Women 200lb+, Let’s Hocus Pocus Focus This October!!!

Good morning everyone!

Thank you as always @RavenStCloud for starting the thread. Also those puns!

🎃What are your plans for October? Are you trying to accomplish anything (big or small) in the last three months of 2023?

This month is going to be extremely busy. We have to drive 13 hours for a funeral pretty soon, stay a day, drive back the next. That's going to be...a lot. Next week thankfully, nothing, then the week after, I have a recruiting trip immediately followed by my birthday, which I'm meeting up with my sister, SILs, some of their family, and my mom for a tea party- we're going to dress extremely fancy, I bought tiaras for everyone. The week after that, Halloween festivities ramp up.

Then two weeks after that, Kiddo's birthday, two weeks after that, Thanksgiving, two weeks after that, Whatsisface's birthday, two weeks after that, Christmas. Yikes. I'm mentally fortifying myself, lol.

🎃Do you have any special October snacks you'll be treating yourself to or any special seasonal events you'll be participating in?

Somewhere in there, we'll go to a fall festival. As far as special snacks, nothing particularly, but I can tell you that I've already made the cardinal error of buying reeses pumpkins, lol.

Christina
34 years old
5'4"

SW: 220ish
Re-SW (Feb 2022): 200.4
UGW: 150

SW 10/1: 178.8 (yikes, but it's because I got like 4 hours of sleep last night)

🎃 October Goals! 🎃

🍂 October GW (average): 175

🤎Stick to weight loss calories at least 5 days a week
🤎Log everything in grams
🤎 Shut down the house every night

Tonight, two hours at the gym- chair acro class. I was excited about it yesterday, but for now I'm just tired, lol.

Have a great day, everyone!

Hello everyone!

I love October because it's my and my husband's birthdays this month! Then we have Dasara, Halloween and Diwali coming up. I'm looking forward to some cake and lots of traditional Indian food that I'm going to be making.

Name: Padmaja

SW: 230
CW: 224.6
GW: 220
UGW: 165-170

Hi! I'm long time MFPer, first time caller, er, poster (to this group anyway). Trying to get myself back on track, so I'm back in the boards and the food log...

🎃What are your plans for October? Are you trying to accomplish anything (big or small) in the last three months of 2023?

Due to some personal speedbumps, personal health issues, and family health issues, I basically completely stopped running, working out, and eating well this year. And the results are visible in the mirror every day. And I'm tired of it. So, even though I don't think that I'll make amazing progress toward some of my bigger goals, I'll be happy to just get back on my previous workout/run schedule, and get in the habit again!

🎃Do you have any special October snacks you'll be treating yourself to or any special seasonal events you'll be participating in?

Kraft Caramels and Brach's Candy Corn are the special snacks of the month. Sure, I can get either of them any time of year, but I like to save them, to make them special (kind of like Peeps are only for Easter).
I'm getting LASIK in November, and then I'm doing a 5k just a few days later (I forgot it was already scheduled when I set up the LASIK)... I am assuming I'll just WALK and not put any strain on myself, lol!

🧡 If you've never been here before, please know you are welcome to join at any point in the month. All you have to do is post something, and then BAM! you're one of us.

One of us! One of us!

🧡Victories, both scale and non-scale, are great to hear about, but, conversely, we know that weight loss isn't all sunshine and roses. If you're going through a rough patch, please feel free to be honest and vent your heart out. The struggle is real and we're all here to support each other!

Like I said earlier, lots of personal stuff that got in the way. BUT, I know me... I very easily could have done twice as much this year as I've actually done, but I have crap willpower. I have to be a strong wall at all times, or else as soon as there's a crack in the wall, everything comes tumbling down. Within a month, I went from "I'll just skip today" to "I'll just do cardio at the gym" to "I'll just walk" to "I'll go next week" to not even making excuses at all.
I know all the tricks, I know all the motivations, but I just don't. And my husband, bless his heart, is a lazy dude, so he's certainly not in his gym clothes dragging me to the gym... he'd rather snuggle in bed than watch me leave at 6am for a run... But I'm not blaming him, of course (well, except for his dang rouge appendix that went gonzo), I know that my failures are MY failures.

Anyway, that's enough of a peek into my psyche! Everyone have a great Tuesday. I'm trying to psych myself up to go to the gym after work, instead of saying "F it" because my period cramps are making me miserable... Remember... cardio is good for cramps!

Goals for October:

Gym 3x Week (Legs, Arms, Core)
Long Run 1x Week (training for half-mara starts at the end of the month)
parkrun (volunteer or participate)
Stretch 3x Week (utilizing FitOn app)
Lose 5 pounds

About Me:

SW 249.6 (10/1/2023)
CW 249.4 (10/2/2023)
GW 244.4 (October Goal Weight)
GW 199.9 (Realistic Goal Weight)
GW 174.9 (Ultimate Goal Weight)

Wow, really busy thread already this month! Everybody sounds so focused and on it I'm sure you'll achieve your goals. After 9 very consistent weeks and 18 lbs lost, I hit a bit of a hurdle this week. My husband moved out and I'm not sleeping barely at all and I keep snaffling treats. I then don't record them as if somehow they then don't exist I maintained this week, which I think I was lucky to do.
Next week it is my birthday on the 12th and middle son's on the 14th so there is going to be a LOT of temptation lying around the place. My goals are:

• To go back to logging EVERYTHING
• To keep up the early morning walks (I go at 6 am with my dog, which is getting harder now its so dark.
• Check in here at least weekly
• ///

SW 261
CW 243
GW 239
UGW 169 (I think or maybe early 170s. I often forget)

Linda
40 years old, 5’7”
SW: 300 lbs
Prev Low: 191 lbs
GW: 180 lbs
CW: 215-ish (I need to do a real weigh in again)

🎃What are your plans for October? Are you trying to accomplish anything (big or small) in the last three months of 2023?
I just want to get back on track. I keep either making excuses or having real emergencies. It’s been happening since this past February. I hit that new low weight THIS YEAR and I’m back up 25 lbs from that already. I know that’s too much fluctuation and I just need to really reset my mentality.

🎃Do you have any special October snacks you'll be treating yourself to or any special seasonal events you'll be participating in?
I went to LIT - Lust In The Lowcountry (a romance conference) last weekend. We had paid for the trip back in March, so I’ve been looking forward to it for 6 months. A friend is a romance author and we went as her fan club. I met soooo many indie romance writers and had a blast! 4 days with 8 women in an AirBnB made for some late nights, lots of snacks, tons of laughs, and the kind of discussions your mama says not to have…. About our sex lives, pooping, body dysmorphia, and all other types of things. All that girl time was soothing to my soul. Nothing else super special this month though.

For those that don’t know me, I was on this monthly thread A LOT for the past 2 years or so. Earlier this year my life started imploding and I became way more sporadic. So…. Here I am saying “I’m back!” for the 3rd time in 3 months. I swear I mean it this time though. I even got back to my exercise schedule. I went to my Zumba class last night and had so much fun. In fact, I can hardly talk this morning. My throat is sore and my voice is nearly gone. We are loud in that group and I’m feeling it today in my muscles and my throat.

By the way, my gym has a new group teacher that brought some new classes in…. has anyone done aerobic Barre or TRX classes? What are your thoughts? Trying to decide if I’m brave enough to try something new.

Serial restarter here. I fell off the wagon hard at the end of the summer. Truth be told, I was pretty lax for the entire summer and put on 15 of the 40lbs I had lost. Whelp, I'm here now, dusting myself off and getting ready to once again fight the good fight. I have a tough (in a good way) last week and a half coming up at the end of Oct. Starting off with a girl's wine tasting trip 10/21-22 then off to Denver to visit a friend for a week and going to see P!nk in concert.

My goals are to log EVERYTHING: The good, the bad and the ugly
Restarting my exercise (4x/wkly)
Cutting out alcohol M-F (Why oh why is wine so delicious and caloric???)
Logging updates here twice a week.
Spend time each day meditating which I have been doing so that's a quick win.

I am divorced, turning 60 in January and looking to make the most of the 11 weeks left in 2023

SW: 212.4 (10/3/23)
CW: 215.4 (10/8)
GW (short term): 195 by EOY
GW (long term): 165

Good morning everyone!
Christina
34 years old
5'4"

SW: 220ish
Re-SW (Feb 2022): 200.4
UGW: 150

SW 10/1: 178.8 (yikes, but it's because I got like 4 hours of sleep last night)
10/15: 179, looking more like that's a real weight.

🎃 October Goals! 🎃

🍂 October GW (average): 175

🤎Stick to weight loss calories at least 5 days a week
🤎Log everything in grams
🤎 Shut down the house every night

I did not do... any of that up there ^ and it shows. Much like everyone in this thread, we had a funeral to attend, on top of our normal appointments and stuff and just... ugh.

Time to recommit, which seems to be the theme for this month. My new upper limit weight is 180, and I'm there. Time to lock it back down. So goal for this week? Just this one:

🤎Log everything in grams

That's it. Logging helps me keep the numbers in check, because I have to confront them.

Tonight, I'm going to roast a chicken, have some roast potatoes, and some veg. Yesterday I did 2 and a half hours in the gym, Friday night was like 3 hours, lol, I'm looking forward to not much activity today.


Breakfasts and lunches for the week:

Morning coffee: cold brew with almond milk
~50 cal

Breakfast: Keeping on that oatmeal/riced cauliflower game: 170 cal homemade brown sugar cinnamon oatmeal, with about a cup of riced cauliflower (28 cal) to bulk it up, and 4-5 preserved figs (100 cal). This is so comforting and filling every morning.
~300 cal

Lunches: Chicken sausage (90 cal) and mixed veg with beans (100 cal)
~200 cal

Snacks: apples (50-100 cal)
~100 cal

total pre-dinner: ~650 cal, which gives me plenty for dinner with the fam and dessert every night.

Gym this week: Monday choreo dance and poles, Friday chair dance, and that's it for gym! Then Saturday, I'm going to a tea party with my sister, best friend, mom, and sisters-in-law and some of their families. We're going to wear tiaras and dresses and everything.

Other this week: I'm doing recruiting for work, and a training to be an election official in the upcoming election. I'm so excited to finally do a civic duty that I've always wanted to. Voting is so important.

Tag party time:
@RavenStCloud I love the idea of having a restriction on some foods for a little while, to reset your taste buds a little bit. Can't wait to hear about what you've been eating when you get those cravings!

@MyBeth2004 welcome! those look like great goals!

@justanotherjen13 I'm sorry you're having to deal with going back to work after so long, I imagine it won't be easy finding a job that can be flexible enough to cover your daughter's childcare needs as well. Maybe there is something remote you can do, so you can be more flexible?

@MyFitMyHealthMyLife Congratulations on your walking! That is so great, and it's only upwards from here!

@thelotusqueen oh my gosh, just hearing about all your holidays makes my mouth water, I love Indian treats so much.

@taking_back_my_life those are all great goals, and comfort food doesn't necessarily have to mean high-calorie food, either! You've got this.

@amykay9377 I used to be a runner, I know the struggle! You've got this, though.

@Star_cel13 good on you for thinking about 2024 already- the effort and mindset starts right now!

@Shoppie2023 I'm so sorry to hear you're going through a rough time, but you're HERE, you're working on yourself, that means that you are disciplined and you're ready to take care of things. I love that for you.

@pamperedlinny oh man, you can't seem to catch a break! I hope you're feeling on the mend now, and I know that you can bounce back.

@Mywishnow I know what you're saying about alcohol! I limit myself to just the weekends, as well. The P!nk concert sounds like so much fun!

@nebslp I love your math! And your commitment: you said already that the pie isn't your favorite, but still so frustrating to have to look at it all the time! Taking the pie back down to the basement is an opportunity for a few extra steps? you've got this, it's never too late for your dreams.

Have a great day, everyone!

-I met my goal for 2 days (75 to go) of doing 11 wall pushups. They were easier today than yesterday. I’m sticking with the 11 as my goal so any more than that is just gravy! I’ll be doing work with weights as well and some cardio stuff, too, but they’re not a «have-to » like the push-ups.
-I haven’t mindlessly grabbed a handful of nuts in two days and -will be doing posture exercise yet tonight. We went to grandson’s birthday party today so went a little overboard on the calories but I’ll log and see how I actually did compared to my Fitbit burn.

I love hearing about your life happenings but don’t have time to comment much right now. SO many great goals in this group! How are you all doing with them?

@pamperedlinny i hope you’re feeling better by now. Take care.

Day 3/77 of wall pushups 😃
Posture exercise 👍
About 200 below calorie burn 🔥
Cardio workout mulching flowerbeds 🌺

I’ve been working on organizing my family history info and free motion quilting the quilt that I made for my granddaughter so I feel very productive today. I also spent some time outside getting my vitamin D and finished up my flowerbed project. It’s been a good day and I’m ready for bed!

@RavenStCloud I get what you mean about the value of restrictions. My husband goes from one thing to another to stock up on in the house and I have to tell myself that those 10 candy bars in the freezer aren’t mine so I can’t have even one. Same with all the other junk. I struggle with leaving certain things alone and know if I have it just one time, it will be easier to give in again the next day. Easy access is so dangerous! Some people can handle it but I’m not one of them 😞

Checking in mid(ish) month. I've been really good at logging everything that goes in my mouth. Significantly increasing my protein intake to 100g/daily has really helped with my satiety. I have also discovered that zero sugar Italian Sweet Cream is actually tasty. This weekend is my girl's winetasting so my Saturday is going to be a challange but I'm going in with the midset that it is only one day and not go down the slippery slope.

As for my exercise ...

SW: 215.4 (10/8)
CW: 209.8 (10/19)
GW (short term): 195 by EOY
UGW (long term): 165

Day 6. Switched from the wall to the steps for push ups to make it more challenging. Used 3rd step up today.
Food macros came out on target and was under calorie burn 🔥

@CupcakeCrusoe I love everything about your post! Special yum to that breakfast plate 😋 and your knitting is beautiful! Birthday parties are the best, especially the fancy ones. Sounds like a fun family. Enjoy 😊

Day 7. Got up and did wall pushups immediately because I knew I’d be at my grandson’s martial arts competition all day and didn’t want to forget. Yay! He got a 1st and 2nd place medal in his 3 events so am feeling pretty proud.
Went to Runza afterwards but didn’t do too much damage caloriewise. I probably didn’t really need that ice cream cone, ya think!?! My biggest food struggle is before going to bed. I gotta figure that out. It’s a bad habit…maybe self-sabotage but why?? 😩

GOALS:
* walk at least three miles whenever the weather allows
* go the HOA clubhouse to use the gym when it's too rainy to walk (15 minutes bike; 30 minutes treadmill)
* portion control, portion control, portion control
* make good food choices
* lose about 6lbs this month

SW: 294 (7/4/23)
October SW: 241.6
CW: 230.6 (10/22)
GW (short term): 235 220
GW (long term): 165

10/22 update: Things are going well. The weather has been nice so I've been out walking instead of stuck in the gym and I added a little extra distance by going into a different neighborhood for a bit (now up to about 3.5-3.8 miles depending on where I go). I've also been spending my days brainstorming and outlining a story for National Novel Writing Month which has kept me distracted and not thinking about eating. So I haven't been snacking at all. I'm almost under 230lb which will be the first time since probably 2001 when I was pregnant with my second child. I gained a lot of weight with him (he was over 9lbs) and never got back below 230 after having him. I'm super excited.