Need Some Accountabilibuddies!

BillyAZ
BillyAZ Posts: 76 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Happy New Year All! This time will be different, right?! I’ve set everything up for success this time around so I’m 100% convinced it will be but would love to have a community to help me stay accountable to myself and my goals!

Replies

  • evermoss86
    evermoss86 Posts: 2 Member
    Happy New Year! I am down to help out with the goals and cheering you on as I also progress in my journey. Feel free to add me!
  • BillyAZ
    BillyAZ Posts: 76 Member
    Had a good first day…but the first day is always the easiest. Intermittent fasting (eating window from 12:45-5:45pm), good portion control and a couple of cleansing juices as well as a good amount of water. Had an hour-long walk and a 20-minute workout between the elliptical, total gym and weights.

    Activity ramps up tomorrow as tennis training continues ahead of the coming season. I’m on four USTA leagues so training and playing will be a huge part of my fitness regimen. The gym needs to play a bigger part this year though and the diet is a crucial part of getting into appropriate physical shape!
  • BillyAZ
    BillyAZ Posts: 76 Member
    The good first day paid dividends. Down from 217.3 to 212.7. Excellent motivation to keep on keeping on with the plan today!
  • t0paz1
    t0paz1 Posts: 9 Member
    Good luck on your journey. I am try to find some Accountabilibuddies as well. I have not been on my fitness pal for a long time and decided 2024 is the year I need to get myself in check .
  • BillyAZ
    BillyAZ Posts: 76 Member
    A good day overall. Had to cheat the MFP diary to get above 1200 calories as it wouldn’t register otherwise but trying to run close to a calorie deficit with intermittent fasting and upping the exercising. Did pop out to the gym a couple of times when I had 15 minutes spare rather than playing a game in the phone so that mindset should pay dividends.

    I do cheat a little by weighing myself before bed knowing that the morning weight will be better. Scale showed 210.7 so hoping to break through 210 tomorrow with the goal of hitting 200 by the end of January. That’s 7lbs in two days so most of that will be water so I’m being a bit realistic on what to expect in future days!
  • BillyAZ
    BillyAZ Posts: 76 Member
    edited January 3
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    Not exciting but surprisingly tasty and filling!

    208.5 this morning so definitely going to plan. Another calorie deficit day today by the time tennis is done this evening. Confident about at least staying the same tomorrow.
  • BillyAZ
    BillyAZ Posts: 76 Member
    Down to 206.7 this morning so well on track for getting under 200 in January. Built some real momentum and positive pressure on myself in the last few days and been rewarded by a 3-day loss of 10.6lbs. Been running a calorie deficit in the last couple of days and will have one more day of that today before normalizing a more sustainable diet and exercise regime.
  • melissaaridgeway
    melissaaridgeway Posts: 278 Member
    I'm glad you are pushing though and committed but I caution you that extremely fast weight loss because you are starving yourself could cause you health problems, bounce back weight gain, plateauing early, and other issues. If you aren't eating the calories that MFP allots for you every day, it isn't really sticking to the plan very well.

    I say this not as any kind of nutritional guru, but I did manage to lose 70lbs last year by tracking everything on MFP and being honest and sticking to the plan. I'm just concerned for you because you seem like you are celebrating the huge loss due to under-eating your calories. Losing lots of weight very quickly isn't a sustainable model of weight loss.

    I am here to cheer you on and encourage you, but just be careful with your body. The weight didn't come on overnight....don't expect it to come off overnight either.
  • BillyAZ
    BillyAZ Posts: 76 Member
    Thanks Melissa,

    You’re not alone in your much appreciated advice and I do understand it. I didn’t expect these results but I’m very happy with them. I expected the loss to plateau and it undoubtedly will in the next day or so. My goal absolutely isn’t to starve myself or lose weight this quickly. I do want to do it sustainably so I’ll be upping the calories today so that there’s more of an even balance.

    Cheers,

    Billy
  • BillyAZ
    BillyAZ Posts: 76 Member
    Got closer to 1500 calories yesterday and, despite my best efforts on the exercise front; ticked up .3lb. Not at all upset as I knew the leveling off was coming. Need to push on harder to get over this hump. Double session of tennis today and back on the juices with a prospectively ill-fated attempt at a new lemon chicken recipe on the books!
  • BillyAZ
    BillyAZ Posts: 76 Member
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    Decided to veer away from salad today and try my hand at homemade lemon chicken. Won’t be rivaling the local Chinese restaurant but it was very nice! Two bouts of tennis today so I’m
    Hoping to drop a little tomorrow.
  • Padre77
    Padre77 Posts: 6 Member
    I set my goal at 1400 and use it like a minimum marker. It was really working for me before the holidays. Now I can’t seem to stick to it🤷‍♂️. But I’m pulling for you! I found low sodium tajin classico is a great replacement for salad dressing and tastes amazing on all veggies. It keeps my salads tasting really good and gives me room in my daily calories for the days I am “off course”…
  • BillyAZ
    BillyAZ Posts: 76 Member
    Thanks Padre. I’ll look into that!
  • BillyAZ
    BillyAZ Posts: 76 Member
    I think this is turning into a bit of a diary somehow…so, dear diary…

    Yesterday was a good day. Four hours of tennis between morning sessions with the old boys and the evening session with the mixed doubles squad. Fasted well, just short of 20 hours, and had a huge but low calorie effort at lemon chicken which ended up being very nice. The juicing and one meal a day with a bigger focus on exercise (need to get to the gym today) is going to pay dividends. It did yesterday with a 1.1lb loss on the scale to make it 11.4lbs down since 1/1/24.
  • BillyAZ
    BillyAZ Posts: 76 Member
    edited January 7
    Yesterday wasn’t a great day. Next to no exercise, everything a bit sore and had to eat out rather than cook. Opted for a Subway and now very conscious of the calorie count in a single sandwich - 300 more than a full plate of homemade lemon chicken. I expected to remain much the same and stayed exactly the same. Still, that’s a drop of 11.4lbs in the week so very pleased and ready to push on harder.
  • BillyAZ
    BillyAZ Posts: 76 Member
    Got screwed over a wee bit by the weather yesterday. Rain which wasn’t forecast to hit until 11 came at 8:46 just as we had arrived for tennis. With every intention of going home and getting into the gym, for no good reason, I didn’t! Need to be much better at that. Had a 20 hour fast and then a 4 hour eating window but crammed in quite a lot in that four hours. Pleased that the scales were still a little less this morning than yesterday. Running tally is 11.7lbs down in January to date.
  • mlconstant5
    mlconstant5 Posts: 43 Member
    I love that you are writing daily on your thread. There will be good days where you completed your intentions or go above and beyond and days where a challenge gets placed in your path (like the weather today). This is becoming an excellent journal that you can then look back and see your progress from month-to-month.

    Great work so far!
  • franksl87
    franksl87 Posts: 5 Member
    Hi! Anyone feel free to add me! I started over, new mfp account, the lot, on new years day. I have at least 6 stone to lose, having lost 11lb in my first week. I'm still getting to grips with it, but very determined. When I get half way, I intend to start planning my.wedding and will begin the hunt for 'the dress'! Cheerleaders needed please.
  • BillyAZ
    BillyAZ Posts: 76 Member
    Thank you @franksl87!

    Appreciate the support. If I’m going to be successful, I need to keep a focus every day, otherwise I know I’ll slip.

    Today was a weird day. Up at 3am (quick weigh in to confirm a measly 0.3lb day loss) to get a flight from Phoenix to Dallas and, after working, had my first meal of the day at just after 6pm - an unintentional 27 hour fast…and still opted for water and a salad

    vbd4dgogluik.jpeg

    Better still, hit the gym for an hour afterward. Fairly exhausted but I don’t need to be up until 7 tomorrow for another pretty lengthy day.
  • franksl87
    franksl87 Posts: 5 Member
    That meal looks spectacular!!
  • BillyAZ
    BillyAZ Posts: 76 Member
    A couple of days in Texas but disciplined throughout. Went up 1.2lbs yesterday and down 0.7lbs today so pretty much a wash. Quite pleased with myself as these work trips are normally very indulgent and calorific.
  • BillyAZ
    BillyAZ Posts: 76 Member
    Worked hard today to maintain discipline and focus and did treat myself to my first sweet treat of the year (a whole chocolate truffle a can’t believe that wee thing houses 115 calories!). Had three hours of tennis tonight so expecting decent progress tomorrow.

    Was at the PCP today and he recommended a more complex bathroom scale to track more than just weight. Any recommendations on a quality detailed scale?
  • BillyAZ
    BillyAZ Posts: 76 Member
    Discipline was the order of the day as I was out for a friend’s birthday lunch at an Italian restaurant and there was a lot of cheese and sauce on the go! Stuck to my guns and had a salad and water with a single apple juice for a bit of a change. Decided against the birthday cake on offer too!

    Did slip a tiny bit at one of the offices where sandwiches were on offer. Took one bite out of one and then caught myself!

    Had a couple of hours of tennis tonight to pretty much negate all the calories taken in so expecting a drop tomorrow. The tennis team won 4-1 across the five matches. My guy and I won doubles 2 6-2, 6-2…fun night!
  • BillyAZ
    BillyAZ Posts: 76 Member
    Down 1.5lbs this morning so pretty sure that’s me at a stone loss in real money!

    Never realized quite how much the supermarket is a killer before shopping whilst both on a strict diet and starving! They’re out to make us all obese for some reason!
  • BillyAZ
    BillyAZ Posts: 76 Member
    Slacking a bit on the diary but doing well otherwise. I’m not sure I need the accountability after all but I am enjoying the support and encouragement inherent in the challenges section and on the friend wall.

    Very proud of my achievement in January. Down 19.5lbs between January 1st and 22nd. I absolutely believe this is sustainable but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to a dessert at some point! I keep the sweet tooth at bay with a single mini almond joy per day at the moment but the bakery calls to me every day!

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