😀😀😀***OCTOBER 2023 WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE***😀😀😀

Height: 5’ 5
Highest MFP weight: 183
October Start Weight: 168
October Goal Weight: 160
Ultimate Goal Weight: 153

October 1: 168
October 8: 165.8 - had a slow start to the week but trusted the process and my whoosh yesterday and today. I’m controlled over my diet but have to work hard to get steps in.
October 15:164.6 - have had a weird week. Have been on point with my food, water and steps but not many bowel movements and my body has clung to the same weigh range all week!!! This is the least amount of weight I have lost over a week since I started 54 odd days ago. But aim is to get to 160 by the end of the month and have another two weeks to lose 4.6 lbs 🤓🤓🤓
October 22:
October 29:
October 31:

October Start Weight:168 lbs.
October Goal Weight: 155 lbs.
Ultimate Goal Weight: 135 lbs.

October 1: 168 lbs.
October 8: 167 lbs.
October 15: 166 lbs.
October 22:
October 29:
October 31:

💪Discipline will take you to the place where motivation can't.💪

October Start Weight: 153 pounds
October Goal Weight: 151 pounds
Ultimate Goal Weight: 145 pounds

October 1: 153
October 6: 151!
October 15: 149.6
October 22:
October 29:
October 30:

I have been trying to maintain for the remainder of the month but haven't figured out maintenance calories since still losing.

@takinitalloff , thank you for the tips!! Will wait to join the other group in November because I'm still figuring out how to meet my daily calorie budget and below you can see the results so far from listening to the audiobook of Allen Carr's EasyWay.

This challenge has been just what I needed! Keep it up everyone!

October Start Weight:189
October Goal Weight:185
Ultimate Goal Weight:140?

October 1:189
October 8:189
October 15: 180 Woot! I know its not realistic to expect that pace to continue but I'm encouraged.
October 22:
October 29:
October 31:

9bhtn65nzj wrote: »

Height: 5’ 5
Highest MFP weight: 183
October Start Weight: 168
October Goal Weight: 160
Ultimate Goal Weight: 153

October 1: 168
October 8: 165.8 - had a slow start to the week but trusted the process and my whoosh yesterday and today. I’m controlled over my diet but have to work hard to get steps in.
October 15:164.6 - have had a weird week. Have been on point with my food, water and steps but not many bowel movements and my body has clung to the same weigh range all week!!! This is the least amount of weight I have lost over a week since I started 54 odd days ago. But aim is to get to 160 by the end of the month and have another two weeks to lose 4.6 lbs 🤓🤓🤓
October 22:
October 29:
October 31:

You might want to examine your approach.

You've lost almost 18.5 pounds in about 7.7 weeks (54 days). That's 2.4 pounds per week. Even when you started, you were looking to lose 30 pounds. A safe loss rate even when you started would have been ONE pound per week. Now that you have about ten pounds to lose, you might consider slowing down to a half pound per week. There's a number of reasons why losing too fast can be detrimental to your health. Over on the "Getting Started" discussion category, there's a post in the "MUST READ" section with common questions and info-graphic answers. If you go there, one of the first things you see is a chart of safe loss rates based on aiming for no more than 1% of your weight per week. Here's a copy of that chart:
It's possible that your bowel issue is related to being underfed. It can also cause hair loss. Your body will also eat itself - it will consume your muscles to make up the deficit that you aren't eating. Your heart is a muscle; you can do damage to yourself if you try to lose weight too quickly!

My name is Donna. I am 63 years old and I live in the Midwest of the US. I am 5’ 5” tall.

Start Weight (from Sept 30th, 2023 ): 188.2
Goal Weight: 184.2 (4 pound loss)

End of Challenge Weight: xxxxx
Ultimate Goal Weight: 145-155 (I’ll know it when I get there!)




Weight in blue makes me blue because it’s a gain. Weight in fuchsia pink makes me feel cheery because it’s a loss. Weight in black means no change.


10/01-187.2-(Trend Weight: 189.2)-

10/08-186.2-(Trend Weight: 188.9)- One day of travel in this past week has put me fighting all week just to get back to the progress I had made prior. My weight is down a pound since last Sunday, but is up from progress I made on Wed or Thur (185.8). But I guess there is no practical use in crying over spilt milk. I will take that pound I’ve now lost and run with it. I hope to post in the 185 range again by next post. I feel like baking season has begun since our local temps have really cooled down and it’s a perfect time to have the oven on. I need to just stay out of the kitchen until it’s time for my pre-logged meals! This year I am going to try not to use my children and grandchildren as an excuse to bake (and buy) all the fall and holiday goodies that stretch out over the entire months. Shame on me anyway!

10/15-187.0-(Trend Weight: 186.6)- Well, you can tell by my trend weight that I actually had a great week, until I didn’t. One day really set me back. Yesterday was good but not much change on the scale today. I guess it just doesn’t trust me. Earning back trust is not an easy thing to do, but I got this!


10/22-xxxxx-(Trend Weight: xxxxx)-
10/29-xxxxx-(Trend Weight: xxxxx)-
10/31-xxxxx-(Trend Weight: xxxxx)-


Every healthy habit brings me closer to scratching each of these off to NEVER see them again!
250’s; 240’s; 230’s; 220's; 210's; 200's; 190's; 180’s; 170's; 160's; 150's

3rdtimelosesit wrote: »

takinitalloff wrote: »

3rdtimelosesit wrote: »

Oct 1: 301.4
Oct 7: 301.2
Oct 14: 304.0 what can I say....just wow...what the heck?? Not sure what's going on but it's not good.

You know what, it might very well be good. I noticed that whenever I increase my exercise level, the weight loss pauses (and sometimes I gain a bit of weight). I learned that this is a normal thing: I’m losing fat but also gaining muscle, which is heavier (per volume unit). Additionally, when muscles have to work harder than what they’re used to, they store extra water to help them recover. Once I’ve adapted to the new exercise levels, the water leaves and the weight loss kicks into overdrive for a while. So unless you’ve been eating more than before, chances are your “weight gain” is a temporary response to all the walking you’ve been doing. Check if your pants fit more loosely!

Thanks for the encouraging advice. I didn't think about the increase in activity. I've been walking 5 days per week....up from not walking or doing any exercise other than general walking to and from home to car and grocery shopping etc. But this week it was our Cdn Thanksgiving plus I had some homemade soup & baking powder biscuits one night. Didn't think it was enough to gain that much though. Will be more careful with the eating just in case. Plus I'm starting a mobility enhancement clinic twice a week from tomorrow till mid-Dec.

If the soup had a lot of salt, that could cause you to retain water. Same with the biscuits, but more than that, when you eat carbs, you also hold on to water. That's why people often notice a very quick loss when they stop eating carbs - it's the water. Those should resolve themselves over time. The exercise likely didn't yet lead to any significant muscle gain, but indeed it could be water again as your tissues go through the repair process.

Trust the gauges (your food scale and your body scale). Follow the guidelines. Pay attention. Most important - STICK TO IT! You can succeed if you want.

Hi All,

I’d love some weight loss / accountability buddies!!

Heaviest Weight: 232+ (I think it was a lot more, but I couldn’t bring myself to get on a scale for a long while)
| Ultimate Goal Weight: 117 - 149
Recent Starting Weight: Sep 12, 2023: 218.8

Oct 1: 196.7
Oct 2: 196.7
Oct 3: 196.5
Oct 4: 195.9
Oct 5: 195.1
Oct 6: 194.2
…
Oct 14: 191.1
Oct 15: 189.3

Total for October so far 7.4 LBS

mtaratoot wrote: »

If the soup had a lot of salt, that could cause you to retain water. Same with the biscuits, but more than that, when you eat carbs, you also hold on to water. That's why people often notice a very quick loss when they stop eating carbs - it's the water. Those should resolve themselves over time. The exercise likely didn't yet lead to any significant muscle gain, but indeed it could be water again as your tissues go through the repair process.

Agree with the salt & carb info. However, a person starting a walking regimen from zero, while at a high weight, can absolutely experience significant muscle gain, in combination with the water retention. Obviously @3rdtimelosesit didn't suddenly gain 3 lbs of muscle in a week, I assume it's a combination of factors, but I wouldn't discount muscle gain. I started walking over the summer/fall and my legs got significantly more muscular in a fairly short amount of time.

Original start weight: 15st 9lbs

June loss: 5.5lbs
July loss: 8.5lbs
Aug loss: 5lbs
Sept loss: 6lbs

October Start Weight: 13st 10.5lbs
October Goal Weight: 13st 5lbs
Ultimate Goal Weight: 10st

1.5lbs off and over the 2 stone lost mark 😊

October 1: 13st 10.5lbs
October 8: 13st 10lbs
October 15: 13st 8.5lbs
October 22:
October 29:
October 31:

takinitalloff wrote: »

mtaratoot wrote: »

If the soup had a lot of salt, that could cause you to retain water. Same with the biscuits, but more than that, when you eat carbs, you also hold on to water. That's why people often notice a very quick loss when they stop eating carbs - it's the water. Those should resolve themselves over time. The exercise likely didn't yet lead to any significant muscle gain, but indeed it could be water again as your tissues go through the repair process.

Agree with the salt & carb info. However, a person starting a walking regimen from zero, while at a high weight, can absolutely experience significant muscle gain, in combination with the water retention. Obviously @3rdtimelosesit didn't suddenly gain 3 lbs of muscle in a week, I assume it's a combination of factors, but I wouldn't discount muscle gain. I started walking over the summer/fall and my legs got significantly more muscular in a fairly short amount of time.

Muscle mass gain is slow, and it takes work. What usually happens first is that your muscle fibers get better adapted, and you get stronger. It takes a lot of work and time to have any significant increase in muscle mass. To be sure, the heavier you are, the more you have to work just to walk. One byproduct of that is that if you're lifting, you may experience an apparent increase in strength for some exercises like dead lifts and squats as your body mass decreases - you are just not moving as much mass in addition to the bar. I remember a few years ago putting on an eight-pound SCUBA soft weight belt and taking a walk in the park. I had lost weight. I was amazed how much harder it was to walk with just an extra eight pounds. I had previously been walking everywhere with much more than that. But no, it's not muscle mass gain.

Was doing better but then a darn work trip this week got me off my game. Back on point. Hope all have a good week.

October Start Weight: 129.8 lbs
October Goal Weight: 125 lbs
Ultimate Goal Weight: 122 lbs

October 1: 129.8
October 8: 128.4
October 15:128.2
October 22:
October 29:
October 31:

3rdtimelosesit wrote: »

@mtaratoot I didn't think about the salt in the soup or the carbs holding water. Yup that'd be why! Love me some carbs...lol I've been eating the same things I'd be eating once I dropped the weight so that I wouldn't gain the weight once I added them back in. That's what got me into trouble before. Will take more care with carbs & salt. Giving up is not part of the program...

Another approach is to know ahead of time that if you eat them, there will be a TEMPORARY blip on the scale. If the soup is delicious and fits your calories, enjoy it! As for biscuits, I know that I can easily eat too many if I make a batch, so I just don't make 'em. I want to make cornbread soon. It's really good, and I give most of it away or else I go over my calories. I just found a second cornbread triangle cast iron at a thrift shop, so now I have two of those AND two corn stick pans - perfect for a big batch. Mmmmm.... Cornbread.....

October Start Weight: 217.2
October Goal Weight: 210.2
Ultimate Goal Weight: 150

October 1: 217.2
October 8: 217.4
October 15: 217.1
October 22:
October 29:
October 31:

mtaratoot wrote: »

Another approach is to know ahead of time that if you eat them, there will be a TEMPORARY blip on the scale. If the soup is delicious and fits your calories, enjoy it! As for biscuits, I know that I can easily eat too many if I make a batch, so I just don't make 'em. I want to make cornbread soon. It's really good, and I give most of it away or else I go over my calories. I just found a second cornbread triangle cast iron at a thrift shop, so now I have two of those AND two corn stick pans - perfect for a big batch. Mmmmm.... Cornbread.....

I do work everything into my calorie count so I can enjoy soup & bisquits. But if it's going to cause me to gain so much in 1 week I'll be forgoing them for now. Unless I can find soups that don't have alot of sodium in them. I know my beef barley soup did as I used packages onion soup mix to flavour.....high sodium. ohhhh cornbread!! don't give me ideas...lol