April 17, Day 1, Welcome!
capnemomac
Posts: 17 Member
Hi folks,
I am looking for a way to hold myself accountable and saw a post suggesting a 12-week Challenge... so I figured I would just start a group and see if anyone showed up.
This might be me blogging to myself. That's fine if it is! Or, if you are reading this and want to join (anytime, anywhere, any body condition) please jump in!
I go by the online handle, Nemo, and I'm 40 years old. I've been overweight pretty much my whole life (since I was about 5 years old at least). I've had various periods of success and decline in my weight and fitness.
At my worst I was around 390 lbs in my mid-20s. Thanks to some encouragement from my brother and the realization I'd need to lose weight to find a life partner (because I can't be happy with someone else if I wasn't happy with myself), I was able to lose 100 lbs and feel pretty good.
However, the past 3 years has not been good for me with stress for work and life. I'm blessed with a wonderful wife and 2 kids but not enough time or motivation to eat well or exercise enough. I currently weigh about 329 lbs and decided it's time to get back on track.
My goal for the next 12 weeks is to develop healthy eating habits, make regular exercise a part of my routine, and use that to lose some weight. My hope is that I can be under 300 lbs by July 10, 2023. I think it's doable based on past performance - but if I don't get there but have made improvements I will still be happy.
I don't know who might be reading this but I'll see you around! 😉
I am looking for a way to hold myself accountable and saw a post suggesting a 12-week Challenge... so I figured I would just start a group and see if anyone showed up.
This might be me blogging to myself. That's fine if it is! Or, if you are reading this and want to join (anytime, anywhere, any body condition) please jump in!
I go by the online handle, Nemo, and I'm 40 years old. I've been overweight pretty much my whole life (since I was about 5 years old at least). I've had various periods of success and decline in my weight and fitness.
At my worst I was around 390 lbs in my mid-20s. Thanks to some encouragement from my brother and the realization I'd need to lose weight to find a life partner (because I can't be happy with someone else if I wasn't happy with myself), I was able to lose 100 lbs and feel pretty good.
However, the past 3 years has not been good for me with stress for work and life. I'm blessed with a wonderful wife and 2 kids but not enough time or motivation to eat well or exercise enough. I currently weigh about 329 lbs and decided it's time to get back on track.
My goal for the next 12 weeks is to develop healthy eating habits, make regular exercise a part of my routine, and use that to lose some weight. My hope is that I can be under 300 lbs by July 10, 2023. I think it's doable based on past performance - but if I don't get there but have made improvements I will still be happy.
I don't know who might be reading this but I'll see you around! 😉
6
Replies
-
Hello! I too have set today as my get back on the right track with my diet and exercise. Plus we have a vacation coming up in June and I want to be able to enjoy biking, kayaking, and swimming. I too have never been the "skinny" kid, and in a family that put a great significance on looks/weight it created some issues with my relationship with food. I don't know how many times I have said this is the week, and then fell off the "wagon" by Wednesday. I think it might be helpful to have some place to go and post/talk about the success/struggle with keeping on track with food and exercise. I also think the past 3 years has been difficult for so many of us...during COVID and when it became nice weather in my area we were enjoying a fattening meal and drinks on our deck by 4pm everyday. I have a wonderful husband who is also diabetic so he's done a great job in the past year with removing carbs from his diet. Some how he's lost weight and I found it all. UGH! I also have grandkids and cannot wait to enjoy a vacation with them, but I also don't want to be worn out by 4pm everyday. So it might be the two of us but I'm hoping this will be something that helps me with my accountability and motivation. So far I have stuck to my goal of drinking more water and eating healthy this morning. Now on to sticking with it the rest of the day! The best to you as well!2
-
I tend to fall off the wagon as soon as I get home. I'm here too so there are definitely three of us. I have a vacation in August, but I'm more for trying to get back to moving. The weight for me should come off on it's own if I can only get off of my couch and stop eating all of the things! We've got this! More water, more movement, more GOOD food for our bodies!
That being said, do either of you make time for yourselves? I've been wrestling with this because I feel selfish if I make me time, like for meditation or just to read for like 20 minutes a day. I think I need some me time, where I can get lost in my head and regroup. Thoughts?3 -
Hello,
I would like to join to get and give motivation.
April through June is the perfect pre-4th of July challenge.
This is not my first rodeo but it sure feels like it.
I'm a mom of two, and I have been on a weight roller coaster for years. But this last spike, I have not conquered yet.
I have been trying to lose the same 26 lbs since October 2022.
It's been 6 months.
It's all I think about.
It ruins my day.
I finally gave up and baught bigger clothes.
I need to do this for my health and joy. It will make me a better mom and everything else.
My goal weight is 134lbs by the end of June.
That is a healthy weight loss of 26 lbs in 11 weeks, or 2.4 lbs per week.
4/18/23 SW 159.2 and Goal weight: 134 lbs
2 -
Hello! I'm an empty nester so "me" time is in abundance compared to the years of focusing on raising some awesome daughters. In the past I was so stressed from work, and trying to keep up with everything at home that I hit my snooze numerous times and would never get up until the very last minute. However, now that I'm older and have found a wonderful employer I start my days around 5am reading and enjoying "me" time. I found that giving myself that time has been really good for me. Last year I would also do 15 minutes of yoga during that time too. Part of getting back on track includes getting back into doing yoga in the morning. If you are trying to juggle it all then I feel for you and completely understand feeling selfish. Though if you put it into perspective that spending 20 minutes of your day on you out of the 16 hours that you spend on everyone else it's really not being selfish.
2 -
Hello! Being part of a group is a new thing for me. I am 60 years old, married and have two grown children as well as 5 granddaughters! Throughout my life I have been very fit as well as not so much. The last time I lost a good amount of weight was 2018, I did Keto and dropped about 50 pounds very quickly. Needless to say it all came back...and then some. December 2022 I was just over 200 pounds and decided I needed to do something. Shortly after that I received a letter in the mail from the University of MN Department of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes. It was inviting me to part of a research study. I qualified because I was an "at risk, obese, human!" FYI, I'm not diabetic. I joined the research study, and am now working with a dietitian, who suggested using MyFitnessPal. Since December, I have lost 10.2 pounds, but 5 of that has been this past month, working with the dietician. I am making an effort to be more active, and have been enjoying recipes from the Eating Well website. I am hoping to be encouraged as well as give encouragement in this group!3
-
Good morning,
I am also someone who has been overweight my whole life. I've had a few weightloss successes but always seem to find myself back to overweight. I'm about to be 36 and I need change, big time. So I rejoined MFP and hoping to lose 22lbs during these 12 weeks. I'm currently 222lbs! Goals : healthier habits, walk more, eat less sugar and dairy.3 -
Good morning! It's great to see more people join the group! I enjoyed reading everyone's story and it's nice to feel like I'm not alone in this struggle. I made it one day...woohoo! Today I want to focus on the same things including drinking 8/10 glasses of water. I'm already on my second one which is HUGE for me as I usually drink diet soda all day. I started out the morning with my 15 minutes of yoga as well. Does anyone else avoid the scale? I really have an issue with weighing myself, as sometimes I feel it's a demotivator for me. However, when my clothes start to get a little loose I start making bad choices. Any suggestions on how to change my relation with the scale?1
-
I did not get on my treadmill last night. I was overwhelmed and had some issues come up and my "plan" went by the wayside. This happens far too often. And although I didn't over eat, I over drank. I tend to turn to alcohol when I get stressed. And I ended up consuming another 2200+ in calories from Tippy Cow. Then this morning there was my typical lack of motivation to get up. But I'm going to try walking again on my lunch and then I'm determined to get myself to the gym for the first time in 3 years tonight. I've been trying to keep from bingeing on food right now, and lunch is going to be a salad. But yesterday's damage was done and the scale tipped at 300.2, up from 299.0 the day before. Enough is enough. So my first challenge day was a fail. But that's day 1. Today is day 2.2
-
Hello.
Day 1 Recap : meals went well, but I did not exercise
wah waah
Day 2 Recap: meals went well and I did 2 - 30 minute elliptical sessions, yes!
Day 3 Recap: It is currently halfway through day 3 and meals are going ok. I just realized that this cauliflower meal I've been having is not the healthiest, no wonder it tastes so delicious!
so meals are not going great and exercise will most likely be just a 30 minute walk.1 -
@Melitaty what cauliflower meal? I saw a recipe somewhere where it's mixed in with potatoes and I am going to see what the nutritional info is for it.1
-
My day two also got derailed some...I was offered free baseball tickets and who can go to the ballpark and not have fattening food??? I didn't drink any beer so that was my "diet" choice that I felt good about. I did my 15 minutes of yoga yesterday morning and this morning. So far today I'm back on track which day 3 is the day that I typically lose focus on the diet and exercise so if I can make it through this evening I'll be happy. I think knowing that I'll be able to post about it will help keep me focused on making the right choices.0
-
felinasbeads wrote: »@Melitaty what cauliflower meal? I saw a recipe somewhere where it's mixed in with potatoes and I am going to see what the nutritional info is for it.
I agree with that, checking into it ahead of time. Mine, I did not cook. It's the Birds Eye Cauliflower Balls Southwest... I usually eat the whole bag. And now that I'm logging - I realized there's a lot of sodium in that. I'll tweak intake or find a replacement.
Happy Thursday - Day 4!1 -
Hello.
Day 1 Recap : meals went well, but I did not exercise wah waah
Day 2 Recap: meals went well and I did 2 - 30 minute elliptical sessions, yes!
Day 3 Recap: meals went ok, not as good as day 1 and 2. But, better than it would have went without logging. I walked 50 minutes! That was a win for me 1 -
I did go over my caloric intake yesterday, but by less than a 100 calories so I call that a win. I managed to stay focused, and walked on my lunch for a mile. It took me 21 minutes, but since I couldn't even walk .6 miles the other day without being winded, I'm also calling this a win. Baby steps. While the weight came on quick, it's not going to be quick to make changes to my new, self sabotaging habits.
Today I ate breakfast because I realized not eating breakfast causes me to be nauseous when the hunger comes on. Starting to feel the old mindset and determination coming back. I need to journal, whether it's on here or in my actual journal. I think just getting the voices in my head and my thoughts out is helping me tremendously. Back to a routine I go! Have the day you all deserve and by that I mean we've got this!1 -
Day 3 evening went ok which is a win for me...I woke up several times during the night and I ate grapes and in the past I would have had cookies so I'll call that a win as well. Today I'm exhausted from 2 nights in a row not sleeping well so I started out the morning with diet soda (not a coffee drinker) instead of water. After reading everyone's post I've gotten back on the water train. I'm hoping to workout at my gym on my way home, and not let any excuses like being tired keep me from it. Now on to the rest of the day as a win!! Have wonderful evening everyone!1
-
Day 3 evening went ok which is a win for me...I woke up several times during the night and I ate grapes and in the past I would have had cookies so I'll call that a win as well. Today I'm exhausted from 2 nights in a row not sleeping well so I started out the morning with diet soda (not a coffee drinker) instead of water. After reading everyone's post I've gotten back on the water train. I'm hoping to workout at my gym on my way home, and not let any excuses like being tired keep me from it. Now on to the rest of the day as a win!! Have wonderful evening everyone!
Yesterday was the beginning of the retrograde and it's a new moon. I know that it disrupts my sleeping patterns at times (the moon.) Have you tried something like tea, or melatonin to help you sleep through the night better?0 -
moved this post to where it belongs!0
-
I'm not sure how to respond in your post felinasbeads I'm thinking the sleepless nights were from my body still adjusting to my intake of water as well as drinking caffeine at the ballpark (instead of beer) probably are the contributing factors to the numerous bathroom trips causing the interrupted sleep. I do take melatonin so I'm hoping that the next few nights my body will be adjusted to the water and not need so many bathroom breaks. Though it has helped with getting more steps during the day as I'm making 3 times the number of trips to the bathroom during the day as I use too. LOL 1
-
Hello all! I am still at it. Not perfect but definately better than before we started. I got sick over the weekend while on my period which set me back on activity. I plan to getting back on walking my 45-60 minutes today. I am down a couple of pounds which inspires me to keep trying.0
-
I spent last week focused on a home project and dealing with a major work issue instead of diet/exercise. When my husband fishes I usually take that time to complete a home project without his Debbie Downer attitude and since he was gone a whole week I tackled painting 90% of the kitchen including the cabinets. As soon as I got home from work I would start in on the cleaning/sanding/painting. It took all week to get through 2 coats on the ceiling, cutting in the walls, the pantry doors, plus 3 coats on the cabinets. Geez, I'm exhausted just thinking about it all. lol I didn't drink water like I should have but instead drank caffeine to keep going. By Thursday I was just snacking as the kitchen was such a mess that I didn't want to take any more time cooking something. I finally got on the scale this morning and wasn't happy with where I'm at but I'm hoping that by getting back into the swing of things with water and actual exercise next week I will have a better result.0
-
I hope everyone is doing well! My clothes are fitting a little looser than they did on 4/17. I haven't been great about logging my exercise or food last week as I think I was still exhausted from the kitchen painting project. I was able to stay a little on track this past weekend, but it was really rough. When my clothes start to fit a little looser then I want to reward myself with binging on food. Anyone else feel that way? It's such a hard habit to break for me. I have 4 more weekends to get through before our trip and I will need to keep focusing on not rewarding myself that way.0
