Women 200lb+, Let's Give It A Try This July!!!

Hi everyone! I’m enjoying reading everyone’s comments and updates. My app is a little slow and buggy so I’m not going to give a super detailed update, but I’m looking for a little perspective and encouragement and advice. I’m 18 days into tracking on MFP, and in this 18 days I’ve essentially lost 1.5 pounds, which is frustratingly slow. I’m not trying to lose super fast, but I’ve been dismayed at how the scale has been going up and down and up and down and up and down for the last week and a half. I am consistently staying in my calorie budget and typically meeting my protein goal, and I do both cardio and weight training with a personal trainer. I also do some training with PT. Am I missing something? I’ve seen some posts here and there about people getting hormone testing or some kind of testing to see what they need to eat to not slow down their metabolism…I don’t have a very good scientific understanding of how hormones can affect weight loss, so I don’t even know how to pursue finding information on this. I have been in touch with a dietician (haven’t pulled the trigger yet because I’ve been doing well with my current eating style and tracking) who does some kind of metabolic testing, but I really don’t know what I am looking for. Any help is appreciated!! And otherwise, is it common for weight loss to take a while to start happening? I feel like there is soooo much mixed information out there on how weight loss actually works and I’ve read so many books and so many perspectives, my head is just spinning!!

Keri
71 years old
Challenge July Starting Weight: 260
UGW: 167 (healthy weight for a senior woman my height)
5'6" Tall
I do check-ins when I lose:
7/1: 260
7/5: 257.5
7/24: 257
7/27: 254.8

July Weignt loss: 5.2 lbs. (this is more than I usually shoot for 1 lb a week)

Legend:
A is my husband. N is my living at home adult youngest child
July Goals:
• July GW: get securely in the 250s – Next month I was considering a goal of getting into the low 250s and staying there. I guess I will have to come up with another one.
• Keep my water intake up – need to up this
• Keep getting 7+ hours of sleep - yes
• Meal plan and cook 3+ dinners (my husband and youngest will cook some dinners too) – both N and I cooked last night so we have meals for this weekend.
• Eat healthy breakfasts (only 1 day a week at a café with Latte etc.) – Weekend breakfasts always help me even if they are larger. They get me through the day.
• Work up to 30 minutes of exercise 6 days a week – 1 day of aquafit, 1 day of weight training, 4 days of walking increasing lengths of time) – Starting the week with the extra activity of camping and aquafit in the pool I continued to walk about 30 minutes a day. Tomorrow is Aquafit at the Y.
• Up NEAT (non exercise activity) daily such as cooking and cleaning etc. – I am making some progress here
Still need to meal plan for next week. I need to keep up the walking and then add in strength training once I get the walking down. I am realizing that logging my food is important for me again now.

@jenbroussard71 I was thinking the same about an exercise buddy but I am so slow and weak now. I have a grandson but he is in Texas. Friends are important for health and I want to work on this now that I am retired.

@GardenQueen30 When I 1st started on MFP 20 years ago my loss was really slow. My friends on here were losing faster and I was staying within all my goals. I slowly lost 20 lbs and had a long plateau where I tried everything until I read about eating more to lose. It turned out that with the increase in exercise I wasn’t eating enough. I started to lose as I slowly upped my calories. I did a 2 week reset at maintenance calories (kept losing) and then lowered my calories to a more reasonable deficit to lose the next 20 lbs much easily. When I went back to work fulltime I gained most of it back. I sometimes I lose the day after eating more. You want to watch that you don’t slow your metabolism down by having a big deficit. You need to fool your body into thinking it isn’t starving. My weight varies a lot too so I weigh daily or I might miss the loss. I track the daily weights on my spreadsheet and log my losses on MFP. I have been researching nutrition and our gut health is important too. As an older woman I have had to learn how to lose despite hormonal changes. Right now, yes, I need to lose but I also want to get healthy and strong. I am concentrating on what I eat not just how much. Also your body may be recompositioning by burning fat and building muscle. Maintaining weight loss is progress.

Hello all! 😊

CW: 259
GW: 150
HT: 5'2"

JULY CHECK INS:
Week 2: 260
Week 4: 259

YAY:
I did more dancing this month than I have in a long time. I forget how good it feels to just move your body and not necessarily for the exercise, but for the fun! I also bougth a snorkeling set so i can spend a little more time underwater, especially in this heat! I find swimming way more interesting when it turns into an exploration.

NAY:
had a hard time staying consistent this week as there was a lot of non-routine/spontaneous plans I jumped into. I always prefer a routine and time to plan ahead, so I tend to get thrown out of whack when something interrupts. I have especially not been consistent with logging on the weekends, though I don't want to be too strict/hard on my self. I dislike feeling like I'm "failing" if I don't go 100% in on something.

Do you think it's better to stay 100% locked in, or give myself the weekends "off"?

Goals for july:

-Log food consistently: so far so good! I am leaving space on the weekends as I tend to get really disappointed with myself and quit when I don't do sth 100% right.
••• I have done pretty well, I think I got most every week day and occasion weekend days. I have been more mindful of what I'm choosing to eat.

-weigh ins AT LEAST monthly, but ideally every Monday: I have not started this consistently yet, so my aim is to get that into my calendar and have a set schedule.
••• reminder is set in calendar, I managed to get 2 weigh ins this month. (And 1lb down - not much but I'll take it!)

-post a weekly check in: even a little something to stay active in the group and stay up to date with others stories and progress. I hope this will increase motivation and feeling of community
••• I'm still figuring out how to use this efficiently, this will be my second post. I enjoy reading others accomplishment, and can relate to the setbacks. Keep it up!

-get connected with weight and wellness clinic in my area: i already have a referral placed, just waiting to schedule an appt!
••• apparently there is quite a wait list, so this may be going on the back burner. In the meantime I will continue logging food and exercise to have a good baseline/history to start with when I do get connected

Thank you for reading!

Jennifer
Re-started 4/24/24 - 236.2
CW: 210.4
GW: 165 (may adjust when I get there)
5'3" Tall


Monday weigh in
July 1st: - 216.6
July 8th - 213
July 15th - 212.8
July 22nd - 210.2
July 29th - 210.4
July 31st
July loss -6.2
July Goal - 207 (which was my lowest weight in April 2023)
End of Summer Goal - onederland!

A little frustrated with the scale today, but I KNOW that I am putting in the work - the scale will catch up eventually. I feel like July has been a good month - it's been stressful in many ways but I've learned to deal with the stress better and not run to food. I did not hit my July goal - missed it by 3.4 pounds but that is okay. I am going to focus on the fact that I lost 6.2.

Question - do you add in some of your exercise calories? If so, do you add in half or all? I've not been active in a long time and I am now working out with a trainer twice a week. I wear a HRM so I feel that I get an accurate number of calories burned. I am not sure if eating the exercise calories or some of them would be helpful. Any input is appreciated!

Thank you in advance.

Ts July 30 2024 :
Got down to 217.9# for July.
So a loss of about 5.7#. I’ll take it.
Thank-you all for your assistance.
Have a lovely day, everyone!
☀️➡️

Weigh-in today, I am 185! Fifteen pounds down.

Hey there, just checking in with my mid week updates!

Starting weight: 219 lbs (6/10/24)
Ending weight: 214.2 lbs (6/30/24)
Total loss: -4.8lbs (in 20 days)
Goal weight: 150-165lbs
Goal Body Fat: 20-25%

Goals for July: ✔
- Work 4 days/week ✔
- Walk 10k steps minimum 3x/week ✔
- Log meals daily and accurately ✔
- Gym 3x/week ✔
- Drink more water and less sugar ✔
- Treat myself once/week with a self date ✔
- Weigh in at 210lbs at the end of the month (-4.2 lbs loss)

JULY:
1st: 213 lbs
2nd: 212.8 lbs
3rd: 211.6 lbs
4th: 212 lbs
5th: 213.2 lbs
6th: 212.4 lbs
7th: 212.4 lbs
8th: 211.6 lbs
9th: 212.4 lbs
10th: 212.2 lbs
11th: 212.8 lbs
12th: 214.6 lbs
13th: 215.2 lbs
14th: 216.6 lbs (wow, quite the spike)
15th: 214.2 lbs (starting to debloat)
16th: 213.2 lbs
17th: 213 lbs
18th: 212.6 lbs
19th: 215.2 lbs (My birthday was the 18th, so it makes sense to have another indulgent jump)
20th: 215.7 lbs
21st: 215.3 lbs
22nd: 212.7 lbs
23rd: 212.6 lbs
24th: 213.6 lbs
25th: 212.2 lbs
26th: 212.8 lbs
27th: 212 lbs
28th: 210.8 lbs (New all time low!)
29th: 212.4 lbs
30th: 212.2 lbs
31st: 212.2 lbs

Non weight Successes:
- Went white water river rafting Sunday for the first time and it was SO fun!
- Was offered another free PT session so I'm doing that today (my usual day off at the gym)

Well, this also marks my last weigh-in for July! A bit disappointed that the number on the scale doesn't reflect my goals, HOWEVER I think what I've achieved off the scale is much more important. I'm stronger, have better balance and stamina, I've gotten used to the community at my gym, I'm working enough to pay my bills, I've gone on a couple adventures outside of my comfort zone, and I have great work/life balance at the moment. I've solidified my own ability to enjoy things in moderation, without feeling like I'm lacking anything that I enjoy, and despite the scale hardly moving, I know my body looks different due to the recomposition I'm achieving at the gym. And who knows, maybe next month is the month the weight just "falls off". I'm excited to continue posting in the new August group whenever that's made available.

Great job everyone! Here's to a new month!

Keri

Thanks @RavenStCloud for this July thread!

71 years old
Challenge July Starting Weight: 260
UGW: 167 (healthy weight for a senior woman my height)
5'6" Tall
I do check-ins when I lose:
7/1: 260
7/5: 257.5
7/24: 257
7/27: 24.8
7/30: 254.2
7/31: 254.4
July Weignt loss: 5.6 lbs.

July Goals:
• July GW: get securely in the 250s – I shoot for a lb a week and I exceeded that,
• Keep my water intake up – need to up this
• Keep getting 7+ hours of sleep - yes
• Meal plan and cook 3+ dinners (my husband and youngest will cook some dinners too) – making good progress with this.
• Eat healthy breakfasts (only 1 day a week at a café with Latte etc.) – Yes.
• Work up to 30 minutes of exercise 6 days a week – 1 day of aquafit, 1 day of weight training, 4 days of walking increasing lengths of time) – I have been making my goal of 30 minutes of exercise on weekdays and aquafit once a week.
• Up NEAT (non exercise activity) daily such as cooking and cleaning etc. – I am making some progress here

@quolwy like your NSVs. Better balance and stamina are some of my main goals. We are trying to lose but we also need to learn to maintain.
@Cinnamonpimp I am trying to find a new routine with retirement but I have been advised to take my time. I think a routine can help but it needs to be flexible to maintain over time. I like your fun activities.
@jo_casey42 I hope my husband will benefit from my weight loss efforts the way your fiance has. He lost well when I lost 40 lbs on here before.

I guess it is time to think about August Goals. I have learned some things this month. I am reading Outlive and it is changing some of my past beliefs about weight loss even though it is about healthspan not weight loss. Anyway for now things seem to be working.

healthyenergymint wrote: »

I managed to gain 4lb overnight due to a day of bingeing (fish and chips, Hershey bar and a massive amount of pesto). I know it's mostly water weight, but I'm pissed off because I had just broken the obese/ overweight barrier, and now I'm back in the obese range, and my roommate just made strawberry waffles with whipped cream. I'm going to have to to go out and do a million steps later lol. It makes me feel like those 4 days that I was merely overweight counted for nothing I was so happy, and now I have to fight back again. But I WILL fight back. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and I'm 15lb down in 49 days. I can get this back!

Don't beat yourself up. As you said that 4 pounds you gained overnight is water weight and you can lose it quickly by going back to your usual, healthy eating. Just be mindful and don't let one incident of overeating turn into a week or more.

No one is twisting your arm to have waffles and whipped cream. You have a choice. Make a good choice and get right back on the horse!