise, I’ve banished any thought of food being a reward for exercise. Or of exercise being a punishment for eating food. Whenever I exercise, as soon as I start thinking about eating extra food I remind myself “You are not a dog. Do not reward yourself with food.” I certainly realize I can eat more on days I’m more active, and do because my body needs the resources to recover and repair.

@KeriA – good news about the second interview! And congratulations on the grandbaby! As for cars, I had a Mazda, too. For thirteen years, I drove it for 130K miles, only one transmission that needed a repair. Before that, I had a Hyundai Scoupe that I abused drove for 6 years in South Florida for 110K miles one transmission. By abuse, I mean I worked in Boca, went to school in Miami twice a week, and lived somewhere in between. I don’t know where metro Miami ranks in terms of the worst traffic in the country now, but only L.A. and Washington D.C./Northern Virginia were worse than Metro Miami when I lived there. I lived 20 miles from my office in downtown Miami, and when I had to go into the office it routinely took an hour and 15 minutes during rush hour to get there, provided there were no accidents. And rush hour in Miami is 6 AM – 11 AM. Further abuse: I drove through a flood area with the car and stalled while water started filling the bottom of the passenger cabin. By some miracle, I got the car started again and home, grabbed a shop vac to pump the water out of the passenger cabin. I essentially let the car dry out, did not get it checked by a mechanic, and drove it for another 60K – 70K miles. Also, I was rear-ended twice in that car, once by a fully loaded dump truck. For the Nissan, I took pristine care of this car. Even the last dealer I took the car to said they could see it in the repair record. I’ve been rewarded with having to replace the transmission not once, but twice in 80K miles and 9 years of ownership (only driven for 8 years). I am beyond livid. I am grinding my teeth, talking about it to anyone I come across in conversation, and considering filing a complaint with the state’s consumer agency (about more than the transmission but that really has to do with the dealer), my congressional representatives, and NHTSA. I know that was a long rant, if you’ve read this far I thank you for your attention!

@bojaantje3822 – So many people are rejecting people because they disagree on one thing. I think there’s room for disagreement. But I think it’s most helpful to think of relationships in terms of standards and expectations. People who don’t meet your standards don’t get to be in your life. If you establish a standard that those who are included in your circle must respect your gender preferences, maybe this person isn't going to be a close friend or someone who's not in your life at all. With expectations things may be a bit more flexible. This pandemic made me realize how many true friends I have. Which is none sadly. I don’t think I’ve spoken to anyone by phone other than family since the beginning of the pandemic. All this to say I appreciate how hard of a time people are having with friends right now. Personally, I’ve been trying to figure out who’s a close friend, who I keep at arm’s length, who I say hi to if I come across them in the street, and the ones who just belong on the planet Hoth. (For those who don’t know Star Wars, that’s the ice planet the rebels retreated to at the beginning of the Empire Strikes Back.)

@kenziestabies – if you’re allowed, bring snacks! I always think of fruit because it’s portable and easy to grab. Fruit also helps keep you hydrated. I went to the flower show here back in June, and it’s the same deal. This reminded me of a passage in the book I’m currently reading (noted above): “A music festival is a kind of collective hangover in which people who are cooler than you compete to win a special kind of lanyard so they can get into a special tent with unlimited free Gardetto’s. The only food available to non-lanyarded hoi polloi is expensive garbage dispensed resentfully from a shack..”

Well, I better get to going about my day before it gets too hot. And end this very long post!

I skipped my workout this morning and slept 3 more hours for a total of 10,5 hours. I'm still fairly exhausted but no longer from lack of sleep. I took it easy and only picked up my bike from the repair shop and then got groceries with it. I forgot how easy it is to get a lot of groceries by bike vs on foot. My hands actually feel okay.

I'm thinking of getting myself a new bike when I get below 100kg bodyweight. My current one has suffered my weight for years and I expect it to last a few more years but I can get a new bike tax-free due to a work thing so I've been considering it. I just don't want to buy a new bike now and have it endure all this extra weight and it would also make a nice gift to myself if I buy one that's a little more expensive than my current second hand one (I can't remember if we got it for free or if I paid like €100 for it). They also make you get bike insurance from the se budget so it would be a good investment.

I'm about to head off to have a drink with a former coworker. We hung out a few times and she's pretty cool.

I hear you all on the friend advice. Homophobic tendencies are very much a dealbreaker for me. Sometimes people just don't match. It took me years to learn that and figure out where my boundaries are and why but I think I got some solid opinions on things that are important to me and are dealbreakers if a potential friend disagrees and there are things I don't have strong opinions on that aren't dealbreakers at all if they do have strong opinions about. I'll try to see how deep it goes for her and if she's willing to keep an open mind and just take it one step at a time.
I see other people in my life complain about their friends and even confide in me that it's friendship from convenience and that just seemed sad and frustrating to me. While it's hard to make new friends as an adult, I don't want to let that hold me back from accepting who's right for me and keeping loose acquaintanceship with those who aren't right for me.

@Mshawski – No worries. I hadn’t mentioned in a while. I have eczema issues and was tested a long time ago for food intolerances. When I’ve gotten a bad flare up I have to really pare down and remove everything on my lists. Dairy is on there but doesn’t make me flare up; I just don’t heal when having it. I’ve just been having a hard time with the soreness so thought I should do a round recently. Daily Harvest has made it easier for me where I’ll have their smoothie for breakfast, a soup or harvest bowl for lunch and then dinner on my own.
Daily Harvest is very nice. It’s vegan. Lots of options. All the ingredients are listed. I’ve stuck with favorites now but initially when I first started I tried everything that I could have. I love their smoothies. I do have a Vitamix that makes everything easier though. I did like their oat & chai bowls initially but after a while I couldn’t get into the texture; still very good though. Flatbreads are fairly new (last few years anyway). I’m not a big arugula fan but tried the 1 flatbread I could have (arugula & pear) and it was pretty good. Ice creams are great and I don’t feel guilty having them; their calories are pretty easy to fit in. I add one in on occasion when I still have smoothies in the freezer. I had their Sweet Potato & Miso soup yesterday and I think I’ll need to stay with those for a while; it was great. They have these coffee pods that were based on a mushroom that were very good but I didn’t want to waste using an item on it for the week (initially they weren’t as flexible as they are now with the items); but I saw they now have 2 pods instead of 4 so definitely not a great option anymore.
I’ve tried Splendid Spoon and Green Blender in the past as well; both everything ended up tasting the same so I’ve kept with Daily Harvest, though mostly just during the summer months. They’re pretty reasonable price compared to other boxes as well but I do end up going every other week. Overall helps me supplement with my local produce pickup that I’d use for dinners.

@15822 Amazing you were able to do as much as you did on that ride!

Books – I’m expecting to buy Radical Love by Zachary Levi soon. I just love him but love the thoughts on the book for how he’s described. To help those needing self-validation, self-compassion, self-acceptance and with past trauma. With it being deeply rooted about mental health and since I lost my brother to suicide I thought it might be helpful reach those spots still needed healing deep down.

kenziestabes wrote: »

Softball game got rained out. Glad I walked this morning, so I got some activity in. Still planning on going out to eat (meal 2 of 3, with Sunday being 3 of 3), but I will skip the kid's sized milkshake. lol.

Great planning everything counts . I say however if your calories allow enjoy the kid size milkshake